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gfrancieI decided to make the day a little more interesting by going for a walk around Greenlake with Senor Onion. Yep. Yet another Mummy pushing her kid in a stroller. At least my stroller isn't ginormous and I don't feel the need to have special workout clothes to show how I am a yummy mummy. At one point during the walk, a group of fifteen mothers began to invade the path. They were all together and most of them seemed to have double-strollers. It was like a motorcycle gang. Only fewer guys named Weasel and Chopper Bob.
I was struck by all the people with mp3 players and were talking on their cellphones or texting -all while walking, pushing their kids in a stroller, running and so on. A lot of people seemed sort of unaware of all the interesting things going on around them. Senor Onion and I watched older men fish, a Mama duck and her single baby duck examining the shores. A number of other fecund birds who were jumping each other like teenagers after a few bottles of Zima. And there were all kinds of dogs on leads. Kind of an amateur Westminster dog show. Husky, boston terrier, wheaten, springer spaniel, standard poodle, dachshund and a rather distracted boxer.
I heard a lot of brief snippets of conversation. A favorite was, "So like my parents were hippies? And they said, 'well I guess she is a Vegetarian.' But they weren't sure."
It was so tempting to ask for the complete context of that conversation. Especially when I looked at the woman and she looked like she had walked out of a J. Crew catalog. Though I suppose I could figure out some of it. Rebellion will happen in any situation. Something to think about. Try to raise your child with lentils and Marx and they will do their best to become investment bankers!
For awhile Senor Onion was let out of his stroller so that he might walk a bit and examine things more closely. Unfortunately after awhile he began to try and pick up rocks and eat them. He also tried to pick up a few other disgusting things and handle them. It was back to the stroller which he found to be undignified so he decided to spend some time moaning and throwing his legs up in the air to show to passing walkers that he was obviously being beaten at home and someone should save him and take him home to a family that will let him eat rocks and other disgusting items at will.
He calmed down after a minute when he found that no one wanted to take him up on his offer.
The rest of the walk was calm, delightful and stimulating. We came home and had lunch. He had a nice long nap and now he is running around with vintage cookbooks that have scary pictures in them.
Yesterday I read Atonement by Ian McEwan. As I explained to a couple of friends, I had never read it until now because it came out back when I was working in book shops and so I had to face that thing every single day and I didn't feel like bringing it home. I haven't even seen the movie. I figured let's see what all the opinions are about. Initially I found the book to be rather beautifully written in some places and captured some fascinating details; especially certain human habits/actions. Other parts were incredibly irritating but I was willing to let it go. Then there is the ending. The ending kind of pissed me off. No. It really pissed me off. It was like the author thought you were enjoying yourself too much so he was going to punch you in the stomach and then hand you a little bill for all of that. "That will be 14.95 please. Exact change only." was he feeling too comfortable and didn't want too much love from his readers? I am putting the damn thing on Paperback swap so I don't have to keep it around the house. I put it in the guest room so I don't have to look at it and go, "what the hell was that all about????"
Maybe I will watch the movie next so I can feel irritated all over again. It does have James McAvoy and I would watch him do laundry. Rawr. Hello Sexy man with sexy accent.
Ahem.
As for other books I am reading that don't inspire my wrath, I am still reading, The Coffee Trader by David Liss; which I am enjoying. I am compiling a list of more things to read. Maybe I will read some cozy murder mystery.
I had an interesting experience with the ice cream I made. I used the amount of salt that it calls for but somehow it seems too much because the ice cream remains pretty soft. It is good, the flavor is appealing so I might make it with a touch less salt to see if that will help things. It even had salted butter. (as the recipe calls for) I might ask the author about it and see if he ever had that problem.
I was struck by all the people with mp3 players and were talking on their cellphones or texting -all while walking, pushing their kids in a stroller, running and so on. A lot of people seemed sort of unaware of all the interesting things going on around them. Senor Onion and I watched older men fish, a Mama duck and her single baby duck examining the shores. A number of other fecund birds who were jumping each other like teenagers after a few bottles of Zima. And there were all kinds of dogs on leads. Kind of an amateur Westminster dog show. Husky, boston terrier, wheaten, springer spaniel, standard poodle, dachshund and a rather distracted boxer.
I heard a lot of brief snippets of conversation. A favorite was, "So like my parents were hippies? And they said, 'well I guess she is a Vegetarian.' But they weren't sure."
It was so tempting to ask for the complete context of that conversation. Especially when I looked at the woman and she looked like she had walked out of a J. Crew catalog. Though I suppose I could figure out some of it. Rebellion will happen in any situation. Something to think about. Try to raise your child with lentils and Marx and they will do their best to become investment bankers!
For awhile Senor Onion was let out of his stroller so that he might walk a bit and examine things more closely. Unfortunately after awhile he began to try and pick up rocks and eat them. He also tried to pick up a few other disgusting things and handle them. It was back to the stroller which he found to be undignified so he decided to spend some time moaning and throwing his legs up in the air to show to passing walkers that he was obviously being beaten at home and someone should save him and take him home to a family that will let him eat rocks and other disgusting items at will.
He calmed down after a minute when he found that no one wanted to take him up on his offer.
The rest of the walk was calm, delightful and stimulating. We came home and had lunch. He had a nice long nap and now he is running around with vintage cookbooks that have scary pictures in them.
Yesterday I read Atonement by Ian McEwan. As I explained to a couple of friends, I had never read it until now because it came out back when I was working in book shops and so I had to face that thing every single day and I didn't feel like bringing it home. I haven't even seen the movie. I figured let's see what all the opinions are about. Initially I found the book to be rather beautifully written in some places and captured some fascinating details; especially certain human habits/actions. Other parts were incredibly irritating but I was willing to let it go. Then there is the ending. The ending kind of pissed me off. No. It really pissed me off. It was like the author thought you were enjoying yourself too much so he was going to punch you in the stomach and then hand you a little bill for all of that. "That will be 14.95 please. Exact change only." was he feeling too comfortable and didn't want too much love from his readers? I am putting the damn thing on Paperback swap so I don't have to keep it around the house. I put it in the guest room so I don't have to look at it and go, "what the hell was that all about????"
Maybe I will watch the movie next so I can feel irritated all over again. It does have James McAvoy and I would watch him do laundry. Rawr. Hello Sexy man with sexy accent.
Ahem.
As for other books I am reading that don't inspire my wrath, I am still reading, The Coffee Trader by David Liss; which I am enjoying. I am compiling a list of more things to read. Maybe I will read some cozy murder mystery.
I had an interesting experience with the ice cream I made. I used the amount of salt that it calls for but somehow it seems too much because the ice cream remains pretty soft. It is good, the flavor is appealing so I might make it with a touch less salt to see if that will help things. It even had salted butter. (as the recipe calls for) I might ask the author about it and see if he ever had that problem.
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no subject
Date: 2008-04-26 02:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-26 03:39 am (UTC)I thought so. Poor kid, the rocks looked so tasty.