Late night list
First of all, let me say that I have a deep longing to make this cake. Like, seriously. Holy smokes.
Secondly: I forgot to mention the Case of the Mysterious Bloodstain. Shortly after arriving home Monday morning, I went to lie down and take a short nap before I had to pick up MiniPlu from band camp. Imagine my surprise to find a roughly 2"/5cm diameter bloodstain at the top of the topsheet, on my side of the bed. By evening I noticed a corresponding stain on my pillowcase, as well (it had likely been there as long as the other stain - I just hadn't spotted it earlier). And then on Tues morning, Two noticed a near-identical stain on one of his notepads, which was on the floor of his room. We are all baffled. You'd think someone would have noticed waking up with blood - even dried blood - everywhere on their face and/or body. Both kids denied having had nosebleeds in my absence, of using reddish-brown markers or of snuggling up on my side of the bed. Will doesn't roll over that far, even when I'm gone. The puppy isn't allowed on the bed, and - again - you'd think someone would notice if she was walking around bleeding that much. And the bonus stain on Two's notebook on the floor ... WTF?
My current theory is that a mouse committed seppuku while I was gone. :P
I washed the sheets yesterday but, as I knew would happen, the stain had been in place too long to fully come out, even with being washed twice. The background is white, with a print of tiny hula girls on it - but, yeah, blood + white = bad. On the other hand, at least the stain was reduced to a mild discoloration, which is much less visible. It'll have to do.
Thirdly: I participated in a "Ask me any three questions" meme with piperki. Her questions and my answers :
1. What would you be doing with your life now if you hadn't opted to have kids?
That is a really good question, given that I hadn't really figured it out BEFORE we had kids. I might not have discovered I liked working in libraries. True, I started taking the library tech classes before I volunteered at school - in fact, I started volunteering just so I could get some experience - but I definitely was IN libraries much more because I had kids, back when they were younger.
In the immediate period before children arrived on the scene, what I'd been doing was pouring multiple hours of my day into Fiction Alley as a mod and fic-processor. Obviously, even if I hadn't had kids, that would have dwindled down to almost nothing, as fic processing became automated and the message boards much quieter.
But, yeah ... I don't know. I don't know if I would have continued to try to sell my quilts, or if something else would have come into my life or what.
2. If Hogwarts had a marching band, what instruments would the major characters play?
LOL!! Hmmm.
Hermione would probably be a flute/piccolo, both of which tend to attract Type A perfectionist sorts. Actually, I might peg her as more of a violinist (which tends to be even more Type A), but there are no strings in marching band.
Ron would be drums - something he could bang away on and envision himself a rock star, although actual skill would take awhile. Either that, or with his long arms, he might have been coerced into playing the trombone.
Harry might be a clarinet - he doesn't seek stardom, and thus he wouldn't need something loud. But it has a nice midrange tone to it, which I think he'd find soothing.
Luna would play the Flugelhorn because - flugelhorn. Or she might play percussion - say, cymbals - and bang away to her own internal cadence, regardless of what music is actually being played.
Neville would play one of the large horns, like Euphonium, Sousaphone or Tuba. At first he'd totter and struggle, but would eventually grow into it and nail that mother.
Ginny would play trumpet - an instrument often chosen by boys - and she'd be better at it than anyone.
3. Your gut problems have magically been healed and you will never have a dietary issue again. The kids are at sleepovers and Will is taking you out for a special dinner. Where are you going, and what are you ordering?
We'd probably stick to Italian, but I'd order whatever wheat-based things I wanted, like garlic bread and something heavy on pasta, and enjoy every damn last bite. :D As for the "where" - one of the places we go (Bravo!) has a limited GF menu, which is why we go there, but it would be nice to have free range of the entire menu. Another place we used to really like - Anna Bella's - we had to give up on, as they do NOT offer any GF options, so it might be nice to go back again.
Life otherwise continues apace: tomorrow is the last day of band camp; next week is the last week of summer vacation. The kids had orthodontist appointments today - Two now has to wear the same rubber bands that MiniPlu does (to hook the top and bottom together) and MiniPlu now has such a strong wire on, it took three people to get it to bend in and fit right. I anticipate a lot of moaning tomorrow. The college annual "back to school" picnic for staff was today but had to be held indoors for the first time in the 12 years we've been attending, because of rain. First band parent meeting of the year was last night, mostly old hat, but a few nuggets of useful information. And Two is about to have his very first cell phone activated - he's beyond excited. (K has his SIM card and will bring it this wknd; right now all he can do is play games.)
Secondly: I forgot to mention the Case of the Mysterious Bloodstain. Shortly after arriving home Monday morning, I went to lie down and take a short nap before I had to pick up MiniPlu from band camp. Imagine my surprise to find a roughly 2"/5cm diameter bloodstain at the top of the topsheet, on my side of the bed. By evening I noticed a corresponding stain on my pillowcase, as well (it had likely been there as long as the other stain - I just hadn't spotted it earlier). And then on Tues morning, Two noticed a near-identical stain on one of his notepads, which was on the floor of his room. We are all baffled. You'd think someone would have noticed waking up with blood - even dried blood - everywhere on their face and/or body. Both kids denied having had nosebleeds in my absence, of using reddish-brown markers or of snuggling up on my side of the bed. Will doesn't roll over that far, even when I'm gone. The puppy isn't allowed on the bed, and - again - you'd think someone would notice if she was walking around bleeding that much. And the bonus stain on Two's notebook on the floor ... WTF?
My current theory is that a mouse committed seppuku while I was gone. :P
I washed the sheets yesterday but, as I knew would happen, the stain had been in place too long to fully come out, even with being washed twice. The background is white, with a print of tiny hula girls on it - but, yeah, blood + white = bad. On the other hand, at least the stain was reduced to a mild discoloration, which is much less visible. It'll have to do.
Thirdly: I participated in a "Ask me any three questions" meme with piperki. Her questions and my answers :
1. What would you be doing with your life now if you hadn't opted to have kids?
That is a really good question, given that I hadn't really figured it out BEFORE we had kids. I might not have discovered I liked working in libraries. True, I started taking the library tech classes before I volunteered at school - in fact, I started volunteering just so I could get some experience - but I definitely was IN libraries much more because I had kids, back when they were younger.
In the immediate period before children arrived on the scene, what I'd been doing was pouring multiple hours of my day into Fiction Alley as a mod and fic-processor. Obviously, even if I hadn't had kids, that would have dwindled down to almost nothing, as fic processing became automated and the message boards much quieter.
But, yeah ... I don't know. I don't know if I would have continued to try to sell my quilts, or if something else would have come into my life or what.
2. If Hogwarts had a marching band, what instruments would the major characters play?
LOL!! Hmmm.
Hermione would probably be a flute/piccolo, both of which tend to attract Type A perfectionist sorts. Actually, I might peg her as more of a violinist (which tends to be even more Type A), but there are no strings in marching band.
Ron would be drums - something he could bang away on and envision himself a rock star, although actual skill would take awhile. Either that, or with his long arms, he might have been coerced into playing the trombone.
Harry might be a clarinet - he doesn't seek stardom, and thus he wouldn't need something loud. But it has a nice midrange tone to it, which I think he'd find soothing.
Luna would play the Flugelhorn because - flugelhorn. Or she might play percussion - say, cymbals - and bang away to her own internal cadence, regardless of what music is actually being played.
Neville would play one of the large horns, like Euphonium, Sousaphone or Tuba. At first he'd totter and struggle, but would eventually grow into it and nail that mother.
Ginny would play trumpet - an instrument often chosen by boys - and she'd be better at it than anyone.
3. Your gut problems have magically been healed and you will never have a dietary issue again. The kids are at sleepovers and Will is taking you out for a special dinner. Where are you going, and what are you ordering?
We'd probably stick to Italian, but I'd order whatever wheat-based things I wanted, like garlic bread and something heavy on pasta, and enjoy every damn last bite. :D As for the "where" - one of the places we go (Bravo!) has a limited GF menu, which is why we go there, but it would be nice to have free range of the entire menu. Another place we used to really like - Anna Bella's - we had to give up on, as they do NOT offer any GF options, so it might be nice to go back again.
Life otherwise continues apace: tomorrow is the last day of band camp; next week is the last week of summer vacation. The kids had orthodontist appointments today - Two now has to wear the same rubber bands that MiniPlu does (to hook the top and bottom together) and MiniPlu now has such a strong wire on, it took three people to get it to bend in and fit right. I anticipate a lot of moaning tomorrow. The college annual "back to school" picnic for staff was today but had to be held indoors for the first time in the 12 years we've been attending, because of rain. First band parent meeting of the year was last night, mostly old hat, but a few nuggets of useful information. And Two is about to have his very first cell phone activated - he's beyond excited. (K has his SIM card and will bring it this wknd; right now all he can do is play games.)