While I avoid the big purple gorilla in the room (Hi Gorilla!), you may have heard that here in the Chicago area we've been infested with cicadas. Brood 18, the 17-year-cycle cicadas (red-eyed locust freaks), erupted this week - pouring over every outside surface like scurrying, winged lava.

There is, seriously, one on every leaf of my hosta.

At night, you can feel the vibration of the millions of them - moving, molting, mating.

They sound like a vacuum cleaner. They stick like flypaper to whatever they land on. They are harmless, non-toxic, and - let's face it - a little apocolyptic.

And?

Yummy.

Not ME. Sara.

Here's a movie we made this weekend of her snacking down:

Posted by: Elizabeth at 02:44 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
Post contains 124 words, total size 1 kb.

“I am not a Starfleet commander, or T.J. Hooker.

I don't live on Starship NCC-1701 or own a phaser. And I don't know anybody named Bones, Sulu, or Spock. And no, I've never had green alien sex, though I'm sure it would be quite an evening.

I speak English and French, not Klingon! I drink Labatt's, not Romulan ale! And when someone says to me 'Live long and prosper', I seriously mean it when I say, 'Get a life'. My doctor's name is not McCoy, it's Ginsberg. And tribbles were puppets, not real animals. PUPPETS! And when I speak, I never, ever talk like every. Word. Is. Its. Own. Sentence.

I live in California, but I was raised in Montreal. And yes, I've gone where no man has gone before, but I was in Mexico and her father gave me permission! My name is William Shatner, and I am Canadian!”

I've been wrestling demons, in hot gusts of wind. And thinking about personas and people and who I really am.

Then this quote came along and made me laugh iced tea out my nose.

Posted by: Elizabeth at 07:53 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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I'm sorry.

For a long time, I have been dry.

In my bones, my heart, my eyes.

My words have gone cliche, dipped in trite. Silly, predictable, sifting through my fingers.

This is what it is like, on the other side of the decision. The life. The shark.

It is not because of you. God, no. You? I love. Everything about the conversational give and take... I love that you have been editor, audience, critic, and friend.

It is me.

Dry.

In body, mind, and spirit.

I use up a gallon of moisturizer a day. It doesn't help. I drank enough water to blow up my kindneys. It doesn't help. I stood in the rain, looked up and felt it drench my eyelashes and lips.

And it passed through me.

Leaving me back here.

I don't want to leave you.

I don't want to leave me.

I have found myself here so many times....

Oh. This is stupid. Like anyone remembers, later...

Good night, for now.

And thank you.

Posted by: Elizabeth at 04:54 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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There is not much going on here because of all the ruckus. Puppy Sara has turned our world upside-down... I mean that in the best of ways.

And just 2 episodes left and they announce that Gilmore Girls is cancelled?

Dammit.

Oh, and Everyday Stranger's Helen is expecting! (And you'll never guess what....)

Posted by: Elizabeth at 02:50 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 67 words, total size 1 kb.

1 Yeah, we recently got a puppy... I am trying to be gracious about the whole thing...

Posted by: Amber at May 07, 2007 11:24 AM (SOtCJ)

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It's amazing what happens when you let go of the rope...

On Saturday, and not all prodded by my previous post *cough* and all the wonderful advice I got from it, CD and I slashed our expectations of what we can do to get the house ready for sale. Then? We pulled the trigger on ordering a kitchen. The house really can't be sold without a kitchen, or a new roof. The current roof was viciously ripped open this spring by mutant demon-spawn raccoons - who have since moved into the Radisson, complaining that our towels are not 'thirsty' enough for their tastes. Whatever the hell that means.

The current kitchen was, unfortunately, NOT ripped open by the mutant raccoons. That would have actually been helpful, since the demo is going to be a pain. No, the kitchen is just a strange 100-year-old bend in a hallway.

Feeling mighty-dang proud of ourselves, we also decided to pull the trigger on another long-promised adventure....

Please, meet Sara:

She is a 2-month old Golden Retriever/Poodle mix.

A more mellow, soft, sweet girl you have never met.

We're in love.

Posted by: Elizabeth at 12:28 PM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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1 Oh my! She's such a cutie!!!! I am a sucker for the retriever mixes! We've got a black labrador and she's a bundle of trouble, so I hope that Sara is just a sweet, INNOCENT little girl Hehehe. Post more photos! She's a cutie. PS: Congrats on teh kitchen. Living in the house whilst renovating a kitchen is a bit of a nightmare. I hope it's quite and painless for you.

Posted by: Sam at May 01, 2007 12:51 PM (tzase)

2 she's beautiful! Congratulations! And hooray for the new kitchen, they say that's the number one thing you can do to improve your home's value at sale. Good luck!

Posted by: caltechgirl at May 01, 2007 12:55 PM (r0kgl)

3 Okay, there are only a few things that will bring me out of Lurkerdom. One is you mentioning that you might stop writing here, and apparently the other is an EXTREMELY CUTE PUPPY! What a sweetie she is. My parents got a goldendoodle about four months ago, and they absolutely adore her. A new kitchen! That sounds great. But living there during remodeling and then moving out shortly after? Not so much.

Posted by: Sharkey at May 01, 2007 01:18 PM (ZzGbc)

4 I can't wait to hug that cute softie Sara! I am sure Miles and Nikita will LOVE playing with her.

Posted by: laura at May 01, 2007 03:00 PM (Tqoj6)

5 Sarah is absolutely precious ... I'll bet Bear is head over heels in love. Does it sound weird to say that I love the smell of a young puppy? Because they smell sweet to me.

Posted by: Ruth at May 01, 2007 11:57 PM (1pGHA)

6 She is ADORABLE. Yay for cute puppies!

Posted by: Cheryl at May 02, 2007 05:45 AM (eiizs)

7 She's gorgeous! I want one so badly, but the allergies are just not going away. Sigh.

Posted by: Tammy at May 02, 2007 08:10 AM (xO2S4)

8 She is precious! Yay on the kitchen!! It's so nice to take steps forward, isn't it?? We're still doing baby steps around here... which is starting to wear on me.

Posted by: Michele at May 02, 2007 02:53 PM (fcaMV)

9 Oh, she's so cute! Puppy love is good for whatever ails you. What does Maggie think of her? Congrats on moving forward on the kitchen... and heartfelt sympathies on living in the house during the remodel.

Posted by: Kimberly at May 02, 2007 06:35 PM (MxRdB)

10 What an adorable puppy. We have a Wheaten Terrier, so like your GoldiePoo, it doesn't shed, it's so worth the money!! Hope the puppy isn't keeping you up at night, it's just like having a newborn in the house sometimes, minus the sore nipples. Hope the reno goes well, sending good thoughts your way.

Posted by: Angela at May 08, 2007 02:32 AM (E24xZ)

11 I'm in love!! She is simply beautiful. How's the cat?

Posted by: Eyes at May 08, 2007 03:42 AM (L67iN)

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