I meant to post last night, but a certain pup kept nudging my elbow when I quit paying attention to her, so it was impossible.

I've had thoughts about the conflict in Iran, appreciation to those who are posting info, aghast at the blatant election fraud, inspiration at the silent protests, hesitant to wear green myself because I don't see how I can have a voice in Iran for who should lead, but fully support that each Iranian vote should be counted. If they vote in a crazy conservative Holocaust-denier then so be it, but let it be real. Go Iranian people, you are awesome!

I've been meaning to post on the Golden Rose Tourney, appreciation for all those who took pictures, aghast at my fatness in them, the wonderful spirit of the day, the beauty of the procession and the field, and the fun had by most in attendance, despite the heat.

I've been meaning to post more on UofA, how awesome Crois Brigte folks were, the loveliness of the site, my appreciation for Eldred's job well-done holding the custody of the University, my appreciation for those who took my class, fun company of Thjora, and dinner with folks before departing. Oh, and the deer, but that's been told, more or less. BTW, we got the car back from repairs on Monday, she's just as beautiful as new, and I'm grateful that they handled the claim and repairs in a week. F'ing Ay GEICO!

And I'm not sure if I've really said all I wanted to about our last Plimoth trip. Still need to make a "Real Men don't Sparkle, they Spangle" icon of Ansel working on a frame.

But I am still alive, I have an adorable pup, a loving husband, and a nice house I get to actually share with them this weekend. yay!

Happy Anniversary Sweetheart! I love you!

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Unfortunately I only got Alan a dinged fender:

Courtesy of the Death-wish Doe that Kirsten and I "met" on Saturday night.

Car continues to run fine, and was dropped off at an express claim and repair service this morning for evaluation and repairs. Kirsten and I are fine, and though we've been wondering if someone is trying to tell us a Crown Vic isn't the right car for us, one of Alan's co-workers pointed out that we may have damaged cars, but no personal injury claims were necessary. I confess I was quite proud of being able to plow through a deer at 60 MPH and still run just fine and get us safely home does make me very grateful to Serenity.

Not sure what parking karma rules Alan broke, but last night he came home with a note on the car and some scratches and holes in the left front bumper. Apparently while he was in visiting the chiropractor some minivan hit Dark Serenity cracking the headlight, adding some serious scratches, a couple of holes in the bumper, and probably doing some damage to the hidden parts of the bumper system. sigh. Luckily a good Samaritan witnessed the "accident" and left Alan a note with the minivan's license plate number and his contact info. So while working from home he's also been getting a rough estimate on the surface damage, contacting the insurance company, filing a police report, etc. joy of all joys.

So related and not, I've tried to cut back on the Zyrtec when the pollen isn't at peak times and for a few weeks have only been using the Nasonex. This is in an effort to cut back on medications that make me really sleepy, cause I love a good nap, but sleeping in until 1pm when able is a bit much. The apparent side effect of only treating the nasal allergies is that I've been itchy lately. Early this morning I had to get up and take an antihistamine to kill the itchy skin and get back to sleep, but of course that means I overslept since one lasts four hours. I'm still a little scratchy and itchy and trying not to succumb, but autonomic response and all that.

scratch scratch

Things I learned this weekend:

• The chipmunks playing in the backyard exhibit extreme levels of cute, especially the babies.
• During one of the rainstorms we had a guard-chipmunk perched on the azalea by the front door attempting to stay drier, and looking ferocious (ly cute!)
• Alan doesn't comfortably fit in the passenger seat of a Miata
• Some car dealerships are more efficient than others. (SRSLY, I should not have to waste 45 minutes only to be told you can't find the keys to the car or the car I want to test-drive. Avoid DARCARS VW in College Park)
• Finding something to fit both goal #1 (gas efficient) and goal #2 (fun) won't be quick and easy, if keeping to goal #3 (relatively cheap.)
• Watching The Italian Job in the basement only made me want a MINI.
• Even used MINIs, though extremely cute, aren't cheap.
• The comfy brown couch has Ambien like powers
• Sleeping in past 10:30am and taking a nap may be excessive, but it is luxurious.
• Consumer Reports auto issue is valuable, and I really need to remember to take it with me next time, and definitely consult before any purchase. :)

Things I accomplished this weekend:

• sleeping late
• relaxing and reading by the pond and in the comfy chair
• watching movies in the basement
• test drove two cars; meant to try 6 but one was being detailed, one was sold (despite that I asked about it when I called), one couldn't be found and one they couldn't find the keys for.
  
• spent lots of time on autotrader.com,  fueleconomy.gov and kbb.com
• put laundry away

Things I didn't accomplish this weekend:

• sewing
• cleaning
• tidying

Ah well, can't win them all.

Am so very tired. Even after a nice lunch sitting outside in the shade enjoying the breeze, want a nap. Only, want a nap in the shade with breezes. Very tempting to play hooky for the rest of the afternoon and go read a bit in the backyard and watch the birds and chipmunks and squirrels frolic, as well as actually catch the waterlilies in bloom. So very tempting.

But at least I get to sleep in this weekend. Hopefully I won't go as hard-core as I did on Memorial Day, sleeping in until 1pm, but sleeping in until 9am would be nice. snuggly bed of doom. For the first weekend since March 22nd, I am not going out of town, to an in-town event, prepping the house for a party, or otherwise volunteering/working away from home. I plan to enjoy it, and perhaps be a bit productive about the house. Or maybe I'll just bond more with the comfy chair. comfy chair of doom.

I would like to slip in a bit of car shopping though. For a month or more I've been contemplating getting a commuting vehicle for myself. I love my truck, but I've been looking at used, cheap, gas-efficient but reliable vehicles online. Earlier this week Alan poked the newest issue of Wired at me, especially their cover article: Inconvenient Truths: Get Read to Rethink What it Means to Be Green, that provided very interesting food for thought. (I'm not moving into a city, we/family already farms trees, I'm okay with nuclear power and genetic engineering, and have only ever owned a used car.) Last night I asked Alan to log into Consumer Reports and I researched the cars I had found interesting, as well as did some more Autotrader searches based on their recommendations. I figured if I could double my gas-mileage, that's essentially cutting my gas bill in half, and would save wear and tear on my truck for when her capacity is truly needed. So I've found a few deals I want to check out, most in Fairfax/Falls Church areas, but one up in Baltimore. Will also need to call/go online to the insurance company and get quotes on insuring the rough possibilities I have in mind. It could make a particular brand/car a deal breaker, but I am looking at '98-'02's so nothing brand new. Some people have children, some cats, some dogs, we have an army of fish and I want a fleet of cars. Is that too much to ask? I wasn't thinking of moving to NYC, especially now after the crane crash, so I do have room for my fleet, to a point.

On another front, I've got tickets for Alan and I to go see Blondie up in Baltimore next week. Should be fun, we'll get some time together, and we'll check out a new venue. Anyone else interested, it is general admission and we'll see you there.

Now to go back to pondering plans for the Pas in a few weeks...

Thank you to all who made suggestions on cars, but apparently we fear change.

Sorry for lack of update.

Eddie Izzard was fun last night. Our seats down in the orchestra were awesome, and there was even a walking aisle space between the back of our seats and the next row, so no one breathing down our necks or kicking the back of our chairs. Those seated around us were nice and enjoyed the show as well, instead of talking or something rude. Eddie was naturally brilliant and entertaining, and handled the hecklers well. We all had an awesome outing.

Okay, onto the bad: Take Metro as finding parking was the suck. On the plus side, I got a good long walk from and to the truck. DAR Constitution Hall is more suited to musical shows than comedy. The acoustics sucked, and Eddie, being Eddie, is dynamic with the hand gestures and they really needed a headset mic for him.  And finally, there were signs that said no flash photography at the request of the artist. If you respect him enough to buy a ticket, please don't disrupt the performance with your damn flash, and if you insist on taking a really fuzzy bad picture with your camera-phone, do the rest of us a favor and turn off the sound on your phone. sigh. People are such children sometimes.

Wednesday night, Alan and I went to test drive some new to us cars to replace our smashed up Crown Vic. (sorry, I locked the post with the accident details.) He drove a Ford Five Hundred, another Crown Vic in need of some attention, and a Dodge Charger. On the whole, he was unimpressed with the 500, wistful for another Crown Vic, and the favorite was the charger, which was fun but out of our price range. Anyone have any suggestions on comfortable vehicles for Alan's 45 min (sometimes 2 hour) commute to and then from work? He's used to the Crown Vic, so recommendations for a Focus or Yaris will be completely ignored, but suggestions for cars with comfort and power are appreciated.

This weekend is the MD Sheep and Wool Fest. I need to warp up two more frames for practice and display, and determine today if I want to do a display board or what, and if a visit to Staples is necessary...