Werewolves of London would be more welcome

Well, folks, it looks like we have a coyote problem in my backyard.

To quote Henry, "it's the talk of the neighborhood."

One of my neighbors called last week to say that neighbor A had seen 3 coyotes in the woods behind all of our houses at 3:30 in the afternoon and neighbor B had often heard them howling and making other "terrible noises" associated with celebrating a kill at 3 a.m.

On Friday I spoke to my next door neighbor who said, he heard them every night last week except for one. And yet another neighbor, let's call her C, had seen them in her yard at 9:30 at night. Mr. Next Door was certain that the pack had been attracted by the sheep that were being raised a few streets over. (We live in a garden variety suburb, but yes, someone thought it was a good idea to raise some sheep). According to Mr. Next Door, another guy, who knows a girl, who knows this guy said that he'd seen the sheep being loaded into a truck. So maybe, just maybe, the coyotes would move onto new areas once their major food sources had dried up.

Then I spoke to the original neighbor again. She has now heard them howling at night so loudly that she was too freaked out to watch TV, had to chase one out of her (fenced) yard, and spotted a pack of four skulking about at dusk.

As for me, I have neither seen nor heard anything out of the ordinary. I don't know whether to be disappointed or relieved. But I do know that I'm being even more careful than usual about keeping Sufi from escaping to the great outdoors.

P.S. Thanks to everyone for welcoming me back.

Where ya been?

I can't really say why I've been absent for more than two months.

I was really sick for most of October with what I can only assume was H1N1. I still haven't gone back to the gym.

I've got a newish gig writing a concert calendar for Donnybrook that gets picked up by the Huffington Post. You can see the archive here.

But mostly since the kids are in school I don't run up to the computer to escape from my children as often. When they are home Lucy really seems to need me in the afternoon, and in the evening I'm truly exhausted and don't feel like reliving any part of my day.

And then there's the sad truth, that once Lumpyhead's mom joined facebook, I really had no one left to blog for.

I am not any closer to making a decision about what to be when I grow up. If anything, it feels like a pipe dream as I have about one extra hour free during the day while the kids are in school, and the after school hours are filled with home work and the occasional trip to the library.

This entire fall has passed and I've felt disconnected and disoriented, not unlike David Byrne in the Talking Heads' classic "Once in a Lifetime." Same as it ever was. Here comes the twister.

First phone call of the year

It's good to know my kids still need me. Or at least one of them does. On the seventh day of school my cell phone rang. It was the school nurse telling me that Henry had been in her office because "he didn't think he could make it through the day without his nose spray." I went home, stuffed some kleenex in my pocket and headed over to his school.

When I arrived I noticed Lucy's class was standing in the front hallway, and I got a very warm greeting of "Mama!" from her. Then the fire drill went off. I waited with Lucy's class during the fire drill, listening to one girl mumble "I want to go home. Don't you see that I want to go home." When Lucy stumbled into her by mistake she snapped, "What are you doing?" I asked Lucy about the girl later that day, she said, "Oh, that's A. We said, 'hi, what's your name? Now we're friends."

I gave Lucy a quick good bye and headed off to find Henry, who seemed only mildly congested. We stood in the hall while I shot salty water up his nose. The school nurse and I decided that we can leave a bottle in her office should such an emergency arise again.

It's not exactly the way I'd hoped to meet Henry's teacher for the first time, but she seemed to take everything in stride, and mostly seemed concerned that he got what he needed. Maybe we'll have another good year. My fingers are crossed.

Today's career direction: Maybe I'll become a pilates or yoga instructor since I seem to have found time for exercise and not much else.

Miles to go

Today was the first day that I walked back into the house and it didn't immediately feel terribly empty and far too quiet.

Both kids like school. Lucy is full of "other kids'" stories of feeling sad and getting in trouble. I expect that their enthusiasm will wane as the novelty wears off and the homework begins to pile on, but it has been very gratifying to be tackled by two smiling children each day as they exit the bus.

My plan to clear my head and think big thoughts has hit an initial snag: I still don't have much free time! After I exercise, run errands, and feed myself I'm left with no more than a total of an hour and a half until the bus arrives. While that is more than enough time to write record reviews or read a book, it's hardly enough time to pursue meaningful part time work. Obviously if I did that, some other things would have to change as well.

I'm introducing a regular feature to WWW (tiny drumroll...)

Today's career direction: working seems like a pipe dream, but feeling a slight pull to return to get an Ph.D. in English to explore relationship between poetic structure and depression.

It's part horoscope, part weather forecast and 100% useless.

Time out of mind

So tomorrow Lucy starts Kindergarten and while I'm hoping it will be a fresh start for me I know it's unrealistic to think that six free hours a day will turn me back into the bright-eyed, fast-thinking person I once was. Is it too much to hope that I'll stop getting stupider with each passing year?

Some things will definitely change, like having to type with the TV on. As I type this Lucy is watching some atrocious Nick Jr. show with young adults doing hip-hop in animal costumes; it's a little distracting. I do hope that having a break from direct childcare will free my mind to think about other things, such as what kind of work I might enjoy, or whether six hours a day, 10 months a year is even a realistic framework to pursue meaningful work.

I feel poised for change in a few other ways too. Venus is going on an indefinite hiatus (sigh), so I'll be spending less time writing and interviewing in the near future. Plus I've recently connected/re-connected with some friends (thanks, Facebook) which makes my social and musical life in Buffalo feel more complete. I suspect the next six years here will look quite different than the first six, and I'm happy about that.

I doubt Lucy will have the difficulties with school that Henry has had. She makes friends easily and already knows more kids than he did at the end of first grade. I also know that we won't be on auto-pilot. While Henry took easily to academics, I will be surprised if this is true for Lucy as well. I think she will be stunned by the amount of work her teacher expects her to do.

She still needs me now, so completely. She still cheers when I tell her that I'm going to get her dressed (which means I'll stand there and supervise for the sake of expediency). At the moment she's whining for me to join her saying, "I just want you." She just wants me to sit on the couch and watch crappy kids TV and hold her hand. And I'd be lying if I said I won't miss it that. But I'd be lying if I didn't also admit that it needs to end.

Kent Island vacation photo collage

not pictured: the jellyfish that kept us out of the water for several days, the ne'er do well kids that cops chased into our bushes at 1 am, the edge of Hurricane Bill that flooded the laundry room soaking several guests including Aunt Bob, and the dozen bunches of pine needles that Randy pulled out of the gutter to stop said flood.

Worry is money paid on a debt that never comes due

A bunch of annoying stuff has happened lately:

1. We just paid over $1000 for maintenance to our van, and a basic repair to the a/c. Now, with only a few days until we drive to MD for vacation, the fan on the a/c only works at a super high, noisy setting. At least it still works.

2. Our shower is leaking again. I called the guy who repaired it in January, but my confidence in him is shaky, since, well, the shower is leaking again. We're all grateful that it's not our only shower.

These two things would bother me less if we weren't about to leave town because I know we can't get either fixed before we go.

3. I spent two days last week cleaning the house and preparing for some friends to visit us for the night. Their plan was to arrive "well before dinner" so I planned that as well. But their lousy time management skills meant that they arrived about 4 and a half hours late -- and they still wanted to be fed! Cary had taken the day off, and the four of us spent the entire day just waiting for them to arrive. They really are lovely people, and I did my best to enjoy the time with them once they got here, but it was definitely colored by my frustration.

This came on the heels of my not being able to have my niece visit us for a week because my sister-in-law decided at the last minute to take a family vacation. It was the second time that she canceled my niece's visit this summer. I won't be making that offer again.

I recognize that it's not in my nature to be terribly flexible. I try. But even though I know these kind of events are neither important in the long term, nor a reflection on me, they still upset me.

You cannot sell what you do not own

Buffalo Craigslist is the worst. I regularly peruse the furniture section looking for Mid-century modern or Danish modern pieces. And here is what I find:

1. Every sofa doubles as a recliner.
2. Natuzzi is common, as is pleather.
3. Dinning room furniture.
4. 75 gallon fish tanks and fire places with "light up" logs

Where are the vintage fiberglass Herman Miller chairs? Where are the Heywood Wakefield dressers?

And then I remembered, the population of wny can't unload its cool furniture for astonishingly cheap prices because no one ever bought it in the first place.

Camping photos

Here are a few pics from the expedition to Seneca Lake. Henry and Lucy in jammies with glow sticks, and then our delicious post-camp recovery meal.

Ah, Wilderness

Cary and I agreed (perhaps even suggested) that we spend Saturday night camping on Seneca Lake with our friends who are very outdoorsy. Since we were not planning to cook anything at the campsite, our friends went up a day early so they could make spider dogs and hike. They have a 3 y.o., and a 3 month old. So, yeah, they're pretty intrepid.

Cary and I thought we'd take our kids camping before they developed the same distaste we have for sleeping in the out of doors.

Things started to go wrong not long after we hit the road. We forgot pillows! So we stopped at the Batavia Target to pick up some extras. Our friend called just as we were exiting the highway. I thought he was checking in, but later we found out that he was hoping we hadn't left yet, so we could go look for the rest of the parts of the tent we were borrowing from his mom! (I'm really glad I didn't know that until later.) So his family went to the Watkins Glen Wal-Mart and bought us a tent, which was very sweet. After all, he could have just asked me to pick one up at Target while I was there.

Our first planned stop was at the Fox Run Vinyards Garlic Festival. It was a fun event, full of wine, maple syrup cotton candy, and garlic farmers selling both fresh garlic and products made from the bulb or the scape. I even got some to plant in my yard this fall. So far, so good.

Next we were headed to Earle Estates Meadery since everyone was curious what meade tastes like. When we arrived our friends were nowhere to be found. Their cell phone was off. (Why? Not sure.) So we spent about half an hour waiting and wondering, dodging invitations from a Karaoke-type performer to join him so he could, "play something from The Little Mermaid for the kids." Once our friends arrived (after driving 20 minutes out of the way on a hunch), it was time to try some meade. Overall it was kind of like dessert wine, but less syrupy, and pretty delicious.

Then we drove to the southern tip of Seneca Lake and took a ride on a 75 year old wooden boat. When the Capt. asked if there were any children who wanted to volunteer to drive the boat, Lucy's hand was the first in the air. Henry eventually volunteered as well. Fun all around.

We had dinner at a lackluster restaurant in Watkins Glen, then headed to the campsite. I was a little concerned that the tent we were sleeping in hadn't been opened or assembled and it was already the children's bedtime, but I was determined to have fun.

Once we arrived at the campsite, Cary looked out and said, "Well, we're just an hour and a half from home. We could just turn around." I did want to leave right then. Not only could we see a guardrail at the far side of the campsite, but not even 20 yards away the neighboring campers were playing Thumper, screaming , "What's the name of the game? Thumper? And why do we play the game? To get fucked up!" To their credit they changed the words once they heard the voices of our little children.

For me the low point was when I took Lucy to the bathroom (which was @ least 150 yards from the tent) to change into pajamas and realized I was putting on clean clothes while I dripped with sweat. Surely we would all just keep sweating and then freeze that night.

Cary played his guitar around the campfire, and the kids had glow sticks and s'mores, but the kids really had trouble settling down, and I couldn't relax either. We'd planned to have wine, but no one really wanted it, nor did we need another reason to pee in the middle of the night.

We went to bed around 9:30, but I've got no idea when we actually fell asleep.

These are some of the thoughts we had while not sleeping:

Cary said he felt more empathy for Hurricaine Katrina victims.
I thought about what it must be like to be homeless
Cary thought about the Stephen King story where a time traveler fails to fall asleep and experiences eternity.
I thought about our friend who was waking up every few hours to nurse her baby.

Cary said the next we camped it would be in a tent that had a foundation and brick walls.

Around 3 am it started to rain, not just a sprinkle, but a full-blown storm with thunder and lightning. I'm very happy to report that the new tent didn't leak, and until Henry had to go to the bathroom at 5:30 the tent was dry inside.

As we made our way home we still couldn't understand why people like camping. What a hassle! And we didn't even cook, or put up our own tent. But we did enjoy spending time with our friends, but next time we're going to Toronto, in a hotel with a pool!

Just wondering

Am I falling asleep at my desk because I ate five Cappuccino Meringue cookies or because I've reduced my coffee consumption to 4 cups a day (1/4 decaf)? These cookies are so delicious, like a Tim Horton's Iced Cappuccino in cookie form.

Would it be a bad idea to double up on the cookies and the coffee? Probably.

Latest Donnybrook review = The Fiery Furnaces I'm Going Away.

Stalking the Red Ruby Throat

I've been trying to get a good hummingbird photo for a few days. The hummingbirds come right up to the dining room window and land on the crocosmia. Lucy was standing next to me, dressed in full princess garb, waving her wand, and somehow the bird didn't fly away.

If We've Got to Burn Out Let's Do It Together

The kids and I are recovering from a busy weekend that included Cary's and my high school reunion (in three acts with a relatively predictable cast of characters), and a birthday party at Lasertron for Henry.

I was slightly horrified that I'd be sending him off to a party where he'd pretend to shoot other eight year olds, but I gave in because I hate for him to miss a social opportunity. I think that means that I was a victim of peer pressure.

The reunion was pretty fun and very tiring. It unlocked the dusty spaces of my brain and dated memories came flooding out. Everything from the origin of inside jokes to all of the things we did, that now as parents, seem like they were a bad idea. (See previous paragraph for an explanation as to how we got to do them in the first place). I was "in charge of the music" which just meant creating a play list for the evening, heavy on 80s one-hit wonders and 70s classic rock meant to please my classmates more than myself.

Looking at old pictures revealed that wow, all the girls had BIG hair. If there had been a prize for the puffiest bangs, we were all in the running. I think Kirsta wins, not because her hair was the biggest, but because she told us how they had to prop her head against the wall when she got a spiral perm because the rods were too heavy!

Catch a tiger by the toe

Henry and Lucy started camp today, which means I might have a precious few hours to myself this summer! I don't think I've seen Lucy in such a happy mood since school ended.

She's also very excited about our new composter (It's not pretty, but if it cuts down on my garbage I'll be pleased). If she keeps her enthusiasm up it will certainly help me stay excited.

Plus she surprised me by reciting an adorably mangled version of "Eenee Meenee Miney Mo" tonight.

New review at Donnybrook: White Rabbits It's Frightening

So much wrong, so little time

So Lucy has been done with school since mid-May. I realize that these last few weeks represent the last time that she and I will have alone before her schedule is exactly like Henry's. Which only makes it more poignant that she is driving me crazy!!! Thank God camp starts next week. I need a break. Also it's 8:45 am and she's still asleep. Sweet, sweet relief!

The unexpected down side of getting the Dyson was that Lucy is now obsessed with vacuuming. She wants to spend hours with her toy shop vac, a noisy contraption that doesn't actually pick up anything. When she's not doing that she likes to report to me that "the house is really dirty" or "the garage really needs to be cleaned." When I try to take the vacuum away from her,so I can hear myself think, horizontal tears ensue.

Now it's time for a little game called What's Causing my Migraine:

1. I've not been exercising because hauling both kids to the gym playroom at their current age is too unwieldy. As a result I'm really cranky, all the time.

2. Or it could be that Lucy caused such a scene in the hair dressers on Tuesday that one of the stylists (not mine) gave her a lollipop to shut her up. Nice, right? Then she added to me, "I'm trying to concentrate here (+eyeroll)." Not so nice. My lovely hairdresser actually called the next day to apologize for her coworker, which was not necessary, but made me me feel a little better.

3. Or could it be that we're preparing to host a small section of Cary's family for dinner tonight and I need to shop, clean, and cook with two bored kids at my feet.

Almost forgot:

Future of the Left review up at Donnybrook
Gossip review up at Venus

The joyous, the sad, and the soon to be cleaner

Three things happened today that marked the end of my childhood. Or forced me to acknowlege that, oh yeah, it's over.

1. My friend Steph had her first baby. He's healthy and she's doing well. She's also 37 and probably the last of my friends to take the plunge into motherhood. I have to fight the impulse to shower her with gifts she doesn't want and advice she probably doesn't need.

2. Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett died. Of course, you knew this, but my kids have no idea who either of them were and there's no way I can explain it to them. I wasn't a huge fan of either, but both were such specific cultural markers.

Farrah: I was five, living in Eagle Heights when an episode of Charlie's Angels scared the bejeezus out of me. The killer left clown dolls at the crime scene. Shiver.
Michael Jackson: I was twelve, listening to "Billie Jean" in Sonia Jun's basement. I never had a sparkly glove, but I did have a pair of silver, sparkly socks.

3. I bought a Dyson vacuum cleaner. My stairs are clean and my lampshades are dust free. I've never been more excited about a domestic purchase, probably ever.

Hello, is this thing on?

This blog has been horribly neglected lately. Mainly this is because I'm avoiding the computer because it hurts my back, so I don't end up deciding to post.

But yesterday had some WWW moments. Henry performed in his 2nd grade play as Uncle Henry in a loose adaptation of the Wizard of Oz. He also had his unofficial violin debut, since Uncle Henry played a version of "Old Joe Clark."

But that's not what went wrong. It's more about how we got to that point.
1. Henry had hassled a neighbor on the bus because they both wanted to sit with the same kid. Then he ran away and burst into tears when I tried to discuss it with him.
2. Lucy emerged from the bathroom with a clump of poo stuck to the back of her skirt. I discovered this just as she was about to climb up in my lap. So, we both needed to bathe before we could go to the play.
3. Right before we were supposed to leave I dropped a recycling bin on my toe. It was still bleeding throughout the performance.

But while there is a certain amount of comic ridiculousness in those events, mostly I will remember how excited Henry was to be in the play. I'm stunned by the amount of work the teachers put in to get 100 plus second graders to pull it off.




And I've got three new reviews to share on Donnybrook:
Miss Kittin and the Hacker Two: http://godonnybrook.com/home/?p=3089
John Vanderslice Romanian Names: http://godonnybrook.com/home/?p=3059
Black Moth Super Rainbow Eating Us: http://godonnybrook.com/home/?p=3116

Plus my interview with Annie Clark (St. Vincent) is available in the Summer issue of Venuszine. On sale now, yo.

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Now playing: Deerhunter - Vox Celeste

Not much to report

I realized that my kids are old enough now that stuff is not going wrong at every turn. Sure, I'm still doing some things I'd prefer not to for them, such as cleaning dried blood off the carpet when one of them has a nosebleed (which has been about every night of late), but it seems as if we no longer create an entertaining barrage of foibles and missteps. But that's good, right? Right?

I've been busy getting the garden ready for summer, and have been spending less time on the computer. As fascinating as this type of material is for you all, dear readers, I've not been too motivated to share anything.

Thought I am almost done with the baby blanket that sent me to Physical Therapy. Maybe I'll even post a picture or two.

I've got a couple things up on Donnybrook: Jarvis Cocker's Further Complications and Akron/Family's Set 'Em Wild Set 'Em Free.

Illness, be gone. You are not welcome here.

1. Henry is still sick. At bedtime last night I was so sure he would go to school today until he woke up with a fever, again. Now he's on amoxicillin for a sinus infection.

2. I forgot that Lucy had Spanish this morning, so she missed the last class. And the pinata.

3. I made three separate stops to repair, and deliver Cary's eyeglasses.

4. I spilled coffee grounds all over the floor.

5. I had a migraine.

But there have been a few bright spots.

1. The bird feeder has been loaded with Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. I saw an Eastern Bluebird today too.

2. My review of the latest St. Vincent record is up at Donnybrook. See also my review of the Pink Mountaintops, also at Donnybrook.

3. Plus Henry decided on his own to take a two hour nap this afternoon, so at least I was spared from having to listen to my kids bicker during that time. And, as a bonus, he seems to be feeling better. I really hope he can go to school on Friday.

I traded my plot of land for a plane to anywhere

Henry made it to sleep tonight without choking on his own mucus. I'm sure that's success by any estimation, but I still feel really low.

I tried to work through the trough by actually working. I edged the flower beds and power washed the deck. I procured a dessert for the dinner that Henry and I had to miss. While Lucy and Cary were at our friend's house for dinner Henry ate Lipton chicken noodle soup and I had a Lean Cuisine.

Hope things look up next week.