This is a slightly confusing issue for me, because I'm a huge Bewitched fan (with a webpage devoted to Liz and Bewitched) and a witch. Basically, TV Land is giving the city of Salem a 9 foot bronze statue of Samantha Stephens (opening credits cartoon version) sitting on her broom to be placed in a busy public park and the city powers that be have voted that it's OK.
Is it tacky? Yes
Is it blatant commercialism? Yes
Is a big cartoon statue of a witch incongruous in the midst of a 300+ year old town? Yes
Will it hurt tourism in Salem? No, it will be yet another photo-op for tourists
Will it actually be harmful to Wicca? No, if anything it will soften the public's image of witches even further, which in this scary fundamentalist age can't do anything but be helpful
Do I love that cartoon image? Yes, I have a little bobble head of Samantha sitting on my desk and there are about another dozen little Bewitched collectibles on the bookcases behind me (Barbies, salt & pepper shakers and more kitsch).
Am I pissed at TV Land? No way, they've saved so many of the shows I grew up with and presented them in both a tasteful and fun format so today's audience's can discover them for themselves. And BTW, TV Land has also placed statues of other TV icons in appropriate cities: Mary Richards in Minneapolis, Bob Hartley in Chicago, Ralph Kramden in New York, and Andy and Opie Taylor in Raleigh, NC.
Do I still want to visit Salem someday? Hell yes!
For more opinions and info see below:
Bewitched statue plan bothers, bewilders
Bewitched statue gets go-ahead
TV Squad - Salem says yes to Bewitched statue
"Bewitched in Salem" (Thomas Doherty article) & Witches Voice Readers Comments
In city of witch killings, Bewitched statue may be a curse
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered
Too tired to type, we just had our big annual Halloween party, Sparky just went to bed and I'm headed there now that the house is back to it's popcorn-free state ;-) Lots of people, lots of energy in the air tonght, you could tell everyone needed a party. The kitty stayed in hiding in the bedroom all night so she was anxious to come out and explore at 2 am when everyone left. We rushed around to pick up all of the costume residue, feathers, and crushed M&M's etc before she could get to them.
And we've got the wonderful fall time change tonight, so it's actually my normal 6am bedtime right now, but Sparky should be sleeping much later than usual. My monitor has been blinking like crazy tonight so if I disappear for a day or so that will be why.
I got lucky and found one of my black velvet gothic dresses that I hadn't worn since 1998 (and still fit) and I wore it with my most comfortable granny boots but by the end of the night I had several large blisters and my feet have completely given out. I really miss having wall to wall carpet at times like these (sigh).
I'll put a few pics up when I've recovered. My main goal for Sunday, other than to sleep late and hand out candy, is to try and get all of my eBay stuff for the weekend packed to mail out on Monday. I told myself I wasn't going to have any auctions ending this weekend, but I did anyway.
And Tuesday I don't want to have to worry about anything but going to vote (and watching the results). We actually went to one of the early voting places the other evening, but there were like 100+ people in line and the wait was outdoors, so we decided just to go to our neighborhood elementary (which I actually attended!) so I can wax nostalgic and we can wait in the air conditioning. I'm hoping we'll get lucky and everyone in our neighborhood has already voted early or by absentee (I can dream, can't I?).
Off to see if I still have my Origins peppermint foot cream, tonight would be a good time to use some...
Wednesday Mind Hump for this week, I have a total lack of imagination tonight, maybe this will help...
01. You are a character from a children fairy tale or nursery rhyme. Who are you and why? Matilda, Who Told Such Dreadful Lies, and was Burned to Death, because I'm weird and I like that story (can you tell I don't have kids?)
Within an hour the Gallant Band
Were pouring in on every hand,
From Putney, Hackney Downs and Bow.
With Courage high and Hearts a-glow,
They galloped, roaring through the Town,
‘Matilda’s House is Burning Down!’
Inspired by British Cheers and Loud
Proceeding from the Frenzied Crowd,
They ran their ladders through a score
Of windows on the Ball Room Floor;
And took Peculiar Pains to Souse
The Pictures up and down the House,
Until Matilda’s Aunt succeeded
In showing them they were not needed;
And even then she had to pay
To get the men to go away!
It happened that a few Weeks later
Her Aunt was off to the Theatre
To see that Interesting Play
The Second Mrs Tanqueray.
She had refused to take her Niece
To hear this Entertaining Piece:
A Deprivation Just and Wise
To Punish her for Telling Lies.
That Night a Fire did break out -
You should have heard Matilda Shout!
You should have heard her Scream and Bawl,
And throw the window up and call
To People passing in the Street -
(The rapidly increasing Heat
Encouraging her to obtain
Their confidence) - but all in vain!
For every time She shouted ‘Fire!’
They only answered ‘Little Liar!’
And therefore when her Aunt returned,
Matilda, and the House, were Burned.
02. You are a magic potion. What is your main ingredient(s) and what are you used for? For some unknown reason cinnamon keeps popping into my brain. I like cinnamon on toast with sugar and butter, but it is a tremendously potent spice, walking into most craft and import shops the smell of cinnamon that hits you in the face at the front door makes my eyes water. And a little mandrake root, which must be harvested at midnight by the deaf because the sound it makes when it's pulled from the ground will drive anyone within hearing insane. Glitter, because it's so pretty and can never be completely removed once it's thrown. And some rosemary, lavender and cloves to smell pretty. When thrown I would neutralize the irrational anger in the world and raise people levels of common sense. And perhaps add a few IQ points to those in need.
03. Tell us your favorite joke. It can be naughty but clean up the language, puhleeze. I don't really a favorite, I'm an awful joke teller. I do like the official funniest joke in the world of 2002, though...
He gasps: "My friend is dead! What can I do?" The operator says: "Calm down, I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead." There is a silence, then a gunshot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says: "OK, now what?"
04. Imagine you're in the Old West. What town character would you be and what would your colorful nickname be? Example: School Marm - Old Widow Maples... Dead Eye Tish, because I'd always have a pistol and I'd be such an expert shot that no one would mess with me ;-)
05. You are a mythological diety/god. What are you the god of? What offering(s) would worshippers lay at your feet? If one displeased you how would you smite them? I'd like to be Diana/Artemis (there's a bit of a feminist theme to these answers), because she's brave, beautiful and a wild creature. Hmmmm... I'd like offerings of the finest foods, lots of dark chocolate and cured meats. If someone pissed me off I would make them feel guilt for every wrong they've ever done, feel the pain of anyone/thing they've ever hurt. (Wow, I'm mean! Must be the PMS...)
Well the port has made my teeth numb and my headache a bit better, which was my goal. I haven't had any alcohol since I re-started the Atkins diet, I feel much happier now :-) I think I may sneak off to bed and read some more on my vampire novel, which is nice and quiet and has no explosions [aahhh]. I want to get her newest Southern vampire installment, but it's in hardback only right now, which really sucks, not so much for just the price, but because I have the first three in paperback.
I found a new vampire/witch novel the other day which looks really great (and has Charlaine Harris's endorsement on the fabulous cover), Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison, which I can't wait to start on. I love browsing at Borders, they don't have the best prices but they have a really eclectic selection of featured books and music.
I almost forgot, depending on where you live it's Beltane - May Day.
The last of the Celtic spring fertility festivals, after Imbolc and Ostara (known in the Christian calendar as St Bridget’s Feast Day and Easter), Beltane marked the arrival of summer. In May, trees leaf out in vibrant green and flowers open their buds to the sun. For ancient agrarian peoples, bellies empty after the long winter, May brought hope for abundant harvests to come. Still, a bountiful harvest was not assured, for tender young crops are susceptible to frost and blight. Believing that the Wheel of the Year would not turn without human intervention, the ancient Celts performed a myriad of rituals to ensure the return of the Sun so necessary to the fertility of the Earth.
“Beltane” is thought to mean “bright fire” or “fire of Bel”, Bel being a Celtic sun god known as the “Bright and Shining One”. Purification fires were an essential part of ancient Beltane celebrations, magically bringing the light and warmth of the sun down to earth and ensuring good fortune, healthy livestock and abundant harvests...
For the rest of the legend check out Gaelsong's nice writeup on Beltane, from whence the above came. I need to learn how people make those little boxes for quoted type on their weblogs...
What else, oh yes, the finale of Mad Mad House was last night. Two hours of sitting on the couch, I really was in suspense and kind of wanted both girls to win. I really thought Nichole would win, but they picked Jamie, who finally won her first trial. I thought it was terribly unfair that Eric got to add an extra rock to Nichole in the hanging trial, though, like he wouldn't pick her. And she stayed up for like another hour, to her credit. I was glad Eric didn't win, though, all he did was badmouth Nichole the whole time he was there, which was hardly sporting, and she never said a bad word about anyone, even though she was constantly chattering away.
I don't watch reality shows, but I will watch Season Two when it comes around. This season was so awe-inspiring, lots of healthy eating, love and self care, meditation and inner self-seeking, next season looks like it's going to be Mean Mean World. The Alts tenatively scheduled are: a necromancer, a martial arts expert, a dominatrix, a kemet and a warlock. Now I knew about the necromancer because that's what they asked me about and I gave them a referral. The dominatrix should be fun, and someone seriously into Eastern studies/martial arts disciplines could be very interesting (anyone see Kill Bill 2?). Read that a kemet is something to do with Egyptian cat worship (?), but a warlock? Who calls themselves that? A male witch is a witch. Perhaps they mean someone into Ceremonial Magick, or someone really into the black arts. Or maybe a Satanist? Can they do that on TV in this conservative decade? Now, I know a Satanist doesn't actually worship Satan (really, they worship themselves), just as witches don't worship Satan (we don't believe he even exists), but the general public doesn't.
Who knows... But if the Christian contestants were uncomfortable with Fiona's white magic rituals, what are they going to do with a necromancer and a warlock? I know people that compete on reality shows have no shame and usually are kind of low on the moral scale, but hopefully they can find another group of ultra-conservative folks for season two. They need to come back to Texas, you can't swing a stick here without hitting a bunch of conservative church-types.
But I'm still a little disappointed that Jamie won. Yes, she said she'd give up her job as a stripper, who wouldn't for $100,000? She and Noel were the neediest of the money, but Nichole did seem to work the hardest, especially with everyone else against her. I liked Bonnie the best, but she came into the game with a curious open mind and a big heart, so of course she was eliminated early. Out of all the guests on the show she was the only one I could really relate to.
Oh, FYI, The Vampire Don.com is up and running, very nicely done, looks like a lot of the goth/vampire sites out there. I still can't believe he could even hold a bowling ball with those nails...
Had to make a new category, I look at a lot of blogs but don't have as much time to read them all as I wish, but better to be a good blogger and pass them on than just store them in my ever-growing bookmark list. I'm afraid I'm still stuck in the "website" mindset when it comes to links, etc., even though I've had this blog up for over a year.
Flipping around lately I've found some really great ones. SistersTalk is a black lesbian woman's astute observations on the insanity going on politically in our screwed up world.
A View From A Broad is the LiveJournal of a female soldier in Iraq who is also a fan girl, which makes for some interesting reading. I scared the crap out of my parents in high school by talking to Army recruiters (who called the house repeatedely), but decided any job that makes you get up at the crack of dawn daily would not work for me. In high school I had no clue what to do for a career, I graduated in 1980. Signed on for Computer Science like most of my friends, but after failing Calculus three times decided I really hated the sciences, and, at the time, really sucked at computers. (We're talking punch cards here, folks).
Baghdad Burning is another perspective on the war from an Iraqi woman's point of view. Eerie and enlightening, like reading Anne Frank's journal online in real time.
Feministe is a mom who defends abortion rights in a common sense & logical fashion. (I'm all for logic & common sense, not nearly enough of it out there to go around these days)
I don't really understand I Am Eating My Husband's Soul, sort of an ongoing fantasy scenario thing, but it's damned funny and the writing is first rate.
WitchyBitch has a pagan point of view and a great name ;-)
What else have I forgotten... Well, the one year anniversary of the war, of course. All the peace marches that went on around the world. I've been looking at a lot of political sites and blogs, have more links of interest to add this week. Sparky and I are eagerly watching to see if the not-so-liberal media is going to stay on the Richard Clarke story, this is the strangest administration I've ever seen, though, they're seemingly bulletproof. I think if someone had an actual video and witnesses of Bush drowning a puppy the diehards would still say it was false. I'm honestly not sure what evidence people are going to need to see through what's going on right in front of them. If only we could catch him getting a blowjob... I'm going to make a new category for Political Rants, I think, there's going to be too much going on the rest of this year and I'll need a place to put it. A friend recently accused me of hating Dubya and his buddies, I don't hate them, they scare the crap out of me! For more of my opinions on this, see these wonderful buttons.
Read a terrific article by Unique Snowflake on the evils of political polls, which I still propose is the reason Kerry won everything, sort of a lemming type thing. Sparky watches the talking heads all day on CNN and MSNBC, they just give me headaches. Hours and hours of time to fill, so they fill it with their unfounded guesses on who's winning what, what so and so is going to do next, it's such crap. It annoys me even more than the constant celebrity coverage of who is dating who, what they're wearing, who might win what awards (who cares!!). But the political polls are scary because they actually affect the way the sheep vote. I know we're in a seriously desperate position right now (the impending end of the world, the end of our civil liberties, etc.) but can't we exercise at least a little bit of free thought?
Also this past weekend marked the Spring Equinox, a happy Ostara to everyone. Thanks to Bacon, Cheese & Oatcakes for the excellent link, I was at a loss. (I spent the weekend blog surfing, found lots of Pagan links and yet another category to add!) Due to my non-stop crappy health I stayed home instead of participating in the services. It's hell being Wiccan when your allergies won't let you go outside and incense sends you into sneezing convulsions :-(
Oh yes, and I got to see Courtney Love going apeshit wild on Letterman last week which was lots of fun, though her arrest the next day was stupid. I still want her new album, though, it's being compared with Live Through This, you've got to admit, the girl can rock.
My beloved eBay screwed me over again this past week by basically eliminating every single subcategory for their DVD section (and music also) without telling anyone in advance. I spent almost an hour the other night having a panic attack thinking my listing program wasn't working then realized it was eBay's fault. So now if I want my DVD listings to be halfway searchable I'm going to have to manually revise every auction I list to add their "item specifics", which my listing program people can't add (they're freaked out by the changes also). I think it's all part of eBay's plot to force everyone to use their "pre-filled" stock descriptions and photos for entertainment items, which I'd rather not use, thank you very much. eBay doesn't even bother to offer any Mac compatible software and now they're trying to run all the third party software companies out of business, what are they thinking? I see they're also playing with the URL's for our stores, which can't be a good thing. I'm having some serious PMS this week, I don't need something else to piss me off...
Oh yes, and we're STILL fighting the damned fleas! They're biting the crap out of me and Phoebe and I still haven't seen one yet. And most of our house has hardwoods, this shouldn't be that hard. We've sprayed twice, treated Phoebe twice and washed every piece of linen in the house at least twice. I swear, even when we leave the house I feel like I'm itching, this is driving me nuts.
Oh good, creative questions. I've been really striving for some creativity this week, I'm making a sincere effort to redesign & streamline my main site and actually get the everything up and loaded. Creativity is hard for me, it always feels very mechanical, but somehow I always seem to get it done. Never to my satisfaction, but that's the hell of being a perfectionist.
If you...
1. ...owned a restaurant, what kind of food would you serve? Probably really good steaks. Nice, simple, hearty food. I'm a very simplistic cook, steaks and pasta are my strong suits.
2. ...owned a small store, what kind of merchandise would you sell? I do have two online stores on eBay, one that's Gothic & Wiccan oriented (where I also sell things for other people, mostly DVDs. movie memorabilia and beauty products) and one just for me where I sell antique postcards. I love selling postcards, they're unique and easy to mail, though not a big money maker. I wish I could focus more on jewelry on my other store, but it's a very expensive inventory to have to stock. If I had a brick and morter store, I'd probably like to have a little book store, personally, I love to be surrounded by books. My first job was at the public library here and I eventually had to quit because it was too difficult for me to shelve the books without wanting to read them. When I left I had over 200 books checked out, a few of them turned up years later, oops...
3. ...wrote a book, what genre would it be? A vampire romantic suspense novel. It's another project that I have outlined out but have never gotten very far on.
4. ...ran a school, what would you teach? I don't have the patience to be a teacher, but probably organization. It's one of the weird things that I'm naturally good at and actually really enjoy.
5. ...recorded an album, what kind of music would be on it? I have a weird Irish white girl voice, kind of monotone, not a lot of volume, but my favorite people to sing along to that I can actually keep in tune with are Poe, Tori Amos, Sheryl Crow, Stevie Nicks and Sinead O'Connor. I'd probably want to do something a little spooky but not really ethereal, more alternative. I'd love to be able to do something jazz, or a kick ass alt rock album, but I don't have the voice for it. Probably my favorite sing-along record of all time is Barbra Joan Streisand... Space Captain... (my husband shudders violently, he really hates that song ;-)
Other stuff I need to get out of my head before I go to sleep...
We've been fighting fleas the last few weeks. I was so dense I didn't realize we had them till the cat started really itching, I thought I was getting hives. I still haven't seen one fo the little bastards yet, but I feel them and Phoebe and I have the scars to prove it. They've barely touched Sparky, as usual. We've gone through one round of spraying and Advantage, going to have to do another round this weekend I think, should have put that on my list below. My sinuses are just recovering from the last spraying, though.
Been watching lots of TV lately, which is weird for me. Somehow this week I've managed to sit through three complete episodes of Queer Eye (which I always seem to miss) and I finally caught the complete first episode of Mad Mad House tonight along with the second episode. I stumbled into the end of the first episode last week, and then the last 20 minutes, and then decided to actually look at the TV guide and made myself sit through two tonight. I'm so out of it, and haven't watched the Sci Fi Channel regularly since MST3K went off the air (too many commercials!!) so this show caught me by surprise. I thought it was going to be a spoof, and then I recognized Fiona Horne. I rarely watch reality TV, but a show with a Wiccan, Voudon and an actual blood drinking vampire seemed to at least merit a chance. Lots of born again Christians and Republicans being tortured, what's not to like?
Went to a post card show last weekend and blew all my money, but found some great stuff. We only get like two postcard shows a year here, so I figured it was worth the investment. I had meant to buy more for resale, but ended up getting like 3 for me, 1 to sell... The show has moved to a new location that's actually near my house, in the brand new Stafford Centre, and it was having it's grand opening the first night I went, which I didn't know. I drove up and there were spotlights outside and people in black tie and was very confused. After the ceremony some of the well-to-do wandered into the room where the show was, champagne in hand, which really freaked out the dealers. And of course, they didn't pay admission.
I lost a hubcap on the way home the first night, but found it intact on the grass the next day waiting for me, so I still have three at least. Lost the other one on the freeway sitting in rush hour traffic in Baton Rouge a year or so ago, usually I jump out and fetch them when they roll off but I didn't realize what that strange noise was until I got to New Orleans.
Just FYI to all the witchy folk, Friday night is a black moon, the second dark moon cycle within the month, an especially powerful time for working magic (especially banishing spells) and for meditation and introspection. It's at 9:49 pm CST. On Saturday there's also a solar eclipse, so there's lots going on in the heavens this weekend.
More moon links:
The Magick of Hecate
Moon Phases - Enchanted Oak
Witches' Voice 2003 Moon Phases
Women and Dark Moon Magic
Moon Lore
Well, it's been almost two weeks since I bought my Lottie doll from a guy on eBay and I emailed him last night to ask what gives? He sent me my Paypal payment back with apologies, apparently he didn't have any more :-( Damn, and it was such a good deal. So I jumped back on eBay today and searched and compared and ended up sniping another for a more expensive price, but hopefully I'll actually get this one. I'm eyeing a few others too, but I'm not sure it I can afford to buy anymore... plus they're big and my shelves are overflowing.
Update 5:45 pm - OK, I got carried away and got Tragedy too. Seems like $36 bucks is about the going price for these two dolls since they're OOP. Still kicking myself I never got Sadie and Lizzie Borden when they were new...
I'm really not a doll collector, per se, but I do have some character dolls from Bewitched, the Addams Family, the Munsters, Jeannie and Buffy. Lottie appealed to me as a lonely little Goth girl, when I showed her pic to my husband he said "She looks like you".
I went to bed really early last night, I was so tired I only managed to read about a chapter of my book and I had to crash. I slept on and off till about noon when the doorbell woke me up. My hubby went to lunch for his monthly get-together with his wacky friend (they go to Pancho's every month, just to be silly and re-live their youth) so I was alone in the house. Just the post office delivering a package. They're sitting in my husband's room watching home videos and dissecting errors on old movies now. It's nice to hear my husband being silly and giggling again :-)
I had really long, complex dreams last night, they started fading pretty quickly once I got out of bed, but here's the gist. For some warped reason my brain cast Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant in the lead roles... The majority of the dream was myself and Audrey, a sillier even skinnier Audrey, being chased all over while dressed as harem girls with veils on our faces. I think Cary was doing the chasing as some sort of government agent. We were on ships, out in the country in some backwoods restaurant. Part of the dream it was storming and raining, which it really did do this morning here so that's logical. I remember running around with this really charming and sneaky woman, thinking "Why don't they recognize us? Our veils are sheer..." And "she's so skinny, why don't they realize who she is?". I wish I could remember more, it wasn't an unpleasant dream like a lot of chase dreams are, it was more silly, like something out of an old Doris Day movie.
Speaking of eBay, I also got a replacement battery for my Sony Cybershot (wow, it's like half the price I paid for it a year ago!) in the mail today and the damned thing is dead. It's a Sony brand, open box, so I emailed the guy so he'd send me another, he guarantees "no DOA's". I had a Lenmar backup battery and it stopped taking a charge, so I thought I'd go with the real thing this time. I wish I'd spent another $10 bucks and bought one new in the package, still less than the retail price but the guy had good feedback so we'll see how he handles it...
I'm lighting a reversal candle tonight, we're going into the dark cycle of the moon and I'm hoping to deflect some of the crap that the universe has been hurling at me the last few days before it can hit the fan. I knew something weird was coming, I went to burn the other half of a protection candle I hadn't finished last week and the wick burned straight though the candle, right down one side. I've never seen a candle do that, gave me the creeps.
It's the full moon in a few hours, this one is the Wolf Moon. also known as the Cold Moon or Old Moon. I was looking up moon phases to record in my non-pagan planner (I wish Llewellyn would make one that fits my Dayrunner binder, their Witch's Datebook is the right size but it's not hole-punched), and found a really cool site where you can look up the moon phase for pretty much any day and year, and I looked up my birthday. Not only was I born on a Wednesday, at four-something in the morning, but I was also born during the dark phase of the moon. Destined to be Goth or what? And a Capricorn to boot. My brother was born during the same phase, but my husband (the prosperous, lucky one) was born in the period just before the full moon, waxing, of course. Found a page with info on what it means for the moon phase you were born under, didn't really learn anything new about myself, but it says I'll enjoy the latter part of my life more than the early part, which is encouraging.
We're dripping pipes tonight for the hard freeze. I guess people up north don't have to do that, wrap and drip pipes for the cold. Your houses seem to be built with the water pipes safely in the ground where they belong. Ours down south run through our attics, where they tend to freeze and burst pipes because it's not supposed to get cold down here. So we have to run water in all of our indoor and outdoor faucets to keep it from freezing. One burst at my parents house when I was a teenager in an add-on wing of the house. It's no fun to watch water pouring from your ceiling, even less to try and find a plumber during severe weather...
We went to IHOP tonight, my husband took up the "All You Can Eat" pancake challenge. He only made it to nine. There was a table full of teenage boys in the next section who were seriously competing to get their polaroids on the bulletin board. One of them made it to 17, good grief. They walked past us as they were leaving, and my husband asked them "who won" and got a rousing chorus of "I ate 15, etc.!" and brags about who had to go throw up to continue. They were very proud of the guy who ate 17. They shook my husband's hand and gave him words of encouragement and advice. "When you get to 11 you'll hit the wall!" I had my normal blueberry pancakes and some of the nastiest hot tea I've ever had, I never drink hot tea out (with the exception of some first class Chinese restaurants), but I hadn't eaten earlier and I was freezing. I had to jump on our teenage waitress because it took her like ten minutes to bring it, my husband had already finished an entire cup of coffee (have you ladies always noticed they serve the men first?).
What other exciting things did we do tonight... we went to Hobby Lobby because my husband needed some Bestine, and I looked through their wall of little Johnny Lightning cars. I'm a classic car freak, if I can't have the real thing right now, I at least want a little mini version. Picked up a black 1967 Olds Cutlass 442, my dad had a blue Olds Cutlass convertible when I was a kid, I think it was a 1971, I remember it had a Rocket engine. My mom made him get rid of it much to my brother's dismay ;-)
Then we ran by Border's to pick up a book I'd seen the other night and couldn't wait to order through the mail, Too Loud Too Bright Too Fast Too Tight by Sharon Heller. "What to do if you are sensory defensive in an overstimulating world". Came out in November last year, so I figured I won't be seeing it on the used book shelves for awhile. Seemed like a good follow-up to The Highly Sensitive Person - How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You, which I found a few years ago. Excellent book, I'll let you know how this new one is. Oh, and I finally got Avril Lavigne's album, I hope she wins best new artist but it will probably go to Norah Jones, that's on my "to buy list" also.
Holy crap, just looked at the thermometer, it's 34! I'd better go check all the faucets again, just in case.