Little o' this, little o' that....

Today, a better supermarket trip than last week.  All the smaller groovy black metal carts were disappeared, and it was 15 minutes at checkout, but on the AW side, nice chats with my line neighbors, and the deaf employee who was collecting carts in the parking lot gave me a hug just because I thanked him and we kinda chatted.  (I think nobody really talks to him, and he's a very dedicated worker.)  There's a lot of agreement in line that the place needs to hire more employees.  Seriously.

W:  another fireplacing mass shooting.  I saw a video clip of the chief medical officer at the trauma center, and she said, "this has to stop happening."  Truer words never said.

AW:  Daughter slept last night, up early and cheerful and off to her volunteer job on time, with no maternal prodding whatsoever.  Yay.

What's new in your neighborhood?

super-late ceremony

The Scholarship Award goes to Queen of West Procrastination, whose September brings dealings with various research institutions.

Esperanza wins the Inner Librarian Award, for using some of her valuable Quiet Time to rearrange bookshelves.

Sue wins the Pastoral Care Award, for an abundance of persons in need.  xoxo

The Managing Meltdowns Award goes to Liz, whose big boy had a doozie.  95 out of 100 Pixies agree that wind-down and a snack go a long way; but sometimes, the guns must be stuck to.

E wins the Applesauce Award!

The Cuteness Award goes to Sweet, who lost it at breakfast but then said, "I sorry I cried and throw fits at breakfast, Mommy. I wuv you. I miss you today."

Mini wins the Elevated Risk of Mullet Award for: "I just got a booger on the chicken."

Congratulations to Jeni on the birth of her baby girl!

The Fireplacing Cancer is on notice that this behavior is unacceptable.  Hugs, love, and caring thoughts for all affected.  xoxoo

Septemberly

Well, summer is officially over (except for the official part, which occurs later this month).  All the persons whose years revolve around school are enjoying the fresh new start the school year brings.

In my area, the annual after-vacation heat wave hit just a little early this year, so it's been bakin' the last while.  But our lovely evening fog has been around, ameliorating the situation nicely.  There's a wildfire out near where my cousin lives, and many of my town's firefighters have done rotations up at the huge fire near Yosemite, so we are all hoping the rainy season kicks in a little early, too. 

Yesterday was the annual Stroll in the next town -- a huge and fabulous 1.25 mile street festival with a parade, music, hula, stilt walkers, food of all descriptions, art cars, games, craft booths, community groups, and some 200,000 of our nearest and dearest, plus a few friendly dogs and adoptable cats. My town's preschool co-op won the parade with parents carrying a fire engine they built of cardboard, wearing red shirts and those plastic helmets the fire department gives to little kids.  You have to admire a parade that rewards What It's All About. 

Alas, I missed this year's festivities and had to read about it online, because I'ma sprinting to cross some things off the Albatross List before the periodic Albatross Progress Report is due.  ("Sprinting" is probably the wrong metaphor, since it's more like: typetypetypetype, look stuff up, typetypetype, avoid brain explosion by visiting the nice happy internet, typetypetypetype, etc.)

What Septemberly things are happening up your way?

Classy Awards Show

An awards show beginning with a picture of a toilet plunger can only be called "classy," right? Actually, Teh Internet informs me that the above pictured item is a sink plunger, and the kind with the smaller flange attached is for toilets. Oops.

All that toilet talk is leading to....
The Golden Plunger Award, for QWP, for fixing her very own toilet! Without superintendent intervention! Woo Hoo!

Liz gets the Old Skool Award this week, for her haircut that looks just like her old haircut AND for the laundry piles and dust buffalo that are officially Not Her Problem.

Sue gets an unintentional Elevated Risk of Mullet Award, because as I was distractedly and rapidly scanning the whines (as I am wont to do), as she told of her healthy lunch that landed "upside down on my office floor, which is a carpet badly in need of a cleaning. Well rats." I thought that her lunch had landed upside down on the floor, where rats had immediately carried it off!! It was not so much a funny line as a horrifying one (and horrifyingly realistic for some church offices I have been in). I had to stop and read again, and THEN I laughed at myself. 

QWP receives the Blessing and Curse of Routine Award, especially pertinent to those with wee ones. Routine is great, helps them feel comfortable and secure, until it is broken, and then it's horrible. So for a week that included Daddy going back to teach school, family members with breakfasts that are so late they might as well be lunches, overprotective grandmothers, suddenly solid pook, a Mama that needs to work and a baby that needs some SLEEP, please: you get the award of...a lifetime supply of Baby Bribing Cookies!

The Wildlife Award goes to Kathy a, for senior cat's water antics and junior dog's encounter with the skunk (will he/she never learn?).

Neighbor Lady gets the Back to School Award, and our heartfelt appreciation for teachers everywhere.

Hugs to all whose vacations are over, who are tired, whose schools are on lockdown, and whose friends have the fireplacing cancer. A hooray to a better-settled sister-in-law for Kathy a, too.

I suggest that we arm the Cluestick Posse with toilet plungers, and the Kudos Posse with Baby Bribing Cookies, and send them out wherever they are needed.

More whines right here next week.

Renaissance Woman Whines

It is almost 7:00 pm on Labor Day.

So far today:
* two loads of laundry (sheets), plus folded another
* breakfast & clean up
* lunch & clean up
* supper
* two batches of mini muffins for Baboo lunches (with Baboo "help")
* FIXED THE TOILET (I'm pretty proud of myself. First time replacing the valve. It works, and no leaks).
* teensy tiny nap
* Baboos bathed and in bed early for First Day of School Eve

Still to do:
* supper clean up
* take out trash
* finish sewing blankets for nap mats for first day of preschool tomorrow. Who comes up with these projects, anyway?
* pick up toys/clutter so Angel from Above (housekeeper) can vacuum tomorrow.

Let's hear it for unpaid labor! Hip, Hip, Hooray! (Sigh)

What have you impressive pixies been up to?

MMMM, cake for breakfast!

This delicious and nutritious chocolate zucchini cake was kindly contributed by our own Queen of West Procrastination! 

Well, clearly Pixies have opinions about proper language usage, the all-important Oxford comma, untidy construction people who also drive like maniacs, and other matters. Sue wins the Grammar Queen Award for:  Pet peeve: when I see the words "should of" when "should have" is clearly intended by context. The slow and painful death of the English language. Sigh.

The Peeve of the Week Award goes to JenR, who complains:  my pet peeve is daycare sending home food-covered art projects weeks after they have been hanging on the walls there. Bonus points of the cheerios/pasta/beans/marshmallows are covered with glitter. Yuck. Just throw it out - please don't put it in my kids' school bag.  Your host favors bean mosaics, but really, marshallows and cheerios and glitter are asking for trouble.

Miranda wins the Mom's Sacrifices Award, for:  My pet peeves are that my oldest usually has my car and my daughter usually has my laptop so I'm stuck at home without internet. I have my work machine but um, I do enough of that all day long.  

The Sadness of the School Year Adjustment Award goes to QWP's Lil E, who pines for Daddy all day, then clings to Mama when he finally comes home.  Sniff!  Things will settle down soon, promise. 

Neighbor Lady wins the Back to School Allergies Award, which is self-explanatory, but we hope those allergen levels go down pronto!  Good luck!!

The Fashionista Awards go to Esperanza, who noticed all her pants are tighter on one leg, and Liz, whose summery shirtdress has a significant gappage problem in the rack area. 

See ya next week!

Pet Peeves Week

Bring 'em on!   What gets under your skin?  Possible categories include but are not limited to:  household tasks;  stupid driving tricks;  grammar violations;  untoward habits of our nearest and dearest; and annoyances at the cubical farm or equivalent.

Dishes, for example.  Apparently, nobody in my entire family has the ability to rinse dishes except me, despite years of training loving encouragement. We all dislike unloading/loading the dishwasher, which is why we got this fabulous double sink, with an extra deep side in which to stash the rinsed dishes until someone (me) gets around to the dishwasher.  And still, we have the spectacle of dishes, pans, and cutlery laying around the counter and stove and the other sink, preserving the remains of whatever was on them for posterity.  Because no, despite the promotional claims, our dishwasher does not handle food dried to the consistency of cement.  Harrumph. 

Regular whines and anti-whines are, as always, most welcome.