Mushroom Cloud Lullaby


They are rushing hand in hand toward a sea of squat gray buildings in the distance. Each one has the look of something far too fragile to protect them from what’s coming. The boy is chattering next to her, afraid but not quite understanding what it is they are hoping to be protected from. The man’s hair is strangely disheveled and he jokes about it playfully, his eyes trying hard to reassure the woman looking up at him.

But two steps short of the shelters, he stops and she stops with him. The boy quiets for a moment looking puzzled as the man takes the woman’s face in his hands and rests his forehead against hers. He is not going with them. The city will be in shambles and the people there will need help. His help. Duty pulls him there and she swallows the urge to scream and tear at his face, begging him not to do this. What he’s saying rings with truth, just not the truth she wants so she gulps down sobs and nods. He kisses her softly and she knows it will be the last time as he whispers “I love you” and drops her hand.

She cannot watch the man walk away. Will not. So she picks up the boy’s hand and they run the last few steps into one of the pitiful buildings. It is silent and empty and they rush to find the entrance to the underground shelter they are praying will save them. In the distance somewhere, they can hear an entire city counting down joyfully. The boy is chattering again, explaining how to get into the shelter and what they can do if it is already occupied. Apparently all these buildings are connected somehow but he is certain he could lead them from one to the next.

The boy brandishes a cell phone in one too small hand, clutching it like some shiny talisman of the past, and turns it on just as the power fails. She can see on the phone’s face a news report in the city. People are shouting “Happy New Year!” and kissing each other shamelessly and with abandon.

And then there is an absolutely silent flash, ballooning into a brilliant red-orange mushroom. She sees it and is paralyzed. Until this moment, the woman believed that perhaps this thing would not happen. And now it has and there is no escaping it. The man will die in it. She is terrified and so very alone.

She thinks for a moment that there is time. She could hurry the boy into the shelter and perhaps close it up behind them before they are swept away. But in that moment, she wonders if that is what she wants. How will she keep the boy, who is her brother, alive with no food and no water and only a flurry of poison air behind them? Does she want to try?

The moment is gone and so is a chance at escape. She picks up the boy’s hand once again and squeezes it gently in the last seconds they have before she knows that they will die.

So today is my anniversary. Two whole years already. It's amazing the way time passes. I like it. I love how much closer Chris and I are than ever before. How we've learned to live as two people instead of just one. It's an amazingly comfortable/comforting life we have. It sounds maudlin, and it is maudlin, but I thank Jehovah for my husband every.single.night.

So anyways. This weekend was AMAZING. On Sunday, my parents and my sister and Ian took us out to eat at Bocado. Everything was delicious, as it always is. My mom had asked beforehand if everyone could come back to my place for a glass of wine and I said sure. Chris and I had driven with my parents. When we got back to my apartment, the parking lot was full of cars. That should have been clue number one. It wasn't. We go upstairs and a bunch of my friends are in my kitchen! Meryl, Devin, David, Auntie Carrie, and Noah were all in the kitchen with huge smiles on my face. After asking about ten times how they got in, Meryl says, why don't you go hang up your coat in your bedroom?

Let me preface this by saying, my bedroom was an absolute DISASTER. I immediately responded with, "Why? My bedroom is so gross." They forced me in. They bought us a bed. Chris and I have been sleeping on a mattress on the floor for two years. They. bought. us. a. bed. And 750 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. It was the nicest thing EVER.

I also got two pairs of super cute and kind of crazy leggings/tights. Drapes for my bedroom. A beautiful wool trench coat and hat and gloves. And a $50 gift certificate to Usha's Salon for a facial. Chris got an awesome shirt and tie and a corduroy blazer as well as an amazing bottle of scotch and a gift card to True Value. ha ha ha ha.

Yesterday was also amazing. We slept late. Lounged around. Made breakfast. Watched Lost. Went to Compatible Canine. Went to Kaizen. Went home. Lounged some more. Cuddled. Watched more Lost. Cuddled some more. Went to bed. It was perfect.

And now tonight is gift-giving and going out to eat!! I can't wait.

I do not post often, at all.

Chris gave me a digital camera for an early anniversary gift.

Our actual anniversary is on the 19th.

That makes two years.

I got flowers yesterday for said anniversary.

The florist delivered on the wrong date but it made me smile.

Bowser is on a raw diet now.

I am doing the "Book a Week Challenge 2010" with Neil.

I also plan to read a book of the Bible each week in 2010.

I am ahead on the former.

Behind on the latter.

I've gained weight.

I'm trying to lose weight.

I go to the gym now.

A lot.

If I ever have a functioning laptop again there will be many pictures in the near future.

So as the title will inform you, this post is entirely about Bowser. If that is not interesting for you, move along.

I am never allowed to have children. I will talk about them all the time and it will not be interesting for anyone. It'll go like this:

"You will NOT believe what happened yesterday! I got (insert baby name here) to try this new brand of cereal for the first time and he/she actually liked it! And I switched to a new brand of diapers and it's working quite well."


Who would care about that?

But here's the deal.

I'm going to talk about Bowser anyway because I am EXCITED.



That is Boswer from back in the day when he was healthy and had hair and no issues.






This is Bowser now. Bald. Skinny. Mangy little stinker.

Mangy little stinker who I also happen to adore more than most things. He ranks fairly high on the list of things I love more than anything else. The list goes like this:

Christopher
Bowser
etc etc


Okay, that's mostly hyperbole. There are a lot of things in my life that go on that list.

But anyway, Bowser is not a healthy guy. He has a great energy level and he's happy and wiggly and great. He's also bald and skinny and has nasty allergies.

It's been a major battle getting him back into shape. About a year's worth of a battle. First it was demodectic mange. That took about six months to beat. He lost a lot of hair. He was very itchy. Now we're working on the allergies. He's on a grain-free salmon-based diet now. That's working. But he isn't gaining weight. He eats about a cup of food and refuses to eat more.

I've made friends with the owner of Compatible Canine, the holistic pet food store in Sturbridge.

I tried mixing in the canned food form of the same formula of dry food he's eating to stimulate his appetite. No good. He's allergic to it.

So yesterday, after an extensive conversation with said proprietor of Compatible Canine, we decided to try mixing in a scoop of a canned food that is protein source only. It's just pureed meat and water. That is all. No added vitamins or fortifications of any kind. It's just to get him to eat more. I got a can of buffalo, one of salmon, and one of tripe.

We're saving the tripe until last because, well, ew.

So last night I put a half cup of dry food, a scoop of buffalo (ew), hot water, and a squirt of salmon oil in a bowl at my parents' house, mixed her on up and gave it to him.

Gone in three minutes.

So we went home. I did it again but with 3/4 of a cup.

Gone in five.

Tried again this morning with 3/4.

Gone before I'd brushed my teeth.

This is monumental. This is GARGANTUAN. Bowser does not eat like this! MY DOG MIGHT ACTUALLY GAIN WEIGHT.

DOES ANYONE UNDERSTAND WHY THIS IS SO EXCITING TO ME!?!?!?

Probably not.

This is mostly absurd. But I'm doing happy dances over it.

I'm not very good at this whole updating business. Let's see.

Just had our CO visit. It was amazing. Br. Donna is absolutely fantastic.

I'm getting pretty deep into this Rennie business.

I joined a pyrate crew.

My character has a name.

My character is ship's navigator on the Merovingian.

My landlord owes me a lot of money.

I'm scared of my landlord.

I'm scared to tell my landlord she owes me money.

I want a puppy.

I quilt a lot.

Family stress sucks.

Money stress is worse.

I almost got hit this morning by a super bad driver.

I feel fairly sick.

I read a lot of books lately.

Join Goodreads.com and friend me.

Hannah had a baby.

I want to go home.

I guess that's it.

There's probably more but I don't remember.

Here are all the KRF photos, courtesy of the awesome Bekah who is having a root canal today. :[


( Nail yer gizzard to the mast, ye poxy cur!! )

It's time for a cell phone photo dump!

( Cell phone photos!!! )

Yesterday I went with my sister, Ian, Palmer, Chloe, Anders, Joel, Myles, and Josh to York Beach. It was the perfect beach day. It was in the eighties with very few clouds. The water was warm and the waves were massive. We got to the beach around 10:30 and stayed til 2:30 when the tide forced us out. Then we changed and went to Brown's. From there, we hung out at the beach house for a while and then had steamers, corn, salad, and lobsters. It was amazing. It was just absolutely the perfect day. The only downside was Christopher wasn't there to share it with me.


( York is my favorite place on earth )

Furious is more like it.

This mess that happened in Webster with the puppies being shipped here from Wisconsin isn't some ground-breaking thing. Horrifying, yes. Terrible, absolutely. Animal cruelty, NO DOUBT.

But any pet store you have ever walked into that sells puppies gets their dogs from disgusting human beings like this. Cute little puppies in pet stores ALL come from Puppy Mills. There are no two ways around it. They say that they come from a private breeder because technically, that's true. The people who run these mills are looking to make a profit. And pet stores are too. They cannot afford to pay the prices that REPUTABLE breeders charge. They'd never make money.

I'm not against buying purebred puppies. Some breeders are working hard to further the lines and qualities of a breed. But pet stores that sell puppies are vicious awful places. Even the ones that look nice inside. That includes Puppies Galore, Laughlin Kennel, Elite Puppies, Debbie's Pet Land, and many many others.

Not all puppies from these places are bad. Of course not. Sometimes you can get a wonderful dog from there. But their mothers are being tortured and bred to death in mills. And for every puppy bought, one more is produced in those breeding hells and is shipped on trucks like the one found in Webster.

This isn't meant to attack anyone personally. Not at all. The events in Webster just made me so angry I had to vent it.

So it's been a while. But it always is. Since my last post, Lottie has found a home with a wonderful family. She has a yard and a mommy who stays at home with her. It's the perfect situation for her. It's not the ending I wanted but it's a happy ending nonetheless.

My mother's quilt is just about done. I just have to finish binding it. Sheri is also helping with that. We're going over my parents' house on Tuesday and we're going to do gifts then.

This weekend is jammed up. I'm working at Scales tonight. Tomorrow I have fabric shopping and then Mike's graduation party. And Sunday is the Whisker Walk! I can't wait.

I've begun costume planning for King Richard's Faire. I think we're also going to do the CT Renaissance Faire this year. It runs the same time. And they have pirate weekend! I bought a gorgeous bodice from Damsel in this Dress. She's fabulous. And I'm in the process of buying a baldric, flintlock, and cutlass from a leatherworker.

Work is insanity. I'm ready to run screaming from the building and diving headfirst into the pavement. We're intensely short-staffed and behind. What can you do though, right?

I'd love to put something insightful in here but there's really nothing. Mostly I just want to go get Bowser, curl up in a ball, and go to sleep.

Also, if you don't have Jeff Buckley in your life yet, your life is sad. Fix that and quickly.