Da Goddess

wanted more of the scary tableau.

Oh well, does it really matter? Not a whole lotta ‘niks around these days anyway.

P.S. This is what happened to Houseman after she and Johnny broke up.

P.P.S. Yes, I realize I’ve had a couple DD references in less than a week.

Hoping there’s more to the World Series than just a couple quick games.

Yep, all geared up for the weekend! Look out, kids, here we come!

I watched all the new shows this season because, well, I can. King Arthur’s DVR allows us to record everything and why shouldn’t we spend some time checking everything out before we make the decision to devote our time to entertainment? Also, anything we miss, we generally catch via onDemand. (I really love technology!)

Thus far, I’ve yanked a few shows off the schedule because they failed to produce laughter, horror, or sorrow. Essentially, they were boring or just poorly done. One show was taken from me — from all of us — after a single airing. Honestly, couldn’t they have given us a few weeks to try it before they pulled the plug? Tony Shaloub, I still love you, even if network execs don’t.

Shows we’ve dropped:

1. The Goldbergs. Just…really…uninspiring. I could barely get through an entire episode. I tried another to be fair, but all I could think was “horribly done take-off on the Wonder Years“. I could understand them wanting to go *there* because Wonder Years had heart and charm and there was fun, too. The Goldbergs went to Awkward Family Photos, thought they could play with that visual and that would be good enough. Waaaaaaay off the mark. So, gone they are.
2. Super Fun Night. I love Rebel Wilson. LUV her. And yet this is just a whole bunch of people doing things that mean nothing in a non-funny way (and just to clarify, I didn’t like Seinfeld’s “show about nothing” either). This lovely, exuberant woman needs better material for me to tune in again and give it a shot. Until then, she’s off the schedule.
3. Lucky 7. To be fair, I was willing to give this show a few more airings before culling it from the herd, but ABC did it for me. The opening episode was
4. We Are Men. The show that was taken from us too soon. There was plenty to like and one airing didn’t even begin to plumb its depths. Here’s hoping Shaloub gets another vehicle to drive back to the top of the ratings heap.
5. Michael J. Fox Show. Man, we so very much wanted to like this. We tried. And nothing. Nothing stronger than “eh”. Actually, it was more of an “e”. Underwhelmng. Completely underwhelming. The youngest boy and the daughter are about the only bright spots and you can’t really place the entire show on their backs when it’s not supposed to be about them in the first place.
6. Dads. Martin Mull, Peter Reigert, Seth Green…it should’ve been funnier than it is. No improvement after subsequent airings. Buh-bye!
7. Welcome To The Family. There was no “there” there.
8. Once Upon A Time In Wonderland. I didn’t bother watching because it wasn’t in my wheelhouse. However, King Arthur tried it and waved goodbye after half an episode.

There were many other new shows to watch which we passed right over. Ironside didn’t appeal to either of us. Betrayal. Sleepy Hollow. Agents of SHIELD. Didn’t bother with any of ’em.

Now, the shows we’ve watched, liked, loved, and can’t stop watching:

1. The Crazy Ones. Robin Williams is fun! Sarah Michelle Gellar is surprisingly perfect as his daughter. Bob Benson, er, um, I mean, James Wolk is a delight. Hamish Linklater, also a delight.
2. Trophy Wife. Malin Ackerman is perfect as the third, younger wife of Bradley Whitford. The cast is well-balanced and funny. It’s worth watching.
3. Back In The Game. James Caan is wonderful as the cranky has-been/now-grandfather. Maggie Lawson is…just like a normal single mom working a menial job who’s moved back to Dad’s house so she and her son can get back on their feet. The kids on the baseball team are a miixed bag. The opposing Little League coach is irritating, but a good foil for the harried mother.
4. The Blacklist. James Spader. As a rule, any show with Spader will always be on my TV. He’s creepy, yet somehow also appealing. There’s just something about him and the way he works as a “consultant” to the FBI that’s infinitely appealing.
5. Hostages. So much better than we expected.
6. Sean Saves The World. I rather adore Sean Hayes. Plus, Linda Lavin is on the show. Took a couple episodes to hit its stride, but it was worth the wait.
7. MasterChef Junior. Gordon Ramsay is wonderfully encouraging to the children who are competing in this cooking show. The kids? AMAZING!
8. Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I didn’t hold out much hope for this show being funny, but it is. The ensemble cast hits every note perfectly.
9. Hello Ladies. Awkward, funny, delightful.
10. Mom. It was a hard first two episodes, but we like it. Anna Faris and Allison Janney have chemistry that can’t be denied.
11. The Millers. Between this show and The Crazy Ones, Thursdays are magic. Will Arnett, Beau Bridges, Margo Martindale are perfection. Gut-busting laughter each and every episode, guaranteed.
12. The White Queen. Granted this started airing before the Fall season, but it just finished and it was so juicy! STARZ is said to be picking it up for a “second series” as The White Princess and I couldn’t be happier.
13. The Bridge. Another show that technically aired before the Fall season. Still, it was dark and twisted and enthralling. I can’t wait for more.

There are shows set for mid-season that can’t come too soon. John Malkovich in Crossbones (as Blackbeard) looks to be intriguing (pirates…and more pirates, how could that be bad??), Black Sails on STARZ is another pirate-themed show that I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE!, Enlisted could be fun, and I’m hoping to catch Reign onDemand (please let it be good).

And that’s about it so far. What about you? What are you watching and enjoying?

The next several days will be spent prepping for faire, getting to faire, setting up at faire, faire-ing, and then coming home. So to leave you with things to peruse, PHOTOS.

Nobody puts Baby in the corner. Worse still, when Baby’s put in a jar, Baby gets really pissy.

Having pretty much figured out the new computer (and appreciating the sweet, sweet joy of not having to shut down every 10 minutes for more than an hour just to edit a single photo), I can honestly say my gripes are down to just a few things: scrolling is a bit wonky, I miss having a regular START menu, random resizing of my screen, and trying to find a simple way of creating a new document is just a pain in the ass. Other than that, I can live with “app charms” and all the rest.

Oh, and although I had requested the same exact computer as I’d had before, I was “upgraded” from the 15″ to the 17″ just because my honey is sweeter than sweet. That’s why I ended up with Windows 8 instead of Windows 7. Sigh. Now if only I could get a carrying case to go with this thing since it won’t fit into the camera bag/backpack.

(I sound horribly ungrateful, don’t I?)

Do you know what this is?

Mr. Quimby: So, you agree to start your great climb to success, your climb to the very top?

Norman Phiffier: I’m ready to climb!

Mr. Quimby: By starting at the very bottom?

Norman Phiffier: Right down below the depths of the bottom, deep, lowest place where I am, I’ll start.

I love Jerry Lewis movies and I ain’t afraid to say it.

I’ve spent the last several hours digging around Obscura, fascinated by wonderful places documented by those who love to explore.

I’m stuck at home this week. Recovering from the weekend in Vegas, King Arthur recovering from the unexpected transmission replacement, storing up energy for the upcoming two weekends of Ren Faire, and mostly, just getting over being tired.

Last night, I made meatloaf and peach cobbler. It was my first peach cobbler ever. While it was good, I know it can be better, so I’ll be tweaking the recipe until I get it right where I want it.

So now it’s back to my current obsession. It’s good to have distractions.

Because they ARE refined creatures, you know.

insults + cats = truth

Let’s get the peeves out of the way first.

At the hospital the other night: in the waiting room, a family had two small children with them. One was a baby who was intermittently fussy and then unsupervised the rest of the time. (Would seem to go hand in hand, no?) The other child had an unrelenting cough. Apparently, the parents had informed folks earlier that it was “just asthma”. It didn’t sound like an asthmatic cough to me. And if it had been, why were they not giving him his inhaler. I was angry because the last thing anyone in that waiting room needed was to be exposed to illness that could then be passed along to a newborn. When the family finally left (after HOURS OF EXPOSING EVERYONE!!!) we all breathed a huge sigh of relief and grumbled about the parents’ stupidity and lack of consideration of others and of their son’s health.

Babies R Us: Lady M desperately needed a smaller size for her breastpump. We ran over to Babies R Us to get what she needed, only to find they don’t stock the small size. You have to order it online. Now, with all the research and push to get new mothers to breastfeed, and the extensive stock of supplies for such at Babies R Us, wouldn’t you think they’d carry all sizes? “You can order it online,” said the very sweet clerk. I tried to keep the steam from blowing off the top of my head as I replied, “but that doesn’t help her now, does it? She’s in pain and she’s having to do all sorts of insanely things to pump at this point.” The woman agreed with me and recommended we try area hospitals’ breastfeeding stores. As it was after 5pm, none were open. It truly angered me that Babies R Us wouldn’t at least keep a couple boxes of the small shields on hand “just in case”.

Infant clothing manufacturers: Whatever happened to the onsies/bodysuits that snapped up the front center, from crotch to neck? These little onsies were lifesavers when LD was a baby. The only ones I can find online are over $15 EACH. Ridiculous. If anyone has some left over from days gone by, please let me know. Or if you know where we can get some, please please please please let me know!

Butting heads: King Arthur’s ex-wife has been a doll and has been doing so much for Lady M as she gets settled in at home. However, after I changed Baby E’s diaper, I was going to swaddle her again and was told I was doing it wrong. That was after I was supervised changing the diaper. Now, I know she’s just being a concerned grandmother, but after years as a pediatric nurse, nanny, and a mom, I think I’ve changed more diapers than she has, as well as swaddled more babies. I took a subtle deep deeth breath and let it slide, all the while wanting to show her how to really bundle a baby. The moment past and all was well afterwards. Still, that, in addition to the next item, it was a bit of a vexatious day that left my back knotted even more than it should have been.

Grumpiness: For some reason yesterday was one of those grumpy days for King Arthur. I truly felt invisible or, alternately, wanted to BE invisible. One minute he would act as though my input was ridiculous and unimportant, and the next minute I was incurring the wrath of Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan. I ended up feeling surly as well as hurt. It wasn’t pretty. I finally said a prayer, asking for patience and grace and we managed to work in a laugh or three.

Now, on to the praises.

Corel: I was finally able to get in touch with someone who helped me get PaintShop Pro X5 installed on the new computer. All that’s missing is the Nik plugin and I’m simply awaiting the customer service agent’s response to my email. She’s been an absolute angel. I am grateful.

Medication: while I have a limited supply of my pain meds, I’m grateful to have what I do. I was carefully rationing them the past couple weeks, but I finally said, “fuck this” and took what I needed, when I needed, and have been feeling a bit better. I know there will be hell to pay when I run out, but this respite from excruciating pain has been quite welcome.

Prayer: it may seem a bit trite, but I’ve found that praying for guidance in times when I feel things getting to me has been, literally, a Godsend. I’ve found more peace in prayer in the past couple weeks than I have ever experienced in my entire life. Funny how the simplest solution is always the last thing you try.

And with that, I’m off to finish packing. We’re heading to Vegas for Ren Faire with friends, old and new, with a couple other very fun events planned. A CD release party tonight and Human Nature on Sunday. While the preparations for this trip have been fraught with disaster, we’re all looking forward to it.

So now I’m outta here.

I wish you a relaxing and beautiful weekend, my friends.

King Arthur’s daughter came through labor and delivery like a champ. She pushed for almost two hours and had an exquisite little girl.

When we arrived at the hospital, Lady M (King’s daughter) was still pushing. We sat in the waiting room with the in-laws and with King Arthur’s ex-wife, excitedly chattering about the baby and life in general. Then, there was a photo sent to someone’s phone: a sweet baby on the warming table. Excitement grew. We waited, impatiently, for permission to join the new family. After a bit, we heard Lord R’s voice from the door, asking us if we wanted to see the baby. Quicker than you could possibly imagine for a group of six, we were up and through the door, heading down the hall to the room. And there they were: mother and child. Both were beautiful beyond belief.

Yes, I took photos. No, I haven’t uploaded them yet. The new computer hasn’t been loaded with editing software just yet (seriously? I can’t get something installed…the simplest of things!), but when I do, I’ll post.

After about 50 photos and thousands of coos and smiles, we were on our way home. King Arthur was beaming with pride. I was overcome with incredible warmth and joy. Lady M and Lord R have proven to be two of the most amazing people I’ve met. A testament to great parenting and lots of love. I truly enjoy being in their company. They’ll be fantastic parents and their daughter will grow to be as smart and strong and loving as they are.

What an amazing birthday gift for King Arthur. New life. New love. And new promise for the future.