girl at large

woo-hoo!

Company's coming! Company's coming!

blondes (and alligators) do have more fun...

Happy Birthday Balls!

small, complicated world

Dad and technology are having a rough time this week. He says it's easier to take out a gallbladder than it is to send photos online. And now, his tractor won't shut off. It's been running for 12 hours straight now, is almost out of fuel. The tractor guy is coming to pick it up for repairs. 'The Tractor Guy'. Who is the tractor guy? Does every town have one? Funny, related story: I have a customer, very friendly and chatty, who happens to be from Wisconsin. Turns out, when he was a med student, the school farmed them out to spend a few days working with 'country doctors' in small towns and rural areas. He got sent to.....wait for it........Fond du Lac!!!!

As the world thinks about the passing of the Pope, I can't help but recall how important his foreign travels and visits were to our 5th and 6th grade Current Events classes. Challenger, Mt.St. Helens, Beirut, Geraldine Ferraro, Chernobyl, and the Pope---grade school in the eighties. We're no longer a religious family, but I'm sure my Grandma Mickey has some thoughts on John Paul II this week. Once Catholic, you're kinda always Catholic.

achieving

It's getting the recognition and celebration it deserves, the movie Uncle Bert calls: "the best movie ever, man". This years fest was held a block away from my brother Thomas' house. A BLOCK AWAY. And he didn't go. so sad.

Especially for Martine...

all the American euphamisms I can come up with for a certain part of the female anatomy: Rack Melons Hooters Set or Pair Hoo-ha's Peaches Knockers Cha-cha's Tits (though I prefer the more informal "Titties") Am I forgetting any?

Happy Easter!

It's not Easter without Peeps! Or homemade matching dresses, white knee highs and little boy bowties. I suspect that first picture isn't actually Easter--it's far too green--note the interior shots of the other two, and the just barely visible snowy scene out the window. Peg, Tom--do you remember? And Tom--in that last shot, how did you get such a raw deal with that teeny weeny basket?? Of course, now, my holiday treat comes in a bottle, not a basket. I wonder which color Peeps go best with red wine? Blue? Yellow? Pink?

Oh Canada!

It's alot easier than you'd think to emigrate to Canada.

eats on wheels

The Custard heard a little story on NPR today about Superfast Pizza, a delivery company that bakes the pizza in the truck on the way to your house. It's in Fond du Lac. But is order-in better than a good ol' sit down at Schreiner's?

home sick for the southland

Browsing a copy of "1001 Places to See Before You Die" while waiting at the checkout counter; it fell open to "Savannah's Historic District". Hm. Message in a point-of-purchase display?

Feeling Green

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Now that I don't live there and am spared the smell of public pee the next morning, I'm a bit nostalgic for the big celebration in Savannah.

found

I'm finally, at long last, set up online at home. wee-hee! I feel like a real person! And, what better timing for an old friend to look me up online? Good to have you back Amy!

Happy Birthday a moi, et H.

The 5am birthday (international) phone call. Gee, thanks for thinking of me---but maybe next time, think of the time zones???? ha ha. Oh well, it's my birthday! Woo-hoo! (and H.'s too, woo-hoo!)

woo hoo!

Each year around this time, I start to think of my new motto for the next year. (Thanks, Aunt Maria--still a great idea 15 years later). I got by with the same one for the last two years: "It's all a blank canvas" (runner up: 'Doin' it frenchie style'). This topic comes to mind because of the following, sent by a friend: "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving �safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up and totally worn out, screaming "WOO HOO! What a ride!" Love that. "Woo Hoo!" might just make a perfect motto for 2005. � � �

Thanksgiving

I had a great Thanksgiving with the Mysterious H. ---shared the cooking a bit (I was assigned stuffing, cranberries and white-trash style sweet potatoes--no sweat)and had a perfect day. You know, for spending it in a strange town, with strangers (well, not really) and feeling entirely discumbobulated (sp?). We found a complete butterball turkey, still in its wrapper, on a lawn down the street. Grandma woulda freaked--what a waste.

some things never change, they aren't supposed to

Life in Savannah remains about the same---warm, muggy, relaxed and friendly---even as the storefronts on Broughton Street continue their revolving-business roller-coaster. The squares are lovely, the moss is hanging and cocktails flowing---and I can't help feeling that it's time for me to get going. Savannah was good for me, it was the first big change that allowed me to make all the later changes, some smaller, a few much bigger. It was the first big adventure, the first new place, new culture, new fears, going out there without a rope----I will miss it: that moody, rough-around-the-edges spirit that welcomes kooks and eclectics and makes miracles of crab cakes. I leave on Friday morning. I'll be back, but no, it won't ever really be the same.

The Big Day

remember to vote! vote, vote, vote!

Waiting for Guffmann meets The Office meets Homeland Security meets Wisconsin

This I just have to share. Wait for the download, it's worth it. Thanks H. p.s. It's not Wahkeeesha, it's Waukesha---"Walk-a-shaw", but we'll just have to forgive them that.

spell check

Merriam-Webster has come out with it's newest dictionary, including some interesting new additions. My favorite new 'official' word: pleather.

oh yeah, i'm gonna be a great auntie

Gracie got a little gift at the pharmacie the other day--a keychain with a stuffed raccoon attached---rather cute. My reply when she showed it to me: "Oh, look! A raccoon! How cute! They eat garbage and carry rabies!" oops.

bon anniversare!

Today was Grace's birthday party---she's two years old! After Grace realized that I wasn't there because her mom and dad were leaving (I watch her so regularly, she always associates me with mom and dad leaving), she enjoyed her party and all the presents. The sweater Mom made her for her first birthday is still too big (!) but the poncho I made her this year---the perfect wieght for the area's mild winters--was a hit, she found it particularly fun to swing it around and wap things with it. Thatta girl.

visit revisited

Gordon, Mom's gentleman friend, sent these pictures that he snapped during our dinner party when Mike and Matt were visiting last month. Check out that last one---Mom and Mike, all that love! Pity Gordon was too busy taking pictures to be in one!

is it just another day?

this is the day, three years ago, that i learned of the insignificance of refrigerators. all my loving thoughts to those who know what i'm talking about, and a few more loving thoughts to those who don't.

oh, the things people say

--"Miami's airport was crowded with tourists whose vacations were ruined or interrupted by Frances. "I think it's a big fuss over nothing," said 35-year-old Geraldine Lamb, who was visiting from London."-- Right-o sweetheart. "Nothing" being Hurricane Francis, just on the heels of last month's deadly Hurricane Charley.

where's Kevin Bacon in all this?

Bjorn, a retired chief of police from Norway, currently working part-time for a publishing company specializing in true crime stories, has a brother whose son is attending university, studying music, in Lincoln, Nebraska, where my father attended college not too far from his own home town of Edgar, Nebraska. Bjorn's favorite true crime story of the evening involved a Danish airstewardess who was murdered and then dismembered in a wood chipper by her American husband, much the same as the victim in the movie Fargo from the Coen brothers, originally from Minnesota, my home state's northwesterly neighbor, and home of the camp where I first learned French. Bjorn's best friend's wife is an artist, a painter. Bjorn's friend looks just like my father, though my dad never sported quite that elegant a moustache. My father's side of the family is Danish (hence Mikkelsen and not Mickelson, which would make us Swedish, possibly German or just poor spellers). Bjorn, here on vacation every August for the past four years, works with a Danish man who has also brought his family on vacation here in Antibes this week. Bjorn and his wife spent a three week vacation in the States, visiting places such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and of course, Fargo, where they were greeted like family when every third person they met shared their last name. They also went to....Portland. Did I mention Bjorn and his wife bought one of my paintings last night?

the more you know, the more you wonder

The City of Roses, City of bridges, whatever you call it, Portland, beyond the outdoor beauty and organic produce, has a wacky side: Admire chess sets and mannequins at the Maryhill Museum (or get a used mannequin of your own, or rent Mannequin, the greatest movie ever!). A writer's hotel. Everyone, even marauding Santas and paranormal investigators, needs an island getaway. I'm loving this book, Fugitives and Refugees, A Walk in Portland, Oregon by Chuck Palahniuk. As well as a weekly dose of these Portland stories. Thanks again to H for the suggestion.

Oh!Photo!

Voila! Here's Mike and Matt's complete online photo album of their visit to Paris and Antibes---some great shots, those boys are so damn cute. Has it been nearly a week since they left already? Miss 'em so.

blank

I've been trying to paint this week....emphasis on trying....Don't know what it is; summer lethargy or perhaps the stress of attempting to arrange this big move back to the States, but everything is turning out crap. I think my life is too disorganized and uncertain at the moment to allow my mind to make confidant decisions with a brush or pencil. It's hard to face a blank canvas when your entire LIFE is blank at the moment! I did manage to get some creativity going in the house though, little Miss Grace joined me for a morning of painting---she loved it. She has a technique of mashing the brush with such force and concentration that she vibrates bodily. Admirable dedication to the work little girl!

Bon Voyage!

Seeing Mike and Matt off on the train this morning.

Sante!

The only image I have of every evening's routine---wine, wine and more wine. And those funny, funny boys.

two friends, three days, a tower, three trains, one bus, a boat, a dozen cafes and goodness knows how many bottles of wine....

taking a tour of the harbor on Tishie Mae (that counts as 'sailing', right?), doing time in the cattle car, taking in the view, tripping down pictureseque lanes and having a hellava good time!

old habits die hard

Mike is here all of two hours, and what happens? I fall! Ankle kaput, Kate down. This only happens, ONLY, when Mike is around!!!!!! ouch. It's all purple and swollen, usually that's a good thing.....

follow the little birdie

I had no idea. Watching the Olympic Games from a euro/brit point of view is enlightening. Did you know there was Olympic badminton? I played once, as a girl, at French camp in Hackensack, MN (yes, even I hate myself). But any Olympic dreams were dashed by an overwhelming fear of small, fast-moving objects. We fenced too. That ended in disaster when two older girls in my cabin used the foils to intimidate me into giving up my beloved Esprit shirt. Pre-teen tragedy.

the Portland binder continues to grow fat and happy

Humorous print:The Portland Mercury, a celebration of the pint:Oregon Brewers Festival, living on the cheap:PDX DirtCheap, living to eat: The Bite of Portland, where to drink:Bar Fly, where to get vegan doughnuts:Voodoo Doughnuts, a little jazz:Mt. Hood Jazz Festival, some big sausages:Otto's Sausage Kitchen, something to watch:Cinema 21, another something to read:Willamette Week and lots more, some better, some Best of Portland. Thanks H.

Yeah!

Savannah, 1999/ New York City, 2002......coming soon to this space, "Antibes, 2004".... Mike is coming! Mike is coming! I'm so thrilled--- gorgeous, funny, lovely-in-everyway Mike is coming for a visit in mid-August--just in the nick of time while I'm still here! I better catch up on my sleep...Mike likes to have a good time. (and no, not what you're thinking.)

more to like everyday

My file folders for Portland are getting full--- Life will be made easier for Miss Ruby with resources, leash-free parks and services found at DogNose News and Portland Pooch. It's a very dog-friendly area, by comparison to most mid-sized American cities. Probably no brioche treats from the baker, but we can't have everything! Getting around should be easy: if I can't take the streetcar, light rail or bus, I can always use FlexCar, just the answer for a car-free gal. Check out this virtual streetcar tour. For getting away, Amtrak Cascades offers scenic trips to Seattle, Tacoma, etc. And for good old-fashioned foot-power, walking Portland is rumoured to be easy (only 1 mile for every 20 blocks) and pleasant on your own or with a guide, ranking as one of the best walking cities year after year (interestingly; Chicago, Madison and Savannah all also make the list regularly). Live weather camera feeds show that it's not all rain, all the time---there is some sunshine. And the climate makes for lots and lots of greenery---the town is fairly bursting with parks and public gardens. Just as I narrow down a neighborhood to live in, with the help of Portland Maps (a little creepy, but amazing information:enter an address or intersection and have instant access to maps of all kinds, census information and even aerial photographs!), I find another one just as interesting...there's popular and yuppy NorthWest, nearby overpriced but good for shopping Pearl District, hippy-dippy Hawthorne, the eclectic Alberta Arts District, casual St. John's and more. I'm spoiled for choice, that's why I've chosen a much larger city.

bringing up baby: it's not so much "-sitting" as it is "-enabling"...

I've been taking care of Grace three nights a week, we have a good time together and I enjoy teaching her all the things a kid should know, especially if she ever intends to visit the States. She's mastered the Hi-Five; we're still working on the Lo-Five but she'll get there. Jumping-on-the-Bed 101 is going swimmingly and she now knows without a doubt where her "butt" is and how to "shake it". Who says I'm not good with kids? This kid loves me! She can't get enough of "Sharp Stick" and "Fresh-Fruit Tennis"!. I'm gonna be the best Auntie ever!

how to fill the day...

I am begining to relate to Odd Todd.

open the shop and she will come

Portland Modern (real estate, back in favor and rapidly rising in price), including plenty of Rummers, the original Eichler copycat (so they say), new and vintage furnishings at Splinter, catalog come to life at Design Within Reach, modern accessories and giving-goodies at Relish, scandinativan modular basics at Hip, high-end and contract furnishings from id collection and Hive, vintage scrounging (at not-so-vintage prices anymore) at Era and Hawthorne Vintage, clean and classic and undeniably Danish at Dania, everything in it's place with Portland Closet Company, a place setting for every meal from Sur la Table, my beloved sea salt and cooking classes at In Good Taste, fresh eats from Eastbank Farmers' Market (there's more than one!), wash it down at Hip Chicks Do Wine, something authentic for the wall from Twist, another something for the coffee table (at my house also the bookshelves, the nightstand and the john) from Powell's Books, and a touch of France for the face and body from L'Occitane. how could i not love Portland? oh, and there's nightlife too. and over 150 coffee houses including one that will wash your dog while you enjoy your espresso! how great is that?

and there's outdoorsy stuff too...

Oregon has lots of green leafy and granola daytrips and weekend excursions, including Mt. St.Helens, the Columbia River Gorge, and Crater Lake (at right, i LOVED the area when i saw it on vacation with The Custard a few years ago). you can explore by the gorge by paddle boat, the foothills of Mt. Hood by rail or drive to Cannon Beach.

on the map

now that Savannah has rated a Starbucks, it's got a Summit and some real excitement. be sure to view the photo gallery, very amusing.

missing all the excitement

the G8 Summit is coming to Sea Island, Georgia. nearest city? Savannah! oh my, Bush being well, Bush, increased security, news media, rallies and protestors....is sleepy Savannah really ready for this?

can't keep up with it all

first camera phones, now mobile blogging (here's Tom's)....pretty soon we'll all have hat-coptors like Inspector Gadget.... it's starting to make me feel old, not being able to keep up with the technology. there was no doubt i was feeling my age the other day when i found a group of loitering french teenagers intimidating---i think i may even have said "Packs of teenagers are scary". now, i know i thought the same thing when i actually was one myself, but still.....

au revoir

another movie poster shot... Ryan is off to his favorite place on the planet, Amsterdam, or "The 'Dam" as he says....i suppose there he can pay the ladies to stop nagging at him....ha ha quoted Ry: "Damn, I love the Dutch!"

in the cards

we went to the Musee de la Carte Postale today, an amusing way to kill two hours, where we were treated to a personal tour that encompassed not only a history of the postcard but a bit of French history as well. there were 5 or 6 American examples...one of which was from Portland, Oregon. hmm...a sign perhaps? quoted Ryan: "The goddamn Postcard Museum didn't even sell goddamn postcards!"

market day in Italy

one small handbag, one large tote (for someone else) and a large summer-weight scarf...how did i forget to get sunglasses? that's what i went there for!...just gonna have to go back next week... and Ryan still needs to get those mandals...

lotta latte

still on the Starbucks quotient: Savannah, pop.135k: 2 Portland, pop.490k: 45 Chicago, pop.2.7m: 72 Los Angeles, pop.3.6m: 56 Atlanta, pop.400k: 23 Madison, pop.224k: 3 San Francisco, pop.747k: 63 Fond du Lac, pop.40k: 0

Starbucks, mass transit, housing... but what about the boys?

hey! i wasn't crazy with this idea! seems someone has compiled a list of the Best Places for Dating.

well, i wouldn't be wanting for caffeine...

a statistical side-by-side comparison--Savannah vs. Portland. surprising: though having fewer rain days, Savannah overall actually has more rainfall than Portland. encouraging: Portland has a markedly lower crime rate, not a big shock as Savannah can be crime central. slightly alarming: 45 Starbucks in Portland? 45?!?!? how would i find which one Miss Dawn is at???

could this be it?

on a suggestion from The Custard, i've been investigating Portland, Oregon as a place to live when i return stateside in the fall. and what a contender! it had been on my short list some years ago when i first left Wisconsin, but it had slipped my mind--i think the rain deterred me. but i can get over the rain if what i see online is even half true... The Pearl neighborhood looks like just my kind of thing (if it weren't so over-priced and nouveau snobby)---walking lifestyle, farmer's market, gallery row, a streetcar to downtown, loft living galore.... lots of other neighborhoods with distinctive feels, much like what i like about Chicago. a Design Within Reach studio (as well as numerous other design destinations)--that's my own benchmark--kind of like "Is there a Target? Ok, then I could live there." not a lot of mover and shaker style jobs in my field, but a surprising number of solid, established companies and intruiging independents that i wouldn't mind working for or shopping at. a decent daily newspaper is so important. and something else i find encouraging--the wealth of information online about the city, nieghborhoods, economy, jobs, parks, etc. lots of single girl places to go and things to do. an active art community including lots of galleries, a small design school, an art museum and a traditional studio arts college. (no, i'm not planning on going back to school AGAIN, but i like what an art school and other universities and colleges bring to the community and it's good to know i can take a course here and there if i want to.) from what i've seen so far, a reasonable cost of living, including not-insane (compared to California!!) apartment rental rates. and to top it off, no less than 8 dog friendly parks! heck, i can put up with the rain---it's raining AGAIN here today!