We had been without land line phone service and DSL for a few days, and so had the rest of the neighborhood. I think the major street construction going on down at the bottom of the hill was the culprit. SBC wasn't fessing up anything except a line that served 400 customers was "broken." Service returned this afternoon.

The water pressure magically returned the day the phones went out. I hope it stays.

Finally saw "Napoleon Dynamite" tonight, and it was wicked funny.

I shot a couple of new Valentine themed greetings for Puppet Greetings.com last night. The new ones won't be up for a week or so, but you can check out The Countess in some of the others- my favorite on is called "peek-a-boo!" and is in the New Baby category.

She is a blond chin puppet. You can't miss her!

I found this on boingboing. Greatest recipe ever provided by a Maker of the Main Ingredient.

Heather of Matted Spam has a really funny and extensive list of Products in Her Bathroom. It totals over 50. I'm sure she could thin out the ranks a bit (freebie hotel shampoos) but all the categories still would need to be represented. I know my list would be just as long.

The whole Ivory Girl thing works until you are about 9. You use 2 things. Soap and baby shampoo. And toothpaste. 3. Then you realize your hair is a frizzy blob, and the shampoo/conditioner parade starts. Then the Bonnie Bell lip glosses. Then the zit stuff, and Maybelline eyeshadows. About this time the feminine hygiene products come into your life. And it is a Product Landslide from there.

The newest addition to my shelf is something called "Boo-Boo Zap" from Benefit. Carla (and others) have recommended it for a while, but I finally tried it, and it works like a champ! I don't know if it the camphor or the fact that it kept me from picking the blemish (I'm guessing both) but it was gone in 24 hours.

The reality show jag we have been on lately is a double edged sword. The women invariably get a makeover of some sort. I'm not talking invasive surgery, but haircut, makeup, that sort of thing. Steve and I always marvel how dramatic the trasformation is, and in a positive way. A little makeup applied well, makes a huge difference. Is it also the new found confidence coming through as well? The flip side is, who cares what you look like? And why is it ALWAYS to catch or keep a man? The overall message is really disturbing.

Is it the ritual of grooming or the end result?

Mike D'Alonzo is a liar-liar, pants-on-fire. Or rather, his friend is. Mike was NOT in an accident with a milk truck, but the story was so convincing, with all the right Mike details (totalled car, concern over spilt coffee, paranoia about wife perception of who was at fault, out of body camera angles) that I was totally fooled. He and his friend switched blogs for a week. Mike had this guy's family thinking he would be on the Food Network, Jeremy had Mike's friends convinced he had totalled his car and once again thwarted death in an over the top car mishap. If you are any of the dozen or so people I told this story to, I'm sorry.

Mike is the kind of guy who never changes the oil and the car catches on fire on the freeway. Two days before his wedding, he almost gets arrested at the Austin Airport while picking up the best man because his tags were so expired. Between Mike, Tom, a credit card and some fast talking Mike goes free. You would have fallen for it, too. Not one person I told doubted the milk truck story for a second.

I'm really glad he is okay. But I almost wish it was true. It was so good.


I started work today on the EDITED Puppet Project. I'll be working over at the EDITED shop in Burbank for the next few months. We went down there today for a show and tell with giant foamcore cutouts. The show is about Evolution and Creationism. Together. At least it is a church, and not a public school that is teaching this doctrine. The ladies room was a black marble and gold faucet land of enchantment. Outside was the most bitchin' statue of Moses handing down the 10 commandments- all flowing hair and robes. The other statue seemed to be of two consenting adult males engaged in fellatio. I know this cannot be the true theme. We will have to go back and I will get photos then.

***3M note- we were taping together the Foamcore sheets with masking tape. The 3m roll worked great. When we finally ran out of it, we switched to some other brand. It tore, we had to keep picking at it to get it started again...we got the job done, but how much did it cost for three people to work an extra 5 or ten minutes each? Get the good tape.

I love duct tape.

I know its popularity peaked somewhere in the Tim Allen 90's, but I loved and used it before, and am still rockin' it in the new millenium. In the past month, I have fixed 3 house projects with it.

1. That broken shelf in the door of the fridge. We got the fridge for free from an old neighbor, and that damn bar would fall off at the most inopportune moments. We havn't had a jar of peanut butter or mayo that hasn't had a cracked and broken lid in a year. UNTIL NOW.

2. Sealed the A/C unit that lives in the window. The sticky foam strip was just not cutting it. Now, you can sit almost draft free. ENJOY.

3. After 12 years, I finally duct taped a piece of foam to the corner of the platform bed. I have had a perma-bruise on my shin since 1993. Every time I hit my leg, I would think "I'll never do that again." NOW I WON'T.

Always get the name brand. The difference in house brand and 3m is incredible. Somethings you don't skimp on, and tape is one of them. I don't think I have ever met a 3m product I didn't like. Dana Gamble works with someone with a 3m connection and every year they get a 3m gift box for Christmas. It is filled with magical things. Samples of colorful post-it notes, tiny cans of Scotchguard, a mini lint roller, and all sorts of scrubbies and sponges. A obsessive compulsive's dream. No duct tape, though.

Duct tape.

I guess we can't even play the tsunami game, as instead of the sea rushing to meet the land, the land is rushing to meet the sea. Yikes!
We drive past this on the way to Santa Barbara.

More on product fonts...Andrew just came back from NYC and brought me a little canvas bag from Zabar's. Zabar's is a deli. One could say The Deli. Their font has been the same for as long as I can remember. Bright orange "Old West"-ish captial letters. It's tacky, outdated and garish. I knew the minute he was in the door where that bag was from, and I was filled with good feelings and memories for the store, the products and the brand "Zabar." I guess they could change the actual font style a little without me noticing, but the scale and color would have to stay the same.

I had my first foray into the world of Craig's List this weekend. Yesterday afternoon I put an ad up for all the moving boxes, free to whomever could haul them away. In less than an hour, I had five responses. The guy came this morning and hauled them away. It was so damn easy!

Last night, Jeremy took us to a little party at his friends Jen and John's house in Eagle Rock. They are opening up a wine store very soon up on Colorado Blvd. It was sort of an informal wine tasting, and I get the feeling that every meal or snack at their house is an excuse to try some different wines. There must have been 20 open bottles of wine on the coffee table, a dump jug, little nibbles and comment sheets if you cared to write something. No pressure though, they are very down to earth folks, and it was about hanging out on a rainy Saturday night with friends. It was all delish, and I wish them well with their new endevor.

My friend Marty Barrett has a very interesting blog entry today about how much rain we've been getting and the swelling of the LA River. It also reminds me of our new favorite car game called "If the tsunami hit right now, where would we run?" It's lots of fun while travelling through a beach community like Oxnard.

I just saw this on boingboing.

why your shouldn't pass out at your friend's house

I wish digital cameras and the internet were around back when I was in college. The victims may want to question their personal consumption levels, if friends are able to execute pranks of this scale.

Car is home, fixed.

Except it isn't. THE LIGHT went on halfway home (Oxnard?) and I sweated it out the rest of the way, visions of becoming a Sig Alert at the the 101/405 interchange dancing in my head. Home safe and sound, but the transmission war still wages.

The rains are back.

Steve tells me this morning that The LA Times has dropped "Garfield." They have other reasons, but actually, it's because Garfield sucks. I hate Garfield, but Marmaduke lives?

I realized last week, reading the paper at Steve's mom's house, that I remember when April of "For Better or Worse" was born. She's now in junior high. The "real time" comics scare me a bit, but at least it is better than Cathy, who has turned into Bridezilla. What will happen when she finally gets married? Can the strip finally end? Married ladies have Hi and Lois, Blondie, and Sally Forth to inspire them. Not too many papers carry Sylvia, and the alternative press only comes out once a week with Lynda Barry and Heather McAdams. What's a single gal to do?

As a small child, I loved reading the Sunday comics with my Dad. The comics came in two sections. I would get the one with Peanuts on the front, he would take the one that had Tumbleweeds. That section had the more mature strips like Doonsbury and BC. His favorite strip was Prince Valiant. I think he had been reading it since he was a young man.

Look at the time...duty calls. Driving up to SB to finally pick up my car...

Happy New Year!

A little housecleaning from the end of the year...my car is still up in Santa Barbara. It was the transmission, and it is being fully covered by the warranty. I have a sporty white Firebird rental car. I feel like a blonde, 40 year old divorcee when I drive it. If it wasn't raining all week, I'd have a silk scarf tied on my head and Marlo Thomas sunglasses on. Hey, I'm just going to the Ralph's...

We are still having these crazy rain and thunder storms. Today it even hailed. I discovered that hail is actually conical, insted of round, or it was today. Steve said it hurt his head as he danced around the driveway in it. He has a lot of extra nervous energy today, as it is Day One of Quitting Smoking. Besides dancing in the driveway, he got a bunch of home repairs done, reformatted his computer, and did the dishes. If I didn't know better, I would think he switched to Crank.