Doxie Proxy

Car Show

While visiting some relatives earlier this month, Mister and I checked out a car show held at a local church (in conjunction with the sale of some seriously divine ( no pun intended ) Brunswick stew. We bought 8 quarts. (Eight!)

The car show was great fun, and we met some nice folks. There were several late model cars there, but I found myself partial to the older ones, especially the Rolls Royce. The owner had the trays down in the back seat, and stuck a jar of Grey Poupon on one. We had a good laugh over that, and I voted for it as best of show. I don’t know if he won best of show, but he was in the top ten.

The Brunswick stew was wonderful, and much of it went into freezer containers, as we bought enough to feed way more than us.

I mostly found myself photographing the smaller details, such as the model names, or the hood ornaments.

A few pics:

Kiva

Kiva.org

LOVE this site!

Just made a loan to Sam Kim. See here!

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=72542

Abigail Update

My sweet little dog is doing much better. The “wobbles” have gone, and she’s back to her normal, waddling gait. No seizures or pain, she’s eating us out of house and home (that’s Prednisone for you), and we’re delighted. On a good note, she’s lost two pounds. For a small dog, that’s huge, and for my zaftig princess, it’s an enormous achievement. Yay for $30 bags of prescription-only diet dog food!

The vet has decreased her prednisone to one every other day, and she’s still on the cyclosporine twice per day. Slowly, but surely.

Sometimes I find myself forgetting that what she has will surely take her from us.

When I remember, it hurts. So much.

Like right now…

Blog Action Day 2008

Kiva is a website dedicated to connecting people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty. Their words, not mine, and what powerful words they are.

They allow people like you and I to work together in loaning money to the working poor in developing countries. Loans are built up a fraction at a time, by people donating as little as $25 at a time. Little by little, the money is raised, and the person is helped. The recipient pays back the loan on a set timeline (e.g. 3 months), and your money is repaid. You can choose to take the money back, or donate it to someone else’s loan. What a beautifully simple idea, which can have such an enormous impact on someone else’s life.

Some friends and I are donating money to Idalia Hererra Gomez and her husband Sergio. Their story and photo speak to me. Not in a cheesy way, but in a “Wow, these are real people, and I could actually do something to help them build a room for their child” kinda way. It’s awesome, in the original sense of the word.

Kiva.org.

Well done.

Mazes, Christmas Cards, and my dislike for Christmas. (gasp)

I headed to work early this morning, proud of myself for actually
getting up, getting ready and leaving long before I’d planned to.
I patted myself on the back most heartily, until I pulled up at my
building, only to discover that my entrance pass was nowhere to
be found. After heading home, it was found lounging on the dining
table. Argh! I didn’t get to work until 5:45.

The building where I work has very tight security, so one is allowed
access in increments, e.g. scan here, there and everywhere. This
means that there is no way I was getting in without my badge. Lawzy.

On a different note, it finally really sunk in that it is Autumn. Maybe not
just Autumn, but I suppose just the ending of the ridiculous humidity and
heat, and the transition to cooler days. I love that feeling - the one where
I first notice the sting, the snap of cold in the air, and it’s as if suddenly
the land looks filtered, a little darker, with these great, vibrant splashes
of color. I’ve been through these weather changes for decades now. You’d
think I wouldn’t be caught of guard by them anymore.

There’s a corn maze across town, and I hear tell it’s great fun. My friend Same
told me that you have to watch a short video on “the rules” for the maze,
before you’re allowed to enter. Technology, with all of its convenience,
invades the simplest aspects of our lives. Granted, I’d be miserable without
it, but it’s disconcerting, nonetheless. Sam said that each person/group was
given a flag (on a steek), and that if you needed to be shown the way out,
or had some other issue, you could raise your flag, and helpers (placed
strategically thoughout the maze) would come to assist you. He also said that
this year, the rules included dictates such as:

no crossing the rows of corn (cheating)
no running
no foul language (filth! flarn!)
no urinating in the maze

Now…for some reason, that last bit just struck me funny. Of course
I don’t approve of maze-micturation, however, what is someone supposed
to do? Hold up their flag? I can just see a rosy-cheeked volunteer hurrying
over to be of assistance, only to be told that the emergency is “I have to
pee!”

My Christmas address list is almost complete. I sent out almost 70 emails
asking for address updates, and have heard back from roughly 65 people. I love
Christmas cards. =) This is odd, considering Christmas is my least favorite holiday.
There are many, many things I don’t like about Christmas, and I wish I did. The
spiritual aspect of the holiday (yes, I know there are many pagan things about
Christmas, but I’m talking about the Christian aspect) is still something I believe
strongly in. I just don’t like the fake commercialism of it all. And - if I have to
listen to that stupid, vile song about an antlered animal steamrolling a
grandparent - one.more.time, I’ll hurl.

I hate that song with a green and purple passion, and yet I was stupid enough
to tell my dear friends about this. Thus, they sing it -out loud- every chance
they get. Bleargh.

With that dear bit of info aside, I’m very much looking forward to this weekend.
We’re having an early Thanksgiving, and I’ll be able to see my grandmother, my
aunt, and my parents. Can’t! Wait!

Oh, and Charlie. Who can resist that darling face?

Movies and a banner

This movie looks fascinating. I can’t wait to see it, as Will Smith is the star. I find to be an incredible actor, and an all-around good guy. I’d vote for him for Prez!

Seven Pounds

Spike! (DragonCon Redux)

James Marsters, via a Torchwood panel. He was great - funny and charming, and I grinned the entire time. I actually met him several years ago in Indianapolis, at GenCon, but I wasn’t a Buffy fan then. Oh, no… I had to wait until two weeks AFTER the convention to become madly obsessed with BtVS, and realize I’d missed my chance to, well, drool at Spike, instead of just saying Hey, you’re James? Nice to meet you. Great weather, eh?

In the manner of an over-excited doxie, YOU'RE MY FAVORITE!

I was three! Three feet from him! And I was excited, hence the premature flashulation nice washed-out look of the photo. But I was this close to Spike!

Barry (is not) the antiChrist vs. Satchel Pooch

The only good thing about Barry winning would be the I-Told-You-So’s that would be handed out left and right in a couple of years, after he screws us all up royally.

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=59169

This site is hilarious -> http://www.barackobamaantichrist.blogspot.com/

(No, I don’t think he’s the antiChrist. Really, I don’t. I think he’s charismatic, brilliant, attractive, well-spoken, educated, deceitful, and withholding, and his wife is horse-faced, and that he’s the greater evil betwixt him and McCain [whom I'm not overly fond of, but I've only 2 choices], but I don’t think he’s the antiChrist.)

On a happier note, I am craving this mini tea cake pan from Crate and Barrel. How adorable is that?

It’s even on sale! (for now) There’s also this 4-Piece Cupcake Muffin Set (also from C&B), and this Cold Bowl on Ice server (yes, it’s really called that), from Chef’s Resource. Nifty!

On a side note, mercy, but I want one of these. It’s not like I don’t have zillion (OK, maybe eight) lunch boxes already. Mister, bless his heart, just grins and rolls his eyes. He understands my addiction. In the words of my beloved Satchel Pooch, “I’m not ashamed of my love.”

Food pr0n.

Oh. My. God, Betsy.

Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Spread

I am physical pain right now, because I want to make this - Right. Now. I’ll have to be satisfied with making it Saturday morning. Pics may follow, but I am quite the lowly, amateur photographer-type wannabe, and haven’t gotten the hang of snapping good photos of food.

Today was, well, sufficient. I went to work, had a decent day, came home, did a bit of cleaning, made supper (hah!), and sat down with my beloved Mister to watch last night’s episode of the Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Yes. Sufficient, indeed.

(Pardon me while I go shut the back door. It would seem, no matter how nice of a neighborhood one resides in, that there will always be the unmentionables who can’t touch the gas pedal without the thudding, ridiculous boom of music that no one else wishes to hear. My kingdom for a intelligence tax. [which I would go broke paying, as well.])

Handbag Planet, etc.

Nifty contest! 24 handbags to be given away in 24 hours, to celebrate their opening. Enter here!

—————–

Oi, am I full. As money hasn’t been falling from the sky in 10K packs, I’ve decided to feed the freezer. A few nights ago, we made a metric ton (not literally) of spaghetti, hence the full feeling. I am one of the pathetically weird who don’t like onions or bell peppers, so we liven up our spaghetti sauce with things like black olives, mushrooms and pepperoni (and spices).

Mister likes the sauce rather chunky, like chili, and will eat it without the pasta. My carb-loving self loves a lot of noodles, unfortunately. We’re an odd version of Mr. & Mrs. Jack Sprat, methinks.

I’m off to watch the DVR’d episodes of Fringe, Sanctuary, Chuck and The Mentalist. w00t!