Thursday, January 13, 2011

Frozen Mice

Hi all,

Yes, I can't wait for the hits that this blog title will probably get. Anyhow, it's been a busy 8 days...like always. First news is to explain the post: in the co-op we have lots of interesting lists that we see. We get a fair amount of German, some Korean, and sometimes completely nonsensical if the villager was entrusted to write it (and can often read it, so fair enough!). However, we got a very nice, small and neatly written list. Buttercup started to laugh and silently handed over the list for me to scan. Check, check, check...frozen mice. As clear as can be. Okkkkkk. Upon a follow-up call, where we were adamant that we chucked out any mice that stumbled into our traps, we discovered that it was supposed to be frozen maize. We did have frozen corn, but the joke has been running. Tasty little appetizers, with tails just right for slurping...

The co-op was an interesting place this last week in general. We haven't had internet for a week (found out our router was kaput, while the light fixture simply needed a new bulb - embarrassing, but the damn thing has had parts replaced the last 3-4 times, so we weren't going to touch it!) and so I had to order in Hudson at a cafe on Sunday. We had a nice little blizzard and got about 8-10 inches of snow and had work canceled on Wednesday. This was great, as I and Buttercup still went in and we had the order finished by Wednesday. Wonderful! We also got our new ramp in (courtesy of the wood workshop) and it worked beautifully. So that was nice.

Last Saturday Calvin, myself and another co-worker took the house into the CITY. It dawned on me in the train, after a horrible 15 minutes fighting with the ticket machine..., that I was kind of running the show. After a little directional confusion we got right into the flow of things. We had an early lunch at "Ellen's Stardust Diner" - where the music by the Broadway wannabes was totally amazing. It was better than the last time I went, because I think they were stretched thin during the holidays. It was a more relaxed atmosphere. We went for a walk down Broadway afterward, looping into Central Park a bit. We had a snack at an amazing gelato shop: Grom's uses recyclable napkins and dishes, and biodegradable spoons. It has all organic components, with free trade and single origin ingredients. It was obviously insanely expensive, but totally delicious! In fairness, it was cheaper than the restaurants close to the Colosseum, and all that was special there was the view! Then we went to the 2:30 showing of "Million Dollar Quartet" and it was phenomenal! The Elvis was the understudy, but the musicianship was amazing. It was a great time and everyone loved it. We got back to the trainstation in time to buy a quick dinner to eat on the train. Beau managed to lock himself into the bathroom ont the train (second time that day, really, since he did it at the theater too), trying to get out. The "ductor" (Marie) thought this was rather funny. We got home by 8:30 and everyone had a fantastic time.

Marie has been a bit trying this week. Clothing has been a problem, long underwear even made an appearance OVER jeans one morning. And Calvin screwed up when I asked him to tell her to put her clothes into her hamper when she went to bed: she put all her DIRTY clothes into her closet instead. SO that was fun. But you can never actually stay mad at her, there's too much joy in everything she experiences. A humbling experience. Makes you feel like you should be a better person. That's not always not annoying though...who likes to see their faults?

Today I told one of the class mentors that I needed to report co-worker abuse. I was in the glass workshop this morning, admiring the newly-and-painstakingly-restored large piece that was getting a final once-over by the workmasters. They're exactly what I want. He teases, but obviously adores her. And she rolls her eyes and chides, but adores him right back. And they've been married for probably over 40 years. So happy it makes you a little sad. Surely they've had horribly tough times, but that love has endured and is so plain. Anyhow, I digress. They were in the middle of some banter about the piece, and the wife didn't notice me come up from behind. She exclaimed "Oh...Henry!" and took a little absentminded swat at his general direction, but missed. Hitting me lightly. She was completely oblivious until I squeaked from surprise, and then it was her turn to look astounded. It was priceless. "Henry", of course, found this hilarious, and we were soon all laughing.  "Henry" was bored today, and later was terrorizing us all by flicking giant rubber bands around. I almost got him back though...

A good morning in the workshop.

Anyhow, changes are on the horizon, but I can't really share yet. I'll keep you posted...
Hope all is well,
Steph

PS The almost-2-year old, came out of the bathroom as I walked by today and cheerfully announced that she had stuck her hands in the toilet. She was quite happy about this...

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