Doing the Duty

I have been tied to my telephone for the past four days, forced to make calls between "11am and 12noon" and "after 5pm." Every. Single. Day. I know the telephone number by heart. Yes, it's a jury summons making my life miserable.

First I was panicked about having to serve in San Jose. I get totally confused in that neck of the woods. Unless of course it's Valley Faire or Oakridge Mall or some such. But all that conglomeration around Hedding not to mention city government offices, state government offices, county government offices - it's just all "ick" in my book when being forced to drive and and find a spot to park my vehicle that's in the same zip code as my destination. I remember all too well the run-around I endured finding these entities when opening my business in Morgan Hill 13 years ago.

So I dutifully make my "duty call" twice per day although I did luck out in drawing a week with one government-observed holiday in it so I'm only on standby for, technically, four days this week. And yes, I know, this is one of our sacred freedoms in action - the right to a trial where we are judged by our peers. (Which begs the question: what, exactly, is a peer? Most jurors don't have a flamin' thing in common with the defendant, right? I don't care if it's Bernie Madoff or Jack the Ripper. How to you relate to THOSE people?)

The true trauma here is I am in "Group 517" and Groups 501 through 512 have to report at 1pm TODAY. YIKES! That is WAY too close, and I am SO hoping that Groups 501 through 512 are primo, cream-of-the-crop jurors who will all be picked to serve so I can dodge, er...be excused from doing the duty this year. And next year. And...

One good thing about being on jury duty's standby status? I can see a column coming out of this. Yep. That will be my True American contribution to jury duty. A piece in the Morgan Hill times. That's the kind of jury duty I can handle.

Crib Notes

This is Mimi here, reporting in from Long Beach where I've spent the past four days watching the antics of two of my favorite subjects these days: Gracie and Emily.

So yesterday Miss Emily surprised us all by going from a sitting up position in her crib to grabbing the side rail and pulling herself up to a stand. To see the start of how this all looks, note the photo below. The fact that Emily is only STARTING to stand up in the photo is a testament to Mimi's chicken-dom. No way could I take pictures and monitor the bouncy Miss Emily and I knew this would be inviting a certain fall overboard by l'enfant (I have SO forgotten my French). And I could have, like, TOTALLY dropped my camera :)

So having stopped The Divine Miss E. in mid-stand, I hung around to see what other antics this little missy was up to while in the crib and I wasn't disappointed.

And may I just say that babies are never bored. Case in point: Emily finds it great fun to pop her passey (pacifier) in and out of her mouth. Over and over and over and... Sometimes it lands in the right direction. Sometimes not. But is she worried? Nope - not a bit!

Sometimes you get your mouth a bit "whopper-jawed" (as my grandpa used to say) when you're ramming a big passey into a little mouth.

But this of course produces lots of giggles.

Now it's serious business trying to shoot a hole in one...

...And....it's almost there...

Yep - you can almost hear a "pop" from all the suction!

Checking things out. "Yep, this is my passey, all right!!!"

And for her next magical trick, Emily pulls her blanket up over her head, gets REALLY excited and starts flapping her arms up and down like a little bird while inhaling madly through her pacifier. No, don't ask me how she does all that, but trust me - she does!

But if you think the crib play is something, the many faces of Emily in her highchair is a sight to behold. Miss Emily LOVES - and I mean LOVES - to eat her solid food. She typically doubles herself in half "a la Jackknife" and sometimes (when you're really lucky) she grabs onto the handle of the spoon with her two chubby, dimply little hands and "helps" get the spoon into her mouth. Of course that means two STICKY chubby, dimply little hands...

Contemplating that next bite...hmm...cereal and applesauce? or....cereal and peas? Who cares?!!! IT'S ALLLLLLLL GOOD!!!

Yes, life is good when you have a bowl of mush about to be consumed.

Emily is a living, breathing testament to baby food!

And...where's the rest of my meal? And when can I have a steak, people?!!!

That grilled burger looks pretty good....

I'll eat smooshed peas and cereal but I don't have to like it....

Here is the miracle of all inventions: my purple spoon.

Ohhhhh, purple spoon!! How do I love thee?

This is the smile of a happy baby girl! And speaking of girls:

Gracie and Mimi shared some fun in the sun. First we found inside the garage a toy left over from Gracie's first Christmas...

Yay! The doorbell still works! And the house still sings songs, too! Wow! Life is good!

Checking out the foundation...

Foundation is good...and maybe a little WD-40 would help the squeaky door hinges!

But running around and around the house is the best kind of fun!

Especially because 2-year old little girls sleep REALLY well after some fun in the autumn sun!

So a few more turns around the house...

....while the sun still shines....and before....Yay! Mommy gets home! And what is a fun fall day without a little of Autumn's best fruit - yummy apples and Mommy is ready to share!

That's one big apple!

Before long Gracie has confiscated her mommy's apple and enjoys the freedom of taking one big bite after another...

Good thing all those teeth came in nice and strong!

Very sweet...and the apple's good too :)

Hmmm...getting down to the core...

Couple more places to bite on this thing... AND SPEAKING OF BITES...oh good heavens...

This is Emily imitating her "TeeTee" (Auntie Alyssa). When Alyssa was a baby she LOVED-LOVED-LOVED to squish her hands into her food - especially yogurt - and smear it all over her hands, her face, her hair. I used to say that when Alyssa ate she employed the "total dining experience." I believe she has met her match. Her niece Emily enjoys wearing her food almost as much as she enjoys eating it!

And with her little spoon she is so helpful...nearly ready to feed herself perhaps??!

But those Sensational Stromberg Sisters clean up pretty well when it's all said and done. And it's been yet another Very Great Visit in Long Beach!

Column: Halloween Treats

Sometimes the scariest thing about Halloween is what you find standing on your own front porch. Yes, we survived another Halloween, but it was touch and go there for awhile...To read about things that 'go bump in the night' not to mention things that simply lay on your front doorbell on Halloween, just click away on...you got it - "The Column" link above! Oh - and before I forget....BOO!

Column Catch-up

Eggs: They're not just for breakfast anymore...Well, no, that wasn't the title of my column but the strange egg above is...well, I WISH I could tell you about the strange egg above. Trouble is I stopped reading the description due to becoming too grossed out, so all I've gotta say about that is it has something to do with unhatched critters.

The same goes for this jolly guy. And no, I don't know if that's an actual photograph of the actual blowfish or if it's a mock-up. What isn't a mock-up is the apparently hundreds of people who die each year from improper blowfish preparation. So next time you're coming over for dinner, I can guarantee this will NOT be on the menu!

And what can I say about the above photo except...Have a heart. Ah, come on - have THREE of them. And again I didn't stick around to read the description of the photo but I'm pretty sure these chunky fellows are hearts. Hopefully not of humans. So if you would like to read my column about some pretty risky foods, just click on "The Column" link above on the right. There you'll find "Warning: Breakfast may be risky business."

Moving right along now to the little sweetie below. The photo's title is "School Girl" and yes, that is simply disturbing on so many levels. But she's a pretty spiffy looking pup and that's what my next column is about.

When Puddin, our Lhasa Apso, began to go blind I was advised to bathe and groom him myself if at all possible due to the loop that goes about a dog's neck at the groomer's. And a small, short-haired dog would've been infinitely easier to bathe and groom. But we had to take the bad with the good and just go for it.

To read about the grooming experience and the chaos that ensued, simply click on "The Column" link above and you'll find "Clever canine no match for this dog whisperer." Oh, and while you're at it, remember that dog grooming is best left to the professionals because dogs have been known to get a little "snippy" and we wouldn't want what's happening in the photo below to happen to you! Umm...OUCH! That's gotta hurt.

Finally, is it just me, or does the gal in the photo look A WHOLE LOT like Hillary Clinton? Maybe she's got a dog in training just in case hubby, Wild Bill, decides to bust another move with a White House intern...Till next time...

Impasses

Normally, when I haven't posted in awhile, I begin with a "Mea culpa" for ignoring my blogging for so long. After all, I DO have wonderful memories and even more wonderful pictures that I SHOULD be putting forth on a regular basis, right? Well... Woulda-Shoulda-Coulda...you know where THAT gets us!

So instead, I will say that more is on the way - for sure. More "Monday's Mimi Monologues" and more "Friday Flashbacks." More insight. More wisdom. (Well...) More laughs. It's coming. I promise.

Today I'm sharing something I stumbled onto while reading Oprah's daily e-mail. Yes, I know, she sends this to me PERSONALLY because Oprah and I are pals. The fact that we've never met and she technically doesn't know I'm alive is just a minor detail. Because Oprah does good stuff - for the world and for me. And here is today's Good Thing.

I love the writer, Anne Lamott. I particularly love her nonfiction writing. Nobody can bang a nail on the head like Miss Anne. So when I noticed on Oprah's personal e-mail to me today a piece written by Anne Lamott, I launched immediately into it.

Now I admit that when I first began the article I was a little lukewarm. "Hmmm...I thought. Looks like Annie is slipping a little." I mean, this same old talk of being who we aren't. Or not being who we are. Or something. Or - how we women should stop being such people pleasers. Who, me? Didn't I give that up eons ago?

Ok, that's when her piece hit me like a ton of bricks. Talk of finding yourself and the un-pretty process that sometimes accompanies it. What can you say about "the self that is revealed when dealing with your anger blows through all the calcification in your soul's pipes" - that's pretty heavy stuff, right? Here's where to find the complete article: http://www.oprah.com/article/omagazine/200911-omag-purpose-anne-lamott.

So maybe we do have a little dormant anger laying around right beneath the surface, just out of reach. Is that why things seem a little out of whack sometimes? Is that why I look at someone else - someone who looks perfectly normal and I think, "Hmph! How does SHE do it when I am such a mess?" I don't know; but MAYBE a little self-examination is in order. You know; when I have time and all...

And the "Impasses" mentioned in the title of this post? I found Anne Lamott's article because of a little impasse that happens at our house.

Mr. H. likes the TV on. Pretty much all day. On the news channel (CNN or sports) - and it's LOUD. So he can hear it when he's puttering about and also perhaps (this is my personal theory) because he's developed a buzzing or ringing in his ears that's pretty much constant and No, don't ask...I have already been bugging him to get to the doctor. At any rate, I would imagine TV noise would lessen that annoyance somewhat - I don't know.

The "impasse" comes because I crave quiet. Constant loud noise raises my blood pressure, makes me anxious, feels like hammers pounding in my head, calipers pressing into my temples. So this impasse is probably pretty trifling in the grand scheme of things, but still.

So when I returned from a few hours of running around downtown and found the TV blaring, I retreated to the quieter, far reaches of the house where I closed my door and read a few e-mails. Yes, I have lots to do in the main part of the house but I'll get to it. Later.

After reading Anne Lamott's article, maybe I have a lot to do here, too. The "here" inside my own head.