I would say the creepy guy in the park was in his 50s, but maybe he was younger -- he had bad skin and teeth, which possibly muddied the waters.

Thanks for the birthday wishes.

I'm 46 today . If midlife crisis means something as mild as reassessment -- than I am having one. But it isn't age related, it is more tied to the volatility of the last year.

I'm off t an Aries Fest dinner. which does not include DH. which feels weird.

Also, for the record, I didn't really think the guy was creepy until I went to shake his hand, and had to take mine back before he was done with it.

I just saw an apartment listing that said the place has a "unique French style bathroom arrangement." There were no pictures. Any ideas??

Is there a bidet?

Didn't seem fancy enough for a bidet, but maybe....

Getting revenge on/protesting dead people by baking their ashes into cookies seems a very odd thing to do regardless.

Seems like something Martha Stewart would do if you really really pissed her off.

I liked Bernadette Peters in Into the Woods, but that's because I thought her voice really suited the witch. I think it's a little fuzzy for most roles.

I think that means the toilet is in a separate room, or at least separated from the bath by a half-wall. Or maybe it just means it's really small...

I didn't really do much today...I went for groceries and in the afternoon, I went to a concert in a record store, but I feel like I've been running around all day. I'm wiped out.

It was the nicest day so far this year so we walked up to the snooty playground* (and saw Morgan Sperlock with his kid) in the morning and had a backyard bbq with our neighbors in the afternoon.

I am wiped. I could probably fall asleep right now.

[*that's Harmony Playground behind the Bandshell for the NYCistas, and it's the playground Trixie goes to after school in Knuffle Bunny Too for all the parents.]

So Lisa ( to differentiate from our lisah) got over here around 11, and we loaded up her minivan with boxes and large pictures and those triangular shelves that thwarted every attempt to box'em and headed over.

I discover she's brought me a bag of soap and babywipes and disposable dishes and throw-awayable rags and their cordless screwdriver, all her painting supplies and old sheets and her rakes and pushbroom.

So we start priming ceilings. I hate painting ceilings. I'm going to hate it even more when I am done. Somewhere in the second bedroom, I get the wrong tray of paint and end up using ceiling paint instead of stainstopping primer on a section that needs it. At least the ceiling paint was on sale.

Sigh. We'll see if it survives. Otherwise I might use the primer to do over and say fuckit. I have the downstairs to do and that one will be a bitch (really rough surface. Think the early answer to popcorn ceilings.)

And because Lisa is the awesome person she is, she sees my neighbor A working out in the yard and goes out to talk to her and decides to tackle my front yard. She COMPLETELY cleaned out probably a year+ (found a very vintage trowel so maybe longer) of leaf and other debris from the yard and steps. Three jumbo trash bags worth from my half alone. Then they teamed up and tackled the sidewalk/greenway up and down in front of our houses (and a couple others.) Even cleaned up the street debris. My little front yard is ready for planting and whatnot. She also shored up my little retaining wall. It needs an anchor spike put it, but it is not falling over anymore. SERIOUSLY. And THEN she tackled the kitchen. Not in a total scrubdown but a prelim scrubdown. Cause, you know, the ceiling caved in.

Later, L's former intern, who lives maybe a five minute walk away came over with her fiancee and they helped tape and do trimwork.

Tomorrow, more of the same, though not sure if Lisa will come up or not. Depends on how well her husband survived a bunch of girls over for a slumber party as a solo parent. And how the both of them survive the night.

I'm about to fall over, which of course means all the negative little thoughts are popping up. And then I think about how I have to do laundry and grocery shop in there, on top of the house, and um. Yeah.

I have to remember to put the trash out Wedneday. It's in the garage now.

But my pink hippo is sitting on my mantle.

It's supposed to rain for 2 days starting tomorrow.

I still can't believe anyone thinks I'm allowed to be doing this.