what kind of tail would you want?

• The pie party was good. Much pie was eaten. My personal favorite was the buttermilk, but the chocolate creme went fast as did the heath bar. As usual.
• We made an obscene amount of sangria. It's currently living the downstairs fridge where the liquor fish continue to soak up peach schnapps. There is talk of continuing to feed it throughout the summer. I'm considering tossing in some chardonnay and some peaches as sangria is officially the jungle juice of the wine world.
• Monday officially began half training. So far so good. I was way faster than I ever thought I would be.
• Tonight I run another canvass. My Obamamania has been reduced to one day a week due to my schedule.
• I'm becoming obsessed with my bike. 10 miles is starting to feel way too easy and short. It's time I start venturing further. Much, much further.
• Carl comes into town today, I'm going to a play Friday night, I work on Saturday, we're having a bbq this weekend with Christina, and Jack's birthday is Sunday.
• It's hot in the barn. Uncomfortable for sleeping hot. In theory we might have a free standing airconditioner by the end of the weekend for our bedroom which is nice, but won't be helpful for the 90+ temps we're looking at in the next few days.
• It's swimming weather. Big time. And I have yet to actually swim. This must be remedied. I'm thinking Friday I might bike on over to Laketown Beach for the afternoon.
• I have an embroidered quilt looming. It has been cut out but I need to start stitching on it immediately. I'm pretty sure I need to stop thinking about it and go for it.
• I've been going to bed early and getting up early. I think this might be my natural sleep schedule which makes me deliriously happy.
• I haven't seen Batman. I need to see Batman.
• I'd like to take a lil' trip to Chicago before the summer is up and the roof is closed for the season. Finding a suitable weekend and enough money to do this might take some planning.
• So I'm going to start planning.

yes i can

if he continues to give speeches like this.

what day is this?

Man, oh man, I'm tired. Bone-tired. Dazy days tired. Yesterday was a marathon kind of day. Bike to work, bike home to eat, go to the office, run the canvass (which was insanely easy as there were only 4 of us), canvass a neighborhood, go the fair, work the booth, ride on the Scrambler which was absolutely terrifying, go home, take out the trash, and collapse into bed. The best thing out of all of this was that we registered a total of 17 people last night which is alot for us. Hopefully Friday night we'll get to send some more people as I suspect the Hoodlums of Holland will be out in force. Plus we're 2 booths down from the petition to get alcohol sales on Sunday on the ballot this fall and it's amazing what a motivator that is to get people to register to vote!

Usually I look forward to Fridays as my weekend starts at noon, but tomorrow is going to be something else. After work I'm going to bike to the branch, pick up the car, and run errands for the party Saturday night. I'm in charge of a coupla pies, paper products, and the sangria. I'll either go home to drop everything off or just leave everything in the car and bike home. Friday night's meeting starts at 6 now so I'm not sure if I'm going to make it or not. I'd kind of like to spend the evening baking if at all possible that way Saturday isn't quite so insane.

Saturday I need to go to the market and then it's just getting stuff together for Saturday night. All ye in the Holland greater area all welcome to attend. Right now we're making Heath Bar Pies, cherry, blueberry, peach, buttermilk, lemon and maybe a chocolate cream pie. Plus there will be pineapple mojitos and the aforementioned sangria. Technically the whole thing is going to be done in an hour, but I suspect there will be hanging around going on.

Sunday is my one free day and guess what? I start half training! I'm actually pretty psyched about this even though it means having to get up insanely early in order to fit in a run. It's funny, but I really think all of this biking I've been doing has helped my running alot. I feel stronger and faster. I'm going to keep up with the cross training as I've now started strength training and yoga once a week and I feel like that's helping too. I'm hoping Christina, Michael and I can all maybe get together once a week for our long runs even if we don't end up running together.

I honestly can't believe how satisfied I have been with my life as of late. I cannot express just how amazing it has been getting to meet all of these really interesting people who've been living right here in Holland, Michigan this whole time. I keep saying I'm not sure how long I'll keep this up. This phase I can handle. I believe so strongly that in order for a democracy to truly exist people need to vote so registering people is right up my alley. I don't know if I can knock on doors to talk about Obama. Making pies for the man is one thing, but I'm not so sure I'm willing to put myself on the line for him.

We'll just have to see.

this is the same man who ran for president in 2000?!

Oh, Al Gore, how I love thee!

it was like the internet...only...real people...

Last night in a downpour Christina and I registered 4 people to vote.

Awesome does not begin to describe how it felt.

We were in a neighborhood we both always considered slightly sketchy and yet we met the most amazing people. We met an elderly Hispanic woman who we not only registered to vote for the first time in her life, but who offered us her extra umbrella as she was worried about us in the storm. We met a guy from Benton Harbor who was playing basketball outside who had just moved to town. We met a woman originally from LA who despite having a yard sign for Obama had not yet registered to vote here and was really grateful we stopped by. We registered a 18 year old who I think did it to piss off her parents which was pretty cool. We met tons of people who were already registered but who thanked us profusely for asking.

I'm so hooked. We didn't get a chance to finish our area so we're going back Saturday afternoon after we get all sweatshopped out making homemade pie crusts for next week's Obamarama Party.

Christina missed the beginning of the meeting where I sat next to a 75 year old woman who thought she was there for an organizational meeting but who decided to go out canvassing with another woman who I honestly cannot figure out how or why she loves Obama but she does. Toss in an Asian kid from Grand Valley, a Hispanic guy from Holland, and 2 older white women who thought I was some sort of god for having biked down there in the weather we were having. Hot. Brutally hot. It's like African Jungle Hot.

So I bought a planner and a composition notebook. The planner is absolutely necessary so I don't say I'll volunteer somewhere only to find out I'm actually working or have agreed to a baby shower or something. The composition notebook is my official campaign journal. This is going to be something else. And I don't want to forget a single person I encounter or moment I have.

Forget the kool aid. I think I might have found my calling.

just me and my good friend aloe

My toes are WICKED sunburned.

And this is going to be all kinds of disjointed and rambley.

Yesterday morning I made blueberry pancakes. The blueberries were good, but the pancakes were too cake-like. I'm thinking buttermilk would help tremendously.

Yesterday afternoon I biked to the Holland State Park with the intention of registering people to vote. Given that this was the first time I'd ever been to HSP during peak beach hours we should have guessed that about 80% of the people there were actually from out of state. 10% were either not interested or already registered or didn't speak English (must.find.Spanish.speaker.to. work.this.campaign.) and 10% were emphatically against registering to vote. I thought I'd be more discouraged, but actually I found it rather motivating. If I can get 5 people registered this week I'll be thrilled. Wednesday night is my next chance when I canvass with Christina.

Did I mention my insanely sunburned toes?

I talked to a guy who says he's going to replace my door. This is extremely exciting as I was told last fall I was getting a new door. I don't actually know when said door will be installed, but actually talking to the man who's supposedly going to in theory be doing the work is progress. And a whole mess of trees are going to be taken down around the barn which might mean there may not be moss growing on the roof much longer. Or as many carpenter ants.

I made a killer bulgher wheat salad with roasted beets for supper last night. Tonight I'm thinking of creating a mango avocado salsa to go with something involving peppers. Fajitas maybe?

I've been reading some blogs written by some cool cats about independent publishing vs independent music and why hipsters are so into indie music but not into indie books. It's a bizarre comparison as the demand for music is a tad higher than, say, the demand for poetry. And people don't even want to pay for music so the chances of them shelling out cash for a beautifully published chapbook by someone they've never heard of is pretty unlikely. A hundred years ago people read poetry because they didn't have tvs and computers. The real renaissance won't happen until people are reminded why good writing- be it poetry or flash fiction or creative nonfiction (I'm still pretty unclear as to what creative nonfiction actually is. Isn't all fiction essentially creative nonfiction?)- is integral to their lives. I'm talking about guerrilla tactics here. Publish really really good shit and then give it away. Create the demand. You're competing with America's Got Talent and YouTube and Animal Collective and the Oprah Machine so it's gonna take some work.

My toes are so sunburned I actually am wearing socks because it hurts me to look at them when I wear my sandals.

I'm reading about Italy and it's making me want to go to Italy. I don't think I can die happy unless I eat pizza in Naples and go to Rome.

This week is already shaping up to be all kinds of busy. Carl is in town, I'm knocking on doors, I have a mess of pie crusts to make this weekend for the Obama brainwashing party next weekend, and Saturday night I play Loteria with some Mexicans. And some white people. I will be made fun of and I will drink mojitos and I will probably lose and I will have a good time.

Seriously sunburned toes are the worst.

so much for the kool aid wearing off

In forty short minutes I managed to sign up for 4 events and possibly offer up our home to out-of-town staffers. Yeesh. Tomorrow I'm going to Holland State Park to register voters, Wednesday night I'm canvassing neighborhoods to register people, next Wednesday I'm working the Ottawa County Democrats table at the fair, and July 26th I'm co-hosting a House Meeting with Christina. We do indeedy have us a cool ass organizer from the campaign. His name is Paolo and he's from Brooklyn and he's a big old fish outta water amongst us, but the man's got a great attitude and doled out the Obamania like crazy.

I am such a sucker.

The market haul today was significant. I managed to get there early enough to get eggs, blueberries ($6 a quart...is that expensive? I honestly don't know...), a mess of peppers, broccoli, an eggplant (!!!!!!!!), kale, lettuce, salad mix, potatoes, radishes, and green beans.

Biggest haul to date.

There was supposed to be a fire tonight, but methinks the wood is too wet as is everything surrounding the compound. Meh. It's okay. I might still be fired out from last weekend.

I finally finished Suite Francaise which no one but Peter knew I was reading. I got about half way through, decided I was done done reading about WWII and Jews, then felt so bad about feeling as such so finished it. It was better than I thought though I suspect my feelings have more to do with the author's compelling life story than anything else. Throughout I've been re-reading the Little House series which makes me insanely happy. I like pioneers. I like Pa. I like Laura. I like calico. I like sod houses. I like the railroad. I'm also reading Eat, Pray, Love which kind of makes me feel like a tool, but I'm enjoying the read so much I don't care.

I've been feeling like a mess of contradictions lately which could potentially fuel some decent writing. I know it fueled me needless smashing a wineglass against the counter the other night. I just really wanted to break something. It really was satisfying. What would be more satisfying would be to write.

Which I'm just going to have to do one of these days.

all hail vidalia panties berghoef!

I agreed to name my first daughter Vidalia Panties. I also agreed to name my first born son Cat Chow. This is how confident I am I will remain child-free.

It was a weekend of bonfires and meat and potato salad and wine coolers and pilgrim fireworks and cheez-its and barely legal porn versus violent preggo porn and finding out my christmas tree from last year was spray painted green (I'm still far from over that) and very little sleep and a flat tire without a jack and lunch at Russ' on the Fourth of July and Grace hoarking alot and learning that the Constitution says nothing about how many Supreme Court Justices there should be and discussions as to which Dylan song would have made Obama look cooler than Maggie's Farm.

Good times. Good. Times.

I got a sweeeet new cookbook from Kevin and Xtina which kicks some serious ass. The kool aid is starting to wear off thanks to Obama's declaration that he's not only a fan of faith-based initiatives, but also that warrentless wiretapping is cool in his book. Work continues to be insanely busy hence the lack of updates. I'm looking forward to Shadetree coming over Friday to teach me how to change the tube in my tire so I can start riding as far as Kevin rides. I'm also looking forward to the Obama meeting Friday night even though I'm a little more skeptical. Saturday I'm a-workin'. Sunday I'm going for a looooong ride with Christina which hopefully will wear me out enough so I can get a decent night's sleep.

Oh and I got 3 more poems published.

And this time one of them will be in actual PRINT.

Go me.

i'm starting to hate fireworks too

Boo is resting in peace in Christina's back yard under a beautiful pink hydrangea. It was rough, but not nearly as rough as either of us thought it was going to be. I am so proud of Christina. She had such a horrible decision to make and yet she went with the most unselfish thing she could have done. I am truly blessed to have her as a best friend.

I have officially drunk of the Obama kool aid. Next Friday night I will be going an organizational meeting right here in Holland, Michigan for the campaign. I will register people to vote. I will stand on street corners and hand out information. I will knock on doors and talk to people about Obama. This is the first time in my political life I am fired up enough about a candidate to do any of this. I saw my first Michigan ad last night and got tingly. If he ends up not being the real deal? I might officially be done with politics. So take that, Barack Obama. My faith in the political system of this country is in your hands.

For all ye interested in coming to Holland this weekend come armed with lots of bug spray. We are completely overrun. We're thinking Friday of having a fire out back and maybe hitting up the ghetto Kollen Park fireworks though all of that is up for discussion. Unless HELL freezes over I highly doubt a trip to the Sandbar will be in order. Both Friday and Saturday night there's a band. Maybe Sunday morning?

boo

Tomorrow is going to be a not-so-very-good day. I will be attending to my BFF who is having to put her cat, Boo, down. I won't go into the whole history, but Boo is from Grace's litter and she was originally supposed to be my cat. For some reason, right before we both moved out, Christina and I decided we should switch. So I ended up with very fat, very opinionated, very one-cat-household Grace and she ended up with very sweet, very perceptive, very slight Boo. Boo and Grace had one fateful year being reunited (Boo adored Grace. Grace has still not forgiven me for reintroducing her to her offspring), but Boo went on to be the most unique of 3 cats in a house. Unfortunately, Boo was also the runt and has always been plagued by health problems. After a long few years of many tests and many drugs (including a human favorite: anti-anxiety medication) the time has come where not much else can make her kitty quality of life better. This was a really hard decision for Christina. And though I'm welling up now typing this and I know tomorrow will be emotional, I know she's doing the right thing and I am so glad I'll be able to go with her to the vet and spend the afternoon reminiscing about Boo's life over a very large bottle of wine. I know that were our situations reversed she would do the exact same thing for me.

On a happier note: Summer Weekends O'Fun continued with Friday night at Travis' eating yummy steak and being the Supreme Winner Of Idiot. Bow down to me. I am the Idiot Queen. Saturday was market day where I spent too much on the first of the cherries and some blueberries. It's gonna be a bad year for cherries so don't wait for the price to go down and snag them when you see them. You will not be sorry. Saturday night we headed to Fifth Third Ballpark to watch the Whitecaps lose to the Lugnuts with the parents. Not only did we have the BEST seats (right behind home plate--10 rows up), it was Star Wars Night so there were Imperial Guards and Storm Troopers and a Darth Vader and alot of wired kids waving light sabers around. It was great. Sunday I went shopping and went a little crazy at the Bobbi Brown and MAC counters. I also got some purple polish for my toes, season 5 of SITC, citronella candles, a coupla shirts, and various other things I thought were essential but can't think of right now. Doing my part to stimulate the economy, I say. This does mean that I'm planning on spending the next week looking fabulous and sitting at home as I spent a little more than I'm now comfortable with.

UNLESS, of course, Kevin and Becky make an appearance this weekend. Which they should. And I might even get lucky enough to see Metal. Peter and I are both off for 3 whole days (okay, he's technically off for 4 but I don't want to talk about that) and aside from a family thing on Saturday we're free. There is talk of scavenging for firewood. There is talk of walking down to the fireworks on Friday night as the new boardwalk along Lake Mac has been completed. There is talk of Erin maybe finally showing up at The Sandbar for the first time in a very long time to prove to Pete that I am not decomposing in the trunk of the Honda and to prove to everyone else that Peter and I are indeed still together.

It might almost be too much fun for everyone.