poppydawn

I really love that last Mescaleros album. "Long Shadow" is one of my favorites.

Kim, are you still drunk?

Wendy, gorgeous grand-niece and nephew! Her headful of blonde hair is just too cute. Usually blondies start out as baldies. Mine didn't have hair for the first two years.

Tammy, the top half of Ollie looks so much like Fatheadfred it's a little disconcerting. But in a completely adorable way!

In St. Louis the automated ticket machines for Metrolink spit out Sacajawea dollars. My husband's notorious for buying one-way train tickets with a 20 and then bitching about the 17 Sacajaweas that nobody wants. We generally wind up using them for train tickets.

My baby's not a baby anymore; as of this week she's a big pre-K kid. Here she is in downtown Belleville yesterday, trying to win a pair of Tweedy-designed Nikes for her mama:

Happy birthday wishes coming to you from the other Belleville!

Ovaries ... aching. He's yummy, Jules.

Good people, indeed! Here's to another year, Johnny. I hope it's wonderful!

Tracy, would you mind grabbing that backpack when A-man isn't looking? I'll pay you back for the postage. Thanks.

Congratulations to the family Jules!

Uh, that didn't come out right.

Yay, baby boy! Quick recovery vibes for Mama Jules!

Happy birthday, Jeff! Thanks for everything you do.

That's horrible. I'm so sorry. Sending vibes and love for Dean, his family, and to you.

I'd be down for this, I'll suggest the Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, as I bought and haven't read it yet. My suggestions will mostly be in the lighter side, because I tend to prefer books with a sense of humor about them.

I just finished that, and it was great. Definitely not light, though, and pretty damn depressing.

As for the book club, I might give it a shot. I'm horrible at being in groups. If I join, there's a good chance you'll eventually want to kick me out.

I believe there's ... something. I just have no idea what. And I'm cool with that. I think explanations come to people in the way they're best geared to accept them.

(I checked agnostic.)

Happy birthday!

PS - Brianne, he may be adorable but he's also a holy terror....we were just outside pulling weeds in the garden, and as fast as we dropped them into the trash bucket, Noodle was snatching them out and tearing across the yard with them. There are pulled weeds all over my backyard now.

That's hilarious! He looks like he's full of it, as every puppy should be.

Maudie, I was just telling Kim about that beautiful bouquet you sent for Natalie's memorial.

I've been thinking about her birthday a lot lately, too.

Yay Sarah!

I have a friend who just moved here from Athens. I'll ask him about the Rye Bar and pass along any info he has.

May your coffee be brewed through a filter lined with bacon strips! Have a wonderful year!

I'd wish you a happy birthday, but with all you've got lined up, I think it's a given! Happy birthday, anyway.

Happy birthday! May your yarn be untangled and acrylic-free all year.

Happy birthday, Sue! We'll raise a pint in Belleville in your honor tonight.

Horrible, terrible things, from what my studies have indicated. I don't have the Yooper tolerance for mass quantities of coffee.

(My husband's from the UP. He claims the coffee tolerance/need is to prevent internal organs from freezing.)

I'd like to see a study done on what happens to a 35-year-old woman who drinks 48 oz. of coffee and two shots of espresso within a 4-hour time frame.

Aw! Niece and uncle cuteness! She looks so content; I'd love to smooch those chubby little cheeks!

Remember The Mountain Bed

This makes me terribly happy. Wish I could have been there!

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo-iiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome, Lyric! And lots of vibes to the recovering mama.

Keep dialating!!!!