Deviant Dispatches

Hi all - been a while. Distractions abound. I'm trying to get back into the swing of it - I haven't had a blogging hiatus like this since I started this up in 2011. Time to regroup, which may happen in fits and starts, but I'll do my best. What's been distracting me? Well, you know. Life. My next couple of posts will feature a lot of backlog, and mostly pictures, as I find it easier to get a post going when there's an image to go with it. First: the great outdoors. Earlier this summer, Spousal Unit and I decided to make good use of our fire pit. We proceeded to buy a ton of logs from the grocery store. You know, the paper-wrapped ones they sell next to the coolant and motor oil. (That should have been a clue.) One night, Spousal Unit didn't just put out the fire: he hosed it out, dumping the ashy water onto our yard. We ended up with dead grass and weird mushrooms. (Not quite a fairy ring.) So that's gross and disturbing, and we're never b...

I know almost nothing about plants. I know they need water and some require more shade or sun than others, but as far as remembering which is which and what ones to plant next to tomatoes, I don't have a clue. So when I went to see my mom last weekend, I brought pictures of my yard so she could inform me. I've already forgotten half of it. But here's some of what I remember. Raspberries. Spousal Unit is going to be very happy later in the season. Daffodils and grape hyacinths. There might be some tulips sprouting around them. Bleeding hearts! After the rain last night, they've unfurled a lot more. Possibly oriental poppies. I don't know what any of this other crap is. Probably weeds. Hostas, I think. They're probably not hydras . All I can remember about this one is the general prefix. I want to say septum, but that seems like an inappropriate plant name.

Sally Anns are one of my favorite cookies. By their taste alone, they evoke a sense of home and comfort, reminding me of the kitchen at my grandparents' place and the simple happiness of mid-afternoon sweets. They're the only food that evokes the thought, This would be better with a cup of coffee. Making them was a good Easter activity, especially as I was stuck away from the family due to unpacking (the books are now free!) and yard work shenanigans (such as finding a dead mouse in the yard, which was lovely). With help from my mom, I found the recipe in the family cookbook (my great-great-grandparents are on the cover, and other awesome old pictures are scattered throughout). I decided that the transgression of buying a can of Spam (just once) was worth it for the sake of the cookies. Poke holes in the bottom of the can to allow for air flow. I didn't have enough butter for a full batch, but half of one made 18 Cookies of Unusual Size. I made the mistake of...

For the life of me, I can't remember why there are little sparkly things on the left side of this shot. The logical answer is they're the Christmas lights, reflecting on the window. But we don't have lights hung in that pattern. Therefore, I have taken a picture of UFOs at sunset, which is a first for me. As far as I know.

From the bedroom as he's getting ready, I hear Spousal Unit yell, "Mah mouth is bleedin', Bert!" This makes me smile. Allow me to explain. A few nights ago, we watched It's a Wonderful Life. I had hot buttered rum for the first time, which I loved (needs more butter). At the end of the movie, George first realizes that he's back in his own reality when he notices his mouth is bleeding, and Jimmy Stewart is such a delightful actor that Spousal Unit couldn't help wanting to imitate the way he said that line. That line epitomizes the feel of the whole movie, in some ways. George is happy to know his mouth is bleeding because he knows he's living the life he's supposed to be; in the midst of it all, he's once again surrounded by the blessings and troubles that make up his own life, and he knows the blessings outweigh the troubles. That's a great movie for when you're fighting depression. Even when I'm not depressed, that movie m...

My sister Laura graduated over the weekend. I am super proud of her. The family (plus support system) had dinner and drinks together the night before in celebration. I had the strongest hot toddy on the planet, modeled here by the lovely Spousal Unit. I managed to get a picture that perfectly describes Laura's relationship with her daddy. The next morning, we made the quick, joyous trip downtown for the ceremony. Except that the trip was neither quick nor joyous; we were in the middle of a delightful Wisconsin blizzard, and despite the plows having gone by shortly before we left, it was a slippery, treacherous trip, surrounded by idiots on four wheels and nary a patch of sand in sight. After some delightful fishtailing, however, we made it to our destination and watched our gal Sunday be honored for four and a half years of hard work to receive two incredible degrees. Check out the cool glasswork on the walls behind us, too! She has her whole future ahead of he...

The last couple of weeks have been rough. I'm in the middle of a tough bout with depression; I'm sure it's mostly based on the lack of sunlight. I was so excited for last weekend's solstice - almost more excited than I am for Christmas, because now the days will start getting longer, and I need my sunlight. I'm whatever the opposite of a vampire is. I've had issues with seasonal affective disorder in the past, but it seems especially bad this year (I'm a bad judge of this, though - I always forget how terrible it was to adjust to a move, or the last time I felt depressed). I have not worked on the novel in more than a month. I have not written at all since my last blog post, which was about how tired I've been feeling. I have not been reading either. All of you who know me know what a big deal all those things are to me. I've also been very tired, despite getting plenty of sleep, and highly irritable (poor Spousal Unit). I'm sharin...

When we first moved back to Wisconsin, Spousal Unit's mom got us a Thanksgiving cactus (much like a Christmas cactus, but also different). That year, it bloomed, and it had the most beautiful flowers. Over the course of the next year, an apocalyptic mayhem was apparently wrought upon it by yours truly. A few sprigs of cactus fell off, much like the fabled Charlie Brown tree . And in its little plant mind, it screamed at me, "Why?! Oh, why would you do this to me?! For the love of GOD, just end it already!" And then we got cats. Titania is our mountain climber, nibbler, and all-purpose troublemaker. She steals yarn from my lap while I'm using it, eats candy wrappers that have any bit of chocolate stuck to them (yes, the whole wrapper), and tries to destroy our pipes by shredding the insulation off of them. (I don't let  her do any of these things, but when the human's away ...) Spousal Unit and I were still surprised (and horrified) when she de...

Spousal Unit and I enjoyed a good, wholesome weekend with the family. Sorry, I mean a good, wholesome half hour. We were drunk for the rest of it. First things first: We went to Drammen Lutheran Church in Mondovi for a family reunion. I was excited to see some people I hadn't seen it a while. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, the reunion was over. All that was left to see was the church. That still worked for me - my great-great-grandpa who came over from Norway built this church. Here I am being silly in front of it. (I doubt he would have approved.) Then came the less wholesome and more fun part of the weekend. It wasn't spent at the bottom of red Solo cups, but it was close enough. I saw a cool barn door while drinking. You are all shocked to know there are barn doors in Wisconsin. Amazing camera point: This was taken in pitch dark. You can almost see a face peeking out of that window, can't you? But from there on out, the night w...

Over the weekend, Spousal Unit and I took a brief trip to his parents' lake house. No one else was there, so it was a nice chance to just hang out and have a brief vacation without paying for a hotel room. We assembled a couch and didn't get divorced by the end of it. Win. (Also, it was 10 a.m., but that was a beer kind of moment.) We went for a walk and saw little bee butts. And pretty flowers. We found an adorable little bridge... ...over an adorable little ingress. This sign did not seem to be placed appropriately, but it was very new-looking. Strange. And we found a beached turtle sandbox devoid of sand. It seemed really sad to me. Poor dude.

It's the most wonderful time of the year. No, not Christmas - but close. Hippie Christmas! This year wasn't as wonderful as the previous years; the City of Madison was doing trash collection every day this year, meaning there were slim pickings. I can't say I blame them; it's probably the most obnoxious time of the year for them. But dudes, you're totally harshing my vibe. It didn't help that I went at dinner time, instead of after, when people packing their cars get really desperate and start tossing the good stuff. On top of that, work is still totally FUBAR, so by the time I found a parking spot after dodging rush-hour traffic on the isthmus, I already wanted to go home and sleep. But I toughed it out and found this pitcher. I've come to the conclusion that some college students really like having fancy drinkware if they host lots of parties. This isn't much to look at, sure, but the spigot works, and it will go well with the decanter I g...

It was a busy weekend, but I have some great pictures to show for it! I went to my friend Liz's wedding, and it was gorgeous and fun and full of love. I saw friends I haven't seen in a long time. Spousal Unit rode a tractor. I took artistic photos of random stuff. (Or I tried to be artistic, anyway.) There was a gorgeous moon above a white farmhouse. And there was happiness. All of the greatest things for Liz's wedding. (I include the tractor in that, too.)