But Call Me Betsy

Seems like lots of people these days are having their blogs made into movies or writing blogs and then making special guest appearances on CSI or going on a talk show or a radio program or a world tour or something. The trick is to have a focus; something compelling and exciting that makes your readers want to come back every day. For instance, we went to see Julia and Julia a couple of weekends ago and the "thing" in that is this woman deciding to make every recipe from Julia Child's French cookbook in one year and to blog about it every day (after the movie, Padhraig said he was going to give himself one year to make every recipe in the movie. All six of them). Then I read an article in The New Yorker this week about a man who decided to force his family in New York to try to live without contributing to the failure of the planet (i.e. produce no garbage, recycle, use cloth diapers on the baby, eat by candlelight, walk everywhere, stop using toilet paper). They create...

We bought a Flip camera for the office so that we can capture events like the first day of classes, lectures, Homecoming programs, quick interviews,etc. So, of course, I have to learn how to use it and the first thing I did was force Manny to make 2 videos with me. Both are silly. The first is me trying to speak in a French accent. How my hair got so messy is anybody's guess. The second is Manny being asked to show me some yoga poses. You can see evidence here of how softly he speaks. He almost never raises his voice above a movie-theater volume. Look at his cute dimples, please. You can look forward to thousands of cat videos before the end of the weekend, I am certain.

My mom recently mailed me a bunch of old photographs that I need to scan and send back to her. Here is one--I'm about 5 or 6. This is at my grandpa and grandma's house in Nebraska, where we used to live. I do not know what I am holding. A beer pong? Grandma looks crabby in the background, but that's probably mostly because she never liked getting her picture done. It does look as though she's recently been to the beauty parlor to get her hair shaped into its Sunday best. We looked at more houses yesterday and saw one or two with this same paneling on the walls as shown in the photo. Only really one old person house, and it was well-maintained. The houses all start to look the same after awhile. Stairs to the left, narrow hallways, three bedrooms in a row upstairs. Saw one house I like a lot, but I'm not going to mention anything about it because I don't want to jinx it. Jeanne showed me a great house with lots of original detail--little built in cupboards and gl...

So, yes, I put an offer in on another house, but the sellers are dragging their feet a little. I was supposed to have an inspection today, but of course, until they sign the agreement, there's no point in paying the $500 to have a guy tell me everything that's wrong with it. In the meantime, I've been stalking the house--going by in the mornings to see if it's changed much, taking photos, and accidentally a video of it. Below, please see the tree in front of the house. Note the fake flowers. Below that are pictures of the current resident cat, Mimi, who I met when we looked at the place. She is fat, fat, fat, and has a tiny little head. She's very friendly though. I also have a short video clip here of her doing a somersault; despite the excessive weight, she seems limber enough. You will be unhappy to know that I have already spotted 3 stray outdoor cats who hang out on the street. I saw them when we first looked at the house, and then, another morning when I went ...

After having looked at about 40+ houses in South Philly over the last 3 weeks, I consider myself an expert in the realm. You might be amazed at the similarities they share. The ones that are "modernized" have the same, same characteristics: 1. New, cheap faux hardwood floors (Home Depot: $2 a square yd.) 2. That big round fat sink in the bathroom (Home Depot: $45) 3. Recessed lighting (HD: $3) 4. A huge chandelier (see previous pics from house on Jackson St. HD: $24.99 or $45 for two) The grandma type houses have: 1. A lingering mothball/spaghetti sauce smell 2. Handlebars affixed to the sides of the bathtub 3. Paneling 4. Wall-to-wall carpeting in all of the rooms 5. A pencil sharpener attached to the basement steps 6. 1 to 2 adult potty chairs 7. Jesus' in surprising places In the shitty, still occupied houses you will find: 1. A broken beer glass on the back patio 2. Neglected pets 3.Mattresses on the floor 4. Tons of music posters to cover up dirt stains 5. Burnt cand...

Just found these two videos I made of Ernesto in my down time this spring. Don't know what the hell I was doing with my time. Must have been an "off" season for The Bachelor and/or I had no new library books. Can't remember if I posted them before, but here they are for your viewing pleasure. I hope you find them as charming as I do...

As you may have guessed from previous posts, one of the hardest things about South Philly is the plethora of stray cats; some feral, some abandoned by owners, some that still get fed but are never taken to the vet. Such as the cat below. The first three pictures are her as a little kitten. But then the little girl who had her couldn't keep her because her cousin was allergic. The people behind me took her in. She recently had kittens, so now there are two more males in the neighborhood. I knew they wouldn't take her in to get fixed because it's just not a priority for them. So, I stole her away last Sunday night (I asked first--they said they didn't want her anymore, but were going to keep the kittens). Took her to the cat place yesterday, where they fixed her, gave her shots, clipped her nails, and gave her a flea dip. She's brand new! But I can't have her. I don't want to just let her go again, because even though I know they will probably keep feeding her...