But Call Me Betsy

Another week of photos. It was a slow week for cats though. Below, please find cat and ship model. Both very classic. This one smooshed her entire face on the window. Here is a bakery that displays gigantic and disgusting looking cakes. Click on the photo for a larger view. I liked the bling detail on this car's hood--some kind of intricate painting or other. Here is Paul Skoales, sitting on the table at C & P's. He is one of the rescued cats. He likes to lick the top of your feet. And his brother, sleek and trim Piper, no longer shy at all.

How my mind works: I was thinking this morning about my next Maven piece. I pitched the idea that I could write about the top ten relationship killers and that reminded me of this guy Jess went out with one time who didn't realize he was still wearing the plastic height and width tag from the Gap running down the back of his new khaki pants and how that made her not want to date him anymore. Then I thought about how MS mentioned that the guy she's seeing keeps wearing the same dumb beaded necklace, even in the shower and how it drives her crazy, but she can't think of a way to tell him to take it off b/c she knows it's superficial. That reminded me of that one campfire horror story, "The Girl with the Black Ribbon." It's some story I first heard in Girl Scouts about a man who marries this beautiful woman but she always wears this black choker ribbon around her neck and she warns him never ever to take it from her. Of course, he can't resist this ultima...

Now that I'm working in West Philadelphia, it is ridiculously easy to walk to the TJ's at 22nd and Market. Once there, I often experience what's known as "clean slate-itis," meaning that I suddenly forget that I never, ever cook or prepare anything more elaborate than boiled water. All the pretty packaging and healthy ingredients and seemingly low prices erase my good sense and memory, causing me to buy loads of carrots, pinto beans, lentils, flour, organic non meat that tastes exactly like organic non meat, a handmade pasta maker, pumpkins for soup, raspberry seeds to plant and grow my own bush, wheat germ, and curds and whey. I take all of these things home and put them in my cabinets and freezer where they stay until I move into my next residence. Consequently, I have banned myself from buying lots of things; even things that don't require much prepare, including flour tortillas and hummus. They always sounds like a good idea, like, hey, maybe tonight I...

On my way to work today, I saw a guy standing in a corner near a fenced in alleyway. At first, I thought maybe he was looking for something; a lost kitten or a Frisbee, but it turned out he was just peeing on the fence. This wasn't a homeless guy or some guy out of his mind. It was just this regular South Philly dude with loads of black tattoos up and down his arms, which were exposed because he was wearing a wife beater. Denim shorts, socks pulled up past his ankles, and thick white sneakers. I almost took a picture of him but then I decided I've had enough morning conflict lately. So, maybe he was a construction worker without a uniform whose been on the job since 4 a.m. and just couldn't find a bathroom. Maybe he has a bladder infection and has to take care of those needs immediatemente. Or it's possible that he was raised by a pack of wild Bischon Frises who taught him to pee on his fence every morning to mark his territory and keep away rivals. Do you think that wa...

Yes, my life is nonstop action. Friday, had dinner at Matyson. It's recommendable. I ordered the filet and A. had the little tiny innocent baby lamb which they practically slaughtered at our table; it was quite pinkishly medium rare. We also requested two appetizers but I'm blanking on what they were...Oh, right, one was the liver of an animal. For dessert, we ordered monkey brains on ice (not really--we had a huge chocolate ball with peanut butter inside. Very good). Cabbed it to Vox which was filled with hipsters in varying shapes, sizes, and different colored tight jeans. We missed Carrie and Padhraig by a hair and went home instead to watch Dirty Dancing and paint each other's nails. One thing I like about A. is that he will say no to something, but if you keep asking, and if you ask nicely, and if you don't exactly whine, he might change his mind and say yes and then you can paint all of his toenails a bright red (provided you promise to remove it the next day)....

5 Things of Note: 1. I ran into that really cute fat dog and her really cute not-fat owner today on my way to the subway. I used to see the two of them all the time in the summer, but it had been awhile, and so, in my fatalist way, I just assumed the dog had died. But no, this morning, here she came, wagging her tail in this circular fashion. We all stopped at this house where two small Pomeranians were hanging out with their owner and I petted her. I still didn't know it was the same dog until her owner said something to me. I said, Oh! Here she is! I was worried because I hadn't seen you guys in awhile. He said, Nope, she's still okay. I have no idea if he recognized me or not. Still, I was glad to see her and she seemed sprightly and happy and not near death. 2. Going to dinner at Matyson's tonight with my $100 gift card from last year's holiday party. A. will bring the wine. I hope the food is good, but even if it's just okay, it's still free. 3. Started...

Having realized that I still am motivated by the very same systems I learned in kindergarten, I recently made myself a weekly chore chart, breaking down all of the cleaning necessities into manageable days of the week so that I do a little something every day. It's fine as none of it involves real cleaning. I am excellent and putting my clothes away and picking up after myself; not so excellent at mopping the floor or cleaning the refrigerator. I gave myself a reprieve for Wednesdays b/c that's garbage day, my most hated day of the week as it involves me going down into the basement and cleaning the litter boxes. I am hoping this dread will dissipate somewhat now that I've added other times on the c.c. where I am supposed to clean the box. Today, I believe I have vacuuming and...something else. That will take no time at all as I have almost exclusively hard wood floors. At work, I have a similar system going where I get a gold star every time I go to the gym. I guess after ...