tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873Mon, 01 Jan 2024 07:30:59 +0000persisting through the pandemicwhen she was bad...because I said sothe sontravelthe daughterconcertswearycleaning out the atticphotographwhat makes me happybaseballmemoryone step forward and two steps backbored nowbad catsfood (the delicious kind)recipesanger managementambiguity is good for youconversationparentingcount your blessingsgrrr arghsomething goodthe art and science of writingat least it's one step forwardendings and beginningscomplain complain complainfun on the horizonmusicoh honestlybooksthe spouseI'm supposed to wear this?birthdaysChristmasit's always fun until someone loses an eyemoviessummerthat's doneHalloweendeathgardeninghark the herald angelsillnessthis post does not have a labelI know this post won't sound nearly so funny the next time I read itchildrendon't mess with this motherearthquakesgratitudelife and how to live itRushalways the exception and never the rulefoodgrowing upheadache (not my favorite)home is...Santiago firebetter nowdreamsfailure as a girlfor the birdsgotta have friendsgriefpartyrandom...utterly and totally randomstormy weatherthank god I have a good sense of humor and it hasn't failed me quite yetthat elusive thing called hopethings I don't likewhen all this actual life played out where the hell on earth was I?anywhere but Irvinebeginningsblack-eyed peas for luckdancingenough alreadygive a little bitit's the small thingsnow that's a boring postparents who rocksadnessstormwatch (exclamation point)uh science?when the world is running downI am so not in the moodI will surviveSouthern Californiaaway she goesback to naturebeautybrokendo not annoy the queenendingsfood (loosely speaking)fussedinfectednightmares and dreamscapesstrange menstranger than fictionsurgerythe things we do for lovethings turkeythis is what we call A Moodvaccination is good for youwhen she was good...when she was still a lot loopier than she thoughtbreakfastbrothercakecan I get some service here please?disasterdoing what's rightdreaming little dreamsexercisefiddling while Rome burnsflummoxed...againfuture perfect waitingit's all non sequiturit's my blog and I can be tedious if I want tomagical thinkingnightmaresno place like stores for the holidaysperformance photo realistplanes trains and automobilespossessedscary skiessillinesssing a songsports injuriesspringthe excitement just never endsthe searchthis is not a testthis mattersthis woman's workwhen travel is hellwhere the work beginswherein she smilesAngelsBarbieGI JoeHaloI finished NaBloPoMo woohooThanksgivingWarafterwords and postscriptsand now I have to wash the dishesanimal natureappliancesbaseball (or some simulacrum thereof)big wheelsblack cats named Olivierblah blah blahbrainbut I don't watch televisionbutterflies are free to flycoal minecomputers from hellcontent for nowcrabby housesenvironmentfire (again)grocery shoppinggrr arghhairhates shopping but loves shoeshelicopter parentshow many steps back was that?how much further do you want to go out on this limb?humorit's a new month aren't you happy?it's anyone's guessit's the end of the year as we know it and I had funjust another day in paradiselet there be cakeletting go is hard to dolistenlosslying to everyonenever say dienew toy oh oh ohnew year old meno I'm not angry or anythingparking lotspeople are strangepersisting through the apparently neverending pandemicsadly this still looms large in my daily lifeshoesso many words so little timeteen yearsthe 'hoodthe hard waythe importance of namingthe joys of bloggingthe kid is alrightthe straw that made it all fall downthe whole kitchen including the sinkthese lists...this is me you're talking abouttime passagesvacationvariableswhatever comes nextwhen I stopped working at perfectwhen do I get to stop using that label?when she decided it was time to fish or cut baitwhen she was much worse than usualwhen the bough breakswhoopswith hope in your heartwonderful and weirdyes sometimes I do watch TVyou say you want a revolution111002BorgesCarlsbad CavernsDamn phoneFuck Putin!GaladrielGenesisH2Oh noLeap yearMale Refrigerator BlindnessMuseNaBloPoMoOW!Really freaking pissed off in a hotel in LondonRed RocksRose ParadeSoaring RodentsThe Bad DogThe elephant has left the room.TucsonVOTEVikingsWhite Sandsa number is just that: a numberairportsand all thatautodidacticismball of confusionbatsbeautiful beautiful musicbrasbread and circusesbuildings and mountainscandycelebratecircle of life and all that crapclotheslinescookingcrushdancing in the streetsdining dahlingdinner en familleearworm? you're welcomeelectionend of summerescape planned and otherwisefalling on deaf ears (as usual)familiesfeeling better nowfictionfinding happiness where you canfood (the fast variety)food failuresforget anger managment I'm really fucking pissed offfour months latergadgetsgiftsgleeful indulgence of righteous indignationgoing where I wantgood days bad days really awful daysgood deed for the daygood night and good luckhere comes the suniTunesickif it walks like a man and talks like a manin high dudgeonin the endinscrutableisn't this month over yet?it's always fun until someone gets bittenit's complicatedit's not over 'til it's overjack o'lanternsknittinglearn to be happyletters never sentlike mother like daughterlistsllamaslooking for the light(heartedness)looking in the rearview mirrorlostlunaticsmarzipan spidersmeatloafmelanomamemories of the pandemicmissing someone or somethingmistaken identitymore political than I let onnaked mole rats no no nonaughty cookiesnext? next I shall take an antihistaminenicetiesno ideano paparazzinot Frenchnot in my neighborhoodnowobliviousnessoopsorbital resonanceoutta hereperoneal tendonitisphotoplease please just let me be wrongpragmatismpuppetsreader...I married himreally nice guysrules are rulesshe's leaving home bye byesighsilly and pointless whingingsleeping the sleep of the innocentsoftballsomeone is watching youstop breaking the furniturestream of unconsciousnesstetheredthe agony and the...agonythe derivation of Mooberrythe dubious joys of miscommunication and misunderstandingthe endthe joys of Resting Bitch Facethe men I dream ofthe new normal?the sound of silencethe sun that doesn't setthe time I hope I'm wrongthe way the wind blowsthe weather outside is frightfultheft is badthere is no trythere will be vegetablesthese daysthink for yourselfthis is an outragethis is the endthose who live in glass houses with big lawnstime not mineuncomfortably numbwe aren't putting the "post" in pandemic YETweirdnesswhen little things add up to a big stinking holewhere oh where did my passport go?where the hell are my labels Blogger?wild wild lifeyes it's still a damn pandemicyou againyou know it's bad if I sleep alotÀ bientôtendlessly rocking...http://mooberry.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)Blogger1150125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-5516038028096213709Mon, 01 Jan 2024 07:26:00 +00002023-12-31T23:26:07.650-08:00good night and good luckin the endthe endthis is the endI came back earlier in the month for a single reason (message received--honestly, I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't lived 20-odd years of it). Anyway...I truly miss blogging, but the world has changed and so have I.I've not only closed the blogs, but I've taken them down. And the reason is really simple: My hard-won voice is not going to be used to train AI. The number of hits by bots on http://mooberry.blogspot.com/2023/12/an-end-has-start-this-time-will-be-last.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-3314518121162006942Wed, 06 Dec 2023 07:15:00 +00002023-12-05T23:26:19.067-08:00ambiguity is good for youdancingfuture perfect waitingperformance photo realistReally? REALLY?(Well played.)*********************So I've survived the pandemic and all my boosters, and I've been working for a scientific consulting firm for the last year (no, I don't know why. Boredom, perhaps.)And a funny thing happened...During the pandemic, I was watching dance companies do all kinds of interesting things remotely. Sadler Wells did a short, fabulous film on The Red Shoes, http://mooberry.blogspot.com/2023/12/guerrilla-birding.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-1582420086506431676Sun, 01 Jan 2023 03:42:00 +00002023-01-01T01:42:59.126-08:00persisting through the pandemicChristmas is now just a callback to that fateful morning in Santa Fe three years ago sitting next to the fire and reading about a PUE in China.And as we enter the fourth year...The wildcard, again, is China. I can only hope that some highly lethal variant won't escape with the end of their Zero Covid nonsense. I think a lot of us are hoping.But like the rest of the world, I'm tired of Covid. I http://mooberry.blogspot.com/2022/12/an-end-has-start-end-of-world-as-we.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-2860988282548910296Thu, 01 Dec 2022 02:55:00 +00002022-11-30T18:55:58.164-08:00griefpersisting through the pandemicwearyNews of Christine McVie's death is hitting me particularly hard. Fleetwood Mac was part of the soundscape of my childhood and early teenhood. The songs she wrote while with the band all have particular memories attached to them. And it's another blow coming on the heels of the death of Irene Cara over the weekend, whose songs embodied the end of my high school career. Fleetwood Mac was the http://mooberry.blogspot.com/2022/11/songbird.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-819088866727911387Thu, 03 Nov 2022 17:57:00 +00002022-11-03T19:12:23.096-07:00humorpersisting through the pandemicthe son Apparently, I'm not the only one trying (failing yesterday) to lighten things up. From today's New York Times: "When Everything Is Heavy, a Touch of Humor Can Help."So today I present you a story of the son, posted 15 years ago.3 November 2007The son is looking for breakfast. Me: "There are three boxes of Luna Bars in the pantry." The son, rummaging, emerges with a Luna Sunrise http://mooberry.blogspot.com/2022/11/welcome-to-occupation-redux.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-900444004680831333Thu, 03 Nov 2022 06:12:00 +00002022-11-02T23:12:48.413-07:00familiespersisting through the pandemicUnlike most people I knew, I didn't really have grandparents. Both grandfathers died well before my birth. One grandmother was a nun and in care for some form of dementia (the going story was that her office in the hospital was next to the X-ray room and the room was unshielded because they didn't know better and consequently, she suffered brain damage, blah, blah, blah. Possibly true but http://mooberry.blogspot.com/2022/11/all-thats-not-left-behind.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-3484632606379835290Wed, 02 Nov 2022 01:40:00 +00002022-11-01T18:54:24.426-07:00humorpersisting through the apparently neverending pandemicpersisting through the pandemicthe daughterLong ago, in the Before Times (and I mean really Before Times), I used to join in NaBloPoMo. National Blog Posting Month, or something. Anyway, the idea was to post every day for the month of November. A blogger's NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, which I was also usually doing. Along with working. And baking cupcakes. God knows what got into me.)Anyway.I'm tired of being angry, and I'm http://mooberry.blogspot.com/2022/11/when-rivers-flow-on-mars-redux.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-549967568138542310Tue, 01 Nov 2022 04:06:00 +00002022-10-31T21:06:25.681-07:00Halloweenpersisting through the pandemicrules are rulesI am feeling sad tonight. It's Halloween and I didn't have the energy to deal with people coming to the door. This is at the least the second time (2020 being the first time) that I decided to opt out of the proceedings. I used to enjoy talking to the kids and throwing candy in the bags, and now, it's all "bah humbug."Even before the pandemic, though, I was starting to resent the adults-http://mooberry.blogspot.com/2022/10/etiquette.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-5489104652322970057Fri, 28 Oct 2022 17:24:00 +00002022-10-28T10:24:41.533-07:00deathgrieflearn to be happypersisting through the pandemicI was cleaning up pine straw and other detritus in the front garden yesterday. We'd had a small windstorm and the first of the season usually leaves a considerable mess. While raking around some of my smaller plants, I found a plastic flower. It was small and white, completely clean and absolutely intact. "How in the hell can their plastic flowers still be in my garden?" I actually fumed outhttp://mooberry.blogspot.com/2022/10/signs-and-portents.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-7094425236468700485Fri, 07 Oct 2022 23:25:00 +00002022-10-12T15:09:52.799-07:00persisting through the pandemicthis woman's workSo, I went to lunch.And maybe I have a new job. I liked the sound of the company. I liked the sound of the work. Things that worried me might not be an issue. I already like the person who contacted me.Additional financial security is never a bad thing. Additional intellectual stimulation is also not a bad thing.Heaven forfend, I might have found a good thing?!(This thing didn't publish for some http://mooberry.blogspot.com/2022/10/pivot.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-3167451792113306454Sat, 01 Oct 2022 06:56:00 +00002022-09-30T23:56:24.922-07:00one step forward and two steps backpersisting through the pandemicwearyThe pandemic is not over, despite the presidential announcement. Who's been right this whole time? You're reading her.**************I was gone for a bit more than a week and in that week, the light changed. I don't know why this time of year I always notice the way the light falls. It strikes me far less in spring, but in autumn, I always catch the difference. The change seemed dramatic whenhttp://mooberry.blogspot.com/2022/09/change-of-light.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-657783518109932548Tue, 13 Sep 2022 22:53:00 +00002022-09-13T15:53:18.910-07:00I was surprised (and dismayed when people ridiculed the idea) that people were unaware that bees need to be notified of familial events. And so, the royal beekeeper informed the Queen's bees that she had died. I don't remember where I first read of the tradition, but it seemed in keeping with how I treat the creatures that visit my own gardens. I talk to them all the time. I greet the lizards, http://mooberry.blogspot.com/2022/09/tell-bees-and-lizards.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-2621538210312924849Sun, 11 Sep 2022 05:15:00 +00002022-09-10T22:15:07.612-07:00gardeningpersisting through the pandemicthose who live in glass houses with big lawnsQuick message to all those in California screaming about the late Queen, the monarchy and colonialism: go take a look at your lawn.That is colonialism.Your lawn (and probably most of your garden) is an imported, water-wasting, European construct that has no place in California. Think about that. Think about that alot.Then take a long, hard look in the mirror, shut your silly trap and start http://mooberry.blogspot.com/2022/09/this-is-no-heaven.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-5008412557265514600Thu, 08 Sep 2022 23:48:00 +00002022-09-08T16:48:19.166-07:00deathpersisting through the pandemicweirdnessSince the spouse became ill, I've been getting up very early and feeding the cats, making him a breakfast tray and then trying to get another hour of sleep. Some days I'm successful, most days not. This morning I think I fell back asleep about 10 minutes before the alarm went off. That's what it felt like anyway.In that brief time, I dreamed. I was at a house that I did not recognize and outdoorshttp://mooberry.blogspot.com/2022/09/caught-in-twister.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-8553516865943385512Sat, 03 Sep 2022 23:35:00 +00002022-09-03T16:39:28.790-07:00griefpersisting through the pandemicweary(We are, in fact, under a severe thunderstorm watch, warning, something, but that's not what I'm talking about.)I probably shouldn't have watched the Taylor Hawkins Wembley concert. In fact, I think I wasn't going to and then I turned it on anyway. And ended up murdering a box of Kleenex. (I wasn't able to get tickets for the Los Angeles show, though I tried. It might be just as well.)As I http://mooberry.blogspot.com/2022/09/aviso-de-tormenta.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-3450473445214387653Thu, 01 Sep 2022 06:31:00 +00002022-08-31T23:35:10.730-07:00it's a new month aren't you happy?persisting through the apparently neverending pandemicpersisting through the pandemicwearyAugust 28, the spouse tested positive for COVID-19.It was a good run. Our family made it nearly 3 years without anyone catching it.From a clinical standpoint, I think this answers a lot of questions, primarily: why hadn't we gotten it before?Caution, good hygiene, masking, vaccination and my prior knowledge of how pandemics work all played into it. Clearly. Government fuckery helped no one. We'vehttp://mooberry.blogspot.com/2022/08/when-it-comes-home.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-6951105303647241240Tue, 23 Aug 2022 21:35:00 +00002022-08-23T14:35:06.712-07:00persisting through the pandemicthe hard wayI don't usually go back and read old posts; I've been blogging since 2006 and y'know, that's a lot of posts. But I did one of my occasional checks of stats (I forgot the name of the service I use, which tells you how often I check) and discovered a creepy entry, probably a bot, that had entered both blogs multiple times on 6 August. I hate that stuff and I know I should write a robots.txt to http://mooberry.blogspot.com/2022/08/they-dont-make-feelings-like-they-used.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-4608415994806534850Mon, 22 Aug 2022 06:01:00 +00002022-08-21T23:01:18.418-07:00musicpersisting through the pandemicsomething goodI've never fallen ill, but the pandemic destroyed my sense of time.There is Before.There is During.There is Now.I don't know if I will see After. Will there be an After?(There are arguments for and against.)We used to go to concerts and the theater with some regularity. The daughter and I went to Cats in April, 2019 (predictably, I was displeased because they'd changed Gillian Lynne's http://mooberry.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-road-to-hell.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-6846166195666373461Fri, 19 Aug 2022 23:27:00 +00002022-08-19T16:29:23.658-07:00buildings and mountainsdreamsnightmares and dreamscapespersisting through the pandemicAs I've said many, many times, I tend to dream quite vividly. There are the gardens that tend to show up, usually in connection with specific people. In recent years, I've been circling a desert town; this is after a decade of driving the same road in vastly different conditions. The latter two are linked in my dream brain in some unspecified way, though they are disparate, discrete places.I http://mooberry.blogspot.com/2022/08/what-lies-at-edge-of-perception.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-3079306842486343955Fri, 12 Aug 2022 23:47:00 +00002022-08-12T16:47:21.473-07:00deathpersisting through the pandemicshe's leaving home bye byewearyA neighbor died a few weeks ago; it was expected as he'd been quite ill for some time. Still, sad. I'd known him for all the years we've lived here and he always seemed a friendly, generally kind and generous sort of person. We'd always exchange pleasantries if we ran into each other at the grocery, have a conversation at a party (back when I went to those things). I'd seen him and his wife more http://mooberry.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-less-you-know.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-803619106350657889Tue, 02 Aug 2022 00:08:00 +00002022-08-01T17:11:05.271-07:00anger managementcircle of life and all that crappersisting through the pandemicwild wild lifeWee desert cottontailOrange County, California1 August 2022I'd built up a glorious head of steam writing a rager of a post and then decided, nope. I've been in a foul mood all day. Anyway, this little monster has apparently decided that it's not afraid of me. I've been out in the garden and it hops around while I'm working. I think it's still pretty young (the adult I used to see with http://mooberry.blogspot.com/2022/08/bless-you.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-1368320686542228854Tue, 26 Jul 2022 23:16:00 +00002022-07-26T16:16:01.500-07:00persisting through the pandemicwearyMaybe it's time to be done.Google is screwing around with Feedburner again, for about the 8 millionth time since I started using it back in 2007 or so, and it looks like my feed has been completely borked. So sorry, feedreaders!(Yeah, I brought it to their attention. They've long made it clear they don't really care about Feedburner, so whatever.)I used to enjoy blogging. Writing silly things, http://mooberry.blogspot.com/2022/07/when-youre-done-youre-done.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-3998374659896107386Sat, 16 Jul 2022 00:13:00 +00002022-07-15T17:13:14.673-07:00memorynot Frenchpersisting through the pandemicthe joys of Resting Bitch FacetravelIn early 2018, I took the Eurostar from London to Paris. I'd been to Paris before, briefly, but never via the Chunnel (and there were reasons--work reasons-- that I wanted to go through it) and never by myself. As I've mentioned before, while I can read French pretty well, my ability to speak French is abysmal. But I always make the effort to use the local language if I can (Danish evaded me in http://mooberry.blogspot.com/2022/07/like-your-french-girls.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-6624801541119894226Fri, 01 Jul 2022 06:14:00 +00002022-06-30T23:14:44.999-07:00persisting through the pandemicwhen do I get to stop using that label?yes it's still a damn pandemicThis month is doneIt was not funTomorrow is another one*With apologies to Dr. Seuss. I know we hate him now, but dude could rhyme.http://mooberry.blogspot.com/2022/06/1110-pm.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32371873.post-8131559016453607523Fri, 17 Jun 2022 14:24:00 +00002022-06-17T07:24:54.372-07:00concertsgardeningpersisting through the pandemicwearyBack to not sleeping and woke at 5 a.m. Probably pain.Need new doctors.Too tired to look for them.But there may be hope for finishing the final work to the house.****************Summer is a fallow time for gardening in the California native plant world, so I'm trying to plan for autumn and nurture the stuff I idiotically planted last week. I took a gardening class the other day and the http://mooberry.blogspot.com/2022/06/652-am.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (guerrilla girl)0