We watched this episode of Frasier on Monday night and it felt way too appropriate:
Even Katie had a bit of a rough day on Monday. But she persevered and was back to her happy, smiling self in no time.
You may have seen that she got to play in the snow for the first time, too.
(By “play,” I mean participate in a photo shoot with mom and dad.)
She has also grown very invested in her standing practice. Sitting is old news! So here we are, reading our books at the table instead of on the floor.
The last time I was home, my mother and I had margaritas and listened to music. When this happens, the next time I open up the music app on my phone, I usually find some random items in my recent searches (the Kentucky Headhunters, anyone?) Anyway, on Sunday, I found Patrick Park at the top of my recent searches. It’s a vibe for sure while vacuuming.
You remember Patrick Park. Known for great moments on the OC. And peak early aughts angsty feelings.
Remember when Susie borrowed this for her blog title?
Anyway, listening to too much Patrick Park while working on a sewing project left me feeling down in the dumps on Sunday evening! That and the lack of anything to watch except increasingly bad Hallmark movies.
Now, it’s Tuesday evening and I’ve two busy days at work and I’m ready for some wine and a little brain-clearing stitching time.
What have you been listening to lately?
*obviously the title is from Frasier. Also a vibe.
Today is Groundhog Day. But did you know that it is also Hedgehog Day? Me neither.
A hedgehogis any of the spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae. Their spiny protection resembles that of the unrelated porcupines, which are rodents. Hedgehogs are not rodents. Please.
Hans Hoffmann, c. 1584
The other night Lottie asked me what was my favorite animal and I said the hedgehog. The look of utter incredulity was classic Lottie.
I changed my answer to elephants. Much better answer, okay.
I’ll have to work on bringing Lottie over to my side.
In the meantime, I’ll toast the lowly hedgehog tonight.
I will also note that today is National Tater Tot Day. Who knew? Tater Tots were invented by the frozen food company Ore-Ida (“When it says Ore-Ida, they’re all-righta!”) In the U.S. we consume approximately 3.5 billion of these nuggets of potato goodness per year. Well, we served Tater Tots on Sunday. The wee babes were unimpressed–finding it hard to believe that they were “like French Fries.”
Hedgehogs and Tater Tots, oh my, and who cares? Maybe tonight I’ll watch Groundhog Day (1993), a movie I don’t think I’ve ever actually ever seen start to finish. It would be appropriate following a day that will no doubt be just like yesterday, a day filled with Zoom meetings and trips up and downstairs in my own house, sometimes punctuated by grumbling from the OM in his basement office. Has it really been 10 and 1/2 months since we left the house?
Here’s a sad poem by Philip Larkin called The Mower. It’s about a hedgehog, but really about us all.
The mower stalled, twice; kneeling, I found A hedgehog jammed up against the blades, Killed. It had been in the long grass.
I had seen it before, and even fed it, once. Now I had mauled its unobtrusive world Unmendably. Burial was no help:
Next morning I got up and it did not. The first day after a death, the new absence Is always the same; we should be careful
Of each other, we should be kind While there is still time.
It was a dark, rainy, windy weekend. Every time I went out–and I did go out–it was miserable. C’est la vie.
So I got a lot done inside. I vacuumed. I tidied up. I cleaned out drawers. I needlepointed. All while listening to Beethoven! You see, we had a special program at my flyover institute on Friday celebrating Beethoven’s 250th birthday (in 2020 actually) and it was very interesting. Besides the fact that we screwed up a lot in our Zoom presentation (the music), it was kind of mind-blowing. Anyway, it inspired me and I highly recommend listening to some Beethoven. It really elevates one’s daily chores. (Just google Youtube Beethoven.)
Of course, listening to the seventh symphony, I couldn’t help thinking of the great scene in The King’s Speech (2010).
And daughter #1 reminded me of this:
We had quite a record collection when I was growing up. My DP and I loved to listen to classical music and dance around the living room when we were little girls. Sometimes we fake conducted while standing on the canister vacuum cleaner. Our brother and our mother used to quiz each other–you know, play a snippet and see how long it took before they could identify the piece and the composer. Our brother got to be too cool for that and moved on to more contemporary fare, but we still liked to play the old records. In fact, I still prefer listening to records to going to hear the symphony play. Even when I was much younger, sitting in Powell Hall always put me to sleep. If that makes me low-brow, so be it.
The wee babes came over on Sunday night with their parents for dinner and a frolic…
…and a wee bit of quiet time.
Good times. I’m not ready for Monday or, really, for a new month, but I’ll persevere. With a little help from Beethoven.
dual personalities 