At Last

Quick Rundown

Wasn't yesterday great? Did you watch until your eyeballs tried to crawl away from their sockets in an attempt to find a host who would allow them some blinkage? I did.


Let me just get the negative aspects out there first. Rick Warren--ugh. Hated that he was there. Just an ugly man with offensive views. Michelles's green gloves. Okay, while I actually sort of loved her big olive-colored hands holding that tiny red Lincoln Bible (while itsy-bitsy Jill Biden struggled to keep level that enormous, gold-leafed tome she was given--that thing was the size of a room air-conditioner). Hee! But is that going to be the modus operandi for our new First Lady? To mar her fashion message of gorgeous, striking simplicity with these last minute cave-ins to her jejeune practicality? (We saw it in her Election Night cardigan misstep, remember?)
What else---oh, my god, that poem by Elisabeth Alexander. Incredibly clunky. Had to mute her.



Highlights--in no particular order. Malia Obama taking photos with her little Nikon Cool Pix camera, especially when she handed it to Joe Biden so her could get her a better shot down the Mall. Sasha Obama in her pink and orange coat and scarf nonchalantly giving the Punahou High School Marching Band the surfer shaka shaka sign. Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman's quartet playing that great arrangement of "Simple Gifts". Wheelchair-bound Dick Cheney reminding us all of the villianous Mr. Potter from It's a Wonderful Life. Barack Obama getting a little bit ahead of himself as he took the oath of office--you know he had that thing memorized and was ready to recite it in one quick go. I liked Joseph Lowrey's rhyming and allusive blessing. And of course I think we all really liked George Bush's helicopter disappearing into the noonday sky. Goodbye Cowboy!

Goodbye to All That!

Don't you love it? No Parking In DC. Wow.

New Leaves

Almost one hundred hours of below zero temperatures here, did you know that? It's been hard--the frigidity affects everything. The air outside smells different, especially in the mornings. Diesel fumes descend from the airplane corridor overhead, and lurk for hours. There's a stillness in the air that is different, too. It's as if the atmosphere is holding its breath. When the temperature rises to a few degrees above zero, I can hear the air moving once more. And that makes me breathe easier!

My houseplants have helped me from going completely winter-mad these last few days. Look at that schefflera bracket. It is so tiny, only half an inch across. I think it had just popped out when I happened to notice it a day or so ago. (Don't you love how infant plant leaves are so shiny and look so much like thin green plastic?) Grow, little schefflera corona! Get big and strong and probably a little dusty in your sunny spot in my dining-room window. And thanks for popping out just when you did. It meant a lot to me.

Love from the Obamas

(click image to enlarge)

My daughter pointed out that this looks exactly like a wedding invitation (and was intensely interested in adding humorous bits to the text). I saved it from her comedic claws and will most likely be popping it into a plastic snap-in frame and propping it against a vertical surface somewhere in my house because I am just a big ol' sentimental fool. But I have to wonder at the sincerity of this invitation. I, along with a billion other Obama supporters, recieved it yesterday. That is exactly one week before the festivites! Sheesh! I mean, that doesn't give me a lot of time to shop for a present for the happy couple! Anyone know where they're registered?

(But, seriously, I am still pinching myself that we have this smart, smart, smart man as our President. Life is good.)

Mom, I'm FINE!

I don't need a hat! It's not that cold! I'm fine! Snowblowing will only take ten minutes! Don't worry about me! I'm FINE!

First Mr Teeny Moment of the New Year

At the grocery store yesterday I pushed my vision-obscuring cart past a woman who was intently studying the canned tomatoes. I murmured, "Excuse me" only to have her respond sort of dismissively, "Oh, you're fine." (As in, stop bothering me with polite expressions 'cause I am super busy figuring out these fucking tomatoes?)

Still processing this.

I took this photo on University Avenue this afternoon. I was so captivated by the insistent jauntiness of the big neon "Andy's Eat Now!" sign that I didn't even notice the groovy mural of a trolley car. See it? Oh course you do. Because it is right there! The odd thing about me not seeing it is --the reason I was out driving around in the first place was to document a few more of the murals I keep seeing around town. D'oh.

I do like how every bit of this shot is crammed with some kind of text or visual message.