Good Enough!

Not the prettiest...

 Not the tastiest...

 Not the most creative use of chocolate...

 

But, you lucky girl...

Wow...

I hesitsated to enter this contest.

I'm so glad I just jumped in and tried!

79 out of 80 miniature sourcream chocolate cakes with

cream cheese peanut butter frosting

and peanut butter ganache were devoured.

And after this shot was taken...

none remained.

And then the latex glove ruptured...

Remember this?

And this?

My job rocks--usually.

Other times, not so much.

Other times, even less so.

Today? all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand, man.

Of course, Lady Mac Beth follows her lament with a well-scripted (and maybe better acted?) Oh, oh, oh.

My lament ended with less dignified words. Mine was closer to oh *@#!, oh $%#$, oh $#@$!!!

Today I had to do what I've been putting off all summer long. Cleaning up the mess left by six red-wing blackbirds in a large metal box perched at the end of a walkplank over the top of a wasteway. Cool, huh?

No.

The tools at hand were one latex glove, one trowel, a pouch of wet-wipes, a screwdriver, and an empty jug of what used to be distilled and de-ionized water.

First came the scraping of the nesting materials, the bug casings, the poop, and the dessicated mold. What followed was a dismal attempt at scooping up the dry powder with a trowel and lifting it over the ledge of the box and flinging it into the wind.

Oh, didn't I mention the wind that came up, constantly shifting directions, swirling around me as I threw the friable dust away from my body--to be immediately blown back into my face, my hair, my nose...

Then came the dousing with water. There's a hole centered in the bottom of the box that theoretically-speaking should have drained the water from the box. Except the box is canted heavily to one side, as it turns out, and why would it not turn out that way? And one side of the hole has a small wall sticking up about 4 inches.

And, why yes, that wall was on the downhill side!

Enter the one latex glove! Swish the water from one side of the box up past the wall and back around the other side to go down the hole. Quickly, or the saturated bird poo and mold will fall out of the solution and remain a pile of mud on the far side of the box. Not too quickly, of course, or it all splashes up and into the face.

Oh, and did I mention the wind?

This was working tolerably well until the latex glove ruptured......

Needless to say, but I'll say it anyway, when I finally made it back to the office I was immediately told to go home and take a shower. They didn't want me in the office.

They followed me out of the office liberally applying Lysol in both liquid and spray form to the air, the doorhandles, the walls...

I've now showered, and am contemplating drinking some bleach. This scalding hot ginger tea just isn't quite doing it.

All the perfumes of Arabia, man. All the perfumes of Arabia.

Listing

It might look like I’m sitting here doing nothing other than staring off into space, staring back at my screen, off into space, back at my screen, off into space, back at my screen…

But really, the cogs are moaning and groaning and slowly finding their intended interconnections. As a result, thoughts are forming! Plans are getting planned. Lists are straightened up (does anyone get that pun besides me?) and typed with bullet point precision on my brain, with imminent transferal to the screen looming. I’m printing maps; I’m calculating drive times. I’m heading off to Bet’s next weekend for the annual gingerbread house fete.

Since middle school, with just a few years missed here and there, Bet and I have made gingerbread houses every Christmas. They haven’t always been the biggest, the grandest, the neatest, or the greatest, but they’ve always been the most sincere. Linus would like ‘em.

And what could be the icing on top of the icing? I get to meet Murr! I love her writing, her point of view, her self-accepting style. The thought of meeting her gives me butterflies. I get to go eat at the popular girls’ table. Heaven help me.

Lists. I’m going to Powell’s, which requires updating my list of Books that I have/Books that I don’t have/Books I need to have/Books I might need to have.

Lists. I’m likely to hit the Sur la Table kitchen store near Powell’s, which requires updating my list of Tools that I have/Tools that I don’t have/Tools I need to have/Tools I might need to have.

Lists. I need a map to Bet’s. I need a map to Portland. I need a map of Vancouver in case I decide to go see the Fort again.

Lists. CANDY! Our houses will need red-hots, M&Ms, gum drops, chocolate rock candy, peppermint swirls, mulit-colored sunflower seeds…

Lists.

Lists.

Lists.

Oh my.