Friday, November 26, 2010

Le Vendredi Noir, Santa and Olfactory tins...

Just a few things on my mind:

...so, in the past few years they have been referring to this day - the day after Thanksgiving as Black Friday. Wide Americans in their bad t-shirts camp out in line at the big box stores to storm "La Bastille" and pull everything off the shelves in the guise of buying at discount prices. Now, they're trying to combat this day with a special promotion tomorrow called "Small Business Saturday". What I think is unfair is that today, the unsightly, reckless, unsophisticated battle has claimed the glorious non-color of Black for their moniker and tomorrow we (our small, independently run businesses) are stuck with a generic, unoriginal name...I assume you know how I feel about this. AND, another thing - I had a call from a local TV station the other day to comment on this Saturday's "SBS"..."as a small business owner, will you promoting and participating in this wonderfully local event, by slashing your prices to bring customers into shop at your boutique?" Why? No. I work hard. Every small business owner that I know does, too. We are not about to compete with WalMart's $1.99 specials while we slave over our original products, our merchandising and our beautiful displays - never mind paying our loyal employees more than minimum wage. I hope that my customers will understand that I try to offer them the best product for their money and don't have the 1000% mark-up that would enable me to slash their retail price down to just a few more cents more than what I would be paying a child in a third world country for production. Sigh...

So, No. 2: Creed is so into Santa this year. We have been seeing him everywhere since before Halloween. So, I lied. I have told Creed that we were not able to speak of Santa, look for him and discuss him until after Thanksgiving as it is against the law. Yep, that's right - I am a dictator. However, today the moratorium has been lifted.

and No. 3: Zelda is a cool little girl. One of the many things I love about la petite Z is that we have so far successfully avoided the pink sparkly-dom of little girlhood. No "My little ponies", no t-shirts with princesses on them, no Barbies or any dolls for that matter. However, as she grows older, it gets increasingly more difficult to buy her gifts aside from books and music. I have turned to making them -gifts that is - and this year, I have a super idea for her Christmas gift and I beg the assistance of my dear readers. Here is the idea: each morning I drink my tea from Mariage Freres that comes in a wonderfully smooth and beautiful black tin, I save them or regift them but at this point I have at least fifteen or so, like this...



I want to capture smells, fill each tin with an object either possessing the smell or just the smell itself. On the bottom of the can, I'll label the smell in Braille. We can play the game with her (and Creed as well, for that matter) as she chooses a tin, she'll open it and I'll ask her to identify the smell. After she distinguishes the smell, we can read the word together labeled on the bottom of the can. Not only will she be sharpening her olfactory sense but she'll be practicing her Braille as well. So, I have coffee, leather, roses, glue, tea(!), but I need others...pray tell, dear readers...close your eyes, think of your favorite smells, how they be represented or stored in a can? Send me your ideas...Also, I need a name for this game. So, here goes and merci d'avance...

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Overdrive...

...yesterday I was thinking about myself. Depressed, angry and cranky over my upcoming surgery. Tuesday: my bilateral mastectomy...losing my perfect Marie Antoinette "coupe de champagne" breasts. I am 52 and I have never had to wear a bra. When the other girls were sore and developing in middle school, I could run faster than anyone AND without pain. They have served me well. Made me money. Given breast milk to my twins for 13 months. I am angry.

Then, I got a phone call from Zelda's teacher. She had a fever of over 100 degrees. Everything drops. Zelda hasn't had a seizure in 8 months and she is now on 2 different meds that seem to be working. If she gets a fever, a seizure could appear at any moment. I run home, get a syringe of Children's tylenol, a syringe of Kepra, and her Diastat giant rectal injection in case she seizes.

Zelda's teacher, Mrs K, is an absolute wonder. She has already taken Z to the nurse and has her waiting there for me in case she starts to seize. They have no signed permission to give her anything to lower her temperature, so they wait for me. And when I arrive, there she is...my beautiful little girl: smiling and happy albeit a little warm. I give her the meds. She chats on the way to the car and we go home.

Seizure averted.

I am still having my breasts cut off on Tuesday. But my kids are IT. I will fight for them and advocate for their health as long as I am alive...my own shit...not so much...


Zelda, last weekend, at her first "girlfriends birthday party"...

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Happy Halloweena...

...that's Zelda's choice for a costume. So, in a matter of a week: black tutu, skull tights, orangey shirt, black bow in her hair. The trick with Zelda is to not make her feel as if she's wearing a costume, i.e. something strange and uncomfortable. Well, it worked. Creed was a dinosaur but backed out on the make-up at the last minute. A good time was had by all - well, except maybe for me as I was sick as a dog in the aftermath of my fashion show.

Zelda AKA Halloweena in her favorite tunnel at Little Stacy Park...


Creed, a very tired Dinosaur...


Creed with his friend, Lucy, at the Halloween party in the park...