She’s Young and With It

I was gardening in the front yard on Saturday when none other than Mrs. Super Alley Fun House and her daughter came walking up. I looked up in time to hear her say, “I need to talk to you.” I was stunned and vulnerable, outside alone without a cell phone. I was afraid she was going to start yelling at me about something. My mind was racing.

Not long after she walked up to me, the dogs started barking which prompted Clint to come outside. Whew. At least I had some back up.

She came over to tell us that her kids did not do something that we pretty much already figured they did not do. It’s a minor annoying thing involving an old electrical meter behind our fence. She said that there was already friction between us and she did not want us to think that they had caused the disturbance.

By the end of the conversation, we shook hands, introduced ourselves and we were even laughing. What the hell? The rest of the night was spent pondering what had actually happened.

I have to admit that it feels like a bit of a relief to not have to be quite so on edge anymore in the backyard, but it still feels really weird.

Could things finally be looking up for us?

SXSW fun begins for us today. We have no fancy pants badges like last year and we are broke, so this year is all about the free. I prefer day shows anyway since they tend to be less crowded, less drunken and many are outside.

The only activity on today’s list will be an attempt to see The Wedding Present this afternoon.

Highlights for the rest of the week include:
She & Him (top on my list)
Yo La Tengo (top on Clint’s list)
J. Mascis
Vampire Weekend
Karl Blau
Kimya Dawson
Portastatic
maybe Jens Lekman
maybe The Breeders
maybe Peter Moren
maybe Rachel Trachtenburg

I think that is all.

They are off! The braces are off!

3 years. 11 months. 10 days.

They are finally off. It is hard to believe. I need to partake in all the sticky foods that I possibly can. So far my list includes gum, caramels and candied apples. I can bite into apples again!

A whole new world has opened up to me.

Texas, you let me down.

Our caucus was so poorly organized. There was a huge line and no one came to direct people so the line snaked all around inside our precinct. This meant that when they finally let us into the room, people were cutting in line left and right. We happened to be in the front of the line and two particularly pushy older women from the middle of the line totally cut us and proceeded to be pushy once inside despite being told repeatedly that they needed to wait. We signed our names and left. The line was out the door. It was insanity. I bet it took several hours to get everyone signed in.

Now for something positive. This is how my first sock project, Treads from Son of Stitch n Bitch, is going:

It is difficult to see the detail in the second photo, but the second photo is where I was following the cable pattern backwards. The correct way is much better. I have learned the error of my ways. Thanks for the help, Ravelry peeps!

I was going to tell you about the weekend. It was quite fun. We got kicked out of a dog park (thanks, Sherman) and we took Callie on a school bus to see kites flying in the sky. But that will have to wait because today is such an exciting day.

I will be voting and caucusing after work today. They annoyingly call this the Texas Two Step. I even have a political bumper sticker on my car for the first time in my life. It says, “Texans for Obama,” so you know who I will be voting for tonight. Yay!

Go Go Obama!