Archive for November, 2003
Sunday, November 30th, 2003
Crimping the Tin Foil
Ah, the dawning of another day here in the emotional holiday hell also known as Casa Eclectic. And December 1st isn’t until tomorrow. Oh joy, oh candy canes, oh reindeer poop! We do believe in getting a jumpstart on the tinsel covered angst around here. – Okay, I’m just running my smart mouth. Since only [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in Misc by Rana
Friday, November 28th, 2003
Why Can’t She Go By Herself?
Yesterday the newspaper arrived encased in 40 lbs. of “Day After Thanksgiving” advertisements. One caught my eye, which vaunted the 6 a.m. opening of the mall. These are phrases that should never be united in a single sentence. But this morning, as I folded up the futon I spared some memories for the days when [...]
Comments Off - Posted in Family Life by Rana
Thursday, November 27th, 2003
One Year Anniversary / Readership Map Update
Today marks the official one-year anniversary of the serious debut of Eclectic Mind, the day when the site came alive after floundering through a desultory trial period with no voice and no point – like thousands of blogs across the Internet. In the past year I’ve made 465 posts and best conservative estimates figure the [...]
13 Comments » - Posted in Site News by Rana
Wednesday, November 26th, 2003
Taking Out the Trash
Thanks to the City of Fort Worth the denizens of our fair metropolis live with a color-coded waste disposal program. (That means they tell us how to take the trash out.) Not all that long ago we put bags on the curb and guys in a truck picked them up. Now there are bins, blue [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Misc by Rana
Monday, November 24th, 2003
Having A Heat Wave
Yesterday our first real cold front hit sending temperatures below freezing last night. We perpetually unprepared Texans scrambled around wrapping the faucets and finding things to throw over the garden plants. I didn’t get down to Starbucks until after 4 o’clock. When I walked in the door I stopped dead in my tracks. The place [...]
4 Comments » - Posted in Misc by Rana
Sunday, November 23rd, 2003
Garage Sales, The Ultimate Survival Show
By 5 o’clock yesterday afternoon the question “Why did we think this was a good idea?” seared into my brain like that branding iron on the Sizzler Steak commercials. We worked as a group pricing items for two nights and God knows how much labor D. put in on her own to stage this bloody [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Misc by Rana
Thursday, November 20th, 2003
An Update from the Trenches
Here on the plains of Eclectic Land a wind called Hurry has blown steadily for two days. It’s meant little sleep, hung over days, and a creativity decline. First came a rush job on a Thanksgiving card featuring sixteen photos, then the infamous Association Website That Wouldn’t Die reared its ugly head. Not sure what [...]
3 Comments » - Posted in Misc by Rana
Wednesday, November 19th, 2003
The Maiden Ladies
Just today I found myself thinking about The Waltons, the way John Boy dreamed of being a great journalist and how Jim Bob wanted to make music so much he even played with the band down at the roadhouse, that den of iniquity whose very existence sent his Baptist mother into a tailspin of praying. [...]
Comments Off - Posted in Misc by Rana
Tuesday, November 18th, 2003
Of Toothbrushes and Archaeology
Archaeologists in Europe think they’ve dug up a 250-year-old toothbrush. Not ever having given much thought to the historical value of such a thing, the discovery didn’t strike me with the same impact of say, the Holy Grail. Add to the news the fact that the implement sported a spoon-like device on the other end [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Misc by Rana
Monday, November 17th, 2003
A Shooting at the Trash Pit
The weekend passed quietly at Casa Eclectic. D. and I blew it when we postponed the garage sale. Two balmy and often sunny days passed right before our eyes. In fact the thermometer hit eighty degrees – in the middle of November. R.’s allergies, detecting the blooming of a second spring, shifted into overdrive. On [...]
