Cleveland At Heart

This looks like fun.

Turning a house inside out? Yes, please... I'm going to have to go check this out. 

Yum! Pumpkin!

Drop what you are doing and get to your nearest East Coast Custard. Their flavor of the month is PUMPKIN, and yes, they also have pumpkin frozen yogurt -- which I can tell you from personal experience (twice in the past week) is heavenly. 

I'd post a photo, but I ate it all. 'Nuff said. 

When I was a kid I thought this guy was magical.

Yup. THE Saxophone guy. Everybody knows this fella. My earliest memory of him is from the mid-'80's, and I'm sure he was around before that. Whether he's playing excerpts from "Take Five" or "My Favorite Things" he's sure to be around wherever suburbanites* are exiting whatever play, sporting event, fundraiser or opening drew them downtown for the evening. And heck, you never know where he'll turn up during the day. 

_{*Yes, I realize the extreme irony of this comment considering I recently moved out of city limits.} 

Let the Wild Rumpus Begin! (In more ways than one)

Aaah. 

I didn't have to go to work today. Delightful. I actually went out with people from work last night and had a decently fun time to celebrate our three day weekend. Then I got home and found out my boyfriend has been exposed to H1N1. And he's home from work today, too, only in his case it's because he's not feeling well. Eek! 

he is determined to get well, however, because it is the first day of...

Oh yes. Cleveland Beer Week. We have both been looking forward to this for the past few months... him because he wants to drink beer; me because I want to people-watch. I am not much of a beer drinker -- I enjoy A good beer from time to time, but more than 1 or 2 and I get SICK. Wine and the hard stuff treat me MUCH better when I'm looking to get sauced up. 

But yes, I am eagerly anticipating going out this weekend and being surrounded by happy locals having a raucous good time. 

I also plan to go see Where the Wild Things Are -- something else both of us have been looking forward to since we heard it was in the works. I'm glad that the reviews of it have been good so far. I can't stand it when directors destroy beautifully simple children's books by injecting complications and diversions completely out of the spirit of the original work, but it doesn't seem like that happened with this one. More later, perhaps...

Finally, if time allows I want to drive out to the Holden Arboretum. I haven't been there in a while, and it's gorgeous this time of year from what I remember. If I can't get all the way out there, I'll just try to go for a walk here, where C often runs but I have honestly never visited.    

What are other people doing this weekend? I'm curious. Comment away. 

It's been three years

Warning: sorry in advance for the downer.

My mother recently learned how to text-message. I initially found this amusing -- she has to put on her glasses just to find the right button to answer her phone, for Christ's sake. And she is always complaining that the buttons are too small for her arthritic fingers. Anyhow, I found it amusing until today. 

Despite the fact that I've been sporadically bursting into tears for the past week, I actually managed to forget for about five whole minutes today that it's been exactly three years since my cousin killed himself. But then my mother text messaged me, saying "Remember Chris 2day, and pray 4 uncle mike." 

POW. 

Punched in the stomach. 

I'd had a grip; I woke up this morning and told myself I'd be fine this year, that I'd already gotten it out of my system over the past few days. I got to work, I kept busy, and then I innocently looked at my phone to see what was making it blink. And then I felt nauseous. Then I cried two tears. I know she meant well, but come on-- to say that in irreverent text-spelling, flippantly showing off her newfound skill. As if I had somehow blocked the significance from my brain and needed a reminder. Good thing it was lunchtime so I didn't have students. 

I have a ritual I've established in honor of him. I listen to music he liked. I do a shot of Jack or Jager, and pour one on the ground for him. I spend a few moments alone, talking to him in my mind. 

Time to go do that now. 

peaceful weekend (hopefully) in store for me.

Whew. I have been crazily busy at work this week, and I'm so relieved I don't have anything on my schedule this weekend. Which is good, because... IT'S FALL!!! My favorite season! I'm going to have to go for a walk somewhere, drink some hot apple cider, and find some fun things to do. 

I'll definitely have to plop myself down at a coffee shop at some point to get work done (yeah, working on weekends is an August-through-June fact of life for me)... I'm thinking maybe Gypsy Beans and Baking, which has been an occasional haunt of mine since this past summer. Their beverage choices are abundant and deliciously crafted, and they are very vegan-friendly. I love reading their beverage board entitled "passport drinks" -- they are each based on a different location. Additionally, their food goes beyond just sweets -- my favorite thing I've had there is a pizza-ish thing made of a little tomato sauce and mushrooms baked onto some delicious bread (and trust me, I am VERY picky about bread). It was a little like pizza, only cheeseless and tastier. 

I also have a very healthy respect for their fierce self-advocacy as an independent business -- they sell clever T-shirts for $10 or $15 that obviously poke fun at Starbucks (examples: one has three different sized to-go cups labeled "small", "medium", and "large"... get it? Another has a game of hangman depicted on the back with every letter but "f" already guessed, and "s t a r _ c k s" underneath the poor stick figure who's about to meet his death. 

Anyhow, yeah, I might go there but they might be really busy with all the stuff going on for the Capitol Theatre opening exciting stuff, but not a good work-completing situation for an easily-distracted gal like myself. 

So that's my exciting weekend -- enjoy fall, get some work stuff done, entertain the cat and boyfriend, maybe finally watch the second season of Californication. I've been up late every night this week, so I'm not too into being wild and crazy for the next 48 hours.