Amber & Noah

This photo cannot convey the very wet Armageddon happening outside my window. I might hide under my desk. (Jimmy says I have been hanging out with Pickles too much.)

Amber & Fancy Hats

Some rainy, sleepy, sort of gray days you just need them.

You know?

Amber & Oh, My Queen

Thanks to the tornado (which I witnessed outside while picking up farm share and running a fever of 102), I had no Internet yesterday.  Time Warner's lady robot who answered their phone when I called yesterday from my sick bed, desperate for amusements, described it as a "storm-related outage" and assured me that the technicians knew how important my cable was to me and were trying to restore my service.  (She also didn't understand my responses when I said "yes, please."  Robots do not appreciate courtesy.)

But, it came back in the middle of the night with a vengeance, in the form of a dedicated foe of evil, defender of the weak, champion of truth and justice.

I loved Isis.  I remember very little about the show, except that it was on at the end of Saturday cartoons and that she would invoke various Egyptian gods to give her powers.  I would get the TV listings from the paper and then highlight the shows I wanted to watch so I would know to change the channel when needed at the right time.  And, I always changed to channel 3 for Isis.  I seem to remember some episode about an archeological dig?  Or maybe that was just the backstory in the opening credits?  I remember, though, that I loved it.  And so it must be good, right?

After all, she's a snappy dresser and a part of my heritage.  And she predates this other part of my heritage by about ten years.

I wonder if she will scare Nick, Diana, and Kevin as much as that younger heritage.

Amber & Somewhere, In There

We're actually amazingly hard to find on the Google Maps.  If you type in our road address, Google finds us at that address, but in the town with the same name in New Jersey.  That is not where we are.

We are definitely somewhere in this image.

We are in the trees on the River bank,across from the very edge of that little island.  You can't see us waving because it is raining and we are inside on the screen porch having a tray.

Amber & The American Passtime

Baseball, rain delays, beer in plastic cups and friends. So fun.
Although could have done without the downpour and resultant wetness.

Amber & Some You Win, Some Not So Much

Who has patiently and persistently journeyed down the puff path long enough to rock pony tails?

This head.

And who decided that instead of practical rain boots she would wear her red plastic mary janes, originally bought for easy washing after tending to great and lesser apes and lemurs?

This frozen-footed dummyhead.

Amber & Summer Rain

There were storms earlier-- complete with lightning, thunder, and frightened kitties. It has cleared now, but the porch is still a little too damp for sitting out.

Dinner will be a fritata with greens, new potatoes, scallions and bacon, served on the porch, I hope.

Amber & Weather Patterns

I have this theory of weather that I learned from a friend. "Tomorrow will be basically like today but maybe a little hotter or colder and a little sunnier or rainier." This summer, that theory has failed me in a big way. Many a day have I been caught bare-toed in freezy breezes, or besweatered in sweltering sun. But, imagine the comfort I felt when I checked the 10-day forecast today and proved my theory to be true.





Tomorrow will be basically like today, but maybe a little more T-Stormy or Scattered.

Amber & Pooh Coats

This season has seemed unusually rainy to me. I sure wish I still had my Pooh Raincoat from Sears.

I do still have my friend Kelly via Facebook. And I recently posted this photo to my wall, and she recalled how much she, too, loved her raincoat.

Meanwhile, CRD recently posted this photo of himself as a tot.

That's not the same tree, is it?

Amber & T-Storms

It is a dark and stormy morning.

And it appears that it will be one all day. I woke up around 6 am on account of thunder. The sound of the thunder didn't wake me; it was the sound of the kitties scrambling across the floor to their respective hiding spots. They are, I discovered after extensive searching, scattered throughout the apartment. Woody is in the armoir, Pickles is under the bed, Tiggy is under a sheet on the couch (that is meant to be an environment for her to lie on), and Ginger is behind the file cabinet under the desk.

I like the rain but a morning without kitties is a gray morning indeed.

Amber & Nicky

Sometimes, on rainy days, I am reminded that when I was Little Amber I had an imaginary friend named Nicky. I didn't invent Nicky, I borrowed him from the book I Am a Bunny written by Ole Risom and illustrated by Richard Scarry.
I wrote a song about Nicky, based on the book.

Hop, hop, hop
I'm a little bunny rabbit
Hop, hop, hop
Here I come
I'm a little bunny rabbit in a hollow tree
As... you... can plainly see
Hop, hop, hop
I'm a little bunny rabbit
Hop, hop, hop
Here I come
I'm a little bunny rabbit way down deep in a hole
My worst enemy is
The big black mole

Now, I really had no idea whether or not moles and bunnies got along. But I knew Nicky didn't like moles. We had that in common.

Like me, Nicky wore overalls, and had big front teeth. We both liked to be barefoot. And, we both liked being outside and watching butterflies. Nicky wasn't the healthiest little bunny, and was constantly having to go to the doctor or stay in the hospital bed next to mine. My evidence for this was the book Nicky Goes to the Doctor in which, well, it's pretty self-explanatory.

See how his little underpants have a space for his cottontail to stick out? Adorable... and functional.

The one difference between Nicky's visit to the doctor and mine was that, when he was done, Nicky got a red balloon to take home. Usually, I just got a bunch of nasty tasty medicines. But, Imaginary Nicky always shared his balloon with me, and that made me happy.

I love my friends.

Amber & Nuggets of Goodness

Nick sent me to this page where you can hear our Commander-In-Chief say naughty words, and I found, on the site, a link to this page where you can hear a man make romance with a food, slow-jam-style. The page is worth visiting for the comments alone.

Here's a little taste.....

Amber & Deliciousness

Nick and I very spontaneously tried a new restaurant last night. In the middle of fierce rains and winds (and flash flooding on Amsterdam Avenue), we went out in search of deliciousness to Bodrum. I had only read about its Mediterranean goodness on Menu Pages, but, since I have been craving salt, decided it was a better meal option than mediocre Japanese or Japanese with bug memories.

It was delicious. We share the mezze sampler which had some of the most delicious babaghanoush I have ever tasted, fresh-charred eggplant from the beautiful brick oven.

Then, I had a tagine of this.What? Would you rather I had this?

Amber & Early Autumn, Late Planes

I love rainy autumn days. I love raincoats and sweaters and boots and tights. I love the smell of wet trees. I love the sound of wet leaves russling in the breeze.

I don't love it that a little rain has delayed Kevin's return to America, though.

Hurry back, little Kevin, so you don't miss out on autumn.