November Prompts are ready and waiting at CafeWriting.com.

In honor of Na [Noun] [Verb] Mo, the theme is “writing.”

Come play in our sandbox, where the napkins are soft and the coffee is always free.
(But the croissants will cost you.)

CafeWriting: November Project

Fuzzy, I realize you don’t often have time to read blogs, even mine, but I hope you read this because I desperately want – no, NEED – a jewelry box. Christmas is coming in just under two months. Marking the occasion with a jewelry box would not be out of place.

When I was nine, I saved all summer and bought my mother a jewelry box with drawers and a ring-holder section and red velvet linings, and she’s still using it. I like that box, but I’m not into white embossed exteriors, I prefer dark wood, clean lines. Velvet’s essential, but it doesn’t have to be read.

Now, most of my jewelry is just funky costume stuff, but I do have a few really good pieces. I mean, I don’t have a Audemars Piguet watch – mine are merely from Fossil – but I have some semi-precious stone necklaces from Lucia at Faire, and some pieces from a livejournal friend who does amazing work, and right now they’re all in a tangle in the central drawer of my dresser, which, while lined in velvet, isn’t really meant to hold a jewelry collection, just one or two pieces. A hand mirror, perhaps, and a comb. Stuff like that.

So, I need a jewelry box.

For that matter, I really want a couple more of these red leather stationery boxes from the bookstore, because they’d be great for storing my growing collection of perfumes…

Someone make Fuzzy read this, please.

Today was one of those Arthur Dent-esque, stayed in pajamas, worked from bed types of days. Other people call such days Thursdays, but this was a weird Thursday even for me.

I went to bed at 1:30 on Halloween night, after thinking about it for an hour and a half, then was up at six-thirty. I’d finished most of work for the day by nine, but was feeling tired and sick, so went back to bed, waking again around noon. Checked in with work again, had lunch, had tea, nibbled on pumpkin seeds, looked outside and saw that it was gray. November should be gray, I think.

I tried to write for another three hours, largely unsuccessfully, because I couldn’t focus. I researched the article I thought I was going to write, then, once Fuzzy was up (he’s been working 1-ish in the afternoon to 8-ish in the morning all week because of odd maintenance windows), retreated to bed, where the magic pillows gave me the ability to write once more. Finished the article. Vegged out for an hour and a half. Took a shower, washed and deep-conditioned my hair. The water is no longer running pink, but the soap lather is pink when I shampoo, faintly. Then, because I wanted to soak away the shoulder tension, I took a bubble bath. I meant to read but ended up just lounging. Note: baths are not as relaxing when a small dog is sitting on the tub-step staring at you.

Cat-napped for another hour, ordered pizza and read fanfic while waiting for it, then watched Smallville with Fuzzy. Came back to the bedroom when he went back to work, and am still sitting in here now, with two small dogs, a billion pillows, and tivo’d ER.

Tomorrow will be Friday.
I might actually put real clothes on.

If I don’t still feel icky.

I have a lot of friends who aren’t in the US, and get really tired of so much of the web being US-centric when it comes to auctions, cheap travel, and price comparison. I mean, we had Amazon first, Ebay lives here, and we’ve also got tons of things like Overstock and Mercado. For this reason, when I hear about ways that my foreign friends can find cheap prices on, say, the latest mp3 players, I’m happy to share.

One such site, one with a great name, is SaveBuckets. It’s not an auction house or a direct etailer, but a price-watch service that searches for the lowest price available for whatever product you’re looking for, then tells you where to find it. You can set a maximum, and the site will auto-generate an email for you when your criteria is met (the price of whatever you’re looking for drops below that maximum), or you can tell it to track items only at known stores. Either way, you’re guaranteed a low price on the hottest consumer electronics, including laptops.

The site is based in the UK, and all prices are in British pounds, and it must be making quite the splash, because it even rated a spot on Channel 4 news recently.

I’ve taken a look at the site, and run some searches just for the sake of testing it, and I like the interface – it’s simple and easy, and pretty reliable. It seems pretty obvious that users of SaveBuckets will, well, save buckets of cash.

1. Shopping is my favorite form of therapy.

2. If you get my voice mail you’ll hear me asking you to leave your number even if you think I have it. Frankly, I think this should be done automatically, in case whomever you’re calling doesn’t have access to a method of looking up your number.

3. My favorite product EVER is extremely variable. But right now I’m digging Zebra retractable roller ball pens, and Possets Frou-Frou perfume
.

4. I see something blinking. It’s the light in the UVerse descrambler.

5. When I’m grumpy it usually means I’m either hungry, or caffeine-deprived. Jamba Juice orange dream machine smoothies generally help. As does pretty much anything from Starbucks.

6. Having conversations with fictional characters while I’m workingis my strangest habit. Thankfully, only the dogs generally hear me.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight (Friday) I’m looking forward to Moonlight and Stargate Atlantis, tomorrow (Saturday) my plans include new sneakers, or maybe a trip to the zoo, and Sunday, I want to replenish the groceries – we’re almost out of everything we use daily – and get some writing done!

Like this meme? Play along here.

I say… And you think… ?

1. Inaugural :: Address
2. Pledge :: Break
3. String :: Theory
4. Trot :: Canter
5. Fitness :: Center
6. Cinder :: Ella
7. Edge :: of Sanity
8. 31 :: Flavors
9. Blue :: Velvet
10. Leather :: English

Like this meme? Play along here.

I haven’t done this meme in a long time – seven weeks I think. I miss it. It always gets my mental juices flowing, which is never a bad thing. Ever.

Over lunch today I caught up with the last two (ever) episodes of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, actually getting teary-eyed over the father-son reunion that took place during the final episode. I also had to laugh, however, because Carson was pitching gift cards as the best present to get when you’re not completely certain of someone’s taste.

I’m not one to argue with Carson Kressley, but even if I were, I wouldn’t argue with his assessment of gift cards. Not only do they always fit, and always come in the right color, but the ability to buy gift cards for stores as varied as Nordstrom and The Sharper Image has saved my life – or at least my sanity – more than once.

One year, when, as an experiment I did all of my Christmas shopping online in two hours, I was even able to buy gift cards online, something I still do throughout the year, when I want to spring a surprise on my friends, or offer a giveaway on my blog.

Now, I realize that it’s only November 1st, but let me tell you, it’s never too early to buy a gift card. Carson says so.

No, it’s not a pastiche of a Simon and Garfunkel song. Rather, it’s something I got from KRADICAL at LiveJournal.

The Cassini probe of Saturn has been recording radio emissions from Saturn, which appear to be from auroral activity around the poles. The wonderful folks at the JPL have taken the radio emissions, time-compressed them, and dropped the frequencies to bring them down into human hearing range.

Click on this link to hear it.

Thirteen Things about MISS MELISS Things that Begin with X Xanadu – mythical land, fabulous movie from my childhood. Olivia Newton John, Gene Kelly, and roller disco. What’s not to love? Xanth – fictional, pun-filled world created by Piers Anthony. It was fresh at first, then got cloying. I haven’t been keeping up with the series. Xanthometer – an instrument for measuring the color of seawater. Because “blue” and “blue-green” aren’t scientific enough. Xanthophyll – the substance that causes autumn leaves to turn yellow. Seasonal and everything. I like the part that makes them crunchy better, though . Xebec – a small three-masted pirate ship. And we all know I love all things ship-y and tar-y. Xenosaurus – a kind of Mexican lizard. I like lizards. They’re cool. Not so much with the snakes, which I prefer to admire from a distance. Xeranthemum – silvery purple flowers found in the southern part of Europe. Again, we all know I like purple flowers. Xerox – I know it’s a brand name, but we use it to mean “copy” so often…also, it’s fun to say. Xilinous – has to do with cotton, my favorite fabric. Give me soft cotton over linen or silk any day. Xiuhtechutli – Aztec god of fire and light, personification of light within darkness, warmth in cold, and life after death. Is there a vampire story here? Also, an amazing Black Phoenix perfume that has copal, plumeria, orange and smoke in it. Xylocopa – carpenter bees. I’m not a bee person (my name notwithstanding), but I have an appreciation for these guys. Xylomancy – divination by examining wood found in one’s path. I don’t really believe in divination, but it’s fun to pretend. Xylophone – one of my former CSz troupemates was a percussionist. He managed to make the xylophone sexy, playing it with four mallets at once. Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

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…gave us enough to fill the big black Halloween bowl three times. I gave it all away, except for the four Kit-Kats, one package Peanut-Butter M&Ms. Well, I also set aside a single Snickers bar for me and a peanut butter cup for Fuzzy, but still five pieces of candy is about the amount of leftovers I was hoping to have.

I turned out the lights a little after 8:30, because I was out of candy. Apparently, most everyone on our block was also out of candy, or just decided 8:30 was a fair time to quit. It seems reasonable to me. We didn’t have any stray teenagers this year, only those who were accompanying their little brothers or sisters, and all the kids were polite, though one crew in costume as witches offered the statement, “Jesus loves you,” as well as “Happy Halloween.” I found that kind of creepy, honestly. Right up there with the woman at McDonald’s drive-through telling us to “have a blessed day.”

There were no Harry Potter characters this year – I think because the series has ended, and the movies are now directed at people too old to dress as little Harry or Hermione for Halloween. My favorites of the night were Minnie Mouse (aged 3.5) who curtsied and said, “Trick-or-Treat, please,” and the chef who showed up in dinosaur themed chef pants, and a chef’s hat with a dinosaur pin, carrying a stock pot to gather his candy. “I love that you’re carrying a pot,” I told him, as I dropped three pieces into it, each landing with a satisfying CLINK against the copper bottom. (We’re a corner house, so usually get kids early in their rounds).

Later, near the end of the night, a group of young boys came by, all dressed as pirates and muskeeers, peeked through my foyer and saw the ceramic ghosts all lit on my side table, and Beetlejuice on the tv and said to his friends, “Wow, she has a cool house. She gives good candy AND has a cool house. I like this house.” Then, to me, after thanking me for the chocolate, “Are you an artist?”

“Actually,” I said. “I’m a writer.”

“Wow. You must be pretty creative then,” he said. “Cuz you have a cool house, and it looks like you’re an artist.”

I suddenly have a new appreciation of ten-year-old boys.

My favorite moment of the night, however, was when a single father wheeled his developmentally disabled, chair-bound princess up my walk. Her siblings had gone on ahead of her, and were several houses away, and her bag was nearly empty, but she had curlicues of ribbon in her hair, rouge on her cheeks, a lovely dress that hid the braces on her legs almost completely, and the biggest sparkling brown eyes I’ve ever seen. She looked to be about seven.

“Happy Halloween,” I said to her, helping her with the bag (her father was holding the chair steady), “you look beautiful.” I stuck four pieces of candy in there, figuring Dad would tire out pretty quickly. We chatted for a few minutes – she liked my pumpkin lights – and I offered her father a bottle of water (the high tomorrow is projected to be 68 but today it hit 80, and pushing a chair up and down the long hilly walks we all have is hard work). Other kids were crowding her, and he looked upset, but I caught the eye of another parent, and told him, “No, take your time. They’ll wait.”

And they did.
And as they were leaving, one of the little girls in the next group said, “That girl in the wheelchair has really pretty hair.”

So, no parties, no pizza, and my pumpkins are classic jack-o-lanterns this year, but even so…it’s been a great Halloween.