the week in review: aug 23-29

good eats, good visits, homecomings, puppy sitting, lots of ice cream and a birthday party. phew!

why is is that dreams are busiest at morning?

this morning was one of those magical mornings where sleep wraps its arms in a bear hug around you. where the toastiness of the blanket fort wrapped all about you smothers you in sweet comfort but for the tickled chill on your nose that comes from the wee breeze dancing through the window. it's the kind of morning where the sun gently nudges you awake but your dreams are not yet ready to surrender so you sink back down into a beautiful slumber. even mr. a-go-go found himself dosed with the pixie dream dust or, rather imp dust as his slumber was less a lullaby than mine.

like most dream filled nights, the dreams they flit away once my lashes part to greet the new day. what i can recall is not so sweet my teeth hurt but is comforting and confusing as only a dream can be. at one point i found myself pushing the worn plastic button to call the wonky elevator that lived in the orange stucco box i called home. my strongest memories involve the look, feel, scent and touch of this elevator as i rode it perhaps at least once every day for twelve years of my childhood. in this dream, i stepped in to find it different,more plain, yet i grasp the handle in preparation for the maniacal dream ride that usually ensues. in reality the elevator simply moved up and down with a very distinct song for each inch of the way. i knew its song by heart and could close my eyes once i stepped in, timing them to open with the doors in perfect choreography. but in dreamland, this elevator not only moved up and down but it roll, roll, rolled around and around at the same time causing me to bounce from one edge to the other aching for the doors to open to end the unwanted carnival ride. i am not sure why this is the case but it is. it is a recurring elevator dream of a twisted dance that causes much anxiety in my sleep. no wonder i am wary to step in this time but i do and all proceeds without incident. soon enough i am on the third floor and skipping the skip i did all those many many years ago. the front door opens to the hall i know so well and i hear laughter coming from the living room. stepping through the door as if this were the most ordinary thing, i am welcomed and hugged and greeted by my mother and brother who are in high spirits for there are homemade peanut butter bars to taste and my mother just returned from a lupus rally. with peanut buttery kisses still on my cheek i head to my room to rifle through the chiffarobe that once belonged to my sister in search of the vintage dresses i know are hiding inside. the room is pink like it was when i was eleven or so and while it doesn't really look like it did, it feels the same and i think how good it is to be back home.

and that is all i remember. nothing much yet every good thing for my mother was in my dream, my mother! and i did not do what i usually do when i dream of my mother, i did not remind her that she cannot possibly be in my dream as she is dead (i really do this), instead, i throw myself onto the sofa book ended between two people i love allowing the moment to dance through me, to lift me up and twirl me to the morning that has me sitting here, sharing with you this almost-magical moment while i eat the sweetest red grapes i have ever had instead of wrapping up an article that is due later today.

tossing & turning

i didn't sleep well last night which is odd because sleeping is one of my better talents. it was hot. really hot and when i finally felt cool enough to slumber away, a song crept into my head and planted its roots. deeply. in an effort to banish the song in my head i played the "if i had magic money" game but the song just played louder and not even in its entirety. just the same line over and over and over and over. enough so i wished i drank, maybe then i could fall asleep. since the dream of riches wasn't working, i tried designing new clothes in my head. but all that did was make me feel foolish because the body in my head was quite unlike the body that i have, ahem. so i lay there in the dark listening to the sleepy sighs of mr. a-go-go and the cars rushing by from the almost-nearby busy street. i listened to the laughter and cackle of the kids in the neighborhood running around and the thoughts in my head that tangoed with the tune. my eyes would grow heavy and i would twitch with a start waking up to the old lady howls of the almost deaf cat we're pet sitting as well. once the cat meows, the puppy awakes and the whimper and howl that shoots up from the kitchen is enough to make the neighbors think we are unkind to the animals. so as not to wake mr. a-g-go, i creep down the stairs with the old lady cat at my heels voicing her displeasure at her geriatric stage and half empty water glass. with a scratch behind her ears and a top off of her drink, i step into the kitchen and poke a finger through the puppies crate. his tail wags with the madness of a wind-up toy while his ears and eyes are all sleepy-droopy. he nudges and licks the offered finger then circles around once then twice and settles back to slumber. as i stumble my way back up the stairs my brain chooses that moment to recall the spooky conversation stacey and i had the day before (darn you stacey!) and my imagination forces my eyes closed as i dash back to bed in a now spookified casa.

two weeks is not enough

mr. a-go-go and i are house/puppy sitting near our old digs. we're hoping to cram in visits with all our favorite people and eateries but i tell ya, two weeks is not enough. or maybe i am just old. i can't hack the energy you need for visiting EVERY day. my body is feeling tired. i don't know if it is finally relaxing after the trip or if i am just an old fuddy duddy who needs lots of naps or maybe it's all hormonal. lately i tend to blame everything on menopause. yes, i know and yes, for reals.

we've hit up three favorite places for lunch and i sure hope we get some pho and/or banh mi soon. i am totally missing them absolutely fabulous flavors. and of course we need to hit Fosselman's because no one else does ice cream like they do. i guess i'm kinda-maybe-sorta gonna replace those wee pounds i misplaced while on the road. all in the name of good eats. if there is one thing i learned on the road it is that crazy big and crowded los angeles really does have some of the best (if not diverse) food around.

today we get to cross off indian food on our list. i am sure there is indian food up in the central valley but not like they do it here. though, while i am totally happy to be back in my old city, i do miss the flat landscape of slo where i can ride my bike easily everyday. i'm probably going to need it to after this two week eat out. happy sunday folks .

cartoonish

i think i'm in denial. with my new short do' i have been excited to wear my other cats eyes and yet when i put them on, they seem abnormally small. i feel like i look like a cartoon character with an enormously round noggin and teeny tiny specs.

just call me melon head. today we are going to see mummies! dun dun DUNNNNNNNNN.

head still spinning

thank you folks for yer kind responses to my cranky post. i want to answer each one of you and will soon but still wrapping my head around thoughts. darn that thinking brain of mine. today i went to visit with a favorite person who does magic with a pair of shears, and a bit of color. i have a new 'Do and while i adored my pigtails i have to admit, they just weren't the me that i wish to be. i only thought i did and the reasons were all wrong. i may not see the me i want to see when i look in the mirror but boy-howdy a new cut sure makes the looking a bit more bearable. what is that? a smile on my face? who knew?

we're puppy/house sitting for friends and are back in our old hood (kinda sorta) for two weeks and already i'm thinking i need more time. there is so much i want to see, hear and do. so many people i want to squeeze but the clock is tick, tick, ticking away faster than i can count. what's an a-go-go to do?

yikes! this post ran away from me as well and i should not have started just as i fixed my self a dinner of cheerios (yuh-huh). when i'm stressed or sickish, a smidge of carbs always does my body good and it's just too hot for mashed potatoes so don't judge. cereal is getting soggy so i'm signing off. smooch!