h.r. pufnstuf

Happy Chinese New Year! No, I'm not Chinese, but I noticed the reminder on my calendar. It's the Year of the Snake.

How many of you used to watch PufnStuf? What a bizarre show. Surely the writers must have been a little too much into their material, if you get my drift. I mean, take a good hard look at the photo above...is that creature nightmare-inducing or what? It reminds me of the whole clown thing. Clowns are supposedly funny, benevolent characters whose purpose is mainly to entertain children, but they're incredibly scary-looking. Another childhood icon which frightened me as a kid was the dinosaur-like thing in Kukla, Fran and Ollie. And the Snow Monster in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (with the glowing red eyes). And Lambchop (I think it was something about Shari Lewis's voice).

But I digress.

I only dimly remember the gist of H.R. Pufnstuf (whereas I'm sure Allison still remembers all the lyrics from the opening theme song :-)). I remember psychedelic colours, Freddy the Flute, Witchiepoo, and having a childhood crush on Jack Wild.

So what childhood media creatures/people gave -you- the willies, if any?

welcome back party

My friends Michelle and Tom had a party at their place yesterday to welcome me back to Toronto. 'Twas lots of fun, with a big "Welcome Home" banner, cake, yummy food, chatting with friends. Michelle's mom made a type of Japanese rice I love (my mom used to make it) with shiitake mushrooms; I pigged out on it. The kids all latched onto Michelle's brother, Gary, who played Chase and Hide and Seek with them for most of the party (after the party, Annie said she wished Gary would come live with them). David Barker gave me a very cool Star Wars Episode I Destroyer Droid Watch.

I had a wonderful time, and was truly touched by all of it. I've known some of the people at the party for over twenty years; we were very close during university days (which gives you an idea of how ancient I am). I used to publish a newsletter for our group called "The Electric Penguin" back then (hence my new personal domain name!). Jeff and I brought some old issues to the Real Millennium Party. I'm toying with the idea of resurrecting the publication as an online 'zine.

But most of all, I am very glad to be back home. :-)

claustrophobia

I have no idea how I'm going to fit everything into my home office.

I've been gradually whittling away at it, but it's pretty much time for a full purge so I can finish unpacking. The problem is that I used to be in a much larger office, in the Toronto Carpet Factory. Plus I accumulated stuff while I was in Philadelphia. Basically, I have less room for more things.

The main problem is where to put all my books. When Jeff and I moved from our house in the Hockley Valley to Toronto, I had to put most of my books into storage at my mom-in-law's place. Now that my mom-in-law has moved to a smaller place, these books are now in our basement locker, which is crammed full. There is no more room!

I confess I'm somewhat of a packrat; I hate throwing anything out. And when I DO work up the nerve to throw something out, inevitably I will need that particular object a day or two later.

Hey, some good news! Apparently my book's selling well enough that the publisher is likely going to do a second printing.

Today's Blatherpic:
Scott Murray demonstrating his snooker technique to Brian Parkinson at the Real Millennium Party. Brian is appropriately impressed, as you can see.

pregnant women

A lot of my friends have been announcing pregnancies recently, and I've been asking some of them for photos of themselves when they're "really huge". Contrary to what they may think, I don't make this request because I want to make fun of them, or post the photos anywhere public. I actually think that pregnancy is very cool.

The media may sometimes gently mock pregnant women, portraying them as ungainly creatures who whine about their backs and waddle around looking for pickles. The deep truth, however, is that we all secretly look at pregnant women with a sort of awe. They become a different species from the rest of us for nine months; their skin glows, they look wiser, they exude contentment (when they're not throwing up, that is).

It's why so many of us have an overwhelming urge to touch their stomachs; part of us wants to share a little bit of that "otherworldliness" (and no, this doesn't mean that -I- want to be pregnant :-)).

When my sister was pregnant, I loved to watch her stomach. Jeff did, too...sometimes (when Ruth was feeling particularly patient) my sister would get comfortable on the couch and let Jeff and I gawk at her bulging tummy. The first time I saw something ripple beneath the surface of her skin, I was horrified; it was like a scene from a alien monster movie. When the horror wore off, I was fascinated. Even delighted. If I watched closely enough, I could see the shape of an elbow, a head, a foot. That was my niece/nephew in there!



My friend Michelle is having a "Welcome Back" party for me at her place tomorrow, which should be fun. :-) Today, Jeff and I are hanging out with Bryan Fullerton and his friend Kelly; we're seeing "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". Looking forward to going to my sister's place for dinner and seeing Sara and Annie!

Gwyneth Paltrow (my harp) is doing well, having made it safely back home! To avoid boring the non-harp people here, I've started up a separate Harp Journal (part of my harpresource.com site).

Today's Blatherpic: Sara, when she was a baby.

philly retrospective

I've been home almost a week now. There are still boxes to unpack and papers to sort through, but I'm starting to settle into home office life again. And as I sit here on a chair from the living room (Jeff stole my office chair while I was gone; I haven't had the heart to steal it back yet because he's been so sweet lately, helping me move and so on), I do find myself missing certain things about my stay in Philadelphia. So here, for your interest, is my list of:

Things I'll Miss About Philadelphia

• The wide range of frozen convenience foods.
• Joking around with people in my office area.
• Real Philly cheesesteak.
• Being able to eat whatever and whenever I want.
• Full ownership of the remote control.
• The Reading Terminal.
• My harp teacher, Kimberly Rowe.

Things I Won't Miss About Philadelphia

• Cubicles.
• Corporate politics.
• Having my office furniture stolen.
• Delayed and cancelled flights when I commuted to and from Toronto.
• Being away from Jeff.

They auctioned off my apartment furniture at the office yesterday.

Jodi, Allison and I got together last night for my first UT practice since coming back, woohoo! :-) We had dinner at The Pickle Barrel (surprise surprise), browsed the sidewalk sale at Centerpoint Mall, then hung out at Allison's after. Discussed our concert playlists for Ad Astra (Toronto) and Consonance (California), where we're Filk Guests of Honour. Intense practices start next week.

Jodi filled us on Gafilk stuff (sounds like the convention was a great success) and also gave us gifts from Lissa and Phil. I got a bar of Green & Black Organic White Chocolate (my fave, I had some for breakfast this morning, yum) and a gorgeous harp pin. Thank you, Lissa and Phil!

Today's Blatherpic: Snowman sign outside my mom-in-law's new house. I took this photo on Christmas day.