I am, to put it mildly, completely empty. I am drained. I am a mere bloodless husk. I may have no blood, but I have a bumper crop of mosquito bites, so I'm not without currency. It was a fair trade, but for the nightmarish itching, particularly on my left ankle, that was very popular yesterday amongst your better bloodsucking insects.

Yesterday I could have spent another day outside getting nothing at all done, but I thought instead I would force myself to stay inside and watch DVDs. Because I'm all filled with a good work ethic.

O wait, I just remembered a this stuff I didn't tell you about Saturday! I was so distracted by the day of days that that was all I could remember when I sat down to write about it. Mmm, sun...Okay, that's not going to happen again, I am really going to tell my important bathing and shopping stories, never you fear.

So, I took a fabulous bath, which I would just let go without reviewing, but for the fact that I actually used up two products! No, seriously! It was quite startling, as I tend to think that all of my bathroom stuff is bottomless.

Bubble Bath/Bath Salts: Ahava Dead Sea Bath Salts
I've had these for awhile, but never used it before. It's a little Emperor's New Clothes, because you put a whole bunch into the water and it just melts away and there aren't any bubbles or smell or anything, but somehow I think it made the water feel more liquid. I could have been fooling myself, of course.

Hair Masque: Lush H'suan Wen Hua
Used up! Score! I like this stuff, it makes my hair feel reasonably good, but somehow I think that I'll never ever find anything to replace my beloved and lamented Body Shop Henna Hair Wax. I am glad that the "best before" dates don't mean "rots afterwards", since that date was nearly a year ago.

Bath Gel: Victoria's Secret Garden Pear Glace
I think I got this from Melanie one Christmas. Good product, smells really pear-y, but not sicky sweet, and makes my skin feel very soft afterwards.

Facial Wash: Estee Lauder Splash Away Foaming Cleanser
God, I have had this stuff for centuries, at least four years. Must be longer, I know I moved with it. I got this and the masque below in order to spend $17 for the free gift, but I certainly got plenty of wear out of them. Not even close to using it up.

Facial Masque: Estee Lauder Almond Clay Pack
See above, but this one I used up! A nice scrubby masque that they appear not to make anymore. I don't have an urge to burst into tears, it did last me four years after all.

More Bubble Bath/Bath Salts: Jergens ActiBath Moisture Treatment
After a few times of adding more hot water, I felt that I was probably out of the magical invisible bath salts, so I decided to have a double-dose of bath stuff. I run wild, run free! You can't stop me! Anyway, I decided to have the fine ActiBath product, which both bubbles like crazy as well as turning the water bright blue. Much bang for one's buck in terms of having an entertaining bath.

After the sun went down and it was time to take my million skeety bites indoors, I decided to go to the supermarket to get potatoes for the cookout that we had yesterday, among other things.

I drank a whole gallon of milk last week, and ate three boxes of cereal! It is astonishing how much cereal I am eating on this Weight Watchers. It's quite handy, for each of them, Cheerios, Rice Chex and Honeycombs, one serving is two points, so I have them each pre-measured in four point servings in those handy little not-Tupperware containers and every morning I grab one to eat at work, So wait, how could I have eaten three boxes in a week? It must have been slightly longer than that.

Anyway, I also wanted to get some of those milk and cereal bars that The Raccoon introduced to me. Because I'm all about the snack foods, baby. I think I eat more snacks than I ever have before, but I'm dropping weight, so I'm not complaining. No wait, I used to have snacks, but they were from the vending machines--Cheez-Its and candy and so on, and I totally haven't eaten any of that in ages.

I am being so good on this diet, and really pretty content. This weekend I decided not to count points, just try to eat as though I was, and I really did a pretty good job. I counted up the points afterwards and I was really quiet on track, but it's a bad habit to get into, and I think that I won't do it anymore.

Then, after the groceries and after the fight on HBO, Fran and I watched Magnolia. Somehow, it had come up in conversation in the afternoon, and he had never seen it, and I was all for seeing it again, so we did.

I really think it's an extraordinary movie, so moving and funny and smart, but I must say that I did not notice how tightly constructed it was when I saw it in the theatre. What I really noticed was when the song happens, all of the characters are at their lowest ebb, and then afterwards, they all find peace. Or at the very least,they all find out who they are.

If you have never seen it, I truly recommend it so highly I cannot even stress it enough.

Afterwards, I was putting the DVD back in the holder, and I spied my copy of my favourite movie ever in the history of the world, Les Enfants du Paradis or Children of Paradise. That's no rhetoric either, it's been my favourite film for lo these thirty years, since I first saw it at the age of eight. And I talked it up so enthusiastically that I think that I just about convinced Fran that he wants to see a four hour long French film with subtitles about mimes.

Ooh, scared you all off with that, didn't I? Trust me, have I ever steered you wrong? And remember, I was eight years old when I saw it, and it captivated me so much that I called it my favourite film for the next ten years, until I saw it for the second time at eighteen.

They call it the French Gone With the Wind, it was made during the war in occupied France, but only released afterwards, a great sweeping tale about love and loss, incredible performances, a story spanning years, and while we're about it, what you think of as mime, that street crap, that will be wiped from your mind as though it had never been after you see Jean-Louis Barrault.

When Cynthia comes back into town, I'm going to sit them both down and make them both watch it.

Anyway, to yesterday, I decided that I needed to stay inside and watch DVDs and read, and that's precisely what I did until cookout time with Fran and Jon and the kids.

I watched A Room With a View from Netflix, which I haven't seen in years. Who remembers that Julian Sands used to be young and beautiful and not making B movies? I barely do, myself. Daniel Day-Lewis still looks almost as beautiful, besides the hairline, so Julian must have done a little harder living than Daniel. And Helena Bonham-Carter looks just as lovely.

Such a charming film. I do miss dear Denholm Elliot.

Then I watched the extras disc of Magnolia and the one of Hitchhiker's Guide, neither of which my computer is that enamoured with, so it was an all-night struggle to watch most of both of them, my computer insisting that there was no DVD inserted, or that there wasn't a DVD player at all, reboot reboot. I really need a new computer.

The cookout was great, see below. Probably the last of the season. Katie was there with her friend Taco, who's a really great kid, so why she wants to hang out with Katie, nobody knows. I suggested that she was paid to be her friend, and Taco shot back, "Not enough!" I like a teenage kid who can riff.

We had burgers, that I managed to convince Jon not to burn, since everyone else likes charcoal briquettes rather than hamburgers, and my famous mashed potatoes, and beans, and we listed to my Sublime cd (because I always try to choose the one that I know that Jon will hate the most) and there were brownies for dessert, and it's a shame that Cynthia wasn't there, but frankly there wouldn't have been enough chairs.

Today's horoscope:
Spending money on food with friends is likely today. Fad fashions may appeal today; resist temptation.

* Yesterday / Index / This Month / Tomorrow *

E-Mail / In the Belly of the Hedgehog

Graphics by the graphically inclined Saundra!

This page was written by hand. My hand. Only pussies use HTML editors.
Last Updated Sun 15 September 01:00:09 2002