Unfurnished Brooklyn

Rockahula!

I love the Mermaid Parade. Even though it seems to be mostly about testing how nekkid you can get without being arrested, I still take Cheburashka to see it. The costumes are great, and any excuse to spend the day on the boardwalk is a good one. Even if it is raining.

This year a friend organized a group, and in true Iris style I forgot about it until almost the last minute, and ran out to buy a quickie costume on Friday. I bought a grass skirt & silk flowers for Cheburashka (yep- kid-sized mermaid costumes were sold out everywhere), and a pirate hat and parrot (almost typed pigeon) for me. That and my own flowy white shirt and capri pants made enough of a costume for me. I went as Wackbeard, the Half-Assed Pirate. Cheb was adorable as a hula girl.

And I'm not just saying that because I'm her mom. Someone else agreed: she was the cutest customer of the day at the strawberry shortcake stand.

I've a few photos up on Flickr here.

Yesterday we went to see Cars. I expected not to like it, because of Mater (or rather, the guy who voices that character). It was cute. I laughed (especially at the joke about being happier than a tornado in a trailer park. Was that wrong?). What I didn't like was the preview of all the animated films to come, some of which don't look interesting at all, which Cheb will force me to watch. And really, what is it with "famous" actors hogging all the animated roles? Leave'em for the voice actors who've been doing it for years and are good at it.

But then again, I liked Over the Hedge.

I think this back pain is making me cranky. Back to the sofa....

iPod meme

Because all the other Drafty Ladies are doing it... and because I finally got an iPod (black nano. I named it Sevvie. I should not have told the internets that)... here's my  life on shuffle:

You know the routine: ya putcha iPod on shuffle, and hit the next song for each question. Fun, though sometimes creepy.

Gone Fishing

You know what I don't get? I've gone fishing many times, and never once have I caught a fish. My brother invites us out for a day of fishing and once we find a good spot Cheb dips the rod into the water and almost immediately hooks one. And then another. She caught three before I snatched the rod from her. And then she kept giving me pointers.

By the end of the day I caught eight sea bass, four of which had to be thrown back for being too small. Each time I got all girlie about getting the fish off the hook (and baiting the hook), so I kept asking the mate for help. The mate was a woman, so that balanced the scales a bit- otherwise, I'd've set women back a few years.

It was a well deserved day out. Worth waking up at 3 AM for.

So, yeah, I'm not going to get into the reason for my latest blog absence. After being fired from what should have been a pretty good job, I've been fixing up my apartment, updating my wardrobe (meaning, I now have something other than jeans and tee shirts to wear), and even went and got my hair did. You know what's scary? Leaning back in the shampoo chair at the salon and listening in while the stylists talk about you like you're not sitting right beneath them. Even scarier: they're guessing what color your hair will turn out to be, and I heared the words "strawberry blonde" uttered. Fortunately, my hair is not strawberry blonde. (Copper gold, dammit.) I'm happy with it- beats the hell out of my at-home cut & color. The fact that I walked out of the salon and into a deluge (was that an ark I saw sailing down Flatbush Avenue?) didn't bother me at all. I walked out with a silly shower cap on my head and arrived home soaked to the skin- but my hair still looked good.

Also? Peeling off wet denim jeans is a two-man job.