For the next few days we will be
visiting Papa Bird’s Great Grandma at her home in Denver. The whole family is here — Grandma Tuba, Grandpa Piano, Auntie Music, Antenna, and many more.
Posted in Antenna, Auntie Music, Denver, Grandma Tuba, Grandpa Piano, Great Grandma, Monster Hands, Papa Bird, People
Today, 6:30 pm:
In which I and the Slavering Beast walk to the park, are threatened by a squirrel, have a multicultural experience, and develop a complex–maybe.
1. With Squirrel:
Squirrel, glaring: THIS IS MINE.
Me: “Ok, that’s yours. Cool.”
Monster Hands: “OooOOaaahaaooo!”
2. With woman and small girl:
[Woman and small girl, aged 7 or thereabouts, walk over. Woman stands very close to me and pats Monster Hands on the cheek, rather suddenly and with surprising vigor.]
Woman speaks Asian language, Girl translates: “We like your baby!”
Me: “Thank you!”
Woman speaks Asian language, Girl translates: “How old is your baby?”
Me: “Three months.”
Girl: “My baby is one month.”
Me, to both: “You have a one month old baby at home?”
Girl: “Yes, his name is _____”
Me: “Congratulations!”
Monster Hands smiles, Woman laughs, delighted. Woman speaks Asian language.
Girl: “What is his name? Your baby is a boy.”
Me: “Monster Hands. Actually, she’s a girl.”
Girl, suddenly shocked and incredulous: “A girl, but WHY?!”
3. With Older Gentleman:
Gentleman: “Why hello! The baby waved at me!”
Me: “Hello!”
Gentleman: “Are you his Grandmother?”
(etc.)
Posted in Around town, Monster Hands, People, Places, Uncategorized
Our favorite musical baby toy appears to be haunted.
Papa Bird suggested this yesterday, when it spontaneously changed songs; now it has turned on when it was across the room from us and not near any cats.
If it isn’t haunted, perhaps the explanation is that the baby has experienced some sort of telepathic growth spurt.
Posted in House and grounds, Monster Hands, Papa Bird, People, Places
Monster Hands and I are out for a walk in the neighborhood. We just passed two little boys, aged 4 or so, playing in a yard.
Boy #1: “Baby!”
Me: “Hi!”
Boy #1: “Is that a real baby?”
Me: “Yep! She’s just wearing a big hat. See?”
At this, I tilted Monster Hands’s sun hat so it fell over her eyes and then perched back on her head.
Boy #1 laughed. Boy #2, made a face that suggested he was wresting with an existential crisis, aimed his empty squirt gun at us, and slowly pulled the trigger.
A few minutes later, we sat down under a tree. Here she is, possibly contemplating our earlier brush with gun violence.
Posted in Around town, Monster Hands, People, Places
Just two Western Washingtonians, geared up to face the sunshine.
Posted in Monster Hands, People
My mother, Gramalene, came to visit today bearing gifts. Among them was this “small” tyvek suit. For when you need to crawl under a house. Or survive a nuclear attack. Or, apparently, clothe an alien.
My head only came to the top of the torso, so, naturally, I found an extra head to put where a head should go.
If it seems odd to you that a retired Librarian would present her only child with a tyvek hazmat suit as a gift, you have not met my mother. Her hobby and passion is disaster preparedness. This is a woman who gave serious thought to building an armored, enclosed, anchored floating device for our cousins who were living at the time in a tsunami zone.
You should see my emergency drawer at work.
“Musta done something wrong. There’s an inspector going into the work site.”
Grandpa Vehicle and his friend have been over here, helping us trim (ha, what an understatement) the English laurel that is threatening to take over the city starting with our yard and adjacent sidewalk.
The inspector, Porch Cat, is a local freelance feline. A Cat at Large. We think he is “owned” by someone in the neighborhood, but he doesn’t let that stop him from doing what needs to be done.
Posted in Animals, Cats, Grandpa Vehicle, House and grounds, People, Places
