yes, folks, it's official: it was the pepper.

See, the only difference between white pepper and black pepper is that white pepper doesn't have the (black) HUSK. that makes it better for you, actually, as the husk is what sticks to the lining of your stomach and if you aren't careful will burn holes right through it. but with black pepper - still in the husk - you get very little of the hardcore white pepper stuff inside it. w/ white pepper, you seriously need to pay attention to how much you are using because it doesn't stand out like black pepper does against whatever you're pouring it onto.

And this, we know, I did not do.

No frelling wonder I was in a world of hurt!

and mr. zippy told me last night he didn't think I'd make it to the store (less than 1 mile from my home) in my condition, that's why he went instead. if he thought I could have made it out the front door he'd have gladly rolled over and gone back to sleep.


So, yesterday my stomach was still a bit raw but no headache THANK. GOD. and no hurling. And the skies opened up in the late afternoon and cooled my world off after I spent time in the scorching sun putting in new pretties along the drive and street between my roses.

but we ate cold sandwiches and tomato soup last night for supper. no pepper added.

Here's how to make a GREAT pot of spaghetti:

1st and most importantly, have someone to share it with. it's just not the same slurping pasta by one's self.

after that, everything else is secondary.

bottle of good red wine for sipping (fizzy water works just as well).

fresh ingredients -- mushrooms, onion, garlic, basil, garlic, did I mention garlic?

not so fresh but will do ingredients - the so-called 'Italian' seasonings. check your local grocer spice aisle.

1 big can each of stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste

meat of your choice -- or if you have a good vegan recipe, send it my way, won't you?

brown your meat over a medium heat, drain the lard, add to the mix of other ingredients (that you've already mixed in a separate pot and put on a medium heat), stir, cover, cook over low heat for as many hours as you can stand to, stirring ocassionally. I say this is a Sunday afternoon meal. save it for a day you don't have to go anywhere and you can cook in your own liesurely pace for hours on end, sipping your wine or fizzy water, listening to jazz music, watching tele, chatting w/ friends, yada yada yada.

of course, you cook and drain your pasta just in time to serve it warm, so plan to put your water on to boil about half an hour before you want to eat.

or serve it over toast. who cares?


Here's how NOT to make a great pot of spaghetti --

follow all of the above instructions, only instead of adding black pepper to taste, try adding a blind heaping of white pepper. just don't pay attention as you're pouring it in. it looks pretty much like the salt and Italian ingredients you've already added and are now standing on top of the tomato sauces so just forget about it when you've realized you've poured a good third of the cannister in for a pot that may feed four. stir.

and sip more wine or fizzy water, whatever, because you've got a foul taste in your mouth from the white pepper in the air that's just not right and you know it but you've only got one pot of ingredients and can't start over from scratch.

enjoy your first mouthful with your preferred dinner companion and put your fingers in your ears and say LALALALALALALALA when he tells you "WOW! THAT'S REALLY PEPPERY!" You knew that already. You'd even mentioned it to him, so why is he saying it now like some sort of revelation?

finish your plate as he throws his away and wait a solid fifteen minutes for your thiving headache to begin. Did I say 'thriving'? Yes, yes, I did. I would say 'throbbing' but that's what a thriving headache develops into. see? thriving. flourishing, big booming business.

after about an hour, remove yourself from his company and go immediately to the bathroom where what you've eaten earlier is about to make a reappearance.

then get in the shower, a cool, cool shower, as your throbbing - yes, full on spikes through the temple and cervix and orbs headache now includes an ass ache and a nausea so overwhelming you are CERTAIN of the migraine history you've had for most of your life has never, NOT ONCE, NEVER EVER been so swift or fierce or furious.

go directly to bed. do not take the dogs with you.

as you lay there dreaming of death, masturbate. Louise Hay SWEARS it will cure your migraine.

curse Louise Hay as you crawl your sorry ass back to the shower where you soak your head until you think you're just past the point of hypothermia and think it safe to turn off the water and return to the living.

there you go thinking again.

when he asks if you are ok, tell him through your sobs you are going to the store for migraine medicine. when he asks you to let him go instead, let him.

hug the toilet, here it comes.

when he returns with migraine medicine and one of those sticky cold compresses that works for 8 hours on your forehead, let him pour the pills down your raw throat, stick the icky mess to your head and tell you in his sweetest voice,

"We're not eating the leftovers."

So, I'm out there pruning my rose bushes this afternoon and it always takes longer than I expect it to. I go out thinking to myself, "Self, this ought to be a good hour in the sun" and invariably in turns into a good three hours -- hot, sweaty, buggy hours in the sun.

Today's sun happened to be not so hot, really, only about 80 degrees, but the moisture in the air was like slogging through a bayou. Add to that the long sleeves I wear (can't afford a burn) and the fat cat suddenly curled in my lap as I prune the bottom of the bushes and YOU KNOW WHAT?? That was one mighty muggy venture.

But my roses bushes are all the better for it PREEN! and not one not two but three THREE cars slowed as they drove by to compliment how gorgeous they are. Wish I could take full credit, but all I do is feed and prune them. The rest is up to Mother Nature. That, and Ortho Japanese Beetle Spray. The Label swears it kills on contact, but all those little fuckers did was fly off to the next bush... and the next and the next. Fortunately, I'd sprayed as I went along, so once I was down wind and the beetles took to the bush I'd already been to they bounced off it like a pinball I swear yelling AIIIIEEE!!! all the way. they finally gave up on my yard and crossed the street to my good Republican neighbor's yard.

hehehehe

there's a glitch in this forum that now leaves this ginormous space above every post. sigh.

have I yet mentioned mr. zippy has a Japanese mama?

oh, yes, i think so.

I didn't even notice it when we met. he had to tell me for me to know. eleven years later he starts eating things like kippers on steamed rice w/ seaweed sprinkles and I think I'm turning Japanese I think I'm turning Japanese, oh, yes, I think so.

Hurricane Dennis is upon us and I wish all my neighbors in the lower South East US a hearty prayer and well wishes. Where I'm at, it's WIND WIND WIND. Tornado watch thru midnight, flash flooding too. But I live on a hill where we'd have to have a wall of water at least 100 ft high from the coast inward to flood us, so that much doesn't worry me.

And we have no basement to hide in should the funnel cloud open up above us, so what's a zippy to do but blog?

poor elder doggy zippy hates getting wet, but she had to pee so badly she was pacing and pacing and pacing and... so I finally made her out the back door. she was happy for it later, but at the time it was raining so hard I'm not sure she knew she'd actually gone or not.

yesterday, I made two flower beds and planted small and large day lilies. today I transplanted iris, rose cadmium and some sort of lush green thing w/ a tiny little yellow flower. I've been pulling these as weeds but my landscaper friend said to take some from his garden, citing "a weed is simply anything that grows where you don't want it to."

wild flowers don't care where they grow.

all this in continuing effort to renovate a theater nearby. they are also holding an on-line silent auction as a fund raisser, if any of you are interested: neighborhood playhouse

right. I'm off to listen to the wind blow.

a way out west they got a name,
for rain and wind and fire.
the rain is Tess
the fire Joe
and they call the wind MARRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Lana is a good friend of mine and this is a worthy worthy cause. REMEMBER: 70% of the World's AIDS population in in Sub-Sarahan Africa. if you can contribute, please do. it's entirely tax deductable and you may save a child's life.


Hey, y'all!
At last! Here is a way to help the folks in Africa and know that the ones who need it will actually be getting that help instead of corrupt government officials. I surely can vouch for Monika. She is a talented local playwright and actor. We did Italian-American Reconciliation a few years back, in which I played her aunt. In many ways, I still think of myself as her aunt. Please join me in sending her a small check, knowing that she will see that it gets to the ones who need it most.
Lana

Dear Friends,

I'm writing today to ask you to help me realize a dream - not a dream of my own invention, but a dream I have adopted and believe in. A brief introduction...

About 13 years ago, I met an incredible woman named Cori Stern. Through the years, we have remained friends, though at a distance as she moved from Austin to Los Angeles shortly after we met. A few years ago, Cori became very involved in relief work in Africa, founding a non-profit organization, cradle of life, to teach African midwives how to administer HIV preventative drugs to expectant mothers . Cori has taken several missions
to Africa now, each with a different purpose. Each time she has gone, she has solicited volunteers and donations, and I have always longed to accompany her.

This year, I will achieve this goal.

In September, I will be flying to Ghana, West Africa to assist in the creation of a school/resource center for 350 unaccompanied children who are currently housed in a refugee camp. These children, victims of civil war in Liberia, have been either separated from their parents while fleeing the war or orphaned. Some of them are as young as three and are considered "extremely vulnerable."

If you've seen the film HOTEL RWANDA or read articles on the plight of similar children in the aftermath of the Asian tsunami, you may have an inkling of the hardships these children are undergoing as we speak.

The school and resource center will not only be a place for them to learn, but a haven as well. Unfortunately, even though the cost of preparing the building and establishing the school is extremely low by Western standards, the local capital necessary to make the school functional isn't available. You can read more about this mission here.

I have been asked to raise $5,000 as part of my contribution to the effort. I must raise this money within the next eight weeks. At first, the amount seemed overwhelming, and still does to some extent. While a portion of it will pay for my travel and expenses while in Ghana, the bulk of it will contribute to this amazing project and the people whose lives will be forever changed. It has been important for me to remember that the real, lasting focus in fundraising is to raise awareness. I know that many of you are struggling, or maybe making do on a careful budget. I have to hope that some of you will be willing and
able to see what an amazing difference any donation may make to this cause, and how wonderful it can feel to be a part of it. Because this trip is an effort of a registered 501 C3 organization, all donations for the trip are tax deductible.

I feel truly honored to be given such a worthwhile opportunity and I hope that you will share my enthusiasm. I believe this will be a life-changing experience, and I am so thankful to have the chance to make a difference in such a constructive and educational way.

If you would like to donate to this mission, there are two ways to do so:

1) By check - made out to the non-profit organization "Creative Visions" and sent to me at:
Monika Bustamante
1500 E. 11th Street
Austin, TX 78702
ATTN: TEN DAYS
Please include your full address with the check.

2) Online at http://www.tendaysmission.blogspot.com. Click on "Make a donation." If you do, please put my name in the "Note" area, so that I can keep track of my donations.

Thank you so much for your support! I'll keep you updated on my progress, and the progress of the mission! And last but not least, a quote from the great George Bernard Shaw that inspires me every day:

"This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized by
yourself as a mighty one. Being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish
little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not
devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to
the whole community and as I live it is my privilege - my *privilege* to do
for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the
harder I work the more I love. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no
brief candle to me; it is a sort of splendid torch which I've got a hold of
for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing
it on to future generations."


With much love and appreciation,
Monika Bustamante