I had quite a shock this morning!

For the first time ever I saw an 18-year friend without his mustache.

edited to add: hmm. no comment at all. Perhaps it's the way I wrote it.

Is this better?

I had quite a shock this morning! Martin has shaved his mustache. I've known him for about 18 years, and this is the first time I've seen his upper lip.

you know all that money I'm saving? From cutting the gym membership and satellite service? Well, i just spent 42 dollars of it on two new* frying pans on ebay.


le creuset. the bottom one looks like it needs a bit of scouring, doesn't it? I thought that one was 7" and other 9" but when paying noticed the bigger one was 12". As the seller stated "they do have some wear to them but they still cook good."

*to me.

I love reading The Guardian. Guardian Media gets a look every morning, and when I get a chance I go through the rest of the paper---online, unless I'm in the UK, or see a copy somewhere.
Today there's a lot of coverage of the Hay Festival, a spectacular sounding book festival described once by Bill Clinton as "the Woodstock of the mind") (more info, go here.)

I especially liked a little section of Celebrity Q and A. You can read the entire thing here: if you've to no time, here's one little gem:

"Dom Joly, comedian asks Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster

Q Sandi, I've always wanted to ask you: how would we solve the Israel/Palestine situation?

A Do you know, the answer that I like best - and I don't know whose answer it is - is that we should get one side to divide the country and decide where the border is going to go, and then the other half get to choose which side they want. Isn't that a brilliant idea? It's so simple. Maybe in his simplicity, Blair found that too simple. Perhaps I could be an undersecretary of something?"

Prediction for the day: this story will close 99% of all newscasts today. All over the globe.

finally---no more coughing. And my voice is almost back. someone said this was payback for missing all the crap this winter, and I fear that is correct!

how to save 157 dollars a month.
1. cancel gym membership.
2. cancel directv.

At some point I'll probably sign up for fios tv to go along with the fiber internet I've enjoyed for the past 2 years, but right now there's nothing worth watching.* I used to watch one of the local morning news programs for about 20 minutes each day, but gave it up when the upstairs tv went on the fritz, and never got back into it when I replaced the bad cables. That was about 18 months ago.
When I first moved in, I needed cable to pick up the local stations, as I seem to be living in a dead zone. But when they went HD, things changed. And despite the fact I could write off the cost on my taxes, it just wasn't worth it.

*at least on US tv. through the magic of the internet, I enjoy many fine programs produced on distant shores.

the rest of the trip was downhill from there...a migraine hit on friday, with my meds 400 miles away...i return home in one piece, only to be struck by the crud last thursday. Finally up and around yesterday! Running on about 2/3s power, however....not to mention croaky and snuffly.