Blog blog...where is the blog?

Hi everybody,
I'm losing my blog steam! I haven't been blogging as much -- it seems like I only have time nowadays to actually do something or blog. So where is the time going? House and work. These combined create bad blog content or no blog content. Booo!

Hopefully, tomorrow, I will post photos of our journey to Maine to see Summer Sweater and Personable. We had a great time, and I'll try to give some highlights of our trip to Portland.

Til tomorrow!

I'm going bald

Today, I made the cruel realization that I am going bald. For the past ten years, I've been living in denial of this twisted fate. I thought I had received my Sisko hairline (simple receding), but after today's haircut I was greeted with the classic Spano look: a barren follicle wasteland. Yes, honey, I'm going bald.

I started asking myself when this started. Was it three years ago, two years ago, or was it actually the past 6 months when things took a turn for the worse. Three months ago I noticed those small tufts of hair that old bald people get. What are those things? Little pubic hairs? Why even bothering having hair when you just have those tufts?

I guess as a kid you think you can trick mother nature. Oh no, not me, silly fate. My hair will be good, and I will escape the dreaded inherit from your mother's father rule. I will triumph and prevail. I will have my hair. However, this triumph over fate and biology was not to be mine. Yes, honey, I'm going bald.

Other news...
Rosanne had insisted I blogged tonight, as I've lost some inspiration of late. What else has happened? Well, we did a few things this weekend:

* Had tasty donuts at Anna's in West Roxbury
* Bought cat food at Pet World (Kitty City)
* Went to Drew Farm orchard
* Went to giant estate sale in JP, bought magazine holder
* Got haircut/discovered I'm going bald
* Read about N-tier architectures
* Moved air conditioners that weighed 40 pounds each
* Watered the plants

I will post pictures hopefully tomorrow. Seeing Mogwai tomorrow night as well.

Good night!

Stooping to New Lows: Sleeping Cat Video - Wyatt

Thanks to an anonymous commenter, we are today featuring Wyatt passed out on a chair. As I point out in the video, he's a handsome guy, and for an additional bonus, you get to hear me use my "jo-booboo" cat voice. (Is that how you spell that?)



Take notice, fellow thought leaders, I believe today I raised the bar some, eh?

Trying to sell stuff on Craig's List + Slater Mill

Today has been productive. I've been sick, went to Slater Mill, tried to sell a dresser and also edit in Final Cut Pro. I had some successes and some - you could say - challenges.

First, I awoke feeling like the way I did yesterday: stuffy head, fairly woozy, and just plain slow. Every word that came out of my mouth seemed to be in slow motion. Things did not really improve much until early evening health-wise. That being said, I still had a good day with Rosanne going to Slater Mill in Pawtucket, RI. I'd like to say we went for historical considerations, but rather, we went because we just saw Slater Mill on Ghost Hunters, one of our favorite programs on TV.

The Mill

We drove down to RI, which is not too far from us. I must say Rhode Island, while very close to us, has its own special flavor. Everybody we saw was very nice today, but this had to be one of the most bizarre historical tours I have ever taken. First, there were only two employees today working the mill -- they would rotate from being at the door and giving the tour. Giving the tours, both guides had a simple earnestness that was very admirable, but done with a local flavor that gave it a very unique twist. Our first guide mentioned how if a 12-year-old boy started bleeding into a machine, he just had to clean up the blood, and make sure he could continue working. To clarify, she mentioned that this mill only produced white thread, so the red would not do and hopefully the boy would still have enough blood to finish the job. We got a lot of little historical facts just like that to keep the day interesting.

While learning about history, we were also seeing if we could capture any ghostly encounters. Frankly, the only odd thing we saw were among the living, but we could definitely imagine some young child spirits there, since children were basically the main workforce for the whole factory. The machines we saw were imposing and ghastly -- imposing for most modern adult men -- let alone for a small child.

All in all, if you are in the area, do check out Slater Mill. The staff worked very hard and we had a great time.

VIDEOS!

I'm going to try to include more video in this here blog, so please enjoy me drilling a hole in a piece of wood at Slater Mill. The drill is powered by water, by a very large wheel -- very impressive.





Craig's List

Since I got my new old dresser, I'm trying to sell my old dresser. If you talk to me in person, I often complain about Craig's List, and once again, I've been stung. I was waiting tonight for like 90 minutes for the purchaser to show up to no avail. I had to put the cats in their respective rooms too so they wouldn't escape during the transaction. So in addition to waiting, I got to hear the cats howl. Yay.

Cat on Table

Tonight, Wyatt is playing the role of a table ornament...

More Great Content!

I'm now on Twitter -- what's left for young Cotton, Facebook? We'll see.

Must Continue Blogging

So I've basically lost some steam on the blog express. I was blogging almost everyday, but lately, it seems like I haven't had the time. I'm going to try to get going again with baby steps. So what's been going on in my life?

Tonight I made a taco bake from a recipe from my old place of employment, America's Test Kitchen. Most of their recipes never really turned out right for us (the Cook's Illustrated recipes take TOO much work), but for some reason this little taco recipe has always been quite easy.

Work is getting busier the longer I am there. I'm now currently dropped in the middle of the giant web redesign project. This is good. I was very used to be constantly busy at my last job, so I'm sort of getting my rhythm back.

Have a good evening.

Playing Catchup: Portsmouth

Dear Readers,

I've been bad. Very bad. I have not blogged in a week. Other things have got in our way, like work, life, cats, my wife (kidding), and eating. This week, I overheard someone comment that blogging can sometimes become a full-time occupation. A good occupation though. It allows us to reach our friends, and let them know what's going on in our lives and keep up as our lives get more seemingly complicated and busy. In order for me to stay connected, I may try my hand with Twitter, thus, you can follow me through my day as I tweet. Lovely.

Anyway, let's go ahead to Portsmouth. Last Sunday we went to New Hampshire to see probably the hippest city in the state. Portsmouth does a nice job of combining cultural vibrancy, history, and shopping (huh?) in one small, cute package. You can walk around beautiful Victorians, see old Colonials (see the John Paul Jones House), and still pick up your foo foo coffee in a short matter of time. We had a great day.

Below, you will see my virtual photo tour with commentary.

Who is this grumpy man, J. L. Coombs? This grumpy man sells shoes that Rosanne bought later in the day.

I finally buy my pink flamingos for the yard. I was looking for the reissue of the original Don Featherstone design; however, these were definitely good enough.

The Friendly Toast Men. This eatery is full of cool, kitschy items for you to look at it as you consume.

Neon sign.

My chicken burrito. It was interesting because it had a corn salsa topping and olives in it. I may review this place in a later blog.

Rosanne's melt sandwich. It had ham, brie, and asparagus. Very melty.

John Paul John's house. JPJ wasn't just the bass player for LZ, he was also a mighty sea captain.

I was surprised to see lobster art in Portsmouth, as it seemed like Portland, ME, had cornered the market. This sculpture was downtown to greet everybody as they enjoyed the day.

New Hampshire is very interesting as it has its own state liquor stores. This store had cases of hard liquor and wine -- but no beer. I had to have my picture taken in front of this noble state institution.

Portsmouth Recap...

Anyone in the area I definitely recommend you check out this little place right on the border of MA, ME, and NH. I don't know if I'd stay for more than a day (it is small), but for those looking for a day trip this won't disappoint.

Poll Update
It seems as if we had a double vote on last week's poll, which basically ruined it for all of you. We're redoing the poll, and if the results are valid, I will keep or shave my beard.

Lots to add today...

A lots gone on this week, some highlights include:

* Revs game at Foxboro
* Visit from Chris
* Another trip to Cathay Kitchen
* Brimfield Antiques Show with new dresser and gnome
* More housework
* The underwhelming tropical storm.

Real content later!