Queen of Kansas

Stella passed away at 105 years old.

This is not poetic license or hyperbole. She really was 105 year old. Born 1908. The Mad Scientist's grandmother passed away last week so we took the 15 hour drive and met with all his family and laid her to rest in the small, nondescript cemetery next to her husband. Married in the beginning of the Great Depression. They sold chickens to pay the land taxes until the war started, when she said her husband found steady work helping the war effort as a machinist, building parts for airplanes.

On her 100th birthday, she was asked what invention was the best in her lifetime. She said, "The refrigerator." Wow.

I asked her about her grandparents once. She told me this: "My grandfather was very sweet to me but he was a sad man... the Civil War will do that to a man." WHAT? Yeah. Her grandfather was a Yankee, captured by the South and put into Andersonville prison until he was traded for other prisoners of war then proceeded to WALK HOME from Georgia. The idea I was speaking with a lady who could tell me second hand stories of the Civil War was really an amazing gift.

She was a stubborn lady who lead a simple life in a small town in Nebraska. She was stylish and funny. She was feisty until the day she died. She was one in a million. I hope to be more like her.

Good night Stella.

A Kansas Funeral

Here's a preview of my next post. The Mad Scientist's grandma passed away last week so we drove out to Kansas. I had completely forgotten the ways of the plains. The mid-west is special and I'm not even being completely sarcastic either. So here's a preview of my weekend in a tiny town in Kansas.

Hipster Easter

Yeah. This happened.

Indy's Girl

I am the disappointment of Indiana Jones.

I just got back from a special screening of Raiders of the Lost Arch and I've forgotten how much I loved that movie. Not really forgotten but left behind a hazy fog of horrible summer action movies.

via http://geektyrant.com

I was born a girl with high anxiety and a poor memory for science and history. I knew from an early age I couldn't be Indy, but I could strive for Spielburgian greatness by emulating his leading ladies. Strong, smart, loud and opinionated. (Except you Willie. Sorry but you must grow a pair and stop the screaming...) I try to embody that sexy leading lady but it doesn't always work out that way. But for Indiana, it is worth trying.

Much like Bond, no woman could hold him. Yet unlike Bond, he was vulnerable. Jones bled and every fight was not so easily won. (And lets not forget his famous phobia.) Indy could get excited by architecture and history. A relic could send him off into a whirlwind of excitement. The man got off on mummies.

It's the passion, drive, daring that made me love him.

All these reasons and more are why I love him. Those three films (Four? There wasn't a forth one. No such thing.) had a great effect on my relationship choices for better or worse.

Hell, I did marry a scientist.

Treasures from Japan

Y'all know this, but I'm going to say it again.

I'm not normal.

Now some would say, "Pix, nobody is normal! We're all special like snowflakes!" And I'd say, "You're mom is a liar..." Then I'd probably throw in a mom joke about how I banged her in the back of a Ford Fiesta. Anywho...

I was in Japan a few weeks ago and while all the other tourists are buying little geisha dolls and decorative fans at the gaijin huts, I'm at the toy stores, vintage shops, department stores, dark alleyways negotiating deals on the black market. Yeah. Not really. But yeah, I'm cool like that.

So I thought I'd share some of my fun finds! First on the block, Crystal 3D Puzzles! Now I love puzzles and always have. I wouldn't say I'm very good at them but they're hours of turn-your-brain-off fun. So when I saw this mini 3D puzzles I had to snag one. There were many to choose from (Mickey, Donald, Winnie, etc) but I chose Stitch because he's so damned adorable.  

I have never seen this in the states before so I have to assume they're a Japanese or Eastern thing. I put it together pretty quickly, although it definatly worked a whole other part of my brain. And here's the result!

He's super happy on my book shelf.

And on the subject of puzzles, check out these!  They're so cute! 

Nanoblocks are like teeny legos. They allow for more detail and they are super fun. I got Tokyo Tower, of course, and a llama, of course. 

Then there's this beauty!

Yeah, it defies convention. It sees your ice 'cubes' and says "No way JACK! I'm doing my own thing!" 

Actually, it's supposed to melt slower because of the less surface area but I just thinks it looks pretty in a glass. And it blows the minds of my (imaginary) party guests. 

Then there's the crown jewel in my collection: 

The Wedding Kimono. 

 Yeah, I am fully aware I'm already married. You should have seen the kimonos for married ladies. They looked like someone had died. They were so black, no light escaped them. Joy and happiness disappeared. They made me sad. So I bought this instead. I'm a happy cucumber.