A Fahm Guest Just Blew My Mind

...when she said, "Reading is an interior sport."

"Fahmtastic Story!" Notes from a New Reader

Amazon.com Review by Harry Hart-Browne:

Our Year at The Fahm: or, Blessed are the Cracked for They Shall Let in the Light (Paperback)

"What a delightful book! Sara Parker gives us an unvarnished tour of her new life with her tongue in her cheek and her heart on her sleeve. It reminded me a little of "George Washington Slept Here" where city folk get countrified the hard way.

Sara shares her woes and triumphs with such humor - both extra dry and fairily whimsical - that I become involved immediately, and stayed that way. A real page-turner. She treats language like a lovely lump of Play-Dough, sometimes creating words, phrases and names for inanimate objects that convey their essence far more effectively than conventional wordery can. (It's catching!)

Although this true account is often a romp worthy of Lucy, it also ventures fearlessly to lonely places, human frailties, political insights, world woes, love of animals, as well as rampant mouse poo and homemade applesauce. It shows us how hard hard work can be, the shock of sudden crises, and helps us, by example, to go with the flow. It honors the beauty of Nature. It celebrates good people and laughs at the meanies. Like the official who railed against local beavers building dams without permits. No kidding.

It connected with me on many levels. Sara's every response to her new life is informed by her big sensitive heart, which in turn warmed mine. My inner child smiles. Her subtitle suits her - she lets in the light. Recommended."

I am humbled. 

This Flow Chart Will Make It Easy for You to Know Once and For All!

Via Huffington Post

MA "RomneyCare" Site is Also Dysfunctional

I spent 42 minutes and 30 seconds on the phone with a very helpful Massachusetts State Health Care Connector customer service representative who was kind enough to walk me through signing up for an account only to get this error:

The very helpful Massachusetts State Health Care Connector customer service representative was able to tell they had been seeing this same error all day, they can see the error on their end, it is a known issue, and their people are working on fixing it.

Really? Well, being the inquisitive former software QA tester that I am, after we concluded our phone conversation, I went back to the website and started poking around. It wasn't long before I found the (additional) following bugs on the site:

• In the Get Help FAQ, the Read more frequently asked questions link goes to an error page which features this lovely family

• Clicking Visit Support Area in Get Help spawns a little pop-up box which reads, The page at MAHealthconnector.org says Target Unreachable, 'SubscriberBean' returned null For more information please see the server's error log...server exception 
• My Account Overview tab: clicking the "Coverage Options" button doesn't do anything
• Profiles and Settings My Profile: Body text needs copy-editing and has a typo: We make it easy to update your information. Hence, you can change your password settings, phone number, email address, contact preferences and support services. Do you need to de-activate your account?Click here to find out how.
• Profiles and Settings My Profile: Account Preferences section is empty

And then I got tired and bored with doing someone else's job and not getting paid for it so I stopped. Obviously MA didn't allow enough time for testing either...tsk, tsk...when will people learn?

Finally Fixed That Dark Corner in My Office!

I needed a little boost so I watched this. Did the trick.

Coming Soon: The Book

Cover design by Jean Hayes

Until Then...

From Edward Monkton.

Alright...

I'll Admit to Being a Teensy Bit Discouraged

Spring 2011 has found me a teensy bit discouraged...I find myself stymied on pretty much every creative front particularly this blog which after nearly two years of writing, hasn't amounted to much other than a way to keep my family updated...I admit that i had hopes this blog would become larger than itself ala http://beekman1802.com/ but without the financial resources and connections to Martha Stewart that Beekman1802 had, I simply have not prevailed in the endeavor. 


I have a core group of readers but that core group has not grown in the last six months or more - and growth is key to financial success on the intertubenets...


*sigh*


To further intensify the Extra Stencils, Raj and I are nearing a decision point about where to go next...back to Berkeley? Over to Northampton? Rent a place here in Princeton?


*sigh*

It's a Good Thing Ya'll Keep Austin Weird

...because when my plans went suddenly awry deep in the heart of downtown I was able to stomp my way back to Sanity (and a phone and a map) without a single discouraging word despite my very sweaty public dishevelment, indignant aura, and occasional muttered expletives.  A couple of posts ago I mentioned felix culpa, a series of Miserable Events that eventually lead to a Happier Outcome; the Miserable Events in this case involved riding shotgun in a car driving around direction-less on heavily trafficked urban freeways. After 48 hours of it I was sick, dizzy, cranky, disoriented, and ready to do something else. Before long, I found myself doing something else, all right,  I found myself walking up 5th St. with purpose and certainty.  My purpose was present but unclear not unusual; my certainty was that I would keep walking until I knew where I was going amid all ya'lls apparent obsession with strangely-horned cattle.*

The Miserable Events  (however miserable and eventful) did lead to a Happier Outcome. Had I not exited the wild ride when I did, I certainly would have missed Haus Frauing at Cousin Laurie's which would have been a horrible shame. Haus Frauing that evening was a blast even if Cousin Richard did deliver me there, again sweaty, disheveled, and this time also a little sunburned. Right then my sweaty dishevelment was far more enjoyable than earlier in the day, likely due to the fact that Richard was dropping me off at Laurie's after a very long, lovely drive in his sporty black convertible through the early spring of Texas Hill Country...

* On our way to the Clay Pit to have lunch with Olivia, my friend Tori gave us a quick tour of the downtown area near campus. As we drew near Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium,

she practically drawled, "You know there's another religion here in TEXAS, right? It's called FOOTBALL."

I've Been Planning

...the wardrobe for my upcoming trip to Austin, TX...

I may recycle older outfits that have left especially strong impressions:

All in all, I think I have exactly what I need to strike just exactly the right note!

I am not a collector – I am an assembler

Shelf

From left to right: Helen Brennan's baby shoes, circa 1907; photo of Stella Feigle, Philadelphia, PA, August 1893; quotation by Gayatri Spivak via my bro Joe; Nancy van Zelm's French-English dictionary - 1932; BAEDEKER'S PARIS AND ITS ENVIRONS - 1900; BAEDEKER PARIS ET SES ENVIRONS - 1911; Bob Parker's watch; Bob Parker's pocket edition of The Finest Story in the World;  photo of Jim and Tom Parker; ivory thimble; sterling silver thimble; photo from left to right of Cousin Pauline, Cousin Jean, & Helen Brennan.

Shelf, detail

Shelf, detail

"Acceptance of radical vulnerability" - Gayatri Spivak

Tell It Like It Is

More gems from Untitled

• "Please don’t expect historical, present-day or zoological accuracy from this blog. I mean, truthfully, it’s most enjoyed by the illiterate."
• I blacked out and woke up hugging the fridge with the wrapper from a stick of butter stuck to my face.

One Woman's Rules for the Workplace

From Untitled. Until I Think of Something Clever

"In the office I have certain rules which I follow at all times…


#1. I always insist upon emitting just the slightest odor of egg salad sandwich.


#2. Similar to Rule #1: I only eat burritos or anything containing beans for lunch (when no one is looking). Technically, I was told to stop eating beans, but I don’t think they can legally do that.


#3. I expect that there will be a constant supply of hot coffee. When there is not, I am quick to anger and say something rude to the person nearest. Then I knock something off my desk and feel powerful (but very alone).


#4. I do not ridicule or criticize my coworkers… to their faces. If they are in a meeting, out sick or their back is turned, then they are fair game. I assume by now everyone knows this rule and will not say “you smell” while looking directly at me anymore.


#5. When asked to complete a task by a coworker I laugh hysterically and, if possible, piss my pants. This sort of screws with Rule #1. But urine trumps egg and then I go home early that day.


#6. I leave post-it notes on various things in the office that simply say “Mine.”

#7. I always make sure to say “good morning” to every one, followed by “moron” or “asshole” very softly, under my breath. Some days it’s still sort of audible, so…I generally go home early those days too."

The "Our Year at The Fahm" Experience Now Available at Cat Alley Antiques!

Today was a very big day here at The Fahm as today marks the debut of the "Our Year at The Fahm" experience at Cat Alley Antiques & Artisans in Barre, MA!  

Now you too can share our world - although without the dirt, the dead mice, or the fussy furnace!  I have rented a teeny tiny space at Cat Alley Antiques & Artisans, and today I filled it with many of the treasures I have accumulated since moving to The Fahm in September '09.  Our Dear Neighbor Monique was kind enough to assist with the "installation." The treasures aren't *actually* from The Fahm (as in, THIS Fahm) but they are, for the most part, very much like those at The Fahm, and are therefore eligible for inclusion. 

Setting up

Monique had a finite amount of time to help so we moved fast!

In addition to antiques and whatnot, I am actively promoting greeting cards and t-shirts emblazoned with the "Blessed are The Cracked for They shall let in the Light" message, and selling four original pieces of O-riginal Art. "Blessed are The Cracked" has become something of a motto here at The Fahm: 

If you've been following our adventures on this blog, you know very well why; if you haven't been following along, I invite you to do so right away, starting here. As our friend Dean said not so long ago, "Some of it is interesting!" Here are the end results of today's excitement:

Shotgun shell, slingshot & empty bottle = A Very Bad Boy

Thoughts?  C O M M E N T S ?  Anybody? Anybody??