Saturday, September 08, 2007
Friday, September 07, 2007
The Rest of the Story
The dog.
It's been crazy around here, and the dog is really only 1/3 of it. But to ease your curiosity, this entry will be just about Bear.
We've been kind of murmuring about a dog for most of the summer. Many of you know that we lost our beloved Soya 3 years ago. At the time, Taylor was about 9 or 10. He said, "I don't ever want to get another dog because then they die."
Just in the last few months he's been mentioning a dog. Mensa Boy has not been a big fan, but said he wouldn't stand in our way. Nate has been supportive, but not really pushing it.
Taylor and Soya were pretty close. She was mostly my dog, but she always spent a lot of time sleeping next to Taylor as he watched TV or played video games. He would talk in her ears.
Nate will be graduating from high school next spring and going off to college and that will leave Taylor here as the only kid. Also, our carpets are in bad shape and need to be replaced.
So it seemed like no time like the present to house train a puppy.
Bear was owned by a family in Chester who tried to surrender him to the Lancaster Animal Shelter. They would not take him because there are so many surrendered, found, or taken every day that they can't also take animals from other counties. The woman sounded like she didn't want to go "all the way" to the Chester pound. So B.J, a volunteer, said she'd foster him.
He's about 13 weeks old, according to the vet. (note to self: have Taylor pick a birthday)
He's very cuddly and for the first two days he was quiet and slept a lot. He was also crawling with fleas, which we had killed before we even let him in the house. We took him the local vet and they gave him a magic pill that killed them all in about 30 minutes. I just gave him another pill today and put on some Topspot. We also had him tested for a skin condition, which he passed, but we have another culture working for ringworm. He's got a spot on his front leg that he's been chewing on.
Buddy Sarah loaned us two Kennel Cabs, one he just fits in now, and another he can grow into. He's very good about it. We let him out, tell him he's going to bed, and he sleeps all night. Hasn't said a word for 2 nights. Each morning he goes straight outside from there. I suspect we are in the honeymoon phase with that.
He's not a great eater. In fact, I suspect all the food he's getting right now is what I put in his little Kong. So I put puppy food in there rather than treats. His foster home fed him scrambled eggs for breakfast. At my house, dogs eat dog food. So he's going to have to get over this pickiness. NO ONE is allowed to be a picky eater.
His personality is starting to come out now, and I suspect we will be referring to him as "the terrorist" soon. Tomorrow I'll have to take Taylor to a bookstore to find a training book. We'll need to keep a firm hand on this one. We do, after all, suspect that he's mostly Jack Russell Terrier.
My circle of buds have been teasing me now, saying they want to get me a pooch purse. A big, flowered, pooch purse. HA. They are soooooo funnnnny!
My assessment of this whole thing is now I've given my adversaries (and believe me, there are adversaries with this library thing) a pretty good response when I tangle with them:
"I'll get you, my pretty! And your little dog too!"
It's been crazy around here, and the dog is really only 1/3 of it. But to ease your curiosity, this entry will be just about Bear.
We've been kind of murmuring about a dog for most of the summer. Many of you know that we lost our beloved Soya 3 years ago. At the time, Taylor was about 9 or 10. He said, "I don't ever want to get another dog because then they die."
Just in the last few months he's been mentioning a dog. Mensa Boy has not been a big fan, but said he wouldn't stand in our way. Nate has been supportive, but not really pushing it.
Taylor and Soya were pretty close. She was mostly my dog, but she always spent a lot of time sleeping next to Taylor as he watched TV or played video games. He would talk in her ears.
Nate will be graduating from high school next spring and going off to college and that will leave Taylor here as the only kid. Also, our carpets are in bad shape and need to be replaced.
So it seemed like no time like the present to house train a puppy.
Bear was owned by a family in Chester who tried to surrender him to the Lancaster Animal Shelter. They would not take him because there are so many surrendered, found, or taken every day that they can't also take animals from other counties. The woman sounded like she didn't want to go "all the way" to the Chester pound. So B.J, a volunteer, said she'd foster him.
He's about 13 weeks old, according to the vet. (note to self: have Taylor pick a birthday)
He's very cuddly and for the first two days he was quiet and slept a lot. He was also crawling with fleas, which we had killed before we even let him in the house. We took him the local vet and they gave him a magic pill that killed them all in about 30 minutes. I just gave him another pill today and put on some Topspot. We also had him tested for a skin condition, which he passed, but we have another culture working for ringworm. He's got a spot on his front leg that he's been chewing on.
Buddy Sarah loaned us two Kennel Cabs, one he just fits in now, and another he can grow into. He's very good about it. We let him out, tell him he's going to bed, and he sleeps all night. Hasn't said a word for 2 nights. Each morning he goes straight outside from there. I suspect we are in the honeymoon phase with that.
He's not a great eater. In fact, I suspect all the food he's getting right now is what I put in his little Kong. So I put puppy food in there rather than treats. His foster home fed him scrambled eggs for breakfast. At my house, dogs eat dog food. So he's going to have to get over this pickiness. NO ONE is allowed to be a picky eater.
His personality is starting to come out now, and I suspect we will be referring to him as "the terrorist" soon. Tomorrow I'll have to take Taylor to a bookstore to find a training book. We'll need to keep a firm hand on this one. We do, after all, suspect that he's mostly Jack Russell Terrier.
My circle of buds have been teasing me now, saying they want to get me a pooch purse. A big, flowered, pooch purse. HA. They are soooooo funnnnny!
My assessment of this whole thing is now I've given my adversaries (and believe me, there are adversaries with this library thing) a pretty good response when I tangle with them:
"I'll get you, my pretty! And your little dog too!"
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Water Restrictions
Our county has finally enacted water restrictions. We've had water "suggestions" since I've been here, but this is the first time I remember being given restrictions with promises of consequences.
I'm fine with that. In fact, I've added some other water-saving measures here at home. And part of that is due to my cyber-friend, Psycho Anita. Here is her post about being cheap...with dental floss and water.
Now, there is no point saving the water that runs from the shower before it gets hot. Our hot water heater is upstairs, right by the bathrooms. We get virtually instant hot water. That is not the case, however, in the kitchen sink.
So I've instituted a policy whereby all water that runs in the kitchen is saved and taken to the plants in the back yard. We put a container over the garbage disposal (and I haven't told the guys yet that I want to them through food scraps instead of using the disposal...you know, I bet we use a gallon a water every time we run that thing.), and I've put the dishpan in the sink. Dishwater is to be poured on the trees and bushes. The water in the small sink where the disposal is located, is usually rinse water, hand washing water, vegetable cleaning water. Pretty clean. So we are using that outside too.
And I've turned off the irrigation system altogether. We were only running it 3 times per week, but our grass in the front is still burning up and going dormant. So we've decided to just let it go for a while.
The only thing I'm not so sure of is that we are supposed to be putting on fertilizer and crab grass preventer again now. Since we can't water it in, we've elected to skip these applications. We'll try to be diligent about pulling lawn weeds.
All of that said, buddy Cassie told me this morning that Gaston County, NC has instituted some interesting water restrictions. Instead of using the even-odd watering rule, they are putting in place a system where folks on the East side of a main highway water on three days each week, and folks on the West side water the other days.
Their thinking is that it's too hard for some folks to figure out whether they live in an odd-numbered house or an even-numbered house.
Do I need to comment here that it's funny that the officials would figure that people who don't know where 1,3,5,7,9 are odd numbers would be able to tell what East and West is?
By the way, I live on the "left side" of my subdivision. Whenever I say "North side?" People don't know what I mean.
I'm fine with that. In fact, I've added some other water-saving measures here at home. And part of that is due to my cyber-friend, Psycho Anita. Here is her post about being cheap...with dental floss and water.
Now, there is no point saving the water that runs from the shower before it gets hot. Our hot water heater is upstairs, right by the bathrooms. We get virtually instant hot water. That is not the case, however, in the kitchen sink.
So I've instituted a policy whereby all water that runs in the kitchen is saved and taken to the plants in the back yard. We put a container over the garbage disposal (and I haven't told the guys yet that I want to them through food scraps instead of using the disposal...you know, I bet we use a gallon a water every time we run that thing.), and I've put the dishpan in the sink. Dishwater is to be poured on the trees and bushes. The water in the small sink where the disposal is located, is usually rinse water, hand washing water, vegetable cleaning water. Pretty clean. So we are using that outside too.
And I've turned off the irrigation system altogether. We were only running it 3 times per week, but our grass in the front is still burning up and going dormant. So we've decided to just let it go for a while.
The only thing I'm not so sure of is that we are supposed to be putting on fertilizer and crab grass preventer again now. Since we can't water it in, we've elected to skip these applications. We'll try to be diligent about pulling lawn weeds.
All of that said, buddy Cassie told me this morning that Gaston County, NC has instituted some interesting water restrictions. Instead of using the even-odd watering rule, they are putting in place a system where folks on the East side of a main highway water on three days each week, and folks on the West side water the other days.
Their thinking is that it's too hard for some folks to figure out whether they live in an odd-numbered house or an even-numbered house.
Do I need to comment here that it's funny that the officials would figure that people who don't know where 1,3,5,7,9 are odd numbers would be able to tell what East and West is?
By the way, I live on the "left side" of my subdivision. Whenever I say "North side?" People don't know what I mean.
Monday, September 03, 2007
Guest. Yet... not.
It's been a surreal day. I will write about it here, but if you find this entry gone in a day or so, you'll know I've removed it because I thought better of it.
I've spent the day as surrogate mom and wife for a friend and her daughter. Husband/Dad is in the hospital overnight for observation after a reaction to medication.
As the little girl (Sammy) and I drove in my friend's car to the grocery store, I was struck by how much everyday stuff I needed to learn about my friend and her family. How to work the DVD player in their car. Overwhelming fear of accidentally locking the keys in the car with 4-yr-old daughter inside, as the temp rose to nearly 90 degrees.
Entering the grocery store, Sammy and I launched into negotiations concerning cookies. We were there to pick up a ham and some celery, but considering the trauma this little girl had undergone earlier in the day, as Dad was seizing in the hospital and she was whisked away, I decided cookies were definitely in order. An everyday conversation I could have had with my own children, but was having with someone else's just as easily. A basic mom-skill, I guess.
Cookies chosen, we drove our cart through the deli. She pointed out the free cookies that were available at the counter there. "She can have one," the deli worker said. "She knows." I explained that I was babysitting that day. (slightly concerned that someone might wonder why I had a child I didn't know much about with me. on a holiday. obviously not a typical daycare day)
As we were standing in line at the register, I realized that the ham was on special and I didn't have customer loyalty card for that particular store. "Hey! I do!" I told Sammy. There it was on my friend's keyring. I had stepped right into her role as the family consumer.
We went out to the parking lot and I told Sammy to get into her seat and buckle up. Immediately I began to worry about leaving her there while I returned the cart. It's been many years since I've had a kid that age. What do you do? Take the kid to the cart return and walk her back to the car? Leave her in the car while you return the cart? Why didn't I park closer to it? What did I do so long ago?
The rest of the afternoon passed fairly uneventfully. Sammy and I made potato salad. She took a nice, long, 2-hour nap. I laid down, but really ended up fielding calls from other friends. We picked up my friend from the hospital and had a nice supper.
They are visiting Dad in the hospital now. To calm Sammy's fears. I took a shower and am hanging around in my pyjamas. In someone else's house. Typing on someone else's computer.
I feel like a visitor, but not really. I'm very comfortable here. It is a little odd to take a shower in your friend's master bath, padding through her bedroom where she and her husband sleep. She insisted I use her bath, as the main one is full of toddler decals and is not as clean as she would like right now. Using the squeegee to get the water off the glass of her shower (they need a wider squeegee. Mensa Boy would never stand for one that small. But then, he will probably never use theirs. Of course, yesterday I would never have dreamed I would!), I thought about how odd it was to be in someone else's personal space, with all their personal products around. Earlier in the day I had to open her husband's medicine chest to get his prescription information for the hospital. It felt perfectly normal.
We were talking over supper today about how we never would have thought, 6 months ago, that one of us would be spending time at the other's home, caring for them and living comfortably there. And we marveled at these relationships we have.
They are home now. We'll put Sammy to bed and polish off this bottle of wine we have. We'll rehash the day, be amazed at how well we handled it, thank God for His hand in it. Life is Good.
I've spent the day as surrogate mom and wife for a friend and her daughter. Husband/Dad is in the hospital overnight for observation after a reaction to medication.
As the little girl (Sammy) and I drove in my friend's car to the grocery store, I was struck by how much everyday stuff I needed to learn about my friend and her family. How to work the DVD player in their car. Overwhelming fear of accidentally locking the keys in the car with 4-yr-old daughter inside, as the temp rose to nearly 90 degrees.
Entering the grocery store, Sammy and I launched into negotiations concerning cookies. We were there to pick up a ham and some celery, but considering the trauma this little girl had undergone earlier in the day, as Dad was seizing in the hospital and she was whisked away, I decided cookies were definitely in order. An everyday conversation I could have had with my own children, but was having with someone else's just as easily. A basic mom-skill, I guess.
Cookies chosen, we drove our cart through the deli. She pointed out the free cookies that were available at the counter there. "She can have one," the deli worker said. "She knows." I explained that I was babysitting that day. (slightly concerned that someone might wonder why I had a child I didn't know much about with me. on a holiday. obviously not a typical daycare day)
As we were standing in line at the register, I realized that the ham was on special and I didn't have customer loyalty card for that particular store. "Hey! I do!" I told Sammy. There it was on my friend's keyring. I had stepped right into her role as the family consumer.
We went out to the parking lot and I told Sammy to get into her seat and buckle up. Immediately I began to worry about leaving her there while I returned the cart. It's been many years since I've had a kid that age. What do you do? Take the kid to the cart return and walk her back to the car? Leave her in the car while you return the cart? Why didn't I park closer to it? What did I do so long ago?
The rest of the afternoon passed fairly uneventfully. Sammy and I made potato salad. She took a nice, long, 2-hour nap. I laid down, but really ended up fielding calls from other friends. We picked up my friend from the hospital and had a nice supper.
They are visiting Dad in the hospital now. To calm Sammy's fears. I took a shower and am hanging around in my pyjamas. In someone else's house. Typing on someone else's computer.
I feel like a visitor, but not really. I'm very comfortable here. It is a little odd to take a shower in your friend's master bath, padding through her bedroom where she and her husband sleep. She insisted I use her bath, as the main one is full of toddler decals and is not as clean as she would like right now. Using the squeegee to get the water off the glass of her shower (they need a wider squeegee. Mensa Boy would never stand for one that small. But then, he will probably never use theirs. Of course, yesterday I would never have dreamed I would!), I thought about how odd it was to be in someone else's personal space, with all their personal products around. Earlier in the day I had to open her husband's medicine chest to get his prescription information for the hospital. It felt perfectly normal.
We were talking over supper today about how we never would have thought, 6 months ago, that one of us would be spending time at the other's home, caring for them and living comfortably there. And we marveled at these relationships we have.
They are home now. We'll put Sammy to bed and polish off this bottle of wine we have. We'll rehash the day, be amazed at how well we handled it, thank God for His hand in it. Life is Good.
We Rode and Rode and then Walked and Walked and then Rode and Rode Some More
It was a fun day. We took the day off from life and went to Caesar's Head State Park in the upper Northeast corner of South Carolina.
Our intent was to see Raven Cliff Falls:
Yeah. Not much of a view, huh? We walked 2 miles out on a wonderful
trail to what we were told in the literature would be a spot BELOW the falls. Well, we took a vote. And a poll of everyone who showed up after us, and we all decided this was ABOVE the falls. We were about a mile
away, too. This was taken with my longest lens, 200mm.
Huh.
But, we had a great time messing around on the trail. Here are my guys and then an attempt at shooting all of us:
Our intent was to see Raven Cliff Falls:
trail to what we were told in the literature would be a spot BELOW the falls. Well, we took a vote. And a poll of everyone who showed up after us, and we all decided this was ABOVE the falls. We were about a mile
away, too. This was taken with my longest lens, 200mm.
Huh.
But, we had a great time messing around on the trail. Here are my guys and then an attempt at shooting all of us:
Here is Nate doing his "Warrior Pose." And another of him being Dismal Boy at the Dismal Trail:
And here is the photo I took at a huge rock overlook in the park. This is for this week's Nikon D40 Challenge: "Edges"
Sunday, September 02, 2007
The Party Had to End Sometime!
Today we will go out the northwestern part of the state and see if we can hike to some waterfalls. With the drought becoming so severe, I'm a little anxious about what we'll actually see, but the hike will be good and it'll get the guys out and breathing hard.
The weather has finally cooled to a pleasant mid-80s in the afternoons now. I'm very glad of that. I'm not really bothered by the heat, but it does make moving around outside arduous when it's close to 100 everyday. It's exactly like moving around Minnesota in January when it's 15 below zero every day. Really.
We are going to go either to Jones Gap State Park, or Caesar's Head State Park. I'm not sure which at this point. They are just 10 miles apart. Both have hiking and waterfalls. Because the guys don't get as much exercise as I do, I imagine we'll try to go to the one that will get us a waterfall quicker...closer to the trail head. I don't want to wear them out by having them hike 3 miles to a waterfall if they can reach one in 1.5 miles at a different park.
I plan to take my camera and shoot lots of photos. I have to figure out what to take. I can just take my entire bag, but it gets heavy after a while. I know Mensa Boy would be happy to take a turn wearing it, though, so I'll probably do that. (it's a backpack bag)
So, I'm trying to get those guys up so we can leave by 7:30. I imagine we won't get out by then.
It's been a fantastic birthday for me this year, and the 3-day celebration is the main reason why I haven't written. Here's brief account:
MB was working late all week. Deadline. My friends all stepped up to the plate a did a lot to make it a wonderful celebration.
Sarah and I went to lunch on Wednesday, Rena and I went to dinner Wednesday night, and the evening ended with a surprise gathering of my buddies that night. Cassie, Chris and Tambri were waiting at the Rec Center, where Chris and T had been signing up kids for T's dance classes. Cassie made a wonderful cheesecake and they showered me with serving pieces I can use to do my food photography. It was a fun hour of eating and laughing.
Thursday Chris and I took her 4 year old to the Lazy 5 Ranch in Mooresville. I'd never been there. It was a hoot! We rode a horse-drawn wagon while animals came up and begged for food. I shot a lot of photos, one of which is the ostrich photo I posted here the other day. Here's one of the giraffes taking a leaf from someone on the wagon:
Friday I spent the day on my favorite hobby: cooking. People always say to me, "too bad you have to cook your own birthday meal." But I love it! I smoked a pork butt I had rubbed the night before. I used a rub recipe from Southern Living's "Ultimate Grilling & BBQ Guide" that they put out this summer. I normally don't think much of Southern Living...especially their recipes...they tend to be too high in fat for my cooking and I've had more than one occasion where the recipe has just been plain wrong or unworkable. But I saw this guide at Julia's when we were in Minnesota, so I rushed around looking for before it was taken off the magazine racks in early August. I liked this recipe enough that I will use it again, and I will definitely try others, now the the weather is cooling enough to cook outside again.
That's it! Gotta get those guys up and hit the road! I leave you with this photo of some kind of duck I shot at Lazy 5. I wish I'd checked to see what it was. It's beautiful, isn't it? Maybe Raymond will google it and find out for me.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
That's my Boy!
Overheard yesterday afternoon:
Taylor (12): "I said just look at the serving size and get one extra."
Freddy (10): "I thought the serving size was 3"
Taylor: "No. It's 2."
Taylor (12): "I said just look at the serving size and get one extra."
Freddy (10): "I thought the serving size was 3"
Taylor: "No. It's 2."
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Miss Teen USA 2007 - South Carolina answers a question
Did she say, "Osama people out there in our nation that don't have maps?"
Sunday, August 26, 2007
The Downy Debacle
My friend Jenny wrote this on her blog.
I'm pretty sure I hadn't told her about my conversation regarding this subject last Friday.
First, I'll tell you the story I sent to my email buds last Friday about my visit to Harris Teeter:
"I stopped at Harris Teeter today to get a couple of quarts of chicken stock for this soup. I had the boxes in my hand and headed toward the checkout.
I aimed for what I thought was an open lane and ended up at one of those freakin' self-checkout things. As I was standing there, contemplating the origins of the universe and why the lane signs seemed to give an optical illusion as to their actual location, the helper chick came up.
"Do you need help?" She asked.
"Well, I intended to be over there, but now I'm over here," I said.
"No problem," she said. "I'll help you."
"Well, I KNOW how to do it, it's just that I'm not feeling like doing it myself," I said by way of apology.
"I do this all day," she assured me. "I'll do it."
And so she took my two boxes from me and proceeded to do all the work, reaching past me to punch the right buttons and I was secretly glad she was because, even though I know how to do it, it all seemed quite confusing and LOUD to me and I just stood there and kept mumbling that I was tired and sorry... tired, lazy and sorry. And she kept smiling and took my $20 bill and gave me change and gingerly handed me my bag."
What I did not tell my email buds was about the conversation I had with a fellow shopper in front of the fabric softener in Target about 20 minutes earlier that day.
"Hmm..." the lady said, to no one in particular.
"Too many choices, isn't it?" I said.
"Well, it's just that I'm looking for this specific stuff and it's getting harder and harder to find," she explained.
Then she proceeded to tell me about some miracle product that is like dryer sheets, but you put them in the wash and when the colors on your clothes run, this sheet traps the color so that it doesn't color all the other clothes.
And so we talked about how cool that was, and then I said,
"Well, I'm looking for what used to be a very popular item, but now I'm starting to worry that it's all gone."
"What?" she asked.
"Free & Sensitive Downy Fabric Softener," I said. "It's been the only brand of scent-free fabric softener that I could find at Target and now I'm not finding it here, either.
"Is this it?" she asked, handing me a bottle clearly marked "FREE & SENSITIVE."
"Yup. What a dope I am!"
She just smiled.
They have changed the labels. Really. It reminds me of when I used to buy Old Dutch Corn Tortilla Cchips and had to stop because I couldn't find it anymore. After a couple of months going chip-less, I found it with an entirely different bag.
Can't they at least WARN US?
I'm pretty sure I hadn't told her about my conversation regarding this subject last Friday.
First, I'll tell you the story I sent to my email buds last Friday about my visit to Harris Teeter:
"I stopped at Harris Teeter today to get a couple of quarts of chicken stock for this soup. I had the boxes in my hand and headed toward the checkout.
I aimed for what I thought was an open lane and ended up at one of those freakin' self-checkout things. As I was standing there, contemplating the origins of the universe and why the lane signs seemed to give an optical illusion as to their actual location, the helper chick came up.
"Do you need help?" She asked.
"Well, I intended to be over there, but now I'm over here," I said.
"No problem," she said. "I'll help you."
"Well, I KNOW how to do it, it's just that I'm not feeling like doing it myself," I said by way of apology.
"I do this all day," she assured me. "I'll do it."
And so she took my two boxes from me and proceeded to do all the work, reaching past me to punch the right buttons and I was secretly glad she was because, even though I know how to do it, it all seemed quite confusing and LOUD to me and I just stood there and kept mumbling that I was tired and sorry... tired, lazy and sorry. And she kept smiling and took my $20 bill and gave me change and gingerly handed me my bag."
What I did not tell my email buds was about the conversation I had with a fellow shopper in front of the fabric softener in Target about 20 minutes earlier that day.
"Hmm..." the lady said, to no one in particular.
"Too many choices, isn't it?" I said.
"Well, it's just that I'm looking for this specific stuff and it's getting harder and harder to find," she explained.
Then she proceeded to tell me about some miracle product that is like dryer sheets, but you put them in the wash and when the colors on your clothes run, this sheet traps the color so that it doesn't color all the other clothes.
And so we talked about how cool that was, and then I said,
"Well, I'm looking for what used to be a very popular item, but now I'm starting to worry that it's all gone."
"What?" she asked.
"Free & Sensitive Downy Fabric Softener," I said. "It's been the only brand of scent-free fabric softener that I could find at Target and now I'm not finding it here, either.
"Is this it?" she asked, handing me a bottle clearly marked "FREE & SENSITIVE."
"Yup. What a dope I am!"
She just smiled.
They have changed the labels. Really. It reminds me of when I used to buy Old Dutch Corn Tortilla Cchips and had to stop because I couldn't find it anymore. After a couple of months going chip-less, I found it with an entirely different bag.
Can't they at least WARN US?
Bloomin' Idjut-Part II
Yesterday I again damaged my head in public. I went to the new flooring store to shoot photos at their open house.
And proceeded to hit my head on a carpet display.
Here's how it happened:
I was crouching down next to the display, shooting upward. Stood up after the shot and bonked my temple (the same one as last week) on the edge of a carpet sample.
At least they probably won't forget who I am.
I've decided to take this weekend off--no writing, no work. I chalked up the visit to the flooring store as "playing with my camera."
So I watched two movies yesterday.
The first was Gray Matters
. Fairly decent movie. It's about a woman who does not know she is gay until she falls in love with her brother's wife. I think the strongest thing about the movie is it's title, though. The woman's name is Gray. It's a gray area-sexuality-and she matters. I like wordplay like that.
The other movie I watched last night was Peaceful Warrior
. Now this was a great movie! I'd never heard of it before and I probably wouldn't have even chosen it if I'd known Nick Nolte was in it. But it was great! A little odd at points. A guy is trying out for the Olympic gymnastic team and he's very competitive and yet unhappy and never satisfied. Nolte plays an old guy at a gas station that teaches him to "empty out the trash." Take out all the garbage in his mind and life and build concentration. Good good movie.
Mensa Boy and the guys are building me a light box for my birthday. Out of PVC pipe and, so far, a sheet. But I think they are going to need a different kind of fabric than a sheet. For those of you who are not aware of what a lightbox is, it's sort of like a portable photo studio where you can put whatever you are shooting and use diffused light to photograph it. Shining the light through the walls of the lightbox (or the bottom, if it's just a table one with no sides), helps you control or eliminate shadows. Here's a photo of an apple I took by way of a test:
You can see the texture of the sheet they used. So I think we'll have to look around for some other kind of fabric.
So. That was yesterday. I don't know what's on tap for today. Probably more of the same! I told Mensa Boy I'm in a sort of in inertia right now. I want to get out and do something, but I don't know what. And it's too ridiculously hot, really. We are all very very tired of summer now.
And proceeded to hit my head on a carpet display.
Here's how it happened:
I was crouching down next to the display, shooting upward. Stood up after the shot and bonked my temple (the same one as last week) on the edge of a carpet sample.
At least they probably won't forget who I am.
I've decided to take this weekend off--no writing, no work. I chalked up the visit to the flooring store as "playing with my camera."
So I watched two movies yesterday.
The first was Gray Matters
. Fairly decent movie. It's about a woman who does not know she is gay until she falls in love with her brother's wife. I think the strongest thing about the movie is it's title, though. The woman's name is Gray. It's a gray area-sexuality-and she matters. I like wordplay like that.The other movie I watched last night was Peaceful Warrior
. Now this was a great movie! I'd never heard of it before and I probably wouldn't have even chosen it if I'd known Nick Nolte was in it. But it was great! A little odd at points. A guy is trying out for the Olympic gymnastic team and he's very competitive and yet unhappy and never satisfied. Nolte plays an old guy at a gas station that teaches him to "empty out the trash." Take out all the garbage in his mind and life and build concentration. Good good movie.Mensa Boy and the guys are building me a light box for my birthday. Out of PVC pipe and, so far, a sheet. But I think they are going to need a different kind of fabric than a sheet. For those of you who are not aware of what a lightbox is, it's sort of like a portable photo studio where you can put whatever you are shooting and use diffused light to photograph it. Shining the light through the walls of the lightbox (or the bottom, if it's just a table one with no sides), helps you control or eliminate shadows. Here's a photo of an apple I took by way of a test:
You can see the texture of the sheet they used. So I think we'll have to look around for some other kind of fabric.
So. That was yesterday. I don't know what's on tap for today. Probably more of the same! I told Mensa Boy I'm in a sort of in inertia right now. I want to get out and do something, but I don't know what. And it's too ridiculously hot, really. We are all very very tired of summer now.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Dear Hilton, LEAVE US ALONE!!!
We stayed at a wonderful Hampton Inn in Indianapolis, IN recently. We stayed there on August 4 and then again on August 11.Our visit was smooth, the staff was attentive, the coffee was wonderful.
HOWEVER, since our return home, we have received repeated calls Hilton Grand Vacations.
I've informed callers twice that we do not want to be called.PLEASE do not contact us. We are NOT INTERESTED. We will have to stop using your hotels if this continues.
Thank you
HOWEVER, since our return home, we have received repeated calls Hilton Grand Vacations.
I've informed callers twice that we do not want to be called.PLEASE do not contact us. We are NOT INTERESTED. We will have to stop using your hotels if this continues.
Thank you
Thursday, August 23, 2007
No Coffee, No Title
UPDATE: The water came back on just as I was getting the kids up to school. Whew!
____________________________________________________________________
Today could be a bad day.
I woke up at 5:30 and found we have no water to speak of. We had a day a couple of weeks ago when our water pressure was low. Today there is no water at all upstairs and it just trickles out downstairs.
Nate is not going to be happy.
If they have no water at the school then I figure it could be cancelled or postponed. Which would mean being here all day with unhappy people.
I hope this is the worst-case scenario. At least, I can't think of anything worse. But without coffee my imagination is not really running wild, either.
On a lighter note, yesterday was yet another day over 100 degrees. I sat in the car line at school thinking about how I needed to get a few more school supplies and gas for the car and get the bathrooms cleaned and supper started. And I was tired.
Then it popped into my head that I could Nate to put gas in the car and buy the school supplies. Let the boy run around in the heat.
So I gave him some money and the list and told him to call if he had a hard time finding stuff:
Kleenex
Hand sanitizer
5-subject notebook
Clorox wipes or some other surface sanitizer
I told him he didn't need to go all the way to Target to get the stuff. He could just hit the pharmacy on the edge of Ballantyne. (we don't have such things...pharmacies)
He called to say he didn't know where the hand sanitizer was. I gave him some suggestions.
He called to say he couldn't find it. I told him he'd need to ask. [sigh of exasperation from him here]
He called to ask what Clorox wipes were.
When he got home, he had
Kleenex
Hand Sanitizer
5-subject notebook
Bounce dryer sheets
____________________________________________________________________
Today could be a bad day.
I woke up at 5:30 and found we have no water to speak of. We had a day a couple of weeks ago when our water pressure was low. Today there is no water at all upstairs and it just trickles out downstairs.
Nate is not going to be happy.
If they have no water at the school then I figure it could be cancelled or postponed. Which would mean being here all day with unhappy people.
I hope this is the worst-case scenario. At least, I can't think of anything worse. But without coffee my imagination is not really running wild, either.
On a lighter note, yesterday was yet another day over 100 degrees. I sat in the car line at school thinking about how I needed to get a few more school supplies and gas for the car and get the bathrooms cleaned and supper started. And I was tired.
Then it popped into my head that I could Nate to put gas in the car and buy the school supplies. Let the boy run around in the heat.
So I gave him some money and the list and told him to call if he had a hard time finding stuff:
Kleenex
Hand sanitizer
5-subject notebook
Clorox wipes or some other surface sanitizer
I told him he didn't need to go all the way to Target to get the stuff. He could just hit the pharmacy on the edge of Ballantyne. (we don't have such things...pharmacies)
He called to say he didn't know where the hand sanitizer was. I gave him some suggestions.
He called to say he couldn't find it. I told him he'd need to ask. [sigh of exasperation from him here]
He called to ask what Clorox wipes were.
When he got home, he had
Kleenex
Hand Sanitizer
5-subject notebook
Bounce dryer sheets
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
"Bloomin' Idjut!"
He was too nice to say that, but I did find out from Dr. Adam Cooper, chiropractor, (signs his emails 'ACDC') that I've completely mis-diagnosed and consequently done every single thing wrong with my shoulder.
The left shoulder has been troubling me a lot in the last two weeks. But it was kind of nagging at me for about a month. I thought I was sleeping incorrectly. That the muscles were getting knotted up from improper sleeping. And so I was stretching it, working it, rubbing it...trying to work out what I perceived to be tightness.
Finally the soreness had morphed into a severe burning sensation across both shoulder blades and I was worried enough to seek medical attention.
Sure. The muscles are tight, but the underlying problem is a strained muscle.
"Feels like it's the muscle that goes across my shoulder blade."
[twist, turn, rotate] "hmm. Is it this way or that way?" he asked.
"YOW! That's it!"
"Strained supraspinalis," he muttered.
"What's that?"
"The muscle that goes across your shoulder blade."
And then I learned that I should be resting it, icing it, not exercising it. No weights.
"So basically, I've been stupidly doing exactly the wrong thing for this."
"Well, I wouldn't put it thaaaatttt way!" he said.
And so I was introduced to this fine product:
It is pure menthol. You only need a tiny bit. Very gelatinous. In fact, if you aren't careful, it will just fall off your finger and plop to the floor. The smell is menthol, but wears off within a couple of minutes. But man! Is it COLD! It's like putting an ice cube directly on your skin. That sensation seems to last about 10 minutes.
I did not tell ACDC about dropping my own camera on my head last Sunday.
The left shoulder has been troubling me a lot in the last two weeks. But it was kind of nagging at me for about a month. I thought I was sleeping incorrectly. That the muscles were getting knotted up from improper sleeping. And so I was stretching it, working it, rubbing it...trying to work out what I perceived to be tightness.
Finally the soreness had morphed into a severe burning sensation across both shoulder blades and I was worried enough to seek medical attention.
Sure. The muscles are tight, but the underlying problem is a strained muscle.
"Feels like it's the muscle that goes across my shoulder blade."
[twist, turn, rotate] "hmm. Is it this way or that way?" he asked.
"YOW! That's it!"
"Strained supraspinalis," he muttered.
"What's that?"
"The muscle that goes across your shoulder blade."
And then I learned that I should be resting it, icing it, not exercising it. No weights.
"So basically, I've been stupidly doing exactly the wrong thing for this."
"Well, I wouldn't put it thaaaatttt way!" he said.
And so I was introduced to this fine product:
It is pure menthol. You only need a tiny bit. Very gelatinous. In fact, if you aren't careful, it will just fall off your finger and plop to the floor. The smell is menthol, but wears off within a couple of minutes. But man! Is it COLD! It's like putting an ice cube directly on your skin. That sensation seems to last about 10 minutes.
I did not tell ACDC about dropping my own camera on my head last Sunday.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
YUM! For some...
I made this sugar-free chocolate ice cream for my friend Mike. He's a diabetic and calls his wife "The Sugar Sheriff."
I like doing this for him because he's so appreciative, but it also gives me a chance to experiment with cooking sugar-free stuff for my food stories. This week I did a story on ice cream, so I played with Splenda.
Personally, I think the ice cream was terrible. But I just can't eat or drink stuff with sugar substitutes. I don't have the taste for it and it just doesn't even want to go down my throat. He said it was wonderful. And I think he'd tell me the truth.
Sugar-Free Chocolate Ice Cream
For 1.5 Quart Freezer
1/2 cup Splenda
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cup whole milk, divided
Dash salt
1 cup half-n-half
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix together Splenda and cocoa powder. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the whole milk until smooth and powders are completely dissolved. Add remaining ingredients.
Turn on the freezer and pour in the mixture while it’s running. Freeze as directed. Allow to rest 20 minutes before serving.
Recipe courtesy “No Food Left Behind” for The Carolina Gateway
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Product Review: True Lime, Lemon, & Orange
In a word: EXCELLENT!
I like flavor in my water occasionally, but not sweetness. These have no sweetener whatsoever. They are good, solid, thirst-quenching flavors. They taste just like you squeezed a piece of fruit into your water.
The first time I tried one, I put it in a 20-ounce bottle of water. Way too water-y. But they do well in the smaller bottles that are around 16 ounces.
I like flavor in my water occasionally, but not sweetness. These have no sweetener whatsoever. They are good, solid, thirst-quenching flavors. They taste just like you squeezed a piece of fruit into your water.
The first time I tried one, I put it in a 20-ounce bottle of water. Way too water-y. But they do well in the smaller bottles that are around 16 ounces.
LightPlay
My brother-in-law gave them light sticks one night and we played with slow shutter speeds.
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