I really found this bottle attractive. There is a Sun Garden Riesling that I like very much, but their Pinot Noir is rather thin and acidic. I guess that proves the adage that a vintner doesn't always have greatness in every variety.
I shot this bottle to send to my friend Lis. She belongs to a little social chat group called the Blue Bottle Club. I sent her the photo and asked if maybe they should consider changing the name to the Red Bottle Club just because this bottle was so pretty.
It's been a bear of a day, topped with the stress of not having gas in the car. There is no gas to be found here in Indian Land (although I've heard you can wait in line to get premium), and of course my car was on fumes. They had gas in Lancaster today but I wasn't there with my car. So when I got back, I invited one of the admin assistants to use my car to run her errand down there and fill mine up. It worked well for both of us that way, although I didn't expect her to drive all the way to Heath Springs, which is about 40 miles one way! Ah well! I've got enough to gas to last me more than a week, so that's just fine. Hopefully this crisis will be over by the time I need it again.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
I Got Skills. Sometimes.
I haven't posted in a while because I kept thinking "I should take some interesting photo to put on there so I can write something."
But I haven't taken any interesting photos. In fact, I took 286 Very Bad Photos last Saturday night.
This has thrown me into a photography funk. A funk in which I had convinced myself that I pretty much should not waste time taking photos. A funk in which I have not even wanted to look at good photos because they just remind me how bad mine are. It's kind of like reading the Dayton's ad when you have no money. (Dayton's is the CORRECT NAME for Marshall Fields) Why drool over stuff you can't have?
Then last night I went out to a guy's website to see some of his photos that he's taken lately. I had seen some of his work last spring. I worked alongside him shooting an event then, and was impressed with his results. So I've always thought of him as a great photographer. Greater than me. Until last night. I cruised through his site last night and saw a lot of bad photos. Photos I'd NEVER allow the internet to see. Some where the composition was okay, the lighting was okay, but he'd not even corrected the red eye.
And I found myself thinking, "I'm better than that."
So I guess we all have times like that. Sometimes we look brilliant and other times we look so bad that someone should take away our equipment and lock us up, never to see the light of day.
But I haven't taken any interesting photos. In fact, I took 286 Very Bad Photos last Saturday night.
This has thrown me into a photography funk. A funk in which I had convinced myself that I pretty much should not waste time taking photos. A funk in which I have not even wanted to look at good photos because they just remind me how bad mine are. It's kind of like reading the Dayton's ad when you have no money. (Dayton's is the CORRECT NAME for Marshall Fields) Why drool over stuff you can't have?
Then last night I went out to a guy's website to see some of his photos that he's taken lately. I had seen some of his work last spring. I worked alongside him shooting an event then, and was impressed with his results. So I've always thought of him as a great photographer. Greater than me. Until last night. I cruised through his site last night and saw a lot of bad photos. Photos I'd NEVER allow the internet to see. Some where the composition was okay, the lighting was okay, but he'd not even corrected the red eye.
And I found myself thinking, "I'm better than that."
So I guess we all have times like that. Sometimes we look brilliant and other times we look so bad that someone should take away our equipment and lock us up, never to see the light of day.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Foreclosures, Rant #2
You know...if you can stand another comment about the foreclosure thing...there's another aspect of this whole mess that few people (if any) think about: The children.That's right. Today the children were brought to my attention twice. The first time was earlier today when the question was asked, "if a student's family is evicted from their home, then they will be essentially homeless. What will that do to their status in school? Especially if they are seniors and close to graduating?" I'm confident that school systems will come up with ways to allow kids to continue their schooling.
And the other is...tonight on the evening news they were talking to a mom whose little boy was running around. She said, "he doesn't want to lose the house."
I mean people! Keep those big bad problems away from from the ears of young children!
On an unrelated note: has anyone seen any of the reruns of the old Star Trek: The Next Generation series? I'm monitoring what must be one of the first seasons right now and I'm taken aback by how the acting was! Especially Counselor Troi! What a scream!
Monday, September 15, 2008
Foreclosures
Call me stupid, but I don't get the whole foreclosure thing. I don't mean how people lose their homes to their lenders because they can't make the payments. That's basic.What I don't get is why banks will go to the expense of kicking a body out of the house and then be saddled with an empty property that is the target for vandalism and squatters and all that. I mean, are they getting such a great tax break for losing on their investment that it's worth having a home sit there empty, with grass growing as high as an elephant's eye (we have two in our neighborhood that finally got mowed by the homeowner's association)? And in the meantime, there's a family somewhere that's lost their home. Sheesh, let them live in there for $5 a month as long as they mow the grass!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Susan G Komen Race for the Cure
It's that time of year again! For the past few years I have participated with fellow Jazzercisers in the Komen Charlotte race. Each year I've raised a little more money and last year it was more than $600! I'm asking for your help again. The race is October 4.
The Susan G. Komen Foundation provides funding for breast cancer research and education, screening, and treatment programs. The Komen Charlotte unit specifically helps those underserved women in the Charlotte area.
Keeping ahead of the game is no small expense. As a person who has severely fibrocystic breast tissue, my own physician visits and diagnostic tests to ensure that I don't have any cancer cells, run into the thousands of dollars each year. Literally. I just pulled the bills from 2007 and found they totalled $3,754.30! What did that all entail? Well, I had a lump that was hurting me last January. It turned out, as it usually does, to be a cyst that had just gotten exceptionally large. Because it was miserably uncomfortable, I had it aspirated. More than $1,500 to be sure it was indeed a cyst and not a mass (something you have to do each time, even though you are certain of its' nature), and then to have the surgeon pull out the fluid.
Then I visited the Blumenthal Cancer Center, on a referral from my general practitioner. Because I do have such cystic tissue, breast exams are complicated and not terribly helpful. By becoming a regular (every 6 months) patient at Blumenthal, I am now hooked up with a surgeon that specializes in breast tissue. He does an exam and checks out anything suspicious with his handy-dandy ultrasound machine right there. This keeps me from getting on a roller coaster ride of appointments and wait times if there is anything he wants to look into further. Physician visit with ultrasound? More than $350. (Although not all visits need ultrasound. My fall visit was just a little over $250.)
And then there are the mammograms. The regular ones? They don't cut it with my dense tissue. I have to have the magical digital ones. Several hundred bucks. I'm supposed to have one of those every 6 months too, but right now I'm running a couple of months behind.
And there is the breast MRI I will now have every 2 years. $1700+.
So, that was my bill last year. My own share was about $500 because that's my deductible. I am very fortunate to have very good insurance. And access to some of the best physicians and technology available. I feel quite confident that, in the event I were to be found to have cancer, my survival chances would be very high.
But not everyone is so lucky. One in every eight women in our country will be stricken with breast cancer in their lifetime, and many do not have insurance, or they have insurance that may not cover everything they need to get the best care. The Komen Foundation is there to help.
And as a side note: Another reason why I like this charity above others: They are consistently rated among the best charities in terms of efficiency. They do not waste a bunch of their fundraising dollars on expenses and salaries.
So there you have it. If you could consider donating to Komen Charlotte, please click here or the logo above and it will take you to my fundraising page. If you'd rather not do it via the internet, send me an email and I'll give you my home address.
Thank you!
Karen
Saturday, September 13, 2008
MUbamboo Towels
These are my latest favorite thing in my kitchen. I stumbled upon them at Kitchen Window in Minneapolis this summer. I was just wandering through the store when I reached out to touch these towels that were arranged in a wooden salad bowl. Immediately I was struck by how soft they were. I mean, they were so soft you could barely feel them! I could see from the tag that they were made of 80% bamboo fiber. Mensa Boy talks about hemp and bamboo quite often, so I decided to give them a whirl. I bought myself a dishrag and kitchen towel, and then another set for my friend Julie.
Once I got back home and started using them, I was impressed by how they just refuse to smell! I mean, even if SOMEONE (who shall remain nameless) insists on leaving the rag bunched up on the sink, they don't get that sour smell. The rag is very absorbent and thin enough that it wrings out well. The towel, while soft, is still quite absorbent.
So I decided I needed more. That was no easy task, I tell you. I searched Sur la Table, Williams Sonoma, Macy's, and on and on. Could not find them. I started Googling and found MU towels at Bed Bath & Beyond online. I ordered 7 different sets in different colors.
They were not the right ones. The ones that came were very thick and made of a polyester microfiber. I've seen more and more of these microfiber towels and rags and have been pretty sure that I wouldn't like them. And I did not like these. I only opened the red set and I'll be returning all the others. The fabric is very thick and doesn't wring out well. They are absorbent, that's for sure, but then it's like you can't get the liquid back out well enough to feel like you can use it more. It's kind of like how you think it would be to use velour.
So I went back to the drawing board...the internet drawing board...and found them at an online store called Linens Are Us. And they were cheaper than the wrong ones. I bought several sets of matching towels and cloths for $11.99 per set. Shipping was reasonable, too.
Bamboo fiber is supposed to have natural anti-bacterial qualities, which is why these don't seem to smell. And when I launder them, they come out of the dryer with a very faint bamboo smell (you might not notice it if you use scented detergent or softener).
So there you have it. An entire entry on the mundane subject of kitchen towels and dishcloths! And I tell you...I think I'm going to do more searching around for bamboo stuff.
Once I got back home and started using them, I was impressed by how they just refuse to smell! I mean, even if SOMEONE (who shall remain nameless) insists on leaving the rag bunched up on the sink, they don't get that sour smell. The rag is very absorbent and thin enough that it wrings out well. The towel, while soft, is still quite absorbent.
So I decided I needed more. That was no easy task, I tell you. I searched Sur la Table, Williams Sonoma, Macy's, and on and on. Could not find them. I started Googling and found MU towels at Bed Bath & Beyond online. I ordered 7 different sets in different colors.
They were not the right ones. The ones that came were very thick and made of a polyester microfiber. I've seen more and more of these microfiber towels and rags and have been pretty sure that I wouldn't like them. And I did not like these. I only opened the red set and I'll be returning all the others. The fabric is very thick and doesn't wring out well. They are absorbent, that's for sure, but then it's like you can't get the liquid back out well enough to feel like you can use it more. It's kind of like how you think it would be to use velour.
So I went back to the drawing board...the internet drawing board...and found them at an online store called Linens Are Us. And they were cheaper than the wrong ones. I bought several sets of matching towels and cloths for $11.99 per set. Shipping was reasonable, too.
Bamboo fiber is supposed to have natural anti-bacterial qualities, which is why these don't seem to smell. And when I launder them, they come out of the dryer with a very faint bamboo smell (you might not notice it if you use scented detergent or softener).
So there you have it. An entire entry on the mundane subject of kitchen towels and dishcloths! And I tell you...I think I'm going to do more searching around for bamboo stuff.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Glowing Ceiling Fan
Just playing around this weekend. Some of it was some real hard playing. We had the joint birthday bash here Friday night with the posse. Much wine, way too much food and a lot of very loud laughter. Mensa Boy and Taylor grilled for us and we all had side dishes and appetizers we brought. After they got done cooking they went and hid. I don't blame them!
Saturday was more relaxing. Tambri and Chris and I did our toes at T's house after a hard jazz workout and then hearty breakfast made by T's hubby Mike. Saturday night he grilled for us and Mensa Boy.
So today I just hung out. I still have some laundry in both the washer and the dryer, so I need to get that switched around. There's not a lot of incentive when it's all towels and sheets, but it still must be done.
Oh yeah, so the ceiling fan. I'm doing a mini-lesson on shutter speed for the photography class this coming week so I shot our ceiling fan at various shutter speeds. After I got the photos prepped I thought I'd play with this one for a minute. I used the "stylize" feature in Photoshop Elements.
Saturday was more relaxing. Tambri and Chris and I did our toes at T's house after a hard jazz workout and then hearty breakfast made by T's hubby Mike. Saturday night he grilled for us and Mensa Boy.
So today I just hung out. I still have some laundry in both the washer and the dryer, so I need to get that switched around. There's not a lot of incentive when it's all towels and sheets, but it still must be done.
Oh yeah, so the ceiling fan. I'm doing a mini-lesson on shutter speed for the photography class this coming week so I shot our ceiling fan at various shutter speeds. After I got the photos prepped I thought I'd play with this one for a minute. I used the "stylize" feature in Photoshop Elements.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Aperture Seminar
The last couple of days have been a blur as I've done lesson plans and taken a lot of (mostly bad) photos for our school photography class. I volunteered to come in for each of 3 days to talk about the elements of exposure: ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed.
Yesterday was ISO and I think I bored even myself. I did show them some dramatic changes in photos when you keep all else constant but change the ISO. The problem is, all of them have point and shoot cameras, which pretty much take all the guesswork out of ISO. I took our two P&S cameras and did a series with each, adjusting the ISO over and over. Each time the camera "fixed my idiocy" by compensating and turning out a properly exposed photo.
And now I fly back to work.
Have a great day!
Yesterday was ISO and I think I bored even myself. I did show them some dramatic changes in photos when you keep all else constant but change the ISO. The problem is, all of them have point and shoot cameras, which pretty much take all the guesswork out of ISO. I took our two P&S cameras and did a series with each, adjusting the ISO over and over. Each time the camera "fixed my idiocy" by compensating and turning out a properly exposed photo.
And now I fly back to work.
Have a great day!
Monday, September 01, 2008
this n that
Friday was my birthday and it passed fairly uneventfully. My friends each called and sang happy birthday to me over the phone, some of which I captured on voicemail, others were in person. I had warm blueberry muffins delivered to my office along with some gifts and also I opened two gifts that were mailed from family in Minnesota. It was a nice day. Friday night we had BBQ ribs from the local joint and watched the first "Lord of the Rings" movie...most of it. Those are all too long for me, so we finished watching it Saturday night and then last night started in on "The Two Towers." We don't own the third one, but I think Mensa Boy may have remedied that online today through Amazon.
Saturday was the usual Jazzercise session and then several loads of laundry and some errands to run. Sunday church and then buddy Tambri and I got together and chatted and hung out for several hours, visiting with long-distance buddy Chris over the phone for about an hour. T's husband Mike made us a shrimp stirfry for supper, since my fellows were back at church for the Sunday night singfest.
This morning the posse went to our 8 a.m. Jazz class at our new location, The GYM, in Fort Mill. It was very full and fun, though a little hot. We'll have to get a handle on the AC in there. Tambri and I did some shopping at our local mall for a while this afternoon. I had her pick out the mortar and pestle she wanted for her birthday, but in the meantime I found out about something else she really wants. So I'm going to give this to Cassie to present to her at our joint party on Friday and I'll give her the other item. Now I just have to haul my keester back up there to get it. I hate going up there.
So it's been a nice weekend with activity and nothing-ness, some napping, some good food, and some movies. What more could I ask for?
Well, Nate called Friday to wish me happy birthday and in the conversation sounded like he's got some buddies to hang out with now. He went to visit his girlfriend this weekend and then she called to wish me happy birthday yesterday too. AND today he said he enjoyed his first day of classes and he might add the college symphonia to his schedule, which will give him a chance to play his trombone and get another credit. He says he'd be at that class every night at 6, so I see it as a great social opportunity for him too. So everything seems to be coming together there.
And now it's 8:30 on Monday night. Time to veg out for a bit. Perhaps more Hobbits?
Saturday was the usual Jazzercise session and then several loads of laundry and some errands to run. Sunday church and then buddy Tambri and I got together and chatted and hung out for several hours, visiting with long-distance buddy Chris over the phone for about an hour. T's husband Mike made us a shrimp stirfry for supper, since my fellows were back at church for the Sunday night singfest.
This morning the posse went to our 8 a.m. Jazz class at our new location, The GYM, in Fort Mill. It was very full and fun, though a little hot. We'll have to get a handle on the AC in there. Tambri and I did some shopping at our local mall for a while this afternoon. I had her pick out the mortar and pestle she wanted for her birthday, but in the meantime I found out about something else she really wants. So I'm going to give this to Cassie to present to her at our joint party on Friday and I'll give her the other item. Now I just have to haul my keester back up there to get it. I hate going up there.
So it's been a nice weekend with activity and nothing-ness, some napping, some good food, and some movies. What more could I ask for?
Well, Nate called Friday to wish me happy birthday and in the conversation sounded like he's got some buddies to hang out with now. He went to visit his girlfriend this weekend and then she called to wish me happy birthday yesterday too. AND today he said he enjoyed his first day of classes and he might add the college symphonia to his schedule, which will give him a chance to play his trombone and get another credit. He says he'd be at that class every night at 6, so I see it as a great social opportunity for him too. So everything seems to be coming together there.
And now it's 8:30 on Monday night. Time to veg out for a bit. Perhaps more Hobbits?
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
My Personal Chef
Tonight: burgers, beans, corn.
We are all swimming around here. It's been raining off and on since last night, which makes it all a little sleepy around here. When we aren't huddled in the hallway at school during a tornado warning, anyway. The kids handled all that pretty well, although we had a couple of adults stressing about it. By the end of the day I was pretty tired of hearing the weather radio go off, that's for sure. And rushing around while others were huddled in front of the radar pictures on their computers.
I picked up the last weekly share at the farm today and also got 5 chickens. I hate to say it, but I think I'll probably drop my share next year. Since he doesn't do the fall harvest anymore, it's gotten to be just too expensive for the amount of food we get. And I am one of the ones that drives out to the farm to pick it up, so I've got gas expenses and time on top of all that. I'll hate to let it go, but it's just not cost-effective anymore. I'm hoping he'll still leave me on the chicken and turkey list.
Nate seems to be settling a little. He did get a bee in his bonnet yesterday about his car license tabs. His voicemail to me went something like this: "I need my license tabs renewed so I don't get my car towed away." I replied, "They aren't due until September." I did go ahead and renew his along with ours and we got a notice from the state already saying we are getting entirely new plates sometime in the next 30 days.
Today it was textbooks. He said he didn't have money in his account at school for texts. We had gotten notice that a couple of places had put in extra money for books, but I guess those just go right on the bottom line, so when we borrowed the rest of the tuition, room & board money, I guess that meant we were taking into account the money for books. So I had to transfer $650 to his checking account this afternoon so he could buy books.
We are all swimming around here. It's been raining off and on since last night, which makes it all a little sleepy around here. When we aren't huddled in the hallway at school during a tornado warning, anyway. The kids handled all that pretty well, although we had a couple of adults stressing about it. By the end of the day I was pretty tired of hearing the weather radio go off, that's for sure. And rushing around while others were huddled in front of the radar pictures on their computers.
I picked up the last weekly share at the farm today and also got 5 chickens. I hate to say it, but I think I'll probably drop my share next year. Since he doesn't do the fall harvest anymore, it's gotten to be just too expensive for the amount of food we get. And I am one of the ones that drives out to the farm to pick it up, so I've got gas expenses and time on top of all that. I'll hate to let it go, but it's just not cost-effective anymore. I'm hoping he'll still leave me on the chicken and turkey list.
Nate seems to be settling a little. He did get a bee in his bonnet yesterday about his car license tabs. His voicemail to me went something like this: "I need my license tabs renewed so I don't get my car towed away." I replied, "They aren't due until September." I did go ahead and renew his along with ours and we got a notice from the state already saying we are getting entirely new plates sometime in the next 30 days.
Today it was textbooks. He said he didn't have money in his account at school for texts. We had gotten notice that a couple of places had put in extra money for books, but I guess those just go right on the bottom line, so when we borrowed the rest of the tuition, room & board money, I guess that meant we were taking into account the money for books. So I had to transfer $650 to his checking account this afternoon so he could buy books.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Zucchini Slices
A couple of weeks ago, when I had a bounty of zucchini in my crisper drawer needing to be used before they went south on me, I started playing with them.
I had purchased a cut-resistant glove to wear when I'm using my mandoline slicer, and it's been so much fun now to slice away without that bulky guard, that I've been slicing and dicing like mad every chance I get.
And so I eyed the zucchini.
I sliced these very thinly and then we used them in place of spaghetti noodles with our sauce. I didn't cook them at all, just put them in down on the plate and poured the hot sauce on top. It was wonderful! The zucchini "noodles" offered a nice crunch to the spaghetti. As I ate along, some the noodles softened a bit from the heat of the sauce and that was just fine.
I'll do this again and again, I think. Although I'll probably put one of the julienne blades on next time. That will make the "noodles" a little less cumbersome on the fork.
Yesterday we took Nate to Due West, SC and dropped him off at Erskine. When the freshmen arrive, all their stuff is unloaded for them and brought to their rooms. That's the last time that happens. Everything went very quickly. The only large item Nate has is the TV, and he just had a couple of very large suitcases and a backpack. All his stuff got into the dorm in about 5 minutes. Then Mensa Boy and I essentially unpacked him while he talked to girlfriend Erin on the phone. She was coming up from Columbus, GA to see him and got lost in the country.
It took MB and I all of about 12 minutes to get everything unpacked and put away. Just in time for his roommate Matthew to show up. Boxes and boxes, furniture and computers, the microwave and refrigerator...it took several minutes for everything to arrive, and they piled it all up in front of Nate's wardrobe. So we were glad we had it all done. Nate's bed had not been lofted, so a work order will have to go in on Monday to have that done. This will necessitate just a little more moving around of the desk, dresser and bookcase, but beyond that, they are all settled. (Yes, I know you may be asking why we did his unpacking for him. Because we know him. He would not do it. He would leave everything exactly where it was dropped and just live out of the piles. And we needed our suitcases back.)
Erin finally arrived and so the four of us (Taylor stayed home) jumped in the car to go out to lunch and shopping for some final essentials (read: food) for Nate. We were gone another couple of hours doing that. By the time we got back, it was time for family and friends to leave and Nate had to go to the opening of orientation.
So. He's gone. Not totally though. He called last night at 11:15 asking us to find the piece of paper that has his Erskine email password. After MB looked around for it a bit, I remembered that Nate has it in his accordion filer in his dorm room. Yep. There it was and so MB came back to bed. I hope Nate stops calling in the middle of the night.
I had purchased a cut-resistant glove to wear when I'm using my mandoline slicer, and it's been so much fun now to slice away without that bulky guard, that I've been slicing and dicing like mad every chance I get.
And so I eyed the zucchini.
I sliced these very thinly and then we used them in place of spaghetti noodles with our sauce. I didn't cook them at all, just put them in down on the plate and poured the hot sauce on top. It was wonderful! The zucchini "noodles" offered a nice crunch to the spaghetti. As I ate along, some the noodles softened a bit from the heat of the sauce and that was just fine.
I'll do this again and again, I think. Although I'll probably put one of the julienne blades on next time. That will make the "noodles" a little less cumbersome on the fork.
Yesterday we took Nate to Due West, SC and dropped him off at Erskine. When the freshmen arrive, all their stuff is unloaded for them and brought to their rooms. That's the last time that happens. Everything went very quickly. The only large item Nate has is the TV, and he just had a couple of very large suitcases and a backpack. All his stuff got into the dorm in about 5 minutes. Then Mensa Boy and I essentially unpacked him while he talked to girlfriend Erin on the phone. She was coming up from Columbus, GA to see him and got lost in the country.
It took MB and I all of about 12 minutes to get everything unpacked and put away. Just in time for his roommate Matthew to show up. Boxes and boxes, furniture and computers, the microwave and refrigerator...it took several minutes for everything to arrive, and they piled it all up in front of Nate's wardrobe. So we were glad we had it all done. Nate's bed had not been lofted, so a work order will have to go in on Monday to have that done. This will necessitate just a little more moving around of the desk, dresser and bookcase, but beyond that, they are all settled. (Yes, I know you may be asking why we did his unpacking for him. Because we know him. He would not do it. He would leave everything exactly where it was dropped and just live out of the piles. And we needed our suitcases back.)
Erin finally arrived and so the four of us (Taylor stayed home) jumped in the car to go out to lunch and shopping for some final essentials (read: food) for Nate. We were gone another couple of hours doing that. By the time we got back, it was time for family and friends to leave and Nate had to go to the opening of orientation.
So. He's gone. Not totally though. He called last night at 11:15 asking us to find the piece of paper that has his Erskine email password. After MB looked around for it a bit, I remembered that Nate has it in his accordion filer in his dorm room. Yep. There it was and so MB came back to bed. I hope Nate stops calling in the middle of the night.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Freshman Orientation
Our class of 2012 came for orientation on Wednesday. Yesterday was their first actual day of school. I spent the first 45 minutes on Wednesday shooting them and then last night put together a little movie with MS Movie Maker. I don't know how to host that here, but if/when I figure that out, I'll get it up.
I have lunch with Nate yesterday and then he came home and packed and worked on an online alcohol course he had to do for school. Today they (Mensa Boy is off today to help him) will pack my car, take both cars for oil changes, and all that.
Off to school!
I have lunch with Nate yesterday and then he came home and packed and worked on an online alcohol course he had to do for school. Today they (Mensa Boy is off today to help him) will pack my car, take both cars for oil changes, and all that.
Off to school!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Are YOU on the list?
Senator Obama says he'll be announcing his Vice Presidential running mate via text message.
Are you on the list?
Today Taylor starts back to school. I admit that, in my flurry to get kids registered at the high school, I really hadn't thought too much about him starting. I have intentionally NOT shopped for his school supplies, just getting him some paper and writing implements. There is usually a list as long as my arm of supplies and then he ends up not using them all. Last night he said, "What time does the bus come?" Hmmm...hadn't really thought about that one too much. I told him to shoot for 7:45 and the driver would tell him more in a few days. We are happy to have our favorite driver this year again. We didn't have him last year as his route got too large and he was moved to the other side of the neighborhood.
So Taylor will be getting himself up and out to the bus on time. This scares me a bit because he has never been good at getting up. I told him last night that he gets three times to miss the bus and then he has to come to work with me for the rest of that semester. That would mean he'd have to get up at 6 instead of 7 and come to work with me at 7. There would be nothing for him to do for 90 minutes while he waits for school to start. Hopefully that will be enough incentive to keep him on track with getting up.
We aren't leaving him out there to sink or swim, though. Mensa Boy will try to get him up before he leaves the house and then will call him 10 minutes later. I'll call or text him when it's time to get out the door. So really? He should be able to do this.
It's time. Time to get greet the kids coming back to school! Big Day! I LOVE THIS!
Are you on the list?
Today Taylor starts back to school. I admit that, in my flurry to get kids registered at the high school, I really hadn't thought too much about him starting. I have intentionally NOT shopped for his school supplies, just getting him some paper and writing implements. There is usually a list as long as my arm of supplies and then he ends up not using them all. Last night he said, "What time does the bus come?" Hmmm...hadn't really thought about that one too much. I told him to shoot for 7:45 and the driver would tell him more in a few days. We are happy to have our favorite driver this year again. We didn't have him last year as his route got too large and he was moved to the other side of the neighborhood.
So Taylor will be getting himself up and out to the bus on time. This scares me a bit because he has never been good at getting up. I told him last night that he gets three times to miss the bus and then he has to come to work with me for the rest of that semester. That would mean he'd have to get up at 6 instead of 7 and come to work with me at 7. There would be nothing for him to do for 90 minutes while he waits for school to start. Hopefully that will be enough incentive to keep him on track with getting up.
We aren't leaving him out there to sink or swim, though. Mensa Boy will try to get him up before he leaves the house and then will call him 10 minutes later. I'll call or text him when it's time to get out the door. So really? He should be able to do this.
It's time. Time to get greet the kids coming back to school! Big Day! I LOVE THIS!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Cups of Derision
It hasn't stopped them from actually using them, but my guys are not too thrilled about these $1.49 Hannah Montana drinking glasses I picked up at the food kitty the other day. The photo doesn't look that great because these are the snazzy kinds of cups that change when you wiggle them around.
I See How it Is
This morning I left our bathroom to begin my day, going down to put my waffles in the toaster oven. (Lifestream Pomegran Plus waffles, I might add, which I top with natural peanut butter and dried cherries)
So back to my anecdote: I found my little vitamin tube on the counter. Each morning I fill a little metal tube with my daily vitamins and I carry it around with me until such time as I have enough food in my stomach to keep the fish oil from coming back on me...usually after lunch. The tube was still empty from yesterday, so I scooped it up and went back upstairs to fill it.
As I entered the bathroom, I noticed that Mensa Boy, in the 2.5 minutes I was gone, had spread all his stuff all the way across the bathroom counter, some of it right on the edge of my sink.
"Oh. I see how it is," I said.
"What?" he asked innocently.
"If I die prematurely you are just going to take over completely. You'll spread all the way across the bed the first night, too," I accused.
"No. I'll take all my stuff, put it over there, and leave it out!" he said.
So back to my anecdote: I found my little vitamin tube on the counter. Each morning I fill a little metal tube with my daily vitamins and I carry it around with me until such time as I have enough food in my stomach to keep the fish oil from coming back on me...usually after lunch. The tube was still empty from yesterday, so I scooped it up and went back upstairs to fill it.
As I entered the bathroom, I noticed that Mensa Boy, in the 2.5 minutes I was gone, had spread all his stuff all the way across the bathroom counter, some of it right on the edge of my sink.
"Oh. I see how it is," I said.
"What?" he asked innocently.
"If I die prematurely you are just going to take over completely. You'll spread all the way across the bed the first night, too," I accused.
"No. I'll take all my stuff, put it over there, and leave it out!" he said.
Monday, August 18, 2008
School's Starting
Did I post this photo somewhere already? Maybe it was on my old blog. (Which reminds me that I need to continue moving those old entries over to this one. Maybe in my spare time...ha! Well, actually I do have spare time, I just like to spend it sleeping.)
School will start on Thursday. Apparently right in time for a big ole tropical storm to come through and dump feet and feet of water on us. Funny. We keep hearing dire warnings of flooding, scattered through with happy sounds about our drought ending, but when you go to the 5-day forcast on Google, it just says 40% chance of rain. Go figure.
Well, as you can imagine, things are quite hot at school these days. I don't mean temperature-wise. Our air conditioning works extremely (probably too) well, thank you. What I'm saying is that our schools are hotbeds of activity as we get our usual influx of new students, along with the crowds of kids wanting to change their schedules. Some of the schedule-changers will outright admit they want to change so they can be in some other teacher's class, or be with their friends. But many will dance around the issue, inventing all sorts of reasons why they need to change. We are getting quite adept at sniffing out the imposters and sending them packing.
And speaking of packing...the manchild here has done none of it so far. Neither has he read the required reading ("Peace Like a River" by Lief Enger) or done the required 3-hour online alcohol class. Last weekend I was prepared to go head-to-head with him about the packing issue when my good friend and Principal told me to just let it go and let him deal with it. "Just say 'I hate it for you,' when he whines about having to do it all the night before," she wisely said. And so I let go and we had a nice weekend.
Friday night Mensa Boy, Nate and I sat around in the living room playing with our webcams, setting up Skype so we can all call each other. And then of course we had to test everything several times while Taylor cooked us supper. Feedback noises are kind of cool on computers.
Saturday night Nate and I went shopping at Target. I bought him 3 more pair of shorts and a few incidentals. And I had a chance to talk to him about what was stressing him. And I was surprised to learn that he's totally stressed about stuff I hadn't thought of, and not at all concerned about stuff I'm concerned about. So there. My "mom bubble" was expanded a bit.
Sunday buddy Tambri and I did our toes and watched a movie. This is the second time we've spent Sunday afternoon doing our toes and visiting. It's very relaxing and we might keep it up even after sandal season is over. Maybe we'll move to funkier colors then.
And now it's 9:35 and I need to go to bed. As a T likes to say, "Last night I slept as well as bacon cooking in a frypan...flip...flip...flip."
School will start on Thursday. Apparently right in time for a big ole tropical storm to come through and dump feet and feet of water on us. Funny. We keep hearing dire warnings of flooding, scattered through with happy sounds about our drought ending, but when you go to the 5-day forcast on Google, it just says 40% chance of rain. Go figure.
Well, as you can imagine, things are quite hot at school these days. I don't mean temperature-wise. Our air conditioning works extremely (probably too) well, thank you. What I'm saying is that our schools are hotbeds of activity as we get our usual influx of new students, along with the crowds of kids wanting to change their schedules. Some of the schedule-changers will outright admit they want to change so they can be in some other teacher's class, or be with their friends. But many will dance around the issue, inventing all sorts of reasons why they need to change. We are getting quite adept at sniffing out the imposters and sending them packing.
And speaking of packing...the manchild here has done none of it so far. Neither has he read the required reading ("Peace Like a River" by Lief Enger) or done the required 3-hour online alcohol class. Last weekend I was prepared to go head-to-head with him about the packing issue when my good friend and Principal told me to just let it go and let him deal with it. "Just say 'I hate it for you,' when he whines about having to do it all the night before," she wisely said. And so I let go and we had a nice weekend.
Friday night Mensa Boy, Nate and I sat around in the living room playing with our webcams, setting up Skype so we can all call each other. And then of course we had to test everything several times while Taylor cooked us supper. Feedback noises are kind of cool on computers.
Saturday night Nate and I went shopping at Target. I bought him 3 more pair of shorts and a few incidentals. And I had a chance to talk to him about what was stressing him. And I was surprised to learn that he's totally stressed about stuff I hadn't thought of, and not at all concerned about stuff I'm concerned about. So there. My "mom bubble" was expanded a bit.
Sunday buddy Tambri and I did our toes and watched a movie. This is the second time we've spent Sunday afternoon doing our toes and visiting. It's very relaxing and we might keep it up even after sandal season is over. Maybe we'll move to funkier colors then.
And now it's 9:35 and I need to go to bed. As a T likes to say, "Last night I slept as well as bacon cooking in a frypan...flip...flip...flip."
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Backyard Butterfly
It's late. And the end of a very busy weekend. To be honest I'd blog a lot more if I could do it at work. It doesn't take but a minute to write an entry but the school filters to do not allow access to either Flickr or blogspot.
I shot this with my 55-200 zoom on a tripod this afternoon. Shutter priority, of course. Butterflies move pretty fast.
We visited Erskine College all day yesterday. We left very early and got home about mid-evening. I'll write about that later.
I shot this with my 55-200 zoom on a tripod this afternoon. Shutter priority, of course. Butterflies move pretty fast.
We visited Erskine College all day yesterday. We left very early and got home about mid-evening. I'll write about that later.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Late Bloomers
I'm a late bloomer myself, so I don't hold anything against my Crape Myrtle tree for choosing to bloom almost a month later than the neighbor's. Sometimes I wish it were a more exciting color than white, but we should strive to accept some things and people for the way they are, shouldn't we?
I've been shooting this tree for a couple of days, hoping to get a photo for a special project I'm working on. I like this one, but am not convinced that it's the one I want. We'll see.
It's been a bit hectic here, as you can imagine. Nate leaves for Erskine on August 23, so we are busy getting him to doctor appointments and shopping for dorm supplies. It's tax-free weekend here, but I'm not really mustering up the courage to go out and battle the crowds in the 90+ heat to save 7.5%. I might go to Wal-Mart today. Yup. Wal-Mart. On a Sunday afternoon. But I need his bedding and there is a pretty nice store here in Tega Cay. We'll see.
Taylor and I spent a few hours cooking yesterday for a story I wrote this morning on tailgating food. We did a cranberry walnut coleslaw recipe that I got from buddy Rena and a marinated shrimp recipe I got from buddy Sarah. We also made another batch of peach lemonade because Mensa Boy didn't get any of it last time. This was the second food story I've done in a week. The other was my annual treatise to the South Carolina peach. That one should be in next week's paper, so I'll post some photos and recipes next week.
It's been great having Taylor with me in the kitchen. Periodically I have to tell him I don't want help, though. Cooking is, after all, my hobby. So sometimes I like to just put on some tunes (typically Norah Jones), pour a glass of wine and just cook. But he does have a knack for it. Especially grilling. He pulled off some wonderful butterfly chops last week that absolutely were fantastic. They were done perfectly, very moist and yet cooked through. It took me a long time to perfect pork chops on the grill without drying them out. He's also become a bit of a grilled corn aficianado, although our attempt to cook cobs on the cast iron grill pan on top of the stove was not so great. We had copious amounts of smoke alternating with very slow cooking as we turned the heat up and down to find the right method. He finally decided he'd rather do that outside from now on, too.
I started back to work on Thursday. I was surprised to roll up to the building only to find everyone else already there. Apparently we were still on the 4-day workweek, so I had to work 10 hours that day! Since I didn't show up until 7, I was stuck there until 5:30 or 6. More like 6:15, since I kind of dithered around at lunch. But, it did mean I had Friday off, so that was cool. And this next week will be the last 4-day work week. So one more Friday off!
That's it. It's Sunday afternoon, which means NAPTIME!
I've been shooting this tree for a couple of days, hoping to get a photo for a special project I'm working on. I like this one, but am not convinced that it's the one I want. We'll see.
It's been a bit hectic here, as you can imagine. Nate leaves for Erskine on August 23, so we are busy getting him to doctor appointments and shopping for dorm supplies. It's tax-free weekend here, but I'm not really mustering up the courage to go out and battle the crowds in the 90+ heat to save 7.5%. I might go to Wal-Mart today. Yup. Wal-Mart. On a Sunday afternoon. But I need his bedding and there is a pretty nice store here in Tega Cay. We'll see.
Taylor and I spent a few hours cooking yesterday for a story I wrote this morning on tailgating food. We did a cranberry walnut coleslaw recipe that I got from buddy Rena and a marinated shrimp recipe I got from buddy Sarah. We also made another batch of peach lemonade because Mensa Boy didn't get any of it last time. This was the second food story I've done in a week. The other was my annual treatise to the South Carolina peach. That one should be in next week's paper, so I'll post some photos and recipes next week.
It's been great having Taylor with me in the kitchen. Periodically I have to tell him I don't want help, though. Cooking is, after all, my hobby. So sometimes I like to just put on some tunes (typically Norah Jones), pour a glass of wine and just cook. But he does have a knack for it. Especially grilling. He pulled off some wonderful butterfly chops last week that absolutely were fantastic. They were done perfectly, very moist and yet cooked through. It took me a long time to perfect pork chops on the grill without drying them out. He's also become a bit of a grilled corn aficianado, although our attempt to cook cobs on the cast iron grill pan on top of the stove was not so great. We had copious amounts of smoke alternating with very slow cooking as we turned the heat up and down to find the right method. He finally decided he'd rather do that outside from now on, too.
I started back to work on Thursday. I was surprised to roll up to the building only to find everyone else already there. Apparently we were still on the 4-day workweek, so I had to work 10 hours that day! Since I didn't show up until 7, I was stuck there until 5:30 or 6. More like 6:15, since I kind of dithered around at lunch. But, it did mean I had Friday off, so that was cool. And this next week will be the last 4-day work week. So one more Friday off!
That's it. It's Sunday afternoon, which means NAPTIME!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
The Bat Tower
This is the AT&T building in downtown Nashville. Buddy Chris says they refer to it as the bat tower. I can see why.
And many thanks to the anonymous reader that identified the red sculpture. It is called "Ghost Ballet," and was done by artist Alice Aycock. Anonymous put a link to a Nashville photo blog that tells about it and has a photo from an entirely different perspective. Take a look.
Here is Aycock's official website. Definitely worth a look.
Yesterday's quest for a new comforter for our bedroom was fruitless, but I may go back today and pick up one I saw in Macy's. I kept getting stymied by the browns because I keep thinking the walls in our bedroom have a sort of rosie-ness to the brown color. But really I won't know how it works out until I bite the bullet and buy one. The thing is, I DESPISE doing returns so I'm trying very hard to get as close to what I want as possible.
Today will be doctor appointments all around and a lot of extra errands. Yuck. But then they will be out of the way!
And many thanks to the anonymous reader that identified the red sculpture. It is called "Ghost Ballet," and was done by artist Alice Aycock. Anonymous put a link to a Nashville photo blog that tells about it and has a photo from an entirely different perspective. Take a look.
Here is Aycock's official website. Definitely worth a look.
Yesterday's quest for a new comforter for our bedroom was fruitless, but I may go back today and pick up one I saw in Macy's. I kept getting stymied by the browns because I keep thinking the walls in our bedroom have a sort of rosie-ness to the brown color. But really I won't know how it works out until I bite the bullet and buy one. The thing is, I DESPISE doing returns so I'm trying very hard to get as close to what I want as possible.
Today will be doctor appointments all around and a lot of extra errands. Yuck. But then they will be out of the way!
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