Coincidence?

How strange is this? Over the weekend I received an email from my first disgruntled employee (didn't like his seating assignment). I responded by email this morning, since I'm not in town. I shut down the computer and went out to my rental car. When I opened the back door to put my bag in the back seat, I saw a book there that I hadn't noticed yesterday: "You Want Me to Work with Them? How to get along with others at work." or something to that effect. Who has been planting appropriate books in my car??

Old Style Ski Race

Check out these fine folks participating in the Sons of Norway annual race at Russian Jack! (I couldn't find my ski boots - but Megan is riding Mom's wedding skis, and Jim is on Dad's!)

Winter Wonderland

We went up to Glen Alps today to play in the new snow that's been falling! Also, we bought cross-country touring boots last spring for a song, and wanted to try them out. Jim's are great; mine pinch my feet (why did I buy women's instead of men's??), so we didn't get all that far. Still, it was fun to get up there and see the mountains covered in snow, although they were a bit windswept. Then we came home, Jim changed the oil (thanks!), and went to see the new James Bond movie. O, Daniel Craig...

Reneging

I just reviewed the extensive list of post topics, and I am just going to let that be as a list of things that have happened. By now, I've talked to you all and you know how it all turned out.

We did have a trip to Montana in September, complete with a fantastic trip to Wapiti, Wyoming, which I love to say. Wapiti. WOPitti. I rode a horse, which was fun and completely freaky! I definitely have no desire to explore that further, which I suppose is good, as horsing around (har har) is pricey up here. Britt is my hero for falling off a horse and, literally, getting right back on. I would not have been able to do that.

I have decided that we need to be done with obligation trips, though. Montana is fun, but it's not much of a vacation any more - it's a series of visits that we "need" to do, that we don't really need to do. We talked of driving the motorcycles down next time; making the journey the destination. How fantastic would that be? With the in-laws traveling up here to see their granddaughter, we'll see them regularly. We shall see.

It has become my latest and most nerdy goal to erg one million meters. I think you must say it like Doctor Evil - one MILLION meters! I log them on the Concept2 website, and I'm about 450,000 meters in - it's a lifetime accumulation, and I guess I started charting it last winter or the winter before. But with World Masters Games in Australia next October, the desire for a dedicated effort this winter is very strong. Plus, at the end of the year party (which I missed), I won the award for the best 2K time (woman). Yeah! A nerd and a buff nerd at that!

Snap, Crackle, Pop

..goes the fire. Little did I know that spruce pops as it burns, and likes to freak The Loon and I out by throwing small bombs of flaming embers onto the hearth. My duty is to sit on the couch and make sure the fire doesn't set the living room on fire. Not a bad job, even if it does make me jump out of my skin every few minutes.

I was sick, sick, sick over Halloween weekend, but this past week I recovered. Amazing what a lot of sleep, vitamin C, and tea will do. Yesterday, Jim and I took the clap skates out to Potter Marsh and skated around in the cold and the wind. Very Nordic, I was laughing as I was tripping over the frozen cattails and falling on the lip of ice near a hole where someone had fallen in the weekend before.

New job..new responsibilities..not enough time in the day. I really like the new responsibility of the job, but the part I haven't gotten used to yet is how I'm not getting any billable work done. No doubt, I need to spend some after hours time on miscellania or on billable work, because the days are filled with the "urgent unimportant" interruption.

This post, if you haven't figured it out yet, is a random assimilation of topics. C'est la vie.

ERVA made me a most wonderful CD and I cannot get enough of it, especially a particular song called "coin operated boy." Very fun. I've been trying to take note of fun songs to add to a yet-to-be-made erging compilation. So far I have "toot toot beep beep" and "I need a lover who won't drive me crazy," which was pretty funny to explain to Jim why that was written on my calendar. Honestly, it's a song.

So, I promised a long list of blogging topics, didn't I? I should tackle them individually so the entire chore is not so daunting. I do love checking things off my list.

She's Bonafide!

It's official - I'm a nerd.

This was supposed to be a costume, but doesn't it look like me in 9th grade? Even though I never had braces, it still looks an awful lot like my 14-year-old self. They're Jim's glasses, not mine.

And, of course, just like 9th grade: check out my stylish pals (SpockGirl, Carmen, Skeleton). And the Jellyfish!

Energy Audit

Nothing like neglecting the old "to do" list and starting right with the fresh stuff. Yesterday afternoon I had my energy audit performed. I set up my laptop at the kitchen table and actually got some work done at the same time, which I was very proud of. The energy audit took about 3 hours, and involved the auditor walking around the outside of the house and looking at every single room, closet, and corner of the house, taking notes and drawing up a floor plan. He measured every window and noted the location of every light switch. He poked around in the attic, he visited the garage. Then he set up a blower/sucker contraption to the front door, which Luna thought was very intriguing. It's a vinyl piece of material stretched over adjustable frame that fits within the door frame so it's airtight, or mostly. Must be pretty darn close to airtight, since that's the whole point. The vinyl has a special hole for a large fan (about 2.5 feet in diameter) that is hooked up to a computer, and basically it takes readings on how much air loss the house has when the fan is sucking air out of the house. The auditor performed the test and then left the fan on as we walked around the house, feeling all the drafty places where we've been essentially throwing money away by heating the outdoors. The fireplace could have knocked you over, the draft was so severe (not even the main chamber itself, but these weird vents on the side of the chimney). The light switches blow air, as do the electrical outlets. The attic door is like a (cold) hair dryer. All the windows, even the vinyl window in the bedroom that I thought was new. The light in the upstairs bathroom, which the auditor said probably wasn't even insulated. (Which means we've potentially been pumping hot, humid shower air up into the space above the ceiling and below the roof...not good.) It was quite astonishing to me how drafty it all is.

The audit cost $400, $325 of which is reimbursed by the state program. We'll end up with a report that lists potential energy saving improvements we could do to the house, and supposedly it will be ranked in order of cost effectiveness. Re-insulating the attic? Probably pretty high on the list. Increasing the thickness of the outside walls by pulling off the house siding and adding extra insulation and wood? Probably not too high on the list. The state program will reimburse up to $10,000 of improvements, so long as they're on the list and help our house get from it's current energy star rating (auditor said we might rank a 2 star out of 5) to a higher rating. I don't think that's going to be a problem. I think the problem will be deciding where to stop. Is this when we decide to re-do the second story, push out the wall that is currently over the middle of the garage, and add a real pitch to the roof? And re-do all the siding? If we decided to do that, it would obviously be more than $10,000, but we'd likely get $10,000 toward that work, and we'd be in construction mode anyway...that kind of thinking. I need to relax until this report shows up and then let my mind wander on all the possibilities, but it is certainly an exciting prospect nonetheless.

Don't worry, I'll keep you posted (har, har).

Quite neglected

..you are. My apologies! For the love of lists and the lack of time I'm feeling now, I thought I'd present a list of topics I'd like to post about (and hopefully will in the near future):
- my utterly fantastic and gorgeous new clutch, whose name is Bess (I didn't even make that up, that's the model name!);
- the joy I got out of receiving great birthday presents from The Roommate, all within the 2008 Birthday Budget, and how good it feels to have a birthday budget in general;
- (potential) work excitement;
- birthday weekend at the fox farm;
- general excitement regarding what is to be soon regarded as My Year of Culture: a membership to the Anch. Museum and season tickets (you-pick) to the Anch. Concert Association;
- All Things Loon Related;
- I'm sorry, did I mention the purse yet?
- Reading a book that my newly-93-year-old grandmother has enjoyed so much that she read twice (and which I could hardly get to the end of);
- Halibut fishing girls weekend!
- Taiko drumming
- The visit by the in laws;
- the anniversary;
- Luna's third birthday;
- Rowing on Trail Lake;
- Biking up Hatcher Pass;
- Head of the Kenai;
- MS 150 bike ride;
- observing Grandpa Bob's passing;
- energy audits;
- Montana, Omaha, North Carolina, San Fransisco, Italy, Deadhorse by motorcycle, Australia! (a.k.a. trips planned in the next 13 months)

I suppose that is all for now. Good pictures coming soon, and a fulfillment of a birthday resolution to blog more (here's at'cha, Captain Colossal)!

Love,
B's Knees

Ridiculous

This is just....ridiculous!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/us/politics/29palin.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1220025700-MIwhe5GnGwICdvHt1z+9aA

Got It

Yesterday I took (and passed) my motorcycle road test - Hoorah! Jim and I went over to the DMV after work the day before and practiced doing the figure-8s and u-turns and quick stops, which was infinitely helpful to me. I now have a brand new drivers license with a really crappy picture, since I didn't want to smile and show off my braces that I'll only have for ONE MORE YEAR!! Instead of looking like a closed-mouth smile, though, it looks as though I've got this tired, I've-just-been-pulled-over smirk on. At least it will be accurate if I ever am pulled over!

On Top of the World!

Here are some quick recent photos from our trip up to the top of Jumbo Mine in Kennicott - can you believe people used to mine copper out of these mountains, waaaaaaay up here??


Kelly, Jim, and Erika on the way to the top. This is right before we start climbing the talus slope.
The talus slope going up. Can you find Erika in this picture?
Erika at the top of the talus slope. There is still maybe 300 more vertical feet up before reaching the mine. The Jumbo Mine! It is, of course, collapsed. But you're looking at the bunkhouse and tram beginnings:
From the ridge above the mine, we looked down onto this spectacular rock glacier. That's the Kennecott and Root glaciers beyond (Kennecott is dark; Root is light):

All the parks in the world...

...and this jerk had to walk into mine.
Jessy and I went running yesterday at Bicentennial Park, which is full of bears and moose and runners and mountain bikers and horses and other people and animals generally recreating. It's well traveled, but still gets a good dose of car break-ins at the trailhead and such. Jessy and I noticed a dog, a Chow mix, hanging around the trailhead when we left for our run, but there were several other cars in the lot, and a number of people milling around, loading or unloading themselves and their gear from their vehicles. When we came back from our run, an hour later, the dog was still there, and there were considerably fewer vehicles: just my bike, Jessy's truck, a big van, and a Subaru. Jessy knows the guy with the van, he was out biking with his Airedale. The Subaru appeared vacant.

Anyhow, this dog was obviously hanging around, not very friendly, very skittish, and very skinny. No tags. No collar. And Chows are notorious for being biters. So we were hesitant to try to touch him. We decided to call animal control, since it looked quite likely that someone had come and dropped their unwanted pet off at the trailhead.

While Jessy was on hold with information, the guy with the van came back. We described the situation to him, and he agreed with our plan of action. He had some dog treats, and was trying to lure the Chow into his van, because none of us thought it would be a good idea to try and pick the dog up (strange dog, biting breed, etc). As the dog was almost getting into the van, this man appears, exclaiming "What, are you trying to steal my dog?" in a very accusatory tone. We all were surprised, explained the situation, and expressed our relief that the Chow had an owner. Apparently, this guy had been sleeping in his car and just let his uncollared, untagged, unidentified dog wander around while he slept. He even said that his dog had bitten people for less than what we were doing, so he was glad the dog didn't bite us. Um, yeah, me too! Why would you let your unidentified, uncollared, biting dog wander around while you sleep in your car at a trailhead?!?!?! Call me crazy, but you're the guy in the wrong, buddy!

He was so peeved and indignant that it just turned me right off. I thought of all sorts of nasty things to say to him as I rode home, but since I was too late, I thought I'd just write it in this post. Some people!!!

We're the big Wieners!

The Alaska Run for Women was this past Saturday. It's an all-women annual running event that raises money for breast cancer research and education, and this was my 8th year, I think. The folks at my office sponsored a port-a-potty this year, which we decorated. I made the scales and the head and helped put it together, and thought it was so great that I took the head home with me when it was all done. Lo and behold, we won the decoration contest! I hear the prize is a toilet seat. So proud!

The little motorcycle that could

The verdict is in - 64 mpg!

Takin' the lead

I've been put in stroke seat of the boat for the last 5 practices (each practice of the season thus far), which means I'm leading the boat for rhythm, rate, and technique. It's been a very interesting experience. Typically, I row 6 seat. The boat is set up with every other rower being a port or starboard, and the 8 seat (stroke) is port. So 8, 6, 4, and 2 seats are port; 7, 5, 3, and bow (1) are starboard. In 6 seat, I can support the stroke seat by not rushing and by minimizing the rush that might be coming up from the bow of the boat. I can carry the rhythm of stroke seat back into the bow by mirroring stroke seat's movements as closely as I can. I can also apply a lot of power, since the middle four seats of the boat are the most stable, and I can really "stand up on it" and not worry so much about affecting the set (the keel balance) of the boat.
In stroke seat, there's more pressure. I've always liked 6 seat because it seems to be more of a behind-the-scenes seat than the stroke seat. A good stroke has to be confident in their technique, power, timing, and stamina, because there's no getting sloppy in stroke seat. If you're sloppy, the boat falls apart. If you're in any other seat and are sloppy, the other seats can absorb and compensate for you.
The team's typical stroke seat is away for 6 weeks, on a cross-country RV trip. She's great, and I love rowing 6 seat behind her. But while she's gone, the coach is trying me out at stroke. He has given me good pointers and plenty of encouragement, and I agree with his thought that the team needs to be developing strokes for multiple boats. Our typical stroke is in her early 40s. Racing categories are by age, and it would be great if the team had a seasoned stroke for the 50-plus-rowers as well as the 30-somethings. We only have one or two 20-somethings, so they row with us old gals. I suppose I'm being groomed for this 30-something stroke seat.
The biggest problem with this that I see is that I'm facing the coxswain the whole time. Often, I'm helping a new coxswain or rower sitting in as cox to call out the drills, make turns, and keep everyone in line. The problem comes that if the boat isn't being as attentive as I think they should be (I realize this is relative), then I get snappy. And I end up taking that feeling out on the coxswain. Really, we all know how to set the boat, we all know how to hit particular stroke ratings, and we all know when we're not doing those two things. But somehow it takes the cox to remind everyone of those duties before people start paying attention and actually doing them. I have to remind myself that not everyone on the team is in it for the same reasons that I am, and honestly, that not everyone on the team knows what it feels like to have a crew working together that feels quick and light, like flying across the surface of the water. That's the goal. That's the feeling we're working toward.

Bike rides in springtime

Spring has finally sprung here - it always feels as though it will never come, and then one day I find myself wondering when all the green leaves unfolded. I rode my bike to work this morning, saw a moose, and could smell these incredible white lilac trees that are planted along the bike trails. The kind of ride that makes me wonder why I don't do this every day - but then I think about my errands, and remember why I ride the motorcycle or even the station wagon.

The motorcycle has been good, very good. I rode Jim's 650 cc the other day, and although it runs a little rougher than my 225, the extra weight of the cycle felt much better on corners and going 45 mph. I noticed yesterday, as I was riding the 225, that I was suddenly more confident taking corners. Thanks, 650!

It's a crazy week for me, but things should calm down next week. My rowing club is having our annual fundraiser on Sunday, and I've become the committee chair. I really need to delegate more next year. The good news is that everything seems to be on track to raise $18,000. We will likely spend about $6,000 putting it on, so that's a pretty tidy net. We'll see. Things always happen at the last minute (like my sister in law pulling her participation yesterday - the race is Sunday), and there are several days of last minute left before the Big Day.

And yes, I know I've been lagging in posts - I was lecturing myself this morning as I rode through the lilac air...

Reality is easier at 6:45 am

The six month body fat report is in, and the results are looking good! Very good: 22.76%. I had a different technician this time, one who really knew her stuff and was very helpful. No way had I blown out all my air last time - last time, I had a water weight reading of 0.2 kg. The first time I did it this morning, it was 0.2 kg, and then the tech told me to blow air bubbles under water until I had nothing left. She also had me configured slightly differently in the metal cage. My final water weight reading? 1.6 kg! Quite a bit of difference.

Anyhow, I'm psyched! We had this great conversation about BMI and what a crock it is, and got to discussing rowing, and organic foods, and how she's moving to Corvallis soon, and on and on. An overall much better experience than last time! She encouraged me to do it again at the end of the rowing season. At $35 a pop, I'm not sure I want to do this too often, but I think twice a year is reasonable.

Certainly a nice way to start off the day!

New York celebrates MHC

The first night, Mom and I went to the American Museum of Natural History, to attend a celebration for MHC. I love that the college logo is projected past the blue whale! Saturday night I skipped the group dinner and went out to Brooklyn to visit the Big Brother. Odd that Brooklyn seemed like "reality" after what I'd been eyeballing in Manhattan! People were wearing color!
Here's the BQE at night:
And my first NYC rat!
The conclusion of the trip? Art is everywhere.

New York Art Weekend, continued

Our group, outside a private gallery of Dutch masters, on Madison Ave (aren't the flowering trees great?): Looking up Madison Avenue:
The foyer at Christie's - loved this!
MHC class of '64, patiently waiting for our tour of the Greek and Roman galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art:One-third of the group, having a tour of the Roman works by one of the department curators at the Metropolitan (that's a porphry bathtub!):
Dinner at the home of the tour organizer, MHC class of '64:
Look at all of these Uncommon Women!

Art Adventure, MoHo Style

I am dying to provide a New York Art Weekend Update. However, until I am able to compare notes with Mom and others in the group, I'm going to have to just post some photos from my amazing visit. Incredible, incredible, incredible. I've been on a cloud for weeks!

The first thing Mom and I did when I arrived was eat lunch. I felt as though I were in a movie! It was 75 degrees and we were in this wonderful West Village cafe:
Then we wandered around the West Village, which I loved. Here are some of my observations:
Look! Over there! Architecture!

This is the park memorial for the Stonewall protests:

And here is the Palazzo, which we happened upon, that I had just read about in Vanity Fair (the big pink building top):

Here is the view from the sofabed where Mom and I stayed (in a suite! with a view of the East River!):

The following morning, we met the group at the Whist Club (where they apparently still do play whist! Who knew?):
Ladies lunching (well, coffee at 10 am):

Obviously, we had no idea what we were in for....

Luna Update

On with the joys of dog ownership...
One week ago, Luna got up for breakfast as usual. She went outside to the front yard to "do her business" also as usual, and went tearing across the (fenced) yard after a dog that was being walked down the street (also usual). The not so usual part is that in the process of tearing across the yard, she managed to tear her left hind "ring toe" nail off the nailbed. This was not such a pretty sight when she came back inside. I wasn't too keen on another trip to urgent care, so I waited 40 minutes until the vet clinic opened for the day, and fortunately they could see her that morning. She was sedated (this makes it the third time I've signed a wonderful "if your dog dies under sedation it's not our fault" waiver) and they shaved her toe and removed the torn toenail. It looks terrible, like the tip of a red marker instead of a toenail - essentially, it's just raw quick with no nail on top. She had to wear this little bootie for the first few days (tore it off once tearing around the yard again), and has caused it to resume bleeding all over the floor only a few times. Can't wait to see how much of the $230 vet bill the pet insurance folks will cover!
(I'd attach a photo, but am afraid it would be too gross.)

Motorcyclin'!

Jim has been very patient with me and even counseled me through a meltdown last week (I was driving around with the choke out and it turns out that's not so good if you don't want to stall all the time). We're just back now from a trip across town, where I unsuccessfully tried to show off my cool getup to two pals (neither of whom were home). Oh well, it was still grand!

Here's the First Big Trip: home to Point Woronzof weekend before last.
Safety First!

Passing time...

Well, since I'm not getting anything productive done right now, I thought I might work on one of my to-do list tasks. I like how "to-do" is close to "ta-da" and sometimes if I read it quickly, my brain reads the latter and has a little jump of excitement. Perhaps if I finished all the tasks on my to-do list I could exclaim Ta Da! and be done with it. Not the case right now. I have been making to-do lists daily for about a week. The only difference seems to be the date I assign to the top of the list – yes, still the same list. No, didn't get any of these tasks finished up yesterday. It's not much, just small things that take personal time that I don't want to give, but at this point it's becoming more of a to-do that these items are hanging out on the list than it is to just buckle down and do them.

Of course, several of the tasks have to do with rifling through files and checking up on insurance claims and settling some money accounts, which on one hand is a great task because it would be a really good and important one to finish, but on the other hand is a lousy task because it will involve a lot of confusion and calling around and pointing out the insurance company that one claim was for me and the other claim, that they're saying is "suspected duplicate," is actually for the same service on the same day, but for my dependent spouse (eye exam). If they actually read the fax cover page that accompanied the claim, then they'd know that and could stop fielding my calls! I've only called once. It was great, they said they'd take care of it right away, and apologized for the mistake and the delay. The next day I saw it was in pending status, and the day following was denied for "possible duplicate." Right. This will be more fun to call them the second time.

Rowing season is right around the corner, and I've been attempting to spend a few minutes thinking about what I want to get out of the season. The fees aren't cheap, and I'm on super budget, so the first conversation I have to have with myself is whether or not participating in rowing is really worth it. I've decided it is. Even when rowing in a crappy boat with a bunch of people who don't know what they're doing and end up jerking you all over the place, there are always a few moments of good glide on the water that feel great. Not to mention, a good boat with synchronized teammates is ecstatic feeling. I've been erging all winter, and pulled a 2,000 m time last weekend that I'm quite pleased with, so I may as well indulge myself. I just have to be careful not to complain about club politics to Jim so much, I think it wears on him.

So I'm not going to any Outside regattas this year, and I'm missing one of the two in-state regattas for the MS bike ride, so my racing opportunities are obviously quite limited. I'm hoping that if I'm a good sport, then I'll get to practice in racing boats even if I'm not racing, instead of being boated in more of a misfit ship. I've been talking with some friends about arranging a 4 to row once a week so we can have some guaranteed good water time.

Tomorrow morning I'm doing round two of the hydrostatic body fat test. It's strange to think it's been 6 months since the first one! This time I have all the rules about not eating and drinking, and have a good mind to adhere to them. Suppose I'll be posting the results for all of you tomorrow; be sure to tune in for the next update.

Red Dress

Here are those pictures I promised from the work awards ceremony:

Getting Ready

I was talking on the phone this afternoon to Mom and got completely excited about the New York trip! I'm leaving tomorrow night, which means tonight becomes a frenzy of procrastination: one more episode of SATC, clean the house, do the laundry, pack the clothes...that's the plan, anyway. Currently, I've done the first task and am sitting with my mug of Red Zinger and listening to the best of JJ Cale. Life is good.
I'm approaching this trip with a new idea, a new mindset. It's personal, it's likely boring to all others, but it's pretty exciting to me. I'm going to track my food and ww points this week, even knowing I'll go over my dailies. I'm going to stick to my quite limited budget, and essentially try not to buy anything. It sounds ridiculous; more to the point, it begs the "WHY?!" question. But I am going to New York to look and be on a tour, not to buy things. And what would I buy? I've so far identified my two mine zones as the museum gift shops and the bar. Figure I'll make a list of things from the gift shop (and then turn it over to Jim around my birthday), and make Alex buy all my drinks. Fair warning. So, I have a food and money budget. I'm quite excited.

In other news..cleaned the office today: a clear sign of procrastination. I've been working a lot lately; last week we had the feds in town to give legal advice on a big project I've been working on (for the last 4 years), so there was a field trip and lots of meeting coordination and good discussion going on, not to mention staying a bit later and checking email and generally following up on the rest of work. I'm officially finished with my year as chair of the national committee of my company's employee recognition program, which is good. A year is the right amount of time for that. And the presidents of the company (we have two) and the CEO and the head of HR all signed a very nice letter thanking me for all my hard work and finesse - yes, I think they used that word, I'll check tomorrow - getting the committee through it's first major budget increase in 14 years. Original signatures and everything. I have honestly never seen these signatures in pen, they're always scanned and printed. It was presented to me at our annual awards ceremony (which I mc'd, in a flaming red evening dress, pictures to come when I get them), and I was totally surprised. The letter was matted and framed, so now it's on the wall of my office. I wouldn't have matted and framed it, but there you have it.
Anyhow, I cleaned the office - divided the enormous African violet, repotted some other plants that badly needed it, wiped down all the desk surfaces and computer with germ killer wipes. I have this wood goose mobile, the kind with a string that you pull to make the wings flap, that used to hang in my family's cabin when I was growing up, hanging over my desk. Because of the way I engineered the hanging apparatus, it's been facing the corner for about 2 years - until today, when I finally got up there and moved that paper clip in the acoustic tile and now my goose is looking out at the office. A little bit of feng shui that actually made a huge difference!
I felt I was allowed a little procrastination, since I worked 9 hours on Sunday and 5 or so on Saturday, trying to make up for this Thursday and Friday when I will be in NYC. Those days were so productive, it almost - almost - made me want to trade out a weekend day for a weekday on a regular basis.
So, that's enough rambling for now. I promise I'll post a picture of the red dress (on loan from a colleague) when I get some, and I'll post NYC pics when I return. Not taking the laptop and pretty darned excited about that!

Maxin' and Relaxin', Luna-style

Turns out, when you eat two ample piles of moose droppings that have recently melted out of the yard's snow, you become completely constipated until the middle of the night/mid-morning (must be when someone is not being attentive), at which point you spontaneously combust in your laundry room abode (which, fortunately, your kind hosts have barricaded you into for the night). The fascinating, yes, fascinating part of this process is that the elimination still is most obviously moose nugget, just in the shape of dog excrement.

After your hosts clean things up a few times, cursing you for being so prolific, and, having not yet made the connection between moose nuggets and tastiness, wondering why on earth you're doing this most awful action, you act guilty and sulk around (while at the same time refusing to step on the portions of soiled carpet which have been thoroughly scrubbed).

Then, the hosts have an epiphany about the moose droppings-tastiness correlation. All makes sense in the world! Of course moose nuggets are tasty! It's like chewed up wood! And of course the dog would eat it! Why on earth not?

So, the end result: the droppings that are still identifyable in the yard have either been pitched out of the fence perimeter or sprayed down with a bitter apple/tabasco combination. And, reward of all rewards, a new bed is purchased (since the old one showed signs of severe discomfort):
Yes, we're very pleased with ourselves.

North Carolina

I've recently returned from a bit of a family reunion in North Carolina. I was there for a socioeconomic training course, and in the meantime was able to visit with my grandmother, parents, brother, and brother's gay wife (sorry, Vanessa. Had to spill the beans.)


The transportation between the designated hotel (which I didn't stay at) and the campus where the course was being held was via the Bio Bus - a 1970-something Mercedes Troop Transport bus with these fantastic folding seats. There's a Durham outfit that runs shuttles that had found the bus in someone's old barn with only 15,000 miles on it or something similarly outrageous. They converted it to Biodiesel and voila! we were riding in style. It really was a great way to transport 17 people.

In the meantime, I had this little beaut:

While there, we celebrated Dad's 60th birthday party. He was appropriately humble:
Grandma Bess was looking chipper and likely thinking "60? Try 90, you whippersnapper."All in all, an excellent trip. I was able to enjoy some true springtime weather, see my family whom I adore, and even learn a thing or two. I was also lucky enough to wedge college pal Jennie and new pal Alexis/Loocie into the back seat of my sweet ride:

Wonders in White

After my last session at the DDS, and my shock at how stained my rubber bands were, I decided maybe I should take a wee lesson and work a bit on not staining my new bands quite so quickly. True: I drink coffee. I am not about to stop, so I've taken to developing a bit of a slurp to try and get the coffee past my front teeth and onto my tongue. So far, pretty good. If I put cream in it, I can drink it through a straw (thanks for the tip, ERVA!).

I also drink wine, and prefer red. I thought this might be a good time to explore white wine, since just looking at a glass of deep red wine is enough to make me grip my toothbrush. So far, I've tried chardonnay and sauvignon blanc. The chardonnay gave me a headache, twice. No more chardonnay for me. Sauvignon blanc seems to be a bit more to my liking, though. I need to learn some wine vocabulary so I can accurately describe what it is I like and don't!

More to come, I'm sure.

Iditarod!

Last weekend, Jim and I were downtown in the thick of the action, at the ceremonial start of the Iditarod:Look at that handsome devil!

Tucson, Too

Oh yeah - and we got some sunshine in Tucson. The meeting was a success and I can move on to being past-chair (relaaaaax) instead of Chair (eeeek!) of these meetings. I ate Carne Seca (dried beef, apparently) several times and loved it. On Friday night, we were able to observe how it is dried:This was hanging from a hook above the open-air restaurant, above our table. Here I am with my committee's retiring corporate advisor (and the useful, stylish, fashionable hat I gave him as a present and then insisted he wear all night):And finally, the largest tortilla I've ever seen!

Week 5 of Braces

I'm sorry I haven't been better about posting my mouth updates. Today I went to the DDS to have some wires clipped that had come loose, as well as have the rubber bands in the front brackets changed for new bands that aren't curry-colored. Here is how things looked when I returned:Now, I don't know why my mouth looks enormous, and why my lips look like sausages, but I'm grateful to Jim for taking the picture all the same. I love how you can really see the difference between the coffee-and-curry-colored rubber bands on the bottom teeth and my new clear bands on the top. Of course my teeth still look crooked, but it's progress from this:Not to mention - my front teeth on top? The ones I see disappearing in photographs? Look how much of an arch they're coming into:(remember, we're looking at the top teeth, not the still-very-crooked bottom teeth). My DDS was completely enthusiastic with how fast things were moving. I wish I had a copy of his pictures; one is from inside my mouth looking up at the top front teeth - they are very, very crooked in that shot. The teeth actually angle into the mouth, instead of angling out as they are supposed to (and as they will!).
This is, I believe, the first week when I can really, definitely, see progress. Hooray!

On another note, my book club is reading Bridge of Sighs and discussing it this Friday; I'm 2/3 of the way through and wanting to skip work to stay home and read it...so it's off to bed and book for me!