for anyone who might be interested. this event promises to have really good food, a great atmosphere, and the funds will go to a good cause. this is our first big event but for sure there will be more to come.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
thanks be to God
baldman and i took a quick trip to western pa this weekend for the annual furgiuele family reunion. there was lots of chaos as 16 people (of the same (crazy italian) family) all tried to squeeze into one tiny house. but there were a lot of laughs and hilarity ensued during several notable moments throughout the weekend. i'm awaiting some choice photos to publicize some of the funniness. but for now i thought i'd post this letter which was historically interesting and caused quiet a chuckle and many references throughout the weekend.
so the story goes like this. my grandmom volunteers for a book sale at her church every year(i'm pretty sure it's at her church). this year when she was sorting books she came across some books from her previous (irish) priest (who here shall remain nameless, per grandmom's request). this priest is now deceased. inside the book she found the following typed letter to the priest from his cousin in ireland:
County Cork, Ireland October 1, 1940
Dear Cousin,
Your welcome letter received and me and your aunt Bridget thank you kindly for the money sent. We have seven masses said for your Grandfather and Grandmother. God rest their souls.
You have gone high places in America. God bless you. I hope you'll not be putting on airs and forgetting our native land.
Your Cousin, Hughie O'Toole, was hung in Londonderry last week for killing a policeman. God rest his soul. And may God's Curse be on Jimmy Rodgers, the informer, and may he burn in Hell. God forgive me.
Times are not as bad as they might be. The herring is back and nearly everyone who has a heart is making ends meet and the price of fish is good. Thanks be to God.
We had a grand time at Pat Muldoon's wake. He was an old blatherskite and it looked good to see him stretched out with his big mouth closed. He is better off dead and he'll burn till the damned place freezes over. He had too many friends among the Orangemen. God curse the lot of them.
God bless your heart, I almost forgot to tell you about your Uncle Dinny. He took a potshot at at turncoat from in back of a hedge, but had too much drink in him and missed. God's curse be on the dirty drink.
I hope this letter finds you in good health and may God keep reminding you to keep sending the money.
The Brennens are 100% strong around here since they stopped going to America. They have kids running all over the county.
Father O'Flaherty, who baptized you is now feeble-minded and sends you his blessing.
Mollie O'Brien, the brat you used to go to school with, has married an Englishman. She'll have no luck.
May God take care of the lot of you and keep you from sudden death.
Your Devoted Cousin,
Timothy
P.S. Things look bright again. Every police barracks and every Protestant Church has burned to the ground in County Cork. Thanks be to God.
P.S. Keep sending the money.
so the story goes like this. my grandmom volunteers for a book sale at her church every year(i'm pretty sure it's at her church). this year when she was sorting books she came across some books from her previous (irish) priest (who here shall remain nameless, per grandmom's request). this priest is now deceased. inside the book she found the following typed letter to the priest from his cousin in ireland:
County Cork, Ireland October 1, 1940
Dear Cousin,
Your welcome letter received and me and your aunt Bridget thank you kindly for the money sent. We have seven masses said for your Grandfather and Grandmother. God rest their souls.
You have gone high places in America. God bless you. I hope you'll not be putting on airs and forgetting our native land.
Your Cousin, Hughie O'Toole, was hung in Londonderry last week for killing a policeman. God rest his soul. And may God's Curse be on Jimmy Rodgers, the informer, and may he burn in Hell. God forgive me.
Times are not as bad as they might be. The herring is back and nearly everyone who has a heart is making ends meet and the price of fish is good. Thanks be to God.
We had a grand time at Pat Muldoon's wake. He was an old blatherskite and it looked good to see him stretched out with his big mouth closed. He is better off dead and he'll burn till the damned place freezes over. He had too many friends among the Orangemen. God curse the lot of them.
God bless your heart, I almost forgot to tell you about your Uncle Dinny. He took a potshot at at turncoat from in back of a hedge, but had too much drink in him and missed. God's curse be on the dirty drink.
I hope this letter finds you in good health and may God keep reminding you to keep sending the money.
The Brennens are 100% strong around here since they stopped going to America. They have kids running all over the county.
Father O'Flaherty, who baptized you is now feeble-minded and sends you his blessing.
Mollie O'Brien, the brat you used to go to school with, has married an Englishman. She'll have no luck.
May God take care of the lot of you and keep you from sudden death.
Your Devoted Cousin,
Timothy
P.S. Things look bright again. Every police barracks and every Protestant Church has burned to the ground in County Cork. Thanks be to God.
P.S. Keep sending the money.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
what we did with our weekend
gosh,i'm so happy to have this new storage shed. but i really am done with house-improvement projects!
by the way, look at this cutie as he's about to get to work.
Friday, July 18, 2008
thoughts while riding
i've been trying to get up early several mornings a week to ride my bike. here are some random thoughts/sightings i had while riding:
why are there so many loose dogs roaming my neighborhood? i have never seen so many dogs just walking loose. i have learned that if you are chased by a pack of dogs while riding a bike, stay calm and keep riding at the same speed. however, do not, i repeat, do not look back.
i saw a huge bird, i think was a hawk. it was hard to keep sights on it because i was trying to watch where i was going. i first realized there was a big bird somewhere overhead because i heard it flapping its wings. cool.
i've been riding past a construction site and i finally realized what it is. what will this do to the neighborhood? though we already have some major sports attractions to my neck of the woods, so...
would anyone notice if i took figs off the really big fig tree on the outskirts of someone's property? i'll wait till their ripe to find out.
i think i saw scruffy. i know he 's been missing. and he is one to live the tramp life, but do you think he could really find his way from mississippi to south carolina? probably.
why are there so many loose dogs roaming my neighborhood? i have never seen so many dogs just walking loose. i have learned that if you are chased by a pack of dogs while riding a bike, stay calm and keep riding at the same speed. however, do not, i repeat, do not look back.
i saw a huge bird, i think was a hawk. it was hard to keep sights on it because i was trying to watch where i was going. i first realized there was a big bird somewhere overhead because i heard it flapping its wings. cool.
i've been riding past a construction site and i finally realized what it is. what will this do to the neighborhood? though we already have some major sports attractions to my neck of the woods, so...
would anyone notice if i took figs off the really big fig tree on the outskirts of someone's property? i'll wait till their ripe to find out.
i think i saw scruffy. i know he 's been missing. and he is one to live the tramp life, but do you think he could really find his way from mississippi to south carolina? probably.
Monday, July 14, 2008
really local farmer's market
so there's a church up the road that apparently partners with a local farmer (or farmers) and every week they hold a market to sell produce. i'd never gone because, honestly, i'd forgotten about it. and once i remembered i didn't have the opportunity due to work or being out of town every saturday morning. so this week i finally was able to go. it's just a small affair, but i'll tell you! that stuff is cheap. cheap. cheap! how much do you think this would cost:
3 yellow summer squash
a pint of blueberries
12 peaches
2 cucumbers
4 ears of corn
2 1/2 pounds of okra
....
you don't know? ok, i'll tell you. $10! what the what!?
of course, there was the problem that i realized later of what am i going to do with all this produce because i had all this, plus the continual supply of stuff coming from our garden*, plus the farm share. so i'm trying desperately to use everything up.
so lesson for next week--buy more blueberries but less of everything else!
*we just ate our first big eggplant last week. yea, baby!
3 yellow summer squash
a pint of blueberries
12 peaches
2 cucumbers
4 ears of corn
2 1/2 pounds of okra
....
you don't know? ok, i'll tell you. $10! what the what!?
of course, there was the problem that i realized later of what am i going to do with all this produce because i had all this, plus the continual supply of stuff coming from our garden*, plus the farm share. so i'm trying desperately to use everything up.
so lesson for next week--buy more blueberries but less of everything else!
*we just ate our first big eggplant last week. yea, baby!
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
csa season again!
yea! today was the first day for our summer csa. this is the third year that c and i have done this. for the past two years we've belonged to five leaves farms and we have been nothing but completely thrilled with the experience. the experience, that is of signing up for a share in a local farm. for those new to the csa idea, you can read all about it here (and once you read about it, you can use the same website to search your local area to find a farm near you to join!).
i'll be honest and say it does take a little time in the kitchen each week to be creative and figure out what you're going to make. and sometimes i just don't want to be cooking in the heat of the summer. but it does turn out to be really fun and it gets my creative juices flowing and helps me get out of the rut of eating the same-old same-old. plus! it supports local farms and gives you fresh, usually organic, and sometimes heirloom varieties of foods. so i'm excited to get our first harvest of yukon gold potatoes, greens, barbosa onions, tomatoes, and scallions. hmmm, i wonder what i'll make with them??
i'll be honest and say it does take a little time in the kitchen each week to be creative and figure out what you're going to make. and sometimes i just don't want to be cooking in the heat of the summer. but it does turn out to be really fun and it gets my creative juices flowing and helps me get out of the rut of eating the same-old same-old. plus! it supports local farms and gives you fresh, usually organic, and sometimes heirloom varieties of foods. so i'm excited to get our first harvest of yukon gold potatoes, greens, barbosa onions, tomatoes, and scallions. hmmm, i wonder what i'll make with them??
Sunday, July 06, 2008
fourth of july construction
happy belated fourth, everyone. hope you all enjoyed your burgers, beers and fireworks.
c and i didn't do any of that this weekend. instead we went into action to try to knock out the rest of the closet work that i mentioned we started the other day.
good thing we went out to indian food to treat ourselves on thursday night because we were in for quite a weekend!
friday we spent most of the day at home depot buying everything we would need (or so we thought) for the project. we rented their truck, hauled everything home (luckily we were in hd for so long we missed the afternoon rain storm), unloaded everything and drove the truck back to hd. we rewarded ourselves with krispy kream and a home-cooked meal for the fourth.
saturday we started bright and early with great optimism and energy. "we're going to just knock this out," we thought. we'll definitely be done by sunday afternoon. anyways... i started out by painting the new screen doors while c finished the framing on the closet. then, came the drywall. here's where our problems started. nothing too major, but we had to do a bit of rethinking because our drill wasn't working and the house is all lopsided, thus every time we cut drywall it didn't fit because everything is lopsided and uneven. so we had to do a lot of cutting and recutting. but by the end of the day we did, indeed, have the looks of a closet.
sunday we went to early church so we could get another relatively early start on things. we had one more piece of drywall to lay, and then we were to start the spackling. except, we realized we needed a few things from the store, so i spent about 1 1/2 hours going to 2 hardware stores to get what we needed while c cut out the wood we'd need for the shelving. the rest of the day i spent in a close relationship with spackle. as of tonight, everything is spackled at least once. we still need to sand and respackle, sand again, install trim on the inside and outside around door, install door, and paint. oh well, so much for getting it done this weekend.
all in all, though, we're very happy with what we've accomplished and how it looks. oh, plus we got the screen doors painted and c got one up (which sounds easy, but with our old house, that's a lot harder than you might think;).
here's the pictures as of tonight.
there are three shelves and a bar for coats
kitchen wall, which was the hardest part to do, so i'm proud of this! the little spackle on the left of the pict is an imperfection in the wall the we're trying to smooth out.
i'd say we'd put our construction skills out for hire, but there ain't no way i'm doing anymore housework for a long time! (hopefully)
we're all tired after all of this work!
the new door on porch, we had to move the 2x4 on the left and we added a 2x4 on top because there wasn't one before. new screens to come soon.
more pictures of our process at my flickr page.
c and i didn't do any of that this weekend. instead we went into action to try to knock out the rest of the closet work that i mentioned we started the other day.
good thing we went out to indian food to treat ourselves on thursday night because we were in for quite a weekend!
friday we spent most of the day at home depot buying everything we would need (or so we thought) for the project. we rented their truck, hauled everything home (luckily we were in hd for so long we missed the afternoon rain storm), unloaded everything and drove the truck back to hd. we rewarded ourselves with krispy kream and a home-cooked meal for the fourth.
saturday we started bright and early with great optimism and energy. "we're going to just knock this out," we thought. we'll definitely be done by sunday afternoon. anyways... i started out by painting the new screen doors while c finished the framing on the closet. then, came the drywall. here's where our problems started. nothing too major, but we had to do a bit of rethinking because our drill wasn't working and the house is all lopsided, thus every time we cut drywall it didn't fit because everything is lopsided and uneven. so we had to do a lot of cutting and recutting. but by the end of the day we did, indeed, have the looks of a closet.
sunday we went to early church so we could get another relatively early start on things. we had one more piece of drywall to lay, and then we were to start the spackling. except, we realized we needed a few things from the store, so i spent about 1 1/2 hours going to 2 hardware stores to get what we needed while c cut out the wood we'd need for the shelving. the rest of the day i spent in a close relationship with spackle. as of tonight, everything is spackled at least once. we still need to sand and respackle, sand again, install trim on the inside and outside around door, install door, and paint. oh well, so much for getting it done this weekend.
all in all, though, we're very happy with what we've accomplished and how it looks. oh, plus we got the screen doors painted and c got one up (which sounds easy, but with our old house, that's a lot harder than you might think;).
here's the pictures as of tonight.
there are three shelves and a bar for coats
kitchen wall, which was the hardest part to do, so i'm proud of this! the little spackle on the left of the pict is an imperfection in the wall the we're trying to smooth out.
i'd say we'd put our construction skills out for hire, but there ain't no way i'm doing anymore housework for a long time! (hopefully)
we're all tired after all of this work!
the new door on porch, we had to move the 2x4 on the left and we added a 2x4 on top because there wasn't one before. new screens to come soon.
more pictures of our process at my flickr page.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
donate money without donating money
if you want to do something good for a good organization and you have a little free time on your hands, visit palmettobizbuzz and review a business in south carolina. when you submit reviews you can choose a non-profit to donate to and bizbuzz will donate $1 to that organization. my office is signed up as a potential recipient, if you'd like a suggestion of a place to donate. hint hint.
as to where to review, that's entirely up to you. i found it a little daunting at first because i didn't know where to start. but now i can't really stop myself. i think i've reviewed like 15 places so far (restaurants, bars, vets office, roofers, my bank, etc)! each individual can only donate to up to $25 to your organization of your choice (and they have to be local). but of course, you can review as many places as you want.
so check it out.
as to where to review, that's entirely up to you. i found it a little daunting at first because i didn't know where to start. but now i can't really stop myself. i think i've reviewed like 15 places so far (restaurants, bars, vets office, roofers, my bank, etc)! each individual can only donate to up to $25 to your organization of your choice (and they have to be local). but of course, you can review as many places as you want.
so check it out.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
summer what!?
i'm not complainin'. just wonderin'.
when i rode my bike this morning it was actually cool outside! i mean, i was a bit chilly in my shorts and tank top. i was lovin' it!
when i rode my bike this morning it was actually cool outside! i mean, i was a bit chilly in my shorts and tank top. i was lovin' it!
erica and fuzzy helped produce a barenaked ladies video!
the new barenaked ladies video for pollywog in a bog was finally released. erica and fuzzy's friend noah was the major mastermind behind the project, and e and f helped produce it. great job, guys!
fun stuff.
fun stuff.
Monday, June 30, 2008
tennessee weekend
this weekend we went up to tennessee to see pritcher and cheryl and to meet little erin rita. it was her baptism. plus, we got to hang out with their cool family and friends, had some really good (too much!) food, enjoyed cooler weather, and had an all-around great time.
check out more pictures at my flickr site. for more detail about what we did over the weekend, cheryl has a few good posts.
Friday, June 27, 2008
day three of vacation
sewed the "roof" to our old swing.
ok, so it doesn't look that great in this picture. but i'm really proud of it. our old neighbors "gave" us (and by "gave" i mean, dumped with us) this old swing when they moved out of town a year ago. but the awning was ripped. over the year it's just ripped more and more and slowly become less and less useful. so i decided to make a new awning in hopes that we will actually use the swing. now the next step will be to fix the cushions. if anyone knows of anyone who is getting rid of lawn chair cushions give me a holla'!
this was the last day of my vacation. :( but it's been a good one. restful and productive. i even got to sit out in my new hammock this evening and read my book. i think it's my new favorite spot!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
day two of vacation
made a hammock.
(sorry that the picture's blurry!)
...
and, here are some pictures of our work from yesterday.
before-shot
knocked out back and side walls
framed back wall
framed back wall and ceiling
(sorry that the picture's blurry!)
...
and, here are some pictures of our work from yesterday.
before-shot
knocked out back and side walls
framed back wall
framed back wall and ceiling
day one of vacation
mowed lawn.
ran errands-habitat re-store, fabric store, big lots.
picked up subs on the way home (i was craving a hoagie. this wasn't quite that, but not too bad.)
moved furniture and "stuff" out of hall walkway.
knocked out walls and started to build frame for the closet.
moved furniture and "stuff" back into walkway and cleaned up.
made* dinner.
ate.
bath.
30 rock and the office (streamed online).
slept. hard.
*for the sake of full-disclosure, i really just reheated leftovers.
ran errands-habitat re-store, fabric store, big lots.
picked up subs on the way home (i was craving a hoagie. this wasn't quite that, but not too bad.)
moved furniture and "stuff" out of hall walkway.
knocked out walls and started to build frame for the closet.
moved furniture and "stuff" back into walkway and cleaned up.
made* dinner.
ate.
bath.
30 rock and the office (streamed online).
slept. hard.
*for the sake of full-disclosure, i really just reheated leftovers.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
weekend roundup
it's been a busy weekend, indeed. i returned from greenville on friday evening and we've been going non-stop ever since.
if you read my husband's blog (yes, he posted!) you'll know that friday was world refugee day. so lutheran family services had a little festival on saturday. c was required to work as the face-painter. so i went up to show my support, meet some of his clients, and see what was happening. it was a good time.
here is a picture of some of c's more intricate handy-work:
he also was a good sport and let omar paint his head. this, of course, opened a can of worms that was then difficult to shut!
after the refugee day celebration i had a brief presentation to make for work. then, we went to a friend's house to celebrate the completion of her triathlon. great job! at the party we played a raucous and hilarious rendition of "catch phrase." holy smokes, it was fun. i could never do it justice to explain it here. so it'll just have to be left to your imagination.
i took a few picts in the garden today.
the tomatoes were so overgrown, they were falling over, so i had to put some taller stakes in the ground to hold them up. and we had our first okra harvest.
not enough to make a whole meal but it was a great supplement.
tonight for dinner, we had an almost total locally-grown experience. we had sauteed summer squash from a friend's garden (thanks, m!), salad with home-grown lettuce, home-grown carrots, south carolina tomatoes, and homemade bread. we also had black beans (not home-grown) with our okra and brown rice (also not home-grown). it was delicious and it's so cool to see the fruits of our labors.
here are some more picts from the garden.
if you read my husband's blog (yes, he posted!) you'll know that friday was world refugee day. so lutheran family services had a little festival on saturday. c was required to work as the face-painter. so i went up to show my support, meet some of his clients, and see what was happening. it was a good time.
here is a picture of some of c's more intricate handy-work:
he also was a good sport and let omar paint his head. this, of course, opened a can of worms that was then difficult to shut!
after the refugee day celebration i had a brief presentation to make for work. then, we went to a friend's house to celebrate the completion of her triathlon. great job! at the party we played a raucous and hilarious rendition of "catch phrase." holy smokes, it was fun. i could never do it justice to explain it here. so it'll just have to be left to your imagination.
i took a few picts in the garden today.
the tomatoes were so overgrown, they were falling over, so i had to put some taller stakes in the ground to hold them up. and we had our first okra harvest.
not enough to make a whole meal but it was a great supplement.
tonight for dinner, we had an almost total locally-grown experience. we had sauteed summer squash from a friend's garden (thanks, m!), salad with home-grown lettuce, home-grown carrots, south carolina tomatoes, and homemade bread. we also had black beans (not home-grown) with our okra and brown rice (also not home-grown). it was delicious and it's so cool to see the fruits of our labors.
here are some more picts from the garden.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
g'ville
i'm in greenville this week for a conference. i don't know if i've really talked about this much, but i love conferences. i love getting out of town (especially on my job's dime), staying in a hotel where they usually have TV and unlimited hot water and sometimes have a gym and pool. plus, i love learning new things, getting new ideas, meeting new people, and just generally be refreshed.
this conference is extra special because it's in a town that i love and i have friends who live here or close enough to get here. so it's sort of like a mini-vacation. except without my husband. sorry, dude.
this conference is extra special because it's in a town that i love and i have friends who live here or close enough to get here. so it's sort of like a mini-vacation. except without my husband. sorry, dude.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
pie picking
i went blueberry picking yesterday with some old friends and new friends. it was so hot. we weren't fast enough to beat the heat. but despite that, we managed to pick a good amount. me and my somali friends picked 2 gallons, one for each of us to take home. then i made this tonight.
and we still have plenty of berries remaining.
*i have one picture from picking that i want to post, but i want to just make sure my new friends don't mind me putting their picts up. so that may be added at a later date.
and we still have plenty of berries remaining.
*i have one picture from picking that i want to post, but i want to just make sure my new friends don't mind me putting their picts up. so that may be added at a later date.
happy father's day
to my fathers and all other fathers, happy father's day.
dad resting his eyes
step-bo entertaining himself
dad resting his eyes
step-bo entertaining himself
Saturday, June 14, 2008
finders keepers creepers
apple scruffs was stolen. last night, we think. along with our bike pump. it really sucks. the irony of the situation is that they've been sitting unused for months, heck, probably even over a year. and just a few weeks ago chris and i started getting up early in the AM and taking a ride. it's been so nice. so we're really disappointed.
chris said, "well, that's what we get for leaving them on our side porch," which doesn't lock. and i wonder, is that really what we get? is it like, well, we deserved that one?
it seems so self-righteous of someone to go up onto our porch, reach through the gap in the door to unlock it, open the broken door, and take something that clearly does not belong to them. i just don't get how someone could do that.
then i get all social-worky and think, is this a sign of the recession? that's not the worst that could happen in life anyway. i think, well we live so good in many ways because of the things our country or government has stolen or exploited from other people. so maybe we can say this is a small price to pay for such a comfortable life. i mean, if we really wanted to we could just fork over the $100 or whatever and buy another one. it wouldn't kill our finances to do that.
but then i keep coming back to the fact that someone made the conscious decision to go on our porch and take something that was ours. it makes me think of when i was a kid and this woman came to our door. she told my mom that her son was having an asthma attack and she needed a cup of vinegar. apparently the vinegar was supposed to help him in some way? my mom didn't know anything about asthma so she didn't think twice about it. that is, not until mom went to get her wallet later that night and realized that it was missing from her purse, which sat conveniently next to the door. we assume that the lady just reached in and took it while mom was in the kitchen getting the vinegar.
it just makes me sad. sad that people think they have the right to take what isn't there's. sad that people feel like they have to take things because they're that desperately in need. sad for just so many other reasons that i just can't really explain.
Monday, June 09, 2008
one big bad news and a few good newses
the squash is dead. rest in peace, squashies. no thanks to squash borers. so i went out this afternoon and squashed some borers myself. jerks. so no squash this year. but hopefully they won't bore their way through anything else.
the good news is that the barlotti beans have flowers. and we have little okras coming up. and i saw 2 bees the other day. those are the first bees i've seen, so i'm happy about that.
the good news is that the barlotti beans have flowers. and we have little okras coming up. and i saw 2 bees the other day. those are the first bees i've seen, so i'm happy about that.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
may/june harvests
i failed to mention 2 weeks ago that we harvested the garlic. the bulbs are rather smaller than we would've liked, but not too bad. the taste is great. not too pungent but very aromatic. yum!
tonight we harvested the carrots. they're supposed to be harvest-ready in 60-75 days and it's been over 90. so we figured, out they go, even though they we're really too big. but again, not too bad.
for the past few weeks we've been eating a little bit of the italian kale as well. again, the leaves weren't too big so it's not been enough to really make one full meal. but the taste is delicious! do i sense a theme (small but yummy?)?
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
age-old questions answered
chris: "whoever said you can't have fun for free?"
me: "no one."
chris: "exactly."
me: "no one."
chris: "exactly."
Monday, June 02, 2008
late night double feature picture show
saturday night chris and i went to the movies to see baby momma. we've not been to the theater in ages so we decided it was about time. there are so many movies we want to see in the theater right now; i'm not really sure how we chose baby momma over the others. but one of us needed a laugh and it did the trick. c and i both commented that for having tina fey and amy poehler, it was a little subdued. and i wouldn't say it was the most complex plot ever. but we laughed and fully enjoyed it.
as we were walking out of the theater it was around 10:00 or so and, as we walked to the car, we were tossing back and forth the idea of seeing another show. before we even knew it, we had shelled out another $17 to see iron man. another great movie! a bit different from baby momma, to say the least. great acting.
good times!
as we were walking out of the theater it was around 10:00 or so and, as we walked to the car, we were tossing back and forth the idea of seeing another show. before we even knew it, we had shelled out another $17 to see iron man. another great movie! a bit different from baby momma, to say the least. great acting.
good times!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
picts are up
here is a sampling. more can be found here.
our room overlooking the pool and the mountains
el yunque rain forest
one of several towers we climbed in el yunque
arecibo observatory (the world's largest radio telescope)
old fortress walls around old san juan
awesome band along the street/waterfront in old san juan
our room overlooking the pool and the mountains
el yunque rain forest
one of several towers we climbed in el yunque
arecibo observatory (the world's largest radio telescope)
old fortress walls around old san juan
awesome band along the street/waterfront in old san juan
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
we are back
i've not posted anything about our trip yet but i wanted to let you know that we're back. i know you were worried we'd never return from our vacation!
as you can see, our "mountain retreat" was so relaxing we really didn't want to leave. i'd highly recommend it if anyone is looking to get away, la casa grande mountain retreat in utuado, puerto rico.
so we're back and in the swing of things again. i'm in the mists of uploading the pictures now but probably won't have them organized or anything tonight. so i'll post a link when they're all set.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
vacation daze
for the past 2 days i've been technically "on vacation," meaning i've not been going into work. so far it's not really felt like a vacation, honestly. but it's still been good.
i spent the day yesterday cleaning the house* and doing some cooking. one of the families that we stayed with 2 years ago during our trip to tanzania have been in town and we had them over for dinner. it was really nice to see them again and i was happy to reciprocate their favor and open our home to them, even if only for one evening.
i spent vacation day 2 by starting to paint our back room. that's actually not quite accurate. we started painting the back room when we spackled it 8 months ago before we moved into this house. but until this point, that's as far as we've gotten. so i took today to try to tackle another big chunk. i'd say i got about 2/3 of the way finished. hopefully it won't sit another 8 months before we finish!
our real "vacation" vacation starts tomorrow! i'm looking forward to being away from home renovations, cats waking us up at all hours of the night, and all the rest of the hum-drum everyday stuff. hopefully this'll be the ticket to getting us relaxed and well-rested!
(*talk about a fruitless effort. many of you may know that we live very close to a factory which churns out a lot of dust. i spent 1/2 the day yesterday sweeping, dusting, vacuuming, and mopping the house, plus washing sheets, blankets and our bedspread. when it came time for bed i padded in my bare feet into the bedroom, walked by the window and felt a whole lot of grit under my feet! urgh! frustration!)
i spent the day yesterday cleaning the house* and doing some cooking. one of the families that we stayed with 2 years ago during our trip to tanzania have been in town and we had them over for dinner. it was really nice to see them again and i was happy to reciprocate their favor and open our home to them, even if only for one evening.
i spent vacation day 2 by starting to paint our back room. that's actually not quite accurate. we started painting the back room when we spackled it 8 months ago before we moved into this house. but until this point, that's as far as we've gotten. so i took today to try to tackle another big chunk. i'd say i got about 2/3 of the way finished. hopefully it won't sit another 8 months before we finish!
our real "vacation" vacation starts tomorrow! i'm looking forward to being away from home renovations, cats waking us up at all hours of the night, and all the rest of the hum-drum everyday stuff. hopefully this'll be the ticket to getting us relaxed and well-rested!
(*talk about a fruitless effort. many of you may know that we live very close to a factory which churns out a lot of dust. i spent 1/2 the day yesterday sweeping, dusting, vacuuming, and mopping the house, plus washing sheets, blankets and our bedspread. when it came time for bed i padded in my bare feet into the bedroom, walked by the window and felt a whole lot of grit under my feet! urgh! frustration!)
Monday, May 19, 2008
happy birthday x
today is the birthday of malcom x. he would've been 83 had he lived. if you have not done so, might i suggest you read the autobiography of malcom x as told to alex haley? i actually recommended it as a good read just barely over 2 years ago.
spring is in the air
(even if it feels like summer)
saturday i was trying to make another dent in the vine situation along our fence. i was pleased to find blackberries growing in a few small patches. it's my hope that once i clear out all the other crappy vines, maybe the blackberries will come in full-force. ymmm!
however, i have been temporarily way-laid due to this little discovery.
this was situated right inside a big mess of kudzu and grape vines. luckily i realized it before it was too late and walked away without harming the nest. i was worried i got a little too close and scared away momma for good. but she spent the better part of the afternoon and sunday sitting on her precious eggs, despite our comings and goings while doing remaining yard work.
the bad news is that i can't take those vines out right now. the good news is i don't have to worry about taking those vines out right now! so i've pretty much wrapped up that project (for now). woohoo!
saturday i was trying to make another dent in the vine situation along our fence. i was pleased to find blackberries growing in a few small patches. it's my hope that once i clear out all the other crappy vines, maybe the blackberries will come in full-force. ymmm!
however, i have been temporarily way-laid due to this little discovery.
this was situated right inside a big mess of kudzu and grape vines. luckily i realized it before it was too late and walked away without harming the nest. i was worried i got a little too close and scared away momma for good. but she spent the better part of the afternoon and sunday sitting on her precious eggs, despite our comings and goings while doing remaining yard work.
the bad news is that i can't take those vines out right now. the good news is i don't have to worry about taking those vines out right now! so i've pretty much wrapped up that project (for now). woohoo!
drunken slugs
whoever invented putting beer out for slugs really had it spot-on. i knew something was eating some of our plants but had previously suspected beetles. but when we were digging around yesterday i found a few slugs in the tomatoes. so i thought, "oh, beer! that's what i've always heard works for slugs." chris suspected it was a ploy to purchase myself some beer. but no, i convinced him. "i hear this really works." of course there was the added bonus of me being able to finish off the remaining 5 in the 6-pack, but that doesn't take away the fact that it works! check it out!
that's alotta slugs!
that's alotta slugs!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
team reid
i spent another weekend outside working on our yard and garden. this time i was joined by my husband, who is now finished with school (for the summer) and has a bit more time to lend a hand on household projects. we did some really fun stuff and i took some pictures. but i'm too tired right now to post anything detailed about that. i just want to sit and veg out to my show.
oh, and one day until vacation. and 4 days until vacation trip. woohoo!
oh, and one day until vacation. and 4 days until vacation trip. woohoo!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Friday, May 09, 2008
excitement
i just went out to water the plants and saw a few little bursts of zucchini life sticking out of the ground where i planted seeds last week. there's something about growing a plant from seed that feels so fulfilling. transplanting is okay; but from seed is real growing.
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