I have to say that I do feel a bit of relief with the end of Christmas. No more worries about what gifts to get anyone, what needs to be cooked, who is coming over, tackling the excess of dishes, etc.
My Aunt Patty came up from CA to spend Christmas with us. She took a bus up and after a bit of miscommunication, we picked her up at the Greyhound station 2 hours after she arrived. Needless to say, it will be a story that she will tell over and over again.
We had Salmon Chowder for dinner on Christmas Eve, and as tradition, Santa came to visit while we went out to look at some Christmas lights. Upon arrival back home, Lola and Sidney were presented with a wagon and a note from Santa. He stated that there was one gt he could not fit under the tree, upon which Lola exclaimed, "It's a trampoline!" Indeed it was. Out there alone in the backyard. When presented with it and an opportunity to jump, her reply was, "No," and "Is Santa still here?" We came back in and let the kids tear into their gifts. Lola looking for more and more. Sid getting caught up with each gift.
We have a habit of going overboard. And another year, we did. It was fun and in the spirit. We all received gifts we wanted, things we never thought of, and stuff we love and won't give up. Lola has taken over my new bed and body warmer. Ah, I love it. Warm feet every night in bed and a perfect solution to my sore neck (which I received after Lola climbed into our bed way too early one night.)
Lola was also gifted with a modern day, decent digital camera that lacks a good screen. She tens to want to center her focus where she can see, but we are trying to get her to understand that it is not working properly. Here are a few of the better shots....and she does take some good photos.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
A moment
It's bright and early Christmas Eve, a big storm is coming, Morgan should be on her way back from grocery shopping and I'll be getting ready for work soon. I'm sort of sore from building a trampoline and a wagon last night for the kids' Christmas, the stretching of the springs and the pumping up of the wagon tires I think was what did it. Aunt Patty got in yesterday to visit for Christmas. Waiting for Morgan to return, I did some web surfing a bit a got all caught up in this site. All these "top xx" lists of odd things. Strangely compelling. So that's what's happening right here, right now. Morgan's home, time to get ready.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
More videos
These are guaranteed to make you smile and/or laugh. Two new videos on Sids page and one new one on Lola's page. Good stuff.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
New photos
Finally loaded some new pictures. See Lola's Album, Sid's album, and a few in Miscellany.
There are some more movies to come, but for now, check this magnificent collage of our kids dancing. It probably won't get linked from the other pages so this is your only chance to click on it. Do it now!
There are some more movies to come, but for now, check this magnificent collage of our kids dancing. It probably won't get linked from the other pages so this is your only chance to click on it. Do it now!
Monday, December 8, 2008
Hell hath no fury
Wow, keeping up some semblance of a regular schedule of posting amusing anecdotes here is getting harder and harder. Between family, the store, and now the holidays descending upon us, blogging keeps getting pushed further and further down the priority list.
I'm here to tell you about what happens when a four-year-old cumulatively loses about 4 hours sleep in a weekend. We had people over on Friday and Lola was up late being the life of the party. Then Saturday, we went to dinner at friends and she stayed up late with her DG who was babysitting. So last night, the trifecta was completed and Rayna and Kelly came over for dinner. We were determined to put Lola down and hour early, at 8pm, because she didn't even get a good nap. We started at 8. Over the course of the next hour, we bargained, scolded, spanked (yes, we spank, but it's pretty rare and really just for these most hellish occasions), coerced, and generally fought with our daughter. She wants Dada, she wants Mama, she wants milk, she's cold, she's hot, her head hurts. One thing after another, the games get played. And Dada gets more and more frustrated and pissed off. The screaming reaches a crescendo and another round of spanking. Eventually, Lola got so upset she threw up in her bed. And then on her floor while we were stripping the bed. Great. We took away her little Christmas tree. Finally, after what felt like hours of battle, she settled in and went to sleep. Let us never schedule a weekend like this again.
In other family news, we're gearing up for the holidaze, the (real) tree is up, stockings are hung, and "we'll tell Santa if you're naughty" threats are tossed around casually. I can only think of two things that might comprise my list, so I should really be thankful for all I have and don't lack. EcoReno is joining in - Morgan's building a trash Christmas tree to show off during the CalAve merchants' annual Holiday Stroll (in which we are participating). Winter is a mere two weeks away according to the calendar, but we have yet to see any real snow, and people are still riding bikes outside.
Library work is its typical self, but we're circling our wagons for yet another cut to the budget. People are now getting concerned about layoffs, but they are still telling us that's the last possible option. I'm feeling pretty solid and lucky to be able to feel that way - we're seeing more and more people we know, or one degree of separation away, that are impacted negatively by the state of the economy. If someone could please turn things around, now would be a good time to do it.
Been drinking some interesting beers lately. Between two friends, I secured three bottles of The Abyss this year, as well as some Hallertau, and one precious bottle of Palo Santo. As long as we're talking festive, Morgan and I got a chance to go out to a movie recently, saw the new James Bond movie. A little disappointing as a Bond movie, acceptable as a movie, and enjoyable as an opportunity to go out for an evening.
Not much else to report really, so I'll sign off here. I've got some EcoReno blogging to do too, so take a look there if you'd like. We did just buy a new camera since the old one started failing, so I'll have a whole slew of new photos of kids and holidays and stuff to post soon, but for now, check out this cool website.
I'm here to tell you about what happens when a four-year-old cumulatively loses about 4 hours sleep in a weekend. We had people over on Friday and Lola was up late being the life of the party. Then Saturday, we went to dinner at friends and she stayed up late with her DG who was babysitting. So last night, the trifecta was completed and Rayna and Kelly came over for dinner. We were determined to put Lola down and hour early, at 8pm, because she didn't even get a good nap. We started at 8. Over the course of the next hour, we bargained, scolded, spanked (yes, we spank, but it's pretty rare and really just for these most hellish occasions), coerced, and generally fought with our daughter. She wants Dada, she wants Mama, she wants milk, she's cold, she's hot, her head hurts. One thing after another, the games get played. And Dada gets more and more frustrated and pissed off. The screaming reaches a crescendo and another round of spanking. Eventually, Lola got so upset she threw up in her bed. And then on her floor while we were stripping the bed. Great. We took away her little Christmas tree. Finally, after what felt like hours of battle, she settled in and went to sleep. Let us never schedule a weekend like this again.
In other family news, we're gearing up for the holidaze, the (real) tree is up, stockings are hung, and "we'll tell Santa if you're naughty" threats are tossed around casually. I can only think of two things that might comprise my list, so I should really be thankful for all I have and don't lack. EcoReno is joining in - Morgan's building a trash Christmas tree to show off during the CalAve merchants' annual Holiday Stroll (in which we are participating). Winter is a mere two weeks away according to the calendar, but we have yet to see any real snow, and people are still riding bikes outside.
Library work is its typical self, but we're circling our wagons for yet another cut to the budget. People are now getting concerned about layoffs, but they are still telling us that's the last possible option. I'm feeling pretty solid and lucky to be able to feel that way - we're seeing more and more people we know, or one degree of separation away, that are impacted negatively by the state of the economy. If someone could please turn things around, now would be a good time to do it.
Been drinking some interesting beers lately. Between two friends, I secured three bottles of The Abyss this year, as well as some Hallertau, and one precious bottle of Palo Santo. As long as we're talking festive, Morgan and I got a chance to go out to a movie recently, saw the new James Bond movie. A little disappointing as a Bond movie, acceptable as a movie, and enjoyable as an opportunity to go out for an evening.
Not much else to report really, so I'll sign off here. I've got some EcoReno blogging to do too, so take a look there if you'd like. We did just buy a new camera since the old one started failing, so I'll have a whole slew of new photos of kids and holidays and stuff to post soon, but for now, check out this cool website.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Ho, ho, ho
Up until about April of this year, Lola thought every random sound or someone at the door was Santa and would freak out. I mean panic, run, take cover. Her fear had subsided, but we don't ever tease that random noises are Santa either. It was strategy, I swear. I was trying to teach her that he is so far away that time of year and that there is no way he would come seek us out anyway.
She exclaimed about 10 days ago that she wanted to go and see Santa and tell him what she wanted. She kept saying, "I won't cry." I said that we could go on Sunday and she asked when she was going everyday after. So Sunday came and we made our usual game plan of errand running and other miscellaneous tasks that we tackle on this one day we have off together. We headed out and ended up eating lunch at Port of Subs in Shopper's Square. As we were sitting there, I realized that they probably had a Santa and we could avoid the whole annoyance and turmoil of going to Meadowood and pick up our Christmas tree from the Boy Scouts. And yes indeed, there was a Santa who sat very alone and idle as we approached. We had to detour to wash hands, but Lola gave a wave and a big," HI SANTA," as we walked by. She even asked the lady in the bathroom if she was going to see Santa and proudly announced that she was going to go and tell him what she wanted for Christmas and again, that she wasn't going to cry.
As we prepared for our meeting, Lola was asked by the gentleman working Santa's Workshop if she knew what she wanted for Christmas. She told him she wanted a trampoline. He told her to go ahead and go tell Santa. She quickly answered, "You go tell him."
We made our way over to the man in red and as we approached, I felt a bit more weight and tugging on my shirt. I looked down to find Lola clawing at me and whispering not to leave her. I encouraged her and told her it was fine. I even plopped Sid down on Santa's lap to prove how easy and okay it was. Uh, no. Sid started to get red and slowly looked around to take it in. I knew he was only going to last about another 20 seconds before he reached break down. He just quickly put his arms out to be picked up and every attempt to put him back on Santa's lap for a picture was more clawing and grabbing on for dear life. Lola was still hanging on one leg and refused to even stand alone at the side of Santa's chair. There was no way she was going to sit on that lap. There were some AWFUL photos taken of me with the kids, neck bent in an awful position, with Santa. Lola was finally bribed with three candy canes (she calls them candy cans) to sit on Santa's lap, but only after they put a stool six inches away so that I could sit right there. We got two quick shots and she was off in the blink of an eye.
These are the pictures that we got:
Yay. Done and easy. No lines or crowds.
As soon as we hit the parking lot, Lola asked if we could go see Santa again!
She exclaimed about 10 days ago that she wanted to go and see Santa and tell him what she wanted. She kept saying, "I won't cry." I said that we could go on Sunday and she asked when she was going everyday after. So Sunday came and we made our usual game plan of errand running and other miscellaneous tasks that we tackle on this one day we have off together. We headed out and ended up eating lunch at Port of Subs in Shopper's Square. As we were sitting there, I realized that they probably had a Santa and we could avoid the whole annoyance and turmoil of going to Meadowood and pick up our Christmas tree from the Boy Scouts. And yes indeed, there was a Santa who sat very alone and idle as we approached. We had to detour to wash hands, but Lola gave a wave and a big," HI SANTA," as we walked by. She even asked the lady in the bathroom if she was going to see Santa and proudly announced that she was going to go and tell him what she wanted for Christmas and again, that she wasn't going to cry.
As we prepared for our meeting, Lola was asked by the gentleman working Santa's Workshop if she knew what she wanted for Christmas. She told him she wanted a trampoline. He told her to go ahead and go tell Santa. She quickly answered, "You go tell him."
We made our way over to the man in red and as we approached, I felt a bit more weight and tugging on my shirt. I looked down to find Lola clawing at me and whispering not to leave her. I encouraged her and told her it was fine. I even plopped Sid down on Santa's lap to prove how easy and okay it was. Uh, no. Sid started to get red and slowly looked around to take it in. I knew he was only going to last about another 20 seconds before he reached break down. He just quickly put his arms out to be picked up and every attempt to put him back on Santa's lap for a picture was more clawing and grabbing on for dear life. Lola was still hanging on one leg and refused to even stand alone at the side of Santa's chair. There was no way she was going to sit on that lap. There were some AWFUL photos taken of me with the kids, neck bent in an awful position, with Santa. Lola was finally bribed with three candy canes (she calls them candy cans) to sit on Santa's lap, but only after they put a stool six inches away so that I could sit right there. We got two quick shots and she was off in the blink of an eye.
These are the pictures that we got:
Yay. Done and easy. No lines or crowds.
As soon as we hit the parking lot, Lola asked if we could go see Santa again!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Busy and about to combust
It has been 4 years since I have slept in. (Sorry to any of those w/o kids - it is worth it!) This was preceded by late night and early mornings followed by early mornings of work. What can I say? I worked on a golf course, so it was work and then play and then led into a long night of.....socializing? Hey, it all led me to meet and marry Marc. Best thing that ever happened until the birth of our children which has led to no sleep, which leads me to this blog about an even bigger loss of sleep.
I was so lucky to stay home with both kids for as long as I did. I also feel lucky to take this opportunity to start a business for the benefit of their future - both environmentally and (hopefully) financially! But with this great endeavor has come a lack of sleep. Who cares that I fall asleep at 9pm right after Lola goes to bed and am facing away from Marc, convince him that, no, I am really not sleeping. I don't care that I drag myself out of bed and let the shower wake me up or that I depend on caffeine. Even being told that the microwave breaks down the caffeine molecules (thanks, Paige) has led me to drink cold coffee as to not lose any source of energy. What does bother me....blood shot eyes. Gross. At first I thought I might have to fight off a nasty eye infection as I have done it before. I am horrible about my contacts. Nope. No pain, just a lot of redness. A lot. I had to stop and think about it. I thought it was a mythical thing. Something that some people experience, but for me, it only existed in cartoon format. That was until yesterday. And going to bed, I crossed Marc's path ask him why his were so red....same thing...tired. I tried to get to bed even earlier, and the half hour really helped and the redness has subsided, thankfully.
I was so lucky to stay home with both kids for as long as I did. I also feel lucky to take this opportunity to start a business for the benefit of their future - both environmentally and (hopefully) financially! But with this great endeavor has come a lack of sleep. Who cares that I fall asleep at 9pm right after Lola goes to bed and am facing away from Marc, convince him that, no, I am really not sleeping. I don't care that I drag myself out of bed and let the shower wake me up or that I depend on caffeine. Even being told that the microwave breaks down the caffeine molecules (thanks, Paige) has led me to drink cold coffee as to not lose any source of energy. What does bother me....blood shot eyes. Gross. At first I thought I might have to fight off a nasty eye infection as I have done it before. I am horrible about my contacts. Nope. No pain, just a lot of redness. A lot. I had to stop and think about it. I thought it was a mythical thing. Something that some people experience, but for me, it only existed in cartoon format. That was until yesterday. And going to bed, I crossed Marc's path ask him why his were so red....same thing...tired. I tried to get to bed even earlier, and the half hour really helped and the redness has subsided, thankfully.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Princess party photos
As Turi describes in his post, we had a joint birthday party for Lola and Sofia last weekend. The theme was Fancy Nancy, and everyone turned out in all their fanciness. And thus, a new album is born.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Finally, a real update
Geez, this has been a long time coming. I actually had to make a list of all the "stuff" that needs to be blogged about here and updated for you, my loyal readers. And for the ages. It's getting late, I multitasked my way through updating photos while watching The Office, so I'm going to try to keep it sort of concise and just get it all out there.
This blog started as a sort of extension and continuation of a paper journal that Morgan and I started trying to keep up with after Lola was born. We'd write in it occasionally with updates on her growth and what was going on in our lives. After a while, we got lazy about keeping it up, and since I was trying to keep up with photos on the website anyway, I figured this could be our own virtual journal to look back upon someday and see what our life was like "back then". So, in that spirit, some of this is just recording events for the sake of recording them, more than actually putting it out for you crowds (that's a joke, feel free to laugh) of readers in the here and now.
So, since last I really wrote....
My 37th birthday has come and gone. Fairly uneventful, not really a landmark. We went out for killer sushi at a new place on 5th St., "Sushi Lover". Overindulged and enjoyed all of it. Thanks to Turi, David, Bart, Max, Maggie, Rayna, Kelly, Carol, and Paige for sharing the evening. Two words: Renee Chips. If you were there, you know what I'm talking about.
EcoReno is clipping along. Never having opened or run a new business, we don't really have any basis of comparison, but we seem to be doing OK; customers every day, some days more than others, plenty of people interested and giving positive feedback even if they don't actually buy, advertising seems to be working, and perhaps our most visible mention in the press appeared today. It's all really happening. During the good times, it feels like this could really be the start of something successful and good; other times, I think "What's the worst that can happen? It doesn't work out, we have some debt, life goes on." So there you go. It certainly has made our lives much busier in a lot of ways, and trying to keep all our schedules and commitments and goings-on straight is probably the worst of it. So that's not bad.
Halloween. Lola was a ladybug, Sidney was a pirate. We hit Raley's for trick or treating one night, did some real neighborhood trick or treating another, and I busted a punk spray-painting a fence. Pretty standard fare, little fanfare, and the candy continues to haunt our household with its sugary evil.
Grandpa Dave came for a really nice visit, providing a good excuse for a few days off for me and plenty of eating, drinking, and being merry (usually in the form of board games). Perhaps the only real major outing was a drive over to Nevada City, allegedly to see fall colors, of which there were few. A nice little day trip regardless. And it's just nice to hang out and enjoy family time, even if you're not doing anything touristy or special, just doing everyday errands and lounging is made more enjoyable by the presence of visiting Grandpa. Maybe he begs to differ.
And last, perhaps most recordable for posterity, we had a little election this week. This is almost certainly the election I've had the most strong feelings about in my lifetime so far. I have felt the most amazing feelings of hope and cautious optimism the last few days. I didn't realize how....glum? grey? cloudy?...the last 8 years have felt until it lifted. I sincerely hope we haven't put too much of a burden for the future on the shoulders of our next leader. It truly feels like he has become our leader in the true sense of the word, not just "president" (from 'preside' which doesn't really have much meaning to us in our everyday lives. We need to be led, not presided over.) I really, really, really have such hope for the future yet mixed with fear that we've just put too much faith in this man. He is still just a man, and despite being arguably the most powerful man in the world, his power does have limits and he is not able to turn lead to gold. I think I am caught up in his election coinciding with Lola's birthday, the dawning of a new regime colored blue, feeling like we're close to the bottom and we've nowhere to go but up, and wanting this king among men to lead us to a better future. Please oh please, let it come true. I won't blame him if miracles don't happen, but I hope optimism has some power to help make the change that needs to happen. (On a less philosophical, more tangible note, I am glad to see how many officials I wanted to see win, did indeed win. Some lost, some questions failed, but overall, on both a local and national level, Tuesday, November 4, 2008, may someday prove to be the day that things got better. Cross your fingers with me.) I sort of rambled my way through this topic because I've had a lot of strong feelings the last few days and they've been hard to put down in clear words. Today I read a very good post by a friend that hit the nail on the head in a lot of ways. Read it now.
OK, now that you've made it this far, you are rewarded with more than words. Picture updates!
Nothing else of note - nothing read, watched, or listened to worth mentioning right now. Supper Club ate, joint Princess birthday party coming up, next update when it happens. And I'm out.
This blog started as a sort of extension and continuation of a paper journal that Morgan and I started trying to keep up with after Lola was born. We'd write in it occasionally with updates on her growth and what was going on in our lives. After a while, we got lazy about keeping it up, and since I was trying to keep up with photos on the website anyway, I figured this could be our own virtual journal to look back upon someday and see what our life was like "back then". So, in that spirit, some of this is just recording events for the sake of recording them, more than actually putting it out for you crowds (that's a joke, feel free to laugh) of readers in the here and now.
So, since last I really wrote....
My 37th birthday has come and gone. Fairly uneventful, not really a landmark. We went out for killer sushi at a new place on 5th St., "Sushi Lover". Overindulged and enjoyed all of it. Thanks to Turi, David, Bart, Max, Maggie, Rayna, Kelly, Carol, and Paige for sharing the evening. Two words: Renee Chips. If you were there, you know what I'm talking about.
EcoReno is clipping along. Never having opened or run a new business, we don't really have any basis of comparison, but we seem to be doing OK; customers every day, some days more than others, plenty of people interested and giving positive feedback even if they don't actually buy, advertising seems to be working, and perhaps our most visible mention in the press appeared today. It's all really happening. During the good times, it feels like this could really be the start of something successful and good; other times, I think "What's the worst that can happen? It doesn't work out, we have some debt, life goes on." So there you go. It certainly has made our lives much busier in a lot of ways, and trying to keep all our schedules and commitments and goings-on straight is probably the worst of it. So that's not bad.
Halloween. Lola was a ladybug, Sidney was a pirate. We hit Raley's for trick or treating one night, did some real neighborhood trick or treating another, and I busted a punk spray-painting a fence. Pretty standard fare, little fanfare, and the candy continues to haunt our household with its sugary evil.
Grandpa Dave came for a really nice visit, providing a good excuse for a few days off for me and plenty of eating, drinking, and being merry (usually in the form of board games). Perhaps the only real major outing was a drive over to Nevada City, allegedly to see fall colors, of which there were few. A nice little day trip regardless. And it's just nice to hang out and enjoy family time, even if you're not doing anything touristy or special, just doing everyday errands and lounging is made more enjoyable by the presence of visiting Grandpa. Maybe he begs to differ.
And last, perhaps most recordable for posterity, we had a little election this week. This is almost certainly the election I've had the most strong feelings about in my lifetime so far. I have felt the most amazing feelings of hope and cautious optimism the last few days. I didn't realize how....glum? grey? cloudy?...the last 8 years have felt until it lifted. I sincerely hope we haven't put too much of a burden for the future on the shoulders of our next leader. It truly feels like he has become our leader in the true sense of the word, not just "president" (from 'preside' which doesn't really have much meaning to us in our everyday lives. We need to be led, not presided over.) I really, really, really have such hope for the future yet mixed with fear that we've just put too much faith in this man. He is still just a man, and despite being arguably the most powerful man in the world, his power does have limits and he is not able to turn lead to gold. I think I am caught up in his election coinciding with Lola's birthday, the dawning of a new regime colored blue, feeling like we're close to the bottom and we've nowhere to go but up, and wanting this king among men to lead us to a better future. Please oh please, let it come true. I won't blame him if miracles don't happen, but I hope optimism has some power to help make the change that needs to happen. (On a less philosophical, more tangible note, I am glad to see how many officials I wanted to see win, did indeed win. Some lost, some questions failed, but overall, on both a local and national level, Tuesday, November 4, 2008, may someday prove to be the day that things got better. Cross your fingers with me.) I sort of rambled my way through this topic because I've had a lot of strong feelings the last few days and they've been hard to put down in clear words. Today I read a very good post by a friend that hit the nail on the head in a lot of ways. Read it now.
OK, now that you've made it this far, you are rewarded with more than words. Picture updates!
- New Lola photos
- New Sid photos
- New miscellany including Halloween, Nevada City, and Grandpa Dave
Nothing else of note - nothing read, watched, or listened to worth mentioning right now. Supper Club ate, joint Princess birthday party coming up, next update when it happens. And I'm out.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Update
That's about all I can muster for now. Birthday and Halloween behind us, Election coming soon. EcoReno in full swing. More news to come soon.
Monday, October 20, 2008
EcoReno update
One week under our belts with our new business venture. We've done as well (I think) as we could hope, with fair to good sales every day. Word is spreading, ads are appearing, and we even got a mention on a local blog about Downtown Reno development. Additional signage coming this week. Still figuring out all the nuances of small business bookkeeping and finance. Overall, I think we're both feeling good about how things are going, people are excited about this and love the shop.
And with that, may I present version 2.0 of the EcoReno website. If you still see the old one, refresh your browser. It's a lot closer to what I originally envisioned, more aesthetically pleasing, and easier to maintain. If you'd like to get on our email announcement list, use the contact form.
Thank you all for your support!
And with that, may I present version 2.0 of the EcoReno website. If you still see the old one, refresh your browser. It's a lot closer to what I originally envisioned, more aesthetically pleasing, and easier to maintain. If you'd like to get on our email announcement list, use the contact form.
Thank you all for your support!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
commute
I have been staying home with Lola (and Sid) for so long that I have forgotten what it is like to have a job that I actually drive and report to instead of just waking up to. Oh wait, I still have that job as well! The part time gig at the library was such a release and outlet for me, it never felt like work. Neither does EcoReno really, as it is me. Everything that it has turned out to be....me, with a TON of help from my lovely husband, Deej, Paigie, Lola (my assistant),Sid, Dayday, Micheleine
Friday, October 17, 2008
Friday fun
OK, this item barely qualifies as fun, but first up today is a little historical note, perhaps not well know on this side of the country. Crossed my screen in an article about something else entirely unrelated, but I was interested enough to read more and it's fascinating. Consider this - a fire burning, underground in a coal mine, beneath a town, since 1962, and expected to burn for the next 250 years, and the non-existence of the town as a result. The Wikipedia article covers it pretty well, but winner of "most appropriate website name telling the story" is awarded to DamnInteresting.com's page about it.
Now on to the fun. You may find this little site somewhere between mildly amusing and totally hilarious, but at least it's clever. What life would be like with Sarah Palin as president.
And last, in a little nod to "Found", I present this little scrap of paper found at the library this morning. No idea where it came from. Can't be bothered to scan, so I transcribe:
"I have a room at the Sands (Empress or back tower) #[omitted] if you got no place you can come by and check it out - bout 11 - see whats up?"
What is up, indeed.
Now on to the fun. You may find this little site somewhere between mildly amusing and totally hilarious, but at least it's clever. What life would be like with Sarah Palin as president.
And last, in a little nod to "Found", I present this little scrap of paper found at the library this morning. No idea where it came from. Can't be bothered to scan, so I transcribe:
"I have a room at the Sands (Empress or back tower) #[omitted] if you got no place you can come by and check it out - bout 11 - see whats up?"
What is up, indeed.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Beer Mecca
I'm back in one piece today from my first pilgrimage to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. Needless to say, it was immensely enjoyable. While poor Morgan was stuck here with kids who turned sick upon my departure, complete with vomit and lack of sleep, I was tasting some of the best beers in the nation, nay, world. Brian and I went Thursday and Friday sessions, tasting probably somewhere around 70-80 beers if I had to guess. No, we weren't a total wreck, they only pour one ounce tastes, and over the course of about 4 hours each night, it's pretty moderate if you're there to actually enjoy the magnificent diverse world of beer and not just party like a frat boy. Denver seems like a nice city, too. I find myself lacking any real narrative of the last few days other than thinking in images and little sound-bite-like nuggets of recollection. So with that in mind, here are some highlights in words and pics:
Some pics, courtesy of Brian since I didn't bring my camera...
[caption id="attachment_432" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Great American Beer Festival"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_433" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Lance, Brian, and Marc at the GABF"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_434" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Cool buildings in our neighborhood"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_435" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="$15,000 55-year-old Macallan single-malt"]
[/caption]
Yes, that scotch is really priced at $14,999. That liquor store has 64 cooler doors full of beer.
PS: added a smattering of new pictures to the miscellany album, from a few various outings, none enough to get their own album. Oh yeah, and I missed our first snowfall while I was gone.
- Best brewery we tasted - Dogfish Head
- Best beer we totally missed out on - Utopias
- Quite memorable beer - The Abyss
- Local breweries represented - Buckbean, Brew Bros, Great Basin, and Silver Peak. Reno, represent!
- Best schwag - stamped leather Mirror Pond coasters from Deschutes (honorable mentions: Session Lager temporary tattoos, stickers galore, and at least four free beer magazines)
- Best non-festival things we did - Killer shopping for beer with Lance and Rosie, lunch at Bull and Bush, and late night snack and beer at Cheeky Monk Belgian Beer Cafe, breakfast at Tom's Diner (straight out of Pulp Fiction, seriously), coffee at Illegal Grounds in a neighborhood full of cool old houses
Some pics, courtesy of Brian since I didn't bring my camera...
[caption id="attachment_432" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Great American Beer Festival"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_433" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Lance, Brian, and Marc at the GABF"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_434" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Cool buildings in our neighborhood"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_435" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="$15,000 55-year-old Macallan single-malt"]
[/caption]Yes, that scotch is really priced at $14,999. That liquor store has 64 cooler doors full of beer.
PS: added a smattering of new pictures to the miscellany album, from a few various outings, none enough to get their own album. Oh yeah, and I missed our first snowfall while I was gone.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
This doesn't frighten you in the least?
I am not a McCain fan. He's old, he's a repeat of what we have already had for the past eight years, and I think his company says a lot about him. Cindy McCain looks like she is going to need rehab again soon, and if she didn't fit in when he was first a senator when she chose to move back to AZ, she surely is not gonna make it as First Lady.
When McCain picked Palin as his running mate, he picked the stupidest person possible. Let's be honest and to the point. Why? Who in their right mind could think that this woman is even close to qualified for ANY political position? I think this is one of the best clips of things that she has said that only proves my theory....stupidest person......
Really? Never heard of Time or perhaps Newsweek? The News-Miner perhaps? This is just one of MANY stupid answers she has given.
And just to reinforce the fact, McCain is old. He has had melanoma - you can still see it in his face. He could fall over dead VERY soon and that would make Palin your president. I say yours because I am moving to Canada if this happens.
When McCain picked Palin as his running mate, he picked the stupidest person possible. Let's be honest and to the point. Why? Who in their right mind could think that this woman is even close to qualified for ANY political position? I think this is one of the best clips of things that she has said that only proves my theory....stupidest person......
Really? Never heard of Time or perhaps Newsweek? The News-Miner perhaps? This is just one of MANY stupid answers she has given.
And just to reinforce the fact, McCain is old. He has had melanoma - you can still see it in his face. He could fall over dead VERY soon and that would make Palin your president. I say yours because I am moving to Canada if this happens.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Photo update
Finally cleared the camera of some photos and got them posted...Lola photos, a few of Sid (I don't know why we take and post so few of him compared to Lola), a few from the Balloon Races as seen from around our neighborhood, and a bunch from everyone (except me)'s day at King's Beach. Hope you enjoy.
As an added bonus, in extreme contrast to the warm fuzzy tone of the above, take a look at this disgusting mess.
As an added bonus, in extreme contrast to the warm fuzzy tone of the above, take a look at this disgusting mess.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
New site!
I'm somewhat less than proud of it, but the new goEcoReno.com just launched. Consider this version 1.0. I'm already looking ahead to a major revision in coming weeks. Maybe I can time it to launch when the store opens for business!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Fashion and TV
I was introduced to Project Runway a few seasons ago, and I am hooked. I watch it and am left with a sense that I can sew anything after I watch it. Completely not true. I am surprised when Marc can find a needle and thread. I can sew a great straight seam and was taught to use a sewing machine by my husband. I hope that Manogue is offering Home Economics now.
Here are my thoughts as I have pondered as I have watched the show:
Terri: Lay off the pants. At first I was such a fan, but as a short wider person, I could never wear your pants anyway. Can you sew a skirt? Finally when you did, you were kicked off. Maybe pants is the safe bet?
Jerrell: How can anyone not love you? I thought you were very innovative on the Saturn challenge. You used things that totally did not look like car parts. Awesome. Really, you are very creative. The win for the Elle shoot was fantastic. You deserved to win.
Kenley: efor you, I have never liked you. Never. Not for a second. I never thought you deserved to win any challenge. I am completely annoyed by you and think everything about you evolves around 1950 or 60s and your hair that goes with it. Ugh. Yuck. You have done nothing else. Mostly, you are self centered and annoying. Get over yourself. I would never wear anything that you have made.
Leanne: Man, you can really tailor a garment. I am really surprised and impressed with the detail that you put into everything. The tailoring is unbelievable. Seriously. Perfect. A little marmie, but always looks impeccable.
Suede: Morgan hates third person. Come on! You are fun, creative, and I know that you are Suede. You remind me of Zach Taylor from Saved By the Bell with blue hair. Nothing about you Morgan really hates or likes. I kinda liked the dress from this week - without the jacket. A cute pair of light, flowy pants under the dress would have been super cute.
Korto: Super cute and cool. Mostly cool. You have such a smooth vibe about everything. Your fashion reflects a comfortable, easy look that we all strive for. I really think that you are my choice as an overall winner. Congrats! I have not disliked anything you have done.
Blayne: I never thought I would see you again after the first episode. No, really. You are so far out there, I know that the sun must have an affect on your brain. Fun, creative - but just too out there sloppy and overall not committed. This is exactly what sent you home last week.
Joe: Ugh. I am over the straight sports look that you pull with everything. You are too safe and straight. Are you sure that you're not gay? It might help. Most of what you made was not done well.
Stella. "LEATHA." No, I LOVE "LEATHA." I am taken with your innocent biker strength. Something is very appealing about your leather work. I don't think you over work your style as much as Kenley. I was sorry to see you go.
I think this includes everyone that is still on....I am still cheering for Korto and Leanne. And now after two wins, Jerrell has sure stepped up the competition. Please have mercy on me and send Kenly home next week. I can't take it anymore.
Here are my thoughts as I have pondered as I have watched the show:
Terri: Lay off the pants. At first I was such a fan, but as a short wider person, I could never wear your pants anyway. Can you sew a skirt? Finally when you did, you were kicked off. Maybe pants is the safe bet?
Jerrell: How can anyone not love you? I thought you were very innovative on the Saturn challenge. You used things that totally did not look like car parts. Awesome. Really, you are very creative. The win for the Elle shoot was fantastic. You deserved to win.
Kenley: efor you, I have never liked you. Never. Not for a second. I never thought you deserved to win any challenge. I am completely annoyed by you and think everything about you evolves around 1950 or 60s and your hair that goes with it. Ugh. Yuck. You have done nothing else. Mostly, you are self centered and annoying. Get over yourself. I would never wear anything that you have made.
Leanne: Man, you can really tailor a garment. I am really surprised and impressed with the detail that you put into everything. The tailoring is unbelievable. Seriously. Perfect. A little marmie, but always looks impeccable.
Suede: Morgan hates third person. Come on! You are fun, creative, and I know that you are Suede. You remind me of Zach Taylor from Saved By the Bell with blue hair. Nothing about you Morgan really hates or likes. I kinda liked the dress from this week - without the jacket. A cute pair of light, flowy pants under the dress would have been super cute.
Korto: Super cute and cool. Mostly cool. You have such a smooth vibe about everything. Your fashion reflects a comfortable, easy look that we all strive for. I really think that you are my choice as an overall winner. Congrats! I have not disliked anything you have done.
Blayne: I never thought I would see you again after the first episode. No, really. You are so far out there, I know that the sun must have an affect on your brain. Fun, creative - but just too out there sloppy and overall not committed. This is exactly what sent you home last week.
Joe: Ugh. I am over the straight sports look that you pull with everything. You are too safe and straight. Are you sure that you're not gay? It might help. Most of what you made was not done well.
Stella. "LEATHA." No, I LOVE "LEATHA." I am taken with your innocent biker strength. Something is very appealing about your leather work. I don't think you over work your style as much as Kenley. I was sorry to see you go.
I think this includes everyone that is still on....I am still cheering for Korto and Leanne. And now after two wins, Jerrell has sure stepped up the competition. Please have mercy on me and send Kenly home next week. I can't take it anymore.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Link roundup
Just a few cool things to link to that I felt compelled to share.
Wow, this blog is getting all political and stuff. Can't help it.
- Obama tax cut calculator - $970! Woo-hoo!
- McCainPedia
- Cory Farley, as usual, right on the money.
Wow, this blog is getting all political and stuff. Can't help it.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
stuff
Busy as all get out trying to keep my head above water at work, open a store, and keep my sanity. I thought my Vespa was finally out of the shop after 4? 5? weeks sitting, waiting for a part, first from the east coast, then from Italy, but then it turns out Italy sent the wrong part and tomorrow I'll find out what comes next. Sigh. For a moment, I imagined myself riding it to work tomorrow and a few more times before fall chilliness makes it too uncomfortable.
Frustrated tonight at my inability to create a simple quarter-page flyer for EcoReno to distribute to nearby businesses as advertising. For perhaps the first time since I started paying attention to such things, I wish I had a Microsoft program (Publisher) to use instead of the free alternative (OpenOffice) that I have installed on our laptop. I feel like a total rookie trying to do the simplest tasks, and even once I figure them out, the (admittedly miniscule and feeble) part of brain that thinks like a graphic designer has taken a leave of absence and I can't think of what it should say or look like. Same thing with the website - my website creation skills were decent in 1996, but there are so many technologies that I don't have a clue about that are practically mandatory to include in this day and age to create even a very basic site. The site you are currently viewing is easy - the Wordpress software is easy to install, run, and configure. So if any of you loyal readers know any good, inexpensive freelance web designers, send 'em my way, huh?
That all said, the store is coming along. In the few nanoseconds between child-rearing tasks Morgan has, she's got some merchandise ordered and a few boxes have started to arrive; we have phone, DSL, computer and cash register up and running, carpet is clean, and signs are in progress. With any luck, in about 3? weeks, you'll be cordially invited to a grand opening. Not sure how grand it'll be exactly, but...
OK, well, enough wallowing in my own overwhelmitude for tonight. Check out this cool little timesuck. I wish I had even 1% of the skillz it took to create that. Oh, and this little gem if you want to make yourself totally insane.
Frustrated tonight at my inability to create a simple quarter-page flyer for EcoReno to distribute to nearby businesses as advertising. For perhaps the first time since I started paying attention to such things, I wish I had a Microsoft program (Publisher) to use instead of the free alternative (OpenOffice) that I have installed on our laptop. I feel like a total rookie trying to do the simplest tasks, and even once I figure them out, the (admittedly miniscule and feeble) part of brain that thinks like a graphic designer has taken a leave of absence and I can't think of what it should say or look like. Same thing with the website - my website creation skills were decent in 1996, but there are so many technologies that I don't have a clue about that are practically mandatory to include in this day and age to create even a very basic site. The site you are currently viewing is easy - the Wordpress software is easy to install, run, and configure. So if any of you loyal readers know any good, inexpensive freelance web designers, send 'em my way, huh?
That all said, the store is coming along. In the few nanoseconds between child-rearing tasks Morgan has, she's got some merchandise ordered and a few boxes have started to arrive; we have phone, DSL, computer and cash register up and running, carpet is clean, and signs are in progress. With any luck, in about 3? weeks, you'll be cordially invited to a grand opening. Not sure how grand it'll be exactly, but...
OK, well, enough wallowing in my own overwhelmitude for tonight. Check out this cool little timesuck. I wish I had even 1% of the skillz it took to create that. Oh, and this little gem if you want to make yourself totally insane.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Politocrites
It's hard to avoid political commentary on both sides these days, and my ire keeps rising with the right. Witness the hypocrisy here and here. And while everyone's gushing about Sarah Palin, read this.
UPDATE: even better description of Sarah Palin plus she tried to ban books at the library. Scary.
UPDATE: even better description of Sarah Palin plus she tried to ban books at the library. Scary.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Lola's magnum opus
This is what happens when a 3-and-a-half-year-old helps herself to the digital camera, accidentally puts it in video mode, and gets creative, unsupervised and unbeknownst to any of the adults in the house. 39 little clips of 1-3 seconds each (about 2 minutes total, so be patient, it's a bigger file than most videos around here). Found later, thoroughly enjoyed, and stitched together for your enjoyment. Thanks, Lola. You're really great.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
New snagfilm
OK, their site is back up. Here's one I had heard of a year or two ago and thought would be a good one:
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Time for an update
Lots of STUFF dominating my thoughts these days, my mind is crowded and time to spew forth a bit.
First of all, just a brief commentary - we ventured out to the spectacle that is the rib cookoff tonight. Morgan had called to say some coworkers were headed down there after work and would I like to meet them with the kids. Sure, yeah, ribs sound good, I've never been to the event. Wednesday night, shouldn't be too crowded, parking not too bad. Oh the humanity. If I ever think that sounds like a good idea again, somebody smack me. Yeah, I wanna park like 10 blocks away, walk down there to stand in line for an eternity to eat some (admittedly delicious) ribs at like $20 a pound, drink some overpriced (admittedly delicious) beer, and wade through the lowest common denominator crowds that plague special events around here with a double stroller. In the warm August night. Hearing too-loud music that I don't like much. Smelling the port-a-potties. With Sid ready for bed. Ugh.
Now that I've got that debacle off my chest, I can move on to the other things that seem to dominate my psyche these days. Number one: EcoReno. For the few of you who may not have heard, we're opening a business. A little retail shop to sell all things environmental, sustainable, recycled, nontoxic, organic, etc. With any luck at all, we can make a small difference in the future of our planet and make a little money on the side. So we just (well, actually tomorrow) got a small business loan, locking us in to indentured servitude (or, god forbid, bankruptcy) for the next 7 years and are currently navigating the choppy seas of business licenses, tax permits, fire inspections, merchant credit card processing, shelves, accounting, and the like. This is huge. I had no idea how many hoops there are to jump through, and I marvel at how many people are actually capable of opening a successful business. Let's hope we join their ranks.
Number two: Burning Man. Most of you know, I've had a love-hate relationship with this thing for 13(!) years now. Gone, not gone, missed it, gone back, stayed home, etc. We sat it out last year because we had just moved and had a baby boy, no big deal. This year, a confluence of opening a business, babysitting, money, etc. conspired to keep us home. And how it pains us. Perhaps more than ever before (and I have felt this way to some degree quite a few times previously, even when I thought I never wanted to go back), it really saddens me to not be there, thinking about what people are doing out there right now, envying the loaded cars we see coming through, reading blog posts live from the playa. Next year, we will return, come hell or high water.
And with that, may I present some updated photos of Lola, including two series of self-portraits we found on the camera after the fact, and, to a much lesser extent (sorry buddy, when you can swipe the camera and take pictures of yourself, I'll post 20 photos of you too) Sid.
Crummy. I was going to post a new snagfilm but their site is down. Or out of business. Something.
First of all, just a brief commentary - we ventured out to the spectacle that is the rib cookoff tonight. Morgan had called to say some coworkers were headed down there after work and would I like to meet them with the kids. Sure, yeah, ribs sound good, I've never been to the event. Wednesday night, shouldn't be too crowded, parking not too bad. Oh the humanity. If I ever think that sounds like a good idea again, somebody smack me. Yeah, I wanna park like 10 blocks away, walk down there to stand in line for an eternity to eat some (admittedly delicious) ribs at like $20 a pound, drink some overpriced (admittedly delicious) beer, and wade through the lowest common denominator crowds that plague special events around here with a double stroller. In the warm August night. Hearing too-loud music that I don't like much. Smelling the port-a-potties. With Sid ready for bed. Ugh.
Now that I've got that debacle off my chest, I can move on to the other things that seem to dominate my psyche these days. Number one: EcoReno. For the few of you who may not have heard, we're opening a business. A little retail shop to sell all things environmental, sustainable, recycled, nontoxic, organic, etc. With any luck at all, we can make a small difference in the future of our planet and make a little money on the side. So we just (well, actually tomorrow) got a small business loan, locking us in to indentured servitude (or, god forbid, bankruptcy) for the next 7 years and are currently navigating the choppy seas of business licenses, tax permits, fire inspections, merchant credit card processing, shelves, accounting, and the like. This is huge. I had no idea how many hoops there are to jump through, and I marvel at how many people are actually capable of opening a successful business. Let's hope we join their ranks.
Number two: Burning Man. Most of you know, I've had a love-hate relationship with this thing for 13(!) years now. Gone, not gone, missed it, gone back, stayed home, etc. We sat it out last year because we had just moved and had a baby boy, no big deal. This year, a confluence of opening a business, babysitting, money, etc. conspired to keep us home. And how it pains us. Perhaps more than ever before (and I have felt this way to some degree quite a few times previously, even when I thought I never wanted to go back), it really saddens me to not be there, thinking about what people are doing out there right now, envying the loaded cars we see coming through, reading blog posts live from the playa. Next year, we will return, come hell or high water.
And with that, may I present some updated photos of Lola, including two series of self-portraits we found on the camera after the fact, and, to a much lesser extent (sorry buddy, when you can swipe the camera and take pictures of yourself, I'll post 20 photos of you too) Sid.
Crummy. I was going to post a new snagfilm but their site is down. Or out of business. Something.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Movies and current events
Did that work? Found this cool new site with lots of neato documentaries. Thought I'd try sharing some here from time to time. Not that I've watched them, just that they seem like good ones I'd like to watch some day. So that's the first one, about a heavy metal band in Iraq.
Aside from that, catch up on the week's news with Harper's Weekly roundup.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
H-O-T
Yes, that does say 10:28 in the morning, and yes, that does say it's 96 degrees outside already. It's hot.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Gutbombs
Deej is out of town so I'm home with the young'uns today. Since Morgan didn't have to work until 11, we managed a breakfast out at the "best breakfast in town" place, Peg's. So here it is, 1:30pm and I'm still feeling pretty sated. Probably not the best time to read this post. I honestly felt nauseous reading that and didn't even finish the list. And then I click back to post this and spot this little gem that I "shared" last week. Barf.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Real quick
Had to share this. It's not exactly throwing red paint on fur coats, but kinda like one of those big city attention grabbing PETA protests...two bikini-clad vegans bearing signs that say "Go Green Go Vegan" right here in downtown Reno:
Thank you, camera phone. UPDATE: Turns out I should have stopped for lunch and free gas.
Also, a few additional pictures from Black Rock.
Thank you, camera phone. UPDATE: Turns out I should have stopped for lunch and free gas.
Also, a few additional pictures from Black Rock.
Green tip for your lucky day 8-8-08
This headline caught my eye. Actually, a lot of headlines on The Daily Green catch my eye. But after reading these facts, I thought that I would pass it along to all of you and see if we can't take a tiny step and stop our junk mail. In fact, yesterday we received 5 pieces for local elections. Does it make me want to vote for any of them? Not really. Just annoying. One of them has also been flying a plane over Reno campaigning with a sign trailing behind. Wonder how much gas that wasted? Plus, you could hardly read it. Anyway, check this out when you have a chance. There is a link to stop junk mail. I have started calling companies as soon as I get anything to be removed from their mailing list. Try email updates. I usually get some fun deals. They are just as easy to get rid of if you get overwhelmed.
Junk Mail Article
Junk Mail Article
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Foodie mystery
Heard a story on NPR today, full of international intrigue, fine dining, and mystery. Quite the story, had to share. Depending on how it eventually turns out, might make a good book and/or movie. Read about the missing gourmet.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Finally! An update!
Sheesh, the lack of action around here is embarrassing. Life is pretty darn busy. I would write more but I need to go to bed. I just uploaded a bunch of stuff for your viewing pleasure:
Whew! That ought to keep you for a little while. Enjoy!
- New Lola pictures in her album
- New Sid pictures in his album
- Three new Sid videos on his page
- One new Lola video on her page
- A whole album of pictures from our little outing to the Black Rock Desert.
Whew! That ought to keep you for a little while. Enjoy!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Just Gross
Last night, Marc and I headed out to meet a friend that we have in town. We wanted to grab something to eat before we met up and decided to try the BBQ House on Wells. We have driven by many times and have always wanted to stop. The menu consisted of sandwiches and such. The least expensive sandwich being $9.99. I didn't thing much of it expecting to to come with a lot of sides or something 'big' for it to be worth the $10. I ordered the Oakland style (who knew Oakland was into BBQ?) that was supposed to be a BBQ beef sandwich topped with coleslaw. This is how Patty McCormick told me true BBQ sanwiches are made in the south. Our order was $28 for two sandwiches and two sodas. For those a little slow on the math....that is almost $3 for a fountain soda!!!! Really too much. I was once told that a 24oz fountain soda actually only cost about $.35. What a profit. So we sat outside and were presented with two plates. (Marc got the same thing with pork) It was an french roll filled with BBQ beef and two small Styrofoam cups of slaw and beans. The sandwich was just okay. Really nothing to rave about and in fact, I like Port of Subs BBQ sandwich a lot more and that is just heated up roast beef in BBQ sauce. The slaw was plain - not even any carrots in it. Just mayo and cabbage. The beans were peppery. Like someone had accidentally poured pepper in. I pictured a person making the beans and the lid accidentally coming off. (Ever done that with salt or pepper? I hate that!) We ate it because we were hungry and had paid a buttload for it. About 10 minutes later, I thought I was going to be sick. Ugh.....such a gut bomb. What a waste of money. They don't go out of business because they charge way too much for their food, but I have a hard time believing that people really LOVE this place. Yuck. Avoid it......or if you want BBQ, head to Port of Subs:)
Thursday, July 24, 2008
One year ago today...
Sidney was born! Happy birthday, son! For your birthday, you get a doctor's visit complete with shots, and a jack-in-the-box! Party to follow.
Love, Dada
Love, Dada
Monday, July 21, 2008
New feature
Just added something new here - to the right, below the photo of our house, you'll now see a little box that will automatically display links to posts from other blogs that I find interesting and want to share. You folks who subscribe to posts via email are missing the boat here. It will eliminate the need to write a new post here linking to whatever item of interest. So make sure you actually visit the site once in a while to see what's new! That first one on "Last Night's Summer Rain" isn't really all that great, I just needed one to test things out. Enjoy!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
In the news
Another gem this week from Harper's Weekly update . I hadn't heard this story until now. What a tool. Lots of other interesting tidbits in there. Read it. Now. And every week.
A funny thing happened
I am a jumpy person. Even when I know someone is around, I still find myself startled when they approach when I am not paying attention. I think I have passed a bit onto Lola, mostly because I think she senses it from me. I try and be brave. We watched the fireworks on the 4th and she was fine. (I do not get scared of fireworks.) I encourage her to turn on lights when she thinks it is too dark, ensuring her that everything is okay and that she has control to change it.
Last night, we were at a friend's house in downtown. He lives on the 14th floor. It was a great evening. We were out on the balcony enjoying the cooler breeze when some VERY loud popping and flashing lights started. He faces away from the river and Wingfield park. A friend said, "Oh, it's fireworks!" Nope. I was sure that it wasn't. It was so loud. I quickly grabbed the arm of this friend and took myself inside. The others of our party moved onto the balcony, where I was sure that they were going to die. I headed for the middle of the rooms thinking that I had a better chance of survival if the building went down. Meanwhile there is still flashing and loud booms, which I am sure is gunfire and a bomb. I was terrified. So if the building didn't go down, then I was going to have to face carnage when it was over. Bodies were going to be strewn about the park. There would be total chaos in the streets below. Who is bombing Downtown Reno? Why would someone bomb downtown Reno?
I think the the one thing that made this all worse was that I had convinced my friend (the one that said they were fireworks) that it was indeed a bad situation and she had moved right inside with me. I will keep her identity hidden. But Genoveve was right there with me, cowering in the apartment.
So after a few moments, after visualizing the complete destruction and planning my escape from the building - both if it kept standing or if I had to unbury myself from the rubble, everything became quiet. The FIREWORKS were over. I was no longer a target for a terrorist attack, but now a mark for the other guests and the hard laughter that soon followed all at my expense.
Last night, we were at a friend's house in downtown. He lives on the 14th floor. It was a great evening. We were out on the balcony enjoying the cooler breeze when some VERY loud popping and flashing lights started. He faces away from the river and Wingfield park. A friend said, "Oh, it's fireworks!" Nope. I was sure that it wasn't. It was so loud. I quickly grabbed the arm of this friend and took myself inside. The others of our party moved onto the balcony, where I was sure that they were going to die. I headed for the middle of the rooms thinking that I had a better chance of survival if the building went down. Meanwhile there is still flashing and loud booms, which I am sure is gunfire and a bomb. I was terrified. So if the building didn't go down, then I was going to have to face carnage when it was over. Bodies were going to be strewn about the park. There would be total chaos in the streets below. Who is bombing Downtown Reno? Why would someone bomb downtown Reno?
I think the the one thing that made this all worse was that I had convinced my friend (the one that said they were fireworks) that it was indeed a bad situation and she had moved right inside with me. I will keep her identity hidden. But Genoveve was right there with me, cowering in the apartment.
So after a few moments, after visualizing the complete destruction and planning my escape from the building - both if it kept standing or if I had to unbury myself from the rubble, everything became quiet. The FIREWORKS were over. I was no longer a target for a terrorist attack, but now a mark for the other guests and the hard laughter that soon followed all at my expense.
Friday, July 11, 2008
linx
Sheesh, it's been a while since I've posted anything substantial around here. Summer heat is upon us so we've been laying low to stay cool. Lots of smoke from California fires plaguing our air quality. Sid on the verge of walking. Hmmm. I guess that's about it.
A couple things that crossed my browser this week to share:
Literary tattoos
50 things being blamed on rising oil prices
A couple things that crossed my browser this week to share:
Literary tattoos
50 things being blamed on rising oil prices
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
newsworthy
Check us out. If you're impatient, we're at about the 2 minute mark. Good times.
[flv:http://cheztiar.com/artown_news.flv 480 368]
And as long as I'm here, I added a few new photos...to Lola's album, Sid's album, and some obligatory kitten pictures.
[flv:http://cheztiar.com/artown_news.flv 480 368]
And as long as I'm here, I added a few new photos...to Lola's album, Sid's album, and some obligatory kitten pictures.
Stuff online
I've been receiving Harper's weekly review email for some time now and really like the weekly roundup of world news with that special Harper's tone to it. Here's this week's. I may start sharing these more often.
Went to enjoy the opening festivities for Artown last night, ended up on the late news. Trying to capture and retain the video, but for now, it's on KTVN's site.
That's all for now.
Went to enjoy the opening festivities for Artown last night, ended up on the late news. Trying to capture and retain the video, but for now, it's on KTVN's site.
That's all for now.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Who would have thought?
I had some doubts about Cina with a cat. I thought that poor Tasty would have to live in the bathroom. But no. They have become fast friends. Cina still gets a little annoyed, but I think she is happy to have a little friend.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
And we're back!
After much blood, sweat, and tears, I think we've successfully made the leap to our new home. After about 3 and a half years with ipowerweb, I got fed up with their crap (support is awful, how about 45 minutes on hold before you get to talk to someone?), and their move to a new "improved" interface was horribly mismanaged and a bad implementation in the first place. I'm now happily on HostGator and it's just as cheap, a lot quicker, and overall, a much nicer host.
I've poked and prodded everything I can find around here in the last few days, and hopefully found and fixed all the bugs. Please let me know if anything doesn't work as it should, so I can pull the plug on the old site after I'm sure I don't need anything from there. Only things I'm aware of that didn't survive the move is the old guestbook and one comment on Morgan's last post (sorry Ryan!).
I've poked and prodded everything I can find around here in the last few days, and hopefully found and fixed all the bugs. Please let me know if anything doesn't work as it should, so I can pull the plug on the old site after I'm sure I don't need anything from there. Only things I'm aware of that didn't survive the move is the old guestbook and one comment on Morgan's last post (sorry Ryan!).
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Victim...the continuing saga
I wrote three emails to city council persons and RenoDirect. I also mailed a letter to the business that owns the parking lot. Oh, it is Maytan Music, by the way. The booting company is Sierra Booting (no website - not a surprise).
But check this article out from the Tahoe Tribune here. Talk about shady. Plus, the guy that says he wouldn't have employees is the same guy that fought with me.
About the bicycle. I don't think they would have booted it. Shit, I can buy a bike for less than the fine. I paid it, but I just feel that is unjust and horrible that someone would stake out a lot like that just to make a quick buck. The business owner near by said that he has seen up to 25 cars booted in one day!!! Makes me wonder if they ever boot any other lots? Why would you have to? Also, they told me it had been a random check. Yeah, right. The guy was just sitting in his car when I pulled in waiting to make his money.
As for Maytan, why not lease the spots to the other businesses and make an honest dollar that way? You know that it is never full for Maytan's customers.
But check this article out from the Tahoe Tribune here. Talk about shady. Plus, the guy that says he wouldn't have employees is the same guy that fought with me.
About the bicycle. I don't think they would have booted it. Shit, I can buy a bike for less than the fine. I paid it, but I just feel that is unjust and horrible that someone would stake out a lot like that just to make a quick buck. The business owner near by said that he has seen up to 25 cars booted in one day!!! Makes me wonder if they ever boot any other lots? Why would you have to? Also, they told me it had been a random check. Yeah, right. The guy was just sitting in his car when I pulled in waiting to make his money.
As for Maytan, why not lease the spots to the other businesses and make an honest dollar that way? You know that it is never full for Maytan's customers.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Just a Victim
Tonight, I went to Dixie Rose to meet some friends and make an appointment. I met Marc at work and then took the Vespa down while he took the kids home. I pulled into the parking lot for a neighboring business. I thought that by parking on the very far edge and not taking up a space, this would be satisfactory. There was another gentleman just loitering in his car. I did see the signs, but did not feel that I was really 'parking.' After all, I was driving an unregistered vehicle because it is not required by law. Kind of like locking my bike up, did not feel that I was unjust.
Twenty minutes later, a woman walked into Dixie Rose to inform all of us that whomever was driving the scooter had been booted. For a brief second, I thought it had to be a mistake. I went outside, and there was the guy from Sierra Booting with his machine asking whether I wanted to pay cash or debit. Yep, the same guy that had watched me pull into the parking lot, park, and walk away. I felt ambushed. What was I supposed to do? I had to pay it.
I was livid. I tried talking to the guy, who had no interest in anything that I had to say. There was no argument. Even upon talking to a guy in another vehicle, I was told that i was in the wrong and there was nothing to be done. Poor guy, he had been called from Sam's Club to drive his big gas guzzling vehicle down just to bring the right kind of lock for the scooter. Even after asking about the 10 minute grace, I was told that he had cell phone records of when he had been called away from Sam's Slub. Get this, the fine was $90!!! Can you even imagine? Having your son sit in the busy lot, booting cars all day? I am surprised to see that a business address that I found was an apartment off of Grand Summit.
I talked with a business owner next door to where I had been . He said that they sit in the lot and wait for people to park there, especially at lunch due to a successful, busy restaraunt nearby. Predators. That is exactly what they are. There needs to be some regulation. Whyy can't the business be responsible and call when there are people parked in their lot? I'm appalled that a local business would associate with such scum.
Twenty minutes later, a woman walked into Dixie Rose to inform all of us that whomever was driving the scooter had been booted. For a brief second, I thought it had to be a mistake. I went outside, and there was the guy from Sierra Booting with his machine asking whether I wanted to pay cash or debit. Yep, the same guy that had watched me pull into the parking lot, park, and walk away. I felt ambushed. What was I supposed to do? I had to pay it.
I was livid. I tried talking to the guy, who had no interest in anything that I had to say. There was no argument. Even upon talking to a guy in another vehicle, I was told that i was in the wrong and there was nothing to be done. Poor guy, he had been called from Sam's Club to drive his big gas guzzling vehicle down just to bring the right kind of lock for the scooter. Even after asking about the 10 minute grace, I was told that he had cell phone records of when he had been called away from Sam's Slub. Get this, the fine was $90!!! Can you even imagine? Having your son sit in the busy lot, booting cars all day? I am surprised to see that a business address that I found was an apartment off of Grand Summit.
I talked with a business owner next door to where I had been . He said that they sit in the lot and wait for people to park there, especially at lunch due to a successful, busy restaraunt nearby. Predators. That is exactly what they are. There needs to be some regulation. Whyy can't the business be responsible and call when there are people parked in their lot? I'm appalled that a local business would associate with such scum.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Confession
I am a sucker for romantic movies. I love romantic comedies. I can read the ending within the first five minutes, but I don't care that I know what is going to happen. I LOVE them! I am now watching The Holiday with Cameron Diaz and Jude Law. Yep, love it. Getting worked up even though I have seen it and know what is going to happen. Just watched 27 Dresses the other day and loved it, too. Maybe all started with Pretty Woman? No, I think it was Pretty in Pink. Wait, it was Can't Buy Me Love. Hold on another sec, I am thinking that one of my all time favorites is Say Anything. I have thought about 6 others while writing this blog. I can tell you if you are interested or become my friend on Netflix.
I think that I am just a sucker for good movies. I know that there are those out there that don't agree with my choices. But my thought is - isn't it nice not to be scared, not to think how the world could end, and know that you can swim in deep water? Sometimes, I think that Marc and I have this perfect love story movie.....met online, were engaged shortly after (I had no intention of marrying when I met him), the perfect wedding, the perfect relationship, the perfect kids, and now the perfect life. See....they do really happen.
Saying all this, I do have some other favorites. There are movies that I like that I would not want to live out. Random titles would include: Thirteen, The Patriot (it is the Heath Ledger fantasy - check out 10 Things I Hate About You), Hotel Rwanda, The Savages (most recently), Rear Window, The Apartment, The Princess Bride, etc..... Okay, there are sooooooooooo many that I could list. These are not even the best choices - there are so many coming to mind now. Plus, TV series! Six Feet Under and Arrested Development are two of my top favorites. I know that so many more will pop into my head as favorites. But my confession is.....I LOVE romantic movies!!!!! Happy endings are the way to go for this viewer....oh yeah, The Notebook....another GREAT romantic movie. There are so many!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy movie watching!
Side note for those that care......Firefox 3 came out today. I have only been using it since writing this blog. It really 'rocks' so far!!!
I think that I am just a sucker for good movies. I know that there are those out there that don't agree with my choices. But my thought is - isn't it nice not to be scared, not to think how the world could end, and know that you can swim in deep water? Sometimes, I think that Marc and I have this perfect love story movie.....met online, were engaged shortly after (I had no intention of marrying when I met him), the perfect wedding, the perfect relationship, the perfect kids, and now the perfect life. See....they do really happen.
Saying all this, I do have some other favorites. There are movies that I like that I would not want to live out. Random titles would include: Thirteen, The Patriot (it is the Heath Ledger fantasy - check out 10 Things I Hate About You), Hotel Rwanda, The Savages (most recently), Rear Window, The Apartment, The Princess Bride, etc..... Okay, there are sooooooooooo many that I could list. These are not even the best choices - there are so many coming to mind now. Plus, TV series! Six Feet Under and Arrested Development are two of my top favorites. I know that so many more will pop into my head as favorites. But my confession is.....I LOVE romantic movies!!!!! Happy endings are the way to go for this viewer....oh yeah, The Notebook....another GREAT romantic movie. There are so many!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy movie watching!
Side note for those that care......Firefox 3 came out today. I have only been using it since writing this blog. It really 'rocks' so far!!!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
just a little something
Well, Nana has come and gone. We had a wonderful time besides her getting sick. We shopped, played, napped, and ate. It was relaxing and fun.
Tasty is fitting right in. She and Cina have become fast friends. Okay, Cina is a bit annoyed. Tasty wants to play all the time and loves to crawl, claw and bite Cina. She is most intrigued by her wagging tail. It is great that they are getting along so well and that Tasty has fit in like a perfect piece of our perfect family puzzle.
Sid is battling the stomach flu again. It is so hard to watch someone so little be sick and not be able to tell you what is hurting. His little personality still shines through at moments and gives us hope that he is on the mend.
Congratulations to our VERY good friends, Tina and Bart, on the arrival of their daughter, Matilda Adriana. she weighed in at 7lbs 10oz and 21.5" long. We can't wait to meet her. We have had to hold off due to illness around here. Here is a picture of the new family!!
Another quick...kinda gross story, but one for all parents. We were in Kohl's shopping with Nana last weekend. Lola had just trotted off with Marc to the bathroom, as she loves to check out all public bathrooms and they have a family bathroom with a toilet just her size. I was wandering around with Sid in the backpack looking for great deals when I suddenly was taken aback by a horrible smell. Yep, Sid. Ugh. I caught Marc as he came out of the bathroom and asked him to take Sid out to the van and change him. We took him out of the backpack and noticed that he had leaked just a bit. As Marc turned him over to see for himself, two large pieces of fecal matter....okay, shit, fell out. They plopped onto Marc's shoe before rolling off and finally halting on the carpet of Kohl's. For a split second, I wanted to walk away and pretend that nothing had happened. Instead, I went to the bathroom, grabbed some paper towels, and picked it up as if Sid was my pet in the park. Gross. It was an awful feeling. Marc left with Sid, we grabbed Nana and left. Lola was kind enough to let Nana know that we had to leave because there was poop on the floor. The horror that Nana's face took on was priceless as well as the comment, "Well, I hope not." Yep, there had been poop on the floor and we needed to leave. The lesson that I hope Marc learned was to trust my words, treat this type of situation more delicately, and accept the assignment as directed. For me, the lesson is that, truly, you can see anything as a parent. There is no way to be prepared.
Happy Father's Day to all of you fathers out there. Especially Grandpa Dave, Marc, and Pop. A special shout out to the new daddy, Bart. I can't wait to see how the father-daughter relationship will change your life!!
Tasty is fitting right in. She and Cina have become fast friends. Okay, Cina is a bit annoyed. Tasty wants to play all the time and loves to crawl, claw and bite Cina. She is most intrigued by her wagging tail. It is great that they are getting along so well and that Tasty has fit in like a perfect piece of our perfect family puzzle.
Sid is battling the stomach flu again. It is so hard to watch someone so little be sick and not be able to tell you what is hurting. His little personality still shines through at moments and gives us hope that he is on the mend.
Congratulations to our VERY good friends, Tina and Bart, on the arrival of their daughter, Matilda Adriana. she weighed in at 7lbs 10oz and 21.5" long. We can't wait to meet her. We have had to hold off due to illness around here. Here is a picture of the new family!!
Another quick...kinda gross story, but one for all parents. We were in Kohl's shopping with Nana last weekend. Lola had just trotted off with Marc to the bathroom, as she loves to check out all public bathrooms and they have a family bathroom with a toilet just her size. I was wandering around with Sid in the backpack looking for great deals when I suddenly was taken aback by a horrible smell. Yep, Sid. Ugh. I caught Marc as he came out of the bathroom and asked him to take Sid out to the van and change him. We took him out of the backpack and noticed that he had leaked just a bit. As Marc turned him over to see for himself, two large pieces of fecal matter....okay, shit, fell out. They plopped onto Marc's shoe before rolling off and finally halting on the carpet of Kohl's. For a split second, I wanted to walk away and pretend that nothing had happened. Instead, I went to the bathroom, grabbed some paper towels, and picked it up as if Sid was my pet in the park. Gross. It was an awful feeling. Marc left with Sid, we grabbed Nana and left. Lola was kind enough to let Nana know that we had to leave because there was poop on the floor. The horror that Nana's face took on was priceless as well as the comment, "Well, I hope not." Yep, there had been poop on the floor and we needed to leave. The lesson that I hope Marc learned was to trust my words, treat this type of situation more delicately, and accept the assignment as directed. For me, the lesson is that, truly, you can see anything as a parent. There is no way to be prepared.
Happy Father's Day to all of you fathers out there. Especially Grandpa Dave, Marc, and Pop. A special shout out to the new daddy, Bart. I can't wait to see how the father-daughter relationship will change your life!!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Reno street view
Really cool, Google Maps now has Street View for Reno! Photos appear (at least in NW Reno) to be from sometime around spring 2007.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Things I did and learned in Vegas....
I went to Vegas for a few days. Here are a few things that I realized:
I think that Reno should market themselves a bit better. We aren't as big as Las Vegas, but we have a lot of the same commodities. It is so much cleaner here, smells a lot better, and a tad bit greener. It is good to be home.
- After not being there for years, I will find it even more irritating when people automatically assume that if you are from Nevada, you are from Las Vegas.
- It is VERY dirty. There was trash everywhere!!
- Everything costs more than it should. There are not that many 'good' deals. Whatever happened to 99 cent breakfasts? Oh that's right, we are in a recession.
- A lot of sarcasm from service people - ie that bell boy that made sure to let me know that he would not the one there when I picked up my bag. After being so snide, I quickly put away the tip that I was gong to hand him. After all, my bag only contained a few clothes and dirty underwear. So what if he 'misplaced' it? Should have been nice, taken your tip and then been done with it. Customer service was not a strong point where I was staying. But I also wasn't staying at the Bellagio or Trump Towers. The Stratosphere was cheap and worked.
- Stratosphere was not close enough to the Convention Center to walk in the shoes I was wearing. I am now nursing a HUGE blister on the bottom of my foot.
- The Monorail sounded like a great quick way to get there the first morning. Upon arrival to the stop, I found that it was $5 for one way!!! I was only going two stops. I was duped and had no choice.
- Since I sat at the blackjack table for 4 hours and gave you all the money I had, you could at least buy me breakfast. The older gentlemen that I played with kept commenting on how they used to just give you free things and now you have to beg. I begged and got a $15 comp for breakfast. It was a LOT less than I had lost and I only could choose from half of the menu. (Again, everything costs too much.) I guess it is true that beggars can't be choosers.
- The person staying in the room next to me must either have passed out or not been there. No one needs to listen to the TV that loud.
- The water out of the sink smelled like sulfur. It makes me sick even thinking about it. I contemplated the idea of going down to the casino and brushing my teeth in one of the bathrooms.
- I had a great view of the air conditioners on the roof. Yep. Nice view.
- The sandwich was really worth the $8 that I paid for it. I was starving.
- I missed my family while I was gone. I am so used to being with someone - I can get lonely really fast.
I think that Reno should market themselves a bit better. We aren't as big as Las Vegas, but we have a lot of the same commodities. It is so much cleaner here, smells a lot better, and a tad bit greener. It is good to be home.
Friday, May 30, 2008
In brief
It was actually this article that prompted me to post this morning. It's fascinating to me that there are still pockets of human beings in the world who don't know a thing about electricity, running water, cell phones, and the Internet. Hard to believe that's still possible in this day and age.
Aside from that, not a lot of news. Kitty is adapting pretty well to her new surroundings, as are we to her. We're all over our bouts with some evil stomach virus (except, perhaps, for visiting Nana who may or may not have it now), and I've got a three day weekend with apparently beautiful weather in store. Hopefully I can finally get the grass cut now that our stretch of rain is over and our garden is booming, including some great progress with my hop plants.
Aside from that, not a lot of news. Kitty is adapting pretty well to her new surroundings, as are we to her. We're all over our bouts with some evil stomach virus (except, perhaps, for visiting Nana who may or may not have it now), and I've got a three day weekend with apparently beautiful weather in store. Hopefully I can finally get the grass cut now that our stretch of rain is over and our garden is booming, including some great progress with my hop plants.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
May I present, Miss Tasty Delish (or Delight)
We welcomed our newest family member yesterday:
Tensions and nerves are running a bit high around here, Cina going totally bonkers every time she is permitted to see baby Tasty behind closed doors. Lots of mewing, but Tasty seems to be adapting pretty well, considering the circumstances. Very adorable, of course. Hopefully Cina can relax a bit in coming days.
Tensions and nerves are running a bit high around here, Cina going totally bonkers every time she is permitted to see baby Tasty behind closed doors. Lots of mewing, but Tasty seems to be adapting pretty well, considering the circumstances. Very adorable, of course. Hopefully Cina can relax a bit in coming days.
Great person, great memories
My Aunt Loy passed away peacefully last night. She was 92.
I have a lot of great memories of my Aunt Loy. She was a strong smart woman who embraced all challenges and obstacles. She was a wonderful great-grandmother, grandmother, mother, aunt, and sister. One of my most profound memories was sitting and talking to her at my mom's house during our wedding reception weekend. I was blown away by the fact that she came up for it and was even more touched by her own love stories that she shared with me.
Rest in peace.
I have a lot of great memories of my Aunt Loy. She was a strong smart woman who embraced all challenges and obstacles. She was a wonderful great-grandmother, grandmother, mother, aunt, and sister. One of my most profound memories was sitting and talking to her at my mom's house during our wedding reception weekend. I was blown away by the fact that she came up for it and was even more touched by her own love stories that she shared with me.
Rest in peace.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Mystery object
Man, I must be the biggest dummy around. I'm like the only one who didn't know what it was, apparently. David gets the big prize (whatever that may be) just because he was quickest (he was really fast but emailed instead of commenting so as not to spoil the fun for everyone). No prize for creativity because all guesses were correct.... Thanks for playing.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Getting back...
...on track, to work, to Reno, etc. The trip home was slightly eventful, Sidney vomited his way across the US, in Denver airport both in a restaurant, then on me. Then on Morgan in flight. Poor guy had a pretty upset stomach for about 24 hours, seems OK now. I'll spare you the rest of the details.
In reviewing Michigan photos, I realized how long it's been since I updated any albums around here. So while the bulk what I loaded is an album of Michigan trip photos, there are also a very few new ones in Sid's album, Lola's album, and the Miscellany album (of Morgan's birthday cake and camping, I think is all). I've got a couple Sid videos to post as well, just out of time for now. Not much else to say expect how much I dislike returning from vacation: to piles of laundry and mail, to an empty fridge, to work, to the usual routine grind.
With that, I'll leave you with something fun; the artifact in the photo below was in the front yard of a house two doors down from Grandpa in Adrian. It stands about 4 feet tall. He told us what it was, so I know now. Do you? Guesses in the comments. Perhaps a prize for the right answer and/or most creative. I hope this isn't easy. I sure had no idea. Click for full size.
In reviewing Michigan photos, I realized how long it's been since I updated any albums around here. So while the bulk what I loaded is an album of Michigan trip photos, there are also a very few new ones in Sid's album, Lola's album, and the Miscellany album (of Morgan's birthday cake and camping, I think is all). I've got a couple Sid videos to post as well, just out of time for now. Not much else to say expect how much I dislike returning from vacation: to piles of laundry and mail, to an empty fridge, to work, to the usual routine grind.
With that, I'll leave you with something fun; the artifact in the photo below was in the front yard of a house two doors down from Grandpa in Adrian. It stands about 4 feet tall. He told us what it was, so I know now. Do you? Guesses in the comments. Perhaps a prize for the right answer and/or most creative. I hope this isn't easy. I sure had no idea. Click for full size.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Winding down in Michigan
Starting to lose track of what we've done on which days. As the road out front gets dug up, I try to reflect on the last 36 hours or so...
I know yesterday we spent visiting Grandpa's sister Marilou in Milford. Quite a nice little place, from what little I saw, and she's got a great old house nestled in the woods near a park. We even saw a snake.
Aside from that, it seems like we've more or less driven around a bit, gone to stores, taken walks, and bounced a ball in the street. Paige and I took a nice long walk up to and through Siena Heights University which is more or less just up the street, then by one of the water towers here in Adrian. We had some speculation about why all these little towns have a water tower, most of them with the town's name painted on the side. This seems to explain pretty well.
Anyway, I think that about does it for now. Lots of pics to add to these little tales, of the snake and the water tower and other assorted fun. No cable or card slot to upload them here, so they'll just have to wait until we get home.
Beerlog: Hmmmm...another one (hoppy amber?) from Magic Hat, and one bottle of Hops Infusion from Weyerbacher I picked up in Toledo on a whim.
I know yesterday we spent visiting Grandpa's sister Marilou in Milford. Quite a nice little place, from what little I saw, and she's got a great old house nestled in the woods near a park. We even saw a snake.
Aside from that, it seems like we've more or less driven around a bit, gone to stores, taken walks, and bounced a ball in the street. Paige and I took a nice long walk up to and through Siena Heights University which is more or less just up the street, then by one of the water towers here in Adrian. We had some speculation about why all these little towns have a water tower, most of them with the town's name painted on the side. This seems to explain pretty well.
Anyway, I think that about does it for now. Lots of pics to add to these little tales, of the snake and the water tower and other assorted fun. No cable or card slot to upload them here, so they'll just have to wait until we get home.
Beerlog: Hmmmm...another one (hoppy amber?) from Magic Hat, and one bottle of Hops Infusion from Weyerbacher I picked up in Toledo on a whim.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Michigan Friday and Saturday
Had a fabulous time at the zoo yesterday, mostly what you would expect ~ elephants, giraffes, polar bears, and a very friendly sloth bear. We skipped the reptiles and amphibians towards the end as we were all winding down, but the monkeys, apes, and hippos all gave great delight to us all. Camels weren't out yet for the summer. While in Toledo, we stopped for some excellent grocery shopping at The Andersons, including some great stuff from their meat counter. Also stocked up some excellent beers since Toledo offers a bit more than Adrian, including some Dogfish Head and Flying Dog bottles that I don't see at home.
Today we hit the local farmer's market, the quite respectable Adrian PL, a pretty acceptable burrito for lunch, and, after a couple errands and ice cream for dessert, the afternoon naptime.
Beerlog: Tons bought in Toledo, only thing new tasted was pale ale from the previously mentioned Bell's.
Today we hit the local farmer's market, the quite respectable Adrian PL, a pretty acceptable burrito for lunch, and, after a couple errands and ice cream for dessert, the afternoon naptime.
Beerlog: Tons bought in Toledo, only thing new tasted was pale ale from the previously mentioned Bell's.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Michigan, day two
Good day to start our visit ~ nice leisurely morning followed by a big fat delicious breakfast. "The Abner" is a skillet meal composed of hash browns with shredded cheese, diced ham, and gravy on them, topped with two eggs over easy. And toast on the side. It's not as grotesque as it might sound. Reasonable portion and oh so good. After that, a visit to Grandpa Dave's Lowe's (bought a new shower head and a little gas grill to cook dinner upon) and some quality time at the park.
After naptime (and grill assembly time), we ventured back out for steaks and assorted other goods for dinner. On the way, we stopped and looked around the house that Grandpa's dad built when he was a kid. Empty for a year now, it's in kinda sad shape, but it was neat to visit anyway. Grilled ribeyes and corn on the cob are as good a way to end the day that The Abner started.
Toledo Zoo tomorrow.
Today's beerlog: Leinekugel's Red Lager
After naptime (and grill assembly time), we ventured back out for steaks and assorted other goods for dinner. On the way, we stopped and looked around the house that Grandpa's dad built when he was a kid. Empty for a year now, it's in kinda sad shape, but it was neat to visit anyway. Grilled ribeyes and corn on the cob are as good a way to end the day that The Abner started.
Toledo Zoo tomorrow.
Today's beerlog: Leinekugel's Red Lager
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Michigan trip, day one
We're in Adrian, MI tonight, visiting Morgan's dad. Woke up at 3:30am, Reno time. Quick layover in Denver, then on to Detroit, followed by a short drive in a rental to here.
Beerlog: Magic Hat's Not Quite Pale Ale and Bell's Two Hearted Ale. Both very nice beers.
Beerlog: Magic Hat's Not Quite Pale Ale and Bell's Two Hearted Ale. Both very nice beers.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Evicted
It seems that Robin Bird may have been evicted from her nest or has moved out. We did find one cracked robin egg on the railing of the deck. There has been no sign of her. A new family has been seen brining in more debris to add to her old nest. They look like Mr and Mrs George Bird, but we are not sure it is them. There has been no activity around their nest. We hope that Robin has maybe just moved her eggs? Nature is an interesting thing.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Please forward mail to:
When we moved into our lovely new home, one of the small selling points for me was a bird's nest nestled in the eaves of the back deck. This spring, we all watched as Robin Bird attempted to build another nest in another nook of the deck. It didn't go well for a while. We were left with large clumps of stuff scattered around. We weren't sure if she knew what she was doing either. She tried in two or three different areas, never succeeding. About a week and half ago, she finally got her nest built. It happened rather quickly. Maybe she got some advice from a fellow bird. Anyway, I believe she has laid her eggs as she spends a lot of time laying in there watching the back door very cautiously.
In the old nest, Mr and Mrs George Bird have moved in. They have made some modifications and I even caught them stealing from Robin Bird's nest! Their property looks a bit unkempt and really, well, ugly. No idea if they have laid their eggs yet. Maybe they feel that they need to add more?
Here are a few pictures:
In the old nest, Mr and Mrs George Bird have moved in. They have made some modifications and I even caught them stealing from Robin Bird's nest! Their property looks a bit unkempt and really, well, ugly. No idea if they have laid their eggs yet. Maybe they feel that they need to add more?
Here are a few pictures:
Thursday, May 1, 2008
What do you think?
The headline is Burger King profits up 21 percent.
So my question is: Is it due to to high food prices or obese America?
Here is the link to the article (which I have yet to read): Burger King Profits up 21 percent.
So my question is: Is it due to to high food prices or obese America?
Here is the link to the article (which I have yet to read): Burger King Profits up 21 percent.
Why do they grow so fast?
Sid is standing. When Lola started to pull herself up, it was cute. This is cute, but why does he have to get so big so fast? He talks a lot too. I bet he gets that from me.
Lola had her first dental appointment yesterday. She was a perfect patient and her teeth are in great shape.
It just all seems to be happening so fast. Pretty soon Lola will be driving or off to college. Yikes!!
Lola had her first dental appointment yesterday. She was a perfect patient and her teeth are in great shape.
It just all seems to be happening so fast. Pretty soon Lola will be driving or off to college. Yikes!!
Monday, April 28, 2008
just a little update
Sid is starting to pull himself up into standing position! He is very proud of himself. He is crawling at such a fast rate too. If he knows you are coming after him, he hits high gear. He is also getting some top teeth which really interrupted his schedule last week. He seems so much better now. He is waving hello and good-bye. I like this age. He keeps us on our toes.
Lola is continuing to go to school and loving it. She is dressed and ready on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. We can't get out the door fast enough for her. It is a great school and we really like the staff. We are going to register her for summer and fall.
I rode Marc's Vespa to work yesterday. It was so fun. A little scary on the busier streets, but I held my own. I think I need a pink one of my very own. Wonder if the kids would ride in a side car? Kidding. Not the safest thing for them. We did pick up a bike trailer at a garage sale this week. Needed a little mending that Marc easily eventually completed. I had been wanting one that Costco is selling, and this one was a steal! It can be used as a stroller as well. We picked up a helmet for Sid and can't wait to get out and use it!! I did take them out for a walk and used it as a stroller. I put the handle on thinking that it 'clicked' into place and as I pushed them out onto the steep driveway, I was left standing there with the handle in my hand and the stroller speeding into the street!! I caught it half way into the street. THANK GOODNESS there was no traffic! There are pins that hold the handle in. It must have been a sight. I think Lola really liked going that fast as she did not know they were unattended by me. I am still embarrassed to walk outside thinking that my neighbors are still laughing at me or cursing me for being such an irresponsible parent.
I have an escapee...... I better run.
Lola is continuing to go to school and loving it. She is dressed and ready on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. We can't get out the door fast enough for her. It is a great school and we really like the staff. We are going to register her for summer and fall.
I rode Marc's Vespa to work yesterday. It was so fun. A little scary on the busier streets, but I held my own. I think I need a pink one of my very own. Wonder if the kids would ride in a side car? Kidding. Not the safest thing for them. We did pick up a bike trailer at a garage sale this week. Needed a little mending that Marc easily eventually completed. I had been wanting one that Costco is selling, and this one was a steal! It can be used as a stroller as well. We picked up a helmet for Sid and can't wait to get out and use it!! I did take them out for a walk and used it as a stroller. I put the handle on thinking that it 'clicked' into place and as I pushed them out onto the steep driveway, I was left standing there with the handle in my hand and the stroller speeding into the street!! I caught it half way into the street. THANK GOODNESS there was no traffic! There are pins that hold the handle in. It must have been a sight. I think Lola really liked going that fast as she did not know they were unattended by me. I am still embarrassed to walk outside thinking that my neighbors are still laughing at me or cursing me for being such an irresponsible parent.
I have an escapee...... I better run.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Shaking
I think Reno is known for it's unstable weather. One day it is 80 and the next day it snows. The wind can be pretty intense. It is just something that I have come to accept and love about Reno. Now, the earthquakes. Well, I am not feeling very comfortable with them.
For those that are not in this area, we have been experiencing some seismic activity around here. To quote someone from the paper, it is very 'unnerving.' To think that nature has such a control over an event that could be catastrophic! Nevada is the third highest state for seismic activity. Between some big ones we felt on Thursday and the following afternoon, we had some 150 tremors to follow.
You can miss them if you are driving or walking around or just not paying as close of attention that I devote to it. Sometimes it is probably my imagination as well. And to sound like I sit on my rear all the time, I have felt a number of substantial quakes in the past few days. One that made me run in to Sid's room while he was napping. Yep, he was sounds asleep. Last night Marc and I were awoken from slumber by a 4.7. Marc went for Sid and I went for Lola, who was sitting up wondering what the heck was going on as books were toppling from her bookshelf. She came back to bed with us. I reluctantly put Sid back in his crib and then laid awake to feel a couple more good sized ones and wonder if I could move away until after it settles. Or maybe it is just something I have taken notice to.
So, I will accept that it could happen and that is that. But I don't like it and I still think that I feel them all the time. In fact...is that a little rumble now?? Maybe just Cina walking by.
Time for anti-anxiety meds and an updated homeowners insurance policy that covers earthquakes.
For those that are not in this area, we have been experiencing some seismic activity around here. To quote someone from the paper, it is very 'unnerving.' To think that nature has such a control over an event that could be catastrophic! Nevada is the third highest state for seismic activity. Between some big ones we felt on Thursday and the following afternoon, we had some 150 tremors to follow.
You can miss them if you are driving or walking around or just not paying as close of attention that I devote to it. Sometimes it is probably my imagination as well. And to sound like I sit on my rear all the time, I have felt a number of substantial quakes in the past few days. One that made me run in to Sid's room while he was napping. Yep, he was sounds asleep. Last night Marc and I were awoken from slumber by a 4.7. Marc went for Sid and I went for Lola, who was sitting up wondering what the heck was going on as books were toppling from her bookshelf. She came back to bed with us. I reluctantly put Sid back in his crib and then laid awake to feel a couple more good sized ones and wonder if I could move away until after it settles. Or maybe it is just something I have taken notice to.
So, I will accept that it could happen and that is that. But I don't like it and I still think that I feel them all the time. In fact...is that a little rumble now?? Maybe just Cina walking by.
Time for anti-anxiety meds and an updated homeowners insurance policy that covers earthquakes.
Genes
When people look at Lola they always say she looks like Marc.... and me. The big eyes and eyelashes come from Marc and the color may be from me (or Nana). Sid looks like Lola, but has his differences. Then my mom brought me this photo. I can't believe how much he looks like I did.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Happy Earth Day
Just a few minutes to catch up before heading to work, seems like lots to talk about here.
First, off it's sort of spring birthday season around here. Happy birthday to Lola's Nana today, and last Friday to Morgan. Had a nice little gathering Friday night here, followed by dinner out at Lulou's on Saturday night. Quite delicious, quite expensive. I celebrated Morgan's birthday by paying a visit to Reno's first microbrewery, then picked up ingredients for a honey wheat beer I'm planning to brew and rhizomes to plant some hops out back.
Also speaking of birthdays, I just heard from an old friend (Bret for you out there who might remember him), announcing the birth of his daughter Evalina on Saturday night. Congrats to Bret and his wife, welcome to Evalina.
In a recent spate of eco-activity around here, partially Earth Day inspired, partially coincidental, we've been purging some plastics around here to avoid bisphenol-A, and I've been ballparking solar systems. Sort of dismayed to realize that just to offset about half of our electric consumption with solar, we're looking at probably close to $20,000 up front, even after generous rebates. So I dunno if that's going to happen. Might start with solar water heating.
Two final brief blurbs and then I'm out:
Sidney has two new teeth coming in. Yay for teeth, but boo on the accompanying crankiness and how bad it makes him feel. :-(
Recent movies seen: No Country for Old Men - excellent, violent, tense, really enjoyed. Juno - Excellent in all respects, story, characters, music, dialogue. Totally loved it.
First, off it's sort of spring birthday season around here. Happy birthday to Lola's Nana today, and last Friday to Morgan. Had a nice little gathering Friday night here, followed by dinner out at Lulou's on Saturday night. Quite delicious, quite expensive. I celebrated Morgan's birthday by paying a visit to Reno's first microbrewery, then picked up ingredients for a honey wheat beer I'm planning to brew and rhizomes to plant some hops out back.
Also speaking of birthdays, I just heard from an old friend (Bret for you out there who might remember him), announcing the birth of his daughter Evalina on Saturday night. Congrats to Bret and his wife, welcome to Evalina.
In a recent spate of eco-activity around here, partially Earth Day inspired, partially coincidental, we've been purging some plastics around here to avoid bisphenol-A, and I've been ballparking solar systems. Sort of dismayed to realize that just to offset about half of our electric consumption with solar, we're looking at probably close to $20,000 up front, even after generous rebates. So I dunno if that's going to happen. Might start with solar water heating.
Two final brief blurbs and then I'm out:
Sidney has two new teeth coming in. Yay for teeth, but boo on the accompanying crankiness and how bad it makes him feel. :-(
Recent movies seen: No Country for Old Men - excellent, violent, tense, really enjoyed. Juno - Excellent in all respects, story, characters, music, dialogue. Totally loved it.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Spring in Reno
Apocalyptic windstorms and
snow on the tulips. Welcome to Spring in Reno.
Bonus this morning: a little earthquake
snow on the tulips. Welcome to Spring in Reno.
Bonus this morning: a little earthquake
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Calamitous Camping
I was going to head to Portland for my birthday this weekend even taking Sunday off. It was to be a little escape for Momma for less than 49 hours. Plans fell through. I decided that I wanted to so something, as I did not want us to be sitting here on Saturday or Sunday wondering what we should do after the day has already passed.
I decided since the weather was nice, we should go camping. Good weather, break in the Eurovan, and we could take Cina. Marc grabbed a California Camping book from the library ( I won't even link to it so as to not waste your time.) And he chose a camp site fairly close near Colfax. It was rated as one of the writer's favorites.
We packed up. Sleeping bags, cooking necessities, food, diapers, chairs, and more all filled the van. It was a beautiful day. Sid got a nap the whole way there and Lola was beyond excited for camping. Even Cina was delighted as she gazed out the window of the van.
It only took us about an hour and a half to get there. After a very narrow, winding road we were in a canyon next to the North Fork of the American River. It was very beautiful. We pulled in. Finally, after some confusion, found our site. The first problem was that our table and fire pit were on one side of the road and van parked on the other. This would be fine, except we were sleeping in our van and all traffic (mainly a lot of foot traffic) went right through our camp. I don't think this site would be appropriate for even for tent sleepers as there was no good place for a tent. We had a toilet pit close that was infested with bugs until the maintenance crew came by and sprayed it out. But Lola refused to use it, even after clean up. She had to go a number of times and took it upon herself to just start peeing near the big rocks at our site.
We set up, ate, and then decided to take a hike down to the river. Off we went down a dirt path and then right into rugged, rocky terrain. Huge rocks to try and maneuver over with dog, toddler and baby on my back. Not fun and we couldn't get very far. So we headed to the other side of the campsite. This is where there were kayakers and rafters getting in and out of the water on a very small beach type area. We headed over a bridge and it ended into the road we had come in on. We couldn't hike in the other directions as we were were in a very deep canyon with very steep sides. So we headed back into camp.
I asked Marc what time it was thinking somewhere around 3pm. Nope. 1:30. We had been there only a little over an hour and had seen all we could really see. Ugh. Two young kids - one that needed another nap shortly and the other who took to greeting everyone that trekked by. It was......well, boring. It would have been great to have been able to go further on a walk or hike or at least an area where you could get near the water. Nope. Nothing. Marc and I chatted about the idea of leaving, but we had put some time into getting ready. Did we really want to pack it all up and head home? We thought we could stick it out.
I got Sid to sleep and put him in the camper across the road. Lola and I headed down to try and find some better vantage points to get to the water. It was still very rocky and I wouldn't even let her hand go for a second fearing she would fall in. As we walked back to camp, some Indian type drumming started from the other end of camp. Loud drumming and chanting. We got back just in time to see Sid being extracted from the van after a very short 15 minute nap. Then I asked what time it was....again.
I love life. I like free time. I do not like the idea of wasting time or wishing it by. It really had come to a point of waiting to make dinner, start a fire and go to bed which were all hours away.
It was time to go home. I was ready. I felt defeated. Weird banging, boredom and aggravation of nowhere to go.
We were home by 6pm. it was still fun, just not a good place to take the kiddies. We were tired. We cooked our intended camping dinner on the electric stove and the grill. Even cooked our intended breakfast on the very same stove!
I am in no way giving up on camping. I am looking forward to doing a lot of it this summer. It just will require a bit more investigation.
I decided since the weather was nice, we should go camping. Good weather, break in the Eurovan, and we could take Cina. Marc grabbed a California Camping book from the library ( I won't even link to it so as to not waste your time.) And he chose a camp site fairly close near Colfax. It was rated as one of the writer's favorites.
We packed up. Sleeping bags, cooking necessities, food, diapers, chairs, and more all filled the van. It was a beautiful day. Sid got a nap the whole way there and Lola was beyond excited for camping. Even Cina was delighted as she gazed out the window of the van.
It only took us about an hour and a half to get there. After a very narrow, winding road we were in a canyon next to the North Fork of the American River. It was very beautiful. We pulled in. Finally, after some confusion, found our site. The first problem was that our table and fire pit were on one side of the road and van parked on the other. This would be fine, except we were sleeping in our van and all traffic (mainly a lot of foot traffic) went right through our camp. I don't think this site would be appropriate for even for tent sleepers as there was no good place for a tent. We had a toilet pit close that was infested with bugs until the maintenance crew came by and sprayed it out. But Lola refused to use it, even after clean up. She had to go a number of times and took it upon herself to just start peeing near the big rocks at our site.
We set up, ate, and then decided to take a hike down to the river. Off we went down a dirt path and then right into rugged, rocky terrain. Huge rocks to try and maneuver over with dog, toddler and baby on my back. Not fun and we couldn't get very far. So we headed to the other side of the campsite. This is where there were kayakers and rafters getting in and out of the water on a very small beach type area. We headed over a bridge and it ended into the road we had come in on. We couldn't hike in the other directions as we were were in a very deep canyon with very steep sides. So we headed back into camp.
I asked Marc what time it was thinking somewhere around 3pm. Nope. 1:30. We had been there only a little over an hour and had seen all we could really see. Ugh. Two young kids - one that needed another nap shortly and the other who took to greeting everyone that trekked by. It was......well, boring. It would have been great to have been able to go further on a walk or hike or at least an area where you could get near the water. Nope. Nothing. Marc and I chatted about the idea of leaving, but we had put some time into getting ready. Did we really want to pack it all up and head home? We thought we could stick it out.
I got Sid to sleep and put him in the camper across the road. Lola and I headed down to try and find some better vantage points to get to the water. It was still very rocky and I wouldn't even let her hand go for a second fearing she would fall in. As we walked back to camp, some Indian type drumming started from the other end of camp. Loud drumming and chanting. We got back just in time to see Sid being extracted from the van after a very short 15 minute nap. Then I asked what time it was....again.
I love life. I like free time. I do not like the idea of wasting time or wishing it by. It really had come to a point of waiting to make dinner, start a fire and go to bed which were all hours away.
It was time to go home. I was ready. I felt defeated. Weird banging, boredom and aggravation of nowhere to go.
We were home by 6pm. it was still fun, just not a good place to take the kiddies. We were tired. We cooked our intended camping dinner on the electric stove and the grill. Even cooked our intended breakfast on the very same stove!
I am in no way giving up on camping. I am looking forward to doing a lot of it this summer. It just will require a bit more investigation.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Downs and ups
Wanted to post this yesterday when, it seemed, the world was so full of bad things I felt compelled to document it. Things aren't as bad right now ~ I'm on the back deck with a cold hefeweizen, thinking about what I need to do for a brief camping outing this weekend. Since we're working folks, and need to be back on Monday, a quick jaunt over the hill to a campground near Auburn should whet our appetite for outdoor life for the season.
But yesterday, it seemed the future was pretty dark. Just enough thoughts coming in that made me really pessimistic about our future as a species. Consider:
So, that's all. Almost time for dinner and I've still got to dig out camping gear in the garage. If you haven't seen it yet, check out my letter to the editor.
But yesterday, it seemed the future was pretty dark. Just enough thoughts coming in that made me really pessimistic about our future as a species. Consider:
- The Tibet/China situation
- Plastic water bottles - Take your pick, filling up landfills or poisoning you, and that's besides the oil consumption to make them.
- The economy - and by extension, gas prices, beer prices, unemployment, etc.
- Energy drinks - Had a drug/alcohol awareness class. Absurd amount of caffeine, and kids drink 'em like soda. I hope by the time Lola and Sid get to that age, they'll be off the market.
- The end of the Internet
So, that's all. Almost time for dinner and I've still got to dig out camping gear in the garage. If you haven't seen it yet, check out my letter to the editor.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Updates and such
I'm posting this pre-upgrade to the Wordpress software that runs this site, just in case I break everything horribly. If you can read this tomorrow, I've probably been successful. That, or I ran out of time.
Mostly just decided that it's been a shamefully long time since I added any photos, so we now have Easter photos, a few photos from Utopias night, a new Sid video on his page, a new Lola video on her page, and new photos in Sid and Lola's albums, respectively. Whew. Lots of uploading today.
It's been sick time around here lately, first Lola's cold, then Morgan's cold and stomach issues, now Sid's cold and my stomach issues. Nobody bad enough for professional care, just enough to feel crummy. Still, it's getting easier to feel better as the weather gradually turns more spring-like. Another sign of spring: the nest out on our back deck that has been here since we moved in has been re-habitated, they're adding on with more detritus, and looks like we might have eggs and baby birds before long.
Aside from that, I just have a few random tidbits to scatter to you, o faithful readers.....
That's all for now. Upgrade time. Fingers crossing....NOW.
Mostly just decided that it's been a shamefully long time since I added any photos, so we now have Easter photos, a few photos from Utopias night, a new Sid video on his page, a new Lola video on her page, and new photos in Sid and Lola's albums, respectively. Whew. Lots of uploading today.
It's been sick time around here lately, first Lola's cold, then Morgan's cold and stomach issues, now Sid's cold and my stomach issues. Nobody bad enough for professional care, just enough to feel crummy. Still, it's getting easier to feel better as the weather gradually turns more spring-like. Another sign of spring: the nest out on our back deck that has been here since we moved in has been re-habitated, they're adding on with more detritus, and looks like we might have eggs and baby birds before long.
Aside from that, I just have a few random tidbits to scatter to you, o faithful readers.....
- New brewery coming to town. Excellent. In other beer news, still expensive.
- Latest online game obsession pairs well with my sweepstakes obsession. Register for the sweepstakes, then Clear the Skies. Also found this fun little game today, perfect for me. I hate overly complicated games that take forever to finish. In case it's not clear, you have to burn the rope.
- And lastly, I've been thinking about emergency preparation lately, partially due to hearing a speaker from the County department that plans for such things, partially due to recent earthquakes and murmurs over the possible impending big one. So one of my goals for the future is being ready for disaster.
That's all for now. Upgrade time. Fingers crossing....NOW.
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