Good for you food can be tasty, too

Last night, J and I went with his visiting Aunt to Tasteology - a new restaurant in Rochester. (They're going to start cooking classes soon, which I'll have to check out)

Tasteology's thing is "healthy menu items from all over the world". Entrees are under 500 calories - made from local, usually organic, produce. Excellent in theory, but what about taste? Would 500 calories satisfy? When it's done smartly, it not only satisfies, it delights!

We started out with Mexican Hot Chocolate, which probably had more calories than dinner, but was so tasty and perfect for the bitter cold that I didn't care. I got a turkey, honey yam, spicy cranberry sauce roti wrap, which came with greens and a small side salad. For desert, I had a "Petit Pleasure" - apple and cranberry with a bit of oaty cookie in the middle.
Excellent. Can't wait to go back and try more. Service was also great and it has a simple, clean decor which has a friendly, healthy feel.

Quick book update:
Book #1 - The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde. A short, highly amusing tale of what happens when a wizened British aristocratic haunt encounters a "modern" American family. Quite fun.

Book #2 - The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City by Jennifer Toth. I've long been fascinated by people who live differently and the thought of lives lead in secret corners has always been intriguing and one I've enjoyed in Neverwhere and other fictional accounts. Mole People is the first of a few books I have on actual underground societies. I loved the documentary work Toth did - found the vignettes of communities and individuals fascinating. When she tries to tie in historical and literary references, she bounces around and gets a bit mired, but luckily that's only a small portion of the book. A "wow" ending, too.

Happy!

you know the rest....
Christmas was fun, as always. And the boys, though they don't blog about it, are doing well in their various endeavors. Dan played with Nik and the Nice Guys at Turning Stone for New Year's and I heard a part of a discussion about Nik (the group) playing with Three Dog Night at Seneca Niagara this month....
(Dan can post to correct me if I'm wrong)
Sonny continues to get acclaim for his art.

By the end of 2007, I had 4 more books for my list:
#25 - The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger. A book club book that we haven't met on yet, but I can pretty much sum it up with "meh".
#26 - The End of the Affair by Graham Greene. This was pretty good, although I didn't get much deep out of it, it was well done.
#27 - The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. Quoted at our wedding, I needed to check this out for the first time.
#28 - Zenzele: A letter for my daughter by J. Nozipo Maraire. A striking look at the heritage a mother from Zimbabwe wants to pass on to her daughter studying at Harvard. Extremely well written - so much so that I often had to remind myself it was a novelization. Compelling insider's perspective on life, the struggle for independence, and strength.

2007 closes having been quite a year. Looking back, I've made some significant career discoveries and progress. I traveled quite a bit. J is going back to school with a vision of what he wants to do. We've radically changed our eating habits from nearly all meat to mindful meat-eating, but largely veggies and grains. We're endeavoring to be more green and sustainable. I made several cool craft things - will blog about holiday crafts later this week.

So, I launch into 2008 hoping to finish a couple of books in the next few days and once more shooting for 50. Here are some of the other thoughts I have for the new year:
- be better organized - at least keep piles from proliferating
- bake more
- get back into shape (of course)
- play more
- craft more
- stress less
- continue to explore ways of re-using everyday items and ways to use what I can grow myself
I could go on, but I might start to get worried about being able to keep it up.

Happy 2008 - best wishes all.

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas morning. Early. I am definitively not a morning person, but something about Christmas rouses the kid in me. I cannot sleep. Especially when J isn't around. Especially when I overnight at my parent's Christmas eve. I started waking today at 4 and finally got up to grab my stocking and turn on the coffeepot just before 6. 5am is usually an especially evil hour. (J returned to our house to mind our cats overnight - we'll be meeting him at Danny's later this morning)

It's not really about opening stockings and gifts, seeing what has been put under the tree in the few hours I've been in my room. Because that's cool, but not the be all. It's a happy, exciting day, full of good things, family, good fun, and goofy moments. I'll blog later about what the day itself brings.

To Sonny in Rhode Island and all others out there - may today bring you the peace and simple happiness that keeps me from sleeping in this morning.

And here's a pic from downtown Springfield,VT - J's hometown and the "hometown of the Simpsons" - host of The Simpsons Movie's world premiere.

J and i are in vermont celebrating xmas w his family
ape

Anniversary 2, books, now in LA

So, the Saturday of anniversary weekend we also ate at Bamba Bistro. Marvelous food, thoughtfully prepared - elegantly presented and the perfect portion size. Great service. My favorite part, though, were the architectural elements of the interior. You enter to a dim hallway with a grand stair in gorgeous wood that you can smell. The main dining room has lovely vaulted ceilings. Very very cool.

Finishing a bunch of books lately - here's the latest:
Book #21 - My So Called Digital Life, a project coordinated by Bob Pletka. I hope to publish a post on 1000Words with my detailed impressions.

Book #22 - Blink: The power of thinking without thinking by Malcolm Gladwell. I found this fascinating. The case studies are great, though the war games case made me quite angry. Although Gladwell does discount much of the traditional aspects of my job - standard survey research - I'm not upset. Because I see the issues and it strengthens my determination to discover techniques to get around these issues.

Book #23 - Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Powerful. Makes me want to read Brave New World again. Scary in some of things that are very eerily spot on. Scary to someone who loves books.....

Book #24 - Stardust by Neil Gaiman. I loved the movie. I loved the book. There were elements of each I would have liked to have seen explored in the other (Captain Shakespeare's quirks, the little hairy fellow), but much of it tracked and it was very fun and refreshing to read. Love the concept of a village guarding a gap between our world and Faerie. Wouldn't mind visiting the Market myself....

Have to go finish work things and get to sleep. LA awaits!

Anniversary weekend - part 1 of 2

One year! Wow, it's gone fast. We still need to get from 53 to 20 pics for the formal album and choose what to frame and get them hung! But it's been a very good year. J had a ton of homework (he's back in school full-time) that kept us from retreating (will have to do that some other, random time) - and I had an insidious cold that kept me from being very active. We still had fun.

Saturday afternoon we stopped by Designed Elegance to pick up our anniversary topper.

They recently opened a new storefront and we were thrilled to hear that business is booming. We were easily lured in by rugelach (with really good quality cinnamon) and butter cookies with fruit topping, by tartlets and pastries. Oh, and they have cupcakes.

It was good to visit with Jon, the owner, although he was busy crafting marvelous cakes. It's worth a special visit to Spencerport - our cake top was incredible and will keep me happily sugared for a few more days!

Yesterday was National Chocolate Milkshake Day

Since I'm late telling you, I hereby declare an extension to the "holiday" and give you permission to indulge today, instead.



Knowing this yesterday, I felt like I had to stop at my favorite ice cream shop, I Scream for an awesome chocolate malted shake.

We're friends with Justin, the owner, and he knows we like to try new things. Last night, he gave me a sample that made my legs turn to jelly - carmelized sugar ice cream. Imagine - take the best part of creme brulee, make it cold, smooth, and a whole bowl full (which I had to buy after the sample)! Incredible!

Books and books

My summer reading:

Book #16 - Ghost by Piers Anthony. Another re-read from high school, another book that made me realize why I didn't remember it - there was little substance to it.

Book #17 - Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. An excellent study, exceptionally well written. J loves the simplicity of the language so much that he's reread his favorite quote several times and wants to contemplate it before moving on:
"Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board."
I loved the use of language to convey the culture in black Florida in the 20's-30's. Janie's exploration of identity, of who she really is and how that is best expressed, is very revealing, as is her realization that a lot of her life was spent living the life others wanted for themselves, but that it wasn't what she wanted. My 2 favorite quotes:
"Her voice began snagging on the prongs of her feelings." - so visual and tactile!
"Love is lak de sea. It's uh movin' thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from de shore it meets, and it's different with every shore."

Book #18 - In the Devil's Snare: The Salem witchcraft crisis of 1692 by Mary Beth Norton. A very interesting study that delves deeper than court transcripts and thus uncovers patterns others have overlooked - most notably the connection of many participants (accusers, confessors, accused, and judges/ jurors) to the Maine frontier and the Indian wars of the late 1600's. The conclusion is a great summary, though, and reading it covers the majority of the book if you don't need massive details on who accused who and had what spectres appear to them, etc.

Book #19 - Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams. The first half of this book made it very hard for me to keep reading. I really didn't see a story or a point to it and kept forgetting who people were and what was happening to them. After the halfway mark, it starts to pull together and actually becomes fairly compelling, even though not supremely deep and kind of typical.

Book #20 - Mysterious Marie Laveau, Voodoo Queen, and Folk Tales along the Mississippi, by Raymond J Martinez. I thought this would be an interesting collection of folk tales from New Orleans, but it spends too much space talking about how folk tales get the facts way wrong and didn't get into nearly enough good gritty stories.

San Diego eats and then I can move on

Lots to catch up on - Sonny's visit, birthday fun, roofing, books.... but I HAVE to finish San Diego!

San Diego eats:

• In-N-Out Burger - fast food, yes, but excellent service even at the drive-through at midnight. Excellent shake.
• Victor's Greek - A little place walking distance to the office - good tasty gyros meat.
• Jake's - On Del Mar Beach, we watched beach volleyball and surfers as we ate. I could sit and watch the water for a very, very long time. Excellent HOT rolls and Mahi Mahi wit a mirin glaze, ginger buerre blanc, and sweet chili sauce - oooh, and mini-squash - so cute!
• Jamba - Couldn't pass it up! Had a Mega Mango (all fruit) with an energy boost. Great start to a busy work day.
• Spices Thai - Spicy spicy noodles, but they brought the check before I could get mango and sweet rice - my fave Thai dessert.
• Cafe Luna - Excellent small Italian joint. My waiter was from south of Syracuse, of all places, and knew the author I was reading. Chocotini made from a rice wine - very tasty. An incredible, simple mushroom soup. Manicotti with pasta made crepe style - excellent and light, but simply too much for my belly.

San Diego thoughts

From my San Diego journal:
Wondering if I'll ever spend a full day awake [ie alert], or rather how long it will take me. Not much time for sights, working in a burb-like area. Did get to Chuao Chocolates. Very friendly lady tending shop and so many yummy options. Samples of dark, spicy hot chocolate and truffles (I chose goat cheese, balsalmic vinegar)made it an extra treat and I think the local members of our team may be hooked. [The nutmeg pods are incredible!]

I love driving towards downtown San Diego on the 163 (I think), where the expressway is engulfed by trees and you drive around curves and under high, elegant arches of overpasses. I feel transported from the greater desert scrub and suburban plaza atmosphere into a forest realm.

Rounding out the SF portion of the trip

Returning to SF via the Bay Bridge from Emeryville was a traffic revelation for my East Coast, country-raised self. 16 lanes of traffic emerge from the toll booths in one direction. To narrow these to 4, there's a metering light system that lets one car through at a time for each pair of lanes. I thought this was quite brillant. I guess it's a standard type of system in CA.

Treasure Island is halfway across the bay. I need to look up how it got its name. It's very lush and looks like it could be a park area.

In SF itself, the narrow, boxy house roll over the hills in shades of white, yellow, peach, and pink.

Good SF eats this time:
- Scala's Bistro - dark & calming, though bustling, pretty good food.
- Crepe o chocolat - a small French cafe, frequented by locals for $1 coffee refills - marvellous crepe and homemade honey chai.

An evening at the movies...

So, last night I went to see Stardust. It was a blast! Such an awesome flick that garnered tons of audience response, which is tres cool. As a big Neil Gaiman fan and reader of his blog, I've been following the work on the creation of this film (though I still need to get the book and read it). Jenny was a bit disturbed by all of the rabbit people had hanging around for food, but otherwise also really enjoyed it. Stellar work. Loved the cast - Charlie Cox and Claire Danes are very cool, DeNiro is awesome, Pfeiffer is great. I highly recommend watching this many many times. Definitely appreciate that a fireplace fell on Claudia Schiffer's foot to get this to the big screen, though it would have been nice if it could have happened less painfully.

Sonny went to see "Speedy" - a silent film from the 1920's, accompanied by a live trio. Very cool.

BTW - the boys are busy, too

artscape sonny
Originally uploaded by cw_roelle


Sonny had a booth at ArtScape in Baltimore and is busy busy making cooler and cooler stuff. (He and Pam will be visiting us around my birthday - cool!)

Danny is insanely busy in, like, 10 bands or something like that. I believe he plays a private party in Cambridge today, breakfast with Sonny tomorrow am, then a gig in Herkimer, NY. In addition to all of the bands, he still has his "normal" job and he's cooking at Buffalo Bills many weekends. It tires me out just to look at his calendar!

More from San Francisco

Flying into SF, I noticed how unmarred the mountains appeared, hardly even marked by roads, at least from the perspective of the plane. Just as I was thinking this, we passed over one "hill" with a hole on the top. Rectangular, it resembled the shape of a swimming pool (though that would be quite a large pool), but was a deep, empty cavity. Wonder what's in there?

The San Francisco MOMA is very cool and the store is great. I'd spend more time there if I had it (meeting someone soon) and if there was someone with me to talk to. Walking from the MOMA to the Hotel Nikko, I passed the Museum of Craft & Folk Art - a place it seemed Jenny and Sonny would really appreciate.

Walked through IKEA in Emeryville - what a cool place! Lots of neat things and I like the "example" rooms that lay things out. Spurred lots of ideas, but I knew I had no room in my luggage (trying not to check anything) for anything. Only afterwards did people suggest I could have something shipped from the office. Darn!

On my trip, I wrote in a journal

because the time I spent online was pretty heavily dedicated to work. Heck, the time I was awake was pretty heavily dedicated to work.

Book #15: Emotional Design: Why we love (or hate) everyday things by Donald A. Norman - Interesting book but not one I could plow through on a plane. Had to take breaks. A lot of it rings true and speaks to struggles I face in some issues at work. Liked this:

"For once you have learned how to look at, listen to, & analyze what is before you, you realize that the experience is every changing. The pleasure is forever."

This entire trip has been so fast, busy, and exhausting that I haven't had a chance to write anything until now, as I sit on the plane headed home. So most of this will be highlights.

San Francisco overall:
A very cool, pretty city. Condensed into a small amount of space. Old structures and character abound. Unfortunate, though, that the sanitation system is not that great. Even locals complain about the lack of trash cans on the streets, which means there's a lot of litter. In the core of downtown, it's noisy at all hours, with the cable car (you know the Rice-a-Roni kind) system clacking and humming and jackhammers buzzing at construction work late into the night.

It's the thought that counts

I had to post this piece, originally from The Consumerist, which I found on Living Light Bulbs.

I was flying from Massachusetts to New Jersey on Continental Airlines on this past week. There was terrible weather over New Jersey and while the plane took off on time, a half-hour in to the 47 minute flight we ended up circling over southern Connecticut. After a number of "we'll only be holding here for a few minutes" updates, an hour had elapsed and the pilot told us that the storm that held us up was making it impossible to get to New Jersey and that they didn't have enough fuel to get back to Massachusetts. We were diverted to a remote airstrip and were told that we'd just refuel and then get to New Jersey.

Of course, the "30 minute refuel" turned into 2 hours stuck on the tarmac at this airstrip because the storm came right through our location.

At this point we'd been on the plane for 4+ hours and despite some individual heavy sighs, most people were still pretty pleasant. We were all blown away when the flight attendant came on the PA and told all of us that they had a surprise: the crew had called in an order for pizza and had 10 pizzas delivered to the plane. They also told us not to write into Continental about this because "they'd get in trouble".

It turns out that the pilot paid for the pizza out of his/her pocket! It was a remarkable gesture, and what I found really terrible was that the crew felt that they'd get in trouble with the airline for being so thoughtful, generous, and kind to the passengers.

As I think about the experience trying to get home from San Francisco - sleeping in the airport, eating at the place closest to the gate so as not to miss anything - I wish United would take note of this story. Yes, they gave us food vouchers. But think about how we would have felt - as we stood in endless customer service lines waiting for flights to be fixed, if someone had come out with pizza, or even coffee. If just one of the people busy giving us excuses had stopped to give us a little something to show they recognized we were people and could use a break. I'd be much happier about flying with United in the future, that's for sure.

Happy Fourth

J and I were recently inspired to more actively use our sunroom. Prior to this decision, the room was closed off most of the time, to keep cats out of orchids, and it was mainly a plant growing space and housed the tree at Christmas.

Now, we've moved our small dining table in, to prepare the dining room for the one we plan to build, and we've made the sunroom into a cozy space, almost a garden annex of sorts. Great for breakfast, for the cats to watch the birds, bunnies, and squirrels, and for us to be creative together.




Book #14: Deryni Magic by Katherine Kurtz. As a kid in high school, and partly into college, I loved the Deryni novels. They were one of my favorite fantasy series. I haven't read one that I remember in quite a while, however, and it was with a somewhat different perspective that I approached this book. That said, this book does not intend to be a fantasy novel, but rather a depth analysis of the magic of the Deryni race. I'm afraid it takes itself way too seriously, approaching the subject like it's a scientific thesis. Saying things like "we do not know why" so-and-so did something or "we don't have any records of what happened in his past". Sorry, but the lady wrote the stuff and created the characters - if it's not already written - make it up! The attitude of this book actually makes me question how much I really want to keep the series in a favored spot. I think these books may head to the Camel Library soon.

Air travel in this country is seriously messed.
ape

OK, Rochester - here's 2 for you!

Danny will be playing in 2 gigs this weekend -

Friday - June 29 - Ghost Hand (check out the vid here, but warning, it's over 20 minutes long) - will be playing at Mickey Flynn's from 10-2.

Saturday - June 30 - Powhite Parkway - playing at Buffalo Bill's in Shortsville at 10.

Internet access - how nice!

No pics, sorry

I'm on a dial-up connection. No way this beast will let me upload pics tonight. Will after I get back, on Friday.

The first day in SF - wonderful meal at Scoma's on Fisherman's Wharf. Walked along the Wharf to Pier 39. Saw the Golden Gate from the distance, and Alcatraz, and some iconic SF buildings. Saw sea lions. Got very cold. Very tired now.

Perhaps more tomorrow, maybe just a quick one from my phone.

San Francisco

Hey - I'm headed to San Francisco for a day and a half (arriving 2ish tomorrow, leaving late Thursday night). Traveling with others for business, so I'm not sure what time I'll have, but any suggestions are welcome (thanks, Jenny for your list!).

I had some pics and a possible Danny music video that I'll post, along with the first stage of the trip, from the hotel tomorrow night.

Hey, Providence!

Sentimental Favorites is playing tonight at AS220 - 9pm with Corn Mo and Superchief Trio. Go - it'll be fun!

Other brother news -
- Sunday - 6/10 - Sonny will be doing a couple of songs in The Empire Revue at AS220
- July - Sonny'll be in a big Art Faire in Baltimore (dk details yet)

Dan is currently playing with:
Barnstormers - a cover band
Powhite Parkway - a blues/jazz type trio with guest singers
Nic & the Nice Guys - this is a big organization, Dan is playing various gigs with the different bands
He doesn't always tell his sister about gigs, so you'll just have to keep ears/eyes open.

Enjoy!

Catchup

Rather than keep trickling the books out, I figured I should just get caught up....

Book #10 - Nana by Emile Zola - in French. This one took a while and I may have missed some subtleties wading through Zola's French, but I think I get it. Zola really had a dislike for the "kept women" of Paris or as the US Amazon puts it "hypocrisy and fin-de-siecle moral corruption". I could tell from the footnotes that Zola was trying to denounce Nana and her set, but there are elements in the middle where I started to like her. When she first gets a country home and feels at peace playing house, before her city guests arrived. When she leaves the theatre set to "settle" with a man she believes she loves, though neither of them has much money. It seemed a bit brutal, what Zola put her through during the months she lived with this guy. At the end, there really wasn't a person left in Nana - she wanted more and more and more and hated it when she got it and crumbled into ruin. I'm still not quite sure what I think of her.

Book #11 - Flash Fiction Forward, edited by James Thomas and Robert Shapard. Very very short stories. A range. Some really compelling and moving - leaving you marveling at how they got that much into less than 3 pages. Others seemed very random and made little sense. Neat medium, though.

Book #12 - Manga Claus: The Blade of Kringle written by Nathaniel Marunas, illustrated by Erik Craddock. An amusing break/ distraction.

Book #13 - Lavondyss by Robert Holdstock. Most excellent. I think I did enjoy it more than Mythago Wood, the first in the series. Did it help that the main character was a chic? Probably. Rhyope Wood is a mystical place, larger inside than its perimeter would indicate, where time warps, and the land itself and the creatures within it emerge from myths buried in the collective unconscious of those who cross its threshold. Fascinating, and I loved Tallis' story. It got very circular at the end, though, and left me a little undecided on how I felt about its conclusion. Neater would have been easier - but would it be as likely to stick with me??

I love this time of year!

I actually love pretty much late April thru to early November - the time when things are growing and alive. Just got back from a very comprehensive search of the garden store - didn't find everything I wanted, but got some good substitutes, I think. Now, to plant it all!

Oh, and I love having some time off of work!

Book #9: The Incredible Hulk: Boiling Point by Bruce Jones. For me, who grew up with Bill Bixby and Lou Farigno, the graphic novels always take a bit of adjusting to. Why did they change Banner's name for TV?? But it's still the Hulk and he's still awesome.

Moments of childishness = happiness reborn

I fully believe that if I were to have superhero powers, I would be able to fly. My "theme song" - and one of the few "other" songs that I danced to at my wedding is the Me First and the Gimme Gimmes version of "I believe I can fly". It never ceases to cheer me up, shake me out of whatever stress I'm in, motivate me to get into kickbutt shape, etc.

For years, flying has permeated my dreams. Sometimes I zip and zoom, sometimes I soar, sometimes I have to start with swimming through the air, just skimming the treetops, before I pick up speed and get free. It helps me save people, escape bad guys, ghosts, evil houses. It's also a huge rush - the sensation of loosing the bonds of gravity and bathing in fresh air and nature's bounty (I'm never flying in smog or the like). Unlike Nathan on Heroes, who when he actually gets over his bugaboos and actually flies, seems to more about getting from A to B (or just away from A) as fast as possible - this is exhilarating.

A blog I recently found Ghost Stories, had an entry about flying dreams.

Flying dreams can be interpreted in a number of ways. In general they can be seen as representing your spirit rising high, free from limitations or boundaries. A dream in which you can fly suggests that your mind is reaching for new heights, searching for and exploring possibilities that lie beyond the reality of your everyday life. The flying dream often happens when there is an opportunity for advancement in your life and may indicate optimism about your future.

Hmmm - pretty cool.

So, while watching one of the final episodes of Heroes for the season, I found myself revisiting childhood as I went from first floor to attic to watch. I ran through the house, arms wide and tilting back and forth, playing an airplane, or a flying hero. Silly, yes, but can I tell you - it was such a rush!

Catching up on some books I haven't posted about lately:
Book #8: Kissing in Manhattan by David Schickler. We were first intrigued by this because, like George Saunders, he's relatively local and the book got a lot of buzz when it first came out. I found some of this quite quite odd - and not from a surreal or supernatural point of view, but the characters seemed a bit too warped to believe. It was neat the way the stories connected - I would have loved to have learned more about the building that played such a role. And I got very mad at the chicks that put up with the psycho's nonsense and went back for more.

Being green

I'm trying to be more conscious than ever about the impact I'm making on the planet. It's so predominant nowadays that it's almost cliche, but I find it important. I chose my new car partially on MPG, I've started using paper bags for cleaning the litter and canvas totes cover most of our grocery haul. On short trips, I try to turn down bags whenever I remember. I turn off the shower while I shampoo, and leave a window open while showering for better ventilation (hoping that means less mildew cleaning).

bdp5
Originally uploaded by cw_roelle.

sonny's pic
Sonny recently posted on Flickr about spending some time around Earth Day picking up refundables in Providence.

I also found a couple of other suggestions that seem cool -

• Nike's sneaker recycling program makes basketball courts and sports fields out of old shoes. In our area, the dropoff is at the hazardous waste facility near Monroe Community Hospital.
• Ideal Bite is a fun "crunchy chic" blog.
• I'm exploring recycled glass or newspaper countertops (seen on This Old House) and thinking hemp for the new shower curtains in the bath.
  

Recentering

Spring is an awesome time of year, especially when I have the time to actually get into the garden. It's a very meditative practice for me. As annoying as the morning glories and squirrels can be, working with and nurturing the plants, seeing my vision come to life, and knowing that I'll have herbs and veggies to harvest - settles me.

Bell choir in May plays Memorial Day Sunday and our director has chosen a spiritual hymn. They've asked me to sing it a capella to lead in the bells, so I pulled out my flute to pick through the notes and get a feel for it. I haven't played my flute for anything more than picking out a bell rhythm in years and years. After playing with the hymn for a bit, I paged through my old music and played a bit of this and that. I felt recentered. I felt more me than I have in a while. I think I've been caught up in to-do's and projects and chores and piles and have been cheating myself a bit. Evenings when I needed to "come home" from work, I often just watched TV or napped. Now I see that this really didn't help. Got the mind off work a bit, but didn't renew at all. Getting out my flute and singing a bit really brought back a bit of me that had been buried by the vagaries of daily life.

Here's to a great spring of gardening, music, and creative endeavors that should leave us as renewed as nature is around us.

Tidbits

I'm in Huntington Beach now, but too tired to fully blog my first day here. Just a few small notes from the past few days:

• One thing about warmer climes that I do really love - the variety of trees. At home, we have variety, but many look generally the same. Here the trees are very varied - palms and the like, flowering trees, delicate ones, hefty ones. San Diego especially feels lush on the expressway towards downtown for this reason.
• My plane to LA smelled like a gym locker. Good thing the flight was only a 1/2 hour.
• Seen in Del Mar: A two-story plaza. Upstairs there's a Koi shop - selling the exotic garden fish. Downstairs - sushi. Just seems wrong.
• I wish I could capture the smell of the sea at the same time I'm taking pictures and videos and send it back to Mom, who I know loves watching the water as much as I.

Summer rain in March

Last night, a thunderstorm rolled through. It was still pretty light out, as the rain poured down. I went out to get ice for my room and the air smelled of summer rain. In March. How delightful!

The open skies of Southern California make me feel as if I've emerged from beneath the gray wool blanket of winter in the Northeast.

I still don't think I'd move here. Too much expansion, explosion of buildings upon buildings. Limited seasons. I want to go wander in a dark green forest.

Today was a day of excellent meals. Breakfast was a perfect New York Style chocolate chip bagel. Lunch was at Spices Thai Cafe. I had Spicy Thai Noodles with chicken - on a scale of 1-10, I ordered #8. Quite, quite spicy. Maybe I would have eaten a little more or faster if I had ordered a 7 or 6, but I enjoyed the spice of the 8.

Dinner was at Hacienda de Vega, a Mexican restaurant. Had a Mango Mojito Margarita, 4 types of salsa (my favorite was the tomatillo - taste of fresh spring and a spicy surprise), and chicken mole enchiladas. Yummmmmm....


Book #7 - The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. I first read this as a kid. It's definitely worth rereading as an adult. What I recall from my first reading was the way Anne and the others were forced to live in hiding, what they had to give up. What I found so striking as an adult was the self-discovery Anne went through. I'm sure living in such an environment contributes to such introspection, but I found her insightful, nonetheless, and a personality I could identify with. It was almost like reading letters from a close childhood friend.

On to LA tomorrow.

San Diego

I meant to post between trips. I guess I did once. Ah, well. Here we are again. Southern California is warm and pretty sunny, although dealing with some rain. It's good to meet with the team here and get some real sharing and conversations going. There are frustrations, as always, but not too bad.

Had dinner last night at epazote. The marvelous sunset shown here graced us as we waited for entrees. I had grilled swordfish with an orange-honey cumin glaze, some peppers and arugula,and brown rice. Very tasty. And a molten pb-chocolate cake for dessert. :)

I'm up to Book 7, but for now, just blogging Book #6 - The Borden Tragedy by Rick Geary. Geary used a manuscript only discovered in 1990 as a basis for this graphic novel of the murders. After reading the casebook, this brings more supporting evidence to light, but it's striking that after presenting all of this the authoress (who has yet to be firmly identified) still seems to believe Lizzie innocent and an "unknown intruder" guilty. Geary draws comparisons on the back cover to OJ....

More books

I'm taking a trip next week for work. 4 days in San Diego, then 5 in LA. I love traveling, getting out of the routine, going new places. I like staying in hotels every once in a while, provided they have good bath products and a good bed.

I hate leaving home. I know J will really miss me. I'll miss the cats. I feel an excessive need to plan for every potential wardrobe contingency, but don't want to have to carry any bags.
I'm making many lists in my head.

The other part of it is that I'm naturally quite bashful, but really enjoy good people. I know, for the 5 days in LA in particular, I'm going to have to break away from my instinctive hiding in a corner and participate, meet, interact - otherwise I don't get the full benefit of being there.
I almost feel like I need to make a list for that in my head, too. Maybe it'll just come naturally when I get there and I'll discover my tendency isn't towards bashfulness but just pre-show jitters. Doubtful.

I keep in mind - what would a true kick-butt chic do? hmmm ... wwtkbcd.....

back to books -
Book #4 - Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman - I heard of Gaiman when I sat next to a girl at work who had this kinda creepy, but pretty cool, fascination with the Death character from his Sandman comics. I really got interested when I read the first chapter of Neverwhere online and later when I got the book. His blog just makes some of the "magic" behind the work more apparent - so his stuff is that much cooler. Anyway - this was a fun book that read fast (being stuck in an airport helped carve out some time, too). I liked it a lot. I'm always very excited when a book (especially one I'm liking anyway) deals with the power of language and the power of stories (also song here)to mold, create, and shift realities. My one-day thesis if I ever were to do one. Most excellent.

Book #5 - Lizzie Borden -A Casebook of Family and Crime in the 1890s edited by Joyce G. Williams, J. Eric Smithburn, and M. Jeanne Peterson. A much slower read, of course. As a casebook, it deals almost entirely in first-hand accounts - newspaper articles, letters, legal documents, interviews. Some of it gets a bit dry, but I found it fascinating. I wanted to corral the Fall River police and send a modern-day CSI squad in to cement the evidence once and for all. Not only did a whole "village" come through the house immediately after the bodies were discovered, but all the police tried to take credit for finding evidence - making the chain of possession impossible to really figure out - and the family and various hangers-on remained in the house a few weeks between the murders and Lizzie's arrest. Hmm wonder why they never came up with the dress??? No sealed crime scene there. Many other nuances that made this as compelling as a good 48 Hours Mystery episode - the 1 1/2 hour soliloquy that masqueraded as the judge's instructions to the jury - riddled with bias. (Would any sane person really tell a friend she wanted to get rid of her stepmother and then actually do it 2 days later? Common sense says "no". - to paraphrase) The cheer that went up for Lizzie at the acquital and the closing of doors back in Fall River. Anyway - very interesting if you can stand the Victorian newspaper reporting. (Reading a graphic novel version now - we'll see how that goes)

Traveler returns - Book 3

2/15
After 2 days of trying to get home, I finally get here at 11pm.
I came back from 68-degrees and sunshine to a winter wonderland, in white-out conditions, roads still not really plowed, after 21 inches fell at the airport in 24 hours, and temperatures in the single digits at best. But I'm home.The grins and hugs that greeted me are worth so much more than being comfortable outdoors with just a single layer of clothing. ...
I'm home with my husband. I'm home with my boys (though this first night home they seem on edge by my return and spend their time scuffling with each other instead of visting me). I'm home.


Book #3 - The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Really enjoyed this, but don't want to share too many details, as it's a potential for bookclub. I will say - it's not the best book to read while away from your spouse. I cried. And I think Nicolas Cage would be awesome as Henry in a movie version. That's who I pictured while reading it.

Traveler note - Valentine's Day

2/14
I'm sitting in Chicago O'Hare, waiting for a perpetually delayed flight to bring me home from sunny Southern California to upstate NY in the midst of a blizzard.

I moved from a seat near my gate to a spot on the floor near a power outlet for my laptop, with its miserably short battery life. The spot I chose happened to be exactly where someone spilled coffee earlier and my rear is now soaked. I don't look forward to getting up.

A couple passes in the busy corridor. I notice them because she appears to hang off his arm, while he pulls a rolling bag and awkwardly holds a ripped shopping bag. I wonder why she isn't helping him handle their stuff. Hardly have I noticed them, when she tugs his arm, moves in front of him, and knocks off his hat. Their words don't seem too heated. She speaks emotionally, but not loudly. He says little and tries to escape. He veers one way and then another. She pulls at the rollerbag handle, kicks it around, tries to stop him from escaping her hard words. He ducks and shuffles. I catch "incestuous" repeated a couple of times and wonder if I'm letting my imagination make their story more interesting, or if it's simply far beyond my definition of normal. He moves a small distance and sits against the billboard ads on the wall. She sits next to him. A few minutes later, he gets up and walks out of view. She stays. He returns, pacing back and forth, avoiding her, but not willing to lose her in the crowded, weather-delayed terminal. He moves across to a seat on my side of the corridor, she gets up and sits next to him. He then gets up, walks towards me, apparently checking some gate info, then walks out of sight. Time passes. She still sits alone. The shopping bag is no longer discarded on the floor, she must have retrieved it, but as she scoots down to lay across the row of seats, she seems resigned that he isn't coming back soon. When I finally get up to return to my gate (after checking my pants for coffee), she's still there.

Traveler notes - Book 2

Book #2 - Oracle Night by Paul Auster. I really like the idea of a story in a story in a story, but was a bit disappointed that it wasn't explored further. The power and influence of stories and words is another favorite theme of mine, but I felt this turned awry in Oracle Night when, fearing the power of words, things didn't get said at all. The absence of words was destructive and I felt like Auster didn't see what he had done with that. He put much of the backstory into long footnotes and that was a bit annoying. Still, I did enjoy it.

2/13

I am using a bit of time that I would have had before my original flight (now cancelled due to a blizzard) to have my first In-N-Out Burger experience. The regional chain is a mecca – friends of mine who have eaten there make it a destination whenever they’re near one and drool at the thought of travels to a town that might hold one. Mention it in the company of people from the area and their eyes light up. “You have to try. It’s great!” But it’s hard to tell how often they really partake.

I enter the small fast-food place. It looks slightly retro and the kitchen is very open to view. The menu is simple. Burgers with and without cheese, in various numbers of layers, with fries and drinks. I have been informed of “secret” items not listed on the menu, but they seemed more in the realm of a classic Rochester Garbage Plate to me, and weren’t of interest. Everything is customizable, which is good since I don’t normally care for all the stuff piled onto burgers. I order and I’m given a number.

Numbers are called when the order is up. With each order, the counter person calls out “Number [x], please”. Please!

Everything at In-N-Out is made fresh to order. Buns are toasted. Burgers are half wrapped in a napkin and paper wrapper, which makes them easy to eat neatly. Fries are chopped from the potatoes at that moment.

Overall, I found In-N-Out very cool. I wish others would follow the fresh/ polite/ adaptable model. This restaurant was very busy at 3 on a Tuesday – I have to figure they do good business.

Traveler notes

2/12

Southern California. Sun. Mountains tumble into the sea. Deep blue seas curdle white where they pound the beaches. Palm trees line the highways, adorn the towns. Scrub brushes and stunted trees crowd with pale pink rock on the hillsides. The air exudes extravagance. The fast lane. The pampered life, even though that’s not universally true. Spending. Opulence. New. Fancy. But not too obnoxious in the areas I visited. Californians are creatures bound to their vehicles, but the vast majority of drivers are very polite. Signaling lane changes. Leaving plenty of room. Letting you in when you need to get into or cross their lane. The highways are laid out clearly and function well, when accidents or other obstacles don’t cause traffic jams.

I don’t get to spend a lot of time absorbing the area. No time to visit the nearby parks or even the beach. Just a taste and then back to the blizzard back home. More importantly, my husband awaits me there. No place can win me over if he is not there. Not matter how much sun it holds in February.

Radio show

Check out this post from Neil Gaiman that links to a radio show from Penn Jillette. Hear it's funny, I'll listen to it later.

New Year - new focus, kind of

So, I've started the New Year not with resolutions, but a bit of new focus. Well, I had written down some key focal points. Now I seem to have lost them.
Health
Family/ Home
Financial stability
or something like.

I opened the year with a new workout - Shape's bikini body by May workout and that felt so good and productive. I was getting into full swing and....
... caught a chest cold that left me breathless walking to the restroom, let alone doing 30 minutes of cardio 4 days a week.

I'm eagerly awaiting its departure so I can start again.

In the meantime, J bought me a kick-butt chic manual - The Action Heroine's Handbook by Jennifer Worick and Joe Borgenicht. It has step by step instructions on key kick-butt chic maneuvers, like drinking someone under the table, taking a punch, and surviving rooftop chases. Most excellent!

50 books, year 3

For the third time I'll try to get to 50 books read. Since I read a lot of magazines, newspaper articles, and blogs, in addition to picking some pretty meaty books, this has proven hard.

Book #1 for this year: King Lear by William Shakespeare - a reread. It was interesting - I had a feeling for how things would end - it being a Shakespearean tragedy and all, but did get hooked. In the fashion of the books I love, the story lingered in my head as I did other things and I wanted to read just a bit more, just a bit more to find out what happened next. Still not my favorite Shakespeare (and I do need to read several and re-read others) - so far Othello is at the top of my list.

I'm a bad bad blogger

Well, there's been a lot going on! I've resolved to get back into it, though. For my first post of this new year, a bit of reflection...

2006

• Started with a ring! Much of the year was consumed with wedding plans. Though I didn't want to be an obnoxious or psycho bride, we wanted a lot of elements customized for us, our tastes, our theme, so that was a lot of work.
• Besides the joy of getting married - 3 months in this is still an incredibly powerful and emotional thought for us - we got to flex our creativity and personalities in all of those elements. And we got to spend time with friends and family we don't see nearly often enough. That's a huge piece of all of this.
  

• Our first full year with our new kittens - an adventure. Man those cats can eat! They're now on diets and have totally won us over.

• 22 books read. I was planning a wedding you know.

• New jobs for J and myself. The whirlwind that brings.

• The Roelle trip to Maine, unfortunately J couldn't go, but the rest of us had an awesome time!

• Sonny was on TV! Proving that it truly takes talent to master his craft...

• The Tim and Dan show started and is working on finding a singer.

Those are the key highlights that I can think of right now anyway and now I have to run.

Stay tuned in the next day or so for:
- New year - Book 1
- New year - new workout - ouch
- Holiday tidbits and (hopefully) a classic pic!
- *Finally* Honeymoon tidbits
- Other miscellany and trying to strong-arm the brothers into posting more, too....

A bit of catchup

Since we may get some visitors because of the link from Jenny's blog today, I wanted to catch up a bit. Here's some of the latest

Aprille: One month wed and extremely happy. Still need to post about the honeymoon. Up to Book #19 - (17 was South Sea Tales by Jack London,18 was Beauty Tips from Moosejaw by Will Ferguson, 19 was Obernewtyn and the Farseekers by Isobelle Carmody) - will post more on those later.

Sonny: The Craft Lab episode aired yesterday! But for those of you who didn't have a chance to Tivo it, don't worry - it will air again December 8th. Check back to theCraft Lab site for details.
There's a show in Baltimore at Dougherty's Pub in December. Maybe he can post more on that.
Exploring potential business ventures, gigging with The Sentimental Favorites, living the Sonny life. Maybe he can post more on that, too.

Danny: Continues efforts on The Tim and Dan show (looking for a bass player in the Rochester area). Also gigging with Barnstormers, a cover band.
Home renovation is ongoing.

More shortly

Notice

The pro pics of the wedding are up on Jacqui's site! :)

We had a wedding!!!

October was a whirlwind. Luckily, I had a hard-copy journal around when I couldn't get to the blog. Here are a few tidbits about the wedding itself....

The exicitement grew exponentially from the one month mark to the very day. I was all abuzz with nerves, but not nervous. I just couldn't stop grinning.

I don't know if I had mentioned here before how cool it is when vendors tell you they're talking to others about your wedding. At the rehearsal, the President of the museum we used, there for a special opening, asked our coordinator if I was the "bride for the mastodon wedding" - we loved it!
The rehearsal provided a taste of what was to come. So many good people, good minds, and good hearts - in one room - in support of us! We were tickled that so many were absorbed in good conversations. Connections in life are so important and it's extra touching when the people you love connect with each other.

I slept very little in the days before. The night before the girls and I had a sleepover at Mom's - we crashed in the living room so we could doze off while watching a movie. I hope I didn't keep the girlz awake with all my tossing and turning. So much going on!

The day itself was incredible. I grin just thinking of it. The weather was incredible - absolutely perfect. Everything just combined to make it such a stellar experience. Joel and I had trouble when we had to stop holding hands or looking at each other - we were there together above all else. We would blink and whisper "I love you"s and whatnot. Dad had a bit of an outburst that cracked everyone up - but I think he's allowed. Every single element just so summed up the amazing feelings coursing through me. Afterwards, many commented on how unique, interesting, even awesome the ceremony was. How perfectly planned for the two of us. It was incredible.

The reception was a blast! There was little dancing to the playlist so carefully composed over 10 months, but it was OK. People were talking - forging those connections again.
And playing. The museum was perfect! Mom kept remarking on how adults were running around talking about how they tried out this and you had to try that. I didn't get around a ton of the museum - I climbed the rock wall - in my dress! - rode the pulley ride and the sub simulator. I love that snapshots and video come back showing people having fun. Not once did anyone clink a glass for us to kiss - they weren't bored enough! It seemed so short because of it was soo much fun.
Fireworks exploded in the windows above the main reception area - how perfect, just for us! ;)
The museum staff were excellent - they placed our ceremony elements around the cake - so perfect! The chef complimented the music selection - so much better than "typical". The cake was incredible. The food was really good - and it was so cool to see some people trying new foods, too!
I had a grin the size of Montana and all I wanted to do was share it with others....

I had such a marvellous time! It was less a blur than it was surreal. I felt like I was at a marvellous party, that was a ton of fun, in a great dress, with everyone I love. It didn't really, still hasn't fully, processed that it was OUR wedding! It is truly awesome to spend such a hunk of time with nearly everyone I/we/you love. And to feel that coming back to you. And really incredible too when they enjoy each other. We're surround by such wonderful people in our life, supported by so much awesome good will - who wouldn't be beaming?? This is what is so important, so wonderful, about life. People connecting.
To top that with it being the day you blend your life with that of your one true love - I couldn't be happier.

I wrote this while flying to Vancouver - "I'm dirty, my hair is full of old spray, I'm exhausted. My eyes are tired, my throat is dry, my feet hurt. But it's not really there. The warmth in my heart overwhelms it all."

Exactly!!!

We got our proofs for the pro photos last night. Going through them brought that back, just like watching the video had. It was soooooo incredible and I am so supremely happy.

ny times

ok, it really is in there today (oct. 1st)!

I win!

(from Danny)
I am a winner of the preliminary round of Drum Off
2006 at the Guitar center in Henrietta. I was the last
of 10 drummers to play a 3min solo.

Yes yes. I crushed thoses ninnys like eggs.

Round two will consist of 6 total contestants on
october tenth.

rock on.

I knew i won when the guy said "and let me get this
name right....."
dead giveaway.

(A says)
Cool! Of course, seems pretty obvious to us that you could do it...

salt water fishing

Today I went on a boat and I fished but all I caught was (and this is at one time, one reel-in) two spider crabs and a clam.

ny times

hey everybody, if you have an extra $5 this sunday, maybe pick up the new york times and look in the magazine at the humor page. just sayin..

Origami envelopes

OK, here are the steps to make an origami envelope.
I used an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet to get an envelope that keeps the same postage rate as normal. You may want to use a heavier stock.

1 - Fold paper in half so that short end meets short end. Crease and unfold.

2 - Take opposite corners and fold them at 45-degrees, so that the inside edges lie along the center crease.


3 - Fold 2 leaves "open" slices at upper right and lower left (rectangle shaped). Fold these in so that the outer edge meets inner edge (you can see the creases from this fold in the picture above (I went too far and had to go back)

4 - Take one of the flat corners created by fold 3 (lower left/ upper right) and again fold at 45-degrees to lay along center line. Repeat for opposite side.


5 - Tuck the corners you just folded in under the lip they're now on top of.


I sealed the diagonal with a sticker seal - but it may not even be needed if your folds are tight and you use a good stock. These mail very well, with no issues from USPS.

Book#16 - The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon. A quick glance at the Amazon reviews makes me think I missed something in the book. It's a fast and compelling read in some ways. You want to know what happens with the story. But it had a bad aftertaste for me. I was left unsatisfied. Disappointed that what had such rich possibilities ended up being really superficial. The narrator puts such emphasis on appearances, primarily describing characters and their moods by their clothes. When he tells the background of his friends, you get a sense that there's the potential for something deep. You're dangling in anticipation and end up with what's basically a belch in the face. A let down. It leads nowhere. Despite the potential, the narrator doesn't care, leaves it and moves on. I need to find a book that I feel really accurately portrays college life in a way I care about and feel is well written because this left me hungry.

Invitations

Now that we're closing in on the actual date, I can share more about details. I'm very excited because several people have commented on the invitations, which we did entirely ourselves (with Jenny's help for the design, of course).

Early on, I found an origami envelope design. This is a bit different, but no extra cost to mail...


Inside, we had our invitation card, an RSVP, and a couple of smaller inserts with maps and hotel info. One plus was that the museum had a map of the campus on their website with pics of the buildings, so people should be able to find the ceremony and reception locations.


I loved the way it all came together, maple leaves, fall colored papers, Jenny's design.


The night of the final assembly, I bent my thumb backwards working out. It's fun to fold things into origami shapes sans 1 thumb! ;)


Book #15 (read in Maine): The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis. I didn't enjoy this reread as much as the others and maybe that's why, back in the day, this was the last book (of the original ordering) that I bought. The kids from our world weren't as likeable. Eustace has some ties to the Pevensy children (cousin), but even with his improved attitude following Dawn Treader he's still tiring. And the other chic, Jill, is way too ditzy and squeamish.

Lucky

As Sonny quickly synopsized, Maine was wonderful. Labor Day weekend Mom and I camped Sunday night (mostly dry) and Dad and J joined us Monday for more belated birthday festivities. J got me an awesome “Learn Italian” kit – we’ll start learning together and maybe one day we can get to Sicily to see where my great-grandparents came from! Many other awesome and beautiful things. I’m so lucky.

BTW, Sonny makes some killer cupcakes.

Yesterday marked ONE MONTH until the wedding! Busy busy taking care of lots of little details. Made a massively bulk purchase at a crafts store for favors. Responses are trickling in. It’s getting more and more real!!! This is going to be incredible.

Read several books on vacation, but will just trickle them here, as I’m not in danger of finishing else real soon.
Book #14 – Cirque du Freak – The Vampire Prince by Darren Shan. Really more of a YA book, but cute. A good distraction that lasted just long enough for the flights to Portland. Not a ton of character definition, though. Was going to say that’s the tradeoff, but just because something is a quick read doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice depth.

maine

we had a great time up in maine. we went fishing on a boat with a bunch of other people and saw some porpoises and caught some makerel and saw a jelly fish floating around. had a birthday dinner at route 66 restaurant went to jodan pond for popovers and brie and a very quick 3 mile hike. walked across a sand bar at low tide to an island and saw some deer and dad found a starfish leg and pam took some family portraits. went to the top of a mountain and saw a storm on one side and the sunset on the other (dan and tara went for sunrise, and everybody went to thunder (gurgle) hole and sandy beach in the morning whilepam and i made dinner) had a birthday dinner for aprille and played miniture golf at pirates cove. on the drive back pam and mom and dad and i had lunch in york maine near the ocean.then friday night we all (except for aprille who was trying to get home via jfk airport) went to see pam play a show in foster. so it was a pretty busy couple a days. thanks everybody. pictures to come.

My boys

A quick post before leaving for Maine

The Roelles are off to Maine to celebrate Sonny's 30! This should be a lot of fun and, because of that, I'm finding it extremely hard to concentrate on work annoyances this morning.

Book #13 - Baudolino, by Umberto Eco. I love Eco, though this didn't sweep me away quite as much as some of his other pieces. I love the premise, though, that stories when shared can build power and change history. The power of myth, when believed, driving an epic journey. The lies are hard to see after so much time and dedication pursuing them.
Interesting also, how this ties to perspectives on religion. And in Pnadpetzim (sp?), the city guarding the gates to the kingdom of Prester John, it is not the amazing physical differences that distinguish the different races, it is the specifics of their beliefs. I find that fascinating and may need to mull it for a bit.

Expect more books after vacation! I'm flying alone and have a bit of a layover in JFK on the way back, so I'll be reading a lot, methinks.

Wedding-wise - invitations are mailed! Expect a post detailing what I did for them next weekend. Practised my updo - I love stumping stylists with the vast quantities of my hair. :) It came out marvellous and I will truly feel like a princess when all the elements come together on the big day! Went for a dress fitting and it only needed a hem and bustle (TG!). Mapped out the ceremony with our officiant. We're doing several non-traditional elements. I love it, though. It seems very us and very important and both J and I believe very strongly in what will be shared and said.

I plan to try a mobile post from Maine. If that fails, maybe we find a hotspot to blog from jointly.

PS

Kat' made it back safe and sound from Zimbabwe! Now I get to see pics!

A visit to the Devil's Bathtub

J's parents came up in mid-July. The visit started with the customary evening at the Old Toad - a favorite with J's family. The next morning we went early to the Public Market. I love the mix of cultures, lifestyles, and personalities that you always see there. We had Mexican pastries, breakfast tacos, Java's coffee, and Italian cheese before we even really started shopping.



That afternoon, we went to Mendon Ponds. It was a hot day (nothing like the last few, but pretty hot) and it was nice and cool in the woods. Heavy rains that morning and earlier in the week meant that the Bathtub was creeping onto the path in spots. Neat to see how the little minnows, fishies, or whatever they were treated those shallows like they were always there.

Book #12 - Life in a Medieval Castle by Joseph and Frances Gies. Interesting. J and I read and really enjoyed Life in the Year 1000, but this seemed a bit more scattered - too many facts to spew to make it feel, well, like you were getting close to the lifestyle and all. Maybe if they hadn't tried to cover every castle. They started out with a focus on Chepstow Castle, but drifted away from it a bit too often. Interesting all the same.

Latest and then backwards

I'm going to start with now/ this past weekend. Then later today, as I get a chance, I'll catch up on the rest of busy July.

Book #11 - FINALLY! Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Man oh Man. It's amazing that a story, which has all the elements of something really compelling - young kid, family drowns, on a lifeboat for 7 months with a tiger, survives - can succeed at inciting no interest. I never really cared. And I'm a super-sap that often gets emotionally wrapped up in books. Maybe that's it. There's little to no emotion. He spends more time talking about how the solar stills work to distill seawater into drinking water than talking about how he feels. It's supposed to be a religious book, but he talks about how he turned to God in his despair in one measely (sp?) sentence. I actually enjoyed the Japanese shipping guys more than most of the book. Disappointing.

To wrap up the weekend -
Mom's bday! We celebrated at Dan and Tara's - they insisted on cooking so Mom could actually relax and I think they did an awesome job. Fun with family, as always...

Invitation home stretch - I THINK the invitations are set and just need to be printed and cut. J wants one more review tonight. Then RSVPs and putting it all together. Still some more maps and hotel slips to cut up, some more envelopes to fold - but I think it's coming together - very fun and expect pics once people have a chance to get them in the mail.

Serious gown crunch time - I don't want to look just OK - I want to be super kick-butt! So, I'm going into 2 weeks of intense slimming down on food (mostly slimmer lunches or slimmer dinners if lunch is bigger - and only healthy snacking) and workouts. After that, I can probably return eating to almost normal and workouts to maintenance mode. Here's hoping anyway. The first alteration appointment is 8/17 - it's supposed to be just the hem. Here's hoping.

And, in the midst of all the wedding and summer craziness - musical chairs has returned. Where will I be when the music stops on 8/29?

More soon.

Safe travels

The FILs should have just about arrived for a weekend visit. Their first time up since the new house, since the new kittens. Will be nice to spend a bit of time. Sunday, MoH, Mom, FMiL, and I are heading to the Finger Lakes Wine Fest in Watkins Glen.

Tomorrow, Kat leaves for Zimbabwe. Hard to tell, but if the label is right, this picture is about where she's headed - Mutare. Best wishes - do good work, have a great time!! Send back many pics!

Forgetful

I wanted to note this story on the shower post - the same day we had our shower for our Fall Harvest meets the Mastodon wedding with the mammoth-cum-mastodon cake - road crews found a mastodon in (get this) Rochester Hills, Michigan! Coincidence? or Fate?
:)

BTW - the boys don't call me any more, so who knows what they're doing - but I'll have good tales from Maine in August.

And another thing ...

I just realized that I really haven't thanked a big player in this whole wedding thing really properly. Of course there's still time, but wanted to get it out there today.

MOM!

:)

Mom has been a wonderful co-conspirator, source of ideas and "can you believe someone did that?" exchanges. A de-stressor and mediator when tux people try to tell me my color scheme is stupid or family members get unreasonable expectations. She was a vocal proponent of broken ribbons at the shower. All in all a most awesome MOTB to date! :)

Good friends make me smile

Sunday was the shower!
Some of you may be coming from Jenny's site - I'm hurriedly trying to get something in here to catch up with her. She has some pics on her site and I will post more, I'm just not quite there yet....

Anyway - J and I had a blast!!! Paula was the master orchestrate-tress - Aunt Faye did invites, Aunt Judy did centerpieces, Kat did games - all went very well. Paula's girls - Abby (4 that day) and Lil - and Christy's daughter Kate were great helpers and kept me on my toes getting stuff unwrapped. One total surprise was the mastodon (well, mammoth in disguise) cake - what an excellent and cool way to fit it all in with our theme (once again, that's "Fall Harvest Meets the Mastodon")! The mastodons now hold a place of honor on our mantle, near the Peep, the lucky rope dragon, and the 3D puzzle dino.

It was awesome to have J there. The whole shebang has just as much to do with him - it's us from here on out! And he'll be by my side for a real long time! I like that. A LOT. He was a source of many smiles on my part that day.

Aunt Judy gave us a basket of candles with a poem about when to light which ones and we got pretty sappy for a mo'. And Mom's gift of Booty Food had J very intrigued! :) Many marvellous gifts - the pics will show more because J's sister Susie took plenty of gift wrapping for us.

Best of all, my great friends. J finally got to meet Kat in person! I really enjoy being with these people. I know they're all there for us and will stand up should we need them. What else can you need? When you smile at the thought of a bit of time spent with someone, then think of a room full of those someones - you know you are truly blessed.

I got into reading GettingHitched this spring. In her posts about the big day(s), she frequently mentions the intoxication and awesome power of being surrounded for this joyous occasion by those you love. I can so relate! And think - if the shower made me smile THIS much, how giddy will I be come October??! 

My hands are tied

The shower is approaching. I'm very excited. Very very. I think it'll be great fun!

I'm realizing that this whole wedding thing is truly helping me to understand myself that much more. There are the "typical" things, like really getting a sense for what J means to me, what I want our wedding and the start to our marriage to be like - getting a sense of my style by clearly defining what activities, decorations, music, etc I will and will not have on the day.

For the shower, what's hitting home is that I'm not really great about letting people do stuff for me.
(Funny that. I'm thinking I'm writing about a huge personal revelation and when I actually get it typed I realize it's one of my key problems at work!)
I'm itching to DO SOMETHING for the shower. I want to help. I want to make food. I want to get there early and decorate. To help with directions and transport.

Instead, it's been taken away. My hands have been tied and left idle. I don't even know where it is- - so I can't help people get there.
Well, we'll see. I may sneak something in.
Having a house to clean for shower visitors and FILs visiting next week does help to distract - a bit....

100 days!

100 days until the wedding!

Wow.

Well a bunch of things are moving:
- bought our bands
- received first shower gift (taking to shower to open, although it'll be fun trying to keep Murphy from getting into the not so greatly sealed box!)
- shower RSVPs coming in, travel arrangements being made
- bit of nailbiting over budgets - we'll be revisiting this weekend
- intensifying the workout(OK, I fell off, but I'm getting back to it)

With the shower and J's parents coming the next weekend, we are trying to step up the perpetual house cleaning efforts. Hopefully we'll get real progress made this weekend.

Another big and upcoming project - stationary. Shower thank yous and invites need to be designed and go out nearly in sync.
Then the programs and timing can follow a bit later.
In between will be favors, discussing Sonny's contribution (can't talk to him until after July 15), and tidbits for guests.

AND - Congrats to Sonny on the Arts Council grant!!!
:)

Expect more soon - will definitely share shower details!

Slacker, skulker, funny guy

So blogging about the wedding hasn't been going too well. I keep saying "maybe by next week" I can get up to date. We'll see. Have to work until roughly 9:30pm next Tues, so maybe I'll get a bit of down time next day to recoup....

Last night, we took Murphy and Molasses outside for the first time (one at a time). As with Molson, they will be harness cats, allowed outdoors for supervised jaunts in the backyard only -or maybe the deck at Grandma's.
Murphy was first and as much as he likes open windows he was pretty nervous and confused. He skulked - belly low to the ground - sniffing carefully in a small little bit at the back corner of the house. J called him from further into the yard and Murphy, instead of turning to see, did this backwards skulk so that he could face J without putting his back to something he hadn't sniffed yet.
Molasses was a bit less nervous, though he still didn't venture far.
Of course, Molson had a few years on the balcony at our first place and time on the back "deck" of our second place before I ever took him to the yard.
We'll try again tonight and I'll give J a camera, jic.

I don't watch Last Comic Standing regularly, but last week we caught Josh Blue and he was awesome. While many comics, with jibes at serious and painful issues like rape and abuse, made us wince - Josh had us falling off of the futon, almost in tears. Highly suggest you check him out and watch for him as Last Comic Standing moves into the house.

And, I've started in on my summer indulgence - Hell's Kitchen. After the finale last season, I find it fascinating, even when he's pretty much a jerk. Last season, the nice tattoo'ed guy made it to the final 2 and had to run a kitchen. He started by being very polite, asking nicely, not shouting - and in return people were slower, less motivated, and screwed up a bit. He saw at least a partial justification to Ramsey's coarseness - started yelling and pushing and ended doing an awesome job and winning....
Not quite sure what I think yet of this year's crew.

Holiday weekend reading

Book #8 - Night by Elie Wiesel. Wow. Powerful stuff. So much of it stays at the back of my head, too. One particular quote that stuck with me a bit more, possibly because I deal with proportions so often - as they arrive at Buchenwald: "A hundred of us had got into the wagon. A dozen of us got out - among them, my father and I." While I had read elsewhere about the Holocaust, I had not previously seen the perspective at the beginning - how the Jews of Sighet dismissed the warnings, not thinking it could ever be so bad for them... As I type, I'm reminded a bit about Outwitting the Gestapo by Lucie Aubrac - it's been a while since I read that. May need to again.
Thoughts also on perspective on religion, to be saved for a later date, when 2 more books are finished.

Book #9 - The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. I started this in January as a sort of tag along for the 40 Days of Purpose activities at the church where I play bells - it took me a bit longer to read. I will not begrudge those that found this powerful their experience, but for me - well, it gave me an opportunity to flesh out what I do NOT believe. To clarify what bothers me about many approaches to faith in the Christian world today. I don't want to rant to strongly on religion here - and in large part because a good deal of what I believe is that one's belief system should not be imposed on others - so I'll leave it at that and we'll revisit this (briefly), along with Night when I get those other 2 books done.

Book #10 - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis. Still rereading the series and reliving things I enjoyed deeply when much younger. Was grateful not to have Susan nagging in this one, and enjoyed the many adventures they had, though each adventure could have been fleshed out more....

More wedding stuff tomorrow, hopefully. Have a whole list to catch up on!

When advice pays off

I went equipped with several dress ideas from magazines and the web - all dresses I knew David's had. We started with the top 2.

Talk about layers!

Talk about marshmallow! I felt like I was prepping to become Mrs StayPuff - ever so similar to the ooey-gooey-ness of her hubby!
What could I have been thinking!

Here's the pic of the worst offender. I had liked it because of the lacy jacket that gave my twiddly fingers something to play with besides flowers and ring and might keep my Italian roots from emerging (during vows)in the hand gestures that so often accompany my conversations...

The attendant, though massively swamped with prom and wedding shoppers for the sale o' the month, suggested something totally different. A different cut, a different color - than most on my list. I fell in love! Mom cried, Paula cried (I think), I cried. So perfect!

I can't wait until J sees me in it as I come up the aisle!!!

Fall Harvest meets the Mastodon

That's our theme! Since we're having the reception at our local science museum - drinks underneath the life-sized mastodon this seemed perfect and is allowing us to have some great fun - not many will have pictures with Manny Murray for their wedding day!:)

Our goal is to have this day be incredible - for us, especially, but also for our guests. One of the last things we wanted was for them to be bored or to think back years from now and not be able to remember if that was our wedding or Cousin Rhonda's. I am sticking to very few "conventions" and it's a blast!

Could it have been less traditional? Yes. I've seen those Flickr photos of people carrying fake tommyguns or in zombie makeup. I do have SOME girly girl in me! But I think it will leave a positive mark. J has had to rein me in at times, at least music-wise, that I might not be setting the proper tone for the moment, but we've worked it out...

People can wander off and play with museum toys if they get bored. Stationary, music, and ceremony should all be pretty unique. I'm excited!

Oh, and I REFUSE to be stressed! No way will I get down about OUR day. When potential stressors come up, I make the decision to take an alternate, no stress route. Here's to actually having a blast... Slante!

Wasn't there a wedding or something?

I haven't been posting the wedding story and I now think I'm missing an opportunity to get down a lot of what I've been thinking, dealing with, and the creative breakthroughs I'm pretty proud of...

I had this weird hesitation that I would be spoiling something by letting people know before hand. But now that I think about it - I'm telling everyone almost everything anyway.
There are some things I'll keep as a surprise, but I can talk about the rest.

I may have blogged about some of this stuff before, so if it's a repeat for you I appologize, but now it'll be in the forefront and an ongoing thing, with "other stuff" sprinkled in. Like, oh, if one of the boys decides to post - iotw - if miracles happen!

To start - basic updates - 5 months to go and we are in a pretty good place:
Save the Dates mostly sent
Ceremony, reception - caterer too, meal type but not menu
Transportation
Cake, photographer, florist
Dress
Most of the party - MoH has dress
Most of the music and a plan to get it played
Officiant and ceremony thoughts a-brewing
Registry
Favor and stationary ideas/ in process
Lots of thoughts!

Stay tuned - next up -- Theme and tone

In passing...

A small block house on a nice but busy street. Close to the expressway ramp and an apartment complex, but in a fairly affluent suburban neighborhood. Up for sale by the big local realty, the sign out front says at the top "Surprise Inside".

I should have snapped a picture but thought of it too late and the street is one way right now due to construction.

I can see why they might say that.
It made ME think of the house as a Cracker Jack box. "Surprise Toy Inside!"

*************************************************

Imagine a party .....
An upper class affair. Maybe it follows an evening at the opera, a la
Match Point. A party from the society page of the New York Times. Held in a room built just for the occasion - complete with crown molding, fireplace, wainscotting, etc. And the main attraction? The key refreshment? That very room!
Imagine the upper crust of society lapping away at the very walls that surround them. A bit surreal. An excellent literary metaphor. A very weird evening, to be sure.

I'm drooling at the thought, though.

Here's the actual site - I think the dress in the upper right looks like chocolate too - now that would get a bit strange...

Bunny!

 
Living in the city, we don't really expect to see much "wildlife". J has encountered bunnies living on a slope of tangled brush near the University power plant. One day a turkey was walking down the middle of the busy street we used to live on. That's partly why we got so excited to see a bunny in the backyard.

It was a little scruffy.

But so long as it sticks to overgrown grass or the weeds in our lawn, I welcome it.