Wow, how time flies! I just saw that my last post was just about a month ago. And here I thought I was getting better...
A couple of quick things, then I'll get to my point.
Yesterday E and I were carpooling to work in the AM and I saw a HUGE (why do I always put a D in huge?) flock of robins in a local fruit orchard. They were probably resting from their flight back north. It's almost spring...
I went for a long walk with my sister, SS, when she was visiting this past weekend. We saw a cute little muskrat (yes, they look like beavers, but with a rat tail) in a swampy area, he was probably getting ready to go find his new home and mate.
OK, now to the point.
1. How did you decide to become a vegetarian? Do you ever miss eating meat?
The short version of the story is that I started realizing exactly where meat came from. I couldn't get it out of my head. I was a bit of a farm girl, so I had an idea. Little by little, I stopped eating certain foods. Like no veal after visiting a friend's veal farm and feeding the baby cows by hand. But it didn't really sink in fully until my aunt and uncle's cow, Salina, was "sent on the truck". The thought that I could have eaten my namesake did it for me, and I haven't had meat since. I was about 12. Funny thing, the last thing I ate was a hamburger...
I don't miss eating meat, although sometime I miss the convenience of eating meat. When I first said no more, I had meat cravings, especially for mashed potatoes and gravy day at school, and pepperoni pizza. But that slowly dissolved. I think the appearance of a lot of vegetarian alternatives helped. I do miss the convenience, having to check and see if restaurants offer vegetarian food can be a bit of a pain. Especially since I'm onion-intolerant. Yeah, I see the irony...
2. What is your dream job?
Managing a horse barn or a park ranger. I miss being outside. I miss the mountains. I'd like to think that someday I'll manage a horse barn in the mountains, and take care of the conservation lands just off the property. Best of both worlds.
Part of me thinks I should use this education though, so another idea is to be an eco advocate of some sort. I'd love to push the world into the life of thinking about how and what they do affects the world around them, kicking and screaming or not. Part of me thinks I should start a "how can my company be more eco friendly (and save money)" business. Maybe someday...
3. I know you prefer rural life to urban life. If you had to live in the city, what would you enjoy about it?
I'd enjoy not having a car. I feel eco-unfriendly because I drive so far to work. Too far, really. I would love being able to walk everywhere; to the grocery store, to the library, to the liquor store. I miss that. I did live in Somerville near the Davis square T stop for a few years, and I really liked leaving my car parked at home when I wasn't going to work. I'm looking forward to our town putting a trail in on the old rail bed, it would give me a non-highway to walk on to the grocery store.
4. Of all the trips/vacations you've taken, which one was your favorite and why?
Ireland is hands down my favorite place. I've vacationed there 4 times, and could live there if I could convince E to be that far from his family. I feel very at home there. The country is so small that they have death announcements for the entire country, yes, the ENTIRE COUNTRY, at noon. And it rarely takes more than a few minutes. I know, it's a bit morbid, but you see my point. It's so green, and full of, well, country. I could see having a little farm 15 minutes outside of one of the cities where E could work. Or living in Killarney and taking tourists on trail rides through the national park. I could live where it doesn't snow, but it also rarely is above 75F. Definitely my kind of weather. I'd be home.
5. Guilty pleasures - food, books, tv.
OK, this one's hard. Not the foods. Man it sucks to be watching what I'm eating...
Food: Gardin of Eatin' blue corn chips, spicy nacho Doritos, feta cheese (Greek) pizza, strawberries, Beaujolais wine (yum, yum, yum, yum, yum! Can I have some?)
Books: Anything and everything sci-fi. But guilty... that would be spending all day ignoring E to read the Harry Potter and Twilight books on the day they come out. Yeah, teeny-bopper, but good!
TV: Hmm, guilty... During our honeymoon, E and I watched a marathon of Project Runway (season 3). Yeah, real romantic. I think this is the only instance of us watching reality TV. But, hey, in Hawaii, it was on for breakfast. OK, so other guilty pleasure shows... umm, does Privileged count? What about Terminator? I used to like Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters, but they don't have the hold over me like they used to.
On a totally un-guilty pleasure, I'm plugging the new Battle Star Galactica series. Four seasons of complete bliss! I would walk over E's dead body to see this one! Well, OK, not really, he gets the shows for me (stupid sci-fi being a paid channel). Thank goodness for the internet! But I've bought all of the seasons, if you want to borrow the DVDs, just let me know... And I'm counting the days until they come out in blue ray!
So, there's the five things. Hope you've enjoyed it!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Noki's New Chair
Our friends K and C were kind enough to give us some nice furniture. I had to work late on Friday, so E went over to pick it up. I got home, and there it was! Noki's new chair!
I don't think he's moved since E brought it in, other than to get food, of course! And isn't he sweet, letting Mosa have the ottoman?
I don't think he's moved since E brought it in, other than to get food, of course! And isn't he sweet, letting Mosa have the ottoman?A Birdy Week
This week started with the annual Great Backyard Bird Count on Sunday. The Black-capped Chickadees once again were the most prevalent in the half hour that I was watching. But a couple other types of birds made an appearance too, some Tufted Titmice and 2 kinds of Nuthatches, Red-breasted and White-breasted.
Monday morning there were a couple of doves eating under the feeder with the little red squirrel.
Tuesday morning, while letting Mosa decided if she wanted to brave the snow, I spotted a Pileated Woodpecker on a pine tree about 50 feet from the back of the house. You know, the one that Warner Bros. used to designed Woody Woodpecker. It's the white spot in the very center of this picture:
If you want to see a better picture, check out Wikipedia's entry.
Then, this morning, a family of 5 Gold Finches came to our backyard feeders. You can (almost?) see 2 here on the green feeder on the left. Everybody else flew away when I got the camera (of course).
I wonder who's going to show up next?
Monday morning there were a couple of doves eating under the feeder with the little red squirrel.
Tuesday morning, while letting Mosa decided if she wanted to brave the snow, I spotted a Pileated Woodpecker on a pine tree about 50 feet from the back of the house. You know, the one that Warner Bros. used to designed Woody Woodpecker. It's the white spot in the very center of this picture:
If you want to see a better picture, check out Wikipedia's entry.Then, this morning, a family of 5 Gold Finches came to our backyard feeders. You can (almost?) see 2 here on the green feeder on the left. Everybody else flew away when I got the camera (of course).
I wonder who's going to show up next?
Monday, February 16, 2009
Squirrely Happiness
Red squirrels make me so happy. They're all twitchy and jittery. They move so quickly, they're a streak across the snow. Yet they're happy to sit and eat seeds under our feeder. 
We have two red squirrels that frequent our feeders. They have created a network of tunnels that makes it possible to get from the woods to the feeder, across the 40 feet of open space, without being seen. It's so nice to see them in the morning, they snack and skitter while I have my coffee. It's a good start to the day for both of us.
We have two red squirrels that frequent our feeders. They have created a network of tunnels that makes it possible to get from the woods to the feeder, across the 40 feet of open space, without being seen. It's so nice to see them in the morning, they snack and skitter while I have my coffee. It's a good start to the day for both of us.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Cruisin' to Cozumel
Let me start by telling you that I'm claustrophobic. So it was with some trepidation that I agreed to go on a 4 day cruise from Miami to Cozumel. I figured it was an opportunity to find out whether I could handle the confines of a ship. I'd have a roommate (not E) and no choice in cabins. Should be interesting, n'est pas?
I started by talking with my family dr, and getting some "just in case" panic drugs. The warning label pretty much said, don't plan on doing anything for a few days. I figured someone could carry me to the plane if I ended up taking them, right?
The trip started on Thursday, early (for me) in the morning with a drive to Worcester airport. Yes, Worcester has an airport! The group I went with charted some planes, and we quite literally had our own airport. They even opened a special snack shop for us, since the airline wasn't going to feed us. We flew to Miami without incident, and then took charted buses to the port terminal.
It was about 1pm when I boarded the ship and made my way to
my cabin. And that's when the panic attack hit. The hallway was small, the ceiling low, and it was very long. I got to the cabin and broke down. But the cabin itself was fairly large, had a big window to the outside, and had my wonderful roommate, SS, who let me finish freaking out in peace. Then she took me up to the open air deck for some food. And things got a little better. But I never did get used to that hallway.
We had our mandatory lifeboat drill, (did you know, women and children first really is still the rule?), and then I spend most of the afternoon on the open air deck. That evening we set sail, had a reception on the open air deck at sunset, and then dinner. By 9pm SS and I were feeling the early morning, and by 10 we hit the sack.
The next day we had a bunch of morning activities, and unfortunately I had a migraine. I stayed in my cabin most of the day, only coming out for some air and dinner around 6. We were arriving in Cozumel at 10pm, so I took a whole bunch of migraine meds, and we went into the tourist trap. The good thing, the fresh air made me feel better. SS and I had fun finding gifts for our families left at home. By 11 my head was feeling much better, but we were both tired, and had a 9am activity the next day, so we called it a night.
Of course, nobody else on board did. The partying and bright lights finally died sometime around
3:30am, and I was able to fall asleep. And then I awoke to a horrendous, building's falling down around you, BOOM! Followed by another, and another, and another... My sleep-deprived mind finally figured out that it was waves. We were crashing through them. Our cabin was in the very front of the ship, so as the ship crested a wave, it would slam back into the water. So m
uch for sleep, it's overrated anyway.
Saturday morning at 9am we had our last scheduled activity. And it was so sunny and beautiful, I went up on deck (I needed AIR) and sat there on a beach chair all day. The winds were wiping, about 30mph, but I found a lee and had a great time reading my book and talking to people as they passed by. My 30 SPF sunblock kept me burn free, except for the spot I missed on my ankle and my ear, I always miss somewhere.
That evening was our dressy reception and dinner. I had bought a new blouse and was looking pretty girly in my skirt. We had some drinks, went to dinner, and then hit the dance club. SS and I danced our toes off, with a friendly group of friends and strangers. I even got the DJ to play Relax for me, my favorite dance song. The lack of sleep was catching up fast, and I new if I stopped, I'd be done. So we danced, and danced, and danced.
That night, the BANG-ing had lessened to every once in a while, so I got some much needed sleep. The following morning we had to be up so SS could disembark, she was on one of the first off the ship. I was supposed to disembark at 1:45, then re-embark, then disembark again at 3 (port rules are so funny). They had food, and I'd been thinking I'd wait until I got back on board to eat, needed to be full for the foodless flight that wouldn't get in to Worcester until 8pm... But around 12:30 I was hungry, so I figured, OK, I'd eat, then have a snack before leaving. Good thing, because at the first disembarking, we never got back on the ship. Instead we sat on the charted bus. And sat. And sat... Turns out the plane had mechanical issues, so they were getting us another plane, and expecting a 1 1/2 hour delay. But did they let us back on the ship? No.
We finally headed off for the airport, and when we arrived, we pulled up to the security gate (charters don't go out from the main terminal in Miami), and they waved us to the side. Where we sat and waited, and waited, and waited... We had 3 busses of people when we left the port, but only 2 arrived at the airport, and they wouldn't let us enter until we all arrived. Ugh.
When we finally got to the plane, they rushed us through "security", a few tables set up with people to rummage through our carryons and others to wave us down with a wand. Very strange, my knee didn't set off the wand... For those that don't know, I have metal in my knee from and ACL reconstruction and have a habit of setting off metal detectors. Especially wands that are supposed to be more sensative. Not that I was going to tell them that!
We finally headed home, and got 2 bags(!) of chips on the plane, which almost everybody devoured (I think a lot of people were going to eat once they got re-embarked). I had some snacks I'd brought with me, and I offered to share with my seat-mates, so we were probably the least hungry of those on the plane. Hypoglycemia comes in handy sometimes...
At 9:30 my friend MB and I left the airport, and I was home, saying hello to E and the kitties by 10:45. All in all, DEFINETLY not the worst trip home I've had!
On the last day when I was waiting for my turn to disembark the ship, people were asking me what my favorite part was. I couldn't figure it out then, but I have now. Towel animals.
I started by talking with my family dr, and getting some "just in case" panic drugs. The warning label pretty much said, don't plan on doing anything for a few days. I figured someone could carry me to the plane if I ended up taking them, right?
The trip started on Thursday, early (for me) in the morning with a drive to Worcester airport. Yes, Worcester has an airport! The group I went with charted some planes, and we quite literally had our own airport. They even opened a special snack shop for us, since the airline wasn't going to feed us. We flew to Miami without incident, and then took charted buses to the port terminal.It was about 1pm when I boarded the ship and made my way to
my cabin. And that's when the panic attack hit. The hallway was small, the ceiling low, and it was very long. I got to the cabin and broke down. But the cabin itself was fairly large, had a big window to the outside, and had my wonderful roommate, SS, who let me finish freaking out in peace. Then she took me up to the open air deck for some food. And things got a little better. But I never did get used to that hallway.
We had our mandatory lifeboat drill, (did you know, women and children first really is still the rule?), and then I spend most of the afternoon on the open air deck. That evening we set sail, had a reception on the open air deck at sunset, and then dinner. By 9pm SS and I were feeling the early morning, and by 10 we hit the sack.
The next day we had a bunch of morning activities, and unfortunately I had a migraine. I stayed in my cabin most of the day, only coming out for some air and dinner around 6. We were arriving in Cozumel at 10pm, so I took a whole bunch of migraine meds, and we went into the tourist trap. The good thing, the fresh air made me feel better. SS and I had fun finding gifts for our families left at home. By 11 my head was feeling much better, but we were both tired, and had a 9am activity the next day, so we called it a night.
Of course, nobody else on board did. The partying and bright lights finally died sometime around
3:30am, and I was able to fall asleep. And then I awoke to a horrendous, building's falling down around you, BOOM! Followed by another, and another, and another... My sleep-deprived mind finally figured out that it was waves. We were crashing through them. Our cabin was in the very front of the ship, so as the ship crested a wave, it would slam back into the water. So m
uch for sleep, it's overrated anyway.Saturday morning at 9am we had our last scheduled activity. And it was so sunny and beautiful, I went up on deck (I needed AIR) and sat there on a beach chair all day. The winds were wiping, about 30mph, but I found a lee and had a great time reading my book and talking to people as they passed by. My 30 SPF sunblock kept me burn free, except for the spot I missed on my ankle and my ear, I always miss somewhere.
That evening was our dressy reception and dinner. I had bought a new blouse and was looking pretty girly in my skirt. We had some drinks, went to dinner, and then hit the dance club. SS and I danced our toes off, with a friendly group of friends and strangers. I even got the DJ to play Relax for me, my favorite dance song. The lack of sleep was catching up fast, and I new if I stopped, I'd be done. So we danced, and danced, and danced.That night, the BANG-ing had lessened to every once in a while, so I got some much needed sleep. The following morning we had to be up so SS could disembark, she was on one of the first off the ship. I was supposed to disembark at 1:45, then re-embark, then disembark again at 3 (port rules are so funny). They had food, and I'd been thinking I'd wait until I got back on board to eat, needed to be full for the foodless flight that wouldn't get in to Worcester until 8pm... But around 12:30 I was hungry, so I figured, OK, I'd eat, then have a snack before leaving. Good thing, because at the first disembarking, we never got back on the ship. Instead we sat on the charted bus. And sat. And sat... Turns out the plane had mechanical issues, so they were getting us another plane, and expecting a 1 1/2 hour delay. But did they let us back on the ship? No.
We finally headed off for the airport, and when we arrived, we pulled up to the security gate (charters don't go out from the main terminal in Miami), and they waved us to the side. Where we sat and waited, and waited, and waited... We had 3 busses of people when we left the port, but only 2 arrived at the airport, and they wouldn't let us enter until we all arrived. Ugh.
When we finally got to the plane, they rushed us through "security", a few tables set up with people to rummage through our carryons and others to wave us down with a wand. Very strange, my knee didn't set off the wand... For those that don't know, I have metal in my knee from and ACL reconstruction and have a habit of setting off metal detectors. Especially wands that are supposed to be more sensative. Not that I was going to tell them that!
We finally headed home, and got 2 bags(!) of chips on the plane, which almost everybody devoured (I think a lot of people were going to eat once they got re-embarked). I had some snacks I'd brought with me, and I offered to share with my seat-mates, so we were probably the least hungry of those on the plane. Hypoglycemia comes in handy sometimes...
At 9:30 my friend MB and I left the airport, and I was home, saying hello to E and the kitties by 10:45. All in all, DEFINETLY not the worst trip home I've had!
On the last day when I was waiting for my turn to disembark the ship, people were asking me what my favorite part was. I couldn't figure it out then, but I have now. Towel animals.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Temperature Theory
This week was a cold one, on Friday morning it was -15 degrees F when I left for work at 8am. My kind of weather!
Which leads to my theory. People like the kind of weather they were born in. So in New England, if you were born during the blizzard of 1978 (albeit in northern New York), you like the cold! So far my theory is holding true. Of all the people I've surveyed, those born in the summer like it hot (anything above 75 is hot to me), and if they were born in the winter they like it cold, like me. And spring and fall babies like it different degrees of moderate.
My family definitely follows this theory. My dad and I were both born in February and we like the cold. I'm grumpy any time the thermometer hits 75 and above. My mom and sister were both born in late summer, and they like it hot. My mom didn't like the cold so much, she moved to New Mexico!
So, what was the weather like when and where you were born? Does my theory hold out for you too?
Which leads to my theory. People like the kind of weather they were born in. So in New England, if you were born during the blizzard of 1978 (albeit in northern New York), you like the cold! So far my theory is holding true. Of all the people I've surveyed, those born in the summer like it hot (anything above 75 is hot to me), and if they were born in the winter they like it cold, like me. And spring and fall babies like it different degrees of moderate.
My family definitely follows this theory. My dad and I were both born in February and we like the cold. I'm grumpy any time the thermometer hits 75 and above. My mom and sister were both born in late summer, and they like it hot. My mom didn't like the cold so much, she moved to New Mexico!
So, what was the weather like when and where you were born? Does my theory hold out for you too?
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Snow!
It's funny, for living in New England, a lot of New Englander's complain about the winter. But not me! I love the winter! OK, yeah, that ice thing last week was not so much fun, but technically it was still autumn...
So, snow! We've gotten 20" in the last week, and it's so much fun! Yes, there's the shoveling, but there's also the sledding! Yes, there's the slippery roads, but there's also the good reason to stay home by the fireplace, curled up with E and the kitties. Yes there's the cold, but there's also the comfy warm sweaters and blankets!
My only complaint? The predicted 45 degree day coming mid-week...
So, snow! We've gotten 20" in the last week, and it's so much fun! Yes, there's the shoveling, but there's also the sledding! Yes, there's the slippery roads, but there's also the good reason to stay home by the fireplace, curled up with E and the kitties. Yes there's the cold, but there's also the comfy warm sweaters and blankets!
My only complaint? The predicted 45 degree day coming mid-week...
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