Nancy's Black Dog Blog

Just to let you know

2008-06-12T14:19:00.000-07:00

That we have moved, and I am not keeping this blog up any more. Please feel free to look through the archives, and if you like come see us at www.countdowntomexico.com

Pileateds were here

2007-04-20T08:19:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy Wild Lands League

I saw two Pileated Woodpeckers in our woods this week. They were screaming their calls and flying back and forth between a couple of dead trees.

I haven't seen them in a couple of days but I am still hoping that they'll nest nearby.

Excellent Easter

2007-04-09T13:53:00.000-07:00

Owen Erica

It was a great weekend with Phil and the kids and Adam and Martha. When we are in Mexico it's not going to be as easy to have this kind of get together so I am really grateful for every time we are able to pull it off! Here are a few pictures...more are on the Pictures page.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2007-04-03T07:46:00.000-07:00

Wow, another birthday! Can it be possible that I am 53?

My best friend Jeannie called yesterday and we were remarking about how we have been best friends now for more than 40 years. We met in junior high school, while walking home from school in the same direction. Our friendship has endured so long not just because of shared interests such as books but for many other reasons. The craziness of SF in the sixties, of the loss of a parent, of becoming adults. I love her like crazy.

This morning I'm also thinking about how few people are still around who remember when I was born! Sister Wendy, cousin Chuck, Aunt Jean, Aunt Dolly, and a few others.

We never have figured out why I have two birthdays, either. My whole life up to age 26 I had an April 4 birthday. I loved it, too....4/4/54. But then I sent away for an official copy of my birth certificate and it said April 3. I asked Dad and he couldn't understand why. So the next time I was at Garnie's I asked her. She went and got her birthday book and the strange thing was that she had written my birthday on April 3 and then erased it and wrote it in on April 4. She didn't remember why. So, the mystery continues, and about half the people I know remember my birthday as the 4th and some as the 3rd. Strange, isn't it?

So what am I going to do today? Go to Home Depot, paint, spackle, caulk, work in the garden and later go to dinner at Brix 25.

It's cold this morning but sunny, and I am happy.

We all have routines, right?

2007-03-22T07:55:00.000-07:00

Last night Paul and I had a laugh at my little "habits."

I have a lot of routines, such as swishing the sink out with the sprayer every time I wash anything or always cleaning out the espresso handle after each use. I think most of us have habits like that. Most of them have to do with order and cleanliness I think.

But my night time habits are kind of funny.

Back when I was a little kid my mother repeated this phrase to us when she sent us upstairs to get ready for bed..."wash your face, brush your teeth, go to the toilet, and get in bed."

So here I am, fifty years later unable to skip even one item on that list. I promise you I have to get up and use the toilet even if I don't have to go in order to settle in and go to sleep. And even if I had taken a shower an hour before, I still have to wash my face. It's amazing to me how ingrained those habits are.

Then, last night I realized I can't go to sleep unless the covers are just right! What is just right? Well, the sheet needs to be pulled up and folded over the comforter. Doesn't everyone do that?

So, now you know. I think I had better go wash my hands. Again. And again. (just kidding)

It's really worse than it looks

2007-03-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of our basement room, chock full of stuff for my upcoming garage sale. I didn't even take a picture of the garage or the farmy stuff that is sitting outside! I even have a dove cote available for sale that's left over from my chicken ark selling days!

All this stuff is just thrown every which way...I can't stage it yet since the garage is kind of damp and we don't want things damaged in the meantime...

Hopefully a lot of stuff will sell, and we can get on with the real business of fixing this place up for when it goes on the market!

Huh? I thought she was back?!?

2007-03-04T08:20:00.000-08:00

We are back from vacation, but basically the crunch is on! I am pretty much working non-stop trying to get ready for putting our house on the market this spring, and moving to Mexico in the fall.

There is a lot to do - but I haven't forgotten the good things in life, like our property, our animals, and pancakes on Sunday morning! (They were great)

I am in a garage sale crunch so you can probably forgive my lack of posts. After all, this blog is basically a diary for myself that I let others read!

I am also posting on our Countdown to Mexico blog so if you're wondering what I'm up to you could head over there and check it out.

We're Back!

2007-02-19T15:59:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful vacation.

And a momentous one, at that. We have decided that we're going to start our lives in Mexico in the town of Mazatlan.

I've written about it extensively over at Countdown to Mexico, so please check it out if you'd like to know more about our decision making process.

Just know that we are really excited about Mazatlan. We plan on buying a house close in to the historic Centro. It's a great city for walking and biking.

Our plan is to put our house on the market this spring and hopefully head down to Mazatlan in the late summer or fall.

I'll write more when I come down out of the clouds. That would be warm and fluffy clouds floating over a blue ocean, you know!

It's Break Time!

2007-02-02T21:26:00.000-08:00

Mexico beckons.

It will be warm.

It will be friendly.

It will be fun.

I'll write when I can.

Hasta luego!

The Great Wall of Compact Discs

2007-01-28T17:36:00.000-08:00

I have FINALLY finished ripping all of our cds to my computer. What a job! The picture shows 348 of them. Here's a resolution....we are never going to buy cds again...If we want music, we will just download it.

My new Zen has 4,788 tracks and 430 albums on it. Oh, and also a bunch of pictures, podcasts, videos, and audio books. Crazy!

The next few days are going to be refreshingly calm without running back into the office every ten minutes or so to change the cd...but it's hard to stay calm when you do the math on 348 cds at approximately $10 each - ouch!

Another Hot Tip

2007-01-26T10:06:00.000-08:00

I know, I know...I am full of useless advice - but if you drink diet soda and want to save a little money, this tip is for you.

Koolaid! Remember it? The unsweetened packages cost about ten cents. Splenda is a little pricey but a half cup will make a whole pitcher! And for me, the carbonation is not something I like and I love the fruity flavors.

So there you go.

The Future Is Now

2007-01-25T13:22:00.000-08:00

And the future is ALL our music on the Creative Zen 60 GB mp3 player! I have spent every waking moment ripping the music from all of our cds.

Our move to Mexico is one of the things that precipitated this project...as we don't want to haul around boxes of cds. Our plan is to take our little stereo that is currently in the kitchen, which has a line to hook up the Zen. We are so very modern, aren't we?

When Jessica was here I had fun playing with her iPod, but both Paul and I have trouble with the whole iPod frenzy here and this is actually a really great value and gets terrific reviews. Plus it has an FM radio tuner, a voice recorder, and it will do bookmarks - which are essential for marking your place in long books, etc.

I will load on all my Spanish lessons, and have already joined a download club so that I can download movies, tv, and more music.

When I'm all done I think I'm going to donate all the old cds to the Pierce County Library.

We Love Our Family

2007-01-21T16:44:00.000-08:00

Jess Jess & Nan

Sigh. What a nice time we had. It was just wonderful to have Jess here visiting for a few days. We talked non-stop, ate and drank too much, but had a perfect time.

Pretty Picture

2007-01-16T09:40:00.000-08:00

It is a gorgeous snowy day here...how can it look so pretty and be such an awful pain in the neck? (The picture shows the frozen pond mostly covered with new snow.)

We are totally sick of winter...and it goes without saying that we are really looking forward to our vacation to Mexico next month.

Henry's Story

2007-01-12T08:43:00.000-08:00

We have a guest blogger today, Henry the Schnoodle. Henry is very precocious...he wrote this story when he was just a puppy!

(The picture shows Henry checking out the goodies under the parrot cages)

A Different Perspective on the Thanksgiving Holiday

We knew something was going on when she brought in all the groceries and started cooking. First there was a pie, then some stuffing, and finally some sweet potato dish. Oh, I guess I should explain…I am Henry, and I am ten months old. I live with my sister Lucy and my Mom and Dad.

But to explain further, Lucy isn’t really my sister. I was adopted into this pack back in April, and she was already here. My Mom isn’t really my Mom, either, since I remember my real Mom a little, and she was furry, just like me. Other people call my adoptive Mom either Nana or Nanny. She’s nice. My Dad’s name is Paul or Honey. So now you know who we are!

When Mom started cooking we knew either someone was coming over or we were going somewhere. When she didn’t vacuum, Lucy and I started getting excited because it meant we were going to go somewhere in the car! We knew it for sure when she brought the cooler in from the garage.

We still had to wait a while because Dad was still at work. When he came home he helped with the cooking, too.

In the morning we didn’t get to eat breakfast like we normally do. Lucy was mad at me because it’s my fault. I get carsick if I eat before a car ride. Oh, well, a car ride is fun even if you have to miss a meal!

Mom and Dad loaded the car and off we went! I have to ride in my little bed on the floor of the van because of my car sickness problem. Lucy rides on the seat and looks out sometimes. I feel like such a baby!

We rode in the car for a long time. We stopped once and Mom walked us around a very interesting parking lot right by the freeway. There were so many unusual smells! Then we rode some more and after a long time more the car stopped again.

I knew it was a good place because Lucy was so excited, banging her tail against the side of the van and whimpering to get out. When we got out I remembered – and I remembered even more when I saw Erica and Owen. They are my favorite kids in the world!

Wow, I was so happy to see them! I jumped up and licked their faces and wiggled and squirmed. They petted my sister and me a lot and then invited us to join their pack and visit their den. Well, maybe they call it something else, but I call it a den.

It’s very nice there. We had a fine time chasing the ball and playing with the rope toy, but sometimes we had to go to our beds for a while, too. We like that Mom and Dad bring our beds from home.

One fun thing we did was listen to Erica play the viola. She’s good! I could never play that well! We also had fun when they were testing Owen on his addition and subtraction. He is one smart cookie, if you ask me!

After a while everyone except Lucy and I sat down to a special dinner at the table. The dinner smelled so good! Lucy and I were very happy that they put a piece of turkey on top of our dinner that night, too.

Another special thing was that we got to stay overnight! Mom and Dad took us with them when they went to bed, and we got to sleep right next to their bed. In the morning I woke up first and took a quick trip upstairs to see if I could find Erica and Owen’s dens. I went from room to room licking the faces of the entire pack!

We got to go on lots of walks, and play in the backyard, and other fun things, but before long it was time to go. We were sad to say goodbye but excited about another car ride.

On the way home Mom and Dad were talking about Thanksgiving Day and how it is important to be aware of the good things we have in our lives and the holiday is about taking a moment to appreciate them.

So, I thought I should end this essay by saying that I am thankful that I have such a nice pack and that I’m glad we went to Erica and Owen’s for Thanksgiving!

Winter Wonderland

2007-01-11T07:26:00.000-08:00

We had a bit of snow yesterday, and more last night. It is supposed to get into the teens tonight. I hate it when it gets that cold - it is a struggle to keep the house warm.

I guess I shouldn't complain, though, since the ducks stay on the pond in every kind of weather!

The glass balls were a Christmas gift from Suki and Pete and the girls. Don't they just add some cool style to the pond? They are from the Museum of Glass in Tacoma.

Free Inventions

2007-01-10T07:35:00.000-08:00

I'm always thinking!

One day we were watching a design show about some people and their dog who lived in a tiny apartment in New York City. Of course we had to get up in the middle of the show to let the dogs out & then back in...wiping their feet on re-entry. What a chore!

So I came up with an invention. You can use it if you want! For free!

The invention is a bathroom for dogs. Maybe cats, too. Why not?

So you put a little room off your mud room. There's a toilet drain in the floor covered by a grid kind of lid that is controlled by a handle high up. There's a hand held shower that has enough length to wash off the whole room.

You teach your dogs where to go outside, why not teach them this? You'd still need to go in there and open the drain cover and wash it down but that's not nearly as awful as picking it up bit by bit from your yard or on your walks.

There are still a few bugs to be worked out such as making sure they have a walk-off mat in case their feet get wet, but I think it has potential. It could also be used as a dog washing area.

My next invention I knew would be a hit, and Paul came up with a name for it..."Cat Scratch Fever." Can you hear the music for the commercial? It is an adaptation of what we did for the goats - two scrub brushes zip tied to the corner of the fence. They would scratch themselves on it all the time - no muss, no fuss critter brush.

My invention would make two scrub brushes with velcro on the back. Velcro them to the wall, and your cats would be grateful.

There are a few other inventions I am still working on, but these two are yours, for free!

Finding Reading Material

2007-01-09T10:28:00.000-08:00

I love to read. I love to read books the normal way...but I also love audio books and almost always have one of each going.

I use audio books in the car, in my cd player on walks and on my mp3 player.

I have several strategies for finding new books to read, but I am constantly trolling for new authors and ideas. I thought I'd outline them in case they'd help someone else....and if anyone has suggestions, please comment with them!

I search my library's website. They have a search function for "on order books" which can be a great way to get new books when they first come out. I put them on hold, and don't worry if I'm number 53 out of 100....it will come to me eventually.
I go on Amazon and go to some of the books I really love. Then I look to see if anyone has made any lists that are associated with the book. I have found a lot of great books that way.
Some of my most read blogs have book posts that offer up suggestions or links that I follow. There are a couple of links on my links list. I make notes about everything!
Newspapers and magazines are the traditional sources. Write them down!
Good friends who read are a great source. Jeannie and I never close a conversation without asking "what are you reading now?"

I mostly get my books from the library since we are not buying anything unless it is something that will go with us to Mexico.

I read a mix of fiction and non-fiction. Right now I am reading two books - Return to Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani and The Ancient Kingdoms of Mexico by Nigel Davis. Very different kinds of books. Return to Big Stone Gap is light reading (I am listening on CD) but the main character is a very thoughtful person and I am enjoying the book. The Ancient Kingdoms of Mexico is very interesting - I am only about forty pages in, but I am loving it.

Pretty Cute!

2007-01-08T07:05:00.000-08:00

We took a new photo of ourselves yesterday...I think we look pretty cool.

What's Up Around Here

2007-01-07T12:04:00.000-08:00

The last couple of days have been full of changes for the Black Dog Blog. But I have been doing a few other things, too!

One thing I'm proud of is the semi-redesign I did for the Key Peninsula News home page this month. I really like the way it's all laid out in a table with a small picture for each story. Take a look!

Bloggish Changes

2007-01-06T18:16:00.000-08:00

You may notice something different here.

Basically, I got sick of doing my blog without a regular blogging tool. Blogger has its shortcomings, but overall I decided to come back to it because of things like the commenting, labels, feeds allowed, etc.

I spent the last few hours cutting and pasting from my old blog to here. Unfortunately, a casualty of this change is that comments made at dardarian.com have been lost.

I think this will make for easier blog management for me. And easier is good.

For the reader - one of the tools that I like is the ability to view posts by topic. Just click on one of the labels to the right and you will be given posts on that topic only.

There's also a blogger search tool in the top left of the page if you are looking for something and can't find it.

Thanks for reading the Black Dog Blog!

2007 Is A Big Year For Us!

2007-01-03T18:08:00.000-08:00

Regular readers may have noticed that the quality and the quantity of my posts here have dropped off in the last month or so. That is because I have had a lot on my mind!

Paul and I are coming out of the closet...with our plans to move to Mexico in the Fall of 2007! We are really excited and are pretty much 100% focused on our formulating our plans.

We've been keeping another blog to follow our decision-making and also the nuts and bolts of the move. So, rather than go into all the details here, check it out at Paul & Nancy's Countdown to Mexico.

We don't know where we're going to be moving yet - we have a post on Countdown about that, too - but we have narrowed it down to four places for now: Mazatlan, Queretaro, Zihuatenejo, and Merida. There are pros and cons to each of them but I really think we could be happy anywhere down there.

You might ask "why?" People I've told so far have had varying reactions. You might think that it's all because we are fed up with the US and that is part of it. We are tired of the consumer oriented culture here, and find that it is really hard to extract ourselves from it. We want a challenge, and a new culture and a new language will give us that. We love our family, and while some will be closer, it will will be more of a challenge to stay in touch with the rest. We hope to land in a place with easy air access from the US to make it easier to entice people down.

We both love gardening but are ready to leave our ten acres for something more modest. The idea of Zone 11 gardening is very exciting to me. Tropicals, yeah!

Paul already is pretty good at Spanish, and he has a wonderful accent. I have been working at it like crazy - probably spending a couple of hours a day at it. I have lots of CD's and MP3's and use them as I go around my daily life - walking the dogs, cleaning, vacuuming, driving, etc. I have several books and workbooks that I work on, too. We watch Spanish language TV and pretty much the only music I play anymore is in Spanish. I know I am improving but I can't even call myself intermediate yet. Ten years of French continues to trip me up. This morning my CD prompted me to say something "young lady" and I responded "mademoiselle." How frustrating is that???

Now that you know about our plans, I'll be writing more here. Suggestions and comments are very welcome.

Hasta Luego!

The Books of 2006

2007-01-03T18:04:00.000-08:00

It's amazing for me to see that I read 77 books in 2006. I had always known that I read a lot, but whew! Since my focus in 2007 is learning to speak Spanish, I doubt that I'll have such a long book list, but who knows?

I enjoyed participating in the 50 Book Challenge and think I will always keep track of my reading in the future.

How to Learn Any Language Quickly, Easily, Inexpensively, Enjoyably and On Your Own by Barry Farber (book #77) was the last book of 2006. I have been working for many hours every day on improving my Spanish. One way I find out about good books for this purpose is to find lists on Amazon that people have created. A number of the "so you want to learn Spanish" lists included this book.

His premise is simple - attack your learning from many different angles, and don't pass up a chance to interact and talk with a speaker in your target language. A summary is on our other blog, here.

A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews (book #76) was a really strange read. And it only reinforces my belief that more harm comes from religion than good. The main character, Nomi, is a wonderful person who had to deal with multiple rejections and ultimately was shunned by the Mennonite sect of which she had been a member. A very good read.

Hot Stuff!

2006-12-28T18:03:00.000-08:00

Henry went to the groomer and came out looking like a Schnauzer!

He is a wonderful little dog and fits in perfectly to our pack.

That's Amore

2006-12-25T17:58:00.000-08:00

I have been on a mission for the last couple of years to learn how to make the best pizza ever. We like our pizza thin crust, nice and crispy, with a variety of cheeses, but not too much.

Our usual toppings are sun-dried tomatoes, red onion, and kalamata olives for me, and turkey pepperoni, onion, and olives for Paul.

I've decided that the main thing that makes the crust great is a bit of semolina added to the flour, and of course you need to use preheated pizza stones.

Below are the cooked versions.

My Heart Belongs to Daddy

2006-12-23T17:57:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness, this picture makes me stop and swallow hard. He looks so impish and happy.

I can't believe he would be eighty years old today. Could that be possible? Can he really have been gone for 24 years?

There's No Place Like Home

2006-12-22T17:54:00.000-08:00

I love my morning walks with the dogs. We usually head out as soon as the sky is starting to brighten - we cross the highway and go down the hill to walk along the road next to the water.

In this picture you can see the middle part of Mt. Rainier. Starting my day with a walk outside by the water with sun on my face and the presence of an ancient mountain makes me feel incredibly rich.

This is one of my favorite views from my morning walk. I know I've put several pictures from this location on my blog already, but each seems more stunning than the last.

I'll stop being a smart-ass now.

2006-12-17T17:52:00.000-08:00

If you read the post below you will see that I made fun of our local TV news as well as taunted the weather. (The post remained unposted until now due to "weather issues.") Well, that should show me. That's because Thursday night around 8 pm our power went out, and it just came back on at 1 pm today - Sunday!

There was a huge windstorm here with wind gusts up to 90 miles per hour - or so they say. To me, it sounded like a 747 was caught in a giant mixer and it went on and on all night long.

We're grateful that we have two propane fireplaces and that we cook with propane. We're not so proud of the fact that we didn't get the generator repaired like we intended to all summer.

Living way out in the dingles meant that our lights came on much later than others further up the Peninsula. I won't make the mistake of taunting Mother Nature again!

And We Thought It Rained A Lot Here Already...

2006-12-14T17:50:00.000-08:00

It's been stormy all week here and the TV news people are just praying that it will get worse. They are doing their best attempting to appear as though the wind is about to knock them over while giving us warning after idiotic warning. I wonder if I am just brilliant or if they believe the entire area is occupied by idiots?

Or maybe that idiot WOULD be me. Why am I here in this god awful soggy weather? The months of June, July, and August aren't enough to make up for this!

I did take the dogs for a walk today, braved the weather for a shopping trip, and dug trenches outside for an hour trying to get a car-sized puddle in the grass to drain down to the lowlands. So I'm not just cranky from being stuck inside while it rains and rains and rains.

The picture here is of the two cedars by the pond that we had limbed up recently. We love the way we can see the pond from the house now. Amazingly, when I took this picture a couple of days ago, it WASN'T raining! Imagine that!

How long is it until June?

Wintertime Fun

2006-12-10T17:49:00.000-08:00

I have had such a wonderful time the last few days! First, we had the tree people here to do a ton of work. They removed three sick ornamental cherry trees and a very old and badly pruned pear tree. They limbed up three of our giant cedars - one that is next to the driveway and two that blocked our view of the pond. Then they proceeded to prune two dogwoods, two Japanese maples, two Italian plums, three apples, a crabapple, and a chinaberry tree. The whole place looks so awesome!

I had already spent some hours on a couple different days blowing leaves into piles and then raking them up. This year was a tough year for leaves because it was so wet...and the mower just can't pick them up unless they are dry.

Once the tree people left we got busy outside. It's been around 40 degrees and foggy so we were able to get quite a bit of work in today before it started raining.

Having the two cedars by the pond limbed up has just transformed the pond...I spent the morning today planting a ton of daylilies around the back border of the pond. They will get enough sun there now and should be just perfect. Then I transplanted an unhappy hydrangea and relocated a rhododendron. I have two more that I am going to move to the far side of the pond - hopefully tomorrow. It should be absolutely beautiful there in the spring. The tree people left us an incredible mountain of wood chips to use for mulch...which should make the place look all tidy once we spread it where it needs to go.

So, that is how we have fun at the Black Dog Farm!

It's Really Me Again

2006-12-07T17:47:00.000-08:00

I've colored my hair off and on for the last 12 years or so. It is a royal pain in the neck, as the gray roots show after just a couple of weeks but it is too expensive to visit the salon that often. If you do it yourself, then you risk putting color on top of color and it starts to look really weird.

So almost a year ago I decided to stop coloring my hair. My hairdresser did all kinds of tricks to help me get through the worst of the grow-out, such as putting foils on my hair in a lighter color so you wouldn't see such a clear line between the old and the new. It wasn't very successful, though, because the colors used for the foil were in the blonde family - they don't seem to make grey hair color for people like me! Every time I went to the salon a whole flock of hairdressers would gather around, scrutinizing my hair and offering suggestions.

Anyway, I have maybe less than an inch of the colored hair remaining on my head, so another couple of months and I will be me again! But I feel like it already...what do you think?

We're Crazy Kids.

2006-12-05T17:45:00.000-08:00

You thought we were coffee nuts already, but it has gotten worse! I have been frustrated with our access to good, fresh roasted coffee in our rural area. The beans I buy have been sometimes good and sometimes awful, and I always seem to be on the verge of running out. So, my latest scheme involved buying green coffee beans and roasting them (yes, you are reading this right) in our air popcorn popper The beans I bought are a Mexican Organic Decaf and a Guatemalan regular.

The beans came yesterday from Sweet Maria's and I got started. The first batch was not roasted long enough but the next two were darned good! I am excited about this since green coffee can last up to a year so I can roast as needed and not worry about the beans getting stale. I am happy now!

A Few Good Books

2006-12-04T17:41:00.000-08:00

About Grace by Anthony Doerr (book #75) is a book that took me two tries to read. I have a very hard time with high-tension segments of either books or movies, and this one had a section that I couldn't get past until the second try. Once I did, though, I was glad I stuck with it.

This book demonstrates how misunderstandings can escalate. It is best not to let that happen.

Wickett's Remedy by Myla Goldberg (book #74) was one I was excited about because I loved her Bee Season so much. This book takes place at the turn of the last century, and has to do with Q-D Soda, a carbonated herbal remedy and also about the Spanish Flu epidemic. It goes back and forth between following the main characters interspersed with advertising for Q-D Soda, some sort of tour being put on by Q-D Soda, and reminiscences by the founder, etc. This is the disconcerting part. Why did she do that? Otherwise, an enjoyable book, but it isn't anywhere near Bee Season.

Malinche by Laura Esquivel (book #73) was one I picked up because of my long standing interest in all things Mexican. The book is a fictionalized account of Malinche, a slave captured by Hernan Cortez to serve as his translator in his overthrow of Montezuma. All of Esquivel's books are moody and dreamlike - and this is no different. A little too fictionalized for my taste, but I still enjoyed it!

It's Cold Here

2006-11-29T17:39:00.000-08:00

It's something like 20 degrees here. The fireplaces are going and the dogs and I rotate from one to the next. The grass has such a strange feel - rock hard instead of a slurpy wet surface that your shoe sinks into! At least I'm glad to not be up in Bellingham with Phil and Jen - not because I don't love them - but because it is way colder up there.

The pond is about three-quarters of the way frozen. I thought I'd put a little movie here for your amusement - it's of the ducks walking on the ice.

Now it's time for another cup of hot coffee - our trip to Mexico in February can't come soon enough!

Snowy Days are for Knitting...

2006-11-28T17:34:00.000-08:00

In knitting news, I gave up on the beret for now. I just didn't like how it started at the top with eight stitches and increased with markers in between each stitch. I guess my fingers are too big and clumsy, but every stitch I took I would drop a marker and the whole thing just made me mad. And since one of the reasons I knit is to feel calm and happy I just quit it. Sorry, Kirsten, I just couldn't do it! I do appreciate your offer of help, though. I'll probably give it another try someday since I checked out all the links on her blog where people who have made it call it an "easy knit."

I know I should be making Christmas gifts for others, but I decided to make the Shetland Triangle from the Wrap Style book by Pam Allen & Ann Budd. I have made several lace scarves before but nothing like this. I think the grey alpaca I am using is wonderful, and it feels like it is going to move along fine.

The only other thing I am working on right now is the socks that I'm making with Koigu. I needed something I could do in the car and plane when we went to Mexico last month - and you can see I haven't made much progress.

I Like Thanksgiving

2006-11-24T17:26:00.000-08:00

Ok, here I go:

I'm grateful for such a wonderful family
I'm grateful for a wonderful husband (we celebrated 9 years together on Thanksgiving)
I'm grateful for grandkids that are smart, funny, good writers, good musicians, and who have good hearts
I'm grateful that we all get along
I'm grateful that we have such nice dogs
I'm grateful the parrots were fine when we got home
I'm grateful that it didn't rain for a couple of hours today
I'm grateful to Phil, Jen, Erica & Owen for hosting such a great Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a picture of someone carving the turkey! Here's a picture of Phil doing the honors...reminds me of an almost identical picture of Dad, way back when! Here is a picture of the living room strewn with the men of the tribe (including Henry) all more or less passed out from too much good Thanksgiving! Jen and Owen had a lively card game. Nana and Erica posed for a picture! Paul is trying out Phil's ipod. Erica smiling for the camera with Paul looking on.

Precipitation is Expected

2006-11-21T17:23:00.000-08:00

To quote Tom Waits, that is:

Emotional Weather Report

late night and early morning low clouds
with a chance of fog
chance of showers into the afternoon
with variable high cloudiness
and gusty winds, gusty winds
at times around the corner of
Sunset and Alvorado
things are tough all over
when the thunder storms start
increasing over the southeast
and south central portions
of my apartment, I get upset
and a line of thunderstorms was
developing in the early morning
ahead of a slow moving coldfront
cold blooded
with tornado watches issued shortly
before noon Sunday, for the areas
including, the western region
of my mental health
and the northern portions of my
ability to deal rationally with my
disconcerted precarious emotional
situation, it's cold out there
colder than a ticket taker's smile
at the Ivar Theatre, on a Saturday night
flash flood watches covered the
southern portion of my disposition
there was no severe weather well
into the afternoon, except for a lone gust of
wind in the bedroom
in a high pressure zone, covering the eastern
portion of a small suburban community
with a 103 and millibar high pressure zone
and a weak pressure ridge extending from
my eyes down to my cheeks cause since
you left me baby
and put the vice grips on my mental health
well the extended outlook for an
indefinite period of time until you
come back to me baby is high tonight
low tomorrow, and precipitation is
expected

Birdland!

2006-11-18T17:20:00.000-08:00

Maya and Tiko at their dishes

Here's breakfast...cooked beans, leftover macaroni and cheese, beans, peas, apple, dried pears.

We love our birds, Tiko and Maya. Tiko is a yellow-shouldered Amazon, and Maya is a Maximillian Pionus.

Maya was our first bird - and she was a perfect first bird, quiet and undemanding. She has some quirks - such as only eating her fruit and vegetables probably two days a week and she does not talk. She does some kind of conversational noises, and a loud screech when she sees Paul's car coming down the driveway. She is a sweetie, though, and will come right over if she thinks you're going to scratch her head. (All you have to do is say "pretty" and make a scratching motion with your finger)

Tiko is about a year and a half old. We have had him for a year now. He is super outgoing and talks a blue streak. He is game for anything, except he doesn't like it when Maya comes too close when they are on the same cage or stand.

Their cages are in a niche in our kitchen. We like them there because our large, open kitchen is where we spend a lot of time...so they get a lot more attention than they did when we had them in a separate room.

When I uncover their cages in the morning I go about my business - making coffee, eating breakfast, browsing the web, etc. while they wake up. Tiko usually talks to himself...and here is an audio file of some of his ramblings...there's a kind of screeching sound in the middle that is actually his imitation of our espresso machine! (Our voices in the background were getting picked up from the other room) Enjoy!

Good Dog!

2006-11-16T17:19:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Catherine of Lives in a Shoe for the tip on using a Gentle Leader to keep dogs from pulling on the leash. I bought them for Henry and Lucy on eBay, and today we had our first walk with both of them using the new collar.

Paul works at home on Thursdays, so we were able to take a walk together this morning, with one dog each. It was a wonderful walk, with the dogs behaving beautifully and energizing sunshine on our faces and blue water in the distance.

One of the things I have wanted to accomplish before we move away from the Black Dog Farm is to have the dogs walk in a relaxed manner on a slack leash. Who knew it would be so easy?

What's In Your TIVO?

2006-11-15T17:15:00.000-08:00

Paul and I have been TIVO subscribers for about six years now, and we can't imagine watching television the old way ever again. We love having an hour show take only 40 minutes...but one of the problems with missing all the commercials is that you often don't know about upcoming shows!

The TIVO people lost money on us since we bought a lifetime subscription at the beginning - no monthly fees for us!

Adam and Phil love to make jokes when they call in the evening about "interrupting our HGTV." They make it seem like all we do is watch television...we do watch pretty much every night from 8 to about 9:30, but I wouldn't say that's all we do.... (I can hear them snort with laughter!)

The list below is our Season Pass list...I always get the most excited when there's a Dog Whisperer available, and Paul loves Miami Ink the best!

Miami Ink (TLC)
Antiques Roadshow (PBS)
Knitty Gritty (DIY)
House Hunters (HGTV)
The Amazing Race (CBS)
Designed to Sell (HGTV)
Jeopardy! (ABC)
Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (BRVO)
Gordon Ramsay's F Word (BBCA) (The F is Food)
Weekend Warriors (HGTV)
Grey's Anatomy (ABC) (Nancy only)
Dog Whisperer (NGC)
Sell this House ( A & E)
Despierta America (UNIV) (We're trying to learn Spanish!)
Buy Me (HGTV)
My Name is Earl (NBC)
Dream House (HGTV)
What not to Wear (TLC)

The Daily Grind

2006-11-13T17:11:00.000-08:00

So, for all those people out there who wonder "what the heck do you do all day if you don't work?", here's the gist of how my day goes now that I am a lady of leisure:

I get up when Paul goes downstairs, sometime around 5:30. Drink some coffee, eat some cereal, check out our favorite blogs and the news on the web. We used to get the paper delivered, but having to call and complain four or so times per week made me cranky early in the day, and I didn't like that. We get the Wall Street Journal but it comes with the mail.
Sometime around 6:30 - 7 I feed the birds. That means cutting up a bunch of vegetables and fruit. I add cooked beans and sometimes eggs, and that keeps them happy while I fix their pellets, change the water, and clean the paper. If I am distracted and don't get to them right away, Tiko will say "good morning", "are you a good bird?" and "hi mom" a million times until I get the hint. (They like to watch Teletubbies on the kitchen tv while they eat.)
After that I take the dogs for a walk. We head across the highway and down the hill to the water. Our usual route is 2 miles. After that they get breakfast.
Here's where it gets murky. Lately I have been working on selling stuff on eBay so I work on researching prices and getting them entered into the "turbolister" software I downloaded. Taking pictures, optimizing them, etc. is part of this chore. So far I have sold a bunch of miscellaneous household goods and have 35 first edition mysteries for sale now. Some things I want to sell aren't eBay type things - which means I will put them on Craigslist, or figure out some other sales angle. This can suck up more time than you can imagine.
Housecleaning, laundry, post office, errands, making dinner, cleaning out closets, blowing leaves around, drinking tea, reading, daydreaming, drinking tea, ski trips on the Nordic track, vacuuming dog hair and bird feathers consumes most of the rest of the day. It's so nice to be able to dash outside for an hour when the rain lets up rather that having outdoor chores pile up endlessly when it rains on the weekend.

I know you think I am actually sitting around eating bon bons and watching the home shopping network but really, I'm not! Really! I am enjoying the hell out of this break, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

A Few More Books!

2006-11-09T17:07:00.000-08:00

I have finished a few more books recently - but it has been a bit of a light reading jag - don't be shocked, I do like chick-lit on occasion, just like the rest of the world!

Breadfruit by Celestine Vaite (book #70) is a book that transports you to Tahiti. In much the same way that Smith transports you to Africa in the Kalahari Typing School for Men novels, the lilting tone and easy charm of the language and the people make a relaxing break from the nasty world we lived in before the election!

I picked up Murder, She Wrote - Margaritas & Murder by Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain (book #69) because it was set in San Miguel de Allende. San Miguel is a place both Paul & I would like to see, and we may possibly take a two week language school vacation there sometime in the next year. The book was very silly but there was enough Mexico-ness in it to keep me reading.

Lucky Girls by Nell Freudenberger (book #68) was a real treat. Set in various locations in Asia, the five short stories mostly revolve around Americans living abroad. These (long) short stories were all extremely well done and all made me wish for her to write a novel. These stories remind me of Haruki Murakami in the sense that you get surprised a lot as you read. I like that.

Lone Star Cafe by Lisa Wingate (book #66) was the start of my chick-lit jag. It was a funny book with lots of improbable romance and warm, small-town barn raising attitude but, you know, I liked it a lot. And I ordered another book of hers from the library, so that says something!

Not Everyone Knows Everything, Especially Me

2006-11-06T17:05:00.000-08:00

There are a couple of knitting projects I want to get started with...and I am frustrated with the instructions in Interweave Knits. I guess they think everyone who reads their magazine and wants to knit their patterns is a very advanced knitter. Without having grandma next door or advanced and generous knitting buddies, how the heck do you figure things out?

Paul would remind me at this point that whenever I rant and rave like this I always end up figuring it out in the end. But why does it need to be so frustrating? Would it kill them to say something like "This project is worked starting at the bottom tip of the wrap with increases until it is at its full width. The edging is picked up and knitted on afterwards." And how about a drawing of the finished item? Sometimes it is very hard to tell from the pictures! It would also help if they put a skill level required rating on each project.

My latest frustration is with a tweed beret in the new issue. It starts on double pointed needles with only 8 stitches and you increase around and around which is something I've done before, no problem. But they are saying you need to put a marker after every stitch and use those as your markers for increases and that all seems to be way fussier than it needs to be. I'd go to my local yarn store but I bought the yard on e-bay so they might not be too hip on helping me. (I rarely buy yarn at yarn stores...)

In other crafty news I have felted a couple sweaters purchased at Goodwill and am going to turn them into handbags for a few of the gals for Xmas gifts.

Fall or Winter, Take Your Pick...

2006-11-05T17:01:00.000-08:00

Saturday there was a crazy wind and rain storm that was so crazy and wild I went outside to take a picture of the insanity. The rain was bouncing up it hit so hard! So after taking the picture above I came inside and noticed that the lights were off. So we lit a bunch of candles and already had the fireplace going. I brought the birds into the living room to hang out by us and stay warm. Paul and I tried to read. It was hopeless so we got our mp3 players out. I started listening to Laura Esquival's "Malinche." After a couple of hours we headed out to get some dinner, returning just as the lights came on! This morning the rain had stopped for my usual walk with the dogs. We live just a couple of blocks from the water and I just adore seeing the morning from this location. Lucy has a tendency to pull on her leash, so we are using the backpack as a way to give her a "job" and make her less likely to pull. Henry pulls all the time...I need to enroll us in obedience classes, soon! I love the autumn colors and I like this picture of our driveway with Lucy included in the frame.

Yo Mama Says, Eat Some Soup!

2006-11-04T17:00:00.000-08:00

Of course it pounded rain all day today, too. Could it be that there are five more months of rain before the sun peeps out again? (that would be approximately 150 days....)

If that is the case, all of you should get busy and listen to yo mama and make some soup! I'll even give you the recipe, here. Did you hear me? Get going, now! Shred a little good parmesan on top, make some corn muffins to go with and of course a nice glass of red wine. I give you permission to have merlot if you like.

Rainy Friday

2006-11-03T16:54:00.000-08:00

It pounded rain for most of the day today so chores inside were the order of the day. I spent some time looking through old photos on the computer and found a wonderful picture of Angus and Lucy...as well as a great one of Tiko. Check them out!

The best picture of the day, though, is Paul's newest tattoo, a tiger on his calf. This is the first tattoo that he has started from the beginning with a vision and followed it through. The picture you see here is of the brand new tattoo - the colors will deepen and the tiger's chest will look white where right now it is red.

Paul's first tattoo was a blurry bird that he got on his arm in the 1970's. He had that covered up a few years ago with a koi fish. Then he realized the koi was too small so he had more fish and flowers incorporated into it so that his upper arm was covered. (In tattoo lingo that's called a half sleeve) Here it is in progress, and here it is complete.

Then he decided he wanted a dragon on his other arm. This, too turned out to be too small so he had the dragon incorporated into a geisha with more flowers.

At some point he decided to also get a crane on one side of his chest and a chrysanthemum on the other, with an om symbol in between.

We also both got wedding rings tattooed on, but we won't put up any pictures of them! I have only the one tattoo, a beautiful bracelet on my right wrist.

We don't think we're crazy....we are just having fun!

Celebrate the Dia de Los Muertos

2006-11-01T07:46:00.000-08:00

Today is a day to celebrate our ancestors....the Day of the Dead. There are various traditions surrounding this holiday in Mexico - from creating shrines with food offerings, to special skull candies and pastries. (You can read more about it here.)

I like that it isn't a sad holiday, it is one of remembrance and celebration. I created my own sort of shrine this morning, with pictures of some of my ancestors.

I included a photo of Angus, as his passing this year was a significant loss for me.

I Feel Your Pain

2006-10-30T16:51:00.000-08:00

Regular readers here know that I quit my job a couple of weeks ago. This news elicits various responses from people:

You are SO LUCKY!
You poor thing!
What are you going to do?
Are you kidding?

Etc, etc....

I have worked all my life and have had a variety of bosses. I've worked in clerical jobs and managerial jobs. I even was co-president of a company for a year and executive vice president for a couple. I have always enjoyed working, and seldom can stand to not work outside the home for very long.

A job gives you a variety of rewards - some are monetary - and some psychological. This is where the balancing happens - you will take a lot more crap and deal with frustration a lot easier if you feel enough reward from the pay and benefits. And on the flip side, you can handle low pay a lot easier if you get the psychological rewards you need.

Enough about all that. It's in the past.

But here in the present, life is wonderful. I can work outdoors every day - and after the last couple of years of working almost full time, the property needs it! I can make actual homemade dinners. We've had some wonderful soup, quiche and pizza, and salads nearly every day. The ironing rack is empty. The dogs and the parrots adore having me here. I can spend half a day working on the Key Peninsula News website (like I'll do today), putting things up on Ebay for sale, or writing a blog entry.

Stay tuned.

First Frost

2006-10-30T16:49:00.000-08:00

Today was our first frost. It's always a bittersweet time for me....I love the change of seasons but I am not looking forward to our usual rainy winter.

After I took this picture it got very windy for several hours and there were a ton of leaves on the ground. Paul mowed up most of the leaves on the property in probably less than an hour - enough to cover two of our raised beds.

We also cut down the two crazy bananas that have overtaken the path. My plan is to relocate them sometime this fall...I haven't figured out where, yet.

Happy Lady

2006-10-27T16:47:00.000-07:00

So this is the sight that greeted Paul when he drove in from work today...the dogs and I having a walk on the property while we waited for him to come home! Hey, it is such a treat for me to be here when he comes home, that I want him to have his whole pack greet him with big smiles!

Of course you'll also notice the way-cool boots that replaced my old farm boots this year and that my hair is really gray now!

Mexico is Everywhere

2006-10-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

I looked at the Seattle Times this morning, and here was an article about a shop in Condesa that Martha and I had visited. In the same paper there was also an article about crops rotting because there are not enough people to pick them this year. Most of the pickers they employ are from Mexico. The first issue of Inside Mexico, a magazine about/for expats living in Mexico is available here (3 mb .pdf) (There is a map of Condesa on pg 26) Every day there are articles about talented artists, writers, restaurants and new retail. Could it be a sign that we should be there? I think so! Mexican Days by Tony Cohan (book #65) is the second book I've read of his, - the first being On Mexican Time. This book is mostly about his travels - starting in San Miguel de Allende and visiting Guanajuato, Oaxaca, Mexico City, Jalapa, the Yucatan and other smaller towns along the way. He knows people everywhere and frequently seems to know someone who can introduce him to the town.

Happy Days at Home

2006-10-23T16:42:00.000-07:00

his weekend was the best! Both kids were home for the weekend...Phil with the family. We had so much fun! Of course there was lots of food. Many beverages. Many stories, and laughing, and showing pictures and in general catching up. If Martha had been here it would have been perfect.

Erica and Owen doted on the dogs and spent a fair bit of time "training" them. This consists of giving the dogs treats when they sit down, which is something that pretty much doesn't require training! It was fun for all, though. They went with me on our morning walk and took turns holding Henry's leash while I handled Lucy. It was a wonderful morning and we had a great time.

In the picture above Adam is showing Phil some pictures of their place in Mexico and they are talking about work. Somehow I remembered to take a picture, which is a minor miracle!

On Sunday Erica, Jen and I made pizza while the guys tried to give the Seahawks some fan support. The pizza was better than the Seahawks, ha ha!

Adam headed out early Monday for his conference in Vancouver, and with Phil and Jen and the kids already gone, the house was pretty quiet....except for Tiko asking over and over "are you a good bird?"

A Few More Books....

2006-10-23T16:40:00.000-07:00

The Night Journal by Elizabeth Crook (book #64) was an enjoyable book. It is a mystery having to do with a family in New Mexico at the turn of the last century. The main character is Hannah, a woman who came west from Chicago to be a "Harvey Girl" - basically a live-in waitress at one of Mr. Harvey's out of the way hotels. Hannah wrote journals which her daughter publishes...but of course there are a few things Hannah's daughter Bassie didn't find out before she died, but that her granddaughter Meg ferrets out in the end.

Lovesick Blues by Paul Hemphill (book #63) is a biography of Hank Williams. I've been interested in Hank Williams since I read Bob Dylan's autobiography earlier this year, and he raved about his admiration for Hank.

What a troubled soul he was. A lovable drunk, basically. What a waste of a lot of talent...to die at 29 years old. This book was like watching a slow motion car crash.

One interesting thing - Hank wrote the song "I saw the Light" not as a religious song, but because when he and his band would be driving back home after a concert, and he would be asleep in the back seat, drunk, his buddies would wake him up when they "saw the lights" of the airport up ahead.

More Surprises from the Black Dog Farm

2006-10-20T16:39:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know most people think that mid-lifers should be predictable and all that, but I have quit my job after almost seven years. This isn't the place to go into details, so email or call if you'd like to hear all about it. It's a little scary but Paul and I are positive we won't be sharing dog food with Lucy and Henry and that Tiko and Maya won't have to make funny talking videos in an attempt to support the family!

Both Adam and Phil (and maybe Jen, Erica & Owen) will be here this weekend, so I will be a happy mom with my family around me.

Wet Weekend With The Last of the Garden

2006-10-17T16:30:00.000-07:00

This last Sunday Paul and I were busy harvesting and putting up produce. Check it out below!

Here is a bit of the garden bounty! The grapes in the basket were a surprise - we didn't even know we had seedless grapes out there! (I put some of them in the dehydrator and am hoping we end up with raisins...)

Here is the last of the Roma tomatoes. We had a bumper crop this year, and I have done a lot of drying....Tiko and I both LOVE dried tomatoes.

Here they are getting put on the drying trays.

12 hours later they are dried!

The final product!

We have some crazy grapevines that have climbed all over the place this year, including up a whole row of apple trees! It was a challenge to harvest these, but look how many we got!

There were more green grapes than purple, and since we wanted to make purple grape jelly, we were a little unsure about what to do with the green ones. In the end we decided to combine them and hope the purple skins stained the whole thing so it would come out nice and dark.

Here is a picture of Paul getting started removing the grapes from the bunches. The Seahawks were on so we stayed entertained.

After they were all removed, we washed them and then cooked them. Then we strained them through cheesecloth until we just had juice.

Then we combined the juice with sugar and pectin, cooking that together; putting it in jars, and using the water-bath canner, canned them all in batches of seven.

Here is the final product - 33 jars of grape jelly! And it is wonderful and very purple, so the addition of the green grapes didn't matter!

I should have taken some pictures of the kitchen while we were actually doing the canning as it was a total disaster area.

So that is what we did last weekend!

Book Catsup (or Book Catch-up) if you prefer...

2006-10-15T16:25:00.000-07:00

The Testing of Luther Albright by MacKenzie Bezos (book #62) is one of those books that keeps coming back to you throughout the days afterwards. (ok, I just finished it a couple of days ago, but...) Luther Albright is an obsessive person who seems easy enough to figure out at first...but he really isn't that easy to understand after all.

This book has many absolutely first class scenes that make it totally worthwhile, but there is such an underlying sadness in Luther that it might be a little hard to read for some.

By the way, she IS married to Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com fame. The Lady and the Panda by Vicki Croke (book #61) was one of the books I took with me to Mexico. It kept me entertained enough, but if I hadn't been on vacation without a lot of other reading options, I might have given up on it. And of course the fact that the book was a gift from my best friend, and I had to understand why she felt compelled to mail it to me!

The book starts out in the thirties following the death of Ruth Harkness's explorer husband. Ruth decides to take up his pursuit of the giant panda in China even though she knows nothing of exploring, and is a hard core smoker and drinker.

Various other explorers do sneaky and mean things to her...she hooks up with Quentin Young, a young Chinese explorer, and together they are able to get a baby panda to bring home. With the exception of the relationship between Quentin and Ruth, I found the book a mostly scary account of why so many species have been driven to near-extinction.

The Seduction of Water by Carol Goodman (book #60) was interesting enough to keep me reading but also infuriating to my critical ear. She would say someone "descended the staircase" when it would have been so much better to say "went downstairs" or something similar. The flowery writing and over-dramatization of the Selki legend was overdone, and I can't believe her mother's two novels were so well read that everyone she knew or ran into had read them! The transparency of her parents' fear of hotel fire was ridiculous, also.

If you are trapped somewhere with no other books available to read, go ahead and read it, but if you have any other choice, don't bother, if you want my opinion! The Secret River by Kate Grenville (book #59) is a wonderful but also horrifying look at the invasion of Australia by the English. The first part of the book takes place in nineteenth century London, where William Thornhill works incredibly hard as a kind of river taxi driver, but ends up imprisoned for petty crime and is ultimately sent to Australia, along with his wife and child.

While his wife longs to return to London when their banishment is over, William stakes a claim to a piece of land along the river, and convinces his wife to settle it with him.

The people they meet during their time on the river - both Aboriginal and English, are case studies of people in any age. William's internal conversations tell of his struggle with the displacement of the Aboriginal people and his contempt for the racist English...but his desire for a piece of land of his own made him compromise his beliefs.

This book made me all the more interested in, and respectful of, the Aboriginal people of Australia.

Tasty!

2006-10-13T16:21:00.000-07:00

In general I would say everything in Mexico is more interesting and fun than in the US. And this goes double for ice cream. What would you say to ices and ice creams in the following flavors:

Rice
Avocado
Tequila
Rose Petal
Caramel
Herb
Jicama
Mezcal
Turkey
Red Mole

Tepoznieves originated in Tepoztlan and is now a franchised chain with a dozen or more shops in Mexico. If you go, don't miss it! They give you little taste scoops, and all of them are unique and most are great!

Does this question have an answer?

2006-10-11T16:14:00.000-07:00

The question is: Why are there so many cool small cars in Mexico that aren't available in the US? Is it because everyone here still loves SUV's or because of our emission controls? Or maybe there are import duties that would raise the cost too much? I would like to know...because I would love to see all these cars running around the USA.

The Seat Leon Cupra - is a small car made in Spain. Isn't it cute? And with 240 hp and 32.8 mpg! The Seat Ibiza is just as cute. - a more economical car, it has from 64 to 180 hp and gets from 28 to 26 mpg depending on the model. The Ford Ka is available in many countries, the UK and Mexico among them. It is a hilarious little car that gets from 34 to 57 mpg WITH air conditioning. The Renault Megane is my favorite car of all. Every time I saw one I just had to take a minute to look at it. 225 hp and from 25 to 47 mpg! The Renault Clio is all over Mexico, and is a smaller car than the Megane so I assume it gets better gas mileage, too. (but I couldn't find the info on the website.) The VW Lupo is a 99 hp, 3 passenger car that gets from 28 to 41 mpg. There are lots of VW models in Mexico that we don't see here. The Smart car is a new car developed by Mercedes Benz and Swatch. It is a two passenger car that gets around 60 mpg. The picture below is the Smart car that Adam and Martha own.

Generosity

2006-10-10T16:13:00.000-07:00

Whenever I travel to Mexico, I am always struck by what generous people they are, and also struck with the contrast to ungenerous Americans. It's terrible for me to feel that my country has lost its way, and that people are more interested in the superficial and are unconnected to meaning and true pleasure. I've watched and experienced generosity in Mexico many times, and I know that it is as much a part of their culture as continual striving for success is in ours.

Friends and family of Martha and Adam have shared their holidays with me, shared their homes with me, invited me on trips and refused to allow me to pay my way...I have been invited to many intimate family gatherings just because I was Adam's mother, and even though I could only communicate at the most basic level. I have tried to reciprocate but somehow it is never as generous and relaxed as their invitations seem, and I truly believe it is as basic to my heritage as their easy generosity is for them.

One night in Mexico City Adam wasn't feeling well so we went to their favorite taco stand for chicken soup for Adam and tacos for the rest. While we waited, a little street boy who is familiar to everyone in the neighborhood ran up with a coin and asked for a taco. The owner sent him to the cashier (his wife) to pay, and prepared a generous taco for the boy to take away. As he started to leave, the cashier pressed a handful of money in the boy's hand as "change." He ran off. A few minutes later his sister arrived, and the same interaction ensued. It was obvious that the couple happily made sure these kids had a little good food every day and were happy to give it.

They would be surprised that I even think their actions were noteworthy. It's just what they do, and how they relate to the world around them...generous people, smiling and happy.

D.F.

2006-10-09T16:11:00.000-07:00

Among locals, Mexico City is referred to either as just Mexico or as DF (pronounced de effe), which stands for districto federal. For some reason it has a reputation for being a dangerous place to visit, but we surely didn't have any problems or feel uneasy at any time, even when riding the subway or in the city center.

It's hard to explain what a city of 25 million feels like. For the most part it is like any city - your life mostly revolves around a couple of neighborhoods. But you are aware that there are a lot of people there - the highways and streets are almost always packed, and there is a constant hum of traffic in the background. Everything functions well, though...for example, the freeways are extremely crowded...if that many cars tried to drive here it would come to a standstill, but in DF they keep moving. And to top it off drivers are polite to each other, even as a taxi squeezes into a spot that couldn't possibly accommodate it! Being driven around DF is quite an experience - made me feel like I was in the middle of a city wide car racing video game. I believe the drivers there are much more competent than here - they really are talented.

We flew into Mexico at night so we couldn't get a look at the entire city, but finally when we flew to Zihuatanejo we were able to see it from the air. The city is incredible - I am sure it took more than five minutes in the air before we moved over open country! When you look down on it one thing I noticed was that there are lots of areas of large office buildings - not just one major business area. I'm sure I saw at least 10-12 areas with very tall office buildings.

More later.

What a Wonderful Vacation!

2006-10-08T16:09:00.000-07:00

We are back from our wonderful week in Mexico, visiting with Martha and Adam. We spent about half the time with them in Mexico City and the other half in Zihuatanejo. We had an absolutely amazing time, and promise that I'll write more about our impressions in the coming days. Right now you will have to be satisfied with the pictures I've put here.

Close Your Eyes...

2006-09-30T16:07:00.000-07:00

And imagine happy people exploring the international and trendy Condesa district in Mexico City, getting a first look at the newly completed condo, and visiting many interesting archeological and historical places. Then picture those same happy people lying on a beach in the shade of a palapa, or sitting by the pool talking, or eating at a beachside restaurant.

So, if you've imagined that correctly, you've seen Paul and me and Adam and Martha goofing around together!

I'll tell about the real experience by and by.

Home Sweet Home

2006-09-28T16:03:00.000-07:00

As part of the reformation of the Black Dog Farm pack after Angus's passing, I have been taking the dogs for a walk every day. For city dwellers this may seem like a normal enough thing, but for people who live in the country...it seems a little pointless. I mean the dogs can run around all over the place to their heart's content, so why bother with a walk?

I've read enough dog psychology, though, to know that it can be very stressful for dogs to figure out where they stand in the pack hierarchy when there is a change in its structure. What the walkcan do is reaffirm Paul's and my authority as pack leaders and give the dogs a chance to follow their pack leader for almost an hour in the morning.

So, to get to the point, I have been taking the dogs for a walk every day before work. What a revelation it has been! We live just a couple of blocks from the water, but crossing the highway and catching a glimpse of the sun coming up with the gleaming water, beautiful trees, and mountains give me such a positive outlook on the day! I can't believe I haven't done this sooner! What a dope! All that beauty combined with the love I have for Lucy and Henry are just a perfect way to start the day.

You know you have a good marriage if...

2006-09-27T16:01:00.000-07:00

he doesn't complain that the window needs to be open at night, regardless of the weather
you come home and find the dishwasher emptied
you can talk about anything
you have the same attitude about money
you laugh at the same passages in books
you never feel criticized
your day is suddenly better when you see him waiting for you

The News is Out!

2006-09-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

It's only been raining for a few days and already we are itching for our trip to Mexico to hurry up and come! We're going to visit Adam and Martha in a few weeks - spending some of the time in Mexico City to see their new place and see the sights of the city and several days on the coast in Zihuatanejo.

In addition to seeing their current apartment and their upcoming condo, we want to see the pyramids, the zocalo, xochimilco, frida kahlo and diego rivera art, and enjoy many wonderful Mexican meals. We'll walk the dogs in the park near their house. We'll drink coffee and hang out. We'll meet people. It will just be good to see them again and have a relaxed time to talk and reconnect. My speedypin has been great, but it just isn't like "being there." (speedypin is the super cheap phone card I use to call them)

Appropriate Reads

2006-09-20T15:54:00.000-07:00

Anyone reading this knows that our well loved dog, Angus, died last week. He had cancer and even though he'd had two rounds of chemotherapy, in the end the cancer won. It has been a very emotional time - and as happens whenever I experience loss, I think about life - and what it all means. A couple of books lately have helped me in this process:

Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coehlo (book #57) is a very interesting story written from the perspective of Veronika, a young woman who attempts suicide - and survives to find that she has damaged her heart and will die soon. Changing perspectives on the meaning of life and love and a number of interesting twists make this a good book, especially for me right now.

Black Swan Green by David Mitchell (#58) is a wonderful story about a boy growing to adulthood. Jason is a stammerer and an undercover poet. His thoughtful observations on people and life and his management of the transition into young adulthood and the bullying he experiences was really well done. Loss is a recurring theme in the book, which makes it another appropriate read for me this week. This book was up for the Man Booker prize this year but didn't make the cut. I can't imagine why.

Birthday Boy

2006-09-19T15:52:00.000-07:00

Owen turned seven years old last Sunday, and we all had fun helping him celebrate!

The dogs went with us to celebrate Owen's birthday...and they are adjusting to life without Angus. As you can see from the picture below they still look a little dazed.

Rest In Peace Angus, loyal friend and pack member

2006-09-15T15:51:00.000-07:00

We will miss him. What more can we say?

What Packs Do

2006-09-11T15:48:00.000-07:00

I am very interested in dog psychology and pack behavior, and thought I'd share some tidbits on how the Black Dog Farm pack behaves:

People come in the door first. Paul and I are the pack leaders, and we enter and leave the house first - except first thing in the morning, when they really need to GO!

Higher level pack leaders get groomed by the lower level pack members. Paul and I get our faces washed a lot!

Lowest level member (Henry) always "escorts" Angus into the house.

When emergency vehicles go by with their sirens blaring the whole pack howls. Yes, that means Paul and me, also! We throw back our heads and howl like a wolf pack at a full moon. It's my favorite pack activity!

Was it a Wasted Weekend or a Perfect Weekend?

2006-09-10T15:45:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it again. Altogether too much reading and too little work has been done around this place by yours truly lately. This house hasn't had more that what my grandmother called "a lick and a promise" in quite a while. Vacuuming is the only must-do chore around here - without a good vacuuming a couple of times a week the feathers and dog hair would be intolerable!

Angus is still hanging in there. He needs his doggie aspirin to stay somewhat comfortable but he still barks at deer and eats like he's starving twice a day.

My best friend sent me two books in the mail this week - The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio by Terry Ryan and The Lady and the Panda by Vicki Constantine Croke. What a treat! And what a treat to have a best friend who reads, shares books, and who has been my best friend for almost forty years! I am so lucky!

The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio by Terry Ryan (book #56) was a fun book that I read in about 5 hours. I just couldn't put it down! It's a true account of a mother of 10 who mostly supported her family writing jingles and winning contests in the 1950's and 60's. She was a strong woman with a positive attitude in the face of adversity - an alcoholic husband, her own clumsiness, and never enough money to go around. Thank you, Jeannie!

Love and Other-Near-Death Experiences by Mil Milington (book #55) was wonderful. I love books that are funny, where the characters are unusual and irreverent. This book revolves around Rob, a young man who is late to an appointment and hence is not killed in an explosion. The people he meets and the ensuing drama is sometimes hilarious and very well done. I laughed out loud a lot and was constantly reading parts of it to Paul even though he just HAS to read it, too. So should you!

The Rural Life

2006-09-06T15:42:00.000-07:00

Many people share the desire to live a simpler life in a rural environment - to eat and enjoy life based on the seasons, and to share work and festivities with people who really know and care about each other. What an idea!

A Thousand Days in Tuscany by Marlena De Blasi (book #54) recounts about a year in a small village in Tuscany. She describes the grape harvest, olive harvest and pressing, Friday night communal suppers and how the community cared for a woman fighting illness. It seems a very idealized account -but that's not a criticism - I really liked the book. Our move to the Pierce County was driven by many of the same desires...and our interest in moving to Mexico someday, as well.

De Blasi is a fine cook and cookbook author and often shares a recipe for the meals discussed in the book. I'll shelve it in with my cookbooks once Paul has had a chance to read it.

For those of you wondering how Angus is doing...ok, I guess. He barked at a deer this morning and jumped off the bed by himself...as well as ate his breakfast. He pants a lot and barks when he wants attention. He seems a bit better when we give him the doggie aspirin. Who knows?

Tattoo Pride

2006-09-05T15:39:00.000-07:00

Well, you have to know that I love my tattoo, but sometimes you just want to cover it up and also show off your knitting! I finally figured out how to do a "knit 4 together through the back loop" decrease, and once I did this went really fast. Next I'm going to get started on some of the Perdita wristbands on Knitty this month.

Fall is Coming (part two)

2006-09-02T15:34:00.000-07:00

We've taken Angus to our regular vet a couple of times in the last week and know that he is starting to fail now for real. He has been an amazing example of how to manage illness - his strong and happy attitude has carried him for a year and a half now. Of course the fact that since he's a dog and doesn't know the reality of what he faces, an optimistic attitude is a little easier than it might be for a human!

It was April 2005 when we were told he had lymphosarcoma. Without treatment he would have had less than a couple of months to live. We opted for chemotherapy, and he had two rounds of treatment. His quality of life has been amazingly good this whole time, and even now there are times when he chases around just like a puppy.

Early this morning he threw up, then again about a half hour later. But he ate well and seems alert. Every little sign makes us anxiously watch him for more changes but he usually just perks up and is his old self again for a while.

Angus and Us ( click for a montage of pictures of Angus)

He's such a strong little guy that I wouldn't try to predict how the next months will go, but we love our little one and have loved having him as a member of the Black Dog Farm pack.

Fall is Coming! (That means it is time to come inside and read books!)

2006-09-01T15:32:00.000-07:00

I just finished The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler. (book #53) There had been a lot of buzz about it when it first came out, so it had been on my "want to read" list for a while. The book goes back and forth between book club meetings, social events of the club members, and their reminiscences. Marital splits, death, romance, enduring love are all wound together with a discussion of various Austen novels.

It's not a challenging read or particularly insightful - but the characters are well done and do in fact remind you of Austen characters themselves - which is of course a delightful but expected choice. I liked it.

Oh, Henry!

2006-08-30T15:31:00.000-07:00

Here is Henry strutting his stuff after his first haircut!

Yummmm!

2006-08-28T15:29:00.000-07:00

We have only four raised beds planted with vegetables this year, but we can't complain about the harvest!

We've been eating peas and zucchini and cucumbers pretty much non-stop for months. The peppers, onions, basil, and beans are really going great, and the heirloom tomatoes are about to bury us by the bushel-full. Ok, so maybe not more than one bushel, but quite a lot.

The fig tree is covered with fruit - thank goodness they don't all ripen at once! We also have a bumper crop of grapes - this time the green grapes are the most prolific instead of the purple ones. Should I make juice, or wine?

Don't Hate Me!

2006-08-27T15:27:00.000-07:00

I guess I did do a few chores today...a load of laundry, a bunch of ironing, exercised, worked on the KP News, and other odds and ends, but for most of the day I sat in the sun on the deck or in the shade in the hanging chair, reading. I pretty much read the entire book - Dry. by Augusten Burroughs. (book #52) It is a mesmerizing read about a gay NYC ad agency creative who hits bottom and works his way through recovery. But it is more than that - it is book about surviving crazy family, how to recognize love when you see it, and the empowerment that comes with gaining control over your life.

Day-O

2006-08-26T15:26:00.000-07:00

Does anyone even know who Harry Belafonte is anymore? Do you associate the song Day-O with anything other than an ad for the (former) Bon Marche? (The song is about loading bananas for those of you born after 1965!) And of course the reason I thought of the song is that we are growing bananas in our very own Western Washington back yard! Bring the ice cream and chocolate sauce in about October for a banana split made with home grown bananas! It would be nice if I wasn't kidding...but unfortunately we can already feel the change in the air as our world hurtles towards fall.

Our Tired Little One

2006-08-25T15:21:00.000-07:00

Angus isn't feeling well lately. The prednisone had been helping him feel more like himself, but the last few days we've seen a change in him. Most nights he sleeps on the bed with us...we have a fan going so he can sleep with his face in the cool air. A choking fit this morning left him worn out.

I'm taking him to the vet this morning - as you can see in the picture above he is our tired little one.

It's Over!

2006-08-22T15:20:00.000-07:00

The last week has been dominated by my office move. Thankfully, it is finally over. We are all happy to be out of our cramped space with cubicles and clutter and into our new posh space with individual offices, an actual storage room, and a kitchenette. The move went pretty well, with only a few mishaps...one that was funny was my thinking that the copier/printer had been broken in the move because the display was blank....and then discovering the "contrast" dial. The movers also dropped a desk on a settee in the lobby, but obviously they are used to things like that because they cheerfully told the building management they'd pay for the damage.

We've had our first office meeting and now the challenge is to try to find the rhythm of normal work again. But can I have a day off, first?

Those Crazy Kids!

2006-08-19T15:18:00.000-07:00

The above is a picture of Adam in front of their new Smart Car. They took it on a trip to Zihuatanejo (on the coast North of Acapulco.)

Books and more books

2006-08-19T15:11:00.000-07:00

I've finished three more books lately, and have now read fifty books so far this year! It really amazes me - I had no idea I read so much!

A Boy of Good Breeding by Miriam Toews (#48) was a real fun read. I read about the book on 50 Books and I know I will read more by Toews. A little wacky (aren't we all) and a lot of soul.

The Bookwoman's Last Fling by John Dunning (#49) is a mystery set around book collecting. As an occasional collector myself, and a mystery fan, I read any and all Dunning novels. No gore, no extreme tension, just a good old fashioned mystery that keeps you guessing until the end.

What to Eat by Marion Nestle (#50) is a very revealing look at the food industry. She goes through the supermarket by category and explains the pros and cons of the choices available. I can't say that there was anything in here I didn't know about food, as I have always had an interest in nutrition, but some of the information about supermarkets was an eye-opener. For example, I have read many places that the grocery industry has the lowest margins of any industry - something around 2-3%. But - hello - that doesn't take into account the huge money they make in slotting fees and the like. Very Interesting!

What a Wonderful Family!

2006-08-14T15:09:00.000-07:00

The family reunion at Sunriver couldn't have been more perfect. It was just plain wonderful. I had never been there - and now I can understand why so many people rave about it for this type of occasion.

I don't know what I liked the best. I think it was the relaxed way we were able to visit with each other. Relaxed for me, I guess, because we didn't host one of the dinners - and I'm glad, too, since we could have never done as fabulous a job as the three who did!

I loved meeting Beth, and seeing Brian again. I loved hanging out with Wendy and Polk. I loved riding bikes with Erica and Owen. I loved relaxing by the pool with a various relatives. I loved hot tubbing at the end of a long day. There is just way too much to list!

Once the Sunriver aura has worn off I'll write something more insightful about families and what it means to me to be aware of the responsibility of each generation to pass along our shared heritage. (more pictures on family reunion page)

Everyone, Brace Yourselves!

2006-08-06T15:05:00.000-07:00

Everyone, who? Well, this is the list:

1 husband
1 (ea) aunt and uncle
2 cousins and their spouses
5 second-cousins (one with spouse)
2 sisters and their spouses
1 son and his spouse
2 grandchildren
2 nieces

What is going on, you ask? Well, the whole shooting-match with the exception of (dang!) "1 son and his spouse" will be attending probably the first ever -at least in this century - family reunion.

What are my predictions?

Someone will get a sunburn
Someone will tell an embarrassing story about someone else
Someone will bring too many clothes
Someone will forget something
Some kids will stay up way too late and some adults will fall asleep way too early
The workout room will be an empty place
Someone will drink too much
Someone will get lost
Someone will finish over par in golf
There will be sparring over the crossword puzzle
There will be too much food
The time will go way too quickly

Evolution and "Christian" Zeal

2006-08-02T15:01:00.000-07:00

I finished two more books in the last week... The Darwin Conspiracy by John Darnton (book #46)and The Crucible by Arthur Miller (book #47.) I didn't realize until I was getting ready to write this that the topics were quite a contrast!

The Darwin Conspiracy is a fictionalized account of Darwin's voyage on the Beagle and his life and family. It is spoken in three voices - Darwin's, his daughter Lizzie's, and of Hugh Kellem, a modern day researcher. Because it was fictionalized the book left a lot to be desired, but it did kindle a desire to read more about Darwin and possibly also his Origin of the Species or the Descent of Man.

I listened to The Crucible on an audio book - with Stacey Keach, Richard Dreyfus and others performing the play. It was very intense and moving - and also felt very contemporary given what is going on in the Middle East right now. I am horrified by what people will do in the name of religion, and how it always seems it is the innocent and honest people who end up sentenced to die.

Life On the KP

2006-08-01T12:12:00.000-07:00

The Key Peninsula is an interesting place to live. There is a history of eccentricity here - dating back to the turn of the last century and the anarchist town of Home...which is where we make our home! (No, officer, I do live at Home...really, sir, I'm not being smart mouthed...) So, being eccentric ourselves, we fit right in.

Or sort of. The problem out here is there isn't a real town-y kind of town...just some businesses along the highway. This makes meeting people a matter of joining groups or being so outgoing that you get to know everyone along the way. I am typically not much of a joiner, and while I consider myself social I am certainly not very good at making real friends from casual encounters. So of course we feel somewhat isolated here, with casual friends but few good ones.

Adding to the above is the fact that Paul and I prefer spending time with each other over pretty much any other pursuit (which is as it should be for a married couple, in my opinion) but that also makes me reluctant to "squander" time that we could spend together.

But one thing we have both done out here that has given us a lot of pleasure is to volunteer with the Key Peninsula News. The paper is an excellent monthly paper, written by an almost all volunteer staff. The writing, production, delivery, editing, and website are all handled by Key Peninsula residents. The paper's editor is Rodika Tollefson, an amazing writer, manager, motivator, and mentor for the group at large. The volunteers are a varied bunch - with amazing resumes and life stories that make for animated meetings and interesting articles and photos.

Paul handled website content management for the paper for a couple of years; when he got a bit tired of it I took over. I feel proud that for such a small paper there is such strong support for the website and an understanding of how it can augment the print edition.

If you have the time you should take a look at the paper here. The writing is really good, the people are real, and the community is a very nice one once you get to know it.

Yes, We Have No Bananas...Yet

2006-07-28T12:09:00.000-07:00

Those of you familiar with the Black Dog Farm know our crazy bananas - most years they grow taller than the year before. From their current appearance you'd never know that we thought they'd died in the harsh winter we had this year. There was barely any green showing even into the month of June!

Now they are both around 15 feet tall, with healthy, lush foliage. In previous years one of them flowered, but it was in late fall and there was no hope of fruit.

The shocker now is that we have a flower and since it is late July, maybe there is actually a chance for some bananas from our decidedly non-tropical Washington State garden.

Imagine This

2006-07-23T12:03:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder what other people's lives are like...what they do when they get up, what they eat, what their daily routines are, etc. So, in case you are interested in living vicariously, here is a picture of our world right now:

It's 6 pm. We've already eaten dinner because we have both been very hungry all day so we decided to eat early. Paul and I are in our office, each on our computers. He is looking at Jetta information on the web, probably to 1) fill in his knowledge of the car and 2) to make him feel even better about his decision to buy (as if that was even possible!) I am obviously working on my blog.

Lucy is asleep on the rug, ignoring the cushy, expensive bed. Angus is sleeping at my feet, probably because this is one of the hottest days of the year, and while it is 95 degrees outside, our heat pump has managed to keep the house at about 83. He's decided the chair mat under my desk is a cool place for a dog to sleep.

Henry is out in the hallway, playing with toys from the toy bucket. With the exception of a couple of toys, the bucket has been put up for the last couple of weeks since he scatters a couple of dozen toys around the house if he gets a chance. This is quite an opportunity, and he's not going to let it pass!

Maya is on her stand on Paul's desk. She just loves Paul so much she can barely take her eyes off him, or her next favorite fellow, Tiko.

Tiko is on his rolling stand between our desks. He is crawling up and down, ringing his bell, and in general being the goofball he always is.

We'll probably hang out here for another half hour and then go outside and see if it's gotten any cooler. If it has, I imagine we'll climb into the hammock for a bit of togetherness as the weekend winds to a close. Later.

The Forecast Is Hot and Sunny

2006-07-22T11:59:00.000-07:00

It's been more than a week since I posted...and a very busy week it was. Last weekend was wonderful, with Phil, Jen and Owen for the day, and then Sunday over to Bainbridge to show Adam and Martha's house. Tuesday and Thursday evenings after work were spent over in Tacoma on our mystery expedition, and yesterday, my day off - I spent most of the day at Bainbridge again but this time I believe I rented the house! I am so happy about that - and not just because it was a bit of a hassle, but also because the people seem perfect. I told Adam and Martha that if we were patient and didn't get too antsy we'd get the right people, and it seems that Mom was right again!

So, were you wondering what the Mystery Expedition was? Just look at the picture! Paul has a new car - and after driving pickup trucks for the last seven or eight years, he is one happy VW Jetta GLI owner. This is a very sporty car, with a four cylinder turbo - 200 HP, six-speed fancy tiptronic transmission with paddle shifters...lots of other fun stuff, including integrated XM Radio that is free for three months. (He has already listened to the Bob Dylan hosted radio show) He started his car research project with very specific requirements - it needed to be under $25,000 and needed to get over 30 MPG. He also really wanted a sporty car with a lot of spunk. He drove a lot of cars, with most of them having an econo-box feel, with the exception of this one and maybe the Mazda 3. Congrats, Paul...and let me drive it once in a while, ok?

A Couple More

2006-07-14T11:55:00.000-07:00

It's a beautiful day here in Western Washington, after several days of drizzly weather. When it is beautiful here, it is really wonderful. Not too hot, just the right amount of breeze, and birds zooming about. An article on Gig Harbor appeared in the Seattle Times today - and it made me think about how wonderful it is to live in a place that others come to for their vacations! As a matter of fact, our granddaughter Erica is coming to the Key Peninsula this weekend for her first week-long summer camp experience!

I finished another couple of books this week...Kicked, Bitten & Scratched by Ann Sutherland (book #44), and The Diary of Samuel Pepys by Samuel Pepys (book #45.)

Kicked, Bitten & Scratched is a non-fiction account of a year in the "premier school for animal trainers" in Southern California. I was introduced to Ann Sutherland in her recent article in the New York Times. I thought she was so funny - and since animal-training is a topic I am always interested in, I picked it up. It was interesting to see what it takes to become an animal trainer, and it reinforced that my vegetarianism wouldn't mesh with the world of wild animals - or more particularly preparing their food. That's all I'll say, but blech!

The Diary of Samuel Pepys came to me on Paul's recommendation. Pepys was an interesting man who lived in interesting times. While recounting what it was like to live through the great fire of London and the plague he also reports on his many trysts and the upset that it caused to his marriage, as well as his digestion and bank balance. Very fun to read.

Wonderful Summer Saturday

2006-07-08T11:52:00.000-07:00

The surprise today was a wonderful outdoor lunch with Adam and Martha in Bremerton. Adam came up unexpectedly, and the chance for a nice visit and an excellent meal outdoors on the water was an unexpected treat. I'm not going to recount all the details of our conversation, just that it was great and that it does this mother's heart good...to see her kids doing so well, and happy, and all of that.

An Unbelievable #43

2006-07-08T11:51:00.000-07:00

It's hard to imagine, but I have read 43 books so far this year! And I'm not even counting the various books that I started and couldn't finish (because I just couldn't stand the writing or whatever.) Number 43 was a very special book - Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. Described as his coming of age novel, all I can say is that I wish I could know myself as well now as he did at twenty. He is an amazing writer and an incredibly interesting and observant person.

Every book of his that I've read has felt perfect - but has also left me with that sadness readers get when a loved book is finished. The one good thing is that he has written a lot of books and I plan on savoring each and every one.

Quietly Wonderful Book

2006-07-07T11:48:00.000-07:00

Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson (book #42) was a real surprise. After the depressing (but good) Housekeeping, I wasn't sure if I wanted to give this one a try. But it was getting great reviews - and won a Pulitzer Prize, so I thought I should give her another chance. I am so glad I did!

The reason my affection for the book surprised me is that the main character, John Ames, is a preacher - and religion is the major topic of the book. He is an old man with a seven year old son, and the book is actually a letter to his son as a form of family legacy.

The book is slow...and because John Ames is old, and the topics he delves into are so deep, the cadence is just right. The writing reminds me of Faulkner - Ames is perfectly written - with a sense of humor, the ability to view himself honestly, and the humanity to struggle with the same questions as the rest of us.

Bird Nuts

2006-07-07T11:46:00.000-07:00

To See Every Bird on Earth by Dan Koeppel (book #41) was an interesting book about his father's obsession with birds and how it affected him and the other members of his family.

As a bird nut myself, I always enjoy reading about people traveling to hunt out the most unique species...but part of my interest is the psychologist in me wondering how a hobby turns into an obsession.

Last year I read The Big Year by Mark Obmascik, and there were some similarities between these two books. But since the Koeppel family dysfunction is less interesting to me that Obmascik's quirky birding-on-a-shoestring I would encourage you to read The Big Year if you're only going to read one of these books.

I Might Be A Bit Cranky

2006-07-06T11:45:00.000-07:00

I do most of the grocery shopping in our household, and I have to admit I am getting pretty cranky with the shopping options available in Gig Harbor.

1. Safeway - The store drives me crazy with its illogical pairings...today I couldn't find the crackers and was told "they're on aisle 3 across from the cheese." Why? Because you eat them together? One is in a cold case, and one on a shelf. And why did the kid I asked insist on showing me where aisle 3 is? I imagine I can read a big three over the aisle! And why do they have to launch into a big spiel about how I can save six cents on gas when there aren't any Safeway gas stations anywhere that I know of? And also, why do they have to thank me and mispronounce my name every time?

2. Albertson's - the parking lot is so roomy that you always have to park waaaay over there....and they have an irritating center section that makes it impossible to go in a straight line up and down so you always miss something you intended to buy. The store is so big that if you miss something, you have to go back 29 aisles to get it. Then, they get off on telling you how much you "saved" by using their blooming card.

3. QFC - Well la di da. If I wanted to pay $3/lb for apples I would enjoy the place, I guess. But as the Seattle PI reported today, they are overpriced pretty much across the board. But if you want to join the local country club, this is where you had better head to for your brie and pinot noir.

4. Fred Meyer - This is where I mostly shop, for two reasons. 1) they have a large natural foods section and 2) they don't require one of those loyalty cards. But I am cranky at them, too, since the last two purchases of apples have been brown inside, and that is almost unforgivable, even if you are paying a more reasonable $1.79 per pound. That also explains why I was at Safeway today.

Now I guess I had better chase some dogs away from my roses and write a letter to the editor about kids and their darned disrespect of those of us trying to nap on the 4th of July.

To Live Is To Change

2006-07-06T11:43:00.000-07:00

The Black Dog Farm is quite a different place now than it was several years ago. Back then our vegetable and flower garden was twelve raised beds rather than three. We grew lots of corn, and one year had a bumper crop of bottle gourds to use for crafts. I dried, froze, and canned produce all through the summer. We had only two dogs...and no parrots. Rickie the cat was still alive. Sweet Pea, the miniature donkey, shared the pen with two pygmy goats, and even let them ride on her back! Our chickens clucked peacefully and produced more eggs than we could eat.

Now our outside animals have been reduced to one rabbit and two ducks. We gave the goats to a family down the road a couple of weeks ago. Inside animals are the three dogs, two parrots, tropical fish and ourselves.

What happened? For one thing I am working more. Back then I worked four hours a day. Now I'm full time Monday through Thursday and Friday is spent taking Angus to the vet, etc. That means that our weekends are crammed full of errands, weed-whacking, mowing and housecleaning.

I don't mean to make it sound like it's a dreary life, because it's not. But my original plan to be fully in control of my life has been altered and compromised. I just wish I could do it all, because I love my job AND I love my garden. Sometimes I go out to the garden and even though the beds we have planted are growing well - when I see the remaining beds all covered with plastic it makes me sad.

But all of this reminds me that I still need to work on living in the present. Enjoy every minute of what I have and not think about how things once were or may be in the future.

Murakami is Amazing!

2006-06-26T11:40:00.000-07:00

Sputnik Sweetheart (book #39)is the fourth Haruki Murakami book I've read this year (or ever, actually.) Murakami's stories have one foot in conventional reality and one in some sort of future world or world where people communicate in unusual ways. His characters are always unusual - but in an effortless way, without any self-consciousness. His books have a somewhat dreamy quality, and actually when I finish one of his books the aura of it stays with me a long time. Sputnik Sweetheart was wonderful.

Birdland

2006-06-25T11:39:00.000-07:00

This is the second or third year in a row that a mama robin has made a nest in the wisteria on the porch on the West side of our house. The babies cheep when she comes and goes, but we haven't seen them yet this year. Our parrots Tiko and Maya spent the day outside today, and I'm sure they enjoyed watching her. If you look closely at this picture you'll see Mama Robin herself watching to make sure I am not coming too close!

A Whacky Weekend

2006-06-25T11:37:00.000-07:00

This weekend was another weedwhacking weekend for Nannernoo! As you can see from the photo, an entire hillside is now clear of blackberries and Japanese Knotweed. Paul helped me move all the poplar stumps that were in the way of my whacking. Now we just need to replace the fence that was taken out when they removed the huge poplar and of course keep on top of them this time! This is the second time I've cleared this hillside in six years!

Canine Brotherhood

2006-06-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

(the pictures speak for themselves)

Henry conked out

Angus doing the same