Brrrruno!

Last Saturday our downstairs neighbors brought home a puppy! He is a tiny beagle, just seven weeks old, and his name is Bruno (with a properly Spanish rolled R). He is adorable, and although he has a tendency to try to chew anything he comes in contact with, including my fingers, I'm pretty smitten. Here are two videos David shot on his phone.

Garden

This spring, David and I put in two raised beds following the Square Foot Gardening method. Unfortunately, the boxes also served as the Squirrel Salad Bar until we enclosed them with ugly chicken wire cages, which is why the right box (enclosed several weeks after the left) is a bit stunted. Both seem to be recovering, though, and our recent hot weather (following a couple of weeks of thunderstorms) has been perfect for growing.

I tried to label the images directly, but as that didn't work for me, you can use this chart for reference:









Left Box:
1, 2: Beefsteak tomatoes
3, 4: Roma tomatoes
5: Dragon tongue beans (heirloom)
6, 7, 9, 10, 11: Sweet Genovese Basil (heirloom)
8, 12: Cilantro
9: Garlic chives (sharing with some basil)
13, 16: Marigolds
14, 15: Dragon Carrots (heirloom)


Right Box:
1: Chewed-down cherry tomatoes
2: Replacement cherry tomatoes
3: Zucchini (you can't see it in the picture, taken this morning, but by this afternoon the seedling had surfaced!)
4: Cucumbers (heirloom)
5, 8, 14: Beets (heirloom)
6, 7, 10: Lettuces (heirloom)
9, 11, 12: Onions (heirloom)
13: Nasturtiums
15: Butterfly garden flower mix
16: Gerbera daisy

Actually, on the right box, I'm not exactly sure what's where. I'm a bit afraid I planted beets and onions on top of each other. I was pretty distraught when the rodents dug up the seeds and chewed the tops off the seedlings that had thus far managed to survive. I was so distraught, in fact, that when I texted David to inform him of their acts of destruction, he immediately went online and ordered an electric fence kit ($24)("delivers a mild but memorable shock"). We haven't set up the electric fence yet, though, as the chicken wire alone seems to be working so far. Our squirrels might be nefarious, but they are also apparently lazy.

I've replanted the lettuces they destroyed (there were four per square, including some lovely purple varieties that were apparently particularly delectable), but they don't seem to be coming up with any speed. The smaller cucumber is also a re-plant. And for some reason the basil also seems to be slow--maybe just because I'm so anxious for it to be producing abundantly. The cilantro (from starts) really is producing abundantly, and we've eaten from it several times.

I hope to keep you updated with photos of lovely foliage and produce from the SFGs; fingers crossed!

Ice

So I was telling Hathor yesterday that I hadn't missed a day of NaBloPoMo since the second day... and then I missed yesterday. Sigh.

Last night David and I went to a friend's birthday party in Northeast, leaving at about 9:15 after having spent most of the afternoon inside after morning errands (one of which was my attempt to go to yoga, but turning around and coming home after not being able to find free parking, running late, and not having my wallet!). The weather was chilly when we headed out, but otherwise unremarkable.

During the party, though, we began to get freezing rain. I got a text from a friend who had intended to come, but on her way had spun 720° on the freeway as she tried to change lanes! She and her car had been unscathed, but she had made her way back home for the night and wanted to let us know how bad it was out.

When the party broke up and we headed outside, everything was covered in a layer of ice. David and I shuffle-slid our way to his car, where we were greeted by a group of kids in a circle in the middle of the road, doing a sort of black-ice dance involving a sort of sliding shuffle-step, some sort of chanting, and laughing. As he scraped the ice off all the windows, the kids exuberantly continued to slip, slide and fall. They were still there as we very slowly pulled away from the curb and very slowly made our way home.

Thankfully, it was literally a straight shot there--just two turns at the last two blocks--and almost entirely flat. David drove very carefully, and we made it home without sliding into anything or being slid into (pedestrians the likeliest culprits).

And today I haven't left the house. A friend came over for brunch and a long chat, and I stepped onto the back porch for a glimpse of a cardinal, but that's it! Hopefully the roads will be clear by tomorrow morning... though there's also a prediction of some more snow.

Whiplash & Hiplash

What makes for better blog fodder than personal injury stories, especially ones that involve epic air? Not much, I say!

So yesterday evening, I'm taking out the trash, and when I get to the bottom of the back stairs, the neighbor's adorable black lab puppy (though she's really more of a burly, if exuberant, teenager these days) rushes me. As she has done this before, I am prepared for her, and wait for her to reach the end of her staked tether and calm down (as much as she can) before I pet her. I'm in the middle of my "Gentle, gentle, good dog"s when I hear someone say, "Hello!"

It's my other downstairs neighbor, to whom I refer as my Hermit Neighbor, as I've talked to him maybe twice since he moved in at the end of last summer. He's leaning on his back railing, enjoying the beautiful evening, and I laughingly explain that as Rose had mauled (really just muddied) me the last time I came out with the trash, I now try to take appropriate precautions. Rose wanders to the far corner of the yard as we talk about what a nice spring it's been and how it's fun to have a puppy around, especially since we don't have to actually take care of her.

As we're chatting, we notice the chubby orange tabby that's been hanging around the neighborhood recently (and has actually tried, on more than one occasion, to follow David or me into the apartment). The cat comes up to me, and my neighbor mentions how friendly she is. I, seeing the cat looking at Rose, maybe five yards away, am in the middle of remarking how fearless she is, when it all falls apart.

I don't know whether Rose or the cat bolts first, but suddenly they're both making a headlong dash for the far corner of the yard, Rose in hot pursuit of the tabby. Rose, however, as you might remember, is tethered to a stake in the middle of the yard, and the kitty makes an easy escape.

I, unfortunately, am standing between the stake and the dashing puppy.

I'm not sure precisely what happens next, except that Rose presumably clothelines herself as she reaches the end of her tether, and I am flying through the air, swept off my feet. Okay, I'm not sure how much I actually flew. I did land on my back, rather hard, but mercifully on the soft dirt of the lawn and not on the sidewalk behind me. I hear John shout, "Are you okay?" and as I'm slowly picking myself up, see that he's run to Rose and is calming her. I am a bit disoriented, quite shaken, and becoming sore all over, but manage to laugh and ask him if it looked epic. He assures me that I did get some impressive air.

I really wish I could have seen it, especially since I can't quite figure out how I acquired all my injuries: while the head-neck-shoulder pain is fairly intuitive from whiplash, and the scraped elbows/forearms were acquired upon landing, why do both of my hips hurt? Not, presumably, from the landing, as a slightly bruised bum indicates that I thankfully managed to land not only on the softest part of the yard, but on my own best-padded region. My current theory is "hiplash"--that my legs got flung like my head did! And my head did apparently get soundly flung; when I got up, my hair, which had been pinned up, was significantly dislodged (and my brain still hurts a little).

When David got home about 20 minutes later, I told him I thought I was probably concussed, and he said that if I started throwing up, he would drive me to the hospital. Some sympathy!

Thankfully, there was no vomiting, although today I'm even sorer than yesterday and have continued to pop ibuprofen. I mostly feel lucky, for things like being young and fit enough to take that sort of epic fall in stride, for not hitting the sidewalk, for having someone witness my sweet air, etc.

I do kind of wish the witnessing neighbor hadn't been the hermit-inclined one, though; this is the kind of story for which one wishes a gregarious collaborator for the retelling!

Chicago

This weekend, I was in Chicago and Urbana-Champaign. I presented at a conference that I had signed up for primarily in the interest in having my department reimburse me for visiting Ellen, and which I had been cursing over the past few weeks for causing me to write, and then completely re-write, a paper that would figure little in my actual dissertation.

However, to my great surprise, the conference ended up being the best I've ever attended--despite the fact that the organizers' laptop wouldn't read my DVD and I had to show the clip on a television cart, and that they had no way for me to advance my own slides, so I had to indicate each of my approximately 45 slide changes to the guy running the laptop. The organizers were helpful and friendly, the presenters gave interesting papers and asked smart questions, and there was even a nice lunch on Friday. It was great.

On Saturday afternoon Ellen and I rode bikes, hiked, explored one of UIUC's fantastic round barns, and later made delicious Indian food. Sunday we took the bus into Chicago and spent the afternoon there before I caught my MegaBus back to Mpls (one of those overnight affairs, made more delightful by an entirely sold-out bus). I am back home exhausted from a weekend that was full, exhausting, and completely worth it.

All the outdoor photos are courtesy of Ellen (as were the bike I rode and the jacket and helmet I wore).

Foxy!

Last night, David and I went with friends to see The Fantastic Mr. Fox at the Riverview. I LOVED it. I'm a pretty big Wes Anderson fan anyway, and had really enjoyed others of his recent films, like the Darjeeling Limited, but this was particularly delightful. There were a lot of kids in the audience--it was a matinee on a dreadfully cold weekend--but it really wasn't a kids' movie. Certainly there were things for them to enjoy, and aspects of the film definitely awed and inspired my inner kid, like the sheer joy of the tiny sets, and goofy little visual touches like the beagles' eyes after they ate the blueberries, but most of the themes were, predictably I suppose, targeted to an adult audience.

Anyway, like I said, I loved it. I loved Clooney as Foxy, and Schwarzmann as his son Ash, and Bill Murray as Badger. It was beautifully executed, surprisingly touching, and full of wonderfully quotable lines (which, sadly, I can't remember, and with which IMDB is not helping much. I do remember that their avoidance of cussing was pure genius, though I'll let you discover that for yourself if you haven't already).

This afternoon, I saw a film about which I have more mixed feelings: Avatar. I was going to blog about it tonight, but find that I'm too tired; it will have to wait.

In the meantime, I whole-heartedly recommend Mr. Fox, and suggest seeing it on the big screen if possible (especially if you have an adorable second-run theater like mine!).

"Get schooled" in "style"!

I was sorting through old e-mails today and came across this picture, which I'd had David snap with his phone when we were in Albuquerque this summer:

Here are a few more Blackberry photos he's sent me, which I don't think I've shared here.

May 16: Bozzy, DB, and me with a Portland bear:

May 26: Karen's big dog in Lincoln:

June 13: David and me eating outside at Sweet Basil (I think):

August 1: Bremerton with my Seester:

August 2: Brother Rockstar's birthday cake, made by his housemates:

August 5: A recently-groomed Lucy, riding on David's shoulder:

Squirrels

David (who loves squirrels): Oh look, there's a squirrel! He's so cute!
Me: I don't like squirrels.
David: Oh, he's going to jump! Maybe if I scare him, he'll fall! (Knocks on window. Looks down. Pauses.) ...He may have fallen.

Glacial

So a couple of weeks ago, my aunt, uncle, and Small Cousin embarked on an adventure to Glacier National Park. (I tried to convince David to come, but at the time he had a pesky day job.)

We left early Friday morning, stopping for a picnic lunch at Riverfront Park in Spokane, and arriving at Flathead Lake in time for dinner. We stayed at Ilo's cabin there for two nights before heading to the park on Sunday, during which time we ate lots of delicious food, visited the National Bison Range, and jumped into the lake (every single one of us, including Ilo--who heard all of our shrieks as we hit the water, and got in anyway!) even though it was only about 50 degrees.

At the park, Small Cousin tried camping and hiking in the mountains for the first time--and liked it so much that even though Ter and I were ready to go home Monday night, the little one insisted we camp one more night. We got home Wednesday, tired and smelling of smoke--but not at all hungry, thanks to Ter's most excellent camp cooking skills.

One thing we managed not to get a picture of was the bear (a BEAR!) we saw by the side of the road. It was all sorts of awesome, but Ter zoomed in too far on her camera to see what she was aiming at, and I couldn't get a clear shot from the backseat without her camera in it. Still, I promise it happened.

Click below for a selection of photos from the adventure; as usual, you can see larger versions and make comments on individual photos here:

Rodeo

Hello again, Few Readers I Still Have Left.

I write from the rest area in the middle of the Grapevine, at which we have paused en route from Santa Rosa (where we stayed with the ever-fantastic Jon and Lauren) to Loma Linda (where we'll stay with the charming Becca and Justin), via LA for dinner with Jeni and Soroosh. Epic Roadtrip II is underway, and more reports will doubtless follow, but for the moment I want to make good on a promise on which I've been remiss: the rodeo report!

In my last post, as you may recall, I was anticipating attending my first ever rodeo. Here is a sampling of the pictures we took; as always, click here to view larger versions, leave comments, etc.:

I've been telling people that aside from all the cringing and gasping (of which there was plenty), I actually had a pretty good time. It's interesting how quickly one (or I, in any case) grows inured to the violence and constant threat of injury to both man and animal. I was also struck by the fact that the people participating in and attending what could be perceived as an exploitative manifestation of cruelty are actually the ones who in contemporary culture maintain the most actual contact with these animals, and possibly love, respect, and understand them more than those of us urban vegetarians; on the other hand, as Ter pointed out, they may just be numb to the concerns of the dumb animals who form their property and source of income.

Anyway, philosophical concerns aside, it was a good time. We started with the fair, which runs concurrently, checking out various animals and crafts pavilions before heading to the rodeo arena. Unfortunately, we missed the Mutton Bustin', which apparently is a huge deal at this rodeo and prompts allegations of political scandal, as far as whose kids get in. We did make it for the bareback and saddle bronco riding, individual and team calf-roping (especially cringe-inducing: those poor baby cows!), steer wrestling (no joke), barrel racing, and bull riding. You can see the videos David uploaded here.

The other interesting aspect for me was how, in our position of privilege in our box seats (whose long waiting list doesn't preclude people hoping to jump the line from calling the rodeo office, apparently, upon hearing that a particular box seat owner has died--despite the fact that the box seat is just an upgrade from bleachers to metal folding chairs, closer to the ring (although I was still grateful that David was able to get them from his work)), we had a view of Hermiston's Who's Who, from the local Toyota magnate to various business owners. David said that once he even sat next to a senator.

Pictures of Adventures in Glacier National Park and Epic Roadtrip II will follow as soon as possible; don't abandon me yet!

Yesterday and Tomorrow

Yesterday, I went to my first rodeo! We had box seats, which is not as fancy as it sounds, but every bit as entertaining.

Tomorrow, I'm headed to Glacier National Park with P & T and my Small Cousin. We come back on Tuesday.

I'm leaving Lappy here, and I think it will be the longest time we've been apart since I got it. I'll try to make up for it by posting lots of rodeo and camping pictures!

Beachy

Here are camera phone pictures from today's adventures. Many more, and better, were taken, by people other than me--but these are fairly representative (primarily tide-pooling and four-wheeling!) :
And, on second thought, here are a few from other people's cameras:

Roadtrip II: Boise to Dubois

Here are the Yellowstone pictures (click here for larger images and to leave comments):

Believe me when I say I pared this selection down a lot. Yellowstone is unbelievably photogenic, especially in the perfect weather we enjoyed for the majority of our stay. If you've been there, you know that these photos don't begin to do it justice. If you haven't been, hopefully this will inspire you at least a little!

We left Boise Thursday morning and got into the park that evening. Friday, we did the entire lower loop, starting at Madison (where we camped) and traveling clockwise. We saw Old Faithful, of course, but were completely enamored with the West Geyser Basin. The Artist Paintpots were also cool (one particular mud pot particularly thrilled me!), but either Norris just wasn't as cool or we were already kind of over hydrothermal features.

Saturday we went up to Mammoth, which I had never seen before and which proved to be my favorite part of the park: its colorful terraces were unlike anything I'd ever seen, and Canary Springs was particularly enthralling.

We left Sunday morning, on the only cool and cloudy day we'd had in the park (though the nights had been distinctly chilly). The steam coming off the thermal features in the cold air essentially obscured most of them, so we didn't linger long as we left the park through the South Entrance and crossed into Grand Teton National Park.

In Dubois, we paused at an Exxon that doubles as an ice cream parlor and jackalope museum, which you might recognize from the Road to Nowhere video. I don't recall the Giant Jackalope being there six years ago, but you can bet we paid our dollar each to ride the thing this time. Oh, yes.

Still more to come!

Things That Are Awesome VI

Things That Are Awesome VI (Current Events Edition)

It's possible you've seen all these before. But if you haven't, behold!

On swine flu:


On Obama's first 100 days (click for full article):


And, finally, on birds and science and dancing (read story here; see video here):

Gymnast Squirrel

Especially on the days I'm trying hardest to write, I find myself doing a lot of staring out the window. Here's what I saw today:


Gymnast Squirrel from Disaster Kitchen on Vimeo.

Squirrel & Politics

I don't like squirrels, but I did think this one was funny.

Completely unrelatedly, this woman directed my attention to the following extraordinarily well-informed and articulate endorsement, from what she calls the "somewhat right-leaning editorial page of the Washington Post":

Barack Obama for President

It's relatively short, thoughtfully nuanced, and well worth the read.

Obama is apparently leading three to one in newspaper endorsements; this article provides the tallies.

Also, tonight I made my first volunteer phone calls for the Obama campaign. The site makes it simple by providing you with the names, phone numbers, and even ages (!) of your assigned voters, along with an easy-to-follow script. You can read the script from your computer and enter data directly as you go, or you can print out your contacts and enter the data later.

The point is not to debate with firmly Republican or undecided voters; if someone is strongly for McCain, you thank him or her politely and hang up! If the voter is undecided, you offer your own reasons for supporting Obama.

Granted, I was still a bit shy, but everyone I talked to was polite and some were very friendly indeed. My favorite was probably octagenarian Raymond. My least favorite thing was giving my spiel on numerous answering machines.

I know that some of you are jaded and skeptical about the political process, and don't feel like we can make a difference anyway. I understand those sentiments--especially if you believe Republicans stole the 2000 and 2004 elections--but I've never felt as strongly about a campaign as I have about this one, and it doesn't make sense to me to avoid involvement just because the process is flawed and the battle is uphill.

I don't believe you have to volunteer to be a good citizen or even an interested party. But for me, anyway, it sure feels a lot better than sitting around and trying not to think about how life will be if Obama doesn't win this election.

Kitty

Curly Sue just posted a dream that reminded me of a discussion in my dissertation workshop group today. I think we were prompted by the piece Life Writer, which will hopefully feature in my chapter addressing Artificial Life.

Somehow, we got to talking about "virtual pets." Apparently my adviser's niece has twelve or so, because she can't have a real kitty.

A: "I never understand those virtual pets. I mean, you feed them and walk them. It's the hard parts about having a pet, not the good parts!"

Me: "You must clean your virtual kitty's litter box."

A: "You can't cuddle with a virtual pet!"

Me: "Your virtual kitty has fleas.

"...You have mice, but your virtual kitty is not a mouser.

"...Your virtual kitty got in a fight, and has an infected scratch that will cost a very expensive vet bill. You have no money because you are a student and you have to pay student fees."

My adviser: "You have to ride to the laundromat with all your laundry! And your kitty! On your back in your backpack!"

It was a fun dissertation workshop day.

Race Day Eve

I make a mean blueberry pancake!

It's one of a few things I can do well, yet I'm always exaggeratedly surprised when they turn out deliciously perfect. (That I burned the first one a little bit, while reading blogs, did not surprise me; that the rest turned out beautifully did!)

I had blueberry pancakes for dinner because tomorrow is the marathon. And it might be the pancakes... or the caffeine (I had coffee at the Expo this afternoon, because it was free, though it may have been a mistake)... or the sunshine earlier... or just the anticipation of a general change in my fortunes... but I am ridiculously excited about tomorrow's run. I actually feel giddy!

I'm hoping the feeling sticks around, because I'm up against kind of long odds this year. I haven't been able to train as fully as I'd have liked, because of the recurrence of my stress fracture injury. And, not to put too fine a point on it, but I haven't been feelin' particularly lucky lately. (My mom and I were talking about how maybe I should get a cat this winter, to keep me company and help should the mice return. "With your luck," she said, "it wouldn't be a good mouser!" "With my luck," I responded, "it would die a protracted and expensive death as soon as I got it.")

In the potentially-unlucky category this year is the weather:

Last year, it was hot and a bit miserable. This year, it looks like we may have cold and miserable: there's nothing quite like a long run in the rain! I'm told that the TCM almost always has lovely weather, but it looks like I'm going to have to try for a third, next year, if I'm to actually experience it.

However, perhaps tomorrow's marathon will mark a turning point. The friend I'm running with has informed me of her decision to sling me, a la Forrest Gump, over her shoulders and run with me should I falter; I'm hoping that won't be necessary, and that I'll be able to keep up and to finish. As it's her first-ever marathon, and as I was the instigator (though she was keen to be persuaded!) in this situation, I'm hoping for the best for both of us.

If for some reason you wish to track my progress tomorrow, this link should get you there, although it'll be 6 a.m. for those of you on the west coast when we start, and--with any luck--just 10 or 11 by the time we're finishing. Woo! 'Here's hoping!

Day six

Breakfast: Oatmeal and raisins
Snack: Apple
Lunch: Mujadara; apricots
Snack: Dates and almonds
Dinner: Taco soup with corn chips; grapes

Man, I keep eating the same things. I need to come up with some new food if only to spice up these posts and sound a little more inspiring about this cleanse business. My mom asked me tonight if I was "feeling better." The answer is no, although I think I often feel quite good, and am certainly not feeling any worse.

I spent last night and most of today poodle-sitting, and enjoying pretty much the most awesome back yard ever. Here are some pictures:





Possibly the best part--an outdoor shower:

As an added benefit, this is what sunrise in the neighborhood looks like, which makes getting up at 5:30 to walk three hyperactive poodles totally worth it:


And finally, as I was uploading these, I found some pictures from week before last, when my dad and I drove out to spend the day in San Diego with my sister and brother-in-law:

We went to a Padres-Dodgers game, too, but I somehow didn't get any pictures of that.