A bit about pets

This morning, on my way to work, I saw a lovely yellow-lab mix, with a collar, running free on Valmont. For those of you who don't know Boulder, it's a very busy street, especially at 9am. I tried to call the dog, but it wouldn't come to me. I followed it for a bit and when I lost it, I stopped into a vet clinic to see if they had the number for Animal Control and to give them a heads up if they saw the dog again. Turns out, they've seen the dog before, running loose. They think it belongs to someone who works at Sutherland's Lumber, which is where I saw the dog coming from. So, either someone can't their dog under control or they just let it run loose. WHAT THE HELL. I have two dogs and I would never just let them run around. The dog I saw this morning doesn't know how to look both ways, it's a danger to itself and any traffic it might come in contact with. To let a dog run around is so irresponsible it makes me want to spit.

Here's the happy part, enjoy my lovable mutts.

November is almost over

and though I can't believe it's almost December. Time can fly by sometimes and right now, I like that it's zooming past. Pretty soon, I'll be in Florida for Christmas and New Years, so if the next three and a half weeks could speed by too, I'd be much obliged.

However, it's still November. This month I signed up, with a friend, for NaBloPoMo, or National Blog Post Month and you know what? I have nothing else to say. So, with one day left in November, I think I'm done. Stretching to come up with something interesting to post every day was not the purpose of this blog. Eh, I tried, but I'm not a writer or a photographer and my well is dry.

Knowing me,

this might be my new favorite website.

Once upon a time

I went to the



It was pretty cool, full of things I like













And informative



And unintentionally funny

Yum

Happy Thanksgiving All!

My kind of self-portraiture

Tokyo, Japan November 18, 2005



Boulder, CO USA November 25, 2009

Warmer days

Across the pond

Memories from a trip to England to visit the Flood Pages. What a wonderful trip, hope we can go back soon!

All you idiots who like Twilight?

Read this: http://blogs.howstuffworks.com/2009/11/16/edward-cullen-not-a-good-boyfriend/

Maybe this explains why I hate even the idea of these books so very much. Read the bullet pointed list and tell me you don't see it. This is NOT a relationship anyone should be admiring or aspiring to.

Though I do love where I live

I miss the ocean

Stacey took this picture of me in front of the Kelp Forest tank at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in November 2005. We went there during a short visit back to CA. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is one of my favorite places, and I hope to go back soon! Cheesy, but I carried a key chain from this visit for years. Until it was stolen, along with a tote bag full of knitting, out of our car in March. In front of the Denver Aquarium. Guess I need to go back so I can get a new one!

I'm a marine biologist at heart

Although, I'll admit, I have very little to do with the upkeep of this tank.

Chilly morning

The thing about the cold is that it makes things so pretty. This pictures fails to capture it, but the frosty leaves were sparkling.

I don't cook.

But sometimes I help. We made gumbo tonight, looks good doesn't it?

Brrrrrrr!

It was a darn cold walk to work this morning. Gorgeous, but cold. I walk by this stream every day and it is amazing to watch it change day to day. The water level goes up and down depending on rain or snowfall or lack thereof. Branches show up, dams form and disappear. Really, just so neat. And I get to walk by it every day.

I miss baseball

Especially baseball roadtrips. July 4, Kansas City.



We sat in the 2nd row, right above the KC.



Josh and I had fun and were Royals fans for a day (free t-shirts!).



And we hung out with good old and new friends, watched the Royals beat the White Sox, had a great time and want to go back soon!

Four years ago

About this time, four years ago, I took a trip out to California to stand as a bridesmaid in my friend Jenny's wedding. So wonderful. Then, I flew to Tokyo to hang out in Japan for ten days, with my mom. What a trip. So many neat things to see and take pictures of!

Ideally

I'd like to wake up to this in the morning



and see this



and this



in the afternoon.

Luckily, we can go and visit Josh's lovely grandmother Faye in NC and see just those things! We did last summer and it was fantastic.

What I See On My Way To Work

I do love the Flatirons.

So pretty

I love getting home from the grocery and putting the fruit and veggies in our lovely Italian bowl. I often think I should take pictures, so yesterday, I did. I call it "Still Life With Potato"

Socks

This summer, we were treated to a visit from my family. My step-mom, Julie, brought along some socks she was knitting. It looked like so much so fun and you got SOCKS! at the end. I decided it would be a good first project, as in real project. As opposed to knitting a "non-descript scarf" or a "throw blanket that gets stolen by assholes who broke into our car". So, I went down to my local Joann's Fabrics, bought a little booklet about how to knit socks and bought the yarn and Size 2 double-pointed needles that went with said pattern. It took a while to get the hang of it. First, I discovered that I'd been knitting inside out for half a sock. Then, I realized that my sock was WAY too big, due to my gauge being off. So back to Joann's I went, bought myself some Size 1 needles (Josh teases me that they look like skewers you buy at the grocery) and tried again. Now I have one full sock.

You can't see it, but the toe is a little screwy, I need to work on toes.

This:

is what was the second sock. However, one of the needles feel out, and I don't have the patience to use a crochet hook to fix mistakes like that. Currently, sock #2 is a ball of yarn. I need some inspiration. Maybe I should get the heck off the internet once in a while, heh.

Anyway, that's my very first knitting project. I have an idea for my next, but that's a post for another day. I think. The thing about this NaBloPoMo is that I don't have an unlimited supply of really cool things to talk about. Awesome flowers and landscapes I take pictures of? Sure! No one wants to see my socks.

How does an army just disappear?

"The remains of a mighty Persian army said to have drowned in the sands of the western Egyptian desert 2,500 years ago might have been finally located, solving one of archaeology's biggest outstanding mysteries, according to Italian researchers."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33791672/ns/technology_and_science-science/

Whoa. Especially because when they say "drowned in the sands", they really mean drowned in sand.

On another note, I need to figure out how to make pretty links, because I'd love to for this blog to look slightly less amateur. Slightly.

Looking forward to spring already

Last year, I bought bulbs to plant and then promptly didn't plant them. They stayed in the hall closet all winter. In the spring I got around to thinking maybe I should plant them and see what happened. I know bulbs need to freeze, but why not give it a shot? After all, if they didn't grow, that would be the same outcome as if I didn't plant them at all. I had a mix of red tulips and grape hyacinths. The tulips didn't grow. The grape hyacinths looked, well, rather sad. See below:

After I'd planted them someone told me that if you don't get them in ground in the fall, you can put bulbs in the freezer for the winter. Hah! Wish I'd known that!

So yesterday, Josh and I were doing some errands and bought a bunch of bulbs for 50% off. I even bought a bulb planter, which is a Cool Garden Tool.

So today I planted lots of bulbs. We bought early, mid and late spring blooming tulips and hyacinths. I can't wait to see little sprouts of green! Wish me luck in my latest garden experiment!

Foxgloves?

I think these are foxgloves. There is a flowerbed at the entrance of our development and it was just SO pretty over the summer.

On another garden note, we bought 4 bags of bulbs today! 50% off at Lowes. Josh picked out hyacinth bulbs, which are some of my absolutely favorite flowers, and Josh conveniently forgot that he doesn't like the way they smell :) I think outside, he won't care and I can lean down and take in deep breaths. I also bought a bulb planter tool, which if you've never seen one, an open-ended cone with a potato masher-like handle. It basically loosens a big chunk of dirt at once so you can plop in a bulb easily. I cannot wait to use it!

I had a thought today and I'd like to share it. I attend Shabbat services at Congregation Bonai Shalom - an egalitarian Conservative synagogue here in Boulder. Near the end of every service, we recite A Prayer for Our Country:


Our God and God of our ancestors: We ask Your blessings for our country, for its government, for its leaders and advisors, and for all who exercise just and rightful authority. Teach them insights of Your Torah, that they
may administer all affairs of state fairly, that peace and security, happiness and prosperity, justice and freedom may forever abide in our midst. Creator of all flesh, bless all the inhabitants of our country with Your spirit. May citizens of all races and creeds forge a common bond in true harmony, to banish hatred and bigotry, and to safeguard the ideals and free institutions that are the pride and glory of our country. May this land, under Your Providence, be an influence for good throughout the world, uniting all people in peace and freedom - and helping
them to fulfill the vision of Your prophet: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they experience war any more." And let us say: Amen.

This is followed by a prayer for the State of Israel, the IDF, Gilad Shalit and a prayer for US Servicemen and women which includes the hope that we will live to see the day when the military will be out of a job. This line always stays with me, and it's something that I think about fairly often. Is it possible? Can there really be a day when nation shall not life up sword against nation? When we won't need a standing army? Are humans really capable of that?

I hope that we are. Then I listened to a podcast from Radiolab, (http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/) called New Normal, and that changed to a "I think we are". Maybe not soon, but humans have this capacity to not fight. I can't really sum up the podcast, but it involved baboons, tuberculosis and giant piles of trash. You should check it out.

Feels like summer!

In tribute to the fact that it was close to 80 degrees today and I spent it inside, I give you one of my favorite pictures from last summer. I walked by these poppies every day and they made my morning that much brighter.

How long till pitchers and catchers report?

Ah, the 2009 MLB season is over. Sad. Sad there's no more baseball. And sad the damn Yankees won it all. Oh well, I knew early on they had this year in the bag, congrats to them,... I guess. But enough about them.

I'm looking forward to MLB Network in the off season and spring training can't come fast enough!

Snow is what makes the cold bearable.

Keeping in mind that it was 65 degrees today and is expected to be in the 70s tomorrow, I would like to point out how absolutely gorgeous the snow can be. I absolutely hate the cold, but large amounts of fluffy, white snow make it all worth it. See?









On a side note, we bought a new camera over the summer, and I love it. It's so tiny and takes such fantastic pictures!

Someone write this story

I wish I had a way with words, but I really don't. Someone needs to write this story though. There's too much potential. On October 31, 2009 we pulled over at a scenic overlook to take some snapshots of Mom and me with gorgeous snow covered Boulder in the background. This is what we found.





What on earth is the story behind an empty pack of cigarettes, a beer can and a single, high-heeled shoe?

Flowers in the snow

These are not from the most recent snow storm, the one that blanketed us with 22 inches of snow that disappeared the next day. No, these are from an earlier snow storm that didn't stay long either, but was lovely while it lasted. Flowers in the snow are such a strange sight.

At least I keep trying!

I think the mango is toast. I have now planted it and it doesn't seem to be growing. Sad sad! The seed was growing like gangbusters and now it just looks pathetic. However, the seed/roots seem to still be rather sturdy in the dirt as in they don't pull out easily, and when I feel the roots they feel fleshy and alive. So, I'm not giving up! I watered the heck out of it, and moved it to a warmer location and we'll see what happens. I think the problem now is that there are no warm sunny spots in my home and mangos like heat. Being tropical plants and all. We live in a north/south facing townhouse with no windows on the east and west sides and awnings/decks over most of the windows we do have. We live in a cave.

The good news is that the pineapple is doing fabulously!



It started like that - I chopped off the top of a pineapple, made sure no fruit was left and pulled off the bottom leaves. Submerged in water for a few months, it grew lots of rootlets!



(In that picture you can also see my FIRST failed mango) See rootlets? Then I planted it.



And while I currently don't have a picture of the plant, it's doing incredibly well. It was the one houseplant that I left in direct sunlight all summer long and it loved it. I was a little nervous that once it got cold and I brought it inside that it wouldn't be happy, but to my delight, it's a hardy little guy and seems to like it's spot in the living room just fine. Yippie!