Happy Halloween

Only had time to do some speed carving this year about 30 minutes before the first trick-or-treaters. After a slow start, we ended up with 86 this year. Not bad...up 10 from last year.

We're terrible parents. We forgot to take a picture of August in her costume. We might just dress her up tomorrow and take some.

"Typical" day

Yesterday Ray posted his typical weekday schedule. It was interesting to me, since I didn't really realize that we'd initiated this kind of clock-work thing when it comes to August's needs. So anyway, here's my part:

6 am -- wake up, stretch

6:08 -- organize and pack stuff/computer for day

6:20 -- try to shower without waking August

6:45 -- August up, change and dress her

7:00 -- August wakes up Ray, requests breakfast

7:05 -- Dress, hair, etc. while Ray feeds Aug, packs her lunch

7:20 -- Blend up smoothie for road; try to remember am-round of vitamins and naturapathic concoctions

7:30 -- Try and figure out lunch to pack; 1/2 the time I give up and plan to go to Chipotle

7:35 -- Brush teeth, find socks, find Aug shoes and socks...get both of us ready to go

7:50 -- head out the door to daycare

8:05 -- get to daycare, get August settled

8:18 -- head toward school

8:45 -- get to Wallingford, watch bus pull away from stop w/o me, walk to campus

9:05 -- arrive on campus

9:10 -- unpack; check emails

9:25 -- study/write/read/etc until class...schedule is different every day

11:45 -- run out to Chipotle/eat lunch while studying/writing/reading/class prep

1:30 pm -- teach class for 2 hours M W F

3:30 -- go to class or study/write/read/check email

4:30 -- pack up (except for days when I'm still in class 'til 5)

5:10 -- back at car if I've managed to catch the bus

5:30 -- try to relax while 99 is jammed up

5:45 -- get home, play with August

6 pm -- Ray feeds Aug, while I squeeze in some short email or class prep work

6:20 -- play with Aug, read books

6:30 -- Aug jammies

6:40 -- bed time ritual: brush teeth, read books, rock

7:00 -- Aug in crib with 47 "friends"

7:03 -- squeeze in a few minutes of class prep

7:15 -- try to remember round 2 of vitamins and naturopathic concoctions

7:20 -- eat dinner w/ Ray

8:00 -- back to studying: computer/articles/homework/class prep

10:00 --Try to tear myself away from schoolwork

10:30 -- Successfully shut down computer and put away articles.

10:35 -- get ready for bed

10:45 -- crochet my crochet-thingy, talk to Ray, try to decompress

10:47 -- Ray wants to read me something horrific about the economy, current administration, decimated village in Russia, etc.

10:55 -- light out

10:58 -- asleep

C'mon now

Headline from this morning's front page...

Obama, McCain ease up on attacks

DEMOCRATIC CROWDS MASSIVE; GOP SENATOR PREDICTS UPSET

Campaign says Palin returned a third of new clothes - wrong size, style


Seriously. I can't wait for the next 8 days to be over.

Politicita

Autumn

Today was all about fall harvest...and had nothing to do with vast quantities of plums.

This morning, I baked two loaves of pumpkin bread: one gluten- and refined sugar free, which was quite tasty even though I ran out of maple syrup, and the other one regular wheat flour for potluck. Nothing smells like fall more than the smell of pumpkin bread wafting through the house.

After lunch, we packed up the car and headed to Carnation for pumpkin picking and farm animal viewing. I rarely go out to this part of the county (to be honest, I think I've been to Carnation once about 20+ years ago). It was a gorgeous drive -- the sun was shining, the leaves were turning and the cattle were lowing*. It was such a beautiful, peaceful drive that it seriously got me thinking about giving up my ironclad native Seattleite identity.

We got to the farm, which was packed of course, and had much to do. We sampled roasted corn and an organic hamburger, introduced August to chickens, ponies, and two smelly sleeping pigs (they scared her), rode behind a tractor to the pumpkin patch, and picked out a pumpkin to take home. Ray picked up some produce while we were there, and August ogled the corn maze in the barn loft, though we didn't attempt it.

Next: a Sukkah party. My lab-mate and her family hosted a potluck to celebrate the Jewish harvest holiday. I thought I was familiar with Jewish holidays, but this one -- called Sukkot -- was news to me. Basically, each family builds a sukkah in their backyard, like a little temporary gazebo where they can eat, sleep if it's good weather, and visit with friends. The sukkah is adorned with branches, paper chains, fruit and vegetables hanging for decoration. My friend decided to forgo the fruit and veggies to keep the bees away. Anyway, everyone brought food and spent some time sitting in the sukkah, while a million kids ran around and hit each other with sticks. August was quite envious.

All in all, a great day, though I'm spent and can't crack the journal articles I'd set aside for this evening.

* Whatever that means.

The Inner Bitch or How To Start a Relaxing Hobby

I paid a call to the yarn store yesterday.

Me (to clerk): Hi, I need some help. (The doctor told me I need to relax. Since I need some activity to make me do that, it was between crocheting and knitting. And since I've already tried knitting (for all of 24 minutes), and my knitting needles are lost in the garage, I guess I should try something new.)

Clerk: Yes, how can I help?

Me: Well, I want to learn to crochet. (Show me a book, the hook, and the yarn and I'll pay. I haven't plugged my meter since I've only allocated 5 minutes to this store, and I hope you move more quickly than those fabric store people.)

Clerk: Okay, so we have a number of great books on how to start up crochet...patterns...diagrams...here's one that--

Me: Great! That one is fine. (Just hand me the thinnest and simplest one with the biggest pictures and let's move on.) What about yarn?

Clerk: Well it depends on what you want to make....worsted-weight...finer yarn...enough for a hat...yada yada.

Me: Which one is best for beginners? Thicker yarn? (Look lady, the meter maid is probably ticketing my car by now, and frankly I could be satisfied by just tying knots in my shoelaces for relaxation, so I'm really not thinking about making hats at this point.)

Clerk: Well, this one is $6.50 and this one is $7.50...there are some really pretty ones over here that are finer...and some people like this one to start, but other people...

Me: Okay, so I need an average size hook, right. Where are the hooks? (Alright, I can figure the rest of this out for myself. Tick tock tick tock.)

Clerk: Oh yes hooks! Let me show you what we have over here....see this one is a 4.5 for finer yarn...and this one's a G...and there are different colors...there only $2 so you could try one of each...

Me: Great! (Bingo! I'll take these random two hooks and be gone. And by the time I get to looking at all this stuff it'll be 11 pm and I won't be able to figure it out anyway.)

Clerk (at cash register): Now we have classes so you can learn with others...mailing list...

Me: I'm good for now. Thanks so much for your help. (No ticket. No ticket. No ticket.)

Saturday pm edition

In the Arts and Entertainment category:

1. I am oddly disappointed that Hugh Hefner and Holly (girlfriend #1) broke up.

2. I am also disappointed that Chef Robert Irvine embellished his vitae and got sacked by the Food Network (months ago apparently, but news to us). He is no longer heading up Dinner: Impossible, one of Ray's favorite shows.

3. After watching the Al Pacino vehicle 88 Minutes, I feel a little bit sorry for good ol' Al, who seemingly is hired onto a project before they have any idea what they're doing, and frankly don't care. And why should they...once Al Pacino has signed on, a storyline and decent direction are beside the point.

4. I need a hobby. I need a hobby that is relaxing, creative, and can be done while doing something else. It needs to be quiet, mobile, and inexpensive. If it produces a nifty product, so much the better. It must be mindless, but in a nice, creative kind of way. Candidates: knitting, crocheting, hand-sewing. Suggestions welcome.

And on the economic front:

1. There's a small part of me that's not so secretly glad about this sharp economic downturn (crisis, recession, whatever you want to call it). We, gluttonous (and glutenous) America, have finally gotten our comeuppance. And it's going to hurt. And it's about time.

Blog topics for...someday...probably never.

1. After a month of very limited, naturopath-advised eating, I now have 4 satiation levels, rather than just two (hungry/full).

2. Frozen fruit/almond milk/coconut make the world go round (at least in the last 30 days).

3. Why does the bus never come when I want to catch it. At least I'm getting good exercise walking to my car (parked in Wallingford).

4. After reading some crazy-dense journal articles, staying focused on regular reading is much easier.

5. Putting together spreadsheets for my class grading and assignments is fun. I like me some formulas! (And apparently I need to get out more.)

6. I am already excited about Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday.

7. August is either going to be a Jawa or Boo for Halloween.

8. Ray and I decided today that if the huge nation-states of the world are eventually a thing of a past, and city/state-states are our future, then Seattle, Portland and Vancouver BC (and everything in between) should come together as one country.

9. If my mom is of the over-cooked-vegetables generation, then our generation is everything-al-dente.

10. If McCain/Palin win in November [shudder], the top 5 places I want to move to are 1) Czech Republic 2) UK 3) Canada 4) India 5) Lago di Como.

The plum harvest

Our 140-year-old neighbor offered to help us harvest the plum trees on the property line we share. Actually what he said was...

"Gfdfdm mufm plums fgmum hmmpf long pole fhm smunm gerfmn..."

So in my mind that meant that he'd get a long pole and shake the plums out.

"Okay! Come on over...that'd be great."

He mumbled something else -- he's a man of few words -- and headed to his garage. Back he came with a very long old ladder and pushed it across the fence toward me. Puzzled, I grabbed the other end and propped it against our house.

Meanwhile, the neighbor walked around to our yard (after realizing he wasn't able to scale our fence -- I'm serious). He moved the ladder closer to the tree and said....

"Mffhg hdmfn roof line fhdmn gumffn."

"Uh...why don't you let me do that. I can go up."

"No no. Mfhdg nmm fghumn."

And so it went. He went all the way up the ladder, and I stayed on the ground holding a bucket. He shook the tree and swung his rake around to get at the highest branches, and I stood there getting pummeled with plums and tried not to imagine him falling off the ladder. How could you!, the other neighbors would say. Don't you know that a 140-year-old man should not be teetering on a ladder shaking a plum tree?!

An hour and a half later, I finally convinced him that we didn't need to pick ALL the plums on the tree, and he came down the ladder and went home. The funny thing is, our neighbor doesn't eat plums. I don't know why, though he explained it to me twice ("Hmfer gufmm nffmm..."). I guess he was just helping us out of the kindness of his heart.

Or maybe his wife doesn't let him use his ladder as much as he'd like.

Senile and obsessed

Thankfully, this post is not about me. It's about Sammy the dog. Sammy is 15.5 years old, and she has really been slowing down in the last year. In fact, we think she's had a couple of seizures, which are really scary and I've thought each time "This is it" with a grapefruit-sized lump in my throat.

But then, a short time later (like even as short as a half hour), Sammy "recovers" and goes about her usual business. And it's serious business let me tell you.

No matter how slow Sam is now, she has not relented on her one true obsession: food. In fact, it's more pronounced than it's ever been. I don't know if August The Food-Dropper has something to do with it, or if Sammy's senses have dulled and food is her only joy outlet. But whatever it is, she certainly shows no age when it comes to searching for food.

I think she still enjoys going for walks and rides in the car, but I suspect it's because there's an opportunity that something might appear in her dish while she's gone. As soon as she gets in the door, she RUNS to the kitchen like she was a kid again. She nearly continually trolls the kitchen floor for dropped food bits. If it's remotely near meal time (within 3 hours) she begins pacing and panting like she hasn't eaten all day.

All of this sounds like the poor girl is miserably hungry all the time, but I think her senility has played into the extra treats she gets from August. She now expects that food should literally fall from the sky for most of the day.

We try to keep her happy. We give her more treats than we should...after all, why deprive the old girl of her favorite things in her final years. But honestly, the begging is downright annoying.

Is this what it's gonna be like?

In the last few weeks, I've hardly posted anything to my blog...anything written by me anyway. To be honest, I've hardly visited my regular blog haunts, Twitter, or considered topics to post to my blog. School hasn't even started yet, and already my daily fixes are getting the squeeze.

My mind lately has been occupied by school preparations and lab meetings, putting together lectures, and getting all the necessary appointments and To Dos out of the way. As of last night, I have a few hefty articles to read and discuss next week, right after the 2-day teaching conference. And once the week after that rolls around...well I hope it's not too crazy.

It's strange how having a kid really reboots your whole life. When I was working, life was moderately busy, but I usually knocked off by 6:00 and had time to myself most evenings. Then came school, and my evenings and weekends were taken up by studying. But now, that'll be different. I'm really aiming to get most of my work done during the work week if I can manage it, as I'll only have part of the evening to study and want to preserve weekends for family and friends as much as I can. But given how my schedule looks, I think there's gonna be plenty of late nights and frustrating weekends hunched over my computer or grading assignments.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I am really excited about this new phase and believe it's the right fit for me. I'm just fleshing out the little anxieties that come up before anything new. Will everything work? Will everything work without negatively impacting August? I guess that's my real question.

I've always admired those parents who juggle kids and career, deal with the guilt, look for opportunities to grow professionally, and still make it to soccer and swimming and just hanging out in the yard. And I admire people who don't do that particularly juggling act, because staying at home with kids is a tough gig...one that's certainly tougher than whatever circus routine awaits us in the coming months, I think.

So...is this what it's gonna be like? No, it'll be something more.

Pitch Perfect Poultry

Maybe everyone has seen this one already...

3 peaches

We went to the farmers' market this morning, and I saw these beautiful peaches. I asked for a pound, and was too emotionally committed to say 'no thanks' when I learned 3 peaches cost $6. I followed through, and was even more chafed to discover that other stands were selling peaches at half this price. These had better be some pretty damn good peaches.

Since I'd made the investment, and the fruit was so ripe they bruised when I looked at 'em funny, I opted to make peach cobbler using this stupidly simple recipe. Sampling the peaches while slicing them reassured me that maybe they were worth $6. Delicious.

And even better...the resulting cobbler:

Yes, that's Giggling Poo

In the deep end

My schedule is coming together for fall quarter, and only a few more things need to fall into place before the first day of school: 1 class, 1 lab meeting, 1 journal meeting and -- duh duh duh -- my TA assignment.

Yes, I am being dramatic, but only because I now know a) which class* I'm TAing, and b) that I'll be teaching my own section. Of a class I've never taken. And only have cursory knowledge of the subject matter.

Thankfully, I don't think the subject matter is difficult at all, but still, I'm a little nervous. I was hoping my first TA position would mean office hours and grading papers. Guess not.

Anyway, I probably would feel comfortable teaching a class only if I'm super well-versed in the subject matter, like...

1. grantwriting
2. capital campaign strategy, circa 1998
3. kleenex technique in psychotherapy
4. singing in the car
5. underwater bubble-blowing

That's all I can think of right now. If I know nothing else about getting a doctorate, it's that I better get used to being thrown into the deep end.

* Voice and Articulation Improvement -- "Voice production and the sound system of standard American speech. Speech standards, regional and social dialects, voice quality and basic language-oriented characteristics. Practice for improving speech style."

The Omnivore's Hundred

I found this list via Chocolate and Zucchini, though it's from an apparently well-known (but new to me) blog called Very Good Taste. Anyway...

Here’s what I want you to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating. [noted instead]
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile - no thanks
6. Black pudding - no thanks
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns - I assume they mean hum bow
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese - no thanks
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects - no thanks!
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu - no thanks
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel - no thanks
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin - no thanks
51. Prickly pear - does it count if in drink form?
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV - uh, Olde E?
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads - no thanks
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian - no thanks
66. Frogs’ legs - no thanks
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis - no thanks
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette - no thanks...I've smelled them during prep, and that's enough
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill - really? no thanks
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate - may have had
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

I heart questionnaires!

Thanks Miss D Regala!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:30 am...and I'd better enjoy it while it lasts.

2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Iron Man (in Vegas), I think.

4. What is your favorite TV show? Buffy was way up there. Currently (for me) it's Gilmore Girls, as we're finishing up Season 6. Really currently it's Project Runway.

5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Egg and toast. Or Cheerios with raisins and milk.

6. What is your middle name? My former last name.

7. What food do you dislike? Peas. Smelly fish. Fresh chicharones for breakfast.

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Radiohead "Rainbows"

9. What kind of car do you drive? Volvo 850

10. Favorite sandwich? Right now, it's grilled cheese with carmelized onion and apple

11. What characteristic do you despise? Arrogance (I stole that from D. Regala and Rodney)

12. Favorite item of clothing? Orange Piemonte sweatshirt

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? secluded island in the Carribbean

14. Are you an organized person? Selectively organized.

15. Where would you retire to? 6 months in Seattle, 6 months in small beach village in Mexico.

16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? I don't remember any recent birthdays at the moment.

17. What are you going to do when you finish this? Reading my school orientation materials.

20. When is your birthday? Sept 25

21. Morning person or a night person? Both and neither

22. What is your shoe size? 9.5

23. Pets? Yup. And I want another dog though it's not realistic.

24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? I have leftover Vietnamese food for dinner! (Is that exciting? Oh well.)

25. What did you want to be when you were little? Fireman. Opera singer. Landscape architect.

26. How are you today? A little frazzled with figuring out my schedule and too hot.

27. What is your favorite flower? Hydrangea. Daffodils.

28. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? August 30, when Ray and I will see as many movies as possible. And September 24, the first day of school.

29. What are you listening to right now? Sammy snoring, and a helicopter in the distance.

30. What was the last thing you ate? A healthy-tasting cookie.

31. Do you wish on stars? Uh...really? No.

32. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Orange, or a dark purple-ish blue.

33. How is the weather right now? It's hot! It's possibly almost 90.

34. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Susan H, just moments ago, about meeting up this afternoon except August is sleeping.

35. Favorite soft drink? Root beer.

36. Favorite restaurant? All of the Chow Foods eateries.

37. Hair color? brownish

38. What was your favorite toy as a child? stuffed animals

39. Summer or Winter? Summer

41. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate

42. Coffee or tea? Coffee

44. When was the last time you cried? I don't remember, but something on the Gilmore Girls we've been watching made me tear up. What was it? I don't remember.

45. What is under your bed? Carpet

46. What did you do last night? Ate a late dinner and watch Gilmore Girls.

47. What are you afraid of? Failure.

48. Salty or sweet? Sweet.

49. How many keys on your key ring? Four maybe.

51. Favorite day of the week? Saturday

52. Do you make friends easily? Most of the time.

55. Do you like finding out all this stuff about your friends? I like reading questionnaires almost as much as filling them out myself.

The chest

I'd like to believe that I'm a proponent of Things Can't Buy Happiness, and Experiences Can Buy Happiness. But I'd be wrong.

Case in point: I'd been looking for weeks for a piece of furniture that would alleviate this pile problem we've had by the front door. It's mostly baby bags and gear, all of which just sits on the floor with no real home and looks horrible. It was driving me crazy. I looked around the house for some furniture to reappropriate, and checked the garage for something that'd do the job. Nothing.

IKEA put out its new catalog a week or two ago, and I found a few items that would solve our problem -- a bench, some shelves, a bench/shelf combo. But buying something from IKEA seemed quite uninteresting, and would require more cash than I was willing to shell out.

I checked Craig's List a few times, and found a couple promising items, but no must-haves. Then last week I tried two furniture stores and the antique mall in the Junction. I found three possibilities at the antique mall, and after checking out the furniture stores, I went back to pick up this slightly interesting cast-iron bench thingy. On the way I noticed another tiny antique store, one that didn't seem worth going into as they have a lot of shabby-chic style things (which isn't exactly my style).

But lo...what have we here?

Amidst the white-painted vanity benches and smelly lotions, there it was, sticking out like a Christmas wreath in April: a chest. And it was perfect. Asian. Detailed. Lacquered. Interesting. Less than $100 (slightly). Lined with some kind of metal. Quite interesting. And the pile? It would be completely hidden. Jackpot! Here's my money, Lady!

The seller didn't have any info on it other than it was a Tea Chest. I had to know more so I took a picture and stopped by a few Asian antique dealers. From what they could tell, it's probably Chinese, made in the 1930s or 40s. And worth at least the amount I spent on it. Whew.

So, anyway, yes -- experiences can make you happy, as this experience did for me. But I must admit that I get little warm fuzzies every time I look at that chest, and almost better yet, I don't have to look at that annoying diaper bag clutter any longer.

Cake!

Buh-buh-buh Birthday!

At 9:45 am on this day a year ago, August burst forth (i.e. was tugged athletically) into this world. She weighs 3 times as much, and is about 50% longer. And she's a lot more fun. August, we wish you a year full of books, teddybears, remote controls & cell phones, running around on the porch, and that evil Cookie Monster remaining in his box.