Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in fraeuleinchen's LiveJournal:

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Sunday, November 8th, 2009
10:22 am	Who knew? Despite the fact that I do speak fluent English (one version of many acceptable dialects, at least), there are always lots of new words and phrases to learn, a fact in which I delight. Some recent gems I came across: pipped to (or at) the post - to be beaten in a race or competition by a very small margin.  I came across this on the wonderful website of the Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Competition held in Scotland (there are recipes there, too! Who among us Americans doesn't need practice converting the more civilized metric measurements to English. There is an irony here...) Then there's the word 'spurtle' itself, a wooden spoon, a stirring implement for porridge. And sawbones, a slang term for a doctor or surgeon (doesn't seem to me to have a very positive connotation), which I learned of in a crossword puzzle. But what of those simple words whose lexicographical austerity belies a deeper, almost infinite expression?  These words/concepts are also fodder for endless pop songs: "What is love?" Ah, life's persistent questions! (Comment on this)
Friday, November 6th, 2009
8:04 pm	Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble And now for an informational post. I like these kinds of posts the way I like filling in bubbles at the top of a standardized test. It's sort of rote, the entry of such trivia, the black and white of one's name, SSN, etc. But in this calm-before-the-storm, the time before the test when, for just a few moments, there are no wrong answers - just the facts - there is a lovely, low-stakes serenity. So... I filled up my car's gas tank last week, and calculated my mileage: 42.3pmg. Pretty good! After about a month off (I waited a few weeks before renewing my CSA share) I picked up my veggies the night before last. There's still plenty of stuff, i.e. Texas fields are still turning out much delicious produce, but it  has calmed a bit from the summer craziness. Here's what I got: bag of arugula (which I now keep because I like it in soup, and in that form it doesn't cause what I think is a mild allergic reaction to the raw stuff), bunch of kale; about 1kg sweet potatoes; about 0.7kg tomatoes; 2 eggplant (sm-med); a crapload of hot peppers (serrano, jalapeno, and others I can't identify); a smallish (thankfully) bag of okra; 4 kohlrabi; 1 bunch radishes (5 lovely red orbs w/greens still attached).  I've already made: arugula soup (tasty but not as good as when I included potato), a kohlrabi/radish green soup (the kohlrabi gives a lovely creaminess), and steamed pumpkin (I still had a rather large orange pumpkin-like thing from last pickup). The latter was DELICIOUS; I had it for breakfast and will hope to bake something with it. I may make a stew, as mbt001 and her husband did, but I am loving the pumpkin just as it is, too. Other exciting news: There is cheese-making in my future... for my bday I got some supplies (enzymes, cheese salt, a book, non-reactive double boiler/stock pots, a curd knife) as a gift from my friend L. My first attempt will be mozzarella (just as soon as I am finished with the cheese I have opened now; I also intend to try ricotta, and then move on to cottage cheese. Fun with fermentation!!  I do intend to stick with fresh/young cheeses, as making any sort of hard cheese would be very difficult in Texas without a special fridge kept at the proper temperature. It's too warm here for making hard cheeses.  Or for sprouting, for that matter. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
7:25 pm	On memory Memory is something that I often contemplate. Sometimes I consider its nature in general, and other times I am dealing with certain specific memories and their effect on me, lamenting the fact that the reach of time's hand is so vast.   But today's stimulus for considering the phenomenon of memory is not nearly so melancholy as the big things that came to mind as I wrote the above. Today I am fascinated by how time can heal wounds, literal and figurative. [Okay, there the melancholy crept back in. Can't get away from it.] About two and one half years ago, I had a single wisdom tooth extracted. It had started to irritate a protruding area of gum tissue, which then became infected, and it was inevitable that my dentist remove it. I opted to go for just that one tooth, since the others were still fine and causing me no problems. Well, this past Friday, my boyfriend, in preparation for orthodontic work, had oral surgery to remove not only his four wisdom teeth, but three other teeth. Though I remember being distraught after my extraction, it was nothing like A's; in theory at least, it was one seventh of the pain, but I think that the discomfort and inconvenience must increase exponentially with tooth extraction: what a miserable situation, having to take pain-killers but being unable to eat much, worrying about what little food you do eat getting stuck in the new holes, and not wanting to dislodge the hard-won new tissue. So as I stirred the fourth batch of Jell-o in three days, I wondered, "Which wisdom tooth did I have pulled?"  And I was in awe that I couldn't recall!  I remember it being so horrible at the time - I actually shed tears in the dentist's chair - but now, I can't remember from which side the tooth was extracted or even whether it was the upper or lower jaw! I tried piecing together my memories, and then probed with my finger, but I actually didn't reach any conclusions (the wisdom teeth aren't fully emerged). But by that point all I was thinking about was the fact that time really can be a great healer. It doesn't necessarily *fix* everything, at least not the way we might want, and it doesn't return things to some former, longed-for state. On the other hand, things that get swept under the proverbial carpet *will* reemerge, like a pea under umpteen fabled mattresses... and you find out that you do have something in common with that princess after all. Current Mood: melancholy / thinking too much Current Music: (in my head) 'Tonight', Genesis (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, October 18th, 2009
4:20 pm	Happy Today is a very sunny day, but I am appreciating that big orb in the sky, for it is *not hot* outside. So glorious! Yay for, um, tilting planet, I guess! The windows are open, and neither the A/C or heat is on - it's just a NICE TEMPERATURE OUTDOORS, with perfect humidity. Today is a rare day indeed. I've spent probably 7-8 hours of the past twenty-four doing some type of domestic improvement: vacuuming (lots of detail work, behind and underneath furniture etc), cleaning windows (including outside!!) and windowsills, dusting; A chipped in, too. Yesterday was productive but somehow relaxing, starting with a late morning, then four hours of work (hospital), followed by the first segment of my domesticity binge. In the late evening, A and I went out for pizza and to run a few errands. My on call period ended this morning, so I was able to fully relax this morning before continuing on the home improvement work. I feel as if I've had a productive *and* relaxing weekend so far. And it's not over yet!  I had some things I could've gone to this afternoon, but couldn't get myself to get in my car. I didn't want to leave home, not when I'm enjoying it today more than I have in recent memory. I see further decluttering in my future, along with a cup of tea and some homemade biscotti (which were very easy to make, BTW). Current Mood: content (Comment on this)
Saturday, October 3rd, 2009
4:57 pm	Taste and Memory Despite the fact that it is perfectly tasty jam, I have been looking forward to reaching the end of a jar of Whole Foods 365 brand jam - Wild Berry, organic - I have in the fridge, because I want to open another jar (huckleberry, purchased during my recent trip to Montana) and don't have much room. So after I got home from work this afternoon, I was making my tea, and used a spoon to gather up the last bits of the lovely fruity spread. I put some on my toast, and then decided to lick the remainder of the jam off of the spoon before using it to stir the milk into my mug of steaming tea. I've been eating this jam for a month or two now, but I guess I hadn't eaten much of it alone (either that or I was in a particularly vulnerable taste/memory zone at the time). For when I tasted the fruit in the jam, I was immediately reminded of a fruit roll-up. The only time I've ever eaten those is when they first came out in probably the mid to late eighties, marketed as 'healthy' snacks for kids (really it's overprocessed, overly sweet, overpriced, overpackaged crap, but I digress). And it might seem strange that an organic, all natural fruit preserve would evoke a memory of such a snack, but perhaps it speaks to the success of whatever chemically-bolstered flavor the scientists came up with for those treats. In any case, I recognized an emotion behind the memory, namely that at the time I tasted that fruit roll-up, I was innocent; I knew nothing about the politics of food, didn't think about its content much, probably didn't need to plan much - I was a child, in a good family that, for the most part, provided for my physical and emotional needs. Things weren't perfect, but the memory associated with that leathery treat - for whatever reason - was pretty close to bliss. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, September 27th, 2009
11:26 am	I hate roaches My first run-in with roaches was when I lived in my first apartment in Austin. Previously the indoor vermin and pests I'd encountered had been seemingly tamer and more benign, though with more potential for destruction, actually: mice, ants. Perhaps you can understand why the large brown, nearly indestructible bugs (American cockroach, palmetto bugs, whatever they are!!) would be so disgusting. After all, I could sometimes *hear* them in my kitchen, as I sat just in the next room. I had a lot of anxiety about the situation back then. Turns out that it may have had something to do with my downstairs neighbor. My digs certainly weren't completely spotless, but I didn't live in filth. Situation at present. I live (rent) in a house which has its share of problems: it seems overly damp and humid at times, especially downstairs, the insulation is poor so it's much hotter upstairs (10 degrees F), and despite best attempts at sealing it off, there are still a few gaps between door and jambs.  We get pillbugs/rolypolys every year for a few months, and they just litter the downstairs like a slowly moving, sparsely populated graveyard.  This year, I decided to sprinkle Borax around the edges of the rooms, both to kill the pill bugs (easier to sweep up when dead) and to combat the roach population. We only see a roach every few weeks or so, usually, but once in a while it'll be two inside of a week, and that is just too frequent. We know they're there somewhere; sometimes I find roach excrement. Okay, enough with the background info. Fast forward to this past Wednesday. I've slept very soundly, though not long enough, and get up at the usual time, and am out the door in my usual thirteen minutes, breakfast in hand, lunch packed away in backpack. It's cool outside, so I am wearing a long-sleeved fleece jacket over my scrubs. It is also dark, as it is still pre-dawn. I drive away from the house, turning onto the main road, and out of the upper periphery of my visual field, on the rim of the car's roof, between the upturned visor and the edge of the windshield, I see a roach-shaped figure. I'm looking at it head on, so I see its back. Very swiftly I take the back of my sleeve and swipe it away, screaming involunarily as I do whenever I see one of those awful creatures. This is usually followed by a barrage of namecalling which seems purposeful in some way, cathartic. I use the same name for them every time: f&*@er. A$$-hole also figures in, but mainly its that 'F' word. So now I'm driving to work, stuck in a car with a roach. I turn on the car's interior lights, trying to balance road safety with the sense of irrational anxiety which seeks to overcome me. I know that the roach can't hurt me, but now I feel especially powerless. I'm operating a moving vehicle, and any poor outcome associated with this roach incident would be just silly and I can't let that happen. BUT I am also dying inside there. I talk myself out of pulling over. This is only my second day back after a sick day, so I really don't want to call in to say I'll be late because I had to stop and search the car for a roach. I don't want to tell anyone at work about this, actually. It feels too personal. So I make it in to work with the lights on. I'd closed my backpack so that he couldn't crawl in. I never saw him again that morning, even after I'd parked my car and was searching with the help, now, of the just-barely rising sun. So I go in to work, have a normal day, and have basically managed to table the incident in my mind; after all, there's nothing I could have done about it during the day. After work, on the long walk to the parking lot, I call my mother, as I often do. Sometimes we talk, but sometimes I leave her a voicemail (and in my family, we don't mind long voicemails). She doesn't answer this time. So I am leaving my mom a voicemail, telling her about all sorts of different things, and at the end, I say, "Oh, yeah - listen to what happened this morning!" and proceed to explain briefly (because now time is running out on the voicemail - there is a three minute limit)... and by this time I'm at my car, and have opened the passenger door and am moving the seat forward, looking in all the nooks and crannies with the benefit of full sun, and thinking that it's impossible, that I'll never find it. I put my stuff on the passenger seat and then move to the driver's side, where I perform the same search. All the while I'm explaining to my mom what I'm doing. Now I'm standing in the angle of the open driver's side door.  And then I decide (not because I necessarily believe it but because it is a comfort - somehow I have to get back in my car and drive around to, you know, have my life) that perhaps this morning's incident was some sort of hallucination (early morning, poor light, lots of shadows). Mere seconds after I say those hopeful words - "I bet I just imagined it"- I reach my head in, I turn back the visor, and there, just inches from where I thought I saw him that morning, is the f-ing roach. I do what I always do, which is (1) scream (like I said, involuntary, high-pitched, and basically uniquely irreproducable. Totally in the moment.). Bear in mind that I'm still on the phone at this point, so that scream will be the last words in that message, because I hang up. Next (2) I find an implement of destruction. There's a free foodie magazine in the backseat which I'd picked up at Hole Feuds a few days prior. That will be my weapon. I curl it up, and swat at the section of the car's inside roof which I now can't see because I'm sure as hell not putting my head back into the car right where he is. My swatting is successful and the roach lands on his back on the seat. I manage to get him out onto the pavement beside the car, and he doesn't move much. I don't even finish the job. I just laugh out loud with relief, and at the entire situation. I'm so glad that now I will at least be able to drive again without anxiety. I'll be very careful about admitting roaches into my car in the future. (I have ideas about how it got there: probably in a box of bottles/jars I was bringing to recycle at the aforementioned Hole Feuds; our county doesn't have glass recycling. Despite our rinsing said glass receptacles, I still sometimes see a roach in there in the garage.) Now, of course, my mom will listen to this message and probably worry. So once I'm settled in my car, I call my mom back. She answers this time, probably wondering why I'd call several times in the space of a few minutes and wanting to make sure it's nothing urgent. She's at dinner with a friend, and I can hear the din of the restaurant. She wonders what I wanted, and I tell her that there's no way I can explain it now (you know, she's in a busy, loud place, and I just couldn't do it justice) and that she just needs to listen to her messages. Okay, she says, after the movie they're going to see. I thought I'd managed to tell her everything was okay, and the laughter in my voice, I hope, got that across, that I wasn't in crisis. So a few hours later, I'm in a book club meeting, and she calls, so I can't answer then, and then she's laughing into my voicemail, knowing I'm probably okay but amused by the cliffhanger. In the end all was well and I called her and explained everything just before her bedtime. Some bedtime story! (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, September 10th, 2009
10:38 am	Unencumbered I've spent entirely too much time in airports - and in transit in general - in the last month. Airports in particular always get me thinking; the sense of impermanence hits me and I contemplate my home-body tendency, which puts me at odds with my current location so far from my roots. And then there's the fact that I actually have set down some nice, strong roots here in Austin, where I have some wonderful friends and a solid network which is like a second family to me. So one morning during a recent journey, as I walked to the gate whence I would shortly depart, laden with my backpack (containing books, emergency supplies, snacks, mp3 player, an extra shirt and fleece vest for warmth and/or makeshift pillow) and small personal item (which consisted of a leather tote holding my netbook, empty travel mug, and some crossword puzzles, stowed there for easy access), I spotted a young woman traveling with a guy I guessed was her boyfriend. This girl looked so unencumbered, especially compared to me. She wore shorts, short shorts at that, and a blousey strapless tube top, flip-flops on her feet, and her only carry-on a small clutch purse. Her hair was pinned up, accentuating her bare shoulders. I automatically put myself in her shoes (if you consider flimsly thong sandals to be shoes, which I do not :-) and imagined I'd feel very vulnerable. There's a practical side to this, related to her choice of footwear: I like wearing closed-toed shoes because they keep the feet protected (no toe-stubbing, solo or from another foot!) and clean (and since we don't have foot-washing stations at our doors these days, this makes things easier. But I also imagined traveling sans snacks, having to rely on whatever snacks are available for sale, and being dismayed by the selection and price of said offerings. And without some form of entertainment such as a book or crossword puzzle or newspaper. I was glad for her that perhaps her male companion would fill all those needs, that just being with him would be entertainment enough, that she felt (I imagined) protected and safe, and was unconcerned with where she'd find food when she became hungry, for example. But I try to always take care of all of those needs myself, and so my carry-ons - my baggage, both literal and proverbial - are more burdensome. They suit me, however, and I don't think I'll change. Nor do I need to. The difference, however, in our approaches to comfort during travel was striking. Current Mood: contemplative (5 Comments |Comment on this)
10:27 am	The sign said so! At the register/checkout in the grocery store early this morning (productivity is one way of dealing with insomnia, and I needed celery and parsley to make a vegetarian gumbo, so I ventured out pre-dawn), there was a bin with store-brand cotton swabs, and a sign advertising their sale price which said the item would be free if the cashier did not mention the offer. Almost every time I go through the checkout, I witness the cashier spewing some obligatory offer, like "Do you need any ice or stamps today?", which might be helpful as a reminder, or "Do you need any shampoo or deodorant [or whatever sale item is in the little display at the register]?" I would say that I 'endure' instead of 'witness', but it really doesn't bother me - I know that they are told by management that they must say these things, and they're just doing their job. But this morning, when I read that guarantee/offer on the sign, and when by the end of the checkout process he had not asked me, well, I decided to ask "Is it really free if you didn't ask me?" at which point he grudgingly grabbed one of the packs and handed it to me. He'd been perfectly pleasant to me, though our communication prior to that point had been minimal, but after he gave me the item, I started to feel bad. Could he get in trouble for having to own up to the store's guarantee? I asked him, and he said, though not in a very cheery voice, "Don't worry about it."  I hope I didn't ruin his day, but, well, the sign said so, and I asked. And now I have some cotton swabs. Current Mood: sick (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
1:42 pm	Matrimony in Montana I spent the Labor Day weekend at a wedding in rural Montana, in the Swan Valley area, with A. We traveled with another couple from Austin, flying into Spokane, WA and driving about five hours east, through Missoula, to the ranch, which the wedding party (32 guests total, including bride and groom) took over for the weekend. The journey to and from the ranch may have, in fact, been longer than my door-to-door trips from the east coast to Germany, back when I made those, and on this trip, the traveling definitely knocked the wind out of me!  Friday: Early morning flight to Denver, then Spokane, where we rented a car for the four of us. Another Austinite was on a different flight but arriving around the same time, and had his own rental car (five in our car would have been very uncomfortable and impossible sans luggage rack) so we caravanned. From this point, the trip got off to a Rocky start (tee hee), because once we got to Missoula, it became clear that we had different expectations about the driving from Spokane to the ranch; that miscommunication led to some harsh words and a flaring of what was already a difficult relationship (not involving me), but ultimately, ended up being okay - it was definitely an exercise in letting go, for me, because I was not in control (not the driver) and could only voice my opinion. We arrived after 9pm MT at the ranch (left home in Austin at 5:45am CT... total of 16.25 hours - can that be?) to some excitement. On our approach to the ranch, we saw an ambulance, and sure enough, we shared its destination: the groom's mother had fallen down a flight of stairs in the main lodge. Luckily, she was alright albeit a bit shocked, and after some rest, she was up and about the rest of the weekend, just sore from the fall. Saturday: The rough start continued on Saturday morning, when A and I slept through part of our prearranged kitchen duty. Since there were so many of us and so many things to do, we'd been assigned either meal set up or clean up, and though I'd known about our shift (it had to be changed from our original Monday morning assignment because that conflicted with our departure), in the excitement the night before we never really got oriented. And we were so tired that I just didn't think of it.  C (groom) knocked on our door, though, and we got into the swing of things.  From here on out, it was a much better trip. After our duties were finished, we ate a leisurely breakfast, packed a lunch, and got ready for the hike. About twenty of us hiked a 1.5 mile trail which originated only two miles from the ranch, at Holland Lake. More on the hike later, but first a few words about the setting. The rural Montanan landscape there was so beautiful, with majestic peaks rising in the distance, still snow-capped, and lovely, fresh air. The ranch was both stately and rustic, but with modern amenities and a very comfortable air about it. There were antique Native American rugs and tapestries, and the blankets on the beds matched this theme. Our rooms were assigned, with a map indicating the guests' locations, and a tag on each door indicated its inhabitants. Waiting for us on the nightstand was a gift bag, which included a 'program' of sorts, showing all the guests' photos and a short bio (including their relationship to the bride and/or groom), as well as some info about the ranch and lodge and the area. The bag also contained some snacks, and the most unique wedding favor: wine charms (for marking your wine glass as your own), each with its own sailing knot, some white, some red, made by the groom himself.  We took a photo of ours as a memory aid, but now I know it by heart (not how to make it though). The knots are important because C (who is Swedish, by the way) has been sailing all his life, and sailing has been in his family for generations. (Now retired, C's parents spend part of their time living on a sailboat.) Also, knots played an important role in C & R's engagement.  I should also say a note about my role in the wedding:  There were two officiants, one a friend of the groom and the other a close friend of the bride, R. R also had a Maid of Honor, and C had me, his groomsman. Several months ago, when C told me of his engagement, he mentioned a possible role for me. I had considered not going to the wedding because of how expensive it would be to get there, but C didn't have to try very hard to let me know how important it was that I be there, and once I realized that, it took no convincing at all for me to plan my trip there. Only a few weeks ago was my role clarified, and I was to be by his side at the ceremony, and make a toast after the exchanging of vows. More on that in the chronicle of Sunday's events. The hike was wonderful, just strenuous enough to not be boring but not too hard for our travel-weary selves, with a gentle rise in elevation. At the end, a beautiful waterfall awaited us. The day was quite warm, temps in the 80s (F), but up on the rocks near the falls, the temperature was much cooler (as was the water!). A very fine spray filled the air and it was just heaven. I thought of the heat and the stangnancy that I'd left behind in Austin. where it doesn't seem to matter whether you're in the shade or not - it's just hot - and was glad to be there. We ate our sack lunches each in our unique little nooks on the arrangement of craggy rocks, and then headed back down. At the bottom, I decided to walk back to the ranch (only two miles) with a few others, including A (who was walking in a bit of pain, having slipped and skinned his knee on the way down). Once back at the ranch, I cleaned up, and then it was time for Yard Games. I was actually not very much looking forward to said games; I'd have preferred to rest up, have some tea, do a crossword puzzle. But only a few minutes into the games, I was so glad I'd come. The bride's friend (and officiant) Ch led the games, and obviously had some experience at this. We randomly chose swatches of fabric from a box which signified our team affiliation. There were four teams of five players each, and others acted as judges and score-keepers. We did some crazy stuff: passing tennis balls from person to person with our chins; carrying an egg in a spoon down the field and back (relay race); another relay race doing a crab walk or cartwheels or somersaults down and back; a crazy egg toss (those organic hens lay some mighty strong eggs! In the end it was my throwing/tossing skills that brought me down - I have horrible aim at any distance!). My favorite was a relay race in which we had a can of beer in one leg of pantyhose, tied around the waist with the other leg, and used the hose-encased-can to push a tennis ball down the field; I really used my hips to my advantage. Our team won second place overall, I think. The games forced us all to have fun, and it totally worked. Almost as soon as the games were done (about 1.5 hours total), it began to rain, large Montana-sized drops from that Big Sky. Our Pitchfork Fondue had been cooking in the drive beside where the games were held, and they just moved the cooked food inside for us to eat. There was a fire in the stove, and s'mores were our dessert. After dinner, I had some groomswomanly duties to attend to, namely a rehearsal of sorts, in the bridal suite. Even that was fun, and allowed me to get to know some of the bride's friends better. In going through the ceremony and preparation, the bride expressed that she didn't know what she would do with her hair (these are very casual people, not traditional, and she didn't need a coiffure, but she did want to avoid putting her hair in a ponytail for the wedding!), so I showed her what I thought she might like (a French half-braid like a crown over the front of her head) and she loved it, so we arranged for me to do that the next afternoon. That night folks hung out by the fire in the main room of the lodge. Our bedroom was off that wing of the house, sharing one wall with that main room, and with a window that overlooked the pasture (mountains, horses!), with the deck right there too.  It was with mixed feelings that I considered our placement there. I think they had given us that room befitting my status as Groomsman, because it was one of the largest rooms, and because of that large window with a great view. However, I am a vampire, and am very sensitive to noise, and the fact that the shared wall with the main lodge room with the campfire had a bookshelf in it, making the barrier between our room and the main room only a sheet of plywood, was not good for someone like me, a light sleeper. Thus I had to aid myself to sleep with earplugs et cetera, especially because others stayed up later than we did. Sunday: We got up around 8:30am, enjoying a slow start to the Big Day. The original plan was to go horseback riding, which we'd scheduled weeks earlier in a noon timeslot, but we found out only around 10am that that was not to be: the farm down the road where we were to ride had gotten the scheduling wrong. Instead, I enjoyed a solitary walk around the grounds of the ranch. I was gone for nearly an hour, and reveled in profound sense of contentment. The air was crisp and clean and cool (65F, approximately), and though I was a bit nervous about the toast I was to give later, I was very happy. I showered and got ready for the wedding, and then waited for the bride to be ready for my services. The groom was to get ready in my room, another reason I'd wanted to get showered and ready early. At 4pm, I helped gather people in front of the lodge, handing out a flower to each (these would later be assembled to form the bride's bouquet). We made the trek out to the pasture (not the one with the horses; a test run revealed that the horses were too aggressive for us to have the ceremony near them), watching for holes and other stuff in the way (symbolic of the trials of marriage and life in general!). There was seating for eight guests (the over-50 parents and relatives), and the rest just stood. The two officiants and bride and groom were at the center of the tableau, flanked by the maid of honor and myself. The ceremony was run by the two officiants, and the actual vows were written by the bride and groom themselves; this would be the first time each heard the other's vows. There were some very touching moments, when I fought back tears, but I never cried. I was just painfully happy for them. Before the vows, the officiants asked the bride and groom, "Will you cause C/R pain?", "Will you ever burden C/R?"  The response, "yes", was followed with the question, "Is that your intent?", to which C/R responded "No. I shall try my hardest not to." I really liked the sense of realism this brought to the ceremony. After the vows, we revealed the champagne and glasses which were hiding in coolers at the ends of the row of chairs, and I gave my toast. A joyful noise (well, noises - many champagne corks popped out onto that field) was made and we made our way back to the lodge. There were snacks and drinks and then the main dinner, at which several heartwarming (and tear-jerking) toasts were made. Then the band played - western Swing, which fit the setting, and honored the fact that C & R met swing dancing. They danced tirelessly, and we all tried to keep up. The bride's hair, by the way, stayed put through the ceremony and dancing, and was a source of pride for me. I'd participated and played my role in the wedding of a dear friend (and his wife is now a dear friend) and made significant contribution. And all was well!  After the band stopped playing, close to midnight, a group of ten or so gathered on the porch around a fire (contained in a vessel intended for this purpose) and continued the revelry. I was tired, so A and I went back to our room and packed, because the noise would have made it hard to get to sleep. When things died down we went to bed, and though I woke up around 6, I was able to get back to sleep for a bit. Monday: We were up and eating breakfast by 9am, and left around 9:30am from the ranch. We travelled west to Spokane, moving back into the Pacific time zone (the multiple zones kept us on our toes when planning our departure times!). Got to the airport in plenty of time, returned the rental car, and awaited our departure. I had discovered on the drive from Spokane to Montana that I don't do well in the backseat when driving on tortuous roads, so about midway through that trip, and for the entire return journey, I sat shotgun, with the two nappers in the back. I don't sleep well in cars, typically, so it made perfect sense that I'd accompany the driver up front, and be a navigatrix of sorts (not that it was very difficult - there are few roads out there, so it's hard to be on the wrong one). One thing I found very interesting is that a lot of the towns have the initial letter of their name on a mountainside. See here for a photo of the Missoula marker. At first I thought that these mountainside letters were in alphabetical order, for we passed an 'F', and then a while later saw an 'L' and then immediately the Missoula 'M'. But I was wrong. The letters are formed of stone, and this is apparently a common practice in Montana (and other mountainous regions). Our flight left at 2:40pm, and then we had a two-hour-plus layover in Las Vegas. We finally landed in Austin just after midnight, and made our way to my car in the parking lot. After dropping our fellow travelers at home, A and I reached our doorstep around 1:15am. It was a short night, and my alarm rang only 4.5 hours after my head had hit the pillow. Tuesday was a busy day at work, starting earlier than usual because I had been chosen to represent my department at a meeting. The meeting went fine, and then it was a very full day doing echos (catchup from the long weekend made for a full board!), but I was able to leave on time, and came straight home. After a little unpacking, then tea and a snack, I needed to take a nap. I thought I might wake up in time to go to bellydance class but was comfortable with the possibility that I'd have to skip class. Three hours later I emerged from slumber not at all disappointed; I had really needed that sleep. A came home from work, and we ate together while watching an episode of From The Top (it's like dining at a classical concert, but with some even more engaging interview segments with the young, talented musicians). After having refueled, I came upstairs to catch up on email. And then it hit me. I felt suddenly achey and dizzy and nauseated, and then I lost my lunch, uh, dinner. I laid down, and tried to sip some water. Nope - my body was having none of that!  A, ever helpful and caring, ran out for some ginger ale, and after having emptied my stomach over the next hour or so, I vowed to remain supine for several hours; I sipped some ginger ale, thought desperate thoughts (the thought of any food was so horrible that I wondered if I'd ever be able to eat again - you know how it is, once you puke something up, you think you will ban that food from your diet forever more!), and when it was late enough (6:15am) I called my boss to let her know I would not be joining the gang for work. I had looked up Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, to find out the signs and symptoms, since it was entirely possible that I could have been bitten by a tick and not known it, but it seems that has a longer incubation period (1-2 weeks) and is accompanied by fever, which I did not have (I was a cool 97 degrees F (up to 97.8), normal for me). It occurred to me that this is the second time I have been sick around Labor Day; my bout with viral meningitis was back in 2007 at this time of year. After lots of napping, some Netflix instant streaming for entertainment, and little snacks here and there to test out my stomach, I am feeling much better. I have been sneezing and sniffling progressively more as the day has worn on, and so I think that maybe the nausea and vomiting was just the dramatic intro of a cold-type thing. I was able to leave the house for a bit to pick up my ( CSA share ), and stop at the library, during which some rain even fell on my car. Joy! So, it seems that I may not be made of steel. Life always throws us reminders that we're not invincible, lest we delude ourselves. But sometimes it's fun to ignore the warnings, too, isn't it? The trip to MT was crazier than I imagined it would be, but it was also more wonderful than I was prepared for in several ways. One thing I'd worried about was that the wedding would just be too smarmy and perfect, that I'd feel inadequate somehow in witnessing this perfect union between these perfect people, comparing myself and coming up short. But I didn't feel that way at all this weekend, and it was striking to remember my previous anxiety about that particular point only after the weekend was already passed. I still felt that both C & R were awesome, lovable, incredibly intelligent people, and it really is touching how well they seem to fit together, but that didn't intimidate me. Instead, I enjoyed being a part of the setting, an extended family of sorts; I felt useful and successful and likable; I got to know a few  friends and acquaintances better, and got to make some new friends. And a postscript of sorts: I was totally off the grid for those four days, and it was a nice break!  There was plenty to keep me occupied, though I did try using the ranch's wifi (which was prohibitively slow). No cell phone service out there, at all. It is a bit sad that foregoing connections to the world (internet and cell phone) which have only become the norm for me (and for the western world) in the past ten years feels brave! Current Mood: calm (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, August 21st, 2009
2:18 pm	Cross Words The AV Club Crossword in The Onion is a nice little puzzle, and I complete it faithfully every week, along with the NY Times (on which I generally run quite a bit behind even though I have access to the current puzzles by subscription online - handy! BTW I'm still about at a Thursday-plus level, meaning I can quite reliably complete a Thursday puzzle, and sometimes can complete the Friday puzzle, but I stay away from the Saturdays still; Sundays are a lot of fun and doable for me (they are said to be about a Thursday level). I also dabble in the LA Times crosswords, which are free online and printable as well. But back to the Onion puzzle... last week's (by Deb Amlen, ed. by Ben Tausig) had a couple of very cute clues/solutions I'd like to share with you, lest you think that crosswords are boring. The themes and puns and sometimes mind-bending clueing featured in the world of crossword puzzles is just fabulous, and the Onion's special brand of this fun is, well, special!  20A - Celebrity really wants to read a parody magazine? (Answer: STARCRAVINGMAD); 34A - Regret losing some guy during long-winded speech? (Answer:RUEMANBORED); 43A - Korean kids, e.g.? (Answer: YOUTHINASIA); and 59A - Desperate dieter's stricken facial expression? (Answer: EYESSCREAMCAKE). Fun! Current Mood: amused at/and content (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, August 20th, 2009
1:36 pm	Not a goose egg, which would be nothing... Yesterday I splurged on local produce. It's an off-week for me with regard to my CSA (I hadn't scheduled a pickup because of my vacation, which then ended a day early, so I was in need of fresh veggie goodness) so I made up for that by visiting the Wednesday evening Farmer's Market in central Austin. The last time I was there (probably over a year ago, before I had a share with Johnson's Backyard Garden), there was a stand selling duck eggs, but even though I arrived relatively early - within the first 30 minutes of the market opening - on my two previous attempts to purchase duck eggs, I was too late. This time, though, I was in plenty of time and happily gave my six dollars for the dozen white orbs. I also bought some salad greens (rare in Texas, but the farmer said that they weren't even grown in a covered area... maybe it's shaded?) ($5 for a 1.5 quart-sized bag) and tomatoes ($5 for 1.75 lbs). Then I went to the grocery store and bought a whole bunch of other stuff for far less than I'd paid for the small amount of stuff at the farmer's market (most of which was unavailable i.e. doesn't grow here at this time of year - and I could feel guilty about that, but heck, I wanted carrots, and red cabbage, and parsley...). My fridge is stocked now and I feel good about having supported some local food production.  I had one of the eggs this morning, and it was quite yummy. I think the white is denser than chicken eggs - seems to have a very slightly lower water content. Also, I know it was fresh because it was hard to peel. And the shell was very thick compared to even the happy chicken eggs' shells. Current Mood: distracted somehow (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
8:15 pm	Drive on, folks MY car:  Most recent fuel efficiency in my manual transmission Civic EX '01 - 40.4mpg... this is 2.5 to 3mpg lower than recent gas mileage. What did I do differently? I honestly don't know.  Hmmmm. OTHER car: This past week I rented a car in New England while visiting friends and family. It was a Kia Spectra (which I chose over a Corolla, a PT Cruiser or a Corolla, thinking the Spectra would get the best mileage of the bunch) - 33.5mpg.  Not very good considering that it's the same size as or smaller than my Civic. The problem probably lies in the fact that it was an automatic transmission, which is not conducive to hypermiling. Current Mood: tired (Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
3:34 pm	MPG and other car stuff 42.3 mpg, and that despite a perceived lower rate of hypermiling. It's been so hot here, of course, that I am using the A/C all the time. Today I put the new license plates on my car. Seven characters/numbers will be hard to memorize, especially since they don't make a nice phrase (to my mind, anyway) as my old plates did. But change is always hard, right? After changing the plates, I had A take my picture of the completed job, and holding the old plates. Doing this little job reminded me of my last visit to my grandparents' house in FL (they have since moved up to NH to be near my mom and her sister, with whom they live in in-law quarters); I stopped in to visit them for a few days with my brother Chris on my way from NH/MA to Austin, when I moved here in August 2002. My grandfather thought I should have proper license plate frames; he had some around, and put them on for me. So as I completed the task, I thought of him and how he'd done this for me. He'll be turning ninety in two weeks, and I'll be up to visit at that time (along with lots of other family, also in town for my cousin's wedding). I'll definitely show him the pics and share the memory with him. I have today off and am trying my best to relax, but I had a sort of dramatic exit (again, probably only to me - see, I live in *my* head, which sometimes doesn't give much credence to how things really are in the world) from work yesterday which has loomed like a cloud over my head these past 23 hours.  There *were* clouds over Austin earlier today, but they did not produce any rain, much to my chagrin. That just might have made it 'all better.' Alas... Current Mood: just okay (Comment on this)
Friday, July 17th, 2009
12:44 pm	Car stuff Filled the gas tank yesterday and calculated my fuel efficiency: 43.15 mpg. That includes near-constant usage of A/C while driving, as the outside temperature was usually over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. I rock! Just got my registration renewal in the mail, and this form says that I need new plates. WHY?  Plate age - 7 years. So what!? The metal in the plates hasn't degraded, the numbers/letters are no less visible, no fading... WTF?! Bureaucracy, I guess. And that's just wasteful and evil and... am I missing something here? Do any of my Texas friends know why the plates need to be replaced after a certain number of years?  ******************** Edit/post-script: I called the DOT/Wilco Tax Assessor. Apparently I don't need to to *anything extra* to get the new plates. This is not explained anywhere on the vehicle registration renewal notice I received, which just says that you "MUST obtain new plates from your county tax office (by mail or in person)". The guy I talked to, when I suggested that the notice might do well to explain the process more than just imploring the recipient to obtain new plates, said that it's the DOT that sends out the notices, not Wilco or any individual tax assessor's office. Before I called I looked the issue up online, and found that they are phasing out the current plates, with the conversion to be complete by 2016. But I still have to get new plates. Now. My reconnaisance online made me think that I needed to fill out a special form and send in a fee of $5.30 or something around that amount... but that's only if you need replacement plates i.e. lost yours. So I don't have to do anything differently, just send in my registration renewal fee, and they'll send me the new sticker *and* the new plates. Still, it's annoying that the process is so unclear. Current Mood: annoyed (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 15th, 2009
6:24 pm	Pepper plethora It's hot. I had a hard, non-stop busy day at work. I am going to see Food, Inc. tonight with some friends. I feel like I've hardly been home since like Saturday; just a lot of out-of-the-house activities. I'll compensate by recharging with some home/alone time this weekend (though even then I have some stuff planned - I'll keep it balanced, though!) Picked up my CSA box today. I decided not to take photos of every box's contents any more. I just don't have the lighting conditions to make nice photos, and until I live in a sun-soaked kitchen (which I'm not actually sure I'd even want, anyway, not in TX - no, don't want more heat!) that's not apt to change. But I do still like having a record of what's in the boxes. It promotes an awareness (in me and in others who don't live in TX or who don't eat lots of vegetables) of seasons and what grows when.  This week's' box: bunch of basil, small bunch mint, three small zucchini, three small yellow squash, bag of onions (red and white and yellow, about 1kg, est.), bag of potatoes (1.5kg, est.), 8 small patty pan squash, one large tomato, three eggplant (two dark purple, one lighter), lots of peppers (some of which I traded (the jalapenos for example) for an extra eggplant), one medium melon. Still trying to limit my time on the computer as my traps are still healing, and typing, even with my nice ergonomic setup, aggravates my upper back and neck, especially after a hard day at work. Off to the kitchen for veggie management, and then to the movie! Current Mood: a bit tired (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, July 12th, 2009
12:22 pm	No death, but mucho taxes I just sealed the deal on my upcoming trip to New England. I booked the flight, and then the rental car.  I'm accustomed to the taxes charged for flights (security, 9/11, whatever they're officially called), but I was appalled at how much the additional fees add to the rental car. The final price was $100 more than the base weekly rental (which was not bad at $234). In any case, annoying fees aside, I'm excited to see family and friends, and to spend time in the cooler climate (though even New England has heat waves, and can be very humid). The weather continues to be a constant, insufferable jacket, but yesterday I was treated to a nice dip in the pool at the home of close friends. The water was around 90F, but still refreshing compared to the air temp. Current Mood: hopeful (Comment on this)
Saturday, July 11th, 2009
2:35 pm	Stuffy heat (and stuff and things) The past few weeks have been difficult from a physical point of view (as I've been mentioning far too often, my traps are giving me trouble... but it's getting better!), but I've also had some great things happen. I realized that I am much less stressed out and significantly more confident at work (but still not cocky; that's dangerous in the medical field, I think, and I'm nowhere near cockiness). So that's great. I've gotten back in touch with a friend from elementary school (probably we were in kindergarten together, but 1st grade at the latest), and it's been wonderful to catch up via email; I love having friends who've known me, and whom I've known, for so long - there's nothing that can replace that longevity, even though it's been probably close to fifteen years since we've been in touch there are things we know and understand about each other by dint of having known each other for so long). I've learned some new words: pyment - a fermented beverage made with grapes as well as honey barratry - offense of persistently instigating lawsuits, typically groundless ones hest - it's archaic, but acceptable: noun, meaning 'command; behest' mort - great number or quantity; some sample usages: mort of luck, 1821; of merrymaking, 1775; of money, 1887; of prisoners, 1694; of talk, 1850; of wit, 1708. mort - also defined as 'a note sounded on a hunting horn to announce the death of a deer'; seems to me that given its origin, it could signal any creature's death Try as I might to use it in a game of Boggle, the word 'trane' is not a word. Neither is 'hite'. My friend E, who just moved to Madison, WI, turned me on to a radio show about words, called A Way With Words, which I've been listening to here and there (free podcasts on the site). The episodes are jam-packed with fun callers and informative answers to their language questions. A recent episode talked about: why the pronoun 'I' is the only one we capitalize in English; feeling bad versus badly; driver vs driver's license; giggleweeds; a superstition involving saying 'bunny bunny' or 'rabbit rabbit' first thing upon awakening on the first day of the month; variations apparently involve punching someone after this utterance.  It's a fun show, and I recommend it if language is your thing. In other word news, I continue to hear people quite often add an extra 'n' in the word 'pundit', pronouncing it /pun dint/. Ick.  And the expression 'at the end of the day' seems ubiquitous and thus overused. Yesterday A and I had a laugh because I used that string of words but to actually refer to something that happened at the close of my workday. Ha! We've come up with an idea for a drinking game while watching SYTYCD. [Last fall, we came up with some similar games for the presidential debates, with sips to be taken upon hearing certain overused phrases. In case you don't know me very well, the idea of me participating in a drinking game *should* strike you as funny, because I am definitely not a big drinker. Thus the 'sips' above, in lieu of what I suspect might be 'chugs' to hard-core drinking-gamers :-)] So, the SYTYCD game would, for one, involve taking a drink every time Mary says, quite unnecessarily after making a statement, her trademark "Yes you did" or "Yes you are!". If you don't know what I'm talking about, well, watch any clip of the judges giving feedback after a dance performance on the show, and you'll probably be treated to an example of this. This season's show is less edgy than the other seasons, which in one way is nice (the dancers all seem really, well, nice! And humble, with no cocky or snotty dancers. But there also seem to be fewer killer routines that have really grabbed me. I'm still watching, though!) Last night I went to my friend Rain's musical, and as always, she did an awesome job (as did raaga123, who has a role in it).  Afterwards A and I hung out with C&R, who are to be married in September and are just joyful friends to have and be around. They simply exude love, and their obvious connection is a great reminder of all that's right in the world. Today is a day off and I am reveling in it. Back to reveling! Current Mood: quite content (Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
2:42 pm	Home Alone Today's my first day off in nine days. One of those nine days I didn't actually have to go in to the hospital (just had to talk to some nurses and a doc on the phone about studies done the day before), so I did get some rest, but even still, when last night rolled around, the eve of My Day Off, I was a pretty happy camper. And glad not to be camping, mind you - it's HOT out there, 104F today. So, I slept in (after my stomach demanded breakfast at close to the normal wake-up time, I fed it and then managed to get a few more hours of sleep), went to the library, and have been generally catching up with myself. One thing I have to do is plan my trip home next month. Usually I use one of my parent's cars, and even though one will probably be available, I am going to try renting a car this time. There'll be a lot of family events going on, and having the freedom to come and go as I please will assuage any anxiety I have (and I do have some) about getting stuck doing what everyone else is doing. I will be free to jet down to MA to visit friends at my whimsy, to go dancing, to run to the store, to leave any activity if it's dragging on too long... it won't provide me with an alternative place to sleep, per se, but it will allow me to *drive* to an alternative crash-site, and I do have friends within driving distance who would probably provide me with shelter if it gets too crowded in my parents' tiny 1100 sq ft (est.) house, where my brother and his wife will also be staying. So while I'm not excited about the cost of my travel effectively doubling to pay for the rental car, I feel positive about the fact that having my own wheels will enhance my experience and keep it a vacation rather than an imprisonment. That sounds so dramatic, but I just hate the idea of having to go along with what The Group is doing, especially if that concept is ever-changing (which, fairly enough, it should be, given that there are so many people involved and will be so many relatives in town - cousin is getting married, grandfather is turning ninety...). I have been in several travel situations in which I felt very stuck because I didn't have my own transportation and was tied down in a place where I couldn't really get out do to anything and was stuck in uncomfortable conditions (various reasons). Anyway, as a result of the decision, I am now a little more excited about my trip than I was a few days ago. Oh, and I have a Sunday on-call at the Big Hospital coming up, which most likely means a long-ish day (6-10 hours) of on-call weekend pay, which will pay for the car rental outright. Yay? My upper back (trapezius muscle on both sides) has been preventing me from doing much here on LJ, or on the computer at all, because I have been trying to rest it since it spazzed out during/after (and as a result of) my recent trip to Colorado. I've been back two weeks now, and two weeks ago was the worst of it. I had gone to the chiropractor, which seemed to make it worse and almost sent it into spasm, and then I went to my regular GP, who gave me a muscle relaxer, which helped me immensely. I also, following doctor's orders, took Ibuprofen, and on my own advice stayed away from Scramble (lots of typing - word game on FB), computing in general (daily peeks notwithstanding - a girl's gotta communicate, right?), and working out. My first exercise in over a week was a 45 minute walk on Monday, which felt great, and then last night I returned to bellydance class, which was so fun (I missed the first two weeks in this series, but think I can catch up on the choreography); today I am resting (like I said, day off!), and might get back to Jazzercise class on Thursday or Friday. Lots of fun stuff coming up this weekend, including my best friend's musical (more here - if you're in Austin, you should definitely come - Rain's very talented as is her cast), and a friend's birthday party. I've had to sort of manipulate my reading position (supporting book on a pillow on my lap, for example) and change positions often when sitting to stay comfortable, but that hasn't stopped me from tearing through a few books this past week. I read The Happy Hooker by Xaviera Hollander, which I found incredibly interesting; I also finished a medical thriller Fever by Robin Cook, and now am reading Requiem For a Paper Bag, a collection of essays edited by Found Magazine guy Davy Rothbart. I have mixed feelings about short stories/essay collections, but these are extremely varied and entertaining; some are by big stars (Seth Rogen, Andy Samberg, Sarah Vowell, to name a few), and I'm getting to know other authors' styles, too, which might lead to some additions to my 'to read' list. I'm also reading The Oxford Project, which involves less reading than picture-studying, which is a different kind of reading, of course. Recently I heard about Inside Books and it seems to me a very worthy cause. I am thinking of volunteering with them.  For now, I need to get back to my books, here inside my little Austin igloo (it's not *that* cold - 82F upstairs... but certainly a lot cooler than outside!), and stop typing, as my traps are complaining. (Comment on this)
Saturday, June 27th, 2009
3:26 pm	Cost-benefit and cooking After being in Colorado for six days and being so disconnected there (internet access but no cell phone service; it was also difficult because we were fairly busy, and because of ergonomic limitations mounting as days passed and my neck and upper back started to suffer) I am finding it challenging to stay away from the computer, even though I know I need to do so to allow my upper body to heal properly. However, I will hazard another short entry here. This morning I spent two hours in the kitchen while listening to my favorite radio program (Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, on NPR). I had probably 2kg of Roma tomatoes to either eat or 'process' in some way, and decided to delve into canning. Just two weeks ago I attended a canning and preserving workshop and had the handouts and some starter equipment to put to use. Tomatoes are acidic, so they can be just boiled once in jars, instead of having to be canned under pressure; so that makes it a bit easier. Still, I took a little over an hour to process the tomatoes, and ended up with three pint-sized jars of crushed tomatoes. I also prepared Jerusalem artichoke pickles, and though that didn't take as long (they'll be pickling for a week before eating, though - in the fridge - and require stirring about once a day), peeling them was annoying as they are an especially knobby tuber. So despite the fact that I do enjoy some kitchen activities, I think that the cost-benefit ratio for canning is not acceptable to me, whereas that for baked goods is in a very rewarding range for me, as is that for soups and stews. I think pickling will probably work for me, too. My neck/back are feeling a bit better, but my discomfort is being blunted by a muscle relaxer. I am trying not to overdo things, and that is difficult as I am under the 'illusion' 'of feeling more flexible. I did do the exercises the chiropractor gave me, though. I do understand and believe that it is better to have an active healing process, so that the muscles stay strong and flexible while healing. But I don't know if I'll go back to the chiropractor for this episode. It's quite obviously a soft tissue problem. It's so nice to be home, even if it is horrifically hot out there (high of 105F predicted today). I'm about to venture into the heat to fetch the mail and check my car's tire pressure (will it be skewed by the ambient temp?). Will I melt? (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, June 26th, 2009
7:21 pm	I made a recipe of mashed Jerusalem artichokes (1 lb J-arts, 1 lb potatoes, boil and mash). It came out alright, though I had the same experience as mbt001: potatoes got musher than the J-arts, and next time I'd probably boil them separately from the potatoes. I also roasted some and haven't tried them yet, but they certainly look interesting! My trip to the doctor yesterday was helpful. She agreed with the chiropractor's assessment of torticollis (which I know as 'whiplash'... but I have the slow-motion-injury version of that) and gave me some muscle relaxers. I did well at work today, not feeling sleepy at all on just half a tablet, and able to get around better - driving, for one, is safer, because I can turn my head to back up!  That said, I intend to stay mostly around the house this weekend and rest. Current Mood: hopefully on the mend (Comment on this)