EMM Blogs

It's almost that time of year, again...

2011-10-22T14:07:00.001-07:00

and so begins the contemplation of that age-old question... plotter? or pantser?

Paul Carr offers a potentially convincing argument for return to blogging...

2011-02-12T09:31:00.001-08:00

Thnks Fr Th Mmrs: The Rise Of Microblogging, The Death Of Posterity
http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/22/thnks-fr-th-mmrs/

Looking for more

2011-02-07T14:15:00.000-08:00

I'm getting those feelings again about killing my blog. This happens from time to time. I've killed at least 3 previous blogs. I'm trying to resist the urge, but I'm also not very interested in writing long posts right now.

So... if you are looking for updates from me, try my Twitter stream, or my Posterous stream. Both are way easier to post to with photos and brief updates for my "fans" (aka: friends and family). Both also have RSS feeds for those that prefer to read via Google Reader or some other aggregation application (personally, I am really digging Flipbook right now...).

Fabric personalities

2011-01-31T20:19:00.000-08:00

Since my brain is filled with thoughts about my quilting project, I think I will post some more about quilting.

My sister completely shocked me today by deciding that she likes one of the two "girl" quilts I'm making, but not the one I thought she'd like. This prompted me to ponder how you can grow up in the same house as someone and have them as your primary playmate for 16 yrs, plus or minus, and still not really know them all that well. Or at least not understand their taste in baby stuff.

Probably less interesting, but more relevant to this post, is the subject of fabric. I mentioned in my last (horribly written and riddled with iPad related typos) post that I like to pick "hip" and "modern" fabrics rather than "traditional" fabrics. What I mean by "traditional" is the kind of fabric you would imagine finding in a quilt. For me, my imagination conjures up tiny flower prints and other things that scream "kitschy bed and breakfast." I prefer bolder, geometric prints.

As I was searching my mother in law's stash of fabric for what will end up being "Charlie's quilt," I came across a lot of "traditional" fabrics. They look great in my mother in law's quilts, but they were not what I was looking for in a baby quilt. She was helping me and knew I was not finding what I wanted. I explained to her my theory that fabrics have personalities. The "base" fabric I was trying to match to had a personality and even if the colors in another fabric technically matched, if the personality of the fabric didn't match then it wasn't going to work for me.

My "base" fabric was sage green with sweet, cute little farm animals (sheeps, pigs, horses, ducks) printed on it. I was trying to pick out colors from the animals to make the hourglass blocks. After pulling stack after stack of fabric from her sewing closet, I ended up with three plaid/gingham prints (in brown, green, and pink) and two solids with little, barely visible stars printed on them (in white and yellow). Both of those patterns had personalities that matched my little farm animal fabric. You can see what I mean here.

However, I had two other "base" fabrics that were screaming for something bolder and more geometric. To match those I had to make a trip to my local JoAnn Fabrics. You can see what I ended up with here and here. Those pictures don't show a close up of the blocks, but you can still see what I mean about personalities. And you can see the difference between these two quilts and the one my sister picked out for my God-child. They have some very similar colors, all three use brown and green, for example. But can you see how the pink gingham would never have worked with the monkeys? Or how the brown plaid would have been totally wrong with the little ducks and frogs?

Maybe it's just me, but I swear that these fabrics have personalities. For me the most fun part of quilting is picking out the fabric for the project. It's also why I'll never hoard fabric. Each project needs to match the personality of the recipient and starts with an "inspiration" print. Then each fabric in the project needs to match the personality of the "inspiration" print. That's my favorite part... besides seeing it all come together.

Rainy weekend projects

2011-01-31T06:28:00.000-08:00

We had a rainy weekend here in the Bay Area. So, I got inspired to start on my massive "round 2" of baby quilts project. A few years ago I made 4 baby quilts for friends who were having their first babies. Side note: I am realizing that, fair or not, I am a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to gift giving. I make baby quilts for first born babies, usually for the baby shower gift. Just as baby showers are for first born babies and all the ones that come after get hand me downs, so are these baby quilt projects. For nieces and nephews, I may make one for each, but most people don't need or want a second baby quilt from me.

I learned how to make baby quilts from my mother in law. She steered me toward a pattern in one of her many quilting books and I've continued to use the same one for a total of 7 baby quilts now. Each time I modify color and pattern choices. One time I even left off the border to try to make it look more "modern" for my graphic artist friend's baby. I have pictures of all of them on Picasa here.

This year I know of 4 new babies. Two of these are due this spring. So it was time for me to get cracking on my quilting project. I haven't sewed in almost a year. All my stuff has been in storage. I had a few hurdles to get over to break my inertia on this project, and the rain inspired me to get going, even if I could think of other ways to spend the weekend.

By bedtime yesterday I had purchased, pre-washed, ironed, and cut fabric for three baby quilts. I also managed to get all the squares sewn for all 3 quilts. And I got most of the quilt to assembled for the one I think will be for my sister's baby, my soon to be God-child. The blocks pictured below are for someone at work's baby boy, due in May. The third quilt is a mystery... It's definitely a "girl" quilt, but I don't know the sex of either of the other two new babies. Plus it is uses some fabrics from my mother in law's stash which makes it look more "traditional" and sweet than the more "hip" and modern fabrics I usually choose. My mom has already chimed in that she likes that one best. :)

Wow, this is the longest post I've written on my iPad! Now it's time to get up and got run and get ready for work. Of course the weather is supposed to be sunny today.

Baby quilt project - day one

2011-01-30T09:52:00.001-08:00

Let's go to Pirates Cove

2011-01-22T13:57:00.001-08:00

Life on a houseboat

2011-01-16T15:28:00.000-08:00

First: to clarify terminology... we are living on a houseboat. Not a boathouse. A boathouse is a house for boats. It's where you keep your rowing shells, small sailboats, kayaks, etc. A houseboat is boat you live on. If you want to be more precise, what we are actually living in is a "floating home" rather than a houseboat. But people seem to use "floating home" with their nose turned up in the air as if they are quite the refined, cultured human that you are not. So I prefer houseboat. Even if there is no way that this thing would ever actually function as a boat.

Next: to describe our abode... really what this thing resembles most is a standard suburban house that you might find floating in a bay. Maybe envision a flood in a suburban neighborhood. Except instead of a sidewalk there is a pier. And instead of the basement being flooded, we are actually floating. This house is built on a concrete "hull." The hull is not boat shaped, though. It is basement shaped. From the outside it looks like a house sitting on a foundation, but instead of the foundation disappearing into the ground, it disappears under water. Once inside you would probably not know you were floating. The place doesn't really move or sway or even creak as the tide goes in and out. The only thing you may notice is that when we are sitting on the bottom of the bay, which we are for much of the day, the house is ever so slightly inclined. It's not terribly obvious, but it is enough that doors either don't want to stay open, or flop open and stay that way, depending on which way they are hung.

Then: to tell you a little about the location... this houseboat is "floating" in Richardson Bay. This is a little bay off the main San Francisco Bay, near Sausalito. It's really quiet here with lots of birds, seals, sea lions, and the occasional raccoon. Most of the time when you look outside there is water. Every once in a while, at extremely low tides, when you look outside there is mud and some puddles and birds walking around looking for something to munch on. That's what it looks like outside right now. We are at the point in the month of the big high tides and the low low tides. Contrary to popular belief, it does not "stink" here at low tide.

When I'm here, especially during the day, it is really hard for me to worry or stress about anything. I'm just mellow and happy. I think I always wanted to be a beach bum or surfer girl or some such. I love living by water. I hate wearing shoes. I actually like that weird dried salt water feel on my skin or in my hair or just in the air. Being on the water makes me feel more creative. It makes me want to read and write more. I am content to just stare out over the water and just be. It also makes me feel healthier and want to be outside more, walking or running.

The next best thing to living on water is having a "thoughtful spot." I think I got this phrase from Pooh Bear when I was a kid. I like having a cozy place where I can hide out and read, write, draw, nap, think, etc. This houseboat has such a place that I immediately claimed as my own. Greg can have the entire second bedroom as his office. I claimed the loft. It's actually a pretty good size loft with plenty of headroom. I can't stand up in it, but I don't need to. There is a little ladder leading up to a platform above the kitchen / living room. Up here there is a futon, lots of pillows, my laptop, and a bunch of other junk that landed up here when we moved in to get it out of the living area. So far I've been spending a little time up here each day reading, messing around on the computer, or watching Bones on Netflix. It's perfect.

Basically, I think we have found the best place we've stayed in so far since we've moved to San Francisco. You should definitely book your visit to come stay with us while we're still living here. Of course, I'll have to let you sleep up in the loft if you come to visit because it is the "spare bedroom" as well. But I am happy to share my thoughtful spot with friends.

Fishermen at work on my morning commute

2011-01-10T08:24:00.001-08:00

Breakfast on the houseboat

2011-01-08T11:03:00.001-08:00

Current Obsessions

2011-01-02T15:06:00.000-08:00

Some things I am currently obsessed with...

1. Bucky Balls (getbuckyballs.com)
2. Tea lattes from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (especially genmaicha or English Breakfast)
3. S'mores Bites from Recchiuti (http://www.recchiuti.com/207.html)
4. Bones (the TV series)
5. Jigsaw puzzles on my iPad

Our friend Annie bought a set of Buckey Balls for Ben and I have been playing with them every chance I've had since they got home yesterday. I love them so much I just ordered two sets - one for me and one for Greg. I think they will be a lifesaver for my attention span on conference calls. I'm also hoping they keep my work stress level down. I would be playing with them now, but I decided it would be better to let Ben have some fun playing with his own toy.

So, now I'm back on my iPad, blogging, and resisting the attraction of my free jigsaw puzzle app and the Netflix app that holds the remainder of season 4 of Bones. I really want to watch the rest of it, but I don't want it to end too soon, and there are only 6 seasons so far... I'm not sure exactly why I like this show so much. Maybe it is the mystery / puzzle aspect of it. Maybe it is the highly rational and super smart, yet still hot forensic anthropologist. Or maybe it is the "bug and slime guy" that reminds me a little of Greg.

Puzzles in general seem to be attracting my attention more than usual these days. I pulled down a free iPad app for my mother in law so that she could do jigsaw puzzles on my iPad (I was showing off the coolness of my new toy and in full on Apple sales mode... So unlike me...). She really enjoyed it and I thought I would just delete it after Christmas, but instead, I'm still playing free puzzles. Who knew? I don't remember ever being a big jigsaw puzzle fan...

Things I plan on being obsessed with when we return to San Francisco tomorrow...

1. Trail running
2. Hiking in Marin Co.
3. Finding trail races I want to register for
4. Finding climbing shoes for cheap so I can try bouldering
5. Finding a beater cruiser bike so I can get back and forth from the ferry dock easily.

I need to find some competitive activities outside of work to keep me from getting competitive inside of work. The later gets really unhealthy and stressful for me. The former makes me happy and makes me feel good about myself. So more competitive sports and more stress-free working. I should probably take up yoga again, but I think I've already got too many activities to realistically fit into my schedule.

Maybe I'll get a head start and do some searches on Craigslist now...

Trash day

2010-11-14T15:55:00.000-08:00

To continue observations on big city living...

Monday is trash day on our street. The trucks come early, so most people put their bins out on Sunday. Then, sometime on Sunday afternoon comes the parade of trash pickers. These poor, unfortunate (or just extra thrifty?) souls walk the blocks with their carts and bags picking over the bins. At some point in the afternoon you will be relaxing and reading a book when you hear "clink, clink, clink" outside. That is the sound of someone digging through the bins looking for the choice recycling.

I can only imagine what life must be like for these people. I've seen some with small children tagging along playing with old plastic bottles salvaged from someone's garbage. They must have a calendar at home of which blocks have trash day on which day of the week. I'll bet some of the more successful and experienced ones have an optimal route figured out.

Originally we resisted subjecting our garbage to the trash pickers. We would wait until the morning of trash day and then put out our bins when we left for our morning run, or just after we returned. It's a little uncomfortable to be sitting there listening to someone outside sorting through your trash.

Recently, we finally caved in. Now we just put the bins out the night before like everyone else does and listen to the "clink, clink, clink" all evening. Sometimes they are still at it after we go to bed.

In this month of thanks, I will add that I am so very thankful that we are on this side of this weekly ritual. It's a rough world out there. No matter how much I hate this house, I'd rather be living here and putting out the bins than picking through them.

City Life

2010-11-14T15:41:00.000-08:00

I hate this house.

After almost nine months of house hopping I think we have finally found one that I can't wait to be done with. Maybe it is the juxtoposition of living on the water with being back in the city, but I really don't think so. There is something about this house that I just can't stand. It is also the first Victorian that we've stayed in since moving to San Francisco.

In case you didn't know, San Francisco is known for its Victorian houses. It is almost a given that if you live here you love the Victorians. If you happen to be unlucky enough to find yourself not living in a Victorian, it basically becomes your mission in life to find yourself the ultimate Victorian rental. Or suffer from constantly coveting your friends' apartments.

Call me crazy, but I don't see the attraction. They are big, old, drafty, inefficient, and overly ornate. The floors are uneven, and the structure looks like it will probably fall down in the next "big one." Some have been redone on the inside to look very modern. Others try to maintain that "old world charm." The one we are currently renting is one of the later. Sort of.

Early in our stay here, we went on an architecture tour in one of the many San Francisco neighborhoods. It was the one famous for "The Painted Ladies" featured on many an iconic San Francisco postcard and other touristy kitsch. On that tour we had the rare opportunity to go inside a fully restored Victorian. The inside was like a museum, complete with ballroom and player pianos. It was totally over the top and very impressive. It was also the only Victorian I've seen so far that I have any respect for.

Don't get me wrong. It isn't the fact that this is a Victorian that makes me absolutely nuts if I spend more than 12 hours here with my eyes open. It is the lack of attention to detail and basic maintenance that drives me insane. I guess this is the hazardous result of having painstakingly restored a house. You notice the details. The sloppy paint jobs, the cracked walls, the painted over hardware, the lack of grout in the tile on the bathroom floor...

As if that wasn't enough... bring on the noise. Traffic noise, sirens, celebratory mobs, partying neighbors... And take away any sign of a decent grocery store within a 20 minute walk. Don't even think about moving your car because you will never find a parking place again if you do. Besides, you could probably walk or transit to your destination faster than you could drive there anyway.

I find myself counting down the days until we move out of this place, which is sad. I really want to like the city, but I just don't. I guess I am not a big city person. I like small and medium size cities (like Portland and Seattle). But the grime and the noise and the smells of big city living is really wearing on me. Maybe I would have enjoyed this more 10 years ago? Is this why people in their thirties start moving to the suburbs?

Now I feel like a grumpy old lady. Hmph.

Candy Corn

2010-10-26T14:35:00.000-07:00

I have an unnatural obsession with candy corn. And I love chocolate. A co-worker just sent me this: http://www.tasteandtellblog.com/2010/10/candy-corn-fudge-part-2-and-giveaway.html

Now I can't stop thinking about candy corn... Walgreens is right downstairs from my office... I can hear the candy corn calling to me... Must. Not. Cave.

New toy

2010-10-14T17:03:00.000-07:00

Hello world! I am attempting to write my first blog post from my brand new iPad. Let's just say that typing on this thing is not yet intuitive... This is going to take some getting used to... But so far I love it for watching movies, reading email, reading websites... I haven't tried reading books yet, that's next...

Weekend plans

2010-09-10T19:34:00.000-07:00

Well, I've already messed up the flow on kayaking every day... tides, weather, and work have made it difficult to do any weeknight kayaking this week. I got out on Tuesday after dinner for a quick spin around the lagoon in the twilight hours, but that was it. I'm looking forward to getting back on the water tomorrow...

... and to continuing to take advantage of the awesome, if small, collection of books they left us! There are two small shelves of books. Probably not more than about 20 total. Of those I have already started Let the Great World Spin, and I've tagged five others that I'd like to read while I'm here. Those are (in no particular order):

If you need me I'll be reading....

Kayaks in the bay

2010-09-05T18:03:00.000-07:00

I have a new goal this month. I want to paddle every day. And who wouldn't when you have this waiting for you outside your door?

We're staying on a houseboat in Sausalito and I *love* it. I love being on the water and I love that my kayak is right there on the floating dock outside just waiting for me to pop in and go for a quick paddle. No loading up gear in the car and no long drives to lakes or rivers. Just roll out of bed, throw on some clothes and gear, launch and go.

Yesterday we paddled over to the Sausalito Arts Festival and listened to some music while floating in the bay. We paddled within spitting distance of harbor seals sunning themselves in the marina. Above them several pelicans perched on the tops of the piers. This is the first time I have seen either up close in the wild. I have to say I was a little intimidated by the seals. Those guys are almost as big as my boat! And the pelicans looked positively prehistoric! Very impressive.

Today we paddled earlier in the morning before the breeze picked up, before the sun was fully up, and before the Arts Festival kicked off day two. It was too early for the seals to be out sunning themselves. Instead they took a moment from their morning swim, and probably breakfast, to poke their heads out of the water and stare at us while we paddled by. We paddled much further since the water was so smooth and calm. I think the highlight for Greg was when he saw a ray swim beneath his boat. I really liked seeing the jelly fish swim by.

The only thing holding me back from completely enjoying all of this is that we have heard that sometimes (rarely, but still) sharks attack kayaks because they think they are seals. They usually realize their mistake and give up after a testing bite to the hull. But still. Sharks. Eeek! Not cool. I don't even want to think about sharks. (I know my mom is reading this and is going to call me and ban all kayaking activities and order me back into my safe protective bubble - it's cool, Mom... did you read *rarely*?). For now we are just staying in the shallow bits and trying not to look like wounded seals. But I still can't help that the song that keeps getting stuck in my head while I'm paddling is Morphine's "Sharks." The lyrics go:

Sharks patrol these waters. Sharks patrol these waters. Don't let your fingers dangle in the water. Don't you worry about the day glow orange life preserver. It won't save you. It won't save you. Swim for the shores just as fast as you're able...

Really peppy, huh? No matter. I'm still going to paddle. Everyday this month.

Regressing or good storytelling

2010-09-04T15:01:00.000-07:00

I know that I talk a lot about my love for YA (young adult) fiction, but seriously people, that is *not* all that I read. The NYT is now telling everyone that YA is cool. But I was pronouncing my love of YA fiction long before that. I have become a bit of a go-to person amongst my friends, book club mates, and family for "what to read when looking for good YA fiction." I have developed a bit of a reputation, if you will. I'm okay with that. Just don't try to tell me that I am trying to regress into my childhood / teen years, or that I should be "challenging" myself with "more serious" literature. I'm an equal opportunity reader. My only qualifications are that 1) there has to be a good story, and 2) that story should involve realistic characters.

I'm sure you're saying, "A good story, huh? That's nice and vague." What makes something a good story for me may not make it a good story for you. I think it is personal and even varies based on different times of your life. The bottom line is that a good story sucks you in and makes you care what happens next. You know what I mean - and if you don't you should start following Nancy Pearl's rule until you find one that does.

I usually like to be stuck down right in the middle of the story rather than having to wade through pages of set-up and back story before things really get moving. But sometimes, as in the story I am reading now, The Romantics by Galt Niederhoffer, the book starts with a lot of scene setting and description and back story, and I still find that I am yearning to go back to it after I put it down for a few hours. In those cases it is usually the writing that is pulling me in. In this example I don't think it is the writing. I'll finish the book first and then I'll let you know, but I think it has something to do with the fact that all this set up is meant to say "this is how things were and how they were supposed to be, but just wait and see and I'll tell you how they are not that way at all and how things are about to veer off course considerably." If I am wrong about this, then I may be back here shortly telling you how much I hated this book... we'll see. Ultimately I'm reading it because they made it into a movie coming out with "Frodo" in it which I have added to my Netflix queue.

Good story is only one qualification, however, because if you suck me in with a compelling plot (you must have a plot) only to give me limp or unbelievable characters, then I'll know I'm reading the latest Dan Brown mystery. Or maybe another on the "best-seller" list at Barnes & Noble or Amazon. (Do I sound snobby yet? Can you love YA and still sound snobby?) A good story must be peopled with solid characters. A character may have unrealistic characteristics. For example, they may come from another planet, or have superpowers. That's fine, but I want to get the feeling as I'm reading that the author knows what this character would be carrying around in his pockets, or would never leave the house without, even if they don't tell us that. They should also be complex. No one is always smart or always good. Life is not black and white. Characters shouldn't be either. I don't really have to like the character. I just have to care about what happens to them.

These aren't necessarily the elements that make a good book for everyone. This is just what I've realized works for me. And it's not my fault that far more of the YA fiction genre than the adult fiction, or "literature," genre have these characteristics. Most of the reason why I don't read "best-sellers" is because they almost never have these elements together. So, I'm not reading YA because I want to be 13 again (no thanks!), I'm just looking for a good story peopled with real characters. I'll take it where I find it.

Giants vs. Cubs 12 Aug 2010

2010-08-19T20:55:00.000-07:00

What the...

2010-08-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed me sneaking in a few older posts here and wondered what's up. Or maybe you didn't. Whatever.

I abandoned this blog for a new, shinier blog over on my very own domain. Then some crazy hackers got a-hold of our "server in the sky" and Hubby made some changes. He forgot that he was also hosting our blogs. Hm. Good thing I had saved my content elsewhere!

After some soul searching about blogging (did you notice that everyone pretty much abandoned their blogs recently? Could it have been that Economist article pronouncing blogging as "dead"?) I decided to make a comeback. But with a little more anonimity... or at least as much as you can get on the WWW these days.

So, enjoy the old content. Or don't. Whatever.

Reflections on housing in San Francisco

2010-08-15T18:50:00.000-07:00

So you want to live in San Francisco, huh? Are you familiar with that Woody Gutherie song "Do Re Mi?" (Personally, I like Ani Difranco's version better, but either will do in this case.) Let me recite a little verse for you:

California is a garden of Eden
A paradise to live in or see
But believe it or not
You won't find it so hot
If you ain't got the do re mi...

Seriously. Sing it Woody. (Or Ani...)

So what is apartment hunting like in San Francisco? I've heard stories about the "dot com days" and boy am I glad those are over. Housing is still a competitive sport, but I get the feeling that bidding wars for apartments are the exception rather than the rule in 2010. However - you better be all over Craigslist at the very least if you want a place. The good ones go *fast*. And by fast I mean, I was looking at my RSS feed on my phone on the way to work and by the time I got to work, logged on, and clicked through to send listings to Greg for follow-up some of the listings had been removed! The really good ones are probably not even listed (read: better work your network).

We've been here for a little over 5 months, stayed in 3 places so far, and are well on our way to becoming semi-professional house sitters. Not that we want to be professional house sitters. It's just that finding the perfect apartment here is nearly a full-time job. The main reason is value. Value = what you get for what you pay.

Aside from number of bedrooms / bathrooms, most people are probably looking for these amenities in their apartments: dishwasher, washer / dryer, parking (garage is primo here, you are most likely just hoping for what they call "easy street" parking), full size stove, outside space (garden / patio / deck / something), tolerable amount of "grit"... You will probably not get all of these things in the same place. You will probably have to make "trade-offs." Most likely you will have to trade-off having a washer / dryer and dishwasher for a place that is clean and in a neighborhood with a tolerable amount of "grit."

Lest you misunderstand me, let's talk "grit" for a moment. There are different flavors of "grit." For starters, the whole city is kind of dirty and run down. This is not what I mean when I say "grit." Some neighborhoods are more dangerous than others and some neighborhoods have ethnic and economic diversity. This is what I'm referring to when I say "grit." Noe Valley has no "grit" - at least none that I've seen. The Mission is considered to have a good amount of "grit." NoPa and SoMa also have a good amount of "grit." The Castro - not so much. But the type of "grit" you will find in NoPa is different than the flavor of "grit" in the Mission. To someone from New York or Chicago, NoPa is probably more palatable than the Mission. Someone who has lived in, or visited, Central or South America, or at least speaks Spanish, may feel more at home in the Mission. No grit is not necessarily good.

After looking at *a lot* of places on the internet and in person, here is my assessment of value... Basically you can think of the market in price tiers. I'm sure there are exceptions to the statements I'm about to make. There are always exceptions. If you are not looking for a roommate situation, here is what you can expect:

You will not find anything less than $1000 a month. Not even a studio - oh and by the way, studios here can start as small as 250 sq feet. Seriously. And some don't even have a stove or anything bigger than a dorm fridge. And they are still over $1000 / month. If you do find something under $1000 / month, beware. It is probably in the Tenderloin. Or somewhere else you don't want to live.
For $1500 / month (plus or minus a few $100) you can get what I have come to think of as a "livable sh*t-hole." It has a workable kitchen with crap cabinets and appliances, a bathroom, and a place for a bed. It's probably dirty and small and you probably won't want to hang out there much. Think "college apartment." For $1500 / month. Yup.
For $2000 / month (again, plus or minus a few $100) you can find something with 2 or more trade-offs, and competition is fierce. There are a lot of people willing to pay $2000 / month. Really. I'm not kidding.
For $2500 / month (plus / minus) you can get pretty much everything you want... 0 to 2 trade-offs, and the competition is still pretty stiff, but tapering off a little.
Anything over $3000 and you are probably just getting more space - more sq ft or more rooms. Possibly better finishes / appliances / nicer paint / hardwoods / etc.

This holds true for pretty much every neighborhood in the city. A few might be cheaper, but will probably also be high in the rate of violent crimes. There really isn't "more expensive" - just how much space you get for the price tiers above. Example: in Nob Hill (close in) you may only be able to get a studio or "jr. one bedroom" for $1500 / month, meanwhile you may be able to get a 1-2 bedroom for $1500 / month in Glen Park (farther out). The number of trade-offs will still be the same for each price tier regardless of size. It is space that is at a premium in this densely populated city.

All this may sound like I am down on San Francisco and ready to pack up and leave. I wouldn't jump to that conclusion. This is an adventure! A chance to make cultural observations! (I seriously should have been an anthropologist. Or novelist.) I'm enjoying living in a big city - one of the ten most populated in the the country! San Francisco may be a Mac obsessed, skinny jeans wearing, "European" city, but it is the center for some really cool stuff! Today we walked past the Electronic Frontier Foundation! How cool is that?

Back to Blogger

2010-08-14T21:55:00.000-07:00

Anyone still listening on this channel?

Late night TV

2010-06-25T22:19:00.000-07:00

I will admit, I’ve watched a lot of chick flicks and “feel good” movies while Greg’s been out of town. After watching yet another one tonight (Leap Year, if you must know…) I am convinced it’s not a trend but an epidemic of suck, suck, and more suck. Please, someone tell me when these movies became so unbearably terrible??! Ugh! That’s it. I’m done.

Especially since I discovered seasons and seasons of on demand “smart TV….”
After my disappointing selection of movie ended, I was left wanting something else. Somehow I stumbled on season 2 of Prison Break. I remember watching season 1 with the Cornetts a few summers ago. What with the international traveling and the house remodeling we never picked up season 2. So I thought I’d revisit our old friends Link and Michael and see what happens after the big break. Conclusion: the first two episodes were *way* better than my dumb movie.

From there I decided to check out the first episode of season 1 of Bones. I’d been hearing a lot about it – you are bound to if you are a fan of Joss and co. Again, I was pleasantly surprised. So much so that I easily downed three episodes and am up *way* past my bedtime on a school night.

From now on I’m skipping the sappy, formulaic dramas and heading right for the non stop action and witty banter of what I am currently calling “smart TV.” Well… I suppose I will probably still make exceptions for the dance movies….

Flying solo

2010-06-09T22:16:00.000-07:00

We have moved into the third of our furnished sublet/house-sitting gigs and are now enjoying being in the city of San Francisco in the Bernal Heights neighborhood. So far we really like the neighborhood. Of course, we’ve only spent two nights here. I am on my third night, but I am flying solo because Greg is back at our Vancouver house taking care of some things. I hear there is going to be a garage sale there this weekend. You should go check it out… ;)

Having Greg away reminds me of a blog post that I meant to write once upon a time… you may remember that I am a fan of “Top 5″ lists… Here is my “Top 5″ list of my favorite things to do when Greg is out of town:

Watch a chick flick – usually I have some advance notice that Greg is going to be gone, enough time for me to rearrange my NetFlix queue to move the chick flicks (more specifically: dance flicks) to the top of the list. This time I didn’t have enough notice so I am “stuck” with the latest from Luc Besson. He is my favorite movie writer/director, but this is also the kind of movie that I know Greg would enjoy. So… do I watch it without him and send it back so I can get a chick flick? Or do I wait for him to return….
Watch old episodes of Buffy or Firefly over again – My two favorite TV shows by my favorite TV writer/director (Joss Whedon). Someone recently asked me what TV shows I liked to watch to gauge if I would like Lost (no, I haven’t seen Lost). I seriously couldn’t think of a response. I don’t follow TV shows like that anymore. I haven’t been addicted to a TV show since the final episode of Gilmore Girls.
Hanging out with my girlfriends – unfortunately this one is a non-starter in San Francisco. My “girls” here include my employees and my manager’s manager. Also my friend Maria who has a one year old baby and works full time in high tech. Probably not going to be having a “girls’ night” in San Francisco any time soon.
Eating “college food” for dinner – for example, I am a big fan of those “fresh” tortellini from the supermarket. I usually cook them and eat them without sauce while watching my chick flick. Or cereal for dinner. Mmmm…. why didn’t I think of that when I was walking past the grocery store on my way home from work?
Sewing – oh the projects I could be working on if only my sewing machine were in San Francisco with me instead of in Portland with Greg…

So, having exhausted my usual options for sans-Greg activities, I am blogging. Next I will be checking out the library catalog since I just got my San Francisco Public Library card! And I may need to drool over some shoes on Zappos and the Kleen Kanteen website. Online shopping… the only kind of shopping that I like…

Chez Panisse

2010-05-11T22:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, take this as bragging if you must, but tonight we are dining out at Chez Panisse! If you don’t know what that is go read their Wikipedia page.
Here is the menu for tonight:

Tuesday, May 11
Leek and onion pissaladière with garden lettuces
Lingcod and fava bean soup au pistou
Grilled Cattail Creek Ranch lamb with new potatoes, wild fennel, artichokes, olives, and aïoli
Wildflower honey and tangerine ice cream coupe with lavender tuiles

Are you drooling yet? I totally am… even though I don’t know what many of those words mean, and I have to wait until the 9:15 seating to eat. I am staying up past my bedtime on a “school night” – but I have a feeling this will be totally worth it!
YAY!

Holla for all the mommas

2010-05-10T22:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother’s Day to my lovely mamma and to all my friends who have joined the mamma club: Linden, Maria, Natalie, Michelle, Aileen, and Andrea! And of course to my sister-in-law Amy!

You are all such great moms and you still manage to be fabulous even while dealing with the less glamorous aspects of being a mom! I have no idea how you function on such small amounts of sleep! Impressive…

I'm an Amazon shopper

2010-05-05T22:11:00.000-07:00

Apparently there is an Amazon.com meme going around suggesting that you should look back in your order history and share your first Amazon.com order.

I remember using Amazon.com a lot when I was in college in West Lafayette, IN and confined to campus because I didn’t own a car. Amazon.com allowed me to get music, movies, and books that I couldn’t get from the (overpriced) campus bookstores. I’m sure there is now some sort of big-box bookstore within walking distance of campus, but back in the day you had to go to the mall for that sort of thing and that required a car.
Now I mostly use Amazon to purchase used books at cheap prices – and to send presents to friends… :)

In my memory my first Amazon.com order was a Don DeLillo book, but it turns out that was actually my fourth Amazon.com order which shipped on 29 March, 1999. My actual first Amazon.com order shipped on 12 December, 1998 and included the following items:

The Last Days of Disco soundtrack
Blind Man’s Bluff: the untold story of American submarine espionage by Sherry Sontag (I think this was a Christmas present for my dad)
K2 soundtrack

So what, exactly does that say about me?

Best weekend yet

2010-04-18T22:10:00.000-07:00

So far this has been our best weekend in the Bay Area. Mostly because we had a really busy, but perfect Saturday followed by a mellow Sunday.

Saturday morning started with a trail run. I must be finally getting back into things because I did about 8 miles in just over 9 minute/mile pace. The weather was perfect for running and the trail was only a little bit muddy. I ended up running by myself again, but I didn’t mind at all because it allowed me time to enjoy my surroundings.
The great trail run was topped with a chocolate croissant and the purchase of a new pen and new Moleskine notebook. We found a great stationary store that sells all kinds of Rhodia, Clairefontaine, and Moleskine notebooks as well as a great selection of pens and cards. I already want to go back.

In the afternoon we headed over to Kermit Lynch for their annual Oyster Fest. We drank wine, ate delicious food, and hung out with some old friends. Greg broke an almost full bottle of wine and then convinced the staff to let him have a replacement bottle. We sat in the sun and I ate what may have been my first oysters. Who knew? I like them!

After having all the wine and good food we could eat, we decided to go on a hike up to Wildcat Peak in Tilden Park. It was supposed to be an “easy” hike so I wore my flip flops. I ended up getting very muddy and walking barefoot for some of the way. The view from the top was totally worth it. I took lots of pictures which I will someday upload to Picasa when I can find my cable. I was exhausted by the end of the day, but very happy after soaking my weary body in the hot tub for a while.

Today is my mom’s birthday. Happy birthday, Mom! You rock! To celebrate, Greg ran and I walked (I didn’t want to exceed my mileage for the week) around Point Pinole park. We spent the rest of the day relaxing at the house. Like I said… perfect weekend.

But next weekend is looking even more promising… we’ll be in Portland and we’ll get to spend time with friends, family, and especially our nephew!

Strawberries

2010-04-05T22:08:00.000-07:00

If you know me then you know I love berries. I can eat entire flats of berries without feeling even a little bit sick. I also, even though I hate to admit it, am super stingy with the raspberry plants that grow in the backyard of our house in Vancouver. So stingy in fact, that I am planning to return to the house for the week when the raspberries are usually coming on in full force just so I can pick and eat them. Of course I’ll let my in-laws and friends pick some – there are plenty to go around since I won’t be able to freeze them in bags for the winter.
Every summer I pretty much eat my weight in raspberries and it will be a lot easier if they are free from my backyard than if I have to convince the “budget Nazi” that summer only comes once a year and we should buy as many berries as we can eat.

Greg grew up in a family where I’m pretty sure berries were rationed… or at least they were considered a luxury item. I am pretty sure that Greg never ate his weight in berries during the summer like I did. Of course, I could be wrong. I am just judging based on the looks I got from my future in-laws when we were dating and I started digging in to a flat of blueberries. No one said anything, I just picked up the not so subtle cues that I was breaking some sort of family norm. Now I bring my own flats of berries to family gatherings or I restrain myself to my rationed portion.

In my family we only got berries in the summer when they were in season (and therefore cheap). But there was no stopping the berries once the price started dropping – especially strawberries. We also picked berries. One of the infamous family pictures of me was taken in a strawberry patch. I was sitting among the berry plants, my hands full of strawberries and strawberry juice on my chin, in a little denim strawberry print jumpsuit outfit that my mom made me. I’m pretty sure I was also wearing my “I’m with Stupid” hat, but I could be confusing that part with a different infamous family picture… Next time I’m home I’ll have to scan them and post them for you to see… Basically, when we went strawberry picking I ate at least as many strawberries as I picked.

Needless to say, this ingrained cultural difference in attitudes towards berries has caused many an argument between me and my hubby… Greg and I *rarely* argue (we debate sometimes, but that’s different). I would guess that at least half of our memorable arguments have been over berries. Strawberries in particular. Tonight was no different.

Ladies and gentlemen, I’m sorry, but we are in the land of the California strawberry. It may be inferior to the strawberries that we have in the PNW, but it is still a strawberry, and it is the variety that I grew up eating. They are *so cheap* here! I must eat them! Every day! I must have more strawberries! Unfortunately, Greg is in charge of the grocery shopping because he is also in charge of the cooking. That means we have plenty of apples and bananas (I hate bananas), but no strawberries. The only time I get strawberries is if I happen to be along for the grocery shopping trip.

Tonight I met Greg at Berkeley Bowl after work. Basically this is a huge natural / whole foods oasis. It’s what you would get if you crossed Whole Foods with a co-op grocer like PCC in Seattle. It is mouth-watering just to walk the isles. The produce section is insane. For example, there is not just one small display of berries. There are multiple tables of different varieties of the same berry! Can you imagine? How can a berry lover resist? Really?

He was just getting started with the shopping when I got there. He was in the produce section and about ready to move on. I said hi and then went immediately to the berries. I picked a sincere but modest little basket from among the mounds of delicious strawberry goodness and insisted on holding it while we shopped. I maintain that I was still helpful with the shopping. I carried the bags and found the kimchi! I retrieved the grapefruit juice while he stood in line! But the fact that I insisted on holding my little basket of berry goodness pissed Greg off to no end. Okay, there were other circumstances involved… there are two sides to every story. Fine. But the point is, this is not the first time arguments have been started over strawberries in our family.

It’s all good now. We both have a belly full of Greg’s latest experiment in Asian cuisine (he’s learning to cook from Essentials of Asian Cuisine) and I’ve eaten almost all of the strawberries (I think Greg is boycotting them). Things are back to normal… at least until the next time I want to buy some berries… :)

Culture shock

2010-04-03T22:05:00.000-07:00

People that live in San Francisco really love San Francisco. If there is one thing I’ve learned since I’ve been here it is that only rookies say anything that might be taken as implying that there is anything not to like about San Francisco. Even the things that folks “fresh off the boat” from other parts of the country might take as being less than optimal, or possibly better elsewhere, are still seen as things that make San Francisco great.
I may be simplifying here… but that would just be because I’ve only been here for two weeks and my social interactions with the locals have been limited. Rookie mistake…

There is a lot to love about San Francisco. I am definitely enjoying getting to know the city and its people. This does not prevent me from noticing and being continually surprised by some cultural differences. For instance, the lack of interest in saving around here. I find it especially ironic that there is a billboard on Hwy 101 just before or after you get to the Bay Bridge that proclaims, “Saving is the new spending.” The marketing geniuses behind that one are going to have to do better than that if they are going to turn a city of spenders into savers.

The people of Portland (to broadly generalize) don’t make as much money as the people in San Francisco, but they also don’t spend as much. I would say the people of Portland are generally frugal folks. For example, one thing I have come to observe in Portland in the two years we’ve lived in the area is that there is a strong “maker” culture. Throughout the city folks are making their own beer, bread, clothes, bikes, food (gardening and cooking), etc. In San Francisco admitting you sew is like admitting you are a Quaker or Amish. It’s like, “oh, wow, that’s… quaint.” On the other hand, comparing which of the millions of fabulous restaurants that you have or have not eaten at yet (but are planning to soon) is a topic of conversation that can actually be maintained for more than 1 minute. In fact, I think that is a never ending topic of discussion here.
But that is what makes San Francisco so *great*!!! Right???

In a way, yes. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t long for my friendly fellow maker-types.
This is a city. A big city. It has all of the fabulous aspects of a big city (and the not so fabulous, but still fabulous because isn’t-it-great-that-they-can-exist-because-it’s-a-*city* aspects). This is not Portland. It is also not Seattle. It’s also not Ecuador. It has elements of all those places. But what it feels most like is what I imagine living in New York City feels like. Millions of people living in a very small area all trying to survive on two adult incomes because it is nearly impossible to survive in this city (or any large city) on one person’s income. Especially if you want to have a family. And even then you are just scraping by to live in a tiny space with barely, if any, private outdoor area (read: yard).

Here I will insert another illustrative example. Today at a social gathering we were discussing the topic of “where we will live.” This is another great topic of discussion because everyone has opinions about the various neighborhoods in the city. One lively and frank individual was explaining how in San Francisco it is more about what you are willing to give up than what you are looking to get and if you are looking in the $2500 – $3000 per month for rent range you will probably have some stiff competition if the place you want is any good. To this my husband joked, “Well, it sounds like I should just head back to Portland then and give up, huh?” This triggered the “San Francisco is great” instinct and immediately everyone was making the best of the situation.

At this point I will note that we knew about the housing situation when we agreed to come down here. This is not a shock. The shock is that everyone here really enjoys this. They love living here. Even if they are paying $3000 a month in rent for a two bedroom place that has a deck but no real yard and the interior is fully flaunting its “old world charm” because the landlord has no incentive to do any upkeep or improvements. They will still insist, “Isn’t San Francisco great!?”

I’m not sure exactly what it is that I expected. I’m realizing that in Portland we live in a bubble. It is a nice, friendly, very well educated, mostly Caucasian, eco-friendly bubble. People in Portland are almost moralistically (is that even a word?) “Environmental.” People in Portland put solar panels on their roof and collect rain water because they know it is the “Environmental” thing to do. Never mind that it is overcast and rainy for 9 months of the year and we have cheap hydro-electric power and plenty of fresh water.
Meanwhile San Francisco has been dealing with water shortages and power shortages for years. San Francisco is also eco-friendly, but in a practical way, while Portland is eco-friendly in an idealistic way. So what if they aren’t “makers?” They don’t own a car!

I think what this all boils down to is that I’m dealing with a little culture shock because we’ve left “the bubble.” We entered “the bubble” after a year of traveling and seeing the world (or at least parts of it). We entered “the bubble” with our eyes open and fully aware that the Portland brand of “Environmental” is a privileged luxury. But it was one of the few places in the US that had the most similar values to our values so we made it our home.

Now that we’ve left “the bubble,” I am constantly reminded that the real world is much more complex. What is better? What is worse? Is there really a better or worse? I’m currently staying in *Berkeley* after all! The hippie capital of the world, right? All I can say so far is that it is a whole different brand of hippie.

First week

2010-03-29T22:04:00.000-07:00

I’ve been trying to write this post all weekend about how we survived our first week in the Bay Area, but the Activities Director has been keeping me rather busy. Then, this morning I read this post from our friends who have moved to China for a year (or maybe longer) with their two very young – not school age yet – children, and I realized that saying we “survived” our first week in the Bay Area is a bit too dramatic. :)

We had beautiful weather all week – except for one day where I didn’t realize that SF rain is more like Chicago rain than Portland or Seattle rain. I don’t own an umbrella and I had left my hat at home. So I got a bit wet and had to run the last few blocks to the BART. Luckily I was not wearing heels and was wearing a wool jacket… This week promises to be more Portland-like with the exception that I know now that when they say “rain” they mean “rain” not “persistent drizzle.”

I was suckered into my first long trail run in months on Saturday morning with promises of great views and post run breakfast out. I was told 7 mile hill run but am pretty sure I got more than I bargained for… my legs are feeling the downhill still, but it was good to get out on the trails and it feels good to have jumped back in to longer runs. The 3 miles around the neighborhood I’ve been doing for the last month or so has been getting old pretty fast…

Speaking of running, Greg found a running group online by using a site called MeetUp… it is nothing like our running group back in Portland. For one thing, Greg is feeling pretty fast in comparison. Plus we haven’t run with anyone as hard-core as some of our Portland crew. One thing I will note, they are all mostly curious about the Five Fingers (I didn’t wear them on the long run on Saturday). Only a few have said that they think all this barefoot running is silly and they will be sticking with shoes. I guess I’ll have to convince them to read “the book.”

Sunday we took a long bike ride along the waterfront in East Bay and I demonstrated what I wuss I have become on a bike. I hate riding on loose dirt / gravel. It freaks me out. This is a totally new thing. I was fearless when I was in high school and college. Of course at that time I rode a mountain bike with knobby tires, so I had nothing to fear from the loose stuff. Just typing this I realized that I shouldn’t have had to worry about loose dirt and gravel on a paved trail anyway… But their waterfront trail is not all paved. Berkeley could learn a thing or two from Portland regarding bike trails. But Portland could definitely benefit from some of these Berkeley bike boulevards!

To cap off the weekend in truly SF style, we met up with my friend and her adorable little girl, got take-out Chinese food from Eric’s, and had a picnic complete with a bottle of wine in Mission Dolores Park.

Crazy day

2010-03-25T22:02:00.000-07:00

I learned a few things yesterday:

the correct way to insert the BART ticket into the machine (it only took me three or four tries…).
how everyone here stays so thin even though there are a million great places to eat.
that San Francisco is a west coast New York.
you can Tweet from under the Bay.

The commute was an eye opening experience… The walk to the BART station wasn’t bad, but I don’t really have the right wardrobe for this weather. I was still warm from my morning run and was starting to bead up from walking briskly in the sunshine and carrying all my laptop gear. I had been lulled into thinking San Francisco was just a sunnier version of Portland after spending the weekend in Berkeley. That changed as soon as I saw my commuter train. It was *packed* – standing room only, and I am too short to reach the overhead hand rail. So, here I am, still slightly sweating, muscles a little sore from my 3 mile run in my Five Fingers shoes and a brisk one mile walk, “surfing” in a packed BART car because I can’t reach the hand rail. At this point I realized that a few more weeks of this and all my winter fat stores would quickly be gone. Luckily, I convinced someone to move down so I could access a lower hand rail and save myself complete muscle fatigue before 9am on a workday.

The actual BART route from Berkeley to San Francisco is a tease when you are waiting to go underwater for the first time. I started in a tunnel, then we surfaced for a stop, then we were back in the tunnel again, then we surfaced again in Oakland just before entering a tunnel again to finally go under the Bay. My ears popped and I tried to stay calm in the packed car and not imagine all the terrible things that could happen and the pressing panic of that many humans in one space. Unfortunately, I was facing the large “in case of emergency” sign on the side of the car next to the doors. Reading all the ways you can electrocute yourself while evacuating the trains was not helping my calmness… Needless to say, I never got around to any reading I was planning to do on my commute. But, drama aside, it really wasn’t that bad. :)

Exiting the BART in downtown San Francisco and joining the millions of other commuters in the financial district felt like I had stepped out in New York City or Chicago. Suits as far as the eye could see. Tall buildings all around you. People waving papers in your face. Coffee shops and delis on every block. Culture shock. No funky colored tights or hand-knit stocking caps. Less brown and blue and more black, white, and gray. I decided immediately that Greg would have hated it. I loved it. I’ve always wanted to work in a big city. When we were in Seattle I worked in Redmond and it sucked. I hated commuting *out* of the city every morning and back in it every night. I wanted to be in the downtown when it was alive – not at night when it was just us and the bums and hooligans. But this was the second time in less than an hour that I was reminded that I needed some wardrobe augmentation. Cities are expensive. Sigh.

After my big adventure working in the city I took the BART back to our little house in quiet little Berkeley. On the ride home I actually got a seat and rode with one of my teammates who is also living in the East Bay. It was on my way home that I finally remembered to check my phone and noticed that I had 3G under the Bay. Color me impressed. Greg said “Of course they would! It wouldn’t be that hard to put up directional antennas…” Whatever. In Portland I would reliably lose coverage in several places that were not underground during my daily commute. So I still think it’s super cool that I can Tweet under the Bay.
I met Greg near the university (he had been getting himself a library card) and we had some sushi before walking home (over a mile) to try out the hot tub. I finally relaxed a little and now I get to work from home today so I can maybe feel a little more settled and a little less crazy.

A new home

2010-03-24T09:35:00.000-07:00

We left Vancouver, USA before the sun came up on Saturday morning and started driving south on I-5. We landed in Berkeley, CA around 6pm Saturday night. We stopped for breakfast at Joe’s La Burrita in Medford, OR. We stopped for lunch at Granzella’s in Williams, CA. Other than that there wasn’t much stopping – mostly just driving.

I had not seen our temporary home prior to arriving and boy am I glad I trusted Greg. This place is perfect! I can’t yet comment on the commute (stay tuned until tomorrow for that one…), but everything else is awesome. The house is totally cute and well furnished. The kitchen is huge. The shower has two heads. There is a hot tub out back and a little shed-like space that I think used to be the garage but is now outfitted for workout space and equipped with an elliptical machine. But I’m skipping the elliptical workout tomorrow and trying to formulate a running route around the neighborhood instead because the weather is beautiful.

Last night we went out to a “nice” dinner at a local restaurant called Sea Salt. By “nice” I mean that in Portland for those prices it would have been a nice restaurant, but here it is probably not as nice as the really good restaurants (Chez Panisse is in the neighborhood, for example), but is still on the expensive side for those of us not yet used to San Francisco living… Everyone we have talked to has said that the food here is amazing – there are a million great places to eat. Now I just hope that all the nice, mild weather and opportunities for outdoor recreation can counteract the effects of millions of great places to eat…

Speaking of outdoor activities, today we hopped on the bikes and toured Berkeley by bike. I wish that it had been as easy as that sounds… First off, it has been a while since I’ve been biking. We kept the pace very leisurely, but the cardio wasn’t the problem. My bike balance and coordination with the clipless pedals was less than ideal. I almost fell once at a stop, but unclipped at the last minute. At another point I almost lost my chain and got frustrated trying to stop for a car that wanted to pull out in front of me. Meanwhile Greg, of course, took to getting back on the bike like a fish to water. It is going to take me a while to get back into this whole biking in a city thing again, but I think it will be worth it because I think Berkeley is going to be great for biking.

Overall I am very pleased with our first 24 hours of Berkeley living. Tomorrow I head to our temporary office in downtown San Francisco (the real office opening was delayed to 5 April). I get to take the BART under the bay and into the financial district. I’m a little nervous about it. I’m always a little nervous when trying out new public transportation routes – especially when they are commuting routes. I’m especially nervous when going through a tunnel underwater in an area known for earthquakes is involved. After I finish this post I’m heading off to the BART website to plan my commute. Tomorrow morning I’m making Greg walk with me to the station. At least I can look forward to hopping into the hot tub after my long day at work…

Flashback Friday

2010-03-13T08:18:00.000-08:00

This one is for my girlfriends since we just watched 17 Again...

The first picture in the top left corner is me at 3 years old. The bottom right is me at 17 years old. I'm missing years 13 and 15 for some reason.
I fully expect you all to post high school photos on your blogs. Let's see it, ladies! :)

Blogs on writing...

2010-02-08T00:09:00.000-08:00

So, while we're on the topic of writing, here are some of my favorite blog posts on writing. This is really more for my reference than anything else, but I thought I would share in case any readers (ahem!) are also interested in this type of thing...

Some of my favorite Kristin Cashore posts on writing:

Her answer to question #3: "Do you have any writing advice?" in this post...
Basically everything in this post which discusses idea formation, character naming, book research, and generally being a writer...
The great visual representation of frustration and process check in this post ...
Thoughts on going through phases in this post...
And this one about her writing process...

I also like many of Cheryl Klein's posts, though hers are more focused on editing and story structure / flow. Here are some of my favorites:

I find her character questionnaire very useful...
Her thoughts on a character-based view of plot align with my thoughts on what makes books good...
She also has a lot of good talks posted on her website. I especially like The Essentials of Plot...
I love the Harry Potter books and there are a few things writers can learn from Harry Potter...

As I've been digging up these post links I'm interested to note that I'm realizing Ms. Cashore appeals to my creative senses and Ms. Klein appeals to my analytical senses. I discovered Ms. Klein's blog years ago and I've loved reading it. I discovered Ms. Cashore's blog more recently - specifically after reading Graceling. Since my analytical senses get enough exercise, I am finding more inspiration and guidance from Ms. Cashore lately.

Just in case you, too are stuck and in need of some inspiration. :)

Anyone have any suggestions for other blogs I should follow, etc.?

Pensive

2010-02-07T23:11:00.000-08:00

I have to admit I'm a little stuck right now. I have been feeling really pensive and not very much like reading or writing or talking. For example, this is my first blog post this month, off-line I've only written a total of about 7 pages this month - all in one night, and I can't really get into any of the books I'm trying to read. I'm sort of in an "absorbing" mode and a thinking mode right now. I'm pensive. Maybe there is just too much to be thinking about right now for me to actually be getting any doing done. Not doing is very frustrating for me. I like to be doing.

Here are some things I've been thinking about:

Adventure - I love adventure, trying new things, experiencing new places, meeting interesting people, but I also like nesting. These two things are in conflict for me. Lately I've been thinking I can resolve this by keeping my nest and still having an adventure. More on that later.
Writing - I love to write. I love blank notebooks. Especially blank notebooks without lines. The possibilities are endless... I love the act of picking up one of my favorite pens and starting to write with absolutely no idea what is going to come out, or opening up a "new post" window and just starting to type. I want to write more. Ideally I want to write daily. For some reason the love of writing thing just feels too pressured when I try to be disciplined about it and treat it like I would an athletic training goal. Once I feel the pressure I freeze up. No writing is happening and that is really frustrating me. I've been trying to think my way past it. This is my first attempt at trying to write my way past it...
Athletic goals - As much as I try not to have them they just seem to appear in my head, these little ideas about what I'd love to do and/or be. Lately I've been thinking a lot about kayaking. I'm so excited to spend the summer getting better. I have no idea how to do that though. I'm also worried about running. I want to be running trails but I don't want to do the neighborhood mileage necessary to work back up to it. I'm also worried that if I try to do this "barefoot" thing it is going to take me forever to build up enough strength to go more than 3 miles. A week.

Then tonight I read this post on The Art of Manliness about the need to "hustle." (Note: I've been enjoying this blog because most of the time you can ignore the "manliness" crap because what he writes applies to both ladies and men). Anyway, the "hustle" concept speaks to me because I can relate to everything he's saying. His football example is equivalent to my competitive swimming experience, complete with senior year awards (MVP) and compliment from coach re: my heart and hustle. His law school example is a more ambitious version of my grad school experience. My goal was a 4.0, his was top 10. I managed to get a 3.99 because I challenged myself with an extra hard elective (econometrics) and got a B+. He graduated top 10 in his class while writing a book, launching a successful blog, and maintaining a part time internship. He took hustling to another level. But in the end it amounts to the same thing. If you want to accomplish anything you have to hustle.

BTW, I love the Abraham Lincoln quote: “Things may come to those who wait…but only the things left by those who hustle.” - Abraham Lincoln

The thing about hustle is that for it to work you need to have a goal in mind at the outset. I'm currently struggling with what I want that goal to be. Maybe that is really what all this thinking is about...

Read in January

2010-01-31T12:03:00.000-08:00

Here is what I read in January:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling - This was the kick off of my decision to re-read all the Harry Potter books this year as the reading assignment for the "me, myself, and I" book club. This is also probably the third or fourth time I've read this book. My favorite part is still when Harry goes shopping for school supplies in Diagon Alley. I love how this scene replays itself in all the books and is used to pull you back into the wizarding world.
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver - This was the first Kingsolver novel I've read. It took me a while to get started, but I ended up really liking it. I've described it as Forrest Gump does communism with some Kafka thrown in for good measure. There are points where I began to roll my eyes at the fact that the main character always seems to be in the right place at the right time to watch history happen. But the story is entertaining, the characters are vivid, and the plot is agreeably complex.
Born to Run: A hidden tribe, superathletes, and the greatest race the world has never seen by Christopher McDougall - I discussed this a little in my previous post. I feel like McDougall makes a good case for "the running man" theory (that we evolved to do distance running). I also think he makes a good case against the modern running shoe. It's an inspiring book if you like the "hard work pays off now go out and kick ass athletic journey" genre, which I do (I'm thinking of The Shell Game: reflections on rowing and the pursuit of excellence as another example).
The Tricksters by Margaret Mahy - This one is a YA magical realism gem. One of my favorite YA authors (Kristin Cashore, author of Graceling) recommended this novel on her blog - it also inspired the title of her blog. I *really* liked this book. It might even make a top 5 list of favorite YA novels... I'd have to think about it some more... maybe for my next blog post? But it is definitely right up there with Arm of the Starfish which was my favorite Madeline L'Engle book (until I read An Acceptable Time) and the one that inspired me to want to be a marine biologist. There is something about coming of age n a setting next to the sea that is fitting...

I already have at least four books queued up for February. I was planning on spending more of my spare time writing and doing less reading this year, but there are so many books I want to read! I am going to have to do something with my schedule so I can fit it all in!

Running (almost) barefoot

2010-01-30T17:30:00.000-08:00

I've been toying with the idea of trying this barefoot running thing for a while. I suppose that it would be obvious to those that know me really well why this might appeal to me. First off, I'm a total minimalist. Second, I hate socks and shoes. Third, running is the first sport I've ever done that required shoes. Fourth, I like science and anthropology.

Last weekend I finished reading "the book," as my running friends call it. Maybe you've heard of it? Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. He's been just about everywhere talking about it... running with a NYT blogger... guest on The Daily Show... It all started with one of these running friends who has been nicknamed "Mr. Toed" for his dedication to running barefoot. This book has inspired some of my friends to achieve some hard core running feats. Pretty much everyone in my running group has read it by now.

Barefoot running has become such a craze (at least out here on the "left coast") that you would have to have been hiding under a rock if you haven't heard of it yet. The media is going nuts for barefoot running stories these days. I think mostly because they think people going jogging without shoes is ridiculous. I have to admit, it looks really funny, but I'm having a hard time arguing with the science.

I got my Vibram Five Fingers shoes for Christmas. When I wear them I look like I have little gorilla feet. (I got the Classics in all black). This is somewhat ironic because my in-laws already call me "monkey toes" because of my love of being barefoot and the somewhat creepy way that I can spread out my toes and wiggle them around.

Up to this point I've just worn them to walk around the house, then on a few walks around the neighborhood, and most recently on the elliptical trainer at the gym. One time I actually wore them home on the bus after my gym workout and am pretty sure I was mocked by some local teens. Today I wore them on a run for the first time.

The barefoot running form is different from how most people run with running shoes. You don't land on your heel for one thing. You also turn your feet over faster, I think because you are taking shorter strides. It feels like you are getting away with something - like you're a kid again, running in flip flops. I seriously giggled for almost the entire first mile. It was FUN! With the exception of weekend trail runs with the girls (and guys) I rarely think of running as fun.

I managed to run for about 2.5 miles. I walked a few blocks after the first mile and again after the second mile because my calves were seriously tight. I felt like I was working muscles I don't usually use while running. My calves felt like they used to feel after doing a gazillion changements at the end of ballet class. I could hear my ballet teacher nagging us to stretch our calves or else we would get big golf ball knots in them.

If I'm not too sore then I may try it again tomorrow....

Old school

2010-01-23T10:10:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I realized that I am desperately in need of new music. I think it was the day when Greg and I were listening to a local radio station that is very light on commercials and plays "everything." They really have a very good mix of music. But then I realized it is all music from a certain time period. Greg identified it as our generation's "oldies station." That freaked me out because I don't think of this stuff as "oldies." And I hate to think that I am no longer in tune with pop culture - at least in the genre of music.

I was once a nut for music. I probably owned more CDs than books when I married Greg. I was proud of my diverse taste in music. Then music became less and less important in my life. Every once in a while I'll turn on the radio and realize that, even though I know some of the songs (because they are played constantly), I can't name any of the artists. I know the name of new (or at least more recent than late nineties) artists, but I can't put the name with the music.

Recently Greg bought me additional storage for my phone so that I could use it as an MP3 player and not have to carry two devices. I finally started to transfer some music over today and once again I am realizing how old my CDs are. I think the last new CD I bought was either The Postal Service (Give Up) or the soundtrack to Garden State. I am a sucker for a good soundtrack. I think because of the similarity to mix tapes.

I just finished transferring over some of my favorite CDs (Morphine, Social Destruction, Pink Floyd, Tom Petty, The Smiths, and a handful of movie soundtracks...) So here I am with 4 GB of storage and I am stuck. I am desperately in need of new music and have no idea where to start.

I need both new music suggestions and how to buy new music. I am not going back to buying CDs. I have to admit, I have never purchased any digital music yet. My transition to the digital format occurred during the heyday of Napster (before it was legal) and file-sharing among friends, so I... um... haven't paid for music in a while...

I am not a big fan of iTunes because I want to actually own my music and not be tied to a music player. Can any of my 5 or so blog readers help me out with suggestions? What artists should I check out? What do you use for buying music?

Deep thoughts...

2010-01-18T21:59:00.000-08:00

A quote from Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna (which I just finished):

"It is more important to speak than to think. The only danger is silence." - taken from "Universal declaration of rights of the howlers" on page 479 of the hardcover version.

I think this explains why Twitter (and blogging in general) is so very popular. I'll keep doing both anyway.

I enjoyed the book. I've described it as "Forrest Gump does communism with a little Kafka sprinkled in for good measure."

Book lover

2010-01-09T18:41:00.000-08:00

We have spent almost the whole day sorting our books. It's something we have been meaning to do for a while, but finally decided to tackle today.

We love our books. It is completely bizarre that we have lived this long without them. When Greg and I first moved in together back in December of 2001 one of the first things we did was to sell his big bachelor TV (I was the only one that actually watched it) and purchase three used Ikea Billy bookcases from a garage sale. Between those three, the one that Greg already owned, the one that I owned, and one metal shelving unit, we managed to get all of our books out of boxes and shelved. It was impressive to walk into our studio loft apartment and be surrounded by all those books.

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the bookcases in our apartment, but here is what it looked like when we moved into our condo:

And that was just half of it. We had another three bookshelves on the wall in our bedroom.

When we sold our condo in Seattle back in the spring of 2007 Greg actually took the time to label all of our books with the appropriate Library of Congress number and recorded them all in a text file on our portable hard drive. Then we sorted them and packaged them into moving boxes labeled on the outside with the range of Library of Congress numbers contained in each box. This way we knew we could find whatever we needed while everything was packed away in storage.

We did this because we were planning on traveling for a long time and didn't know when we would be able to unpack our books and put them back on the shelves again. We couldn't imagine ever getting rid of any of these books. They were part of our library and we loved our library. We didn't know our priorities would change...

The books ended up sitting in those boxes for almost 3 years while we traveled, restored our house, and then realized that there was no logical place for bookshelves in this house. Maybe we just aren't being creative enough. I know a few of my friends and definitely my mom could probably find great bookshelves that would look beautiful in our house. We just hate buying furniture and have too many other things we'd rather be doing than going shopping.

We've been living in this house for about a year and a half. That whole time we have had a half-wall built from book boxes under the stairs in our basement. I think there were about 18 boxes of books before I finally unloaded a box and took some upstairs to my office. During this time we have been using the heck out of our local library system and the inter-library loan system. At one point I even took a book I knew was in one of those boxes out of the library because I it was easier than digging out the box from the stack and then digging out the book from the delicate Tetris-like way we had packed them into the boxes.

I have been begging to "free the books" for almost a year now. It seems a shame to keep them all boxed up when someone else can use them. Plus, we like to "travel light" and being book lovers and owners of our own large library it is difficult to be very mobile. Books are heavy and they take up lots of room. Better to outsource the library business to the libraries.

Various factors have aligned to make the idea of spending the day sorting our books seem more palatable. So we took advantage of this and dove in. The end result? We now have about 12 boxes to take to Powells in hopes that they might want a good number of them for re-sale. And we have 6 boxes of books that we have decided that we currently can't bear to part with.

This was a huge undertaking. My back is sore from bending over and sorting books. My nose is itchy from disturbing dust that has gathered in the basement. And my heart aches a little to part with two thirds of our library. But in the end, I feel lighter now. Like I have less stuff I'm dragging around with me. Since I really don't like accumulating "stuff," this is a good thing. When I do the emotional math I am more happy than sad. I know these books will find new homes and the information contained in them will be back out in circulation to broaden someone else's world. That feels good.

January

2010-01-06T22:16:00.000-08:00

My favorite thing about January is... eating a cookie - no, savoring a cookie - in front of other people, most of whom have given up sweets or desserts or fattening foods, or just generally decided to eat healthy... because it's a New Year. Sorry folks. I'm not down with the New Year's resolution diet. Stop kidding yourself. Besides, life is short (I know this from experience) - play hard, and then eat dessert first.

My least favorite thing about January is... going to the gym. It is always packed with people just after New Years. You can never get on the equipment you want when you want to be on it and there is accidental elbow jabbing in the locker room. I'm not a big fan of the gym on a good day, but I hate it with a special loathing in January. This is why I am thankful (can not believe I just typed that...) that my hubby purchased an erg a few months ago.

I have to admit, I am a bit burnt out on the erg after 4 years as a coxswain in college. I actually did the winter workouts with my crew when I didn't need to be actively coxing a workout. So I wasn't a big fan of becoming the proud owner of an erg. But in the lesser of two evils category, and with running currently not an option (healing from an injury), I choose the erg over the gym in January. And folks, I've got to say, I like the results.... much more effective than running. Though some people don't believe me...

As for a New Year's resolution... mine is to write more - daily if possible. What's yours? ... It's okay if it is "go on a diet" or something similar... I won't eat a cookie in front of you... promise. :)

Unwrapping...

2009-12-30T10:14:00.000-08:00

I can finally show the pics I took of the quilt I made for my sister for Christmas!

They are posted to my "finished quilts" folder on Picasa.

She also took a picture with it when she opened it.

I made a bag!

2009-12-21T21:28:00.000-08:00

I learned to sew for two reasons.

The first was so that I could make a special present for the first-born child of our good friends, who are practically like family. My first sewing project was a baby quilt for little "Jeep." Since then I have made six quilts. Four of those were baby quilts. All of them were baby / lap quilt size. I am currently working on finishing up my second ever sewing project - a log cabin quilt for our bed. It is my first large-size quilt. I started it after I made the quilt for Jeep and I have had to put it on hold several times as various other projects (some sewing and some not) took up all of my spare time. I may actually have the quilt top sewn together by the end of the year!

The second reason I started sewing was so that I could finally make myself "the perfect bag." I have been hunting for the perfect bag for most of my adult life and I have yet to find it. I am not a purse girl. I never have been. This makes it doubly hard to find "the perfect bag" because it rules out all "purse" options. Since I started my search, many years ago, I've purchased many different types of bags, and sold most on eBay after a short breaking in period where I became acquainted with their faults. Over the course of nine years of dating plus marriage, Red Beard has long tolerated my bag search. He finally bought me a sewing machine so I could learn to sew and eventually make my own.

Yesterday, on a whim, I decided to use some of my scrap pile to throw together a little tote bag - just the right size to fit my "essentials." These are: wrist-let wallet, cell phone, planner / notebook, pen, and a book. These are the things I like to have on hand when I leave the house. Wallet and cell phone should be obvious choices... I still like to have a paper planner, but have scaled it back - I found the Moleskine Monthly planner and think it is perfect for my needs, lots of room for notes and monthly calendar views to keep track of birthdays, weekend trips, etc. Like everyone else I use Outlook to schedule the workday details, and it syncs with my phone. The pen is also obvious, given the notebook / planner... And I always like to have a book on hand to read on the bus, or at lunch, or whenever I find myself in a cozy place with some time to kill.

So I picked out my leftover skirt fabric and cut it down to just the right size (11" x 13") and picked out some scrap fabric that I could cut to the same size for a liner. Then, as I was sewing the liner together I realized I could add interior pockets! So I went back to the scrap pile and pulled out a little pocket that would fit my cell phone and another that would fit my pen. Then came the tricky part of trying to figure out how to put it all together and get the right side out and the wrong side in, etc. Then I used my Christmas present, the loop turner, to make a couple of straps for the tote.

Here is how it turned out:

(inside out, with interior pockets)

It's not perfect... yet... There are a few things I might add or change in round two. But it was a lot of fun and I am so proud of myself for using my scraps and making something that is really cute with no pattern at all! I just made it up as I went along using skills I've learned over the past (almost) two years of learning to sew quilts and clothing.

There are so many possibilities... different outside fabrics I might choose, maybe a covered button or zipper or snaps to close the top, maybe make the pen pocket a little bigger (I forgot to account for turning the edges under when pulling a piece from my scrap pile). I am using it now and will probably come up with some other potential improvements as I use it. In the meantime it is just nice to feel so self-sufficient! I don't have to search and search for something someone else has made and is selling commercially! I can just make myself what I need!

This may be the start of many "almost perfect" bags made from scratch until I finally create "the perfect bag."

Christmas presents

2009-12-21T20:55:00.000-08:00

My Christmas presents to my mom and sister are done, boxed, and mailed - and are hopefully winging their way as I type to get there in time for Christmas...

Here is a peek:

I actually had to use one of my Christmas presents from my mom in order to make these "Santa bags" - a loop turner. It is quite a handy little device, and I would not have been able to make the drawstrings without it! However, it was really frustrating getting the hang of how it worked. I think I paced a wear path in our living / dining room floor while I was fiddling with the fabric, trying to get it to turn inside out.

I guess you will have to wait until after Christmas to get a peek at what's inside the "Santa bags..."

My year of Austen

2009-12-10T22:18:00.000-08:00

This year I took on a reading project: read all 6 Jane Austen novels in the "seasonal" order suggested by Cheryl Klein on her blog... Then, if I still had time, I planned to read The Jane Austen Book Club.

I started the year by streaming Becoming Jane and The Jane Austen Book Club off Netflix. I think they were actually the two first movies I streamed after I got my subscription (yes, I just got a Netflix subscription a year ago... a little late to the party, but it's all good now). So it has been a year of Jane Austen. I just finished Persuasion and then The Jane Austen Book Club this past week.

I have to admit, the only Austen I read prior to this undertaking was Emma. I had never even read Pride and Prejudice. The only reason I read Emma was because I really liked the movie Clueless when it came out and I found out that it was based on Emma so I decided I should read Emma. I didn't really like the movie Emma, but I loved the movie version of Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley. So that was all I knew until I started on this year-of-Austen adventure.

The one thing that I have to say about Ms. Austen is that her books transcend time. Sure we are a much more liberal and egalitarian people these days, but in many ways we are also not... The language can take several pages to get into, but once you are there and you can start catching the humor it is totally worth it. Her observations of relationships between men and women, between women and their mothers, between men competing for a woman's attention, make the stories come to life. Her characters blend together a bit... It always takes me a minute to remember the specific characters in each book. But they come to life on the pages. They all seem so real.

I have to say that my favorite heroine is still Elizabeth Bennet. I like her more for having read the book - though I still like Keira Knightley's interpretation of her.

The book I liked the least was actually Emma. Emma is just so annoying and... well, clueless throughout the vast majority of the book. I even liked Northanger Abbey better, though not by much. The novel obsession in that book is almost as annoying as clueless Emma.

My favorite plot was Mansfield Park. I didn't like Fanny any better than most people - she is a bit of an insufferable goodie two shoes - but the plot and character development is really fabulous. Aside from not having a terribly sympathetic heroine, that has to have been Ms. Austen's best story.

If forced to stack rank from most favorite to least favorite I would probably have to say:

Pride and Prejudice
Mansfield Park
Persuasion
Sense and Sensibility
Northanger Abby
Emma

But that is just this year... maybe in a few years I'll read them all over again and I'll find that they fall out in a different order. I know I am already second guessing if I really liked Persuasion better than Sense and Sensibility...

I feel sad to be leaving the world of Ms. Austen behind. But it is too soon to start over and read them all again. My "someday / maybe" reading list is way too long to just keep re-reading Jane Austen. I'll have to wait. In the meantime, I can always re-watch the movies now that I have Netflix!

So, what will I read next year? Suggestions? And please don't suggest Patrick O'Brien. I can not deal with boats right now... I'm already hearing way too much about living on a boat from my hubby...

Crazy for pj pants

2009-12-05T18:13:00.000-08:00

Well, I now have (almost) completed four pairs of pj pants! Each one in a different size.

The first pair I made in a child size large / x-large:

Tomorrow I will find out if they fit my friend "meannie."

The second pair I made for myself:

At about the same time I made the "upside down sock monkey" pair for my friend "birdling":

Here is a close-up of the upside down sock monkeys:

Finally, I just whipped up a "pregnancy pair" for my friend Linden who is expecting her second child in May (a girl!):

All that is left to do is sew the hem on the upside down sock monkey pair and adjust the elastic on Linden's for a comfortable fit.

All four pairs have a cute little ribbon loop sewed into the back, inside waistband. That way it is easy to tell which way to put them on - and it makes it easy to hang them up on a hook in the bathroom or bedroom or whatever.

Now that I have all three adult sizes traced on Swedish tracing paper (which is awesome, by the way), I am all set to make pj pants in any size!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.... Who else needs a pair? PJ pants are fun! :)

Another new project

2009-12-03T12:35:00.000-08:00

I am so excited for my uniform skirt class at Bolt Fabric that starts tonight! I am going to make a skirt! Something that I might actually wear out of the house! I am really proud of my lab coat and pj pants, but they just aren't appropriate for work.

I picked out a burgundy cordory, and I think the style will work for casual wear as well as business-casual wear. Personally, I love skirts and dresses. Not fancy ones, but practical ones that you can just pull on and go. They are especially wonderful with wool tights!
If you are curious about what I'll be making check out these links to a few of Bolt's blog posts about the uniform skirt:

The New Uniform

Uniform Skirt - prairie style

I'll post pictures when I finish it next week.

Big box fun

2009-12-02T08:33:00.001-08:00

I dropped the ball. I was in a technological hole that is the far side of a rock off the coast of Canada where there was no cell coverage. That is my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

That said, I had an amusing experience last night while shopping for fabric at JoAnn. As a side note I hate big box retail and would love it if I never had to set foot on the east side of Vancouver, but the world we live in thinks big box is awesome and sprawl is the way to go, so I set off in my beater econo box car to the bad place to buy fabric for some new projects. Oh, and no, I have not completed all of my unfinished projects... Yet....

Anyway, I never shop big box on weekday nights. After work I just can't bring myself to get in a car and face the huge time suck that entails. So, I've never had the pleasure of seeing JoAnn at the end of a busy day. Things were looking a little rough.

After much wandering and pondering I found what I needed (and put back the things I had picked up because they caught my eye but I had no immediate use for) and headed for the cutting counter. One plus of weeknight shopping is there was almost no line for the cutting counter or cash register. Shocking!

I had three bolts of fabric that I needed varying lengths from. I put the first on the counter when they called my number and said, "... two yards, please."

The woman looked at me very seriously and said, "Now you know, this is $6.99 a yard..."

"Um, yes...," I replied. Now the first thing that comes to my mind is, does this woman think that I can't afford $14 dollars of fabric? Really? I mean, I usually shop JoAnn in what basically amounts to sweats, you know, to fit in... But tonight I had come more or less staight from work and was still in my (Brooks Brothers) work clothes complete with my "Sergent Pepper" (also Brooks Brothers) coat. I wasn't even wearing my goofy ear flap hat!

I didn't think too much of it until we got to the last item. I needed three yards of striped flanel to make another pair of pj pants. "Now this is $7.99 a yard, you know. Do you have a coupon?"
Again with the price check. "Yes. I know. And yes, I have a coupon." In my head I added, "and by the way, yes, your customer service sucks."

I can't wait until my skills have improved enough that I trust myself with more expensive fabrics and can feel comfy shopping at places like Bolt. Right now I just feel like a poser shopping there. And their cheapest fabrics are as expensive as the most expensive stuff at JoAnn. But they have great stuff. And I really enjoy the classes I've been taking. Soon... soon I can finally leave big box behind me...

For Mom

2009-11-23T11:13:00.000-08:00

The last cannoli... :)

Made

2009-11-22T19:17:00.001-08:00

I made a drawsting sack for the blocks Red Beard made for Jeep!

Funny... that wasn't on the project list for this weekend...

Finish it

2009-11-21T08:42:00.000-08:00

OMG it is almost Thanksgiving! How the heck did that happen!

While I am very excited to be joining my in-laws in Friday Harbor, WA to celebrate my favorite holiday, I am getting a bit anxious as my finisher / completer gene kicks into overdrive....

Every year I have this irrational urge to finish all of my partially completed projects before the end of the calendar year. Rationally, I can look at this bizarre obsession and laugh. The madness does not extend to things I am working on at work or with other people. It really only relates to hobby projects. Usually this just amounts to a few books that I either started and abandoned or that I meant to read this year and never did. This year it feels like I have a lot left to do.

We'll start with the books:

I started Heroic Leadership in June when the library basically bought it because I requested it on inter-library loan. I'm really enjoying it, but I keep setting it aside to complete book club books or other, more pressing materials. Now I am less than 100 pgs to the finish and have used up all my renewals. It is officially over-due. I just need an afternoon to finish this up and get it back to the library... maybe today?
A couple of books I started reading when I was studying for my CSCP exam in March, which, since I passed my exam, I may never finish... but I keep meaning to...
Reverse Heart Disease Now - I like to be informed, but apparently not enough to actually finish this book.
And one book that has been on my to-read list since it was published (in hardcover, in the UK - before it was released under a different title in the US) - Phylloxera (released as The Botanist and the Vintner in the US)
My Jane Austen reading assignment - read all Jane Austen books in one year. I have one left.
My latest book club book The Outlander, which I liked a lot but didn't get a chance to finish before book club this week.

Dang that is a lot of reading! But then there is the sewing as well...

My log cabin quilt that I started in 2008 and left unfinished going into 2009. Due to a large amount of baby quilting this year, I still haven't gotten around to finishing it. All that is left to do is lay it out, sew the squares together, tie it, and bind it. Only all that...
A baby blanket that was originally supposed to be for my nephew. He probably doesn't need it now. It was more of a swaddling blanket - or it would make a decent wubby. He is now too old for swaddling and too young for a wubby. But, another boy baby in the future might need it... or maybe Jeep may end up with a brother, we'll know very soon...
Two pairs of pj pants - these could be done in less than an hour, I just need my friends to try them on...
An xmas present for my sister - can't say more than that in case she is reading (hi!)

Another goal I set for myself in 2009 is to run a 7 minute mile. So there is still that to be done...

And then there is NaNoWriMo 2009. This is my second NaNoWriMo. I started it. I am really not sure I can finish it by the end of the month... yes, end of month, not end of year... but if I fail to finish it by the end of the month, I must finish it by the end of the year... or I may never finish and that would be sad.

I think I will be very busy with projects this weekend...

Sew: a needle pulling thread

2009-11-20T08:27:00.001-08:00

As you may remember, I am taking a break from baby quilts while I have the chance and learning to sew clothes.
First came the trench. It is really more of a lab coat than a trench. But I knew what I was getting into. I wanted to learn how to sew a fully lined jacket with pockets, and I did. Would I ever make this pattern again? Um. No. Or only in it's shorter version and with different fabric. Most important lesson learned: picking out fabrics for clothing is very different than picking out fabrics for quilts... And, while I flatter myself that I am very good at picking out quilt fabrics... I frankly suck at picking out clothing fabrics.
But pj pants walk that fine line between blanket and clothing, and I am pretty good at making cute pj pants. Last night I finished some striped ones that fit me! Now I am finishing up the too-small pants that I am hoping will fit "meannie" and a size medium with sock monkeys for my friend "birdling." I think the size medium will be too big for her, but we'll see... Most important lesson learned: remember to pay attention to directional prints when laying out your pattern. Otherwise you end up with the upside down sock monkey problem...
Next up: finishing an xmas present for my sister and a little something for mom...
Oh, and I'm taking orders from friends for pj pants. :)

No mail

2009-11-19T12:21:00.001-08:00

Where did everyone go? I've been noticing lately that my RSS reader has had fewer than normal new items. For me this is like having my daily newspaper go from 5 sections plus comics to 1 section and a single funny each day. Sad. I need my news people! Even if it is just the latest photos and news from my friends!
Then I realized that I have been just as guilty about not keeping up with photo posting and blogging. My Twitter updates even stalled for a while.
So, in an effort to single-handedly kick off a blogging, photo stream updating, Tweeting, Face-planting frenzy I am going to attempt a daily post (at minimum) through year end. Even if it is a hastily typed on my cell phone and updated via email blog post on my lunch break. Note: pictures count as a post.
More to follow... very soon. Now get updating ppl! kthnxbye!

Learning to sew clothes

2009-11-11T13:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I purchased the book Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross because I need it for this PJ pant class I'm taking at Bolt Fabric starting tomorrow night. I signed up because I coincidentally told a friend I would make us some pj pants for a girls' weekend we were planning. I looked through the whole book on the bus ride home and found a ton of cool stuff to make.

Anxious to start on the pj pants project, I got home and pulled out the patterns to start tracing. I thought I would get ahead of the game for my class tomorrow night. Then, things were going so well I decided to just keep going and follow the directions to make one pair of pj pants (for me). I did want to make two pairs after all...

Let's just say that I estimated the size all wrong... I thought I could get away with making the "child's size L/XL" because I'm short and it said it fit at 28" waist. I should have noticed that it did not specify a hip measurement... all the adult measurements did.

As I was sewing the panels together I kept thinking, "hmm... this looks really small... I don't think this is going to fit me..."

I held it up to my body. The waist looked fine. The length looked fine. But there was a small (or maybe not so small) matter of hips... I forgot. Kids don't have hips. Well, technically they do, but they are usually lacking the curves you might find on say, an adult female...

So now I have a lovely pair of pj pants in a very "gender neutral" print fabric that would be perfect for a 4'6" to 5' tall child of slim build. Unfortunately, I don't know any of those people... anyone know anyone that might enjoy some homemade pj pants?

Finished Fire

2009-10-17T21:23:00.000-07:00

I finished reading Fire today! Given my last post on the topic you're probably wondering what the heck took me so long, right? Well, I had a few other reading obligations that had to be completed before I could dive into this one. One was my book club book (The Elegance of the Hedgehog). Another was the book that I was already about halfway through when I started Fire (Sense and Sensibility). I didn't start Fire until Wednesday, and even then I could only get reading time during my commute. So, as of this morning I was only about a third into it...

At first I was really worried that I wasn't going to like this book as much as Graceling. The character of Fire isn't nearly as immediately likable as Katsa is in Graceling. I think I loved Katsa from the moment I started reading that book. But not with Fire. At the start of this book I didn't really like her. In fact I didn't really like any of the characters at the start. And I was worried about it. Worried that after I'd made such a big deal about this book it wasn't going to be as good as Graceling. I mean, Fire starts off sounding a lot like... dare I say it... Bella from Twilight... all whiny and self-hating. Not a great heroine.

But I kept going. I started to get a little more into it after about 50 or so pages. Then, at about 200 pages in I had to close the book to get up and make lunch and, as I was closing the book I said, "I love this book!" What a relief! And, predictably, I was completely sucked into the story all day, getting up only to eat, pee, drink water, and take care of my sick hubby. Good thing it was a rainy fall day, otherwise I'd feel really bad about spending the whole day in pj pants!

My final assessment is: Not as good as Graceling, but still *really* good. I wonder if we'll get more in this world after she writes Bitterblue...

Top 5 sci-fi

2009-10-12T22:31:00.000-07:00

I have books on the brain, and I noticed that a friend recently asked for sci-fi recommendations on Twitter. This got me thinking about my Top 5 sci-fi books...

Dune by Frank Herbert. This is my all time favorite sci-fi book. It has a little bit of everything - love, adventure, politics, ecology, culture, religion, mythology... Don't discount the book because you've seen the movie with David Bowe...
Sassinak by Anne McCaffrey. I've probably read this book 3-5 times. I am not sure exactly why I like it so much, it is probably because I like the main character, but it is right behind Dune as my second favorite sci-fi book... even if it isn't really a litterary masterpiece.
Birthday of the World & other stories by Ursala K. Le Guin. This is a book of short stories by a master of the genre. I love how creative each of these stories are and how different each one is.
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. So, I like anything by Vonnegut, but this one was the first I ever read... in my "American Lit" class in high school.
Girl in Landscape by Jonathan Lethem. This is the only book by him I've ever read, so I don't know if he usually writes sci-fi or not... but I really enjoyed it... maybe not enough for it to make a top 5 list, but I can't think of any others right now...

I think of myself as a sci-fi fan, but this list was surprisingly hard for me to make... The first two were easy. I knew I wanted to add something by Le Guin. Those last two spots took forever to fill. And I still feel like I'm missing one that I should have on there!

I kept wanting to add books that were more fantasy than sci-fi. People usually lump sci-fi and fantasy together, but they aren't the same, and some people prefer one over the other. I like both. Tonight I was trying for more sci-fi than fantasy. Maybe some other night I'll do a top 5 for fantasy...

Someone jog my memory... what did I miss?

Living in a project

2009-10-11T21:06:00.000-07:00

We started a house refurbishing project in April 2008. I say refurbishing because we were essentially trying to return the house to as close to it's original 1940 state as possible - while enjoying some modern comforts, like a dishwasher.

We had our work cut out for us because we bought this place from the bank and the previous owners were not very good housekeepers... The place was beyond filthy when we bought it. We spent the first few days just cleaning it from top to bottom. We spent the next 3 months commuting to our "project" to put in a full day's labor while living with Reb Beard's parents.

At some point, probably during our first week of ownership, we removed all the kitchen cabinet doors. We planned to refinish the cabinets and decided sanding and painting would be easier with the cabinet doors off. They hung out in the basement for many weeks while we prepped the kitchen for painting.

We took on a lot of projects at once: removing painted over wallpaper from the four main rooms, remodeling the bathroom including putting in a lot of tile, refinishing the hardwood floors, painting all the trim and walls - all of them, and of course, remodeling the kitchen.

I say remodeling, but we kept all the original cabinets and the hardwood floor. We got all new appliances and a new sink and faucet. We painted all the cabinets (inside and out), the trim, and the walls. Red Beard built a maple butcher block counter top. Then tiled the backsplash.

It was a lot to get done, and after three months we were just far enough to move in, but not totally done with the project. We didn't even have a stove or sink in the kitchen at that point. But we decided that we'd stayed with Red Beard's parents long enough and really wanted to be living in our own place. So we got our stuff out of storage and borrowed a hot plate and started living at our house. It felt a little like camping, but at least we were under our own roof again - for the first time in over a year.

Everything was great... except progress on the project slowed to a crawl. The kitchen counter, stove, dishwasher, and sink were finally installed just in time to host Thanksgiving dinner at our house. It wasn't done. But it was done enough to make dinner and wash dishes. We still needed outlet covers, our heating grate, and the cabinet doors.

One thing led to another and we started other projects. We took the cabinet doors to be professionally sanded and painted. Then they sat in the hallway waiting to get hung. We debated on hardware. We stalled. Before we knew it we'd owned the house for a year and the project still wasn't done.

By then summer was upon us and, since we spent the previous summer working on the house, we planned to take full advantage of the nice weather. So we camped, hiked, biked, kayaked, read, ran, and generally enjoyed ourselves. Then recently we looked at the calendar and realized it was fall again. A year and a half and we still hadn't put up the kitchen cabinet doors. This was getting silly.

So, this week Red Beard was tasked with finishing the house projects. They aren't all done yet, but one of the biggest remaining nagging projects - the cabinet doors - can now be crossed off the list. As of 8pm tonight we can finally consider the kitchen done.

Now we just need to hang the new side door and do a little more trim painting and we'll be done done. Hopefully by this time next week we'll have at least one of those projects crossed off the list.

I <3 the library

2009-10-06T18:59:00.000-07:00

Oh library, how I heart you. Let me count the ways...

Inter-libary loan
Purchasing books for me just because I've requested them
Easy web catalog so I can reserve books from home
Email notifications that my books have arrived so I can pick them up
No late fees (though this can also be a bad thing...)
The brand-new copy of Fire I am holding.....

Fire, the companion book to Graceling, just "launched" yesterday. I've been waiting for it since I finished the last page of Graceling on 11 April. I think I put Fire on hold at the library almost immediately. I remember it didn't even have a call number yet. I must have secured a place at the very tippy top of the wait list because today, when dropping off my (overdue) books at the library, my husband picked up the copy waiting there for me on hold.

I hadn't even received my email notification yet! So it was a complete surprise to me when I got home tonight and he said, "I picked up the book you had on hold at the library." I dug through the book bag (he also picked up a lot of books for himself...) searching for one that looked familiar and was pleasantly shocked to see Fire emerge from the bag. A brand new copy. Never been read. And I didn't even have to buy it.

Did I mention that I <3 the library?

You may be thinking this reaction is a little over the top. I mean it is just a book, right? Sure. But if this book is anything near as good as Graceling I am going to be completely sucked in for the rest of the week... Screw budgeting for 2010. I have Fire to read!

This is beginning to look like a great ending to what was otherwise a pretty crummy day...

Just another evening in Vancouver

2009-09-30T20:55:00.000-07:00

There is a fire in the fireplace and a bow in our bathtub.

Huh?

Yeah... I said a bow in our bathtub, as in bow and arrows kind of bow. Why in the bathtub? You'll have to ask Red Beard. But basically it boils down to he got a crazy idea to take up archery sometime in the late spring, just after I went back to work. So he bought a bow and arrows and a little glove thingy and bid on a few quivers but never won one. Everything shipped to the house from various vendors on eBay.

I came home one day to find him out in the garage sanding something. I thought maybe he was working on one of the remaining house projects, but found instead that he was sanding and varnishing his newly arrived bow. He was very pleased. He's really cute when he's excited about a project.

Once it was dry he put the string on it and realized it was just a teeny bit twisted or warped. Then he got mad and left it in a corner of the spare bedroom / office for the rest of the summer and took up other hobbies, like trail maintenance and kayaking.

Tonight I came home, feeling a little under the weather, and hoping for a quiet evening, maybe reading a bit, and maybe watching a lecture from a computer science 101 class Red Beard found me on the internet. That's a story for another night, though...

When Red Beard suggested a fire in the fireplace, I was stoked. We were totally on the same wavelength. Well... at least partially on the same wavelength. Dinner conversation turned to his latest web searching discoveries and suggestions that he might want to buy a wilderness knife. I had to mention the neglected archery equipment.... next thing I know there is a bow in our bathtub.

I can say one thing. Life if always interesting when you live with a philosopher.

The days are just packed

2009-09-28T20:39:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit overwhelmed by my reading list at the moment. Actually, truth be told, I am a bit overwhelmed by my overabundance of hobbies right now, as well...

This past weekend we went kayaking and camping, which didn't help me put much of a dent in my reading list. Basically it just managed to suck me in to a book that I was considering taking back to the library. I had almost talked myself out of reading The Girl Who Played With Fire, sequel to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I figured it would basically be the same as the first one, so why bother. (I think I was reading reviews of Dan Brown's new book at the time I was making this decision...) It was the only book I had with me on the kayak trip, and I managed to read about 40 pages over the weekend. A sad amount of reading, but just enough to start to make the book interesting... (Side note: I happen to be about 70 pages into the book now, proving that the "Nancy Pearl Rule" of reading is truth).

I did, however, manage to get a lot of paddling in this weekend. Which did wonders for the "cost per use" on my kayak. (I'm a big believer in the concept of "cost per use"...). We met up with some folks from the Trails Club of Oregon and paddled Lake Billy Chinook (what a great name for a lake, btw...). We did about 12.5 miles on Saturday (which is, I think, the longest paddle we've done recently). Then we did about another 4 or 5 on Sunday. The Sunday paddle was a beautiful and peaceful (almost no motorboats) paddle up the Deschutes River until we got to the frothy part where the rocks and current turned us around. In summary, it was a great weekend (apart from the lack of reading time).

Now it's Monday. I had to go back to work. I'm sucked into a mystery/thriller/who-done-it. And I have a stack of unread books sitting there staring at me on my bedside table. I have six books out of the library right now. One is overdue (Border Songs, sorry to whoever is waiting...). Another will be overdue on Wednesday (The Girl...). Two of them (non-fiction, heart-health books) are on my husband's card, so I have no idea when they are due (they've already been renewed at least once). And I successfully renewed two last night (Heroic Leadership and Sense and Sensibility). Really I should just own up to the fact that I won't get around to reading most of them and just return them and take them out again some other time. But I really *want* to read them...

Somehow, when I went back to work, I thought I would have all this time left over outside of working. I thought I would have at least 2 hours a day to read on the bus, plus my evening hours to draw or write or sew. And my mornings would give me plenty of time to get in a run and some stretching.

Well... what works out on paper is just not working out in reality.

I've got the morning run in regularly. No problem. Most of the time I get in a little bit of stretching, too... (while I'm eating my breakfast...) The rest of it is really hit or miss. I could offer excuses, but no one cares besides me. (Isn't that the essence of blogging?)

On the other hand, so far this year I've made 4 quilts and 1 baby blanket. I've read more books than I read in all of last year (32 so far, 30 last year). I've run about 628 miles (70 miles/month on average... not great, but not bad...). Biked the Seattle to Portland ride. And took up a new hobby (kayaking...). Oh, and started a new job.

When you put it that way... maybe I'll take the night off and watch a movie instead... ;)

She got moves

2009-09-23T23:31:00.000-07:00

I have another confession to make....

I like teen dance movies.

Seriously. If Red Beard is out or I'm having a girls' night, I always go for the teen dance movies first (Save the Last Dance, Center Stage). Or ice skating (like Cutting Edge or Ice Princess). Or gymnastics (Stick It). Or cheerleading (Bring it On).

I know, you must be thinking, "This chic is nuts! First kid lit and now teen dance movies... wacko..."

There is just something about the underdog, competition, strength with grace / rhythm thing that gets me every time. I love watching them practice, practice, practice and then win the big competition (because they always win...). Sure, it's predictable. But it's also motivating in a way. And it makes me happy.

Most women like to watch romance movies on a girls' night or when the hubby is out of town. Romance just makes me wish my hubby were around. And it always leaves you with that "Awwww..." feeling. Not entirely uplifting. Just heartwarming.

Not the dance movies! They always leave you wanting to take on the world and bust a move. They make you want to blast the dance music and shake what your mamma gave you... or is that just me?

Tonight I watched Bring it On: Fight to the Finish. I have to say, it was pretty terrible as these movies go. But, it still left me with the same feeling. That and wanting to go practice my Spanish...

Anyway, this is all just a warm up for the return of Fame! Who's with me? Anyone? Anyone?

Or did I just lose my 5 readers...? :)

Birthday bonfire

2009-09-22T23:39:00.000-07:00

Kicking off Greg's birthday week with a bonfire on the banks of the Columbia after work:

Cookie break

2009-09-21T21:15:00.000-07:00

I'm making chocolate chip cookies for the fire fighters down at station 1 to say "thank you" for their hospitality on Friday. It got me thinking about my top five "secrets" for making scrum-diddly-um-cious chocolate chip cookies.

Use the "classic" recipe from The Original Betty Crocker Cookie Book
Follow the instructions
Use the tiny (mini?) chocolate chips instead of the usual size ones
Take them out after 8 - 10 minutes (9 minutes in our oven) - even if they don't look done yet
Let them sit on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to the cooling rack

Did you know that the chocolate chip cookie was originally from the New England Toll House, Whitman, Mass.? That's what it says in the Cooky Book. It also says that "it was introduced to home makers in 1939 on our (Betty Crocker's?) radio series 'Famous Foods from Famous Places.'"

I am using all my will power to not eat these and bring as many as possible to the fire station - except for a few broken ones that have found their way into Red Beard's belly...

Update: My plan was foiled by the fact that it took me too long to make the cookies, and it's a slow night in Vancouver - in other words, everyone at the fire station is asleep. :( Oh well... I guess these will have to be "birthday cookies" for tomorrow's festivities...

Fire fighter for a day

2009-09-20T22:00:00.000-07:00

Do you know what fire fighters do? I thought I did, and then I spent 24 hours with them...

I arrived at the Vancouver Fire Department headquarters station at 7am on Friday morning along with 6 other civilians for the VFD Community Academy. The morning started off almost like a morning at work would, with PowerPoint presentations. We only spent a few hours in the classroom, but those few hours were enough to fill my head will all sorts of facts and figures about our fire department and our community. For example,

We have half as many fire fighters per 1000 people than we should have (0.8 vs. a national standard of 1.6).
Our fire fighters are not just trained to fight fires - they all have some level of medical training. Most are EMTs some are "FireMedics."
And, most of the calls they go on (about 80%) are actually medical calls.
But medical calls take less time than fire calls (fires average 2 to 4 hours), so they come out about even if you look at the distribution based on time spent on each call type.

It was a lot to digest in a short period of time...

About mid-morning we took a break to get outside and get hands on. We suited up in "turnouts" - the protective boots, pants, coat, hood, hat, and gloves that the fire fighters wear. And yes, they happened to have some my size - or at least mostly my size.

Then we got to take turns running the hose,

driving the engine around the parking lot,

and hooking up hose to a fire hydrant.

And then we got to take apart a car using all sorts of power tools.

Our last exercise was advancing on a burning propane tank so that the Captain could reach it to turn it off. It never stopped burning, and we got within feet of it, controlling the fire with our newly acquired hose skills - and backed by the professionals.

After all this we returned to the classroom to talk about how much this stuff costs, and get a glimpse of the medical side of the fire fighting life. Lunch was interrupted - to simulate real life circumstances - by a car fire. Thankfully, we only had to gear up and watch while the professionals showed us how it's done.

Finally, around 2:30 pm we were given our station assignments and sent out with our gear and our bedding ration. This is where the real "day in the life" began...

What happens on the calls stays among the crew. I can tell you we didn't get called out on any fires - two possible fires, but both turned out to not to be a fire. We got sent out three times overnight, once around 11pm, once around 1:30 am, and then again around 4:30 am. None of the medical calls were serious injuries. It wasn't exactly the "rider's curse," but it was close. My other classmates did have more interesting stories to tell. No big deal. I'm just happy no one had any real hardship on our watch.

During the downtime I got to do some training with the crew. They decked me out in the full gear load they would normally wear to fight fires so I could see what it felt like.

I also got to climb the fully extended fire truck ladder.

It wasn't at it's full 100ft height because it was at a lower angle, but it was still about 80ft off the ground. That's still pretty high up there.

This may all look like fun and games, but I seriously learned a lot and my thinking was greatly changed by this experience. As the liaison to the fire department for our neighborhood association, I'm going to write up something for our neighborhood newsletter. I may cross-post that here. I'm also thinking of submitting something to the Columbian (our local paper), but I may miss my window of opportunity... we'll see.

Either way, I'll leave you with just the "fun stuff" for tonight and maybe hit up the more thought provoking, "deep thoughts," stuff later...

If you want to check out the rest of the pictures, you can do that here.

My new look

2009-09-18T18:09:00.000-07:00

Spending 24 hrs at the Vancouver Fire Department... More on that tomorrow...

Take off your shoes

2009-09-16T22:08:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking about doing something crazy.

Running barefoot.

Okay, fine not *really* barefoot. But, in shoes with much less cushioning than I have been running in. I know. It sounds crazy. But I have a friend who's been doing it for a while now - they call him Mr. T. I think that stands for Mr. Toes... but I could be wrong...

Up until now I've been really happy with my Brooks Ariels. They are the "super stability" running shoe in their women's line. I've been running in them since The Reverend and Finance Goddess's wedding 6 years ago. Not the same pair. Just the same brand. Different pairs.

But since I've gotten to know Mr. Toes a bit better and learned more about this barefoot running craze, I've been wondering about the super stability running shoe concept. See, I used to dance and I used to swim. My feet had a lot of muscles once upon a time. Since then, not so much. And now... well, now...

I'm injured.

There. I said it.

I hate to admit it. I've been trying to ignore it and hope it goes away. I've tried stretching and strengthening (only very recently, though). I still have this stupid pain in my foot. I think it started after I rolled my foot on a long trail run last month, but I can't really remember. It also could have started after I started wearing my Danskos more and my summer sandal shoes less. Again, I'm not sure. The first time I remember it hurting was after Jeep's first birthday party and pig roast. That day we ran up to Pittock Mansion and I had a pretty good run. No foot rolling. No pain. It makes no sense.

I checked the milage on my current pair of running shoes. I'm just over 300 miles. Time for a new pair. Funny how your body just knows these things... But the question is, more stability shoes? Or something with less stability? I just don't know. And there are 42 holds on "the book" at my library! Who has the answer?

Another '80s icon gone

2009-09-15T18:02:00.000-07:00

So, Patrick Swayze died, surviving Michael Jackson by only a few months. Both were iconic figures from my youth. Now everyone is tweeting about carrying a watermellon. For the last week of June all you heard on the radio was MJ songs. But unlike my peers, I just can’t seem to muster up a lot of sadness and nostalgia. I mean Tim Russert dies and I’m deeply moved. The King of Pop and Mr. Dirty Dancing die and I sort-of shrug. “So it goes,” as the Tralfamadorians would say...

Maybe it's just that I never liked Dirty Dancing (shocking, I know...), and I absolutely hated Ghost. I also wasn't a very big Michael Jackson fan. I preferred Janet's music. All that crotch grabbing, screeching, and the one glove thing wasn't really my thing.

Anyway, I guess this is proof that we're getting older. As if the return of leg warmers and other '80s clothing trends wasn't proof enough...

Let's go

2009-09-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

Like Rob from the movie High Fidelity, I love top five lists. They may become a fun feature of this blog.

Tonight's top five is caused by my yearning to travel to far away exotic places. For about six months in fall/winter 2007 - 2008 Red Beard and I did some serious traveling. Since then we haven't left the continental U.S. Here are my top five places I would like to travel in next:

New Zealand
Spain
Iceland
Alaska
Denmark

My aunt and uncle currently live in New Zealand and I've been wanting to visit them and travel around since they moved there several years ago - maybe even since before they moved there. The expense of the ticket and the length of the flight are the two main things keeping me from packing my bags and leaving tomorrow. That and a lack of vacation time...

I recently bought a book called Lodging in Spain's Monasteries. We did this in Italy and it was the best part of our trip. I'd like to do it again, this time somewhere I have hopes of being able to speak the language. Sure, I'll have a Cuencan accent, but at least I'll be able to talk to the locals.

I've been eyeing Iceland for the longest time. I even signed up for their tourism distribution list several years ago. I have no idea what set me off, maybe it was the hot springs. I just really want to go bum around there for a bit.

Mostly I want to see Alaska from a kayak or a really small cruise boat that tucks in close to shore that has kayaks you can take out for day trips. Or I want to go check out that outback area that Margaret Murie talks about in her book Two in the Far North.

Denmark is home of Copenhagen, city of cyclists (video). And it has a lot of green islands and weather like the PNW. I imagine it is a wondrous place - a place I'd also like to see by kayak and by bicycle. Frankly, I don't know much about it besides that.

One thing that is missing from this list is a good beach... I guess I'm just not a beach person... What else did I miss? What's on your top five vacation destinations?

Go Inside

2009-09-11T17:09:00.000-07:00

I recently joined a 24hr Fitness – not out of some “get-in-shape-for-bikini-season” type thing, nor because of some get-fit resolution. No, my reason for joining: the seasons are changing and my morning runs are now starting in the dark. This is fall and I know there will soon be even less daylight, it will start to get colder, and then the rains will start. I don’t want any new excuses for why I should skip my workout, so it is time to add the indoor option – or at least the mid-day or post-work outdoor running option. Hence the need to join a gym, preferably very close to my office. Enter 24hr Fitness…

I stopped in a few weeks ago during lunch and spoke with a very cheery membership guy. He did not understand why I wasn’t just overjoyed to be joining a gym. He probably is used to people coming in, full of excitement and resolved to get fit. Instead he got me, sitting there relatively despondent, staring outside at the sun shining on a mid-70s day in the city. He kept trying to pump me up. I kept trying to explain, “You see, I already run around 20 miles a week on average, I bike, I kayak, I go for long walks. I am only coming here because it is going to be winter and I need to come inside for workouts. It’s depressing. I would rather be outside.” He still didn’t seem to get it. He looked like one of those guys who would rather be in a gym than running on a trail. They don’t have free weights outside, if you catch my meaning.

Gyms bug me. (Can you tell?) There are always the same people there. Different faces, but same body shapes and same activities. There are the beefy, leering guys who hang exclusively in the free weight area, sizing each other up, grunting, and generally intimidating the ladies who venture into that territory by checking them out and seeming to be “judging” (be it form or figure…). Then there are the hamsters on the cardio equipment, all bad form, hunched over the machine, noses buried in reading material (trashy magazines, newspapers, novels), or zoning out to the TV screen. Depressing. But the hardest for me to deal with are those that try to tackle the erg (ergometer, or rowing machine, for those that weren’t on crew). The former coxswain in me just wants to scream every time I see them. People! It is really simple. Legs, then back, then arms, then reverse (arms, back, legs) and repeat. Bad form on the erg is like nails on a chalkboard for me. I was also a swimmer and taught swim lessons, but bad form in the pool doesn’t grate on me nearly as badly as bad form on the erg. (By the way, I am happy to teach anyone if they really want to know how to improve their form – erging or swimming.)

The problem is, as much as they annoy me, there are good things about gyms. Yoga classes are one (usually). A pool, if you’re lucky, would be another. A full set of weights and weight apparatus is yet another. These are things I miss in my usual routine. Stretching and strength take a back seat to cardio in the great outdoors. Okay, I know it doesn’t *have* to be that way, and you can run outside all year round, etc. but it’s harder and sometimes takes more time and/or flexibility of schedule than I have the luxury of right now. I happened to get lucky, and this particular 24hr Fitness actually has a great lunchtime yoga class that focuses on stretching *and* strength (key aspect of yoga for me). It also has a pool – just two lanes, and usually packed, but still a pool. And the thing no gym is ever without: a full assortment of free weights, hand weights, weight machines, etc.

I'll still probably run outside in the morning before work for as long as I can, but I've already started to take advantage of the yoga classes. Cross training here I come...

My Guilty Pleasure

2009-09-09T20:24:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I offered to give a co-worker some suggestions for her book-loving, young-adult (YA) reader. The girl in question loves Harry Potter, is a tomboy, and has an active imagination. Her mom was trying to convince her to read something, anything else besides Harry Potter. Nothing against Harry Potter, she wanted her daughter to read a bit more broadly.

I happen to read a lot of YA. I can't help it. I like it. I know that some of my more "serious reader" friends frown on YA (and also sci-fi and fantasy...), but it is my guilty pleasure. That and the Jane Austen novels.

I could say that I only read YA that is really borderline adult fiction, but that wouldn't exactly be true. Some of these recommendations would probably bore most adults. There is one YA genre I don't like and that is the YA vampire books (you know the ones I mean...). I tried them and didn't like them. Sure, I got sucked in and read all four, but I would not recommend them.

I get most of my ideas for my reading list from the blog of Cheryl Klein, who I think has my dream job - content editor for Arthur A. Levine books. She gets paid to read books and she started working with Arthur himself as the U.S. editor of the Harry Potter books. These first few books I recommend were all edited by her...

These three by Lisa Yee are the same story, just told from viewpoint of each of the main characters:

I really enjoy how she convincingly she gets into each of these very different characters' heads. They illustrate the point that there really is more than one side to any story - and everyone comes from someplace a little different, yet a little the same. The author also just started a new series. The first book is Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally). I haven't read that one yet.

Cheryl also edited this re-telling of the Rumpelstiltskin story: A Curse as Dark as Gold by Elizabeth Bunce. And she has edited these books that I think have been out a while in Japan and were turned into an anime series: Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit and Moribito II: Guardian Of The Darkness. The story is really good, and the book is absolutely beautifully printed.

I do read YA books that are not from that house. For example, I will read anything that Neil Gaiman writes. Case in point: The Anansi Boys. It was... well, not my favorite. I can't bring myself to say "bad" of anything that comes from that man's head. But he was reaching with the style and it just didn't work. His foray into YA has been interesting... I wasn't all that excited by Coraline, but The Graveyard Book I loved. And I just watched the movie version of Stardust last night, and it reminded me how good the book was and reminded me a little of The Princess Bride.

I recently finished reading the first three books in The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner. The first three books are:

The fourth book comes out in March of next year, I think… I found all three of these very engaging. The plot is a little more complex than you usually find in these books, the characters a little deeper.

Similarly, there is Graceling which I think was my favorite of the YA books I’ve read as an adult. It’s very “girl power.” But, I think there are some "more than kissing" scenes that a younger reader (like this girl in question) or one with more protective parents might not be ready for until middle school. I don't remember the details, and I wasn't reading it with recommending it to young readers in mind, so I can't say for certain what rating I would give it (PG or PG-13). I still highly recommend it and can't wait until I can get my hands on a copy (from the library) of her new book (called Fire), coming out this fall. It is billed as a sort of prequel. She is currently writing a third due out next year, I think, called Bitterblue which is a sequel to Graceling. You can also check out her blog... Oh, on a side note, she went to Williams College about the same time as The Reverend's wife, Finance Goddess. Quite a few of my PDX friends also went to Williams... it's a small world...

And, if fantasy is not your thing, but you don't want Ramona, try The Highest Tide. It takes place near Olympia and reminds me a lot of what I think Red Beard would have been like as a kid.

So if you have a young reader in your life, or you are also "young at heart" and secretly enjoy YA fiction, you should check out these books. Meanwhile, I've been meaning to get around to some of Ursula Le Guin's YA stuff, The Wizard of Earthsea series... oh, and read some adult fiction as well...

Road to nowhere

2009-09-08T23:57:00.000-07:00

Red Beard (my hubby) and I took to the road this weekend. On Friday I took the Max to Gateway transit center where I met up with my slightly woozy driver and our new Jeep packed to the gills with all sorts of goodies, all neatly stowed in new plastic bins and safely secured with bungees. I think Red Beard was looking to prove he can be just as logistical as me - and he succeeded.... mostly...

Our first stop was Burns, OR. But we quickly found that the hotels and motels of Burns are all situated on the highway. Not really what we had in mind. So Red Beard put in a call to Duncan at the Malheur Field Station - a place he visited earlier this year with The Reverend and Jeep. We woke up to this:

And then headed to Frenchglen for breakfast:

After filling our bellies, we headed off to the wilderness in search of the (elusive) Kiger Mustangs - real wild horses. We found nothing except a long and bumpy ride to an overlook and a flat tire on the way back down. So Red Beard slapped on the spare and we headed back to Burns for a new tire. Then it was back to Frenchglen where we stopped briefly to share a plate of chow from the traveling chuck wagon:

No, not that... but maybe one of his buddies...

Finally we were on our way to the top of Steens Mountain to get our first glimpse of what we might find on the other side. We had filled up our spare gas container at the Shell station in Burns - did I mention that Red Beard's other nickname is Captain Safety Pants - before leaving civilization. The change in pressure from the altitude, or maybe just the leakiness of the aged and cheap plastic, was causing the amount of gas fumes in the car to get to a somewhat unbearable level. I was getting irritable and headachey, and Red Beard was getting even more queesy... or was that because of the chuck wagon... hmmm... Either way, when we finally got to the summit Red Beard sat down on a rock and said something like, "I think I might puke... Yep, I'm pretty sure I'm going to puke."

So I enjoyed the view and snapped some pictures:

I'll spare you the one of the actual puke (it's on Picasa if you are that twisted)... Feeling much more chipper after literally losing his lunch, he could finally enjoy the view, and the rest of the (very bumpy) ride to our campground.

The next morning we were up with the sun and were rewarded with an encounter with four prancing antelope while on our way to visit the Riddle Brothers' Ranch. We also saw at least one "hawk." Red Beard sometimes dabbles in bird watching, but his attempts to identify large birds of prey that are not Turkey Vultures or Bald Eagles usually end up in the statement "I think it's a hawk." So we saw lots of "hawks" throughout the trip, starting with our morning at the Riddle Bros Ranch. (BTW, I was disappointed that none of them were named Tom. I was really hoping that we were going to see the home of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named... but not so much - just Ben, Fred, and Walt. Sorry to disappoint, HP fans...).

Anyway, I highly recommend the ranch. It is very picturesque:

We left the ranch with just enough time to get to Fields by lunch to get a burger and a milkshake before heading off to the desert. Here's a tip: don't let the menu in Fields deceive you. They may have a lunch menu that fills up one side of an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper, but they really only serve burgers and milkshakes. Or a triple-decker grilled cheese if you happen to be under driving age. Which is probably pretty young in Fields. Really, I shouldn't knock it. They can grill a burger and shake me up a shake any day of the week. They do sell about 1000 shakes a year out of that place...

Enough about the shakes... let's see the desert:

The Alvord Desert was about the coolest thing I've seen in... well, a while... The Alvord Hot Springs on the other hand, well... let's just say they were more like the "warm springs"... I'm just hoping they were hot enough to kill bacteria because they seem to be pretty popular... We didn't stay very long, but at that point I was so dry and dusty I would have taken a dip in a carp pond... okay, maybe not, but... maybe...

We still had a lot of driving to do before we set up camp for the night. So, from the desert, back to Burns - this time skipping Shell and stopping at Chevron instead, nicer, but still didn't wash our windshield. The guys at the Shell washed the windshield of the guy in a Util-a-Kilt, but snubbed us twice. Maybe it was the dirt...

Anyway, we spent our final night at Delintment Lake - a small, but very good looking, lake. Here we had a nice fire and read aloud from The Sea Runners as the sun set and the moon rose. Gotta say, The Sea Runners is a great book for reading aloud from around a campfire. The fire was still going strong long after we were ready for bed. Red Beard tried to put it out and in the process I'm pretty sure he won the award for "campground menace." After two tries - one including getting out of a warm tent in his underwear to dig a hole to China - he finally got the fire to die out so we could safely go to sleep.

In the morning, this:

We traveled back home through Red Beard's ancestral homeland of Paulina and followed the John Day River to Fossil. I don't have any pictures of this because we only brought one card for the camera and our camera won't store more than 126 pictures on a card - it's old, it's allowed to be quirky. I do have one from my cell phone of the windmills of Eastern Oregon off highway 206:

Though I was slow to realize it at the time, the trip was a very relaxing and rejuvenating success. You can check out the rest of the pictures on Picasa. For me now it is past my bedtime...

Fall supplies

2009-09-03T20:49:00.000-07:00

Back to school is my favorite time of year. It’s something about how the air begins to feel a little crisper, especially at night. The sweaters come out of drawers and storage bins. I start wearing socks again. And all those lovely back to school catalogs start appearing in the mail. It gets me thinking about my back to school wish list…

When I was younger I would grab the back to school fliers out of the mail as soon as they arrived and pour over them. Then I would beg my mom to take us to Walgreens to pick out our school supplies. Sure, I liked the back to school clothes – we typically only got new clothes at back to school (fall) and for our birthdays (spring) – so that was always a treat. But my favorite part was buying my new pens, pencils, notebooks, etc. at Walgreens. My backpack was always packed weeks before school began.

My first planner, and the one I was loyal to all the way through college, was a Chandler’s Assignment Notebook*. I have only ever been able to find them at Walgreens. I looked for them on the internets, but never could locate one (sadly, they no longer exist). Since then I have bounced from planner to planner – lately mostly Moleskine. Strangely, I’ve always preferred the paper planners to their technological siblings.

I’ve always loved new notebooks. Something about the infinite possibilities contained in their pages of blankness appeals to me. I usually kept the college-ruled spiral kind when I was younger. In college I found some neat hardbound lined notebooks from Blueline. Those were my preferred notebooks for classes and work until I found the Moleskine cahier notebooks – lighter and fewer pages. I find that I always want to use every page of any notebook before I start a new one, and I always want to buy new notebooks. These two desires are typically in conflict. So, lightweight, thin notebooks allow me to fill the pages faster and therefore free me up to buy new notebooks sooner.

The other big switch I made was from lined to blank pages. Even if I’m writing or taking notes, I prefer the blank pages. I don’t like to be constrained by arbitrary rules… Come to think about it, notebook preferences convey a lot about someone’s personality, I think…

This year, I am excited to check out the new fall clothing from Ibex and LL Bean. Apparently LL Bean got themselves a new designer, so I’m expecting some cool stuff.

As for school supplies, I am pretty stocked up, but browsing through my favorite online retailer, Writer’s Bloc, I came up with a few items for my wish list.

I heart pencil cases, I have one from Hello Kitty and another I bought for a dollar in a Japanese commissary store in San Francisco. But that doesn’t stop me from oogling new ones. This one looks especially nice: Le Petit Prince Pencil Case
I already have a LAMY fountain pen. It is my favorite writing tool. But I would definitely take this limited edition version in either orange or white: LAMY Safari Ltd. Ed.
I am still undecided about my planner choice for 2010. I was disappointed in my Moleskine weekly planner this year. I no longer track my to-do list (or assignments) in my planner, so it is really just a calendar now. I think I’d prefer to see the whole month at a glance, as opposed to week by week. Plus I want it to be small and lightweight so I am inclined to carry it more often. I’ve been thinking of switching to the Moleskine monthly planner (bought it for my mom last year). But these two from Antenna Shop may be contenders because they have just enough structure, but not too much: White Camper and Yellow Submarine
I need to work through my existing notebook stock before I can buy new notebooks, but I am excited to see that Clairefontaine now has a plain front, clothbound, medium size notebook in addition to their traditional multi-color, clothbound, medium size notebooks.
I’ve recently found that I enjoy European strategy board games. The two I am most familiar with are Settlers (featured weekly special on Writer’s Bloc this week) and Carcassonne. But Treehouse and Metro also look pretty cool.

That’s enough back to school web browsing for one day. Time to go drag out my pens and notebooks and pack my backpack. Maybe I can get in some reading, writing, and drawing this weekend…

* Random trivia found on IMDb.com: In the movie High Fidelity (2000), “Rob's sticker-covered "little black book" is a Chandler's assignment notebook, a required item for every student at Evanston Township High School, John Cusack's alma mater.” (I went to high in the neighboring school district, probably about 10 yrs later.)

Coffee break

2009-09-02T20:08:00.000-07:00

I think I finally found someplace that serves great chai lattes within walking distance of my office.
This is a big thing for me because I don’t drink coffee. I never started. It’s not that I’m philosophically opposed to coffee. I just don’t like how it tastes. I did enjoy a cappuccino in Italy (after I sugared it up to counteract the bitterness of the coffee). But when I ordered a cappuccino in the US and found that it just wasn’t the same drink, I decided that I just wasn’t cut out for this coffee thing.
This little fact makes it slightly difficult for me to participate in activities that start with “let’s grab a coffee” or “let’s go to Starbucks…” I understand that tea is an acceptable option. I love tea. I drink a lot of tea. But I have a problem paying nearly $3 for what basically amounts to hot water and a tea bag. So, I refuse to order tea from a coffee place. Unless it is actually loose leaf tea and served in a tea pot. Then I’ll consider making an exception.
In an effort to participate in the “coffee break” culture, I’ve taken to drinking chai lattes. What I’ve found is that every coffee place has their own idea of what a chai latte should be. Some are very spicy. Some are very sweet. Some are very foamy. You never really know what you’re going to get. Either that or I just don’t drink enough of them to notice any trends.
But some days you just need a hot beverage to warm your insides, and maybe even your outlook on the day. Perhaps it is a PNW thing. I think people here do drink more than their fair share of coffee. It may have something to do with the weather. Whatever it is, today I had a need for some warm bevi goodness. I was in a funk.
I’ve tried Seattle’s Best. I’ve tried Starbucks. Both were rather “meh.” Today I decided to try Rose’s Deli. I go there often for a Kettleman’s Bagel, why not try their chai? After scanning the menu, I found at the top of the “other hot beverages” list an item called “Oregon Chai.” Promising. So I ordered one (with skim milk) and sure enough it tasted delicious. Sweet, sure. Maybe it could have used a little more of the traditional spicy chai-ness. But basically it was exactly what I was looking for in a hot beverage – something between hot chocolate (way too sweet) and coffee or black tea (bitter) with an appropriate amount of creaminess (not quite milkshake, but more than hot water).
Rose’s continues to impress… and it is local! Even better.

Look who's back in the blog-verse...

2009-08-28T16:50:00.000-07:00

Coming soon... EMM Blogs!

You know you missed me... :)