Happy Holidays

I always look forward to the holidays as a chance to read a good book. The New York Times just ran an article on this year's 100 best fiction and 100 non-fiction books to enjoy this holiday season. You can see the article here I'm really looking forward to starting Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson which I ordered from Amazon. I just can't resist those lonely Norwegian types.
And I've started listening to A Free Life by Ha Jin thanks to Audible. Five minutes of listening and I am totally obsessed with the Wu family's struggles as they immigrate from China to America.

It's Cold Inside

This time of year Aaron likes to keep the thermostat at fifty. I think it's freezing and when I complain he reminds me that 1. It's not that cold because he is perfectly comfortable in his twelve year old, paper thin t-shirt and 2. We're saving energy. I can argue with the first but I have to agree with the second, so I pile on two or three sweatshirts and pull on several pairs of socks. In all fairness, I made him suffer through the summer without air conditioning. Which has me thinking of this great poem:


I Do, I Will, I Have

How wise I am to have instructed the butler
to instruct the first footman to instruct the second
footman to instruct the doorman to order my carriage;
I am about to volunteer a definition of marriage.
Just as I know that there are two Hagens, Walter and Copen,
I know that marriage is a legal and religious alliance entered
into by a man who can't sleep with the window shut and a
woman who can't sleep with the window open.
Moreover, just as I am unsure of the difference between
flora and fauna and flotsam and jetsam,
I am quite sure that marriage is the alliance of two people
one of whom never remembers birthdays and the other
never forgetsam,
And he refuses to believe there is a leak in the water pipe or
the gas pipe and she is convinced she is about to asphyxiate
or drown,
And she says Quick get up and get my hairbrushes off the
windowsill, it's raining in, and he replies Oh they're all right,
it's only raining straight down.
That is why marriage is so much more interesting than divorce,
Because it's the only known example of the happy meeting of
the immovable object and the irresistible force.
So I hope husbands and wives will continue to debate and
combat over everything debatable and combatable,
Because I believe a little incompatibility is the spice of life,
particularly if he has income and she is pattable.

Ogden Nash

Virginia Master Naturalist

Tonight I am going to the information meeting for the Virginia Master Naturalist Program. The VMNP is "a statewide corps of volunteers providing education, outreach, and service dedicated to the beneficial management of natural resources and natural areas within their communities."

If you are accepted into the program, they provide a 40 hour basic training course to equip you to do things like lead nature walks, monitor nesting boxes, do wildlife mapping and water testing or clean up trails. That's my idea of a good time.

I really hope I can get involved but I've been told that the application program can be rigorous. I'm a little nervous. I have a good bit of scientific survey experience but I have to admit I haven't done anything too recently. Wish me luck or if you are interested come join me tonight at 7 PM at the Ivy Creek Nature Center. They'll have information on other environmental programs and service projects in the area.

For more information you can go here.

The More the Merrier

Aaron and I returned from our Thanksgiving spent with his family. It was a good time. One of my favorite activities with the Cummings is riding in the fifteen passenger van. If you ever get the chance, try to snag a middle seat. While the air flow isn't the best, it provides an excellent vantage point for the action that will soon ensue. What happens in the van is there are always far too many people speaking for anyone to be clearly understood. This allows for a lot of hilarious conversation. My personal favorite over the holiday went something like this:

Van is riding past a middle school.

Heather (in the back row): The principal of that school got fired.

Sarah (in the second row): Why did he get fired?

Trina (in the first row): Who caught on fire?

Sarah: He caught on fire!? Why did he catch on fire?

Heather: Arg. No one caught on fire! The principal GOT fired.

Trina: What's fired?

Sarah: Who started the fire?

Melinda (stops singing): Wait. What? There was a fire?

Heather: No. There was no fire! The principal of the middle school was fired. Sarah stop twisting my words!

Trina: I don't like fires.

Sarah: Ohh. Okay. He got fired.

Melinda: So why did he get fired?

Heather: He and another teacher . . . Oh, nevermind.

Aaron begins to hum Come on Baby Light My Fire.

Good fun for the whole family.

Lyrebird

I think everyone in the world should get a chance to watch this. It's AMAZING.

Turkey Time

Aaron is already smacking his lips in anticipation of turkey day. What's a vegetarian to do? Actually, I love Thanksgiving. Thanks to the wealth of scrumptious "sides" I have never left a Thanksgiving spread hungry. Recently, Aaron and I found this delicious recipe. It gets high marks and we thought some of you might be interested as well.

Harvest Vegetable Medley

1 lb small Brussels sprouts, trimmed
1 butternut squash, halved, cut into chunks (about 1.5 lbs)
1 head cauliflower, seperated into 2 inch florets (1 lb)
1 lb fingerling potatoes halved
4 medium leeks, white parts only, trimmed and cut lengthwise
1/2 lb baby carrots
1/2 lb parsnips trimmed and peeled
24 cloves garlic peeled and halved plus 3 garlic cloves minced
4 tbs olive oil
1 Tbs chopped fresh sage, plus 24 leaves
1 tbs chopped fresh rosemary
2 small red bell peppers quartered

Adjust oven rack to lowest position. Preheat oven to 450. Bring saucepan of water to boil. Add Brussels and cook 3 minutes or until bright green. Drain, rinse under cold water, then pat dry.

Toss squash cauliflower potatoes leeks carrots parsnips garlic cloves 3 tbsp olive oil chopped sage sage leaves and rosemary n large roasting pan. Season with salt and pepper and spread into single layer. Roast 25 minutes, tossing veggies twice. Add bell peppers, Brussels, minced garlic and remain 1 Tbsp oil. Roast 15 minutes more or until vegetables are broned on edges and tender. Season with salt and pepper.

This goes really well over stuffing and with veggy gravy on top. Yum Yum!

Big tree falls

This is my father in law having fun. I'm serious. I can't wait for Thanksgiving. I've got my boots and work gloves packed and ready to go.

The Day the Music Died

I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to classical music, but I do enjoy it. I like to listen to it when I have something I want to think out. And I LOVE classical Christmas music.
It's become tradition for Aaron and me to turn on WGMS 103.5, DC's classical music station, to start our holiday season. We keep it continuously streaming until Christmas. But this year, when we tried to initiate our celebration, WGMS was not to be found. It shut down. Tragic!
Thankfully Classical WETA 90.9 decided to try to help fill the gaping hole left in our lives. This week until Thanksgiving they are playing their listeners' top 90 most requested Classical pieces. They have promised to follow that up with some good seasonal pieces. I am enjoying #80, Beethoven's Symphony #4. I thought some of you might enjoy listening in at some point. You can stream it from here.

I looked out the window and what did I see?

Our friends the Scotts invited us over for Comfort food the other night. That got me to thinking of all the delectable and disgusting foods I turn to in my hours of trouble or indulgence. I made a list:

POPCORN in massive quantites made on the stove. I can't tell you how many times I've drowned my sorrows in a brimming bowl of fluffy popcorn.
Fresh Cherries
Pomegrantes
pancakes
carrot sticks - I will easily down a bag in ten minutes without trying. I like to eat them when I'm nervous or trying to finish a project because the incessant chewing helps me feel better. I eat them so fast I often give myself hiccups.
pizza roles - they HAVE to be made in the oven
Fresh warm crusty bread
black bean, avacado nachos or seven layer dip
ANYTHING with potatoes - potato skins, potatoes augratin, funeral potatoes, mashed potatoes, Perogies!! mmm mmm
herbal tea in warm soy milk -Don't knock it til you try it.
Cocoa crispies
Thai coconut curry (C3 on the menu at Thai Ruby in Provo)
boiled peanuts

Lets Play A Game

Lets play a game. Ok, it's not a very fun game. It's really more depressing than anything else. If you go here, you can play a little game called Consumer Consequences. It shows just how many earths (in relation to resources you consume) we would need if EVERYONE on the planet lived just like you. If everyone lived like me we would need about 3 earths. 3 Earths! And I live in an apartment, ride my bike and carpool to work, don't eat meat, often attempt to purchase organic and local foods, don't drink or smoke, take army showers and subject friends and family members to my anxieties for the environment. (That last one doesn't actually get any points, I just want you all to know that I appreciate your kind ear.) Depressing. I do admit, I should recycle more. That lost me points. So is it even possible to be a "no impact" consumer? One man is attempting it. You can read his blog here.



While Consumer Consequences is an informative game, it is definitely not the most entertaining. If you want entertaining, checkout Greenpeace's kids spot here. I LOVE these games, mainly because of the awesome propaganda and they are deliciously mindless in that tetris kind of way. In my favorite one, "Save the Whales!" you try to save a very stupid whale from a whaling ship in a little rubber Greenpeace boat. I swear the whale ALWAYS swims right to the whaling ship. Oy! Trying to save the world, even on the computer, is HARD work.

PS If you looked at this post earlier, you probably saw the link to the greenpeace games wasn't working. I've fixed it.

Persepolis

I really love the "graphic novel" Persepolis. Its the memoir of Marjane Satrapi who was born in Iran, watched the fall of the Shah in the Iranian revolution, and witnessed the transformation of her country. I fell in love with her sensitive but rebellious character. I was happy to learn that Satrapi has adapted the book into a movie. You can see the trailer here. I can't wait!

Belshazzar had a Letter

Belshazzar had a Letter —
He never had but one —
Belshazzar's Correspondent
Concluded and begun
In that immortal Copy
The Conscience of us all
Can read without its Glasses
On Revelation's Wall —

-Emily Dickinson

I've been thinking about this poem a lot lately. It helps to know the writing on the wall she refers to is in the Book Of Daniel:

And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN. This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE (literally a "monetary toll"), God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; TEKEL (literally a "tokenary weight"), you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; PARSIN (literally a "division" or "portion"), your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians

Sunday Fun

Aaron decided to test my scriptural knowledge with a little pictionary trivia at church today. I had so much fun guessing I thought maybe some of you might too. I particularly enjoyed how Aaron's selections almost all involve a weapon of some type. I'll post the answers in the comments.

1.

Having trouble? Don't worry, I was too. I thought it was a girl in a skirt playing croquet. Aaron was kind and gave me a few more clues.


2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.


I couldn't let have Aaron have all the drawing fun so I did two as well.

9.

10.

Ready, Set, No.

We've sensed a fair bit of speculation on the part of our friends and family about when we are having kids. We've decided to set the record straight. We are NOT pregnant. We were pregnant, have been pregnant, but never had one last. That's the way it goes sometimes. We're not too upset . . . Ok, I'm not too upset. We promise to let everyone who is interested know when we really are permanently pregnant. Until then it sort of hurts when you ask.

My Babe

Aaron told me if I would come to his softball game he would hit a home run for me. And he did!

USA is number 1, number 31 that is . . .

I'm atoning for putting a less than reliable document up on the blog with an authentic report. The World Economic Forum just released their Global Gender Gap Report of 2007.

They analyze the gap by looking at the division of resources between men and women in their native countries. They have some really fascinating findings. I was shocked that the US got beat out by Bulgaria, South Africa and Cuba among others. We barely nudge out Kazakhstan for our place. How does that work? It goes back to the division of resources. So while there might be less resources overall in Bulgaria, Bulgarian women have better access to their Bulgarian resources than US women have to US resources.

Here's some more info from their website:

The Report examines four critical areas of inequality between men and women:
1. Economic participation and opportunity – outcomes on salaries, participation levels and access to high-skilled employment
2. Educational attainment – outcomes on access to basic and higher level education
3. Political empowerment – outcomes on representation in decision-making structures
4. Health and survival – outcomes on life expectancy and sex ratio

Back to my info-
The good news: overall the world gap is on the decline. Hurray!
The bad news: The US slipped back from last year thanks to women earning less than their male counterparts and becoming even more under-represented politically. Internationally women are still seen as unequal to men and suffer the policies of those views (like infanticide, genital mutilation, poverty and oppression)

The report explains it much better than I do. Take a look. It's very viewer friendly with lots of easy graphs and stats. You can see it here

The Good Wife

I am happy to see Aaron, but I don't think I do anything else on this list. Rarely do I remember "his topics of conversation are more important than mine" or that I "have no right to question him." I am SO GRATEFUL for the feminist movement.

Sketch Swap

If you have some time to waste, (which you probably do since you are reading my blog) check out Sketch Swap at www.sketchswap.com. Like it sounds, you do a little drawing, submit it and you get someone else's drawing in return. It usually all happens in under a minute. The drawings range from bizarre, to funny, to anime, to ugly, to that-person-has-way-too-much-time. I find it mildly addicting. I get so excited to see what drawing my drawing gets back. Usually it's a disappointment but there are some real diamonds in the rough. And there is absolutely NO skill required to participate. I'm pretty sure a good number of the drawings I've received were created by the under ten crowd.

The Book of Job

The Book of Job is one of my greatest comforts.

Oh that my grief were throughly weighed and my calamity laid in the balances together!
For now it would be heavier than the sand of sea: therefore my words are swallowed up.
For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison wherof drinketh up my spirit.
Lo, He goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also but I perceive him not.
Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him What doest thou?
I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherfore thou contendest with me.
Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?
I would order my cause before him , and fill my mouth with arguments.
I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me.
Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me.

Then the Lord answered Job.

Apartment Therapy

I have developed a fairly obsessive crush on the website Apartment Therapy. It's all about how to design your own personal, functional space and it puts a special focus on smaller areas. There's an attitude of DIY and careful budgeting too which I appreciate. It's a great example of how rewarding quality instead of quantity can be. I can spend hours wandering through people's cool or crazy apartment photos. It makes me really look forward to living in a place I can paint the walls. I especially love the AT: Green section which offers great advise on green products and design. There's also AT: Kitchen, AT: Tech, and AT: Nursery. You can check it out here: www.apartmenttherapy.com and www.green.apartmenttherapy.com

You can also check out the book it all got started with "Apartment Therapy: The Eight-Step Home Cure"by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan which is a fun fast read. If you live around me I'm happy to lend it to you.

Damp, Drizzly November in My Soul

In the last few weeks I went from reading about six books to having only one or two I'm currently working on. I'm on the hunt for what to read next. Here are a few I've been tempted to pick up:

A Year Of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

War and Peace Leo Tolstoy

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Those have all been on my "To Read" list for a while and while I want to read them, I feel like I'm in the mood for something else. This time of year I really like books that take place in the wild. It's hard to explain why but I think it's a feeling akin to that described by Melville in Moby Dick:

Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off - then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can.

I for moral and practical reasons will not be slipping out to sea, as much as I would like to, so I would like a book that would offer a similar escape. Something survival oriented. Any suggestions? I might just re-read Watership Down or Into the Wild or some Jack London but I would prefer something new.

If you're curious, the books I finished recently were Anna Karenina, My Antonia, Confederates in the Attic, The Red Badge of Courage, the poem The Rhyme of The Ancient Mariner, Tennyson's Idylls of the King, Hamlet, and the play A New Coon in Town (Proud of me Brian? It only took me 3 months)

O Willa Cather!

Aaron was sweet enough to buy me "The Complete Works of Willa Cather" for my birthday in July. I have since been steadily working through the collection and it has been deeply satisfying. I've become so attached that my day doesn't feel complete without a chapter or two from one of her stories or novels. I've been impressed by how pivotal memory is in her characters' lives. Memory determines their purpose, provides their bearing, reveals their identity, and sometimes destroys them. It's made me think about what events in life I choose to remember and focus on. It also made me think about how good writing all seems to depend on memory and one's ability to recall the details of existence. It seems that reflection allows us to tease out the profound from the pedestrian events of our lives.