| Happy Halloween! Just back from retreat--so much fun & got a lot done. More to share later..  |
| a fun runner for a Halloween birthday girl! |
Monday, October 31, 2011
Trick or Treat!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Take Home Delights
Just had to leave a post for Friday, 'cause it's CSA day!
Well, the CSA season is drawing to a close--but once again, we're fans of the wonderful Friday collections!
It was still a good idea that we split a share with another family--that way we get a variety of goodness every other week. We did much better at using all our bounty--but it was still a challenge. So here is just a tiny sample of last week's take home...
Thursday, October 27, 2011
I Can't Wait!
aaahhhhh.....I have one more class to teach this morning and then...I'm off to my semi-annual Warm Beach retreat with all of the usual suspects!
It's like an addiction! The closer it gets to the departure time, the more anxious & agitated I become!
After all this time, it's still so much fuuuuuuuunn..........
The coordinator (bless her soul for doing this for us twice a year) asked my roomie Kate & me I if we might want to change roommates this fall. She did it quite tactfully--albeit a bit awkwardly. Kate & I just looked at each other & burst out laughing! We've become a couple of old crones--what would be do with a different room mate?!
It's like an addiction! The closer it gets to the departure time, the more anxious & agitated I become!
After all this time, it's still so much fuuuuuuuunn..........
 |
| this is the 'pack everything but the kitchen sink' retreat! |
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
I Can Read...
Shopping isn't one of my favorite tasks, but I do okay. Pretty good comparison shopper. Usually get a fairly good bang for my buck. Try to get out of my rut, at least sometimes.
One of my least pleasing parts of shopping, though, is getting home & unpacking groceries only to find that I missed a key part of a label.
Am I the only one that happens to?!
I do try to pay attention but a few seconds of letting my mind stray always seems to get me in trouble.
Current case in point as an example:
Now I'm a pretty good caffeine-fiend (after all, I live in Puget Sound...). We go through our fair share of coffee--and it's usually what ever is on sale; I'm no brand zealot. I just want my warm cup of 'tastes good' in the am. In summary, I'm in the coffee isle fairly frequently.
So am I the last to know that now there's something in between leaded & decaf? Now I have to worry about 'half', too? Criminy!
And what time of day, with what level of distraction, did I miss the centrally located, fairly obvious disclaimer? *sigh* So now I'm mixing in small amounts with the 'real' stuff in the coffee jar until the rouge pound is gone; can you hear me muttering? I'm sure this won't be my last example, but it likely won't be coffee next time...
One of my least pleasing parts of shopping, though, is getting home & unpacking groceries only to find that I missed a key part of a label.
Am I the only one that happens to?!
I do try to pay attention but a few seconds of letting my mind stray always seems to get me in trouble.
Current case in point as an example:
 |
| (the circle on the label is my addition... and sorry for poor focus; I haven't had my morning cup of Joe...) |
So am I the last to know that now there's something in between leaded & decaf? Now I have to worry about 'half', too? Criminy!
And what time of day, with what level of distraction, did I miss the centrally located, fairly obvious disclaimer? *sigh* So now I'm mixing in small amounts with the 'real' stuff in the coffee jar until the rouge pound is gone; can you hear me muttering? I'm sure this won't be my last example, but it likely won't be coffee next time...
Friday, October 21, 2011
Who's My Mother?
"What was that?!"
A look out the window revealed this poor visitor--on her feet but clearly dazed. It took a few minutes, but she finally flew off...I'm sure with her little heart going pit-a-pat just like mine!
We've had some interesting little flocks going through lately with the weather change--stripping off the berries, seeds or bugs of choice & then moving on. Hopefully she found her tribe...
Don't know what she is, though, do you? About the size of a big robin, with a great tail.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
Four...
Well... Untamed Threads is four years today & counting.
This is post number 300--funny how that worked out to such a tidy number (not a plan, I assure you!). Seems like it should be more, mostly when I think about all of the important things that go by in our lives that I never take time to address. But that's okay... some thoughts are best left unsaid, right?!
There have been 70 Wednesday on Whidbey posts so far--again, funny how that worked out to a tidy, round number. Are you tired of the island, yet?
I've had many visits from the 'usual suspects' & for that I say 'thank you for hanging in there with me'! There are also visitors from locations I can only dream of visiting--'thank you' to you, as well! Unless you're selling some modern day snake-oil, come back anytime... & leave me a comment now & then!
(it's not hard--and any suggestions are always welcome!)
Anyway, thanks for stopping by...lift a glass or sing a song: celebrate the day! It's a good as any other, right?!
(oh, and Snoopy happy-dances are always in order!!)
Cheers! 8-)
Saturday, October 15, 2011
23 Skidoo!
Have the greatest birthday, Dev!
Blow out the candles & may all the wishes come true--
including the ones from the Physics GRE fairy!
Here's to the next 365-day adventure,
Love you! XXOO
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Fall Formation
And oddly enough, not always in the same direction.
I think it's because we have sheltered waters both north & south of us. Maybe the girls (& guys, too!) check out all the options before they settle. Or maybe they're just going from party to party, checking out who else has shown up so far.
Can't really say I'm privy to their thoughts--even though I hear them 'chatting' all the time. I love that sound--I never get tired of it, even after all these years of being right below their conversations.
Too bad I'm not proficient at posting sounds along with the picture--you'll just have to use your imagination....
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
The (R) Beauty Pageant
It's been an interesting month so far... or should we say year?!
I think maybe we need Moody Blues playing in the background: "isn't life strange?"
The 2011 Value Voters Summit was this weekend (...and that's creepy enough!). Among other VVS events, Ron Paul won the straw poll vote. Then today the President of VVS goes on the air stating 'don't put too much stock in the poll outcome' (of his own group!); that it doesn't mean that much. (Excuse me?! Just 'cause you don't like the outcome?)
Straw polling (which really doesn't mean that much in the big picture) has had a variety of surprises so far in this Republican slog-fest. Herman Cain handily won the Republican straw poll vote in Florida the end of September with 37%--more than twice the showing of Perry (15%) & Romney (14%). Oh, oh, oh, & don't overlook Michelle B's 1.5%!! One of my favorite comments after-the-fact came from Larry Wilmore on a John Stewart show: "...it's kind of like a plot for a new porn flick: the pizza man shows up out of the blue and f----s ya!"
Meanwhile good ol' Herman has been caught in several remarkable sound bytes including: "there isn't really a race problem in this country anymore; the playing field's pretty level." But maybe what he meant was regardless of your color--the unemployment issue is a nonstarter--go get a job!
That round of comments surfaced in his disdain of the the Occupy Wall Street events across the country, calling protesters "jealous Americans who play the victim card and want to take somebody else's Cadillac."
I guess that seems tame, compared to Glen Beck's comments (...yes, he's still around on the radio....): "they will come for you & drag you into the streets & kill you...they're Marxist radicals...these guys are worse than Robespierre from the French Revolution...they'll kill everybody." Seriously?!
The possibly gentler versions came from Eric Cantor who is "increasingly concerned" about the "growing mobs" and Mitt Romney's description of 'class warfare' currently under way.
Whichever version du jour, it's very clear the party line now is to marginalize the OWS participants & invoke the fear-factor regarding the teachers and others self-described as the "99%" (vs. the 1% fostering the greed, corruption & corporate power). Although some police, fire, & other public employees have joined in solidarity, they should not be confused with the NYPD officers pepper-spraying and baton bashing people last week.
While Mitt's talking about the class warfare, the Values Voters speaker introducing Rick Perry this weekend said: "Rick Perry's a Christian. He's an evangelical Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ. Mitt Romney's a good moral person, but he's not a Christian. Mormonism is not Christianity. It has always been considered a cult by the mainstream of Christianity." Wow. Might be news to them. (Perry was quick to try distancing himself from the comment, but not too far distant, as this group is a solid core of his base...) That broad cult-brush must also include Huntsman, but he's not a contender they need to worry about right now.
Can you say: "anyone but Mitt?" That phenomenon has fostered other interesting news-bits: reporting that Gov. Christie might still be a contender--even after he resoundingly stated he's staying put in New Jersey, and then of course, Sarah Palin's belated announcement that she will not be running in 2012. That was after she coyly captured one last round of PAC donations based on her letter to followers reporting 'being on the verge of deciding'. It just seems so 'over' & over done: "I believe that at this time I can be more effective in a decisive role to help elect other true public servants to office--from the nation's governors to Congressional seats and the Presidency."
It all makes for fairly great entertainment--except there's a poorly disguised undercurrent that feels very sinister. Certainly desperate. And fear-mongering, in the face of the latest economic stall (can you say, stimulus money has been used up?!).
P.S. Ken Burn's 3-part Prohibition was well worth the time to watch--but then I'm a long-time fan. Always much to learn while being entertained...
I think maybe we need Moody Blues playing in the background: "isn't life strange?"
The 2011 Value Voters Summit was this weekend (...and that's creepy enough!). Among other VVS events, Ron Paul won the straw poll vote. Then today the President of VVS goes on the air stating 'don't put too much stock in the poll outcome' (of his own group!); that it doesn't mean that much. (Excuse me?! Just 'cause you don't like the outcome?)
Straw polling (which really doesn't mean that much in the big picture) has had a variety of surprises so far in this Republican slog-fest. Herman Cain handily won the Republican straw poll vote in Florida the end of September with 37%--more than twice the showing of Perry (15%) & Romney (14%). Oh, oh, oh, & don't overlook Michelle B's 1.5%!! One of my favorite comments after-the-fact came from Larry Wilmore on a John Stewart show: "...it's kind of like a plot for a new porn flick: the pizza man shows up out of the blue and f----s ya!"
Meanwhile good ol' Herman has been caught in several remarkable sound bytes including: "there isn't really a race problem in this country anymore; the playing field's pretty level." But maybe what he meant was regardless of your color--the unemployment issue is a nonstarter--go get a job!
I guess that seems tame, compared to Glen Beck's comments (...yes, he's still around on the radio....): "they will come for you & drag you into the streets & kill you...they're Marxist radicals...these guys are worse than Robespierre from the French Revolution...they'll kill everybody." Seriously?!
The possibly gentler versions came from Eric Cantor who is "increasingly concerned" about the "growing mobs" and Mitt Romney's description of 'class warfare' currently under way.
Whichever version du jour, it's very clear the party line now is to marginalize the OWS participants & invoke the fear-factor regarding the teachers and others self-described as the "99%" (vs. the 1% fostering the greed, corruption & corporate power). Although some police, fire, & other public employees have joined in solidarity, they should not be confused with the NYPD officers pepper-spraying and baton bashing people last week.
While Mitt's talking about the class warfare, the Values Voters speaker introducing Rick Perry this weekend said: "Rick Perry's a Christian. He's an evangelical Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ. Mitt Romney's a good moral person, but he's not a Christian. Mormonism is not Christianity. It has always been considered a cult by the mainstream of Christianity." Wow. Might be news to them. (Perry was quick to try distancing himself from the comment, but not too far distant, as this group is a solid core of his base...) That broad cult-brush must also include Huntsman, but he's not a contender they need to worry about right now.
Can you say: "anyone but Mitt?" That phenomenon has fostered other interesting news-bits: reporting that Gov. Christie might still be a contender--even after he resoundingly stated he's staying put in New Jersey, and then of course, Sarah Palin's belated announcement that she will not be running in 2012. That was after she coyly captured one last round of PAC donations based on her letter to followers reporting 'being on the verge of deciding'. It just seems so 'over' & over done: "I believe that at this time I can be more effective in a decisive role to help elect other true public servants to office--from the nation's governors to Congressional seats and the Presidency."
It all makes for fairly great entertainment--except there's a poorly disguised undercurrent that feels very sinister. Certainly desperate. And fear-mongering, in the face of the latest economic stall (can you say, stimulus money has been used up?!).
P.S. Ken Burn's 3-part Prohibition was well worth the time to watch--but then I'm a long-time fan. Always much to learn while being entertained...
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
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