Thanksgiving List

Well, as Thanksgiving approaches, I thought it would be appropriate to blog a list of things I am thankful for. So, here goes:

My nice family, Kev, Kev's nice family, Albert, all of my friends, my good house, my front porch with swing, the brief periods of sunshine over the weekend, that the sun is supposed to come out again Wednesday, coffee, my friend Damon is OK, critters of all kinds, PBS, KERA (esp Fresh Air and Diane Rehm and Glen Mitchell), freedom to blog, White Rock Lake, Central Market, the groove, the Christmas spirit, housepants, nice people who don't litter and do take good care of their pets, and ice cream, popcorn, pie and various other treats.

Thanksgiving is a good holiday because it is about food and fellowship instead of gifts. And now that I am a grown-up, I like more of the traditional food items, so I don't have to ask my mom to make extra different stuff or order pizza.

Not-so-fun fact: Domestic turkeys aren't very bright. Many of them die because they don't know how to eat when they are born. Also, they have been know to drown in the rain by looking up.

Little Hike on the Prairie

Prairie Growth

This morning, I got up at the crack of dawn to attend my first Sierra Club field trip. I met some others at the carpool location in Plano at 7:00am, and managed to get a ride with some people in a mini-van to our destination, the Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area. This is an area behind the dam at Lewisville Lake which is closed to the public, and good birds were promised. I've been interested in birds for over a year now, but this was my first guided excursion, so I was looking forward to having an expert there to point things out. I did end up seeing a few new birds for my list, but I didn't learn very much about them. And I think maybe I missed the excitement of figuring things out for myself. It seems to kinda lose something when someone else is solving the mystery for me. Anyway, here is what I saw today:

• Red-tail hawk
• American Kestrel
• Yellow-bellied sapsucker*
• Song sparrow*
• Turkey Vulture
• Ruby-crowned kinglet
• American goldfinch*
• Rock Wren*
• Savannah Sparrow*
• Shrike*
• LeConte's sparrow*
• Downy woodpecker
• Cedar waxwing
• Harrier hawk*

*indicates new bird for list.

I also saw coyote tracks (pictured above), and a family of bobcats, which was really the best part of the trip. And it was my first time to be in the official prairie I think. So that was cool.

Anyway, I was hoping that I might make some new friends, but I don't think it's going to be easy. For one thing, I am shy. And I don't really know if these are the friends I am looking for. They are all very nice, but all much older than me. And they are all VERY serious about birds. These are people who use the word "bird" as a verb without the slightest hint of self-consciousness. "First, we'll bird by the beaver pond, and later we'll be birding in the prairie." They all have high-powered binoculars and some even have telescopes that they carry around. I think they think I am a bird poser. That's OK though. I will still go on field trips sometimes. And I will still go to meetings. And I will still try to make some new friends. I think today my heart just wasn't in it. I am cranky.

Sideways Dog

Oops...I forgot to rotate this picture. Turn your head sideways, and you will see Albert, a good dog.

Oo-oh, who are the critters in your neighborhood...

Yesterday as I was going down a street around the corner from my house, there were some chickens. I was glad to have my camera. I live in the city, by the way. I showed this picture to one of my students. He said, "Yeah, that one would make a real nice meal." It was disappointing.

Hank vs Garth

Last night I watched part of a show on CMT called The 100 Greatest County Songs of all Time. This was a very bad show with annoying hosts (Keith Urban, Austrailan Country Guy, and Kimberly-Williams-Paisley, spare actress married to lame country guy). But I thought I'd get to see some good footage of cool singers doing cool songs. Anyway, I can't really say too much because I didn't see the whole list, but I did see numbers 50 through 12, and I'll tell you this is a bogus list. First of all, in the two plus hours I invested in this thing, there was no mention of the great Buck Owens. Also, the very best country song of all time, I'm so Lonesome I could Cry by Hank Sr. came in at #29! And some of the songs that were "better" were " I Hope you Dance," " Amarillo by Morning," and the Dixie Chicks hit that I can't remember plus some other really bad stuff. I am now going to vow in public that I will never watch a list show again. I think I'll make my own lists from now on.

Wet Wednesday

Every day it rains and rains. Is this what it's like to live in Seattle? My hair cannot handle all the humidity, especially the silver ones which like to strike out on their own and call attention to themselves by distancing from the other hairs. There is one in the front that likes to stand up like a little antennae every day. I think I will name it "Marvin." Speaking of naming things, I have been receiving some good ideas for my sock monkey, so thanks to those who participated.
Saw an interesting "Frontline" about Wal-Mart last night. This country has problems.

Lazy Russian Horses Show Volunteer Reader Participation Activity courtesy of Carl Pope:
Immediate Action Needed: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Under Attack.The Bush Administration is pushing hard again to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil development. The Sierra Club is urging members and supporters to sign a petition to Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader-elect, urging him to rally opposition to the Bush Energy Plan and any proposal to allow development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

If that link doesn't work, try

www.sierraclub.org/petition/arctic/

Yesterday I got a letter from a congressman about landfills and it was really signed! So, some of them really do pay attention I think.

In spite of last night's defeat, I like what I'm seeing from the Mavericks. I wish Mark Cuban would be more behind-the-scenes though. He is a creepy guy.

Fun Fact: George Jones' nickname is Possom.

Updated Monkey

Here is a more recent photo of my one-eyed un-named sock monkey.

La Tour avec un Chapeau au Paris, Texas

I was told my blog needed more pictures. Here is the Eiffel Tower, Texas-style. I talked to Whitney today, but she couldn't remember the name of the good barbeque place across from the McDonald's in Paris either.

Please Help Me Name My Monkey

This is a picture of my sock monkey. He isn't quite finished. He now actually has one eye, but this picture was taken before I stitched it on. Anyway, he is going to need a name. Please submit your ideas via "Comments." No swear-words or obscenities please.

Train people

Today as I was riding the Dart Train, I realized how much I miss regularly riding the Dart Train. It is an interesting thing to do, and I recommend it if you have time on your hands. First of all, there are all kinds of people to watch. Most people sleep, but a few make better use of their time, like the lady today who tweezed hair after hair from her upper lip, or the man behind her who was rolling his own cigarettes. Also, you can learn stuff by reading the train marquee. Today I learned that HBO started with only 350 households in Wilkes-Barre, PA. And I learned that I can improve my life by attending DeVry. There is also good advice for you if you are pregnant, have diabetes, or have a torn earlobe in need of repair. In addition, if you are feeling blue and need a pick-me-up, there is the "Get Happy" advice of the day. Past examples I have seen are: "Don't just sit on your couch, go out and enjoy the sun," "Read a great book. It will put you in a good mood," "After it rains and there is a rainbow, everything is brighter," and "Write someone a nice letter. It will cheer them up, and put a smile on your face." One time, I was waiting for the train on a hot hot day, when a lady came up and told me to beware because there was witchcraft all around. "You've got it on your shoes," she said to me. Another time a lady sat by me who smelled like balogna. Once, when I got off the train, some police officers had rounded up and hand-cuffed a group of gangstas who were all wearing big character slippers (i.e. Homer Simpson, Spongebob). So, you see, you never know what adventures you might have on the Dart Train.

Fiesta de los Perros

I LOVE Sunday. It is one o'clock in the afternoon, and I am sitting here with my nice cup of Vanilla Decaf Hot Chai Tea, wearing my pajamas, with no commitments whatsoever, blogging. Earlier, our daily walk took us to Benny's bagels for breakfast and the Sunday paper. This is the life.

Yesterday was Topsy's birthday party, and what a production! Ron invited all of his (or Topsy's) friends from the dog park, and in the early afternoon, they all began to gather in his back yard. There was Spike, Junior, Woody, Yogi, Yoda, Draper, Emma, Suzy, Leo, and Mr. Wiggles, just to name a few of the guests. Oh, there were also some people. Kev and I were the only dog-less couple there, so it was a little awkward, but we enjoyed watching the other people's dogs run and fight and play, and they also did a few kinda gross things I won't mention. ( We here at the LRHS like to keep things rated G). And as promised, there were tamales from a place called Luna, which were really good. Ron gave us some of the left-overs. I put them in the freezer, because I have found that tamales are the kind of food you can't go around eating every day. Anyway, back to the dogs. Here's the thing. They were all really cute dogs, but I gotta say, most of them didn't appear to be very bright. I think this may be due to in-breeding. The smartest one there I think was Mr. Wiggles, and he is a mutt. There were some (3) bull-dogs, who were very cute, but had terrible manners and a great deal of difficulty breathing. I once knew a bull dog that belonged to my brother's friend David. My brother was dog-sitting one time, and I went with him to David's apartment. Upon arrival, I was shocked to see the nearly unrecognizable remains of David's couch and a lot of other damage. I don't think I would like to have a bull dog. But, the party was fun, and I'm glad we have a nice neighbor like GNR.

Last night we went to the Son's of Hermann Hall to see what's left of Cowboys and Indians, but that's a story for another day. I'm gonna go sit on my couch and do nothing now. Because it's Sunday.

Saturday Morning Shorts

• If you want to see a good movie and don't mind some swear-words and nakeds, go to see Sideways. It is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. If you are particularly beaten-down, it might make you feel better about your life, even.
• I was thinking maybe consumers should get together and stop paying movie theater prices for snacks. They suck you in with the popcorn smell. It isn't right.
• If you want a good meal, try Mai's Vietnamese restaurant at Bryan and Fitzhugh. The food is great and cheap, and the people who work there are very nice.
• If you don't have recycling in your neighborhood, you can take your newspapers to the SPCA or other shelters to be shredded and used in the crates for the pets.
• I wish Samurai Jack would come back to Cartoon Network.
• I recently got a mail-order catalog where you can order a life-size giraffe for your yard. Is there really a market for that? The same catalog also had velvet cloaks. They weren't trying to be funny.
• I am worried about Pancho. He hasn't been around lately.

Dogs

Yesterday I went to the Downtown SPCA to get a birthday gift for Topsy, Good Neighbor Ron's dog. If any of you out there want a good dog, go to the SPCA. They have some really good ones. There are good puppies, and good older dogs too. At the end of the big dog row, there is a GREAT dog named Trixie who really needs a nice new home because she was abandoned by her owners and is scared at the SPCA. She was shaking like a leaf, but calmed down a lot after I petted her for a while. She is two years old, and already trained. She is really gentle and sweet and I think if you met her you would want to take her home as much as I did! Plus they have cats and rabbits. Even if you don't want a new pet, the SPCA is a good place to visit because the dogs and cats and rabbits really really like having visitors.

Tomorrow is the Dog party next door. I found out there are going to be lots of dogs there, and I wonder what GNR is going to do if it rains. There will also be tamales.

Anonymous

I would like to kick a special shout out to the people who read my block and never comment. I know who you are.

Open Letter to a Jack-Ass

Dear Man-in-the-giant-blue-SUV,

I just want to thank you for setting me straight tonight when you laid on your horn for several minutes behind me in the completely stopped traffic. I'm sure the six or seven other drivers in front of me appreciated it too! I don't know what we were thinking, having the audacity to follow traffic rules and exercise caution when entering the Service Road to 75 into fast-moving on-coming cars during rush hour tonight. It was inconsiderate of us to make you late for meeting your crack dealer or whatever it was you were in such a hurry to do. I know it must have been much more important than anything the rest of us were on our way to do. It was very silly of me to think maybe my car was on fire or that I was about to be car-jacked when I heard you honking and honking for no apparent reason. Why, important people like you don't have time to warn other drivers of impending danger! I should have realized you were only trying to encourage us to pull on out into traffic without a care in the world. If you ever catch me being such a rude driver again, please feel free to go ahead and ram my car from behind a few times. That'll teach me!

Sincerely,
The Blue Buick

Sad bird news

Well, two whooping cranes in Kansas have been shot, according to CNN.com. It is very extra sad considering there are only about 500 whooping cranes in all. These cranes were shot by hunters who claim to have thought they were actually sand-hill cranes, which begs the question, why would anyone want to shoot sand-hill cranes? Evidently, it was opening day of "goose and sand-hill crane season" in Kansas. Do people eat cranes? Why do we need to hunt them? This news was upsetting, and I was so distracted by it this morning that I almost poured coffee in my cereal bowl. People often ask me why I care so much about things like whooping cranes and polar bears. I just think it is a shame that animals are going extinct, not because of any kind of natural process, but because of humans coming along and screwing up their world. The thing is, we're not only screwing things up for the animals, but for ourselves too. Eventually the damage will be irreversible. Make fun of me if you want to, I don't care.

Dinner with the Activists

After some initial panic because I couldn't find the right building, I made it to the Sierra Club meeting. I got there just before the program was about to start, and I was greeted by several people with welcomes and smiles and handshakes. I immediately got invited to a birdwatching day trip next weekend, and a clean-up-the-lake project on Saturday. The program this month was a slide show of a trip to Wyoming in the Big Sandy area. There was some pretty spectacular scenery and moose and snow (in August!) and mountains and streams and lakes. After the meeting, I was invited to go for pizza and socializing at Pappas Pizza, so I thought, why the heck not. The food was bad, but the people were nice to me and they were very squippie and interested in birds. Some of them were a little over-whelming with political agenda talk, but that was OK. I think if I keep going to meetings, I will learn something and be able to help. They have a program where you can volunteer to take inner-city kids on day-hikes and camping trips. I think that is right up my alley, so I am going to check into getting involved with that. If anyone is interested, the Sierra club has web sites (national and local) which you can google to find.

Nerves

Tonight I am going to my first Sierra Club meeting. I am nervous. I don't like situations where I have no idea what to expect. I don't know if there will be 10 people there, or 200 people. I don't know if anyone will welcome me or talk to me. Oh dear, I hope I don't have to stand up and introduce myself! It sucks to have low self-esteem. Because of my job, I am going to be late getting there, so I hope I don't make a big spectacle of myself by coming in late. It's just like the first day at a new school. Ugh.

But in spite of nerves, I am excited about going to the meeting. I hope they assign me to writing some letters to senators. I recently wrote to a senator about landfills, and he wrote back! It was cool to get mail from a senator, even if it was a fill in the blank type form letter with a rubber-stamp signature. "Thanks for your letter, Tara H., I share your concerns about, landfills."

By the way, in case anyone was wondering, the mushroom lasagna was pretty good. Groove on!

Dog Peace

Frankly, I'm a little stressed out. I am trying hard to be calm, but things are somewhat difficult right now and I'm feeling it. I worry about jobs and money and my friends and the state of the world and the plight of the polar bear and other creatures and it just gets to me sometimes.

So I was working at my parents' house today and feeling all stressed, so I got Albert and went outside. I sat down on the swing and got the dog brush and Albert came over because he loves the dog brush. And suddenly, I was concentrating on the repetative motion of brushing Albert, and the cool breeze, and the singing birds and Albert's happy dog face and it was like BAM! Instant serenity.

Maybe this will be helpful to you if you are stressed and have a pet and a swing.

Oh dear.

If global warming continues at the current rate, it is projected that polar bears will be gone by the year 2100. That makes me very very sad. The scientists have been warning people for decades, but nobody listens to the scientists. I have a theory that maybe if scientists didn't have such crazy scientist hair, people might take them more seriously. All the scientists on PBS and Discovery Chan. have wild sticking-up hair. Anyway, tomorrow I am going to my first Sierra Club meeting. Maybe they can tell me how to help the polar bears, and maybe the guillemots too, while I'm at it. Come to think of it, my hair isn't exactly tame. Especially the new silver hairs that are coming in at an alarming rate. I wonder if that's why nobody takes me seriously. Hmm...

Ho Ho Ho Hum

On Saturday, I was driving over to meet Julie for our trip to Paris Texas. On the way, I was flipping through radio stations, and landed on Sunny 97.1, which was playing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Mind you, it was November 6. And it was a warm sunny day. So, there I am in my car, AC blasting, listening to a Christmas song. I still have Halloween candy ! So I thought, maybe they punched the wrong button or something, and I stuck around for the next song. "Chestnusts roasting on an open..." WHAT?! It wasn't a fluke. Sunny 97.1 is playing all Christmas, all the time. Already. Dangit. They used to wait until at least Thanksgiving. No wonder people are against Christmas. It gets shoved down our throats for 2 solid months! I love the holiday season, but I am not sure it really needs to start just yet. So, watch out for Sunny 97.1 if you want to still like Christmas by December.

Our trip to Paris was fun. I got to see Whitney and Bob, and their cute girls and good dogs. Paris Texas has a fake Eiffel Tower with a big red cowboy hat on top. I will post a picture of it if I can figure out how to change a portrait-oriented photo to landscape. The drive up was pretty, with lots of hawks and farm animals to see along the way. We had good barbecue there, but I have forgotten the name of the restaurant. It is on the main loop across from the McDonalds. The service was excellent. I recommend the smoked turkey sandwich. Paris Texas does not have a Target, but it does have a town square.

The Simpsons Halloween show was pretty bad this year. I think maybe the Simpsons should probably stop.

Tonight's meal is Portobello Mushroom Lasagna, which I made this morning before I came to work. I hope it is good, and can help repair the groove damage from the chicken incident of last week.

The PPHPHB is in full swing again, and have almost finished the follow-up to Otra Parte.

Good Neighbor Ron is having a birthday party for his Boston Terrier, Topsy, this weekend. Topsy will be 42. There should be some good dogs there and I am looking forward to it.

No fun fact today. That's all for now.

Free Will, Man

The famous Rush band once said, "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice." And they are Canadian. So maybe I should move to Canada, where it's OK to opt out of "doing the deed" if there is no way to do the deed and feel OK about it.
I do not like what this election is doing to people, which is why after today there will be no more election talk on the Lazy Russian Horses Show.
My brother actually got HATE-mail from a (supposed) good friend because he opined about the election, and I am getting slammed on other blogs about not voting. Ugh. No more.

On with other things:

Yesterday I had the blues because I think my groove is waning based on a kitchen disaster from the night before involving chicken and parmesan cheese. So in an attempt to cheer me up, Kev suggested going to the lake for a stroll. This was a great idea as the weather was perfect. The usual suspects were there: grackles, starlings, coots, great egrets, mallards, double-crested cormorants. But I added two new birds to my list because there were also ring-billed gulls and a kingfisher. It was exciting. There were also lots of turtles sun-bathing on logs, cool spider webs, and a guy flying a remote-control helicopter which is something you don't see every day. It cheered me up. Then we went to see "Ray" at the studio movie grill. Very good movie with excellent music of course. Jamie Fox was pretty remarkable.

Today I am driving up to Paris Texas with my friend Julie to visit our friend Whitney who just moved back from Tennessee. I have never been to Paris Texas, nor have I seen the movie. It should be fun. I hope the topic of politics doesn't come up.

I am going to go make some French toast now. Have a good weekend!

Whoa Trigger!

Well, the election is over, and of course I have concerns. I would have had concerns, albeit different concerns, had it gone the other way. But now the choice has been made, and all of us have to live with it. That doesn't mean we have to live with it silently and do nothing about our concerns. There are things to do, and we are not helpless.

I am pretty sure that moving to Canada is not the solution, although that seems to be the knee-jerk solution of many Americans, according to CNN. Now, I like Cananda. It was on my FOR list a couple of blogs ago. I have even gone so far as to wonder aloud what it would be like to live there, as it seems like a nice safe place where one doesn't have to worry about earthquakes, tornadoes, terrorist attacks, and Texas summer heat. Plus it has moose and eagles and snow. All things I really like. But think about it. Many of the things that cause concern regarding the Bush administration policies are going to affect the whole world, including Canada, so isn't it better to stay here and try to do something about it? I don't know, maybe I'm wrong and we're doomed. But I don't think so.

I am only one person, and I have to accept that I can't change the world, but here are some things I am going to do to at least be proactive. From experience, I know that idle bitterness never really gets me anywhere.

• Learn about Islam and the Middle East
• Pick up trash at the lake and in my neighborhood
• model tolerence to those around me
• go to sierra club meetings and become active in some way
• save up for a hybrid car
• think about education reform possibilities to propose to important people
• try to represent positive American qualities when I am abroad
• and maybe write some protest songs

It's not much, huh? But maybe I can do just a little bit of good and feel better about things. Otherwise, I am just troubled all the time. And it sucks to be troubled all the time.

I'd like to end by kicking a shout out to my friend Jamie McLeod who just won a seat on the City Council in Santa Clara, California. Congratulations, Jamie! Do some good stuff for people!

Important Note

The lists in the previous blog are not in any particular order.

And I know I typo-ed "election" in the first line.

And I forgot to put "mean bad people, aka 'turkeys' " on my AGAINST list.

Election Day Fun!

Today is elecion day, and I elected not to vote. The reason I did not vote is that I could not decide for whom to cast my ballot. Neither choice was really doing anything for me. As much as I disagree with many Bush Administration policies, Kerry wasn't offering me much, and I got a sort of sleezy vibe from him. So, there you go. Perhaps that makes me a bad citizen, but I honestly couldn't make a choice.

I thought I'd have some fun and kill some time by making lists of things I am FOR and things I am AGAINST on this day of voting. These are opinions and I am entitled to them. If you don't like opinions, you can stop reading now, but come back tomorrow for some more stuff about birds and whatnot!

I am FOR: birds, dogs, penguins, owls, whales, opossums, snails, and all animals, garlic, mushrooms, Macaroni Grill, chocolate food, ice-skating, cruises, Jamaica, house-bands, England, Michael Owen, the Dalai Lama, Jesus, Mr Rogers, Japanese maples and other trees, the Old 97's, Nero's Italian restaurant, Christmas, sleep, Target, housepants, sock monkeys, the Artic Wildlife Area, the Galapagos Islands, Alaska, Canada, John Wesley Harding, Elvis Costello, LarryFeathers, blogging, mountains, snow, Steve Martin, roller skates, fun, the Dallas Mavericks, the NY Jets uniforms, orange, green, coffee, Central Market, White Rock Lake, Kev, the Haitian people, and some other stuff.

I am AGAINST: speeding, cell phones in cars and restaurants and movie theaters, littering, smoking in public places, roaches, wind, mustard, pickles, drilling for oil in protected areas, cutting down trees in National Forests, over-testing children, sweetbreads, Elizabeth Newman's agenda, the death penalty, animal cruelty, sand, telemarketing, liars, and more.

Lazy Russian Horses Show Poll of the day:
How many of you have ever heard of "Pliney the Elder?"

Snowy 

Kerry 

Nostalgia Double Whammy

Ten years ago, I was 26 years old and living on Winton Street in a house I shared with my good friends Ken and Bryce, and our iguana, Chili. I was just starting grad school, and I had various jobs: one at the map store in the mall, and one at a neighborhood elementary school teaching small Mexican children to read (this was my absolute favorite of all the jobs I've ever had, by the way). Bryce was working for a big department store, in charge of "visual." And Ken was in a band called the Old 97's, whose first CD was just coming out. These were intersting times.
I remember going to watch "'Ken's band" at places that aren't there anymore, like Chumley's, when there were about 8 people in the crowd, and 6 of them were playing pool. Then at Naomi's where the audience started to grow. It was exciting when the CD came out, and there was lots of action at our house. There were always people coming over late at night. There were after-the-gig parties at our house with Ken making breakfast tacos at 3 in the morning. One time, I even threw somebody out (which is a shocking thing if you know me). I think it was because it was 4am and this dude was rooting around our fridge yelling at me because we didn't have any onions or something. It wasn't always an easy tension-free living situation, but I can definitely say I learned from the experience.
So, last night I went to the Granada to see the Old 97s play a special 10th-anniversary-of-the-first-CD show. They played Hitchike to Rhome in its entirety, and it was GREAT. I haven't heard them do many of those songs live in a very long time, but it almost felt like no time had passed since the Chumley's days. A lot of time HAS passed though, and a lot has changed. The big difference is that now most of us from the early days are married, a lot of us have kids, and we have a harder time staying up so late these days; and now there are hundreds of screaming fans singing all the words to all the songs. I can't tell you how weird it is to hear people sqeal at the mention of Ken's name. To me, Ken is just a dude who cleans the lizard cage with the soup ladle and plays video games all day and is a good friend that I could probably count on to bail me out of jail if I happened to ever end up there.
Anyway, Congratulations to the Old 97's on their anniversary and for all their success. The show was lots of fun last night, and it made me very sad-happy.
On top of all that, the Granada is also where I spent a great deal of my very most favorite day ever, as Kev and I had our wedding reception there. Last night was the first time I'd been in there since the wedding, and it brought back many memories of the day I felt like the big rock star, with all the attention and cameras and action. We didn't quite pack 'em in like the Old 97's, but everyone seemed to have a pretty good time. And I got to start being married to Kev that day.
So, last night I had double sad-happy nostalgia. It was nice.

Watching the Moon

Last night when I got home from work, the moon was beginning to eclipse. Kev and I got some chairs and sat in the drive-way and watched until the moon was completely in the shadow of the earth. It was cool. The moon was all red. Some of our neighbors came outside to watch it too. It was very quiet and peaceful, and for a while, it almost felt like all was OK in the world. I would have liked to sit there in the drive-way all night long feeling calm and safe and happy.

Apparently, Alvin has been spreading the word to the other snails that our porch is the place to go for a quality dining experience. We had two of his friends on the porch last night, and not wanting to disappoint, I brought them each a big leaf of lettuce, which they got to devouring right away. All of the lettuce and the snails were gone this morning, but I bet they'll be back.

These two events, the snails and eclipse, made for an exciting evening, and I said so. To which Kev replied, "If by exciting, you mean slow, then yeah." Well. Better than TV anyway, I think. And not as hard on the thumbs as playing Atari.

My home-made mushroom soup turned out really good. Kev ate three bowls of it, and afterward said, "Well, that was fabulous." He might as well have given me two thousand dollars and said "go buy some shoes and pants," it made me so happy. If anyone wants to make their own mushroom soup, the recipe is on foodtv.com, and is one of Emeril's soup recipes. We'll be having the left-overs tonight.

Today I saw a Lime-Away commercial. I think that's funny.

I hope you all got to see the eclipse.

I'll end with a fun fact: Michael Keaton used to work on the set of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, and often played practical jokes on Mr. Rogers during the taping of the show.

Separated at Birth?

John Kerry and TV Christmas Favorite, the Snow Miser.

This is not a political statement. I just think they look alike.

By the way, Great News! My rash is almost gone, never having assumed the tell-tale bull's-eye pattern associated with Lyme Disease! Looks like I'm in the clear. And for the record, I never said I had arthritis, and I didn't even know what gout was until a few weeks ago when Bobby Hill had it from too much deli food. But thanks for commenting!

Today's good mood blog is sponsored by the home-made cream of mushroom soup and corn fritters I am going to have for dinner in a couple of hours, and by the time I spent today with Albert the Dog.

Lyme-Away!

Well, I am thus far not too terribly happy with the way my day is going. This is unfortunate and unexpected, as I had a great weekend. Yesterday after church, Kev and I went to breakfast at Ziziki's in Travis Walk. They have a fabulous breakfast buffet of interesting foods beyond your typical sausages and eggs and whatnot. They have awesome mushrooms, lots of feta cheese, some kind of tasty spinach/phyllo things, and more. We sat in their lovely courtyard which has lots of vines and a fountain. It was nice.
After breakfast, we went home and I spent most of the day on the couch making a sock monkey from a kit that Kev gave me for my birthday. It isn't finished, but you can bet I'll post its picture when it is!
So, everything appeared to be going well.
This morning, I got up, and took my walk as usual, and was looking forward to my weekly visit to Central Market. But as I was about to get in the shower, I noticed that the insect bite I had gotten the day before was developing a rash around it. We looked up spider bite rashes on the internet, and after searching and googling around a bit, I have decided that either I have a very harmless weird spider bite, or I have Lyme disease. Well, it's hard to have a good day and keep a positive outlook when you may have Lyme Disease. I decided to see how it looks tomorrow before I call the doctor. I don't think my insurance will pay for me to go in there and have a doctor tell me I have a harmless weird spider bite.
So I went to Central Market and figured this would cheer me up, but today for some reason they were playing Sting and smooth jazz instead of the usual Stan Getz and Sarah Vaughn and such. And they were also out of mushrooms, which is unheard of. "We're waiting for the truck." This would not be a big deal, except that mushroom soup plays a predominant role in my meal plan for the week.
At least they weren't out of coffee, and they had pecan diamond samples at the pastry counter.
Now I am at work, and one of my kids no-showed, so I have been working on my sock monkey's tail and ears. I feel better.
So here is my advise to you:
If you are having a bad Monday and you think you might have Lyme Disease, stuff a sock monkey tail and maybe everything else will work out OK.

Donde esta los banos? 

Pumpkins on Parade

This afternoon, Kev and I went to the annual pumpkin carving party. This year, it was hosted by our friends Rob and Michelle. It was fun, as usual, and we got to see people that we like a lot, but don't get to see very often. This year, there were lots of kids running around, and most of them didn't seem the least bit interested in the carving of the pumpkins which was all being done by the grown-ups. Maybe kids today think such things are boring compared to video games, so they don't have the attention span for the intricate art of pumpkin carving. Or maybe they were distracted by all the fun things to climb on in Rob and Michelle's back yard. I loved pumpkin carving time when I was a kid. My dad always did the generic triangle eyes and nose, and zig-zaggy mouth, but it was great.
This party has been an annual event for several years now. My past pumpkins have included Charlie Brown, Bert from Sesame Street, my cat Archie, Paul Stanley from KISS, and a couple of generic faces with triangle eyes and noses and zig-zaggy mouths. This year, Kev and I decided to do the ladies' and men's restroom symbols. Kinda dorky, but they turned out good. They'll never last until Halloween though. They'll be rotten in no time and go straight to the compost pile, where maybe Pancho the back yard 'Possum will discover them and have a delightful meal.
Rob and Michelle are funny because they have a Bush/Cheney AND a Kerry/Edwards sign in their yard. And I am sure they are just the sort of good citizens who will recycle those signs after the election.
Tomorrow, I have roasted pumpkin seeds to look forward to!

Hey Pancho!

This is Pancho, our back yard 'possum. Every night he tries to get under our house by scratching at the aluminum panel by our foundation. Kev keeps chasing him away, but he always comes back. He is very feisty, and even hissed at Kev. I am not allowed to feed him, but I really want to. I worry about the wildlife in our yard. We would like to find someone who will come to get him and release him into the woods over by the lake, but I am afraid if we call someone, they will exterminate him.

Opossums are marsupials, in fact the only marsupials in North America! They have pouches, like kangaroos. They are mostly nocturnal, and they come out at night to look for fruit, insects, and carrion. They have sharp teeth and claws, and are excellent climbers.

I am also happy to report the discovery of a few Ruby-Crowned Kinglets in our back garden. This was a new bird for my list, which is always cause for a little excitement in the world of Tara. I am hoping they will stay for the winter. They are very small and figity, and very cute.

I thought of another famous Squippie you may know: former President Jimmy Carter. He is a nice good man who cares about people and the world.

Enjoy your weekend...maybe you'll see some wildlife in your own yard if you pay attention for a few minutes!

Rated "N" for negativity.

I would like to apologize in advance, but I need to rant.

This morning, I didn't really enjoy my walk. Partly because it is once again soupy outside. What happened to fall? It is a real drag to sweat on an October morning. Plus there was trash everywhere. Mostly of the fast food container/wrapper variety. Why can't people hang on the their crap and throw it away when they get home? Is it because they don't want their cars to smell of fast food? I've got news for you: It's going to smell anyway from eating greasy old fries in your car, chief! Stop making my neigborhood your personal dumpster. Plus I am sick of looking at all the political signs that are uglying up all the yards. Some of these signs are HUGE. One house had at least 10 signs in front. What is the point? Do you think I am going to decide who to vote for based on your sign? Hmmm, I think I'll vote for FROST. My neighbors seem to think he/she is OK. Man, oh man. I think people just like to advertise their political leanings. Hey, look at me, I'm a Democrat/Republican/Communist! I have been told that some of these signs are for the sake of name recognition, so when people go to the polls, and there are a bunch of people running for judge, they'll pick someone whose name is familiar. This may work for small local elections, although maybe this is a sign that voters are very uninformed, but then why all the Bush and Kerry signs? If you are picking a president because you saw his name on a sign, then we have serious problems. And what happens to all these signs after the election? I'll bet they don't get recycled. Straight to a landfill is my guess. What an incredible waste and an eye-sore at that. Anyway. maybe one of you out there know of a worthwhile reason for all the signs. If so, I am willing to listen to it. Lay it on me, man.
Then, I came over here to my parents house to work, and was greeted with, "Did you know that a vote for Kerry is a vote for partial-birth abortions?" (Deep, heavy sigh). I am so freaking sick and tired of election. My parents, who by the way have no idea who I would vote for, think I am the evil because I don't think GWB is the greatest guy since Jesus. And there is no point trying to have a rational discussion with them about the pros and cons of BOTH candidates. They won't hear a word of it. It's so frustrating. I heard my mom after I left the room say,"Why does she care so much about the environment" and then something about 'liberals" and then "but when it's your own daughter..." and then I heard my dad say," she'll see the error of her ways" or something like that. (My dad is a low-talker...hard to hear). UGH. Two more weeks of this, and then the aftermath, which will either be gloating or constant lamenting about how the end of the world is nigh upon us, depending on the outcome.

Yesterday I was really down, because I came to the conclusion that I am medium. I am sorta OK at lots of things, like cooking, and music, and my job, etc, but I'm not really good at anything. It was a depressing realization. Kev said I am not a medium wife, and I have to admit it made me feel better even though he HAS to say stuff like that. Then I made a really good dinner and felt even better. And we finished our salsa song and it sounds really good, especially thanks to Mixmaster K, so things aren't all bad. But it's been a tough couple of days.

I am NOT going to let any of this affect my groove. And I promise a more positive blog next time around. Thanks for listening.

An open letter to the youth of America

For the love of God, won't you PLEASE pull up your pants?

A Very HousePants Weekend

The band has been in full swing this weekend, as Christmas is approaching and our sophomore effort is as of yet incomplete. We'd like to have at least 7 or 8 songs on this one, but so far we only have five. It's been a busy year. But this weekend we have been working on a song that we might just finish this afternoon if all goes well. It is a sort of Santana-like salsa song with a little bit of Chris Isaak thrown in and a flute part that is reminiscent of Eric-Burden-Spill-the-Wine. It has been fun to record, and there has been very little fighting amongst the band. My parts are bongos, guiro, Jamaican shaker, tambourine, cowbell, and tin whistle (if I can pull it off). Kev is doing piano, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, slide guitar, and mandolin, and maybe the samba whistle he got for Christmas last year. The working song title is "otre parte" named after a bar on Ross Avenue, but that could change. It's possible that our neighbors hate us. But we are having fun.

We have definitely one and possibly two opossums living in our back yard, or at least hanging out there at night. The other night our back door flew open in the middle of the night (even though it was locked!), and after I got up to close it, I couldn't go back to sleep, so I came up with lots of theories about doors that open mysteriously in the night. Kev sat up when it happened, but didn't remember it the next morning. So at this point, I could blog about my alien theory, but I was told that people probably already think I am weird for having a snail for a friend, etc., and should maybe not blog about alien theories. Sorry! Anyway, I don't think it was the opossums that opened the door.

Also this weekend, I ambitiously cooked spaghetti and meatballs with toasted goat cheese rounds and a spinach salad with strawberries and pecans. I give the whole meal a B. My sauce was missing something. But it was fun anyway having a nice meal. After dinner we sat on the porch and were visited by a twig boy hippie with a petition about landfills. He was very happy, but melancholy about the landfills, and he clearly hadn't bathed for a while (disqualifying him from being a squippie). We signed his petition. I worry about landfills too. But I am clean while I do it.

Today on our walk, I saw chickadees, mockingbirds, sparrows, blue jays, and a red-bellied woodpecker, and some of the good neighood dogs. This is the best time of the year. I hope you have all been able to spend some time outside.

I will close with a fun fact:
The flesh-like thingy that hangs from a turkey's neck is called a "snood."

Far out, man.

Kev has decided that I am a squippie. This means that, like the hippies, I am for peace and the earth and animals and being nice to everybody and stuff, but that I am a square because i am not into the "free love" and the "drugs." I also "bathe regularly." (Remember that Chris Farley character that always made the quotation marks hand signal? That was funny). So anyway I am a Square Hippie, or Squippie. Some famous squippies you may know are Mister Rogers and the Dali Lama. I would say that's pretty good company to be in, so I am proud to be a squippie.
Kev says that one sign of being a squippie is having a snail for a friend. I also belong to KERA, Audubon Dallas, and the Sierra Club. I am a bird-watcher. I love dogs and mountains. I do yoga. I hate it when people speed or break traffic rules. I think smoking is horrible and littering is even worse. I really get going when somebody litters a cigarette butt!
I don't mind being a square. I spent a lot of time before trying to be cool, and it just wasn't my thing. I am much happier this way.
If any of you are squippies, you might be interested to know that I am thinking of making t-shirts with the squippie logo, which is a peace symbol, only instead of a circle, it's - you guessed it! - a square. Let me know if you want one.

PS. I do like Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, CSN&Y, etc.

Random Monday Blog (With Funfacts!)

I had a good weekend. On Friday, we had Jamaica night at my house, complete with Jerk Chicken and fried plantains, which Kev improved with some Foster Sauce. Flambe-ing things is always good for a little excitement. On Saturday, the PPHPhouseband spent the morning working on some new stuff. I am totally into the band these days, so I hope we can take advantage and record some stuff. When I am not in my groove, I can't contribute much, which is usually OK because Kev does most of the work. But I think it's more fun when we both participate. We could really use a trumpet if anyone knows a good player out there. Sunday we went to the State Fair. Oh, how I love the State Fair! My favorite things are the Kroger Birds of the World Show, the Ferris wheel, and my annual corny dog. The bird show was great as usual. We got to see some really cool owls this year.
Fun Fact: The Peregrine Falcon is the fastest living thing, and can reach speeds of up to 200mph in a dive.
Also, this year there is a great WWII exhibit at the Hall of State. It is really interesting, and I recommend seeing it if you go to the fair. My only complaint is that there is too much to read in the exhibit, which requires a great deal of time. But if you don't have time to read everything, it is worth going in just to see the memorabilia and especially the photographs, some of which are pretty amazing. One which particularly disturbed me was of a row of dead Jews on the ground, and another dismayed Jewish man praying over them, while behind him stood SMILING Nazi soldiers. The exhibit I think maybe helps younger people like me remember that WWII is not just something depicted in movies, but was a real thing that happened to real people resulting in millions of casualties including my grandpa's 18-year-old brother, Joe Kelly, and probably some people from your families too. I wonder how we will remember the current war half a century from now. Anyway, the exhibit is worth the entrance fee to the fair and the extra dollar to get in the Hall of State. See it if you can.
So, it was a good weekend.
This morning while I was paying attention, I saw three robins and a really fat red-bellied woodpecker. You don't see many robins around here, so it was a nice treat.
Fun Fact: Avagadro's number is 6.022 x 10-to-the-23rd. You can use this if you want to know how many atoms are in your cup of coffee or other things. Avagadro was a smart man with very angular facial features which probably made him look meaner than he really was. You can remember his name because it sounds like avacado.
I know that has nothing to do with birds or WWII, but it is something I learned recently, so thought I'd share.
Time to get back to sitting around my office waiting for kids to show up. Happy Monday!

Our New Animal Friend

This is our friend Alvin. We named him after Alvin Straight from the Straight Story because he is very slow. He is a snail, after all. Kev discovered him on our porch floor on Friday morning. By Friday night, he had traversed the porch and made it half-way up the wall near the front door. On Saturday morning, he had made his way along the top of the wall above the porch railing, and then to the side wall near the porch ceiling by Saturday night. I was beginning to worry about Alvin, because there is no food supply for snails on our porch ceiling. I watched as Alvin went slowly in and out of his shell in his same little spot on the wall. I watched, and I fretted. I figured he was up there to die. So, enter our hero, Kev, who plucked the snail down off the wall and put him on the floor of the porch once again. I immediately went to the fridge for snail food, and came back with a leftover piece of grilled zuchini and a celery stick. Alvin didn't go for the celery, but he was all over the zuch. I'm sure he was wondering what he did to please the snail gods enough to deliver him to such a feast. This morning, I woke up worried about the neighborhood cats finding our new friend, and sure enough when I went outside, Alvin was gone. But I saw no sign of a struggle, so I assumed Alvin had his fill of grilled zuchini and went on his merry way wherever snails may go. I kicked the zuch and celery stick into the flower bed in front of our porch, and went off to the Great State Fair of Texas, which was big fun. When we got home hours later, guess what! There was Alvin on top of that piece of zuchini down in the flower bed! I am so happy that he found his way back to the food. So maybe there is a moral to this story, but I don't know what it is. Maybe it has to do with how paying attention can lead to good stuff. I am just happy to have a new animal friend.

Great God Almighty, the birds are in charge!

I like birds. Here I am with some macaws, or guacamayas, in Mexico. These birds are apparently endangered in the wild. If the birds really were in charge, I wonder if humans would be endangered, and if so, I wonder if the birds would care.
The other day, Kev and I were taking a walk at White Rock lake. It was a Saturday, and there were tons of runners on the trail. I guess it was some kind of 10-k race or something, because the runners had numbers on. They might as well have been running in the mall parking lot orsomewhere equally as depressing, because they sure weren't appreciating the beauty of the lake. There was a really nice sunrise, and ducks and egrets hanging about, and under a tree there were about 20 little green monk parakeets eating stuff off the ground. How cool is it to see a bunch of parakeets right in the middle of the city? None of the runners even noticed. As we were watching the parakeets, a be-headphoned runner passed us, and I'll be damned if he didn't pass gas audibly 3 or 4 times as he went by. It was shocking. The obnoxiousness of that guy was thankfully balanced out by a good citizen I saw going around with plastic bags picking up trash.
I love living by the lake. I don't go there often enough. It's better during the week when there are no 10-Ks going on. It is a great place to look for new birds to put on one's bird list. So, everyone go to the lake and pay attention to things while you are there. You can see really good stuff if you pay attention sometimes.

Serenity Now!

I am sitting in my office. I was supposed to see three kids today. The first one cancelled, the second one no-showed, and the third may or may not be coming because the parents are "unhappy with the program." So here I sit, slowly but surely losing complete confidence in my abilities as a Speech-Language Pathologist, and making no money today after driving all the way to Plano and sitting for 3 hours. What I really want to do is go down the hall to the vending machine and get something very very chocolatey, but I am blogging instead. Chocolate won't solve anything. And neither will complaining. So I am going to make a list of super fun things to be happy about:

• It is OCTOBER!
  
• It is fall migration, so there are lots of extra birds hanging around.
  
• The House Band has been very productive lately.
  
• The State Fair is on for another couple of weeks.
  
• My last kid's mom just called to cancel, so I get to go home early.
  
• Albert the dog.
  
• My friend Shannon is coming to town this week.
  
• My other friend Whitney is moving back to Texas this month.
  
• It's a really long time until summer.
  
• Nothing appears to be wrong with my car at the moment.
  

OK, well, I guess I will go home now. I already feel better.

Cool Brad and Good Happy Fun Times

I want to say that I really like my cousins. They were my best friends when I was a little kid, and we were always pretty close. When I moved to Texas in 1979, my cousin Brad was only about a year old, so I missed a lot of Brad-time growing up. I just got to spend nine days with him during our vacation, and I'd like to say he is a very cool, smart, and insightful person. Brad appreciates things and thinks about things that I think a lot of people miss or take for granted. I was glad to get to hang out with him.

This morning, I told Kev that life at sea is the life for me. While life at sea is great, I might not appreciate it if I was there all the time. The best parts of being at sea are sunrise, sunset, sea birds, sea animals, and fresh clean air. But life with Kev is the life for me, no matter where that is. Being away made me really appreciate my nice husband and my clean comfy house.

Now that I am back home, I am going to try to have some more adventures so it still feels like vacation. Roller skating and going to the bird show are first on my list.

Fun Fact: The elephant is the only mammal besides humans that can stand on its head. (Courtesy KH)

White Man's Guilt

There is a village in Haiti called Labadee. The beach there is privately owned by the good people of Royal Caribbean International, and on most days, one of their cruise ships pulls up and sets anchor a couple of miles from shore. Then, tendering boats carry loads of tourists back and forth from the beach to the ship. These tourists, who by the way have been eating at all-you-can-eat buffets all week, lie around on the beach, ride wave-runners, go kayaking, snorkelling, and parasailing, and enjoy a big barbeque lunch provided by the cruise line. Then they all leave, fat and happy. Meanwhile the villagers who happen to live on the coast watch. These villagers live in tiny broken-down shacks in a country with 95% unemployment. Some of them are lucky, and can sell their crafts to a few of the tourists who come close enought to their village to meet them. The Hatian people made $25 off of me last Monday. Not far away, on the other side of Haiti, at least 1300 people were killed by tropical storm Jeanne, and the ones who survived are killing each other over the little bit of food there is. I went parasailing while I was there, and it is one of the best things I have ever done in my life. But something is really wrong with the whole situation. I'm glad mindfullness is "in." Maybe other people are thinking about this too. It makes the Ranger's slim chance to make the play-offs seem pretty unimportant.

Ahoy!

Greetings to all! I am happy to report that I have returned to my home unharmed from my adventures at sea. And oh, what adventures I had! I parasailed over Haiti, tubed down the White river in the rain forest of Jamaica, hiked the jungles of Mexico, survived the wrath of Hurricane Jeanne, and managed to make it through 9 days in a very very small room with my mom, my aunt, and my great aunt, and without my good nice husband. I take back everything I said about cruises being cheesy. It was absolutely awesome. I recommend it to anyone, and especially via the great Royal Caribbean ship the Navigator of the Seas. There is much to blog about, but I will have to wait, because I have to get caught up at work. Thanks for all the songs that were sent in while I was away!

Brief Blog Break (Say THAT three times fast!)

Well, in the morning, I will be heading to Miami, and the sea. So, there won't be any Tara Blogs for a while, but there are sure to be tales of adventures and sea birds upon my return. I hope you all (all 1 or 2 of you) have a great week.

While I'm gone, do some good stuff for the people and animals around you, and try not to let work or heat or football losses get you down. Hey! Why not write some poems or songs?! I'll put them in my blog!

I just do the best I can

I am afraid of flying on airplanes. When I fly, I have anxiety attacks, which involve increased production of brain chemicals that induce sweating hands, increased heart rate, difficulty breathing and irrational panic. Sometimes, it sucks to be me. It is also not easy to be WITH me during these attacks. Most of the time, this duty falls to Kev, who, to his credit, does his very best to help me through and calm me down. Last year, I decided to try Xanax to get me (and Kev!)through these flights. I take two before getting on the plane. It definitely helps. I still get scared, but the physical symptoms are significantly smaller and the drugs usually knock me out so I can sleep through a lot of the flight. The xanax, however, does nothing to help me with the pre-flying anxiety and stress and sleeplessness.

In two days, I am supposed to be flying to Miami. There are thunderstorms predicted, and Hurricane Jeanne will be pretty close to the Florida coast by then. I am trying not to freak out, but I am kind of freaking out. Many well-meaning people will tell me it will be fine, flying is safe, the plane will fly around the storms, etc, but until those people have a crazy diblitating irrational fear, they won't understand that those well-meaning words don't help much, and often make things worse, as they make me feel like more of a freak for being unable to get over it. I am doing the best I can. At least I DO fly. I don't let my fear completely stop me from doing one of my favorite things, which is travelling. Believe me, I'd change if I could.

One time I made fun of my friend Rob for being afraid of snakes. I am very very sorry for that.

Anyway, I try to be a good person, and try to be unselfish and appreciate what I have and all. But right now, I am deeply disappointed that many of the things I was looking forward to on my cruise are most likely not going to happen due to all these hurricanes. I'm sure the cruise people will do their best to make it up to us, and maybe it will be better than I think, but I can't help but be upset about the situation. I hope that doesn't make me a bad person. It certainly doesn't mean I have no sympathy for hurricane victims. In an attempt to have a better attitude, here are some good things about the cruise: I will not have to drive my car, cook, or breathe pollution for a week. I will be at sea, which I love. I can read some books. I will get to see my aunts and cousins. My mom will be getting a break. They have yoga and ice skating. There could be sea-birds to see. I can pretend to be a Pirate on Talk Like A Pirate Day.

I hope everyone still likes me anyway, even though I am kind of a mess.

Ahoy!

Just wanted to let everyone know that September 19 is Talk Like A Pirate Day, so go to

www.talklikeapirate.com

I will actually be at sea that day, so you can bet I'll be practicing my pirate lingo.

Thanks to Kev for the head's up!

September Morn

If there's one thing I like better than September, it's October. And September brings the promise that October is nigh upon us. This is what is helping me through this hot and hazy week. Last week, we had nice cool crisp mornings, but today's walk was like moving through soup.
Some good things about October include pumpkin carving and the State Fair, which means the great Texas Star ferris wheel, corn dogs, and the BIRD SHOW! It will be cool out and start to smell and look like fall. I can't wait.

Thanks to Neil Diamond for today's blog title.

Happy Mondays

The Saturday Dallas Morning News told me that Mindfulness is "in." That's good. Maybe that means people who throw trash on my street will become mindful that they are making my neighborhood dirty and smelly. Maybe people on Central Expressway will be mindful that talking on their cell phones whilst whizzing through the high-five is not the best idea.
It is not easy to be mindful. I try to do it during my walks. I am mindful of the trees and birds and cats and dogs in my neighborhood, and today I was mindful that I HAVE a neighborhood, as many people in Florida and the Caribbean do not. Then I saw some garbage, and big ugly new cookie cutter brick houses and heard lots of noisy construction trucks, and really had to force continued mindfulness. It was hard. I could feel Cortisol-Head coming on.
My favorite thing to do that facilitates mindfulness is my weekly Monday morning trip to Central Market. It is the best grocery store ever. First I get a cup of coffee from the info desk, and get a cart, which has a handy coffee cup holding area, and I hit the produce section. It is very colorful and it smells good and makes me want to eat lots of healthy fruits and vegetables. Since I am very fortunate to have Monday mornings off, I get to go when the store is not crowded and I can meander around smelling things and listening to the great music (today: Stan Getz and Miles Davis) and choosing the most perfect mushrooms and strawberries I can find. Usually there is a sample at the bakery (today: chocolate raspberry truffle) and the cheese cart (Swiss something) and the tortilla counter. The staff is friendly and seem to enjoy their jobs. I always feel super good happy when I am there.
It is a totally different experience on a crowded weekend. A real beating.
It seems that Hurrican Ivan is taking almost the exact route that my cruise ship is due to follow next week. I hope they re-route us, maybe to St. Lucia or somewhere. I guess there is still a chance we'll go to Jamaica and Grand Cayman. I was really looking forward to swimming with sting-rays. Time will tell.
Bird of the Day will return soon!

Part of the Solution

Today during our walk, there was a bunch of trash in the street including a whataburger bag (from the "Hammer", no doubt), so we started picking it up and threw it in a trash bin in the alley. I can not understand why anyone would litter. Also, I joined the Sierra Club and signed a petition to try to get the Bush Administration to rethink its proposal to go ahead and start commercial logging in the Great Sequoya National Forest. I feel really helpless most of the time, so I figured even these small things were better than doing nothing. It would be a real drag if our kids and grandkids missed out on the wild-life and National Parks that we seem to be in the process of destroying.

Also on our walk, we saw a red-bellied woodpecker, which was nice because I hadn't seen one in a while.

And we got to play with the cool boxer up the street. (I don't know his name, but I call him Arturo).

We just finished dinner. Kev grilled some steaks, and I made some mashed potatoes and broccoli. I felt like a grown-up eating such things. Then, I had meat-guilt. But I got over it. I'd never make it as a vegetarian.

Tomorrow begins a very busy week. When will I find the time to roller-skate???

Nightmare Theory

I have a lot of bad dreams / nightmares. Most of them involve scary transportation or natural disasters, like plane crashes, earthquakes, falling elevators, etc. I guess I am just trying to work out some of my fears and stresses in my sleep, but it's kind of a drag. Then, last night, for the first time in a long time, I had a very nice non-stressful dream. There were puppies and babies all around, and I was very happy. Then I woke up. No puppies, no babies. And I'll admit, I felt a little bit of a let-down. So, my theory is maybe nightmares are better, because then when you wake up, you feel relieved that it wasn't real, instead of disappointed.

Other news:

• We upgraded our satellite from Top 50 to Top 120, so now we get cool Sirius music channels, BBC, and Animal Planet. I have already learned new stuff about black bears and alligators.
  
• My car is all fixed, and I got my admission of screw-up and apology from the turkeys, so all is good there.
  
• I am supposed to go to Jamaica next week. Not sure if that's going to happen now. Those poor people. Hurricanes are scary.
  
• Our weather, on the other hand, is FABULOUS!
  
• My friend Damon gets to come home from Iraq for two weeks starting tomorrow. That is very good news.
  

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Groove: 1 Derailers: 0

Well, after the last two days of dealing with major car problems and mechanic turkeys, I am happy to report that my groove hasn't been derailed. I won't go into detail about the car, but I will say that people should do the job that they are trained to do, do it right, and do it the first time. And they should be big enough to admit when they screw up, and apologize rather than getting defensive and making up excuses.

Anyway, I think it has been a case of mind over brain chemicals that has saved my groove. There has been a lot of talk about brain chemicals from the likes of Kurt Vonnegut, Larry Feathers, some scientists, and people on TV, regarding how they (the chemicals) can affect mood and behavior. I believe this is true. And I believe that I experienced a huge increase in Cortisol yesterday during my anger spell, which made me all tense and made me want to yell and hit things. According to TV, Cortisol is especially bad if you are female, over 30, and stressed, as it leads to unwanted belly fat. So I decided that I had a choice. I could be angry and create more Cortisol, or I could just accept the situation and try to make good chemicals instead. I have found that I can get good chemicals by taking walks, watching birds, listening to good music, playing with dogs, and some other stuff. So, maybe it is possible for us to have some control over our brain chemicals without Prozak or Xanax or Ridilin. The implications of this could be astounding! This discovery is potentially going to get me some kind of Nobel Prize for science or medicine, so don't tell anybody about it until I can write something up in a professional journal.

Or maybe it's just the great weather we are having.

Either way, Groove On!

The Majestic Guillemot

This is a guillemot. The picture was taken by a guy named Steve Bird. I think that's funny.

Groove Threatened!

Few things can throw off a groove faster than car trouble. At the moment, both Kevin's and my cars are in the shop requiring repairs, and I have to admit, a few curse words crossed my mind (but not my lips!) today. But I refuse to let this get in the way of my new-found groove. No time for blogging...much work to do. Hope everyone had a good long weekend.

Sign O' the Groove

I am very groove-driven. If I am not in my groove, nothing gets done. There are a lot of factors that contribute to my groove, like weather and stress and such. My groove cycle is pretty predictable. It generally is completely non-existent in the summer, due to extreme heat and lethargy. It kicks in as the weather cools down, and sticks around until my annual post-holiday-season let-down. There might be a mini-groove if it snows. Then when it starts getting into spring, and there is gardening and the birds start to come back, groove-on. But then summer hits, groove over, and the cycle starts all over again.
After a difficult summer, I feel a new groove coming on. Here are the signs:

• I haven't skipped a walk in over a week, except for the day we had house-guests.
• I ordered salad at a restaurant.
• I feel like cooking new things.
• I like to go outside.
• For the first time in a long time, I feel like playing music (much to Kev's happiness, the PPHPHB practiced last night).
• I caught myself smiling in my car for no reason.

So, it's good to be getting my groove. I have to be careful though. Any little thing can throw off the groove.

Happy Labor Day to All!

Why are we fighting?

I hate election season. It makes everyone fight. I am not a Republican, but I know and respect many who are. I am also not a Democrat, but I know and respect many who are. I disagree with many Bush Administration policies, especially on the environment, education reform, and the death penalty. That does not mean I hate George Bush, or the Christians, or anyone who happens to be a Republican. I am not a big fan of John Kerry either. There are things I want from a president that I don't think he can give me. That does not mean I hate John Kerry or minorities or anyone who happens to be a Democrat. I am tired of the arguing. No one is really listening to each other anyway. People just keep on spouting sound bites at each other, and I think it's counter-productive. I haven't decided who I am going to vote for, or even if I'm going to vote at all. But I can tell you that none of this arguing is going to affect my decision either way.

Also, I must say I am shocked and horrified by the display of disgusting human behavior at Monday's Cowboy game when fans boo-ed some Middle Eastern people who were shown on the Jumbo-Tron. What in the hell were they thinking? I am ashamed to be an American Human sometimes.

I am sorry for the negativity of today's blog. I'm just mad. Thanks.

Movie stars, killer waiters, and fun with Rob.

I reckon most people have a friend named Rob. I am lucky because I have TWO. They are both very fun, smart, and interesting people, and good friends. Last night, one of them went to see if the Chiefs could beat the Cowboys in a pre-season game. I can't comment, because I don't know who won, and besides, I am a Jets fan (wearing my Jets shirt right now!). The other one, who we will call "Rob R" attended the 5k against violence, so I got to spend some time with him, and a few other friends that I haven't seen forever. I have known Rob R since the 6th grade. He has a nice wife and two good kids and is one of the funniest people I know. He said that if I paint a giant portrait of him in an Admiral's uniform, he would hang it in his house. I just might do it. And he sang our whole high school alma mater during the walk, with guns up and everything. So, it's good to have friends named Rob.

The 5K was a big success. They told us that 1500 people showed up, so that's $30,000 for the family of the guy who was hurt. I really doubt if 1500 white people parading up and down Swiss Ave is going to make the skinheads think twice about hitting people with beer bottles, but it was good to help with the money part, and it was GREAT to see my friends. Big Movie Star Owen Wilson was there. I think maybe he was supposed to be the official starter. There were also lots of good dogs, including Marmaduke, whose head came up to my shoulder.

After the walk, Kev and I went to Two Rows for dinner. It was a lovely evening so we sat under a tree on the patio. Suddenly a leaf fell out of the tree and landed next to our table, only it wasn't a leaf at all, but a leaf-looking insect of some kind...possibly a katydid. It was cool looking. It crawled up my purse, which was on the ground, and made like it was going to leap toward me, so Kev gently flicked it to the ground. Then (imagine this part in slow motion) the waiter brought us our check, put it on the table, noticed me noticing the bug crawling up my chair, kicked it off my chair, and squashed it into oblivion. Nooooooooooooo! But it was too late. Dead bug, and it was all my fault. I was crushed.

On a happier note, I got some cool Nike roller skates yesterday for $19.97 marked down from $119.00. They are light blue and orange and sparkly white, and I have every intention of using them.

It was a big day for a Thursday.

Thursday Housepants Blues

This morning I discovered a hole in my favorite housepants. Plus I didn't have any coffee. And I forgot to thaw out the meat that I was going to use for tonight's dinner. So, it was a rough start, but things are looking up. I get to spend some time with Albert the dog today at my brother's house before I go to work. At my brother's house, it is fun because he has BBC America, and also lots of Tivo-ed Da Ali G shows, which are entertaining, in small doses anyway. And I only have to work for 1 hour and 15 minutes today.

Tonight when I get home, we are doing a 5K in our neighborhood to help raise money for a nice dad who got attacked by a skinhead in Deep Ellum and is now paralyzed, all because he was being a nice dad by taking his daughters to a show at Gypsy Tea Room. If you are interested in this story, or want to help, go to: www.barkingdogs.org/html/082004_rundownviolence5k.shtml

Bird Fun Fact: The loudest nightengale is the same dB as a chainsaw from 3 feet away.

Bird Not-so-Fun Fact: There are only about 300 Whooping Cranes left in the wild.

September!

At last, it is September. I remember on May 31, I got off a plane at DFW and walked outside into an oven-like world and wondered if I could possibly make it to this moment. Now, I would like to officially welcome September, and thank June, July, and August for not being that horrible this year. I'm sure we'll get another hot spell or two, but those are pshychologically more bearable when you know that October is a mere 29 days away.

I wanted to put a photo of a guillemot on here, but I can't figure out how to post pictures. If you want to see some funny pictures and read interesting blogs, please visit larryfeathers.blogspot.com. If you want to see a guillemot, look it up on Google. I am hoping Larry can tell me how to put pictures on here, because I think more people would care about the guillemot if they could see one.

I promise I will try not to over-do it on bird talk.