Call For Action & Accuracy

Back in 2000, I had a temporary job with the U.S. Census Bureau as an enumerator. I went through a training course and learned how to accurately and thoroughly gather and report data. Making sure that maps were correct, new homes noted and finding out how many folks were living in communities was all very important. My work with the Census Bureau was sometimes challenging, (especially after a negative editorial was printed in a regional newspaper) but always interesting. Some folks were kind; some were rude and mean spirited. Some people, often elderly, were obviously lonely and happy to find another human being standing on their front porch. Even if all I was there to do was gather some basic information and deliver their Census form.

Working for the Census Bureau also strengthened my respect for how important home ownership is to folks. Some people had exquisitely tidy and well tended yards, others, well, looked like the before photos for a house and garden makeover show. But people were proud of what they had, protective of it and seemed to love making it more their own. Sometimes that seemed to mean making it look more like the before photo, or planting a whole flock of plastic pink flamingos or operating earth moving equipment of all sizes to reshape the very land itself. But the important thing was it was theirs and it provided them and their family, with safety, shelter and a deep sense of place.

Unfortunately, I learned today that the United States Census Bureau will EDIT the data which will be carefully gathered by enumerators and submitted by individual citizens during the 2010 Census.

The U.S. Census Bureau will NOT count legally married gay couples as married. Instead, the U.S. Census Bureau will EDIT the data submitted by married gay couples and change their status to "unmarried partners"!

An excellent organization, People For The American Way, has organized an on-line petition to the U.S. Census Bureau. You can sign the petition here. I urge you to take action on this. As Dan Kennedy of Media Nation reported the other day in this post, “one in five Americans lives in a state where same-sex marriage is recognized”.

We can’t allow the Census Bureau to edit out the fact that a same-sex couple is legally married. You can tell them it’s wrong by signing the PFAW petition.

Meet Poly & Dani

Yesterday, both of these beautiful butterflies dined on our Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) in the dooryard. The top one is a Black Swallowtail - Papilio polyxenes. I’m pretty sure she is in fact a female so let’s call her Poly. The one on the lower right is a Monarch - Danaus plexippus. Because I can only see the underside of the wings, I can’t guess at gender. So let’s call it Dani. If you look closely, Dani wasn’t dining alone. Unfortunately Dani’s companion rushed off before I could catch his or her name.

Note to self: Grow more Milkweed!

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Fifteen Innings!

I didn’t want to care about tonight’s last night and this morning’s All Star Game at the soon to be “old” Yankee Stadium, but I couldn’t help it! It was a great game! Tied at 3 - 3 in the eighth inning, it stayed that way through the second seventh inning stretch in the fourteenth inning! Finally, the American League, packed with Boston Red Sox players, scored the winning run in the bottom of the fifteenth!

The best part was seeing all those great players, who are fierce competitors and rivals across 162 games every season, all hanging out together in their American League and National League dugouts. It was a bit surreal watching Derek Jeter, captain of the New York Yankees hanging on the railing, shoulder to shoulder with Jason Varitek, captain of the Boston Red Sox. Oh, and then J.D. Drew of the Boston Red Sox was named Most Valuable Player of the 2008 All Star Game. So good, so good, so good!

No need to wish me sweet dreams tonight!
Home field advantage, here we come!

The Same Stars

“We gaze up at the same stars, the sky covers us all, the same universe encompasses us.
What does it matter what practical system we adopt in our search for the truth? Not by one avenue only can we arrive at so tremendous a secret.”
- Quintus Aurelius Symmachus (circa 340 - 402)

The first sentence in the quote from Symmachus makes me think of this community within the blogosphere. As Roo asked of
Ronnie the other day: “Does she [Sarah Faith] realise the number of virtual aunts and uncles she has?” I don’t suppose she does - not yet! But in addition to a wide circle of family and loved ones in South Africa, Sarah has lots of folks around this shrinking planet thinking, worrying and caring about her, celebrating her safe arrival and her beaming parents’ joy. That can only be a good thing.

The second sentence sends me off to more complex issues of belief, faith, religion and sadly, folks taking sides. Years ago I clumsily groped toward what Symmachus wrote so eloquently. I said that we all started out with the exact same set of Tinker Toys, we just built different versions of God with them; different explanations of the universe; different understandings of life. In the present day, to extend the image farther than I should, I would say a group of people got together and decided one particular Tinker Toy assemblage was the best; the right one; the only one. Then another group did the same thing with their favorite assemblage and before long we had monotheistic religions.

After half a century, I believe it’s only the common, human, moral truths that really matter. The most fundamental of these is the Ethic of Reciprocity or, as many of us know it, The Golden Rule. To loosely quote Hillel: “All else is commentary.”

Bound - To Be Determined

Chuck and I recently watched a television report on high end bookbinding on “CBS Sunday Morning”. The exquisite bindings by Herb Weitz and Jamie Kamph were dazzlingly beautiful and tremendously expensive.

That prompted Chuck to pose the following question:
If you could choose one book to have bound in a fabulously deluxe, once-in-a-lifetime way, what book would you choose?

Would it be a childhood favorite - perhaps the book one of your parents read to you at bedtime?
Would it be the first book that turned you on to a new genre or a new way of thinking about life?
Would it be something you wrote yourself?
Would it be a religious text?
Would it be your favorite cookbook?

I confess, I can’t decide. Neither can Chuck!
I thought about my favorite dictionary; The RH2 - The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Second Edition, Unabridged.
I thought about the book of poetry that my poem “Two Days In August” was published in.
Or perhaps “A Lantern In Her Hand “ by Bess Streeter Aldrich, which was the first stunningly powerful book I ever read as a child.
Then again, maybe “Gone With The Wind” which I read every summer all through junior high and high school.
Oh my! There are so many wonderful possibilities!

What book would you choose?

Once Again Corporate America Doesn’t Get It

The uniquely southern, delicate and light baking flour “White Lily” is no longer being produced in Knoxville, Tennessee. The J.M. Smucker Company (Oh Lord, I am biting my tongue and holding my fingers in check as I type the name “Smuckers”) bought White Lily and decided to stop milling the flour where it had been milled for 125 years. I referenced the famous and decidedly regional White Lily flour last year when I urged any reader in the southern United States, to make these “Touch of Grace Biscuits”. I knew better than to attempt to replicate them using a non-southern style of flour. But Smucker’s didn’t. They claim no one will be able to tell the difference. However, in a blind test for the New York Times, no one was fooled. You’d think that the company founded by Jerome Monroe Smucker in 1897, would be respectful of the more senior White Lily Company.

This time it wasn’t our fault. We weren’t the kiss of death. But we feel for the generations of southern bakers who have had part of their flavor heritage and taste tradition irreparably changed.


Thanks to Natalie “Alabama” Chanin of Alabama Studio Style and the Alabama Stitch Book for the heads up about White Lily.

A Little Tweaking

Jessica Sprague posted a Photoshop Tutorial yesterday that she called “ShaZAM!” She suggested that we try the technique on a photograph and post the before and after imagess. As always, her tutorial is very clear and involves two duplicate layers of the original photo. You treat each layer a little differently, (one as Screen, the other as Overlay) and adjust the opacities until you achieve the desired result.

As I went through Jessica’s Shazam techniques, I couldn’t help but compare it to something I learned over on Ree’s website Pioneer Woman. Ree sometimes takes her SOOC (Straight Out Of the Camera) photo, duplicates it as a layer, then applies Hard Light and adjusts the opacity. That can give a very electric, almost overblown effect. For a gentler effect she recommends applying Soft Light to the duplicate layer. I’ve found that works very well, usually at a 50% opacity.

So what you see below is Chuck, a truly handsome and photogenic subject, standing on the side of the Cadillac Mountain Road in Acadia National Park in Maine. He is proudly holding his National Parks Golden Age Passport card, which he got when he turned 62. Our friend Gale up in Bar Harbor calls it his “Old Man's Card”!

The top photo is straight out of the camera - our old non-digital Canon SLR, of blessed memory. The middle version shows Ree’s Soft Light change. The bottom one shows Jessica’s Shazam technique. Oh and in the bottom two, I applied a narrow burnt edge, using a technique I learned from Ro Paxman over at Scrap Girls. I don’t have a link to the technique, but you use an Adjustment Layer for Levels, move the sliders to blacken out the photo. Then use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to set your edge and feather it (I used 5 pixels). Hit Delete and Deselect. You can then apply a Gaussian Blur to tweak it even further.

So which one do you like best? Yes, I agree. Chuck is adorable in all three. But look at his face, his hand and the waterfall behind him as you assess which version is your favorite. Thanks!


Just click on the layout to get a better look.

Layout by LMR/Pink Granite. Software: Apple iPhoto ‘08 & Adobe PhotoShop Elements 4.0 for Mac. Font: Helvetica

: : Update: Check out graphics wiz and author Claudia Snell’s comment on this post. She provides a nifty way to build on Jessica’s technique!

Beah Heah

Translation: Beer Here - as spoken with a somewhat exaggerated New England accent.

In an ideal world, Chuck and I would go up to Bar Harbor twice a year; once in the spring, once in the autumn. But the last two springs we haven’t been able to go. So yesterday we decided to make a day trip to southern Maine. We figured we would bring a couple of pairs of Birkenstocks to be repaired and we would bring our empty Bar Harbor Brewing Company beer bottles to be returned. We had no plans to purchase any new pairs of Birkenstocks, but we did definitely want to replace the beer!

Note #1: Remember a couple of weeks ago I mentioned we had a Special Problem? The lead sentence was: “Chuck and I aren’t big drinkers.” That’s important to keep in mind as we go along.

So off we went. The day was sunny, in the mid to upper 80s (30 C), and much drier than it had been recently. We stopped for lunch at Flo’s in Cape Neddick. Totally decadent, totally yummy. Then continued on up to Portland. Once the Birkenstocks were dropped off for repair, we drove farther down Forest Avenue to RSVP Discount Beverage. We’d never been there before, but a call to the Bar Harbor Brewing Company the night before, meant we had a list of several places that sold “our” beer.

We think of it as “our” beer, because we don’t drink beer. Well, we never used to drink beer until we ordered a bottle of “Bar Harbor Peach Ale” at Poor Boy’s Gourmet Restaurant in Bar Harbor. Out came an ice cold, 22 oz bottle of incredibly tasty, complex beer, made by the very local, very small Bar Harbor Brewing Company. (Note #2: The purists are correct: beer is beer, ale is ale. But to me, it’s all “beah”!) That was several years ago and every visit to Maine, we would buy a mixed case including all of their varieties and make it last until the next trip up to Mount Desert Island.

RSVP had three varieties of “our” beer on the shelf. We asked a very helpful and knowledgeable gentleman if they had any of the other varieties. He said no and then asked if we knew the brewery had been sold. Sold? I swear you could have seen the color drain from our faces! We know we are the kiss of death, but because we had been to the website and called them the night before, we were really caught off guard. Bar Harbor Brewery was literally a Mom and Pop operation. All the beer was brewed, bottled and labeled on site by the husband and wife brewmaster team. While we had been reeling, the RSVP man was still talking and brought us over to the new version of Bar Harbor Brewing Company products, in average size bottles, in a traditional cardboard six pack. Sure enough, there on the side of the label were the words: bottled in Portland, Maine.

We asked the bearer of bad news how many of the original 22 oz bottles of BHBC beer he had on hand. The number involved cases. We told him we’d buy it all. Seriously. We also managed to pick up a bottle of the previously elusive Kahlua Especial. (Please see Note #1). Because I wanted to be certain we could make our mortgage payment this month, I asked Chuck to charge the beer and Kahlua to our credit card, rather than the debit card!

Once the nice folks at RSVP had loaded up our Subaru we drove back down Forest Avenue. Along the way we decided to check out the other liquor stores on our list in the hopes of finding some of the other Bar Harbor Brewing Company varieties in their original form. The first place was a bust, but at the second, finding no parking, I dropped Chuck off and circled the block while he went in and investigated. As I rounded the corner, Chuck emerged, gave me the thumbs up sign and waved me into a no parking area. My car flashers on, Chuck and the staff ferried out more cases of beer to the waiting vehicle. We made a clean getaway, credit card slip in hand and went to our last stop, Whole Foods.

The Whole Foods in Portland, Maine is one of their huge, fabulous, flagship stores. We looked neither left nor right and made a beeline for the beer. Sure enough, they had some of the Bar Harbor Brewing Company varieties in the refrigerated section. We emptied the shelf. Then we found Rob. We explained our plight and our quest. Yes, he had more in the back. "We’ll take it." A dolly was procured. The bottles were counted. We stopped by customer service to let them know Rob had gone above and beyond the call of duty and we checked out, our third credit card slip in hand.

Back at the Subaru, we were running out of room, but we managed to stow the final cases. Laughing, we looked at one another. What the heck had we just done? We pondered the question and continued to chuckle as we drove to a restaurant we had heard good things about on WCVB’s “Chronicle”: “Susan’s Fish & Chips”, back over on Forest Avenue. Chronicle usually makes very good recommendations. In this case, Chronicle was wrong. The food was really sub par. Which in our experience is par for the course in Portland. We’ve dined at half a dozen restaurants, mostly down on the waterfront, and we wouldn’t recommend any of them.

Fed (technically), we drove our precious cargo home. Three hours later, we arrived to find a message on our answering machine. It was our credit card company. They wanted to talk to us about a possible fraud with our card. At first our hearts sank. Both our debit cards had been compromised a few months ago in the Hannaford Grocery store security breach. But as Chuck dialed them back, the penny dropped. Yup. Our credit card company thought that some frat boys in Maine were throwing a kegger! Nope. It was just the two of us. And as we stood in our kitchen surrounded by cases of Bar Harbor Brewing Company beer, Chuck told the credit card company about our adventure and couldn’t resist adding: “But we really aren’t big drinkers.”!

Three Hs - Part Two

Spent the better part of today trying to figure out what projects I could accomplish in the air conditioned bedroom:
- Sewed on a pocket button
- Folded laundry
- Discovered “Grain” in Photoshop Elements as I digi-scrapped on the laptop
- Talked with my Mom when she called me from the casino in Connecticut
- Watched/listened as the Red Sox beat the Twins 18 - 5
- Paid bills on line
- Watched Masterpiece Theater’s Inspector Lewis with Chuck
- Ripped the seams on an old pair of Chuck’s shorts for a new project
- Called L.L. Bean to see if they had any new shorts for Chuck

Was not able to clean the sink, toilet, tub and the rest of the bathroom from the bedroom
Was not able to prepare meals in the bedroom
Was not ---- well, you get the idea...

I wish I could just roll with this heat and humidity. I wish I knew how to relish the steamy, thick textured summer air; the afternoon thunderstorms that roll in from New York, across the Berkshires and into Worcester County. I wish I could sit on the front porch with a cold drink, a good book and not be aware of the little bead of sweat forming on my upper lip, even as I sit in a state of complete torpor. I wish I did not wish for so much to change with that which I cannot change.

But this can always cheer me up...

Hazy, Hot & Humid

Hi -
I’m tired and hot and soooo very close to whining that I should not be typing and certainly not allowed to post!
The meteorologists say tomorrow will be the last really miserable day. Then it will become less humid, but still hot.
I am not a happy camper.
What’s that you say? Where’s my “Attitude of Gratitude”?
I don’t know.
I will look for it in my air conditioned bedroom, as I lie on the bed, in front of the fan, which gently moves the cool, conditioned air around the room.
I believe that Willis Haviland Carrier (1876 - 1950) was both an inventor and a hero and should be canonized. As I once wrote: “I’d light a candle in his honor, but it’s just too freakin’ hot!”
Ahhhh....
I think I just felt a little A.O.G. wash over me.
Yup...
That’s better.
;o)
Lee
P.S. To all my lovely, loyal readers in the Southern Hemisphere, please feel free to upload cool thoughts and cool weather. I will be happy to share what we have with you. Thank you!

Cathy and Her Friend Sarah Rock!

A couple of weeks ago, I downloaded Cathy Zielske’s PDF for her driend Sarah’s “Sesame Noodle Salad”. Tonight I finally made it. It was WONDERFUL! It also was very quick and easy to make. Of course, being who I am, I didn’t actually measure anything nor did I follow it to the letter (serious understatement!).

You go download the PDF of the recipe and look at the pretty photograph of Cathy’s Salad.
I’ll wait here.

Got it? O.K.
The following is NOT the recipe. It’s what I changed:

Marinade/Dressing:
Vegetable Oil became Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar became Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar
Dark Brown Sugar became Honey
Cayenne Pepper became Hot Pepper Flakes
Minced Ginger became Dried Ground Ginger
I omitted the Cilantro (ick)
I added a little Sherry

Main Ingredients:
The Noodles became Brown Rice (Yes, that is a significant difference!)
I omitted the Scallions (ick)
I used Trader Joe’s Organic Baked Tofu - Teriyaki flavor

I also stir-fried the asparagus in the marinade, in a wok and removed it with a slotted spoon. That had the additional advantage of cooking the garlic, which is a must for me.
I cooled everything as I went along and served it all at room temperature.
I added some diced, roasted red peppers for color.
We both loved it and Chuck wanted me to be sure to write down what I did.
I have.

Now, go make lunch or dinner or at the very least, your shopping list!

More Pictures!

New Mom Veronica has uploaded more photographs of the lovely and getting-stronger-every-day Sarah Faith! Swing by Ronnie’s blog and make those happy “ooh” and “aah” sounds as you smile!

A Rafter of Wild Turkeys

Are two adults and two poults (chicks) sufficient to declare we had a rafter of Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) around here today?
Hearing no nays, a rafter it is!

Around noontime today, I glanced out the window and saw something large moving in the southwest corner of our front yard. When I realized it was turkeys, I got my camera. I took one shot through the multiple panes of a closed window. The result was somewhat impressionistic! So I carefully opened the front door. I took a couple of photos through two screens - the storm door screen and the porch screen. That’s the first photo at the top. I quietly opened the storm door and stepped out onto the porch. The remaining photos were taken through just one layer of screening. (They were heavily tweaked using Apple iPhoto ’08 and three were lightly enhanced using Adobe PhotoShop Elements 4.0 for Mac.) From when I first saw the beautiful creatures to when they left the lawn and disappeared into the woods, was no more than five minutes. And we have never before been lucky enough to see poults on our land.

A few years ago, there was a female turkey who would walk around the yard, moving in and out of the woods as she circumnavigated the house. There also was a Ruffed Grouse who was so unimpressed by humans that it would just step slowly into the brush as we walked by or simply move to the side of the driveway as we drove the car along. We also had the neighbor’s cows come through a few times, but that’s a story for another day!

You can click on the photos to get a better look.

In Memoriam

Today, my Mom, Chuck and I attended the memorial service for my Uncle Bill. It was a solemn and moving ceremony. Uncle Bill served in the Navy during World War II and left service with the rank of Lieutenant. Today, as Aunt Bev stood surrounded by their seven children and their extended family and friends, the Navy honor guard presented her with the American flag. In listening to the sharp, harsh report of the military salute and the playing of Taps, I heard echoes of yesterday’s Independence Day fireworks and the waning notes of all the patriotic music. It seemed a fitting weekend to lay Uncle Bill to rest.

Our Fourth of July

“We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
- From the preamble to the United States Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776


I looked back to last July to see what image I had posted for last year’s Independence Day. As I read through what I had written, I decided to re-post it today. Why? It says exactly what I feel, remember and think about every year, on this important day.

"As a child, on the Fourth of July, I used to do a little pageant/musical presentation with our family friends T & E. T was a year older than me and E a year younger than me. At twilight, we would put patriotic, all-American music on the big console style Magnavox stereo and blast it out into the backyard from my parents’ living room. We three girls would sing and march around and then for the grand finale we would light sparklers. I don’t think sparklers were illegal back then. They were so darned exciting and magical - little handheld fireworks that lasted a surprisingly long time. We would write our names in the gathering darkness, while our appreciative audience of parents and grandparents would laugh, applaud and sing along.

One year, I set up an Independence Day display in the dining room. I remember I took a little black cast iron pot from the fireplace and had small flags from all over the world sticking out of it. It was supposed to represent the melting pot which was the United States. I also had informational cards with quotes from The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution and The Bill of Rights. I probably walked every adult through every detail of my American history project! Lord, they were patient and kind people!

I grew up believing in everything pertaining to the Revolutionary War, the founding of our nation and the brilliant fundamental beliefs that a group of intelligent, savvy and ever so wise men drew up. I believed that our country and our founding documents were quite miraculous. Not in a religious sense, but in an intense alchemy of time and place and persons. I felt blessed, lucky, fortunate to be who I was, living where I was and in the time I lived. Vietnam and Civil Rights and Nixon swirled about my childhood and were discussed in my religion class five days a week, in my post Vatican II parochial school. But the ethics of that newly modern religion were inextricably linked to the ethics of the United States founding fathers and informed my moral compass forever.

I may not have had a history display set up yesterday, nor did we have any of those delightful sparklers in hand. But I cried watching dozens of brand new United States Citizens being sworn in. I applauded the fireworks and the cannons of the 1812 overture and my heart still beat faster at the sight of the American flag, at full staff, rippling in the muggy July air. Those who read Pink Granite regularly know my anger and sadness over the current state of affairs in this country. Now you know a little more about how I came to feel so passionately about such things."
--- As posted on Pink Granite July, 5, 2008

Image of The Declaration of Independence courtesy of The National Archives.

Thread and Stitch

For years I have kept an oversized index card with the all of the Coats & Clark thread colors I own written on it. I tuck it in my purse and whip it out after I’ve chosen fabric and I’m ready to pick out thread. But because I tend to buy close shades, I usually have a good supply, in a wide range of colors. Recently, I needed to replace a spool of beige thread, # 116. So I simply grabbed the empty spool and went to the fabric store. I was dismayed to find two changes:
One: The “Dual Duty Plus All Purpose” is no longer mercerized cotton covered polyester. It’s now “Dual Duty XP All Purpose” polyester covered polyester.
Two: The color numbers have all changed!
Fortunately, one of the employees at Joanne’s Fabric rustled up a conversion chart. Soon, I was able to locate the new version of # 116, the # 8020 “Cream”.

If you’d like a copy of the Coats and Clark Conversion Chart, you can find a PDF of the chart here. I downloaded it to my computer for easy reference.

While I’m on the topic of sewing, I have to recommend the Alabama Stitch Book by Natalie Chanin. I had read enthusiastic reviews on other blogs, including Rice at Voodoo Cafe. But I was hesitant, because despite a half century (gulp) of sewing, crewel embroidery, needlepoint, mending, repairing, quilting and hemming --- hand sewing had always been at best, a stick-my-tongue-out-of-the-side-of-my-mouth-for-concentration activity. At its worst, hand sewing was an onerous necessity. And Alabama Stitch is all about hand sewing cotton jersey (generally repurposed cotton T shirts) into beautiful, functional pieces of clothing and other useful items.

When I saw the great price over on Amazon, I decided to go for it and I’m very glad I did. It was worth full price just for the information Ms. Chanin provided about “Loving Your Thread” (page 21). I immediately put her advice to good use on a few mending tasks and it was a revelation. The few moments of smoothing and attending to the thread before I began sewing made a huge difference. I wish I had been taught that step years ago. But I’m so glad I know it now.

To see what Alabama Stitch is all about you can look at the Alabama Chanin website. You can also look at the Flickr Photo Pool Slideshow where folks have uploaded pictures of their completed projects.

Enjoy!

Wishing You...

...nothing but blue skies.

In 1926 Irving Berlin wrote “Blue Skies”. Frank, Ella, Bing, Willie and the McGuire Sisters (just to name a very few) have all recorded it.

You can listen here.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Sweet Cheeks

Heinz, as in the ketchup, ran the above Deli Mayo television advertisement in the United Kingdom. Then, the H.J. Heinz Company pulled the ad. According to Heinz spokesperson Michael Mullen:

"Heinz has confirmed that it withdrew a UK TV commercial for Deli Mayo last week because it was not in accordance with Heinz’s long-standing corporate policy of respecting everyone’s rights and values.

“Heinz pulled the ad in the UK because our consumer research showed that it failed in its attempt to be humorous and offended people on all sides,” said Michael Mullen, Director of Global Corporate Affairs for Heinz.

“Heinz apologizes for its misplaced attempt at humor and we accept that this ad was not in accordance with our long-standing corporate policy of respecting everyone’s rights and values.”

What the heck?
“Offended people on ALL sides”?
How many sides are there?

I e-mailed Mr. Mullen. I let him know that I thought Heinz should have taken a deep breath and waited for whatever fuss and bother there actually was to simmer down. I told him I was offended that Heinz had pulled the ad.

I thought the ad was cute, amusing and it certainly made me sit up and take notice. (Last time I checked, that’s exactly what a good TV ad is supposed to do.) Initially it was the difference in the accents that caught my attention, then hearing “Mum”. By then I was starting to think “I wonder what that sandwich spread is all about? I think I’d like to buy some of that.” Then I heard: “Hey! Ain’t you forgettin’ some’in?” and I was completely sold!

If you have an opinion about this, here’s how you can contact Mr. Mullen:
Michael.mullen(at)us.hjheinz(dot)com

Many thanks to Roo, over in England, who clued me in about all this. If you drop a note to Mr. Mullen, why not swing by Roo’s blog and let him know.

Dave And Marc Rock!

Whooooosh!!!

Did you hear that?
That’s the sound of running water my friends and it is a wonderful sound indeed! The sensation of hot and cold running water from start to finish in the shower is particularly awesome! And don’t even get me started on the wonder and the glory that is the indoor plumbed flush toilet!

Happy sigh of contentment...

Dave and Marc from County Pump arrived first thing this morning with a truck filled to the brim with every possible pump related item, that could ever possibly go on the fritz. County Pump is the same company that came to our rescue during a much bigger water crisis back in 2000. Turns out, this time an electrical gizmo on our well pump was fried by lightning! Coincidentally, lightning is believed to be the cause of the nearby house fire. Dave and Mark dispensed vast quantities of knowledge as they installed a new electrical gizmo-switch-thingy. Obviously, I did not absorb all of the details of the knowledge they were dispensing, but in my defense, I was busy. My starring role was running up to the bathroom to turn on the cold water in the shower. I did this on cue and shut it off on cue - albeit the shutting off somewhat reluctantly. When all was said and done, a check was happily written, which did leave money in the account - Yay!

Life is good.
Life with running water is very, very good!

Timing Is Everything

It’s a good news, bad news sort of thing. Everything’s fine and we still have electricity. That’s the good news. Bad news: we have no water. We don’t know why - not yet. Over the last several days, we’ve had a few fierce storms with tremendous downpours. Rain pouring down in buckets doesn’t quite cover it. Looking out the window, the rain was so thick, dense and torrential, it looked white. Luckily, though our electricity browned out a couple of times, we never lost the power for more than a moment or two.

After another big storm this afternoon, we heard emergency vehicles race by the house. A little while later we heard some commotion outside. The fire trucks were tapping a water source down the road from our house in order to battle a house fire on another street. Thankfully, no one was hurt and the main part of their home is still habitable.

Because of the storms and the hubbub, I had delayed taking my shower on a laze-around-the-house-read-the-papers-Sunday. I had just gotten into the shower, when the water cut out. I’ve already crossed the TMI (too much information) line here, but suffice it to say, it wasn’t at as soapily-awkward a moment as it might have been. However, I was far from being through the shower and ready to grab a towel. Chuck heard my mellifluous: “Yoo hoo, Sweetie?” (Read: CHUCK!!!!! ) and quickly checked the pump in the basement. He came back up to the second floor with two cold tea kettles of water for me and information. The good news: the pump appeared to have nothing obviously wrong with it. The bad news: the pump appeared to have nothing obviously wrong with it!

We went out and bought some gallon jugs of water. We also bought a pizza and brought that home for dinner. The pizza was good. The ginger ale on the rocks with Pimms No.1 was equally good. The pump guys will be here first thing in the morning. Hopefully, by the afternoon, we’ll have both water and some money left in our checking account!

We Have A Winner!

Right in the heart of Worcester County is the town of Barre. Crisscrossed by Routes 32, 62 and 122, Barre is easy to get to. Why is that important? Because if you want a truly delicious dining experience in an elegant, but relaxed atmosphere, you need to drive to Picasso in Barre.

Chuck had heard good things about Picasso and had been wanting to check it out. I had the place tangled up in my mind with the previous restaurant which had occupied the former Post Office in Barre. That place had primarily served undistinguished, red gravy, Italian food, which all tasted pretty much the same. But that place is no more. Now Barre boasts Picasso, right on The Common and it is definitely worth the trip!

We went to Picasso around eight on a recent Friday night. A few folks were seated at tables on the outdoor patio, overlooking The Common. We were lucky that a table for two had just opened inside and we were seated promptly. The dining space is small, with a warm, inviting feel about it. Dani, our waitress, was cheerful, informative and attentive. She ran through the specials and pointed out the highlights of the menu. She brought us some warm focaccia with some olive oil for dipping. I had walked in the door thinking I would order fish or seafood. Chuck was thinking about beef. But within a few moments, the New York Strip Steak had caught my eye and Chuck decided on one of the seafood specials!


We each started with a dinner salad. The homemade dressings, a blue cheese vinaigrette and the creamy herb, both had a bright, fresh taste. Then Dani brought our entrees. Chuck’s evening special had salmon, mussels, peas and asparagus in a broth of white wine and butter. Some wedges of focaccia were added to better enjoy every drop of the broth. He declared it “witty” and the essence of spring! I had a perfectly charred, tender steak, covered in a rich port wine sauce, laden with caramelized onions. The steak was resting on top of a serving of the most decadently creamy, garlic mashed potatoes. Alongside were lengthwise wedges of grilled zucchini, which still had plenty of fresh bite. We traded tastes which left us each delighted with our own choice, but wanting more of the other’s entree!

After dinner, we were enjoying the experience so much that we decided to order coffee - not our usual custom. Even the coffee was great! It wasn’t just an afterthought, but a full bodied espresso roast that had us thinking about coffee in the North End of Boston. Then a single serving of Tiramisu arrived with two spoons. Each delectable bite had a feeling of “death by Tiramisu” about it. Tiramisu can be made in an industrial, mechanized way. Or it can be created with love like Mama used to make - if Mama was Italian and really knew her way around the kitchen. Someone at Picasso is making Tiramisu with love. Actually, the folks at Picasso are making everything with love and they’re serving nothing but their very best.

Need more convincing? Check out this stellar review in Worcester Magazine.

A Special Problem

Chuck and I aren’t big drinkers. I can hear members of my family who read this blog saying: “ Hey! How about that liquor closet of yours?” It’s true. We do have an entire, albeit small, closet devoted to wine, liquor, liqueurs and bar paraphernalia. But we really don’t drink that much, that often. (I’m going to stop trying to explain myself, because you folks are going to start thinking: “ Methinks she doth protest too much!”) However we are experiencing a bit of a liqueur crisis right now. We recently ran out of Kahlua Especial. That’s not the crisis. The crisis is that we can’t find it anywhere. I know. It’s true. We are the kiss of death with all kinds of wonderful products. But in this instance Kahlua is still producing this intense espresso liqueur, but no one in our area is carrying it.

So begins another quest. After trying several of the big liquor stores and a couple of packies, we’re going to attempt to special order it. We’ve had good luck in the past with special orders through Kappy’s in Leominster. Again, I think I’m compounding the perception about our alcohol consumption by mentioning we special order alcoholic beverages. Maybe I should just delete this entire post? Or perhaps I should mention that in a previous life I was a drug and alcohol counselor?

Aw, the heck with it! If you like coffee and you’re of legal drinking age wherever you reside, go try a bottle of Kahlua Especial. If enough of us keep enjoying it, they’ll never stop making it.

My finger is still hovering over the delete button...

Money

As the world economy continues to shudder, money is on the minds of many of us. So, tonight I first pose three questions:

What would you do with a million dollars?
What would you do with 10,000 dollars?
What would you do with 100 dollars?

I am fortunate to have regular readers from around the world. So I have re-posed the question in the top three nation’s currencies, at current exchange rates:

What would you do with 1,046,026 Australian Dollars?
What would you do with 10,460 Australian Dollars?
What would you do with 104 Australian Dollars?

What would you do with 503,347 British Pounds?
What would you do with 5,033 British Pounds?
What would you do with 50 British Pounds?

What would you do with 7,937,500 South African Rand?
What would you do with 79,375 South African Rand?
What would you do with 793 South African Rand?

Then, ask yourself, what would you do with those different amounts of money if you couldn’t spend any of it on yourself.

Me? I’d take the million and pay off the mortgage on our home. We’re halfway through the note, with the worst of the interest already paid, but it would be a big relief to own it “free and clear” as the saying goes. Maybe we’d even have a mortgage burning party, the way folks did, once upon a time. Then I’d see what I could do for my family members’ mortgages. (I wonder how far that million dollars would stretch?!) Then I’d put a rush on the new roof, the new windows and the paint job. Oh! And I’d love to get off the grid, so solar and wind power here we come! Hmmm... I fear I’m already way over my million dollar budget!

$10,000? Well, after a million dollars, that’s a serious cut in pay! I’d pay some bills, and set the rest aside for the new roof, but I wouldn’t call to put the same rush on!

$100? This inflation is gobbling up the resources faster than I expected! I’d go to a bookstore with Chuck and then out to dinner. How much we spent at the bookstore would determine where we dined.

Now for the non-me-me-me version:

With a million dollars, I would still want to help out my family. There are mortgages and school loans and weddings and... But I would also look at the charities and organizations we support: like the MSPCA, Mama Maria, the American Civil Liberties Union, Friends of Acadia and the Alzheimer’s Association. Because this is a critical election year here in the United States, we would contribute the maximum allowed by law to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Then, even though I am registered as “unenrolled” here in Massachusetts (small “i” independent), I’d send some money to the Democratic National Committee, because without a majority in Congress we’re in for more gridlock.

$10,000? I hope my family will forgive me, but it’s all going out the door to the charities and Barack Obama’s campaign.

$100? Wow, where would it do the most good? How could I make the greatest impact? Or does even the smallest stone tossed in the pond still send out a worthwhile ripple? O.K. Half would go to the American Red Cross because they help people in the worst moments of crisis and devastation. The other half, no surprise, Barack Obama’s campaign, because I’m looking toward the future.

What would you do?

Is it just me, or does anyone else have the Barenaked Ladies song “If I Had Million Dollars” running through their mind right now?

This Evening...

This evening, we sat in the the old green on green lawn chairs, on our front porch. The terry slipcovers felt good as the sun began to set and the dampness rolled in. The tall, thick glasses which held two Virgin Marys kept creating a steady flow of condensation, puddling it all on the table. Whenever we are going to be out there for a spell, we leave the front door open to the porch so the cats, Abby and Cassie, can come and go as they please. Cassie always darts out as soon as she hears the storm door open. Abby races up to the threshold, pauses, looks around carefully, then saunters out. They each explore and sniff every inch of the screened in space. For some reason, they often go to separate corners and then, as if on cue, trade places. Occasionally, one or both freezes in what approaches the feline version of a pointer’s stance. At that moment we know to look across the lawn for something like a chipmunk, a squirrel or, near dusk, bunny rabbits.

On several blogs I visited today, the topic of gratitude came up.
For all of the above, I am grateful.

Joy

If you want to see something sweet and perfect click here to see the first published photos of Sarah Faith! I guarantee it will put your whole day in perspective.

For those of you with sharp eyes, the answer is: “Yes”. This is the same photo I posted on June 20th. I just had some fun “growing” much pinker roses in Photoshop Elements!

Three On The Screen

I have a theory. Actually, I have many theories about many things, but today I’m referring specifically to a televised baseball theory. It is as follows:

If a batter hits a ball and three opposing players all converge and are visible on the television screen simultaneously, the odds are good that the ball will drop to the earth - uncaught.

Infield, outfield it doesn’t matter. Three on the screen is not good. Unless of course it’s three players from a team other than the Boston Red Sox. Then it’s still true, but very good! Keep an eye on the next televised baseball game you watch. Soon you’ll be sounding like me: “Three on the screen!” Which, depending on who’s in the field and who’s at the plate, will be followed by “Yes!” or “Noooooo!”

Yup. Some days it’s a whole lot of fun around here!

Second Life - No Not That One!

These two lawn chairs were my Mom and Dad’s when they lived in the house I mostly grew up in, on Post Road in Warwick, Rhode Island. That means they must date from the late 1970s or early 80s. Instead of a flat woven web, they’re covered in what I think must be a vinyl tubing, all on an aluminum frame. They are still very comfortable. But as is true of almost any lawn chair, if you sit on one while wearing shorts, there is a tendency to end up with some sort of stamped impression on the back of your legs when you stand up! In this case, that would be stripes.

So I decided to make a couple of slipcovers for them. I wanted the fabric to be washable, soft and not too thin. I also wanted to use something I had on hand - preferably recycling something in the bargain. That’s when I thought of some old cotton terry cloth bath sheets I had tucked away for whenever another dog joins our family. Because the towels were very worn and frayed on the edges, I first trimmed and hemmed the top and bottom. Then I draped one over a chair, fussed with it a bit and began pinning. I first stitched up the top pillowcase-like end on my trusty Singer. Then I slipped that part over the chair and decided what to do next. Some more pinning, stitching and then aggressive trimming ensued. Lastly, I did some machine tacking where the long front meets the pillowcase-like back. I figured that was the point most likely prone to strain.

The reason I made them so long was because I wanted to be able to use them on our foldable lounge chairs as well. We really like these covers. They’re soft and cozy and in this humid climate, help us avoid the clammy, clingy feeling of vinyl on bare skin. But I admit, they are a little ho-hum. So now I’m trying to decide if I want to tie dye them or dye them some other interesting way! Stay tuned...

Layout by LMR/Pink Granite. Software: Apple iPhoto ‘08 & Adobe PhotoShop Elements 4.0 for Mac. Fonts: Georgia, Bradley Hand ITC TT

Now They Are Three...

Sarah has arrived!

Fiona left a note in my comments this morning that Ronnie and her husband Steven, welcomed their daughter Sarah into the world! Here’s what Fiona wrote:

Hi Lee, just to let you know that Veronica and Steven have had the most beautiful baby girl. Her name as you know is Sarah. She had her operation on the same day she was born and it went well. She will have to be in intensive care for about 2 to 3 weeks. Veronica will be home soon and will do a beautiful post I am sure with the most gorgeous pictures. - Fiona

We’ll keep holding Sarah in our thoughts and sending strength and love her way until she is home in her Mom and Dad’s arms!

A Little More Spring...

...before summer officially arrives.

Rose

Iris

Allium


I mentioned this in the comments, but our cat Abby’s tests all came back normal. Of perhaps equal importance, she now seems her usual self. Her veterinarian wants us to keep an eye on her in case anything else out of the ordinary emerges. But, knock wood, so far so good! Thanks for all the good wishes!

Good Luck Del & Phyllis!

Del and Phyllis have been a couple for 55 years. They were married this week. They actually were married once before, in San Francisco, in 2004. But the California Supreme Court stepped in to say it wasn’t a legal marriage because Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon are a lesbian couple. However, the California Supreme Court recently ruled that same sex couples do have the constitutional right to marry. So longtime partners and activists Del, age 87 and Phyllis, age 83 were married once again on Monday evening, by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. They were among many same sex couples married in California this week, with many more planning weddings over the summer.

This November, a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in California will be on the November ballot. I hope Del and Phyllis will not have to endure another reversal of their marital status.

Please Stop

If you smoke tobacco, please stop now.
If you chew tobacco, please stop now.

I quit smoking twenty-three years ago, back in 1985.
Today we attended the funeral of a friend of ours who smoked cigarettes nearly his entire adult life.
He died of lung cancer.
He was 61.

Need help? Start here:

American Cancer Society
American Lung Association
Australia - Quit Now
South Africa - Ten Tips To Quit
United Kingdom - Go Smoke Free

I know it’s not easy.
I know it’s worth it.

Hello Cybele!

This beautiful butterfly arrived at just the right moment yesterday afternoon. It had been a day of ups and downs. Starting early in the morning, Abby, our twelve year old cat of “The Look” fame, wasn’t feeling well. (A trip to our wonderful veterinarian this afternoon, along with some tests, will hopefully reveal more in the next few days.) Later in the morning, we learned of the death of an old friend and former colleague of ours. He was just 61 years old. In the afternoon, Chuck spoke with his Dad out in Washington State. It was one of the better phone calls he has had with his Dad since we returned from our visit back in April. Dad sounded strong and in good spirits. It was the highlight of the day.

Toward the end of the afternoon, we stepped out onto the front porch to sit and read the newspapers for a little while. That’s when we found this lovely creature clinging upside down, to the inside of one of the old screen panels. I stepped back in the house to retrieve the camera and shot the photos you see above. (Unfortunately the camera and I had trouble getting the focus on the butterfly and not the screen or the world beyond the screen.) When it clung lightly to Chuck’s finger for the trip outside to the waiting tree, we were both amazed and delighted. After some research in a nature book and on the internet, we discovered it is a Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) - a very cool name, a very cool moment.

Layout by LMR/Pink Granite. Software: Apple iPhoto ‘08 & Adobe PhotoShop Elements 4.0 for Mac. Fonts: Arial, Bradley Hand ITC TT

You can click on the image to get a better look at “Cybele”.

Happy Father's Day!

Chuck and I were both fortunate to have great Dads. My Dad passed away an impossibly long twenty years ago. Chuck’s Dad is 93 and lives in Washington State where we visited him this spring. The saying goes that any guy can be a father, but it takes a special man to be a dad. So here’s to all the dads, grandfathers and great-grandfathers. And here’s to all the godfathers, big brothers, uncles and good men who serve as father figures. Happy Father’s Day to you all!

The layout above, is the card we sent to Chuck’s Dad for Father's Day this year. I wanted it to be very simple, clean and crisp graphically, in order to allow Dad to enjoy it more easily. The snapshot is one of the earliest we have of the brand new family of three back in 1943. I started out with the scanned copy to the right and tweaked, “healed” and cropped it. The photo was taken in the midst of World War II, when Dad was serving in the Army. I love how Mom and Dad have Chuck (CeeGee as they called him) protected in their mutual embrace. I love the look of happiness, wonder and confidence that shines out through the grainy image. The world was in crisis and chaos. But after much thought and soul searching, Betty and Milton decided to try to create a family, even in a world that could allow a Hitler to come to power.

Layout by LMR/Pink Granite. Software: Apple iPhoto ‘08 & Adobe PhotoShop Elements 4.0 for Mac. Fonts: American Typewriter, Lucida Handwriting

Got Ribs?

More to the point: need ribs? Ever since Armadillo’s second incarnation, on Park Avenue in Worcester, went out of business, it’s been a challenge to find decent barbeque in the area. When Chuck was working in Greater Boston, we used to swing by the consistently excellent (and aptly named) “Blue Ribbon Bar-B-Q” in Arlington. We would call in our order and pick it up “to go”. No matter how well they packed it up for us, as the smoky aroma filled our car, the ride home became excruciatingly long! We’ve been to Firefly’s in Marlborough a couple of times and it’s been good. But as Chuck has reported: “Our socks are still on.” We tried The Texas BBQ Company in Northborough and it too was good, but, again, nothing to write home about. Wild Willy’s in Worcester helped take the edge off our jonesing for barbeque with their very good chili and tasty burgers. But they don’t pretend to be a barbeque joint, so our search continued.

Well, the search is over. Welcome Texas Roadhouse! You know I prefer local, independent places to national chains, but I will happily and no doubt repeatedly, make an exception for Texas Roadhouse. The other day, Chuck had a craving for ribs. Thinking it meant a long distance trip or settling for ersatz barbeque somewhere, I began suggesting all kinds of local, yet non-barbeque alternatives. No dice. Chuck suggested we try the Texas Roadhouse over on Lincoln Street. I wasn’t enthused, but he’s my BFF/Hero/Wonder Hubby so I resisted whining and off we went. It was after eight o’clock on a Thursday night, but the parking lot was crowded. The restaurant has the look of a western theme park about it from the outside and when we walked in, it was dimly lit, crowded and very noisy. A pleasantly chipper hostess greeted us immediately and began to take us to our table. She must have caught my deer-in-the-headlights look and paused to ask if this was our first visit. She explained how everything worked as she brought us over to our booth. Two tin buckets were waiting for us; one filled with roasted peanuts, the other waiting for the shells. "What have I gotten myself into?" I thought as I smiled gamely at Chuck.

Another enthusiastic staffer approached. It was Maria, our server for the evening. She was great; patient, friendly and most importantly, met my number one requirement: attentive without being intrusive. We read the menu. In light of our recent forays to Wild Willy’s, I decided to get an “All American Cheddar Burger” to which I added bacon. Chuck ordered the “Fall Off The Bone Ribs”. Again, because of Wild Willy’s, we each ordered a cup of the Chili. The Chili arrived first and it was darn good. Straightforward, beef and bean chili with the right flavors and just enough spicy heat. I was no longer feeling grim. Then the entrees arrived. The steak fries accompanying my burger were very good. The burger came on a “Goldilocks” bun: not too big, not too small, but just the right size and of good flavor. The burger itself was well charred and cooked just to the medium side of well done, which turned out to be great. It was really delicious. While I was exploring my plate, Chuck was tucking into his ribs. He had ordered the green beans which had a very good pot liquor flavor about them, but were still identifiably green! The mashed potatoes were real and tasted thus. But it was the ribs that had Chuck on the verge of a “When Harry Met Sally” moment. They were exactly as the menu promised: fall off the bone tender, well charred, smoky, with a slightly caramelized sauce on the outside.

Chuck was raised in St. Louis, Missouri. They know from barbeque in that neck of the woods. Add to that, his Dad liked to barbeque on the blacktop turnaround behind the carport, which was attached to their ranch house. For Chuck, barbeque is all tangled up with happy memories of childhood, St. Louis, his Dad and summer weekends framed by charcoal smoke. The barbeque bar is set very high for my husband. Last Thursday night, Texas Roadhouse cleared that bar. Chuck was happy. I was happy. There was just a slight pang as something precious and perfect from the past seemed to be eclipsed. But it wasn’t really. The Roadhouse had just brought all those good memories flooding back - and that was at no charge.

Flag Day

“...indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

It Doesn't Seem Possible

Tim Russert of the NBC television network passed away suddenly today at the age of 58. He is survived by his wife Maureen Orth, their son Luke and his Dad “Big Russ”, who was the subject of Tim’s 2004 bestselling book “Big Russ and Me”. Tim was the heart and head of all things political at NBC and MSNBC. Being as interested in politics as Chuck and I are, this feels like a personal loss to us, based on that strangely deep connection we have with folks that communicate to us through the vivid TV screen.

Turnabout’s Fair Play

Since I asked you for help on that bizarro tech problem yesterday, it seems only fair to share a helpful tip with you. (Unfortunately, as yet, no one has provided the magic solution, but I really appreciate the moral support!) An enduring problem around our household is paper - financial statements, bills, third class mail, receipts - what have you - trees are dying at an alarming rate as their remains pile up around us! A few months ago, we switched over to on-line bill paying and it has been a revolution and a revelation. I absolutely love it.

That electronic success got me looking for other ways to cut down on paper waste. We use a Mac laptop with the Leopard operating system and Safari as our primary internet browser. When we want to print something, we have the option of choosing to print a page on paper or save it as a PDF (Adobe’s Portable Document Format). In the past, I might see a clever how-to or a potentially yummy recipe and I would print it out onto actual paper. But then I had to find the right place to put it so I could easily lay my hands on it when I wanted it. Let’s just say that “system” wasn’t working well.

Instead, I have now created several folders within my general Documents folder in my computer. One is called “Recipe Box” another “Digi-Scrap Tips & How Tos” another “Family Tree Information”, etc. (These individual folders live in my Mac’s Finder Sidebar for easy access.) Now, when I want to save a craft pattern or JPEG of a census record or recipe, etc., I save it as a PDF or drag and drop it onto my Desktop. Then I slide it into the appropriate folder and Ta Da - saved and filed!

This electronic filing system is also fully and easily searchable (unlike those teetering piles of mixed paper). Using my computer’s Search Box or Spotlight, I just need to type in a word or two like “Gazpacho” and up pops a list of everywhere that word can be found: a recipe in my “Recipe Box”, a layout in my “Digi- Scrapbook Pages Completed”, even a poem in “Poetry & Prose”.

Maybe you’ve been doing this forever. If so, why didn’t you tell me about it?! But if not, give it a try. To get you started, take a look at designer Amy Butler’s free downloadable patterns. Her fabrics are luscious. Click on this link which will take you to Amy’s main page. Then click on “Free Patterns” at the bottom of the column of choices and begin downloading, filing and saving a tree.

P.S. Don’t forget to back up your computer - frequently and in multiple ways! You have all kinds of fabulous things stored in there!

Sunlight

We’ve all heard the rumors, innuendos and outright lies. Now you can read the facts about Senator Barack Obama and his wife Michelle at a webpage devoted to debunking the rumors.

Relief & A Tech Question

The heat broke last night. It broke rather noisily with high winds, heavy rains, frequent lightning and enough rolling waves of thunder, that it was difficult to try to count off the miles. Unlike some nearby neighbors, we did not lose our power and we had no damage from the storm.

I’ve been happily humming right along with my digital scrapbooking. Believe me, it was wonderful to be able to work on my laptop computer in the air conditioned bedroom over the weekend! This morning I finished up another layout in Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 for Mac. I duplicated the PSD file and saved it as a JPEG file. I then printed out my JPEG of the file onto my absolute favorite paper - the Double Sided Matte Photo Supreme from Staples - using our Canon PIXMA MP810 All-in-One Photo Printer (I tried to find a link, but I think Canon has replaced it with a newer model). Out it comes with a strangely heavy drop shadow under one of the layers. I looked at the computer screen and tipped it back and forth. Sometimes the position of the screen leads to a differences in how images appear. It did look a little heavy, so I tweaked it a little. I printed it out again on the back side of the paper (just another reason I love that paper). This time it looked better. But strangely, the direction that the “light” was coming from to create the “drop shadow” had changed. Instead of coming from the top left down toward the bottom right as I wanted, it appeared to be coming from the bottom left toward the upper right. But what made this head-scratchingly-puzzling was that it looked one way on the screen and this completely different way on the paper! Hunh?

One of the things that I love about working in PSE is the WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) functionality. I have never had anything like this happen before. I’ve poked around in PSE Help, in PSE itself and on the internet. I’ve learned a whole bunch of neato stuff which is great, but nothing which helps me solve this particular oddity.

So, Dear Readers, any suggestions would be appreciated. Especially one which says: “Oh that happened to me and I can have you all sorted out in two shakes of a lamb’s tail!” That one would be awesome! Thanks in advance...

The Look

This is Abby. This is Abby this afternoon. This is Abby stretched out in the open window in our bathroom on the second floor. Outside it was about 95 F (35 C). Inside it was about 85 F (29 C). Abby was so hot and so fed up with the heat and humidity that she didn’t even race away when I brought out the camera. Instead, she just rolled her head in my direction and gave me the look.

It’s O.K. Abby. I totally, completely understand how you feel. No. I’m not anthropomorphizing. I really, totally, completely get that look. Just ask Chuck. He’s seen that look more and more as this heat wave has gone on. He really, totally, completely gets that look too!

Cats As Thermometers

Just when I begin to think I am a complete heat wimp, my cats vindicate me. Both Abby and Cassie have been suddenly dropping to the floor and sprawling out in a variety of ungainly poses. They only do this when we are deep in the Three Hs: Hazy, Hot & Humid. Neither will allow me to photograph them in these undignified positions. But I don’t want to be photographed all flushed and “glowing” (read sweat pouring off me) as I fan myself incessantly, so I really can’t complain. Cassie likes to lay on her side, head up, legs in four directions, making herself as long as possible. Abby will lay flat on her stomach, legs in four directions or flat on her back, otter style, paws in the air. As if to provide me with further proof, they have even deigned to join us in the bedroom with the air conditioner and neither one likes the hum it makes.

Thank you girls. Mommy feels (irrationally) much cooler.

Hip Hip Hooray Morgan!

I couldn’t find a flower named Morgan, so an Iris will have to do!

There are two milestones today in the blogosphere.
One: Today is the birthday of Morgan of DancingMorganMouse!
Two: Today, Morgan, of DancingMorganMouse, wrote and uploaded her 1000th post!!!

Thanks for keeping us on our toes and entertained!

Feel free to drag and drop this banner onto your blog Morgan!

Bzzzzzzzz!

In the midst of the heat and humidity, our rhododendron is suddenly a riot of blooms and frothy color! The lilacs and their heady scent have nearly all gone past, but now the mock orange is pouring its perfume in our bedroom window. Along with that distinctive spicy, floral scent comes the constant sound of bees buzzing!
Lots of bees buzzing - everywhere!

Honeybee on the Mock Orange


Our Rhododendron (Weigela in the foreground)
That’s a second story window on the right!


Bumblebee on the Rhododendron

Ready, Set, Heat!

If the meteorologists are correct, then all of our preparations should pay off. The last few days have been cool and damp, including some much needed, steady rain (yay!). But the weather prognosticators are saying that we are in for an “official” heat wave. That means three or more consecutive days with temperatures above 90 (32 C) degrees. If either of my sisters, who live in Georgia and Arizona, are reading this, they are no doubt doubled over in laughter and calling us heat wimps! Heat wimps we may well be. I have no idea how they tolerate the fierce heat and, for Gail in Georgia, the sweltering humidity. I know I couldn’t handle it!

While my sisters need and have central air conditioning, we use an Energy Star window air conditioner, which Chuck installed in our bedroom yesterday. That along with ceiling and stand fans, a screened front porch and my favorite low-tech accessory gets us through the hottest of summer days. This afternoon, to further prepare, I cooked up a storm. I made up a big bowl of pasta salad with lots of veggies. Then I cooked a double batch of felafel. Finally, I made my quick gazpacho, this time using the fire roasted tomatoes. Now everything is stowed in the refrigerator, ready to be pressed into service to help pull together quick meals.

Of course, this flurry of activity to get ready for the predicted heat wave, could be akin to carrying an umbrella and insuring it doesn’t rain! I’ll keep you posted...

Save The World, One Rooftop At A Time

Colin Beavan, in his blog No Impact Man, continues to write thought provoking and inspiring posts even though his one year extreme environmental experiment is over. His recent post about urban rooftop farming struck me as logical, brilliant and doable! Take a few moments to check it out - especially the “cool links” at the bottom of his post.

Merry Christmas!

In addition to the Tulip Fairy we have a seasonally challenged Amaryllis. Which isn’t really an Amaryllis but a Hippeastrum, which is part of the Amaryllidaceae family. As opposed to the real Amaryllis which is known as Belladonna Lily or Naked Ladies. Does your head hurt? Mine does.

Anyhoo, a couple of Christmases ago I purchased an Amaryllis bulb “kit” in a box to give as a gift. The “kit” consisted of an Amaryllis bulb (which we now know was really a Hippeastrum bulb), a bag of potting soil, and a plastic pot. For some reason (unknown to me now) I never wrapped said “kit” up and gifted it to anyone. But I also forgot to open and pot up the poor thing. One day, months later I’m embarrassed to admit, I spotted a leaf sticking out of the side of the cardboard box. Such guilt! You can only imagine. So I quickly opened the long forgotten box and potted up the forlorn bulb which had sent out its effective little semaphore. But I was too late.

Or so I thought. I placed the pot with its limp leaf in the kitchen window, just above the sink where it would get the morning sun and warm, moist air from dish washing. It threw up another leaf and then another, each one greener and healthier than the last. But alas, no fabulously showy Amaryllis (er - Hippeastrum) flower emerged. But we left it where it was all through the spring and summer months. By last autumn, all the leaves were looking ragged and wan. I was tempted to compost the poor thing just to end my prolonged guilt. Or, better still, try putting it out in the potting shed to give it a bit of cold and then try bringing it back in around, well, Christmas.

But I never got around to taking action in either direction. It just sat contentedly above the kitchen sink, getting the morning sun and the occasional spritz of water from the dish sprayer. A while ago, some new leaves emerged. Then, a couple of weeks ago, a bud began to push up. We couldn’t believe our eyes! Over the next few days it pushed determinedly upward, both stalk and bud thickening daily and stretching to its present height of 32 inches (81.28 centimeters) - with three buds in all! Wow!




Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Spring and Summer too!

Believe!

It was four years ago this summer that Chuck and I stood before our television in our kitchen, riveted by a passionate speaker at the Democratic Party Convention in Boston. Chills ran down our spines. We applauded. We were choked up with emotion. We felt the first wave of hope in four long years - no, even longer. The speaker was Barack Obama.

Tonight, Senator Barack Obama is the presumptive presidential nominee of the Democratic party! Tonight, he spoke again, just as passionately, just as powerfully. Below is an excerpt from the finale of his speech.

“...Americans are a decent, generous, compassionate people, united by common challenges and common hopes.  And every so often, there are moments which call on that fundamental goodness to make this country great again. 
 
So it was for that band of patriots who declared in a Philadelphia hall the formation of a more perfect union; and for all those who gave on the fields of Gettysburg and Antietam their last full measure of devotion to save that same union.
 
So it was for the Greatest Generation that conquered fear itself, and liberated a continent from tyranny, and made this country home to untold opportunity and prosperity. 
 
So it was for the workers who stood out on the picket lines; the women who shattered glass ceilings; the children who braved a Selma bridge for freedom’s cause. 
 
So it has been for every generation that faced down the greatest challenges and the most improbable odds to leave their children a world that’s better, and kinder, and more just.
 
And so it must be for us.  
 
America, this is our moment.  This is our time.  Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past.  Our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face.  Our time to offer a new direction for the country we love.
 
The journey will be difficult.  The road will be long.  I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations.  But I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people.  Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth.  This was the moment – this was the time – when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals.  Thank you, God Bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.”

- Senator Barack Obama
June 3, 2008
St. Paul, Minnesota

You can read the entire speech, as prepared, here.

Or you can watch and listen to Senator Obama here: