Tuesday Randomality

Some random thoughts that have been percolating around in my head today....

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Today was the first day that really said "spring" to me. Even without the sun out, the atmosphere felt warm and gentle and softened around the edges. The harsh, barren look of winter is gone! The birdsong ringing throughout the neighborhood made me think of a Baroque symphony as I walked Jewel, and I could smell the earth. Finally, you can see a haze of soft pink and red and yes, even green on the tips of the trees. When I get home from work, I hear kid's voices outside--see kids on bicycles.

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Yesterday at work, I had an illuminating conversation with a customer. A painter who is somewhat well-known in the area had come in to price frames for an upcoming show. She asked if I, too, was an artist and I said I was, b-u-t...really hadn't done much with my art since becoming a parent. She told me she didn't take off with her art until after her last child was away at college. That was inspiring to me and made me think it might be "okay" to be a late bloomer after all.

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I saw this magazine cover when I was in the grocery store today: Why does every celebrity now think they are that interesting when they are pregnant? Do they not realize that millions of other people have, yes, carried babies and the public have seen plenty of bulging bellies. And, Mariah, that is a rather unflattering photo of you and why do you have a need to share it with the whole world? Didn't Demi Moore and countless other copy-cat expectant celeb mothers already do this gimmick?? Why do so many celebrities feel that their pregnancy is so much more interesting than any other pregnancy? "All about the babies"...spare me!

Just last weekend, I finished re-reading the second of the two memoirs ("A Girl From Yamhill" was the first, and "My Own Two Feet" the second) written by Beverly Cleary, of Beezus and Ramona, Henry Huggins, Mouse And The Motorcycle, and other books fame. I was so enchanted with her early life in the 1920's and Depression era 1930's that I started to wonder if she were even still alive and I had to look it up. I was relieved to learn she was indeed, still alive and would turn 95 this year. And her birthday happens to be today. This is a woman whose books I discovered in the second grade and I felt I "knew" her characters, especially Beezus and her little sister, Ramona. To walk to my elementary schools when I was growing up in Augusta, Maine, I cut through two yards from my street to a Quimby Street, and that was the last name of Ramona in the book(who actually lived on Klikitat Street--I'll always remember that). I really related to those books, and even though Cleary's characters in her books lived on the other coast all the way over in Oregon, I saw my own neighborhood when I read the books and it felt familiar to me. I got to relive a little of my childhood over again when I read some of the Beezus and Ramona books to Rachel when she was younger, too.

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Finally, an amazing video showing some intra-species love(or else the fish breath on the dolphin was what was attracting the cat!). This is guaranteed to make you feel all gooey inside...awww...

Spring Fever with Martinis

These pics are from last Sunday, when Mr. F and I spent the afternoon strolling around Newport and had a few martinis at The Red Parrot. All in all, a slightly indulgent, barely warm(cool breeze off the harbor) early spring day. I took these photos, mostly on Spring Street(walking on the sunny side of the street, of course) as we walked back from the Red Parrot.

This centuries old house appeared to be vacant and abandoned....

Masses of purple crocuses blooming in a little square in front of the White Horse Tavern, which at one time was once run by a pirate!--a little history:

Frances Brinley constructed the original building on the site in 1652. In 1673, the lot was sold to William Mayes, and the building was enlarged to become a tavern. The building was also used for large meetings, including use as a Rhode Island General Assembly meeting place, a court house, and a city hall. William Mayes, Sr., obtained a tavern license in 1687 and William Mayes, Jr., a well-known pirate, operated the tavern through the early eighteenth century. The operation was named "The White Horse Tavern" in 1730 by owner Jonathan Nichols.

During the American Revolution, Tories and British troops were quartered there around the time of the British occupation and the Battle of Rhode Island.

After years of neglect as a boarding house, Newport's Van Bueren family donated money to the private Preservation Society of Newport to restore the building in 1952. After the restoration, the building was sold and once again operated as a private tavern and restaurant. As of 2011, it still remains a popular drinking and dining location.

Mr. F's white chocolate and espresso martini.

I had a French Martini, made with Chambord, vanilla vodka(yeah, I had no idea there was such a thing, either), and pineapple juice, and I liked it so much I have since made it at home.

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*1 1/2 oz vodka

(I used vanilla vodka since that was how they made it at the Red Parrot)

*1/2 oz Chambord Liqueur

*2 oz Pineapple Juice

**

Shake this really well in cocktail shaker with plenty of ice--the pineapple juice gets nice and frothy, making this drink almost creamy.

To end...a Blogthing quiz(haven't done one of these in some time):

You Are a Blue Martini

You may have had a difficult time earlier in life. You are highly sensitive and a little cautious. You are a reserved and careful person, but you don't let that stop you from doing your thing. Old fashioned and conservative, you carry yourself with dignity. You don't embarrass yourself. You are attracted to powerful people who have a good deal of influence. You wouldn't mind some of that rubbing off on you.

What Color Martini Are You?

Swampin'

Pussywillow (Salix discolor)

After dropping R off at here driver's ed. class at 8:00 at the University campus in Kingston this morning, I met my sister for a walk(turned out to be a two hour long one!) through the Great Swamp Management area nearby.

This 3,475-acre property near West Kingston in southern Rhode Island includes 2,600 acres of forested wetlands in the floodplains of the Chickasheen, Usquepaug, and Pawcatuck rivers. Red maple, Atlantic white cedar, red oak, white oak, white pine, and American holly are important tree species. The Great Neck, a higher-elevation drumlin near the center of the WMA, was farmed and pastured before being abandoned in the early to mid-1900s. The Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife manages Great Swamp WMA for wildlife conservation, hunting and fishing, and compatible public recreation. Waterfowl, American woodcock, ruffed grouse, Northern bobwhite, whip-poor-will, osprey, Northern harrier, New England cottontail, Eastern cottontail, beaver, bobcat, river otter, fisher, coyote, red and gray foxes, and white-tailed deer are some of the wild species inhabiting the area.

from http://www.timberdoodle.org/node/74

Swampdog

Lucky Jewel got to come along, and was in all her glory as a true bird dog on the trails and along the shores of the swamp itself, sniffing out waterfowl, deer and who-knows-what-else scents. She also had fun chasing Canada geese into the water . We spotted osprey(fish eagles) overhead, some carrying giant branches to add to their nests. Although, from these photos, not much looks alive and green and growing yet, the trees were full of birds and their birdsong, and we spotted some trees--shadbark and I *think* witch hazel(not entirely sure)in bloom.

This is me sitting on a (cold as) stone "chair" along one of the trails.

Some green showing in a boggy place among the still-bare trees.

Vernal pools, unseen, deeper in the woods were the source of "spring peeper"(Pseudacris crucifer) frog sounds(one of the earliest signs of spring here, and usually loudest--a true chorus--at night). Interestingly, while looking up the correct Latin classification name for the this frog, which all my life I had always only known them as "peepers", I learned that on Martha's Vineyard they are called "pinkletinks". Heh.

Listen to the peepers here.

Typical New England woodland --rocks and stones all over, sometimes with trees growing out of a split rock like this one.

Yes, the landscape is flat.

Jewel, sniffing away, and my sister, Angela.

Yesterday was Thursday, Thursday

....today i-s Friday, Friday.... Yes, its that time, again--Friday Fill-In time (go here if you want to participate).

** 1. In the near darkness _____I spotted some neighbors gathered around a fire in their yard on a chilly evening.

** 2. The door to my daughter's horrifcally untidy bedroom remains closed _____ til further notice.(I can't even look--it makes my blood pressure rise)

** 3. But this _____kitchen was clean yesterday!?!

** 4. Bopping in the country, fishing _____ in a stream. ("Honky Cat" E. John, B. Taupin)

** 5. It's always nice _____when my daughter(likewise husband/co-workers/sister, etc.) and I are getting along.

** 6. My daughter is a gentle and sunny soul, has a sense of humor_____ and (usually) pleasant company.

** 7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _____ "Jane Eyre" --the latest movie adaptation(will see it at the cold, old Jane Pickens Theater in Newport), tomorrow my plans include _____bringing R to her driver's ed class and then a hike with my sister and my dog through the Great Swamp and Sunday, I want to _____get a card and present out in the mail to both my brother and his daughter(my niece, Ella) since I missed both their birthdays this week. Oops!

Back and Forth

Is it April already??

I guess I should get a blog entry written then. Since April began, we have had snow and then a few days later, a warm enough day that I peeled down to a tank top to rake up dead leaves and winter's debris from my front lawn.

My days have been pretty busy, mostly because of my daughter's activities, including a driver's education class on weekends(both Saturday and Sunday) and her being in the band, chorus AND a musical play(with some rehearsals ending at 10:00 at night). Other times, my brain is lazy and can't bring myself to write anything, preferring to lounge on the couch or in bed at night reading.

Often, I think of things to write about and see/hear things throughout my day that I want to share here, but it doesn't actually ever happen. I don't have an iPhone or iPad or any other way to communicate and blog, other than our home PC. Yeah, I am really old school.

Here is a rundown of a typical day this spring--my day yesterday in all its "to and froing" mundane glory(what I can remember of it).

6:10 AM

My "alarm" goes off, which means R's alarm goes off in her room, she gets right up(gotta love a teenager who can do that every school morning) to let Jewel out of her room, and Jewel runs into my bedroom and jumps on the bed, does her Snoopy yawn/yowl and I am awake. Which is actually a good way to be woken up. Because of her presence, I get to start the morning off happy(sometimes laughing a little, depending on how crazy her Snoopy yawn comes out that day), scratching behind Jewel's ears and petting her as she curls up in the space between me and Mr. F.

6:15 AM

I finally force myself to fling the covers off me, step into my fuzzy slippers and stumble into the bathroom to wash my face. The mornings are usually still dark enough that I have to turn the light on in there, and that is always a painful thing to do--that harsh ceiling light first thing.

6:17 AM

Let the cat out,

get the coffee going in the kitchen,

let the dog out,

pull some things out of the fridge to make my daughter a lunch,

let the dog back in,

fill her water and food bowl,

then make R's lunch.

Yesterday, I made a a beautiful big salad (spring greens, sliced avocado, chick peas, cucumber slices, carrot curls, grated Monterrey Jack cheese, with a small dash of Balsamic vinegar dressing on top) for her, cut up some pita bread triangles, a can of Coke(sad to say, but with her schedule these days, my girl has discovered the virtues of caffeine, drinking coffee, tea and colas quite often), and a Luna nutrition bar.

6:21 AM

Pour myself my first cup of coffee. Ahhhh....

6:22 AM

Turn on computer, stare out the window(foggy and grey putside), listen to the birds.

6:24 AM

Check the day's e-mails(trying to avoid the news blurbs on the homepage),

see my reminder that I have an 8:10 dentist's appointment.

Groan a little about it since I now know I can't be lazy on my Tuesday morning (my day off during the week).

6:30 AM

Say "good morning" to Mr. F in the hallway, as I go to refill my cup and he heads into the bathroom for his shower.

6:38 AM

Double check with R what her schedule after school is today. She has a field trip with the concert band to a state-wide competition where they will be "adjudicated"(I never heard this word in my life until last year when she started using it for these music shows) where she'll leave school on a bus at 11:30 and return by 3:00 to school, so I'll be picking her up then.

6:39 AM

Let the cat back in (after hearing his typical banging of the back door's screen door--his way of letting us know he wants in).

6:45 AM

Say good-bye to R as she slips out the front door.

Get dressed.

Eat a bowl of cereal.

7:00 AM

Help Mr. F load the bins of recyclable cans, bottles and cardboard and paper into the back of my car(they are overflowing, so my plan is to take them to the dump after my dentist appointment).

7: 05 AM

Kiss Mr. F good-bye, and take Jewel out for her morning walk down to the river.

7: 25 AM

Brush teeth extra well!

Leave house for dentist's appointment(usually a 20 minute drive unless I get stuck behind a lot of commuters on the hill to get onto the main road).

7:37 AM

Finally get out onto the main road, after having sat in traffic through a few lights on the hill.

8:09 AM

Get to dentist's office in the nick of time. Get teeth checked and cleaned(that hygienist was brutal on my gums!).

9:00 AM

Back into car, gums hurting a little. Head in opposite direction to get to the local dump to get rid of my recyclables.

10:40 AM

Get back to house, after errands(post office and drugstore after leaving dump), very hungry!

10:45 AM

Heat up oven for frozen breaded eggplant patties for lunch(with a tomato sauce between bread), put eggplant in oven.

10:50 AM

Notice there is a message on my phone and listen to R's pleading voice telling me she forgot her black tights and could I bring them to the school? (they are required to be dressed in all black-no bare legs showing). Shut oven off, and take out half-baked eggplant patties.

10:55 AM

Jump back into car(with Jewel ), grumbling to myself about this daughter who forgets everything and how lucky she is that I was even home to hear that message and be able to rescue her from her predicament as I drive towards the school. Trying to reason with myself not to be upset with her since she has so much to remember and I know I couldn't do any better, and if anything she gets her scatter shot attitude from me.

11:15 AM

Hand a bag holding the black tights to R in the school's office and immediately forget my anger over the incident when I see her smiling face and get a happy hug of thanks from her. I tell her "good luck" , and I get in the car and drive back home.

11:30 AM

Get back to the house,

finish cooking my lunch.

2:47 PM

Get call from daughter saying they will be late getting back to school and then wait until I hear from her again to know when to pick her up.

4:30 PM

After getting the second call from daughter, drive back to the high school,

wait 15 minutes for the arrival of the bus and then drive back home with her.

6:00 PM

After Mr. F gets home, we decide we want pizza for supper, so I get back in the car once again and drive to pick up a margherita pizza.

6:30 PM

The ex-boyfriend(!) comes to pick up Rachel for the play's rehearsal. Earlier, I had asked her to try to see if anyone could give her a ride to the school since I was getting a little weary(my butt was actually getting stiff from sitting in that car seat so much all day) of driving(and my car's gas tank running a little low by now), thinking of someone near our neighborhood who could swing by, but instead she asked him?!?

7:55 PM

After kitchen clean-up and discovering that my daughter never even ate the salad I made for her(aaarrgghhh..! Why do I bother sometimes?!), I draw a bath and take a long soak in the tub, knowing that I could finally relax because Mr. F was going to go and bring R home from the rehearsal(ending at 9:30).