cheers!

I'm walking the 3 day this weekend. I'm almost at my goal! Ernest is going dig deep to get me there.

If you are in Seattle, bored or just want to cheer me on. I'll be the one walking and talking too much and not wearing pink.

Here is the listing of cheering stations. I'm happy to say that R&L, TH and Ernest and Missy's Frank will be visiting us along the way.

Friday, September 12:

9:00 am - 1:00 pm
First Baptist Church and Pilgrim Lutheran Church parking lots
10431 SE 11th St. and 10420 SE 11th St.
(Parking is also available at Church of Christ off of SE 11th St.)
Bellevue, WA 98004

10:00 am - 2:00 pm
McCormick Park
NE 12th St. between 106th Pl NE and 112th Ave. NE
(Parking is available across the street and in nearby neighborhood)
Bellevue, WA 98004

Saturday, September 13:

8:30 am - 11:00 am
Spectralux Corporation
12335 - 134th Court NE
Redmond, WA 98052

11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Ben Franklin Elementary
12434 NE 60th Street
Kirkland, WA 98033

Sunday, September 14:

8:00 am - 11:00 am
Green Lake Park
7201 E Green Lake Dr. N
Seattle, WA 98115
Click here for map of cheering area

I'm taking next weekend off.

Really.

I am back, I am swamped, I am fine.

Way too many pictures and thoughts for the five minutes I have to share with you.

The 3 day, my manuscript revisions, countless work obligations, the upcoming presidential elections (ugh, Palin, ugh, barf) and the tristesse of dusk at 7:40 is too much to bear.

This last trip made me realize that I do enjoy active trips -- not just tromping around Rome or the Perigord, but hiking for three to four hours a day is appealing, as long as it is followed by a night in a hotel.

I'm thinking the Dolomites or Croatia, somewhere with better coffee than Illulisat.

nm

Thursday update

First of all.. other than a few stray ice pellets hitting me on taxi, I could get used to flying non stop to London and in a class of service that is way above my means.

Other than the first business/first class flight that TH spoiled me with while in grad school and our Qantas biz segment from Los Angeles to Aukland, this flight rocked the free world.

Now I am in Copenhagen with a million affluent baby boomers who are cruising somewhere.

Is it the way of their tribe to display all their wealth on their fingers and wrists? Serious overkill peeps, it looks like breeding plumage at the bird sanctuary.

I have walked around for about an hour and a half, but alas nothing currently slays me. It could be due to tiredness or the grey weather or that everything I wanted to see is closed already. I cannot get over the number of UK and US chains I am seeing!

Welcome to a brave new world.

Maybe next time I will be more enthused about CPH. I am currently sitting in a decent looking resto awaiting my white asparagus starter.
The waiter has taken pity on me and brought me a standard pitcher of Danish tap water. I love him.

On the Greenland front TH reports sunny weather in Manitsoq, so at least we have something to look forward to.


nm minding her ps and qs

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

This is the day

It really bums me out that I am missing the DNC. Last time around I saw Senator Kerry give his last speech in front of the Philadelphia Art Museum right before he accepted the nomination at the DNC.

We watched speeches with some of our colleagues from Boulder who were delegates in 2000.

This year one of my childhood friends is one of the Washington delegates. I am so proud of her as I am of everyone who gives their time and sweat to bring forth poositive change to this country.

As I sit in the lounge before my journey I am watching the breaking story of no roll call for the delegates. As a child this was my favorite part of the conventions -of any party.

The delegates from each state casting their votes and all the cheering. It made me proud to be an American.

Today I am bummed to miss the acceptance speech of who I believe will make this country strong again.

Its just not the same on youtube.

Watch today and tomorrow and wish I could be in your living room with you tomorrow.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

really, really must be going part 2

Time to really get going. Everything is done, its just the final packing that seems to be the issue. Do I really need all this crap? Can I get away with doing laundry at the hostel? Does it really matter as long as I don't smell like a seal when I get to London?

It'll be intermittent from now on, but I know you all will behave while I'm lollygagging in Greenland and Iceland. Apparently, there is no way I can get scrubbed/rubbed and tubbed at the blue lagoon, so piss on that.


Seriously.

Check out my flickr for some moblogging.

smooches,

nm

TH took this -- view from the hill of the Nuuk harbor.

I am leaving in about 40 hours give or take a few.

I have yet to pack.

Well, I have sort of a pile of stuff to take. I just realized that my flight from Copenhagen to Nuuk is six hours in COACH - with one stop along the way. I better pack another book.

I am packing for 34 degrees F to 78 degrees F. I'm thinking that Nuuk may hit 65 on the first day I'm there.

Yoikes.

All sorts of fashion questions come to mind. Can I get away with wearing capris with mosquito netting and then just a down vest and long tshirt? What about fleece? What about flip flops?

Its hard to be fashionable when you are going to the Arctic.

Frankly, the weather here is not that seasonably appropriate, so maybe a trip to Greenland will be warmer.

nm looking forward to sitting backwards

Funky town.

I have lots to say, but nothing really that I want to discuss right at the moment.

Don't worry internets, I am good and so is the whole clan.

TH is safely ensconced with seamen in Nuuk where the current temperature is 37 degrees and raining!

Ack.

Laters,

nm

My mom bought a laptop a few weeks ago. It sat and sat until someone had the time to show her how to use it.

Until last week, my mom had never touched a computer.

Now she has mail.

She's a quick learn as long as you are a patient teacher.

TH is much more patient than I.

The strangest thing I have ever seen is my mom in the glow of a laptop screen.

The most amazing thing is that she writes just as if she was talking to you.

Now she is no longer dependent on my dad to see pictures of her great grand niece, Ernest, other friends' kids and little snippets of jokes from friends 1000's of miles away.

I don't see her getting on facebook anytime soon, but I like the fact she took it in her own hands to learn.

My mom, she's a pistol.

the keenest of peaches

On the hottest day of the year, I bought two cases of peaches for canning. It always seems to be that we start preserving for the fall and long winter when the mercury rises about 90 degrees. We don't get started until after the dinner dishes are done and all the jars are scrubbed and ready to go and we don't end until way past our regular bedtimes.

Frankly, I was happy to see the rain and wind and cool temperatures of Monday. I was even happier to get the show of canning on the road before 9 pm.

The peaches we got are wonderful, they are seconds - blemished, but they are juicy, perfectly ripe and locally grown. While we have two peach trees in our garden that typically produce well, this year we have not one peach thanks to a mismatch between bees, flowers and our typically flaky weather.

I miss picking peaches off the tree this year.

I also missed the opportunity to pick peaches off the tree this spring when we went to visit the communities near Fresno that grow amazing varieties of peaches on small scale family farms. The cold weather had us off the first harvest by a crucial week. However, it was still fun to watch our friend Paul jump up on the processing line and show us all the facets of peach packing. Trust me, you had to be there.

Most of all, peaches signify to me the beginning of a long lasting relationship between food, TH and myself. Our first real date involved ten hours together going in search of peppers, peaches and warm weather in the 509. On the way home we stopped to get some peaches. When we got back to TH's house, we needed to make a cobbler for a dinner party to which we were both invited.

The peaches were not ripe and TH and I boiled the life out of them to get them to soften.

It was the act of cooking together and trying to figure out how to make something good out of something bad that made me realize that there was something here that was real.

I think TH felt the same way.

Other than the cobbler, we both don't remember much about the what else was served that night, but we laugh every time we think of that peach cobbler.

Here's to more moments of brilliance in life and the kitchen

carrying on

Today I walked by myself before the heat of the day. My training plan has me at 10 miles today and eight tomorrow. I walked 7 before 8 am fueled by Aimee Mann, Franz Ferdinand, Cold Play and assorted tunes. I carried nothing but my ipod and my house keys.

It felt good.

Today was the first time in something like eight weeks I was able to go to the Farmer's market with TH, do the TJs run and assorted other errands. I think she liked it until I began to micromanage her purchase of goat cheese.

Then she turned to me and said "don't you have another three miles to do?"

Whatev.

While the mercury rises to 92 degrees today, I will start packing for my trip to Greenland. A few days ago at a lunch with a group of people that work with TH, we mentioned Greenland and one of the women at lunch mentioned she had just returned from a work trip to Ilillusiat and had her packing list.

This is a woman after TH's heart.

Greenland for seven days with one carry on and one personal item.

Her list is wonderful, informative and timely.

TH will probably carry on Boston and then surrender her bag to Iceland Air in hopes that it will show up in Nuuk. I am taking my chances that British Airlines will get my bag to Copenhagen in one piece- while I am a big fan of the no check/no worries of bags, this time I fly with a trekking backpack its just not going to work while going through the terminals of Heathrow. Its a given that Air Greenland will make me check my bag from Copenhagen to Nuuk via Kang, it just a weight and balance thing.

It feels good to carry on -- with life and with baggage, you just have to pick and choose which parts you can live without for the journey.

one word

Stolen from Jen, because I can't be bothered to discuss preservation on various and sundry levels.

Play along, link and think. This is hard, especially for people like me who just can't self monitor.

1. Where is your cell phone? work tote
2. Where is your significant other? present
3. Your hair? tousled
4. Your mother? awesome
5. Your father? ditto
6. Your favorite thing? contentment
7. Your dream last night? nonexistent
8. Your dream/goal? contentment
9. The room you're in? study
10. Your hobby? reading
11. Your fear? boredom
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? retired
13. Where were you last night? bookclub
14. What you're not? calm
16. One of your wish list items? relaxation
17. Where you grew up? medina
18. The last thing you did? concertgoing
19. What are you wearing? skort!
20. Your TV? huh?
21. Your pet? ernest! 509!
22. Your computer? laptop
24. Your mood? good
25. Missing someone? ernest
26. Your car? sturdy
27. Something you're not wearing? socks
28. Favorite store? bookstore
29. Your summer? jumbled
30. Love someone? yes
31. Your favorite color? green
32. When is the last time you laughed? today
33. Last time you cried? today

insert something witty here

I have something deep and meaningful to blog about, really, but its going to have to wait until tomorrow.

Today I am going to tell you that nothing beats trying to find a pair of hiking/trail shoes for my upcoming trip to Greenland.

Who thought that trail runners would be forward thinking at the same time tailored.

Who would think that at 23:48 PDT anyone would care.

nm forward thinking and carbon neutral

being and nothingness

Right, where was I?

Last weekend, I camped. Yes, tent, thermarest pad, banana boats and 40 miles of walking.

It was fun! Well, not the thermarest part. The last time I slept on my thermarest I was 10 years younger. I will be borrowing R&L's plusher version for the 3 day.

We did it.

J & I walked, bitched, laughed, burned and learned a lot last weekend.

Check out some of the pictures here.

The rest of the week was spent in San Diego at the enormous conference that I go to yearly and in at which I am forced to do much outreach. Actually, I like it, but this year I did not feel much love and perhaps it may be that I have been so out of the actual technology use and more involved in planning, assessing and creating the all mighty power point presentation.

Hopefully that will change soon.

It was strange to be in San Diego and not be with my parents, ditto for TH. I miss going home and sitting and chatting. My mom said that it was good that we have good memories of SD and La Jolla, not of my parents aging or needing our help.

Someone today asked me if I ever worried about them getting old and not being here any more.

Honestly, not often. They are here for the moment and I cherish each and everyone I get to spend with them. Without sounding corny, I love it when my father calls at work to ask my advice about something or watching my mom's eyes light up as we unlock the door to their house and just stop by to say hi.

Today, TH's mother would have had a very special birthday. We wanted to celebrate it in style, but the day just didn't turn out as we had planned. There were procurement contracts to write, fires to tame and abstracts to submit. We will celebrate a bit later and toast a woman whom I never met, but believe I would have loved with all of my heart.

it all ends in tears

Originally I was going to use this title to discuss the opera, my shallow understanding of it and how as much as I try to understand it, I'm maybe just too well, not interested.

Then I read Kerri's blog about having to put Kubrin Kaos out of his pain.

The last month I have shed many a tear over Kerri and Brian's losses. For those who do not know them -- it is through Kerri and Brian's amazing talent of describing the antics of a once-tiny basset hound puppy who traveled by container ship from England to the Falkland Islands that I made dozen friends on through dogs that blog and through flickr. Some whom I have met in real life person.

Seriously.

I cannot describe the love and patience and devotion Kerri and Brian show daily to all of the dogs they have fostered over the years. You can see it in their pictures, their words, but nothing is like watching it in action.

I was floored when I watched her take care of the SUMDs (skinny ugly mutant dogs) in person when I visited last September.

To give your time, your house, your heart to a pack of older, sometimes not placeable anywhere else rescue dogs and make them the happiest the dogs on the planet is no easy feat. They did it with grace and love.

Yesterday TH and I were talking about our December trip to London and visiting with Kerri and Brian and the SUMDs and five minutes later we hear about Kubrin.

Last week TH was emailing back and forth with Ernest’s breeder and Ernest’s desire for a Great Dane as a brother. S. mentioned that big dogs die too young and there is too much heartache involved. She may be right, but the eight years they make you smile and laugh and steal your heart may just be worth it.

Sleep tight Kubrin and give Meggie Moo a kiss from me.

sweet spot

After two years of a new stereo in my very old car, I finally started using the ipod adapter.

Seriously, what is up with that?

The dog, he is not taken with my musical taste.

I bought a dress three weeks ago for a wedding this weekend. I tried it on once, I thought it looked okay. I wasn't in the mood to try looking anymore.

I tried it on today with the proper undergarments. It looks better than okay. Woot.

Man, I hope there is air conditioning at the church and reception hall.

Twenty two hours in Spokane with 90 degree heat and a full bar. Could be interesting.

later taters and if I see Courtney while driving around, it'll be even better.

nm wondering if open toed kitten heels will make it to the church on time

sell out

I love live music and I love Seattle, so when the zootunes schedule comes out we find a few artists that we like and we buy tickets. Its for a good cause, all of the ticket sales go directly to the Zoo.

Seriously.

However, I cannot tolerate the shows any more.

What is it about sitting outdoors and listening to some great music that makes people want to talk during the whole show and make it difficult for those around them to enjoy the show?

Would you do the same at the opera? symphony?

I understand running around with your kids, I understand that babies cry and kids want to place chase, but you 45 year old ass hat with the really loud voice and tall chair, shut the feck up. After all, I paid 28 bucks to hear music and eat dinner underneath the trees, not listen to you discuss your upcoming colonscopy.

K?

Tonight we saw Emmylou Harris, she was fabulous and it was quieter than last nights performances by the lovely Josh Ritter and the amazing Andrew Bird.

In fact, last night was even more amazing because TH and I entered a raffle and won a huge basket of chocolate goodies and some coffee from Metropolitan Market. Seriously cool and made me much happier after my cranky spell due to talking idiots.

Check it out...



Tonight they raffled off a grocery bag of vegetables.

Hard choice - vegetables v. truffles, coffee, brownies, biscotti, brownie mix and other delectables.

Saturday takes us to Spokane for a brief visit and a wedding. Should be tons of fun.

nm bittersweet but not 70%

Early this morning I breakfasted on carrots pulled out of the ground and raspberries still chilled from the night air.

I didn't even bother taking them home and eating them with yogurt. They were at the prime for picking -- past the shine to the dark matte red and just a tap drops them into your waiting palm.

The garden is amazingly lush right now -- I harvested the first of the yellow squash, some carrots, huge heads of lettuce, two pints of raspberries and baby artichokes. I see tons of weeding to do and lots of things to consider replanting.

This is a hard time for us -- we are here and gone three more times in the next few weeks. You have things under control and in five minutes your back is turned the morning glory has overtaken the gooseberries and the broccoli has decided to go to flower. I cannot devote any more than the sixty minutes I allot daily to the garden - life also needs nurturing around here.

So, will it wither? No. It will be fine with morning glories and a bit of quack grass for company.

nm

Back from Canada. Miles walked, pictures taken and downloaded and not quite made public on flickr. Good food eaten, great music heard, beautiful weather to sun in and three books read.

Its hard to believe one weekend a summer is the highlight of my whole summer - blows Paris, Greenland or any wedding out of the water.

More later.

nm

lost and found

Lost one small Parisian (2") bear by the name of Nano. Last seen with irresponsible me.

Found under the seat of my colleagues rental car.

Its been a long week of meetings with many positive outcomes for our continuing work. I even managed to get in a few walks while discussing stovepiping/collaborating/data exchange and water levels.

I really didn't take any pictures, there just wasn't the time. I can tell you that every year I end up in Boulder for at least a few days and every year it keeps on changing. I'm not saying its for the best, it just is.

I will miss the Boulder creek path, but I'm sure I'll be back soon enough.

Tomorrow TH and I are running away to Canada for three days of music, some decent grub, some walking for me and serious amounts of sunscreen.

I can't wait.

Nano is staying home.

nm found not lost

so much to say, so little time

Where did July go?

Off to Boulder tomorrow, hoping to catch up with my favorite rocket scientists if she's in town.

nm with miles to go

Saturday wrap up

15 plus miles walked
2 hour nap
3 loads of laundry
1 pt of raspberries picked
1/2 papaya with lime for dessert enjoyed
2 sunburned arms

Life is good

Nm

leaving the office behind

Short of a large seismic event or a presentation that requires my brain power I no longer
check my work email after hours unless I am on travel.

I feel a million times better.

Can you do it?

Do you do it?

seattle syndrome and little things

Little thing:

I signed up for the Portland Marathon today.

Holy crap.

26.2 miles.

I see some speedwork in my future.

I see some need for new tunage and the use of someone's old nano as well.

Seattle syndrome:

Seattle is the most passive aggressive place in the world. It just breeds passive agressiveness.

Why is that?

Can't you just say what is pissing you off. Can't you just do something and tell someone that you did it because you thought they way they were doing it was wrong? Can you just fucking start signalling a left hand turn before you move into that lane?

Case in point: Our ppatch neighbor is always one to point out the little things that we haven't yet done -- finish weeding, picked something up, propped something up.

He's quite a chatty one and mostly pleasant, but now he's there all the god damn timed. Seriously.

He recently started to terrace the hillside that buffers the ppatch from the busy street. While I appreciate his desire to carve out more space and give a bit more light, the knotweed also buffers our garden from the traffic, the on lookers and pollution.

Neighbor starts terracing our 20' width. We didn't ask nor did we appreciate said encroachment. We did what any other part of the world would do, we fenced it off from him. Its like this -- If we praised him for doing something we didn't ask for, he would love it and feed off of it. If we told him we didn't need more garden, he would then take it over and we would be surrounded by him.

So, we did the mean thing. We cut him off.

We couldn't find crime tape on Sunday. Bummer.

I have had lots of fun in the past few weeks reading Passive Aggressive Notes.

nm really if you don't mind, can we switch seats?

with a grain of salt

Reserve from the library, thumb through at your local independent bookstore and then go buy
at Amazon because it just would make the most sense.

Stuff white people like

Completely cringeworthy but worth it.

nm like white on rice but with a whiff of eastern promise

Hot half.

Fun stuff.

Over the bridge and through Bellevue neighborhoods of my youth.

Shout out to families with hoses everywhere.

You made my day.

Walking with tatas, hotties and the lone glamour pirate. I walked with my favorite walkers
and even the lone tata who was sunning herself on the beach in Maui was missed!

Man, I'm so glad I'm in shape and trained, it was not a half for wusses.

Back to the grind. One tiny blister on my toe and some advil and I'm good to go for 14 on Saturday and 12 on Sunday.

nm with lots of beer in the fridge

visualizing reality

Tomorrow my 3 day training schedule has me going on a 13 mile walk. The following day I'm doing a half marathon. Did I mention the high for tomorrow is forecast for 86 and Sunday 88 degrees? Chuck Bartlett of Run Chuckit suggested that the Seafair Marathon be more about hydration and less about PRing. I am going to agree, for me, it will be a training walk with no real stops, a nice tshirt and a banana at the end.

I've been reading a lot about productivity, time management and stress reduction. One thing that struck me was the concept of visualizing what your day is going to be before you commit yourself to one more thing.

In this case, let's take my tomorrow.

TH is out of town, that means Ernest is all mine.

That means I have a 5:30 am dog walk at the park, shower, 8 am start to a 13 mile walk with lots of stops. We won't finish until 1 pm. I won't get home until 1:20 pm. I have time to wolf down something to eat, walk Ernest again, deal with whatever crises come my way and then run to Bellevue to pick up my race packet for the next day's half.

I should return home at 3 pm.

Walk Ernest again or at least do something to mildly entertain him.

Take another shower, do a few chores for tomorrow's potluck/bbq.

5 pm - go to 'rents to have dinner with a childhood friend and my mom and dad. I'm off the hook for making anything, but I'm responsible for bringing a box of mac and cheese and the legos.

Home at 8, walk Ernest.

Aunt P and cousin Scruffy are in town for Pride, hang with them. Walk Ernest and Scruffy, go to bed for a 5 am wake up.

Does that sound crazy?

It does to me once I put it all into my brain, buffered each activity for crap that could happen and then decided that it just isn't going happen.

My 13 mile walk is now a 7 mile walk at 7 am by myself. I have enough time to come home, run to market and chill in the heat. With dog walks, I'll finish the day at about 9 to 10 miles walked, not bad.

My training will survive my not being there for the 13 miles. My wallet will appreciate not stopping at Starbucks with the Hotties and I'll do things at my own pace.

Recently I started to really calendar, mostly visually using Google Calendar which synchs to the blackberry. It gives me a better idea of what my day is going to look like. I am trying to make better use of my time and resources - gas being one of them, so like every other person in the world, I'm starting to really combine trips.

I'm also learning to say no.

That is the hardest part.

nm

A humble respect

Today I spent the twilight hours gardening, both at home and the p-patch. It was a beautiful evening and instead of spending it inside folding laundry we watered in anticipation of warmer weather on the horizon and a work function that will bring many to ooh and ahh at my overgrown perennial borders.

We tottered to the garden to weed, water and harvest. We have had brazen broadcasting of mustards all over our beds and since the P-patch program donates tons of fresh produce to the city food bank programs, we are trying to do our part. This spring has been cruel for Seattle gardeners with heat followed by snow followed by grey malaise that never let up. The last few days have brought some hope and great gasps of growth to our crops both planned and volunteer.

Tonight I harvested 15 lbs of mustard plants-topped and cleaned them to donate to my Friday run to our North Seattle food bank. When I arrive at the garden at 8:45 on Friday morning I will be relieved to see others have donated beautiful heads of bronze lettuce, greens of all sorts and rhubarb and mustards. Later this season there will be squash of various sizes and tomatoes that we all can't keep up with, at least we hope.

The Lettuce link program has been really integral in getting fresh foods to those who frequent the city's food banks. In April I had the privilege to volunteer my Saturday morning to help distribute seeds to those waiting for their weekly allotment of food and talked to people who wanted to plant small gardens - even in containers where ever they lived. It gave me hope and made me realize that we can all tuck in another row of beans, transplant a few more heads of lettuce and harvest our squash a little earlier and share the bounty with someone who will appreciate out harvest because for them it may be a rare thing.

nm

weekend wrap up

Three very good meals out - Tamarindo, Camino and Station House Cafe
Happy and sadness at Shell Beach
Sunburnt on the back of my arms
Hugs and tears
Hotter than hell in the 94707 on Friday night
Fog finally on Saturday night
A ring and a phone call on Saturday
The ring sighting on Sunday!
Home and not going anyfreaking where for three weeks and so happy about it

sunset

I've been a bad blogger of late. Honestly, who wants to hear of my trials and tribulations. I'm not doing anything glamorous. My life is pretty mundane.

The weather has not been particularly good here, so anytime I can feel the sun shine through, I'm outside. I couldn't imagine being inside tied to this infernal machine any longer than possible.

Today TH started a trek to California -one she does on a fairly regular basis. I will follow tomorrow and we will spend Saturday morning on the beach at Point Reyes celebrating the life of a dear friend. I anticipate tears and laughter and the warm hugs of his partner, with whom I last spoke two years ago after the death of a mutual friend. It makes me sad that we have to connect this way.

Like I said, its been a hard year all around.

Tomorrow, summer starts. To some this is wonderful, to me it is bittersweet.

It means the days grow shorter again.

This evening, after a round of chores and visits, I spent two full hours weeding, transplanting, pruning and watering the p-patch plots. My enthusiasm has rubbed off my parents. After dinner tonight, they skipped Jeopardy they went to their garden and watered and weeded and just reveled in the evening.

My mom called me later and told me that she was happy she got out of the house and went to the garden.

It made me smile.

I'll try and be a better correspondent. As I drive or walk these days I think of things I want to write, but others have covered the same topics better than I can and frankly internets, I wouldn't want you to spend time reading when you could be out weeding.

nm up and down like the dow jones

Short but sweet

Yesterday marked the 3rd anniversary of the passing of Jacques, our beloved basset. I don't know whether to be sad that or forgot or happy that we've moved on.

Life here is throwing a few curve balls, but we'll hit one out of the field one of these days.

nm

A remembrance

Today I found out that one of my favorite musicians in the world passed last month.

I cannot tell you how sad I am, I cannot tell you how lucky I was to listen to him last year and the years before at the VFMF.

Utah Phillips was to me one of the most amazing legacies of an era that is slowly fading.

He will be sorely missed.

Carrot weather

When you walk the dog in a down jacket in the second week of June there must be something wrong.

My tomatoes are snug in their wall o waters and my spinach has no fear of bolting. People scoff at the idea of global warming, well folks climate change does all sorts of things including bringing to the table lots of variability. Here we are having a moderate La Nina event --cooler and wetter. It was predicted and she is rearing her wet head all through out the north pacific while the mid Atlantic sizzles and the Plains are deluged.

Maybe we are finally paying attention to the weather.

I hope my strawberries ripen soon -- I hate to see a mismatch between rhubarb availabilty and strawberries.

Nm

more of nothing redux

Every time the phone rings these days, its not happy news.

I can unfortunately count on more than one hand, the number of people taken from us this year.

This really sucks.

Today we heard that one of TH's last links to her mom died a few weeks ago.

I will miss him so.

I need some cheering up.

nm here for the duration, or as long as they let me

More on nothing and something

I used to love it when TH left, really.

It meant I could eat standing up, toast for dinner, pad thai for breakfast. I could clean closets at 2 am or go to bed at 8 pm with the dog. It was a nice break for the both of us.

These days, I wish she was home, the dog, the house, the garden and my soul need her nearby.

Times have changed in the world of the sea going scientist --It used to be that doing field work meant the last staggered phone call at the fuel pier felt like a life line was being cut. You said your goodbyes, your i love yous, your devotion and dedications and the be safes with a time delay and that was it, for weeks. If you heard from someone while you were out to sea, something terrible had happened.

In the mid90s TH was testing out a protocol that sent faxes and simple file transfers from the vax to the ships. I was the lucky recipient of little coded messages at the bottom of status reports from the lab or to the lab of how our operations were going. I loved getting these little messages, they were little love notes in with larval fish counts, station changes and equipment issues.

In Kodiak and Dutch Harbor, more than likely, you can get a cell phone tower to work if you lean into the wind and away from the big hills. If not, there is the internet. It is less costly these days and the real time streaming of data and information is useful for the scientists, operations and for the morale of the crews.

You really can't get away from it. From 2 pm when TH surfaces until she goes back to bed after her watch is over at 4 am, I get updates on the cruise, she checks in with ernest and his blog, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Seattle Times and other sundry items between stations.

She also does work as it just does not go away anymore. You still respond to crisis, submit abstracts to meetings and fight fires from the middle of the ocean.

I love and hate it.

I love that I can email her or even skype her if I needed to because I am having a day, but at the same time, it means that neither of us can just let it go. You inbox may be clean when you tie up, but you haven't had a moment to just clear your head.

Today I celebrate the fact that in two sleeps and one wake up, TH will be tied up to the pier and soon on her way home.

I'm hoping that the FY09 field season has a February cruise for TH. It would be a nice time to visit Alaska. I hear its easier to get your upgrades to clear and you may get to the ice edge.

nm over and out

Today I came home from a ten mile walk to find that I have no fence on my south side of my yard. Nice.

Not.

That basically means that the back garden is unusable for Ernest, quite the bummer as I have tons to do back there and he could spend his time chewing, running around and be a dog, something that I realize he spends less and less time doing these days.

Since my neighbor's son is dealing with all this, I am willing to put money on the fact that it ain't getting finished in a timely manner.

Maybe tomorrow am we'll hit the dog park for a change.

nm not in the best of moods

still here

Just busy.

TH is bobbing around the Gulf of Alaska and Ernest is zooming. Doesn't give me much time for anything more than hanging on my fingernails.

Stay tuned for something witty tomorrow.

saturday update

briefly:

nine miles this morning, hot, but nice
three new pairs of brooks yesterday - two for the 3 day, one for the portland marathon/seattle half
overdue pedi
my first skort (shut up) purchase
dinner plans changed in mid stream, learning to adapt

tomorrow:
seven plus miles
new shoe testing
tomato planting
mama stephanie visit
relaxing

I could get used to this.

TH is off to the Gulf of Alaska via the Bering Sea for the two weeks or so, Ernest and I are holding down the fort.

I see long walks, some discussions over the appropriateness of cereal for dinner and who gets the last table water cracker in the package.

Fresno Friday wrap up

Slamming doors were fewer
Transnational as word of the day
Mennonite church ladies providing panderia and tacos
Nectarine groves lush with fruit
Table grapes at 60 mph
Japanese variety store converted to a mosque in fresno
Fres-yes!
Strawberry buttermilk shake--don't knock it until you try it
Docomomo!
Margaritas with the duluth, savannah and butte conference organizers
Wheat from the mill

Nm says bye bye now

Fresno highlights

Slamming hotel doors
Adobe architecture
Water towers
Seeing uncle bill
Ranch supper
Fig garden woman's club tea
Taco truck for dinner

In 15 minutes. 9 separate door slams

Nm following the banal with the sublime

dear internets

I am not very happy with myself. Without going into so much detail. I have realized that my weight issues are more than garbage in and nothing positive coming out.

yours fondly and in a pants size bigger than last summer,

nm

banana republic -- i hate your vanity sizing
old navy -- i really wonder if you are truer to size

growing old

The Zootunes tickets went on sale today. I drove by the store that was selling them and I thought that I was watching a breadline in the former Soviet Union or that rice was available on the shelves again. It seriously looked like the line at Bell, Book and Candle when Stones tickets went on sale in 1981.
We usually go to a few Zootunes shows and mostly have a decent time. It is no longer cheap, but appeals to people with sprogs, because sprogs under 10 or some such get in for free. So if you are into mood, deep thoughts and grooving to the tunes, it isn't the scene for you. If you love watching kids run amok, a myriad of crocs colors and good weather then go.

Even with the kids, the line up and the fact we have to haul ass from work, walk the dog and find parking we still go. This year the line up was meh, but we still managed to find some crumblies to see. Emmylou Harris, Boz Scaggs and Josh Ritter (who knew) are on the plate. I believe that most of these dates do no interfere with tata 3 day training and if so, I'll just walk to the show.

I used to love live music - mc'ing little shows at clubs, going to see bands and really getting into the music. These days, its not just the same. I don't have the same stamina for sets that start at 9 pm and definitely not the stomach for that much beer. I look at festivals as an excellent excuse to read a book, work on my tan and listen to some decent music. I abhor paying more than 40 dollars to see a concert. I balk at the shows that I see that start at 75 bucks a head. I can't imagine paying that much to see anyone -- okay, I would pay up to 250 dollars to see Leonard Cohen and he would have to play for at least 90 minutes and stare directly at me for at least one song.

The funny thing is that the people I see going to those expensive shows are my cohort plus or minus some botox or a c-section or three. That is a lot of money - at least a few units of the b-juice in the forehead to see Dire Straits or the Michael (ugh) McDonald sing badly while sipping some plonk and checking in with the office on a Saturday nights on the blackberry.

I think I'll hold off for a few more years - wine, concerts at wineries and the b-juice, I'm just not ready to grow up that much.

nm minute by minute

sunday funnies

Flew to and from Boston, after dinner with some of my favorite people around in Seattle. I wish I could have made the night last longer and I wish to g-d in heaven I had more than one mangopolitan.

I'm trying to figure out if I really need to do these "stupid" runs to keep status.
This one had TH involved, so it was fun. I have to say the no change fee is worth some of the pain.

This week is a long one and a short one. I'm off to FAT for VAF.
I haven't been in FAT since 1981 and I'm thinking there are fewer fig groves than before.

Other than that, tata walking, parental controls, gardening and work (must finish short course description asap) are on the horizon for the next 70 hours.

nm on the loose

Accomplished today:
walked 10 plus miles
laughed a lot on said walk
showered twice
walked dog hither and yon
delivered said dog to lock down (to be retrieved tomorrow)
12 minute nap accomplished

Not accomplished:
planting anything
laundry

good thing tomorrow is coming up

off to bos, don't ask.

Currently in one day lockdown, my lawyers think they'll be able to post bail tomorrow.

ernest jail bird basset

week in review

hours worked: too many
days in the office before seven am: three
boxes freecycled: 100 or so
boxes to be freecycled: 40 or so
dog walks taken: 25
miles walked for the three day training: pathetically few
miles anticipated walked tomorrow and sunday: 18
miles flown this week to date:
miles flown by tomorrow night: 5048
plants purchased this week: seven
plants to be put in the ground this week: 25
number of trips planned to the dog kennel this week: 0
number of trips to the dog kennel: one
number of changes to my Greenland/Iceland/Denmark ticket I made this week: one
number of lurchers and hounds I am hoping to smooch in September because of the change: five

number of things I am going to do before I sign off here: one

nm list maker list hater

May day

Happy.

I'm happy to say that last month is over and this month is setting up to be pretty darn dandy.

Asparagus, apple blossoms, Alaska are all in the future.

I will also be back to regular blogging, especially now that chapter submission is over.

Woot.

I'll leave you with this.



Spend more time roaching, less complaining and sitting in front of this infernal machine or watching reruns on tv. Get out and take your dog for a walk.

You'll never guess what you may come across.



Three gnomes where once there was one.

I need a life, but frankly, I'm happy with the marginally pathetic one I have.

nm once, twice, three times a lady

still here

Just overwhelmed.

282 boxes/pieces of parental gack.
Work is throwing me for a bunch of loops.
Spring comes and goes.


more later.

nm

First it was sunny, then there were some tulips, some talk and some roaching in the sun. Next there was a party, with lots of talk, laughs and a few tears. Then there was an early morning drive to the tulips and 13.1 miles of walking and talking. At the end of that there was a few bananas and a nap before we got on a ferry.

One race down, a lifetime of them to follow.

On our way to Boston for a meeting or three.

nm

I had something witty to discuss today, but I just lost it.

Hmm.

Week 24 of 3 day training is done. 15 miles completed and I'm pretty happy. Found a group on the West side that meets once a week for long walks. I'm completely and utterly pleased with meeting them and getting to walk with them along with my tata training walks (ttw). Snacks, coffee stops and good company and a level of accountability that will get me to a level of conditioning to complete the 3 day in good stead.

Today I was moved to tears when R&L donated again on my behalf to get me to my minimum to participate. Six weeks into fundraising I'm there and I can't believe the support I'm getting. I walked on air today when thinking of how they motivated to do the 3 day and how much love an support they and all my friends are giving me.

Next week, P,C and I will be doing the Whidbey half marathon. No one will be PRing here, but it'll be fun. Any half marathon that has organic chocolate milk, hot dogs and amazing support along the way (gummy bears at mile 12 are crucial) is a happy place for me.

Man, I sound sappy, but I'm completely sincere.

This is a long week for me -- manuscript deadlines, software upgrades, upcoming travel and big goings on here are going to suck up every moment I have. I'll be relieved when its all over.

nm who just couldn't get it together to write you a letter

Dear spring

Please return. We miss you.
The ppatch is plowed and staked for the short season. Rhubarb, broccoli and leeks are all looking good in the year round garden. However hail, fits of rain, leaden skies don't have me leaping for my frog boots and felcos.

This time of year usually has me itching to not come inside until dusk, this evening the dog turned right back in after hearing the lashings of rain and is currently curled up underneath the duvet.

People, it is 8pm.

Spring, return to me.

Nm