patches are in!

yippee! we're going to the big show.

easy entry into it this year; lots of teams took the year off, since last year's bonspiel determined the olympic team.

and while they're resting, we'll take this opportunity to prepare ourselves for world domination.

baby steps.

discovering that less is more

sometimes, multitasking is not a good idea. sometimes just relaxing and taking your time and enjoying what you're doing is the best choice.

case in point: you are making waffles on a sunday morning. experts now recommend not straying from your waffle maker post - especially not for engrossing tasks like e-mail - which may result in lost track of time and a burnt breakfast.

in case you didn't look closely enough, the waffle is still in the maker.

very clever

i just saw a woman look down at her shoe. the lace was untied. she tried to put her leg up on the chair to tie it, but the chair was too high for her (she's a senior citizen). so, she puts her foot back on the ground. she takes off the offending shoe. she bends over, picks up the shoe, puts it on the chair, and ties the laces. then puts the shoe back on the ground and slips her foot back into the shoe.

gotta give her credit for ingenuity. but not for proper facilitation of the shoe/foot attachment mechanism.

this is going to look really good in my freezer

nothing like a trophy to make all the aches and pains worth it. the finals went to a tiebreaker - credit to kerry and natalie, who played very well - but we came back from 3-8 in the breaker to win 11-8.

a big, big thanks to jill, who agreed to play with me even though it meant playing three events.

i think i can retire now. :)

why i'm not a morc member

there is a local mountain bike organization (morc) that builds and maintains the trails in the area. i joined a few years ago, and gleefully received a quarterly newsletter. then, one day, i mused that i hadn't seen a newsletter in a while. sure enough, my membership had unceremoniously expired.

i joined again.

one day, i mused that i hadn't seen a newsletter in a while. i didn't do anything about it.

one day, i received an e-mail from someone, letting me know how to renew my membership online. the link he provided didn't work.

today, i received a piece of mail from morc. it was dated september 7, 2009. they informed me that my membership had expired. on 12/31/2006.

this tardy, one-page letter, misspelled my name. it also spoke of the many wonderful services morc provides. it stated they would be honored if i would renew my membership.

so honored, that they didn't include a paper membership renewal form, or even a url to register online.

i give up. ok, i gave up three years ago.

there are lots of worthy causes that want donations, morc being one of them. but until they can demonstrate that they are even minimally competent with their administration, my money will go elsewhere.

moved to write again

that was a nice sabbatical. i got a lot accomplished, and although my work is not done and posts will probably be few and far between, i'll start back up again.

here's the impetus: i wonder that the f*ck is wrong with people.

i posted and ad on craigslist to have some sheetrock put up. up until today, i've had only good experiences with craigslist, and will still continue to use it. but here is one of the responses i got (from lisabreckland@aol.com - feel free to spam her - i have no idea who she is). it really made me wonder, wtf... and is profound evidence of why i like most dogs better than most people.

title: ITS COOL AID

content: WOW A WHITE BOY AD, DAMN WONDER IF U STARTED EATING CORN BREAD TOO,

U OUTTA TAKE UR BITTERNESS AND TAKE UR MEDICINE NOW, AND I BET U MAKE BETWEEN 10-14 AN HOUR AND POSSIBLY SMOKE THE CIGS, LOL... WOW

for reference, here is the ad i posted.

title: Need Sheetrock Hung

content: Looking to start the work on or shortly after September 10. Approximately a 550sf area, consisting of closet, bath, and u-shaped rooms/hallway. Sloped ceiling. No tear off work. Please contact Kim at 651.402.6467 to schedule a time to see the site and place a bid.

sabbatical

there are only so many hours in a day. so, in order to concentrate on actually accomplishing my big fat list of goals for 2009, something needs to go. hence, i'm taking a sabbatical from this blog.

i'll still be posting to the little life and work hacks blog. and maintaining peanut's blog is a must for the greater good of all dogkind [watch for a site to be up by the end of the year, where she'll sell items, with proceeds going to animal causes]. and continuing to recount tales of all things romantic on barni the bus [watch for an online store].

3...2...1...go!

odes to vice and consequences

i didn't enjoy a glass of wine while listening, as was recommended in the sidebar, but this is still the best video - because of the audio - i've heard in a long time. altogether too rare a grand performance. 17 minutes.

my will to rant has finally returned

i normally don't like to be negative. well, except to say that i hate negative people.

however, another faction has now gotten my dander up: people who make assumptions.

there's the old adage that people use (when you assume you make an ass out of u and me). apparently few people heed this message. so you all the u's out there:

i hate people that assume because you don't have a job that you don't work. being self-employed is five times more work than having a job. it's just countered by being five times more rewarding. and a much higher dollar to hour ratio.

i hate people that assume because they aren't capable of doing something, that you are not.

i hate people who claim to be your friend but don't bother to try to get to know you.

i hate people who assume i had a standard upbringing. (see previous gripe)

i hate people who text/apply makeup and drive. have the common decency to respect the well being of other people on the road.

i hate people that think they are more important than anybody else.*

i hate people who don't respect time as your most valuable - and non-renewable - resource.

thank you for your time, gentle reader.

*you aren't. if you need proof, just check with any dog; i bet they like any bum on the street just as much as you.

owie

so. i'm working on my front stoop.* about which i proudly state: if you don't look too close, it don't look too bad. well, on sunday i put in the deck rails. at the end of the day i was whining because my hand hurt.

see, i was using a drill to put the screws in, and once the bit gets a bit chewed up, you have to press harder to keep it in place. so i pressed hard to screw the screws in. really hard.

guess maybe it would have behooved me to make a little trip to the hardware store and just buy a new bit.

*by working on it, i mean building it from the ground up

olive oil revisited

my last post was a little one-sided. there was an up side to using olive oil as a moisturizer. here are a few more observations, other than it's tasty:

it did indeed leave my skin baby soft.
recommendation: dilute with water (try 1:1) before slathering it on.
a little big goes a long way, so just mix up a tsp. or so (if you make it fresh each time).
it does not leave your skin feeling greasy.
note: the pores on your face and hands are smaller, so while it'll soak in almost immediately over the rest of your body, it'll take 10-15 minutes for your face and hands to make the transition from a glossy to satin finish.
this is more of a heavy duty treatment; good for wintertime.

olive oil

so i've noticed a couple of articles recently talking about using olive oil as a moisturizer. i'm always up for a good home remedy adventure, so i decided to try it.

i do not recommend it.

at least if you have a little dog. little dogs think olive oil is tasty.

albino squirrel

ooh! there is an albino squirrel in the neighborhood.

also in the photo, more of peanut's excavation work.

[oops, forgot to turn the flash off as i was taking this with the camera pressed up against my window]

ducks

peanut was quite interested in the ducks walking across the yard. fortunately, she didn't bark, so they just continued to amble along. it makes me happy to see wildlife around; perhaps the planet is not doom'd yet.

p.s. wonder who the jerk is that's eating the bark off of that tree?

an extraordinary example

of why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. wow.

a call for help - what is this?

for years, this green stick plant thing has been cohabiting with my hibiscus. i have no idea what it is. does anyone else know?

anyone? anyone? bueller?

until i hear otherwise, i'm convinced that it's a plant form that has been previously undiscovered in the history of mankind. i'm anticipating much fame and fortune.

i love surprises

a few weeks ago i curled in the u.s. club national bonspiel. one of the traditions of a bonspiel is to exchange club pins with your opponents. some of the teams didn't have pins for one reason or another. it was completely out of mind that i'd given my name and address to the skip of the california team so that she could send pins when they came in. but today, there was a small package in my mailbox. yippee!

they were hard to photograph, because flash created one big glare, and i was too lazy to dig out the tripod. but the red lettering says, "where we curl like stars and do all our own stunts!" they are quite large by curling club pin standards, shiny, and non-traditional in styling. love 'em!

water footprint

most people are aware of their direct water use, but often are not aware of indirect use, meaning the amount of water it takes to grow/produce a product before it gets to you.

check out the eye-opening chart on good magazine's web site.

one more reason to skip the beef.

so sorry to part

apparently i need to clean out my condiment shelf a little more often. i found this sweet & sour sauce in the door. check out the expiration date on the label.

somewhat disturbingly, it wasn't even moldy or anything. i may have found something to rival the half life of a twinkie.

dating services

i have discovered a new favorite columnist, susan deitz. here is what she has to say about dating services:

"Paying for a social life is an affront to human dignity — a crime that should merit punishment: something on the order of, say, being pushed into first dates with complete strangers after paying exorbitant fees for the privilege. Of all the indignities suffered by the unmarried (and there are a few), having to pay for a social life — usually feeble, half-baked and leading nowhere — may be the biggest."

if this made you chuckle, check out the full article.

happy iqd!

i hope everyone enjoys international quirkyalone day!

i hate getting ripped off

my furnace went out on friday. it's february in minnesota. brrr.

i thought it may be the thermocouple, so i went to white bear heating and cooling, where i had purchased a thermocouple before. the door was locked. it was lunchtime. i called the number on the van, and voice mail said they were closed until monday. damn. i went to ace hardware, found the part, replaced it, relit the pilot. goody.

a few hours later, the furnace went out again.

repeat this over the weekend so i don't have to pay a ton of money for an emergency service call.

monday morning comes, i call wbh&c. someone comes out and cleans stuff out. the furnace is now again working. cost: $155.00

overnight, the furnace went out again.

this morning i call wbh&c again. this time the guy replaces the gas valve. the furnace works. currently, anyway. cost: $50 for time, no trip charge, and $265 for part #36C03-300, for a total of $315.00.

$265 seemed high. so looked up on the internet, and found the "list price" to be $82.80, and found it to be on sale for $69.

f*ckers.

a win-win situation

sometimes, if you pay attention, you will find good things.

i've been buying these overpriced single serving brownies that cost $2.99. i typically don't pay attention to how much things cost, because i buy mostly organic items, and people who do this just can't be too bothered with cost as the primary factor in purchases. but i did happen to notice that brownie mix - which would make an 8x8 pan of brownies - was only $1.09.

heck, for almost 1/3 of the price, i can not only have brownies for myself, but have plenty to share.

as long as i don't eat them all tonight, that is...

the tao of patches

i'm here to announce that i received a patch in the mail today. and it really made my day.

food trivia

i bought some ready-to-eat-after-two-minutes-in-the-microwave indian food.* the outside of the box boasted: food trivia inside. i couldn't wait to see what kind of little-known tidbit i'd learn.

*perhaps by the end of the year i'll know how to make some

bumper sticker

i saw a bumper sticker this morning. it read: "i pray. get use to it."

used, people. used.

i'm not sure who i am mocking more... the person who made the bumper sticker, or the ones who put it on their cars?

postpone dtv?

ok, the latest news story is that our president-elect wants to postpone the switch from analog to digital broadcasting. that's fine with me. keeps my 4" b/w sony watchman a useful item for a while longer.

however, i think the rationale for the delay is getting a bit over-dramatic. officials are concerned that the government isn't doing enough to help rural, poor and minority communities with the transition.

apparently reminding us every 30 minutes isn't enough.

but wait. the entreaty goes on. according to john podesta, "With coupons unavailable, support and education insufficient, and the most vulnerable Americans exposed, I urge you to consider a change to the legislatively mandated analog cutoff date."

and the most vulnerable americans exposed?!

ohferchrissakes.

this isn't some pandemic disease. they're losing their tv signal. big deal. if you want to watch tv that badly, go visit a friend and watch their tv. the social interaction* will do you good.

better yet, get a life. stop watching tv and go for a walk (unless you're scared of losing the fat ass). or play a game with your kids. maybe hit the slopes. or read my blogs. something. anything.

just anything.

*i'm pretty sure gazing at a glowing box while not talking to each other counts as social interaction

resolution for 2009

in 2009, i resolve to fulfill my destiny.

about thirty years ago (i was ten or so), i received a gift: the encyclopedia of cooking. the few people who know me from childhood will not be surprised by this. my grandmother was a renowned (locally, anyway) cook and baker. at a tender age, i was stirring the fudge, rolling out the cookie dough, mashing potatoes, and measuring teaspoons by hand. i was being groomed to continue the legacy.

fast forward to 2008. my grandmother would roll over in her grave if she knew how little i cook.

i happened to dig the 18 volume set out from the attic last summer because i was remodeling. instead of putting the boxed up books in the basement, i placed the books in my kitchen. i knew it was time to pick up where i'd left off so many years ago.

in 2009, i resolve to make one dish from each volume of my encyclopedia of cooking.