|
|
Thursday, October 9th, 2008
| |
10:49 am - Life, Wow, SL, etc.
|
My gut is finally not hating me quite so much. Tomorrow (today now I wrote this yesterday but didn't post it) is the last of my 10 days on flagyl. Friday night my coven did a healing on me and Saturday at Kaerla's headwash two of the powers sent me healing too. One was an Exu who said the Orixa cared for me very much. He had good healing flow. And the other was Pele who only gets called at big events. Her hands burned with a strong fire and swept right through me. Every real "laying on of hands" healing I have had has been like that - the medium's hands are burning. Yesterday and today I haven't had any stomach cramps.
With ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) mr_kurt away on a business trip I have been lunching in at work and playing WoW for an hour. My (now) main toon, my hunter, is up to lvl 53! My first toon, the Druid is languishing but I have been reading up on panzerkin (boomkin tanks) and I think I may respec.
My SL photo group did autumn last weekend. Hence the pix I blogged this to. Not that California looks anything like that.
Oh, and I totally want this library Wow, wow.
current mood:  okay
current music: it is reaaaaallly quiet today
|
|
(4 comments | comment on this)
|
| Wednesday, October 1st, 2008
| |
11:10 am - Anniversary pictures
|
|
| Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
| |
2:40 pm - The Anniversary mostly
|
Mal-aise sounds better than dis-ease though they really mean the same things. A lack of comfort, an indefinite feeling of debility. I am very tired of being out of sorts. Even though all kinds of things have been happening, I am been resisting writing because I knew I'd talk about being sick. Okay. So I have... on to other things.
This past Saturday was the long-awaited 25th annivesary party. I so wanted to mark the event and we all rose to the occasion. There was convivial company, amazing food, excellent entertainment. Russell and I worked together to rent chairs and shade umbrellas and a chocolate fountain. We cleaned and did a dump run and generally got the backyard all tricked out to host 50 people or so. Kurt came to the rescue with his Costco membership and got me into that place to buy huge quantities of food. I cooked for days. My friends cooked for days.
Linnea made an amazing rabbit terrine (or perhaps shredded rabbit in aspic). Stephanie made cucumber sandwiches. Denise made cheese straws and crudities with dip. Petra made watercress sandwiches. Carole brought fruit with a sweet dip. Kurt & Marina made scones. We had two cakes from Prolific Oven which Brigid kindly picked up for us. I planked a salmon, made curried meatballs, tortellini, ham and turkey pinwheels in various combinations.
There were friends who had known us from more than the 25 years and friends we have only met in the last year. The oldest guests were in their 70's, the youngest had just a few years. Many have relationships longer than ours. But everyone came in amity and kindness toward us.
About each hour another three or four folks would get up and sing or recite. Carole brought a large Celtic harp down. Several folks had guitars. We have so many wonderfully talented friends. And everyone followed my request for songs of love requited. And there was even a silly song written for the occasion! I cried here and there from the beauty and joy of it all.
Yes, there were a lot of leftovers. No one goes away hungry from my parties. The whole orange almond cake got eaten except for one piece though. We have lots of chocolate fountain chocolate left over. Must do chocolate fondue sometime soon. Aw shucks. *grin*
I am very lucky in my family and my friends. I am blessed. And I started taking flagyl yesterday for to kill my parasite and I am also quite dyspeptic and very tired of it. Bleah.
And I seem to have very few pictures of me and Russell together in my flickrstream to blog from. Bah. Hopefully those who took pictures will send some soon!
current mood:  happy
current music: quiet office noises
|
|
(15 comments | comment on this)
|
| Monday, September 29th, 2008
| |
7:45 am - An interesting bit of history
|
I was listening to Living on Earth on my iPod and heard this interesting bit of interview between Steven Curwood and Sir David Attenborough (on a book tour about his book, "Amazing Rare Things: The Art of Natural History in the Age of Discovery." I wish this insight had been as famous as some of Master Da Vinci's thoughts and inventions.
CURWOOD: Leonardo, the quintessential—perhaps the definitional—renaissance man. In your book, Sir David, you quote something that he wrote around 1490 that shows that he was even formulating a Gaia hypothesis. Could you read from that for us please?
ATTENBOROUGH: Well, Leonardo wrote: 'Just as man is composed of earth, water, air and fire, so this body of the earth is similar. Whereas man has bones within himself, the supports and frameworks of the flesh, the world has rocks, the supports of the earth. If man has within him the lake of blood wherein the lungs expand and contract in breathing, the body of Earth has its ocean, which also expands and contracts every six hours with the breathing of the world. As from the said lake of blood arise the veins, which spread their branches through the human body. Likewise, the ocean fills the body of the earth with an infinite number of veins of water.'
CURWOOD: So indeed, a vision that the earth is an organism — the Gaia hypothesis — just like a human. And we get this from Leonardo da Vinci in 1490.
ATTENBOROUGH: That's correct.
CURWOOD: I guess today's environmentalists should move over for a moment.
ATTENBOROUGH: (laughs) But it's a remarkable vision, isn't it? And it shows such understanding of both the earth and the body.
current mood:  impressed
current music: LoE
|
|
(2 comments | comment on this)
|
| Monday, September 15th, 2008
| |
2:26 pm - Oxun feast and genipes
|
Reading back over my entry from the airport, I see I left out two notable events.
Thursday night we went celebrated the eve of Oxun's feast and also went over to Pepito's apartment to wish them happy. I got to see his lovely temple room and large collection of soperas. I was unfortunately very allergic to his two cats (in addition to respiratory symptoms I started swelling up *sigh*). It was a great visit anyway. I shared the sticky honey Oxun song.
On Friday as we were leaving down we were hawked by some street vendors selling fruit... and I recognized it as genipe - a tropical fruit from my Panamanian childhood. Back in April 2005 there was a meme that swept Lj and I answered that this was my favorite fruit. And I tried very hard to find some back then. Anyway, I bought two bags and finished one of them that night. The other is on my counter and I plan to savour it. Rayna says it is called something else in Mexico so I need to find that name and see if I can get a tree. *happy dances*
from the meme since it has a picture and no-one knows this fruit
6. Your favourite fruit or vegetable. I remember them being genipe or genip but he says guinnups. I would *really* like to have one. They don't grow in North America, of course. *sigh*
current mood:  cheerful
|
|
(8 comments | comment on this)
|
| |
2:06 pm - My stomach problems may be explained
|
So a bit over a week into a low lactose diet (which hasn't made any difference that I can tell) I got the results of the parasite scans. I have Blastocystis hominis.
Here is the CDC faq.
( gory details )
I am almost afraid to eat and I have tried various crazy restrictions over the last few months none of which has made a bit of difference. The latest was lactose restriction.
I have great hope that we can get rid of this parasite and I will be able to eat again
current mood:  hopeful
current music: Tony Thompson - Invocation of the Goddess
|
|
(6 comments | comment on this)
|
| Saturday, September 13th, 2008
| |
1:48 pm - Vacation coming to an end
|
Tuesday Rayna, Cosette & I went out to lunch together. We had reservations at a place called Yuca which has a "Miami Spice" menu, a current tasting menu program amongst Miami restaurants. However, the staff had not shown up for the work and the one person there was rude and opinionated. When our drinks came (after liek 45 minutes) and proved to have black spots, apparently from dirty ice, we walked out. We ended up at Cafe Van Dyck which was a nice all around restaurant.
Then we went over to the World Erotic Art Museum (WEAM) which was just wonderful and had a really nice collection. Rayna said it was the collection of one woman and I am quite impressed with the scope. I think my favorite of things I had never seen before were porcelain shepherdess figures with bustles that one lifts to see their bums. There was a lot of "hidden" erotica like that in the collection.
Wednesday everyone went off to work or school again and I again played a lot of WoW. In the evening Mic & Rayna & I went out another Miami Spice adventure, this time at a restaurant called Por Fin. This was a wonderful success! Lovely food and great service. I am really hating the lactose free diet thing though! I virtuosly gave away the goat cheese from my salad. *sigh*
Thursday Rayna wasn't teaching and we managed to do a botanica run. Back at the purple house we got flowers for Oxun's feast day and we bought a present for pearlshadow. *grin* My lips are sealed. I also bought sacra for Yemanja, Oxun, Oya, Obatalah and Xango. And a crown for my Yangi. There were lots of little Exu/Elegua crowns in different sizes for different size cocas. My Yangi is always collecting brass ornaments so I expect he will love it. Pomba was not impressed that I got things for the other Divas but I explained that (a) she isn't celebrated here and they are and (b) I have bought her *plenty* of sacra this year! LOL
Friday we packed up and eventually got on the road for Tampa as they went off to their EMLC campout and I spent the night in a hotel near the airport. The roadsides were very wet, having gotten quite a drenching from hurricane Faye. Ike hit Galveston today and it is pouring rain here at Dallas airport as I write this. My plane got out of Tampa like two hours late, missing my connection, so I am not getting home at 4:30 but rather like 7:10 accordingto current estimates. If we get off in time which I admit I'm not too sanguine about. *sigh*
So I'm going to miss Linnea's ritual. At least my two hours late getting to Tampa wasn't so bad. Airflight sure doesn't seem like it used to be though.
current mood: okay
current music: news on the lobby tv
|
|
(3 comments | comment on this)
|
| Wednesday, September 10th, 2008
| |
4:15 pm - Chicken & Shrimp stew
|
Here is the recipe Rayna made for Yemanja the other night. It is from a Brazilian cookbook Rayna's co-worker lent her, name unknown. There are lots of Xinxim recipes to be found on the web too.
Xinxim
(Chicken & Shrimp stew)
2 3-1/2 lb chickens, backbones and wing tips removed, cut into 8 pieces
salt & pepper to taste
2 limes, halved
1 lb medium fresh shrimp, peeled, tails intact & deveined
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2-3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 large tomatoes, chopped
2 cup chicken stock
4 malagueta peppers or 1 small hot chili pepper, chopped
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
1/4 cup roasted cashews
1/2 cup dried shrimp
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 Tbsp dende oil (palm oil)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup coconut milk, unsweetened
Wash and pat try the chicken pieces and season with salt and pepper. In a large bowl, toss the chicken pieces with the juice of one lime and set aside for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile in a medium bowl, season the shrimp with salt and pepper and the juice of half a lime and set aside for 15 minutes.
Heat 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the shrimp and sautee briefly, until they are pink, about two minutes. Remove and reserve.
Add half the remaining vegetable oil to the pan. When the pan is hot, add the chicken in batches, skin side down, and brown until golden, adding more oil as needed. Repeat until all the chicken is well browned and reserve.
Drain the oil, add 2 tbsp of olive oil to the pan, and sautee the onions and garlic until soft and translucent, about five minutes. Add the green pepper and cook another vie minutes. Add the tomatoes and stock, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and add chicken. Cover and cook for 35 minutes, or until chicken is tender and cooked through, stirring from time to time so the chicken does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
Mix the ground cashews and peanuts with the ground dried shrimp.
Remove the chicken from the pan and whisk in the ground dried shrimp and nut mixture, ginger and salt & pepper. Bring to a simmer, add 1 Tbsp dende oil, then return the chicken to the pan, and add the shrimp. Add the cilantro, bring to a simmer and cook about five minutes, or until hot. Squeeze the juice of the remaining lime half over the Xinxim, add the remaining dende oil and coconut milk, and cook until heated through about three minutes.
Place the Xinxim in a heated serving bowl and serve with boiled white rice, farofa (seasoning powder), vatapa (a very similar fish stew) and pepper sauce.
[This last line makes no sense to me, the parentheses are mine. Plus, this recipe is way too complicated. And I would use 4-5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts since I don't like chicken skin. If I made it at all given the cilantro. *grin*]
current mood:  hungry
current music: household noises
|
|
(3 comments | comment on this)
|
| Monday, September 8th, 2008
| |
8:36 pm - Travel report and Wow mostly
|
Friday was a travel day, even more of one than anticipated since we spent two hours on the tarmac in Dallas whilst they fixed our plane. Twice. The guy doing the first repair having found something else he thought needed doing. So I got to my hotel in Tampa at about 6:50. I ran into Chenin in the lobby and it was nice to see a familiar face. He was also planning to go to the Blarney Stone party so we agreed to meet up there after he ran an errand and I took a shower and changed. The emphasis of the pub was on beer but I had a Maker's Mark Manhattan. Erm, three actually. Two before the food came. So Chenin got sung to on the way back to our hotel. He, being Philippino, had no background in Irish music and had found the words hard to understand. I hope I wasn't too obnoxious.
Somehow with the time difference and the fact that my computer was on West Coast time still, I played WoW until 2am. Ooops. My alarm went off at 7am and I did make it to the breakfast/keynote by Phillip and M Linden. Got the name of the new global evangelist type. I want to talk to them about possibly doing a demo at the Parliament of the meeting space capabilities. SL is so high tech though there are probably lots of interfaith folks who don't have the capability. *sigh*
Then I went up to my room and packed and rubibees came and wafted me away from my conference off to Miami. There was a Lucumi ceremony for Yemanja at the home of an artist named Robert. The ceremony has a name for a musical instrument so it is sort of a "song" for the deity rather than a Tambor. But I don't remember the name, obviously. *hangs head* The altar was beautiful and the drummers and singers were amazing. There are a ton of folks and it was very warm. Erm, it was a bloody sauna. I lasted through most of a set but then retreated to the backyard to cool off a little. greenwapiti and I left to pick up one of the boys and Rayna stayed to finish out the ceremony. (Being a daughter of Yemanja.)
Mic started a toon on our server but he and I sat at our respective computers in our respective servers and both did instance until 2am. Yes, you read that right. Rowan stayed up to 2am to days in a row. Of course that is 11pm body time. But still! My very first instance with a party of five from the Librarian guild! It was awesome. We did Gnomeregan and I didn't actually finish any of the quests but I did level to 29 (from about the middle of 27). *happy dance*
Sunday we spent the day getting ready for a feast for Yemanja that Rayna was offering. She made an amazing white yam dish and a chicken/shrimp stew and we had pulled pork and molassas cake and it was wonderful. There were about eight people at the table and we wrote wishes/prayers/petitions to Yemanja and out them in a watermelon boat which had sails on which a couple of us drew pictures. It was very cool. It was nice to talk to some of the Lucumi folks about the similarities and differences. I mentioned Dark Moon Xango and since I had been told he was a Loa did they know anything about him. Pepito thinks he is a Palo spirit named Siete Rayos (Seven Lightning Bolts). Something to look into!
Monday everyone went off to work and school and I spent the whole day playing WoW basically. LOL My Tauren on Farstrider is now at Level 10 although I haven't seen arianrhodstorm ingame yet. Wow, it is hard being on a new server. My second toon was essentially a twink even though my first one wasn't very high (and is far surpassed by now having just hit 22 to Rosfianna's 29). It is hard not to have enough money for training and repairs. I need to do some serious grinding.
Tonight we went to a restaurant called Catch of the Day and I had the baby back ribs BBQ and chrispy shrimp with a side of fried plantains. Very yummy. We shared appetizers of conch fritters and coconut shrimp. And now it is after 11pm local time, 8:15 home time. But my body is saying we're not in Pacific time anymore, so off to bed for me.
current mood:  sleepy
current music: just the susurration of the fan
|
|
(5 comments | comment on this)
|
| Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008
| |
10:18 am - The holiday, WoW and indigestion
|
It was very nice to have a holiday weekend. I mostly vegged out. Russell and I watched on DVD a movie he had seen a few years ago called, "The Guru". I thought it was marvelous, a melding of Hollywood & Bollywood. If we ever manage to get Bollywood night going again (we haven't seen Parineeta yet either), I want to add it to the choices.
I played alot of WoW, sitting on my new exercycle. The Air Desk set-up works beautifully. My knees and hip rotators aren't entirely happy with me, so I think I will time myself by not plugging in the computer so I can't do hours at a time. My Nelf Druid is now about lvl 21 and my Draenei Hunter is at lvl 26 despite being two weeks younger. Partly it is because Kurt & I play Draenei together and partly just because the hunter is so much more buff than the druid. I admit though that I'm really hating herbalism. I may change to mining for my second gathering profession. But then what will I do when it comes time for a creative profession? *sigh* I don't know. But skinning just seems so right since it uses the critters you kill.
Armory stats: Hunter and Druid. And lest you wonder, yes, I'm still in Second Life. *grin* I've just added another thing to my crazy busy life.
I went to the doc yesterday about my indigestion and he put me on a lactose free diet. Bah. No quatro leches for me. Hmm. No way. Going off the diet for that. I am pretty sure I am not lactose intolerant anyway. But I'm doing the steps requested. I am really tired of being afraid to eat, y'know?
I fly to Florida on Friday. I can't believe I'm visiting in hurricane season again. But I'm looking forward to it despite the storms.
Oh, I am really kind of enjoying twitter. It is much easier to do 148 character tweets several times a day than it is to write a blog post. My latest tweet was "IfaBlog opines that Obama is an Oya child and McCain an Ogun child. Interesting." I'm rowanf, of course. If you are on twitter, please let me know!
current mood: cheerful
current music: pretty quiet
|
|
(14 comments | comment on this)
|
| Tuesday, August 26th, 2008
| |
9:21 am - Interfaith, PaganPrideDaySL & exercise
|
Another week has gone by. Lots of work and lots of doing "stuff".
On Friday I drove up to Berkeley and gave Don the Maxine Miller statue of Danu to take to the indigenous summit in Brazil. It is so exciting! The falls of Iguazu were "The Father of Waters" to the natives but when the Europeans came they used this most holy place as a place of execution. There is going to be a ritual at the summit to resacralize the waters. So I sent Danu, our Mother of Waters, to join in the effort. This is a most beautiful statue, with the waters pouring out and the living tree on her cloak. I wrote a letter to go with her. I have no idea really how it will be seen by the recipients but Greg is going to video the ceremony of resacralization and I look forward to a chance to see that. I really wish I could have gone with them!
Then I dropped by Barbara's house (since she works from home in Oakland on Fridays and it saved me a trip to SF) to drop off our old computer as a donation to the URI where they plan to use it as a media server for the pictures and video from the assembly in Mayapur this fall. Barbara and I went to lunch and caught up on what we've been doing. It was really nice to touch base. I haven't been doing as much interfaith lately and talking to Barbara and Don this morning reminded me of why I love it.
Saturday was Pagan Pride Day in SL and I thought it went off really well. I was one of the scheduled speakers and did "Pagans in Interfaith" for an audience of about 10 avatars. And now that I've imported my slides I'll probably do it at the Interfaith garden on Info Island. Although I should probably redo some of it for a non-Pagan audience. I went to a couple of talks and two of the rituals. I missed the big live music concert and even events, I was just computered out. *grin* I thought it all went quite well though and I think it is totally cool that there was an SL PPD.
Sunday I had planned to go to Glenn's birthday party but my stomach was bothering me (anybody know where I can trade in for a new digestive system?) and I stayed home. I shopped and got started cooking the lamb for the moussaka for Tuesday dinner.
Monday after work I shopped some more (having figured out I only had garlic infused olive oil) so I could cook the eggplant for the moussaka. Did that, hung in WoW for awhile. mr_kurt has joined me and we are playing Draenei so I upgraded to Burning Crusade. I knew I should have just bought the package it Target! It goes much faster with a friend. Then the guys finally showed up about 8:30 to set up my new exercycle. By 9:30 they were done. Yay! Now I need to set up my computer desk and see if this plan to pedal whilst I compute is a sensible one or an expensive pipe dream.
current mood:  busy
current music: Possible Oscar - Dead Again
|
|
(1 comment | comment on this)
|
| Wednesday, August 20th, 2008
| |
4:20 pm - Saturday's 18th Anniversary Bembe
|
Well, I said I'd write up the Bembe but I don't really have much to say. Our House chorus rehearsals have recently changed from once a month in San Jose to twice a month, once in SJ and once in Oakland. So Friday night Chris & I made the trek to Oakland. We had a great meal at Tropix Caribbean and then went to Edoras. Somehow in the change of venue, no one had thought to mention that household includes four cats. I did my usual "oh, I'll be okay" and breathed myself into an allergy/asthma episode. *sigh* We moved outdoors and I managed to stay for most of the rehearsal but it really banjaxed my lungs.
Saturday morning Kurt & I coordinated and took my desk up to Etherius in Berkekely. Yay! The desk is gone. And Monday night I ordered an exercycle. I'm hoping to stop being such a slug.
So I headed on to the House with some trepidation. My chest was sore from the attack and I was afraid that the cigars would be bad since I was already triggered. Nine Exus took the floor and proceeded to smoke. Yep. I'm in trouble. I hang out in the always no-smoking food tent. I do not dance for Ogun or Oxossi but they have plenty of mediums on the floor. Somewhere in there some wonderful person gets the idea of setting up a fan to provide an air barrier between the floor and the food tent. And someone convinces me to use my inhaler. That makes a difference. I dance about half of Pomba's time before two Exus light cigars. Back to the food tent.
I did manage to hang in there and dance Oxumare and Brigitte. Oxumare was amazing. I haven't danced him/her in way too long. I managed Brigitte for one song. Oh! And I had an interesting experience when Ghede handed me a plastic skull. I got a hit from a spirit who said he was "The Major" and that he was an Revolutionary War Hero and an ancestor of the House. I couldn't get him to tell me how that might be, but he was very glad to be there. Okay. I seem to get random spirits who really want to be a part of us. I introduced him to a couple of people in case they want to talk to him too.
By 5pm we're not quite halfway through the xere and I'm exhausted and sore and decided that the hour drive home was about on the edge of my capacity. Mama walked me to my car and I went home and collapsed. Bah. I missed the wonderful pork and rice feast Jess was making and all the visiting and hanging out I had been looking forward to. The Orixa with whom I interacted were all concerned about me. Omolu and Oko in particular sent me energy which helped me stay as long as I did.
Note to self - yes, you really are severely allergic to cats. It doesn't matter that you love them. DO NOT HANG OUT WHERE MULTIPLE CATS LIVE!!!! Esp. when inhaling to sing with nice deep breaths.
current mood:  sore
current music: distant chatter & computer noise
|
|
(8 comments | comment on this)
|
| Thursday, August 14th, 2008
| |
8:34 am - Where did I go?
|
I'm not sure. First it was just work and catching up on movies. Then it was having a summer cold and just being out of it. Then I succumbed to WoW (after find that there was a librarian guild forming). I'll try to write things up, really.
This weekend is The American Magic Umbanda House's 18th anniversary and this is the 100th anniversary year of Umbanda in Brazil. So I'll try to remember enough of the Bembe to write that up for sure. Really.
|
|
(12 comments | comment on this)
|
| Thursday, August 7th, 2008
| |
12:16 pm - via Rubibees & Mr_Kurt
|
|
Your result for The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test... The Harlequin
You are a mystery, a jack-of-all-trades. You have the king's ear, but also listen to murmurings of the common folk. You believe in the value of force and also literature. Truly you are the puzzlement of the age. Take The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test at HelloQuizzy
# You scored 39% on Cardinal, higher than 61% of your peers.
# 52/100 You scored 49% on Monk, higher than 52% of your peers.
# 50/100 You scored 50% on Lady, higher than 50% of your peers.
# 7/100 You scored 27% on Knight, higher than 7% of your peers.
current mood:  amused
current music: folks talking in the breakroom
|
|
(2 comments | comment on this)
|
| Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008
| |
6:08 pm - Ralph's wedding
|
After my fishing triumph, we headed over to the house to hang out with family until the wedding. They had set up tables for 170 guests in the back yard (yes, Christine does have quite the back yard!). They were out of diet Dr. Pepper? Why am I surprised, my family goes through it like mad. But dang! I had to nurse the one I brought all afternoon. *grin* They did a drink run and I switched to a nice BV Merlot my brother bought for me. Most folks were drinking beer or margaritas so I was happy to have that bottle!
It was fun to watch my siblings see old friends. Both Ralph & Martha went to High School in this area and this was like a HS reunion. I got introduced to all sorts of folks (including both of their first dates) and enjoyed the stories whirling around me. Russell was surprised that I didnt' know any more folks than he did really. There were a few of the young friends who remembered me - the older college sister who blew in during holidays occasionally. One women assured me that I "was her Grace Slick" and we agreed on the importance of getting our freak on from time to time. I was glad I had my braids and was still being the "weird older sister". *LOL*
In due course a very nice catered Mexican dinner (plus lasagna) was served. (Yes, the reception was before the wedding.) We ate and drank and the stories continued to flow. Russell was doing yeoman work taking pictures of everyone. He took over 900 snaps and now is busily going through them. Finally the bride was ready to come out but it was well after the 8pm proposed start and the light had gone. Russel had hoped not to have to use flash for the whole thing sincet hat light is so harsh. My Mum and Martha and I saw together down front. Ralph looked great in his suit, as did my brother, Paul, who stood as his best man. One of Christine's sons, Brandon, gave her away. Their friend Dave was the officiant and it was a hoot. It was the first stand up comedy wedding I have attended. There were various ads for the various tradespeople and small businesses of the bride and groom and their friends, there were silly anecdotes, there was much laughter... and they were well wedded. They headed off to the first dance and it was really lovely. I danced awhile but we had to be on the road to head home by 7:30 next day, so Russell and I took our leave before the cake was cut. We did pause and take a picture of the cake - with its lovely wooden swan centerpiece carved by my Mum.
Sunday we drove to Goleta again. LA wasn't as bad early Sunday morning as it had been Friday morning. I took a nap whilst Erika & Russell visited and we ate and were on the road again. Reaps was heading home from the Bay Area where he had spent the weekend and we met at a blueberry "you pick it" place where he had stopped to pick berries. It was nice to see him, since we had missed him in his absence. Also, he gave us some freshly picked blueberries! Yum!
We zoomed north and actually for awhile hoped to get home at a reasonable hour... but then we hit Soledad and it was 15-25 miles an hour all the way home. Given that we had stopped for a couple of hours at lunch time, it probably only took us a little over 10 hours. But we were on the road by 7:30 and home after 8pm and it was just a bloody long day. Boy howdy, I am not doing that drive again any time soon! I wouldn't mind going down and doing the rest of the zoo and visiting Ralph & Christine... but I want two days each way for the drive. Or fly. We filled up once before we left and once on the road, once in El Cajon and once on the way home... for a total of about $120 in gas. I love my Prius!
I took my camera to the wedding but I didn't take any pictures. Here is a pix from two years ago when I visited Austin. The bride & groom from this weekend are the blonde in the blue shirt and the guy in the red shirt in the front row. Everyone here except Katy & Tyler were at the wedding.
Back row - Katy, Alex, Mum, Tyler, Brandon
Sofa - Christine, Martha, Paul, Ralph, Rowan
current mood: cheerful
current music: Tivo noises from the livingroom
|
|
(3 comments | comment on this)
|
| Saturday, July 19th, 2008
| |
2:09 pm - Saturday before Ralph's wedding
|
Saturday morning we got up bright and early and met my parents and sister at The Valley House restaurant, home of the Iowa Porker. An Iowa Porker is basically chicken-fried pork tenderloin served with country gravy, potatoes, and a homemade biscuit. Can you say Rowan food? It was better than any chicken-fried steak I have ever had and I am having very mixed feelings - oooh, I wish it was near me.... ooooh, I'm really glad it isn't near me! They evidently also serve it in a sandwich at lunch and with mashed potatoes for dinner. I promise you that if I find mysel fin Santee, CA again I am eating there for sure!
When we drove up to the Valley House my mother and sister were in the back parking lot looking for a cache. We weren't finding it, so we went to breakfast. But it was a quick find once our minds weren't clouded with hunger and we decided to spend the morning caching. My brother and his bride were off getting licenses and it was a nice chance to play hookey. Dad went back to the house in case he could help. Boy, Santee has an amazingly boring lot of park & grabs on fire hydrants. Good for the numbers (I'm now at 753 caches found) but the only place amongst them that I felt it was worth visiting was a virtual at an aerospace museum... which was closed. But we could get the info from the outside and were able to log it.
We dropped off my family and Russell and I went back to our hotel so I could participate in the Isle of Wyrms Final fishing tournament. My family, though a bit bemused by its virtuality are totally down with the idea that fishing tournaments are important. *LOL* I tied for first, which means I came in second. I won a hedgehog avatar and two riding snails! (I have put a picture of Lemmy just for illustrative purposes. I haven't tinted my hedgie yet (or even unpacked it) and I already have that snail so I won a different one. A real picture soon, I promise.)
current mood:  accomplished
current music: air conditioner noises
|
|
(8 comments | comment on this)
|
| |
11:45 am - Fishing & the drive to San Diego
|
Thursday I zoomed home and had a fishing tournament for North American qualifer for the big Isle of Wyrms Final over the weekend. I actually qualified for the big one! Go me. I'm the purple wyvern hatchie in the snapshot.
As soon as I got offline, Russell and I were in the car driving for Goleta where luverika had kindly offered us crash space to break our drive to San Diego to my brother's wedding. We got to Goleta around 11pm and fell over. We had a nice breakfast with Erika and headed to San Diego by 9am the next morning. Traffic through the LA Basin was awful even in the late morning. We didn't get to San Diego until about 3pm.
We stopped on the way to the zoo at a coffee shop where it was quite evident that San Diego Pride was the following day. We picked up a magazine called FlawLes with young, beautiful lesbians ala The L Word and photospreads to make a het man drool. I admit to a certain level of bafflement and wonder what the women I came out with back in the day would make of this zine. *laugh* I'm the older generation!! When did that happen?!
We had about 2-1/2 hours at the Zoo which isn't anything like enough but we had fun. Saw the bonobos and a variety of other monkeys and apes. Walked through the aviary but didn't see many birds (we went over in the gondola later and saw they were all in the crowns of the trees out of sight from the ground). It was nice to walk and stretch our legs after the long drive. I found the Zoo map and layout fairly incomprehensible, I must say.
Then we zoomed out to El Cajon to the rehearsal dinner. Not that Russell and I needed to rehearse but they invited us to dinner with them - it was pizza & beer so there was plenty for a couple more folks. *grin* We touched base with family and had a nice visit before heading back to our hotel.
current mood: busy
current music: In Bed with Susie Bright podcast
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Wednesday, July 16th, 2008
| |
1:45 pm - Steampunk Archetype Test results
|
Having seen this in the journal of mr_kurt, how could I resist?
Your result for The Steampunk Archetype Test... The Aetherist Bodger
The aether carries the information, the aether is information. You are one of the few who know the ins and outs of Aether Terminals. You can access information across the Aethersphere, tapping into the Aetherpipes of anyone you want and stealing the information stored in their datatanks. Some think of you as a myth, a legend created to scare people. You are no myth or legend, you are quite real and you are currently reading the Queen’s AetherMissives. Take The Steampunk Archetype Test at HelloQuizzy
My percentages were 27 Swashbuckling Engineer, 15 Crazy Clockwork Tinkerer, 40 Charming Noble, 33 Roguish Pirate, 15 Mechanical Fian and 42 Aetherist Bodger!
current mood: amused
current music: quiet office noises
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| |
1:36 pm - Mongol, the movie
|
Tuesday after another long day at work, I had a nice massage by the magical Tina. I can move my shoulders today. Then I hopped up from the table and went off to see Mongol, the first of a planned trilogy on the life of Temudgin, the boy who grows up to be the warrior Genghis Khan. This is the early years from the death of his father when he was nine to the battle which makes him Great Khan of the Mongols. The cinematography is sweeping with the stark landscape of the steppes which drawfs the yurts and herds of the people.
I liked the love story between him and his bride, Borte (who is actually played by a Mongolian actress). The filmmaker is Russian, Temudgin is played by a Japanese actor and his rival Jamukha by a Chinese one -- it is quite an international production. I liked the way they dealt with the magical parts of the legend - his encounters with the sky-God Tengri and the "knowing" of Borte when the monk dies.
There has been some quibbling about the historicity of the script which is based on the writings of Russian historian Lev Gumilyov (as interpreted by the scriptwriters). As a member of the Dark Horde of the SCA, I probaby know more about the historical Temujin than most Americans. I thought it was well within the scope of the legend. I look forward to the other two films if they manage to make them.
current mood:  good
current music: coughing down the hall
|
|
(4 comments | comment on this)
|
| Tuesday, July 15th, 2008
| |
10:28 am - Vitamen D & Health
|
I was just telling a friend yesterday about some research another student did back when I was in a women's studies grad program. (I didn't complete it.) My fellow student did her dissertation on home remedies on the American frontier and she went around to various archives and read pioneer women's journals. The most common remedy was to have the patient "sit in the sun". I figured that it did no harm and having a rest from chores probably helped. But today I was reading in the WSJ about Defending Against Disease -- With Vitamin D. It seems that,
"It's long been known that D is crucial for strong bones. But new research suggests that it also protects against a wide variety of diseases. A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine last month found that men with low D had a higher risk for heart attacks. Other studies have linked low D with cancer of the breast, ovary, prostate, stomach, bladder, esophagus, kidney and lung. Low levels of D also have been associated with high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, periodontal disease, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, macular degeneration, mental illness and chronic pain."
Huh. Those pioneer mothers new a thing or two, eh? And we, with our indoor activities and work and sun aversion and sun screen, aren't getting enough. I have cod liver oil supplments in my cabinet but I'm always worried about mercury in fish and don't take them very often. I do take a multivitamen that has some. And I eat tuna once a week (mercury again or I'd eat it far more often).
current mood: impressed
current music: quiet office noises
|
|
(7 comments | comment on this)
|
|
|
|
|
