Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Bored, Part 2

Within the next 12-18 months, a great deal of change may well be happening within this household.   Accordingly, a few things have caught my interest. 

A little bit of geography, valleys are lovely to look at, but not sure about living in one.  Or at the base of a hill, for that matter.  Pretty beaches , though.  Lovely to look at, $$ to live there.

Interesting how housing makes all of the difference in cost of living analysis.

I am seeing California fruit advertised in sale flyers, & wonder if they're any cheaper *in* California.  Also, given the general climate, wouldn't they be grown year round?

Not sure which giant sea turtle my daughter saw from the plane, as she landed. However, she said that it was huge & kept up with the plane as it came in for a landing. If I can get her to load a video, you can see the size for yourself! 

Some trees are boring  Some are not.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Bored

I have lived in Connecticut over 20 years now.  I'm bored with it, so I've been armchair traveling.
To here and here .  Granted, Seattle is rather close to an active volcano.   Here is a  bit further away from Mt. St. Helens.  Some absolutely lovely scenery, my favorite bird as well as my favorite animal :)  Naturally, here as well  (I would dearly love to see the Beast of Exmoor).  I'm on Episode 54 of 'Midsomer Murders '....such lovely scenery.  But, what I wonder most is, would I be able to bring a red eared slider across the border?

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Questions in this day

Can I substitute powdered for liquid pectin (in jam recipes)? I could only afford one type, so bought powdered. Naturally, the recipes I want to use this season incorporate liquid pectin.
      Yes, I can .

Can I substitute real vanilla extract for scraped vanilla pod? *$14* for *1* vanilla bean! WTF?
       yes . Yea!

How do I clean Torties' tank? Who would have thought that one small red eared slider would be so dirty? Just like dmn goldfish (which I will *never* own again, btw).
       At least a thorough clean is only monthly . I wonder if hydrogen peroxide will disinfect enough...I certainly have enough old toothbrushes laying around the apartment.

Do red eared sliders *really* get big enough to require a 40 gallon tank?
      Yes. Yes, they do .   However, this week I need to buy him a more accessible basking place.  & a hanger for the light, maybe.



Saturday, May 4, 2013

I do read the occasional love story

In this instance, it's 'Graveminder' (Melissa Marr). 'Graveminder' is a love story between Bek & Byron, between Maylene & Claysvilles' dead, between Cissy & Blood, & how these strands weave themselves together.

Quote 1: "Then he turned and got back in his car as quickly as he could.  He didn't run from fights or anything like that, but he didn't want to know what he didn't need to know.  Anyone who paid attention understood that there were plenty of times that avoiding questions was the best way for things to work out."  (page 35, paragraph 1)
     There are times when other peoples' love stories have consequences for generations. Unintended  perhaps, but impossible to alter.  The consequences in this story involve rituals for the dead, limited birth rate, an interesting world below, & Mr. D.

Quote 2: "Charles nodded. 'They helped make the contract with the town.  The consequence of which is that there are new Graveminders and  Undertakers who follow in their footsteps.'
  'Because you made a mistake,' she said softly.
  'Because I fell in love,' he admitted."  (page 317, paragraphs 10-12)
     The best love stories doesn't involve blind adoration, encased within a bubble of skipping giggles oblivious to all as much as they are invisible to everyone else.  No, the best love stories reverberate, change those directly involved as much as it changes those around them.  These love stories gather sorrow as well as laughter, invite the living, include the dead.  'Graveminder' is one of the best love stories.

1 Visual: "As they went further into its precints, wooden structures gave way to brick buildings and steel-and-glass structures.  Horse-drawn curricles and barouches shared space with bicycles and Model Ts and 1950s Thunderbirds.  The costumes varied as much as the conveyances: women in flapper dresses strolled past others who sported punk and belle époque attire.  There was something unsettling about the unnatural beauty of these coexisting eras."  (page 105-6, paragraph12-1)
     Interestingly, a land of the dead appears vastly different to different people.  There is a reason for this.  Read the book & find out ;)