We had a blast on Thanksgiving. First it was breakfast with the kids and their friends. We spent the afternoon at my brother's house. We all chipped in preparing. Everyone made it, even Justin and Anna. We ate. We drank. We enjoyed each other's company. My niece and nephew challenged my husband to a variety of sports on the X-Box and he managed to get his but kicked pretty good.
Then, they all scattered, Midnight shopping, 4 AM shopping, 8 AM work, 9AM work, LI, NYC, CT, Parts unknown…
I spent my morning working on my Etsy shop. I met Jessica for coffee to catch up and to talk about my upcoming installation project on the pier in Seattle. March will come quick I am sure. This is going to be quite the winter.
I eventually came home and while I was working the last slice of cranberry apple pie was staring me in the face so I went for a run. I came home and ate that slice of pie. My dinner consisted of pie, chili, and salad in that order.
Now? I am off to have tea with my mom and Anna…at this rate, Monday I will need a break from my break.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Its been awhile
I have run, I have lost (6 lbs since I started) and I have signed up (to receive the notification for the NY ING Marathon lottery announcement). I have tracked my food, my exercise, my stress level, my pain and I am progressing nicely, though I have this nagging pain in my lower calf that seems to be attached to my knee which is attached to my gracillis, which is attached to my piriformis …wait a minute those 18 repeat ascents up Devils Kill Road in Roscoe in 2003 that tore that muscle are still haunting me? Thankfully an old college friend and team mate is coming to the rescue, thanks Rich.
Today I have been dealing with two emotions, one of sheer joy, an exhibition proposal for NCECA was accepted. With that elation was the sudden PANIC of having to pull something that I thought there was NO chance of happening together by Feb 2 and install it in Seattle (mind you 4200 miles away) during the last week of March. I have never felt total elation with punched in the gut mixed together before, its really interesting. (OK, still trying to resist the urge to hurl and pinch myself at the same time)
Reducing life to one step at a time...
Today I have been dealing with two emotions, one of sheer joy, an exhibition proposal for NCECA was accepted. With that elation was the sudden PANIC of having to pull something that I thought there was NO chance of happening together by Feb 2 and install it in Seattle (mind you 4200 miles away) during the last week of March. I have never felt total elation with punched in the gut mixed together before, its really interesting. (OK, still trying to resist the urge to hurl and pinch myself at the same time)
Reducing life to one step at a time...
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Off the couch and running
Its been a really LONG month, not sure why, but it seems that my life has been on an automatic scheduling pilot that will not let me out of the 14 hour day scenario. I have been so busy lately but at the same time if you asked me I would be at a loss to tell you why.
My studio work has been a whirlwind with some great idea threads and some new learning happening, though my recent firing was a disappointment: great colors, great pieces but stupid scattered carelessness left me with several raw pieces meant to be glazed and several cracked pieces making it into the kiln. I should have just said I am too busy for this and opted out. I was too rushed and though I like the direction of the work I produced it would have been better had I just slowed down and took care to get things done properly.
In the classroom I have been trying to re-invent myself. I think I am at a place where I have been doing this dog and pony show so long that its feeling like it needs to be dusted off and renovated. This may be the source of my latest time suck…
I had come back from Utah lighter, more fit and excited about staying that way. My biking, or any exercise for that matter has taken a back seat to this recent time suck however and this morning I decided enough was enough and went out and did day 1 of the C25K workout series then walked another 30 minutes on top of that. I am trying to take the 1 hour of moderate exercise and portion control approach (500 cal deficit plus 500 cal deficit). Part of this new approach came from listening to NPR about the new findings about weight loss. I basically have to be willing to put in that kind of effort to combat the hormone rebound they are talking about. Twenty more days of this approach will make it a habit.
My friend Kelly was instrumental getting me out there today and kudos to her for pushing me out the door. It wasn't if you decide to go out, it was more like this is where you go to find the app (C25K) and then you go…"the first 2 miles are going to hurt but then you will find your rhythm". That was that, I did it!
Monday, September 5, 2011
screeching into home plate...
Summer's end came screeching to a hault in a very interesting way this year. It all started the day Kenny and I returned from Burlington two weeks ago. I arrived at school to find out one of my former students (of last year) suffered a traumatic brian injury. I am still having a hard time dealing with it. Then our well started to give us trouble and we spent the better part of that week without water. We finally get the well up and running on Friday just in time for storm prep. I spent the next two days filling containers with water and cleaning in prep for what would be the week from double hockey sticks.
On the storm prep front, there was not a D battery to be found ANYWHERE within a 75 mile radius three days prior to Irene's arrival. On the night before the storm Kenny cooked a few things that would be able to be eaten without prep, bbq chicken, and Pizza. We had a hurricane party of sorts, eating home made Lingucia pizza, drank bronx cocktails and shoju and then we waited. We made sure we showered before turning in so when the power went out we would not feel yukky right away and we filled the tub so that we would have water for flushing for a few days. By 10:30 that night we were filling a bit stood up, it wasn't even raining. Our thought in the morning was that wasn't that bad until we realized that trees, big huge trees were blocking roads all over the place. Kenny and I decided to explore the damage with mtn bikes only to find that my bike had an issue with the rear brake, I was now in a funk. We went for a 2hr walk, but it wasn't the same.
In the afternoon we gathered at Dan and Mary's with Chris and Kaoru for a communal dinner. These types of gatherings are always a joy, and despite not having power, we ate and drank well. This sustenance would prove an essential for surviving the week as our power would not be restored until Wednesday night. In that time we would have to find a means to keeping food cold (not many places had ice and dry-ice that the power company promised became a phantom cause), find gas (we had to travel miles because at one point 95% of our town and 95% of three of the neighboring towns had no power, procure a generator to buy or borrow (thanks Jon and Samantha), and figure out how to resupply our dwindling water, not to mention wash dishes, do laundry and other daily tasks. Not to mention there was the thought that school would be starting under these conditions, thankfully that did not come to fruition. However, we have now used 4 snow days of six possible and we have yet to get the year going. In all of this we realized we dodged the bullet big time. A house that we had wanted to buy in Keene slid down the mountain side, the Guy Park Mansion lost most of its historic collection because walls blew out and whole towns in VT and the Catskills were washed off the planet. Our little hovel was a bit water-logged but nothing that serious (thought it was still a really expensive two weeks to say the least).
In the past few days I have met some incredible people via twitter as we tweeted a war with NYSEG, then there was this couple from the Blazer who shared war stories and baseball (all important Yankee/Red Sox battle) of course there was libations and food too. I even got a guy who never eats salad, to start because the salad I ordered looked SO good after a week of being forced to eat junk. He ordered one too. I have reconnected with old friends, checked in on dear friends who fared far worse than us, and started to do a bit of fall cleaning and gathered stuff to donate to a town in VT (canned goods, gently used shoes, clothes, blankets, jackets, tools). I have managed to finally come to grips with fall being upon us, I am now ready to get back into some kind of routine.
Kenny and I spent the weekend doing what the governor asked, we traveled, though gas, a sandwich and the occasional pint was really the only money we invested. We went upstate and mountain biked with Rich and Alison (of course it was right down the street from my mom's house, giving us new options for things to do while there), and after a pint and a sandwich headed to Dan and Mary's cabin in Lake Luzerne. They live on the Hudson and I was so sure that things would be trashed there only to find that that area weathered the storm quite well and high water and a swift current seemed to be the only remnants. I find this interesting because not to far to the east (15 miles) was devastated, and not too far to the west (15 miles) was trashed as well.
We were on the road and home by 1PM yesterday. We did a bit of yard work, took care of some laundry, rested a bit, syphoned the gas out of the generator, and made plans to meet Jon to return the generator which of course involved mountain biking and beer. We spent an hour in Stewart Bufferzone (state forest preserve) being eaten alive (forgot bug spray) and tooling in and out of single track and double track. This was a fascinating place and I cannot wait to visit again. It was land that was condemned in 1971 by the government, NOT because there was anything wrong with it but because the government wanted it for a super sonic easement for Stewart Airforce base. 1200 people and 375 farms were dislocated. The preserve is a mish-mash of old farm roads, old paved roads, and single track trails in the woods. It was a really pretty place that beckons to be explored more thoroughly. Kenny managed on his third ride off road to do some breathtaking tricks, steep rock drop offs, wall traverses, and river crossings. One trick of note was this wall traverse (more of a rock garden) where the bike got hung up in the rocks and tossed him over the handlebars, he landed on his feet the bike went crashing to the ground. The cat couldn't have done this better. We would have like to have spent more time, but the bugs were really making things miserable because there was so much standing water in places. The slow pace of some of the technical riding seemed to make us a reunion dinner. We hit up the Golden Rail Ale House for some pints afterwards. They had cheap GOOD beer on tap but dressed the way we were in our biking clothing we stuck out like sore thumbs (akin to yuppies in a redneck bar). After a bit we stopped just down the street at Alexis where we split a Greek Salad with chicken on it.
Today included an early morning airport run to get Chris and some cleaning. There was this thought of getting out again on the bikes. Lets see what the weather is doing when we get back from shopping. More rain this week, severe weather even. Hopefully our power will hold out.
School tomorrow (finally).
On the storm prep front, there was not a D battery to be found ANYWHERE within a 75 mile radius three days prior to Irene's arrival. On the night before the storm Kenny cooked a few things that would be able to be eaten without prep, bbq chicken, and Pizza. We had a hurricane party of sorts, eating home made Lingucia pizza, drank bronx cocktails and shoju and then we waited. We made sure we showered before turning in so when the power went out we would not feel yukky right away and we filled the tub so that we would have water for flushing for a few days. By 10:30 that night we were filling a bit stood up, it wasn't even raining. Our thought in the morning was that wasn't that bad until we realized that trees, big huge trees were blocking roads all over the place. Kenny and I decided to explore the damage with mtn bikes only to find that my bike had an issue with the rear brake, I was now in a funk. We went for a 2hr walk, but it wasn't the same.
In the afternoon we gathered at Dan and Mary's with Chris and Kaoru for a communal dinner. These types of gatherings are always a joy, and despite not having power, we ate and drank well. This sustenance would prove an essential for surviving the week as our power would not be restored until Wednesday night. In that time we would have to find a means to keeping food cold (not many places had ice and dry-ice that the power company promised became a phantom cause), find gas (we had to travel miles because at one point 95% of our town and 95% of three of the neighboring towns had no power, procure a generator to buy or borrow (thanks Jon and Samantha), and figure out how to resupply our dwindling water, not to mention wash dishes, do laundry and other daily tasks. Not to mention there was the thought that school would be starting under these conditions, thankfully that did not come to fruition. However, we have now used 4 snow days of six possible and we have yet to get the year going. In all of this we realized we dodged the bullet big time. A house that we had wanted to buy in Keene slid down the mountain side, the Guy Park Mansion lost most of its historic collection because walls blew out and whole towns in VT and the Catskills were washed off the planet. Our little hovel was a bit water-logged but nothing that serious (thought it was still a really expensive two weeks to say the least).
In the past few days I have met some incredible people via twitter as we tweeted a war with NYSEG, then there was this couple from the Blazer who shared war stories and baseball (all important Yankee/Red Sox battle) of course there was libations and food too. I even got a guy who never eats salad, to start because the salad I ordered looked SO good after a week of being forced to eat junk. He ordered one too. I have reconnected with old friends, checked in on dear friends who fared far worse than us, and started to do a bit of fall cleaning and gathered stuff to donate to a town in VT (canned goods, gently used shoes, clothes, blankets, jackets, tools). I have managed to finally come to grips with fall being upon us, I am now ready to get back into some kind of routine.
Kenny and I spent the weekend doing what the governor asked, we traveled, though gas, a sandwich and the occasional pint was really the only money we invested. We went upstate and mountain biked with Rich and Alison (of course it was right down the street from my mom's house, giving us new options for things to do while there), and after a pint and a sandwich headed to Dan and Mary's cabin in Lake Luzerne. They live on the Hudson and I was so sure that things would be trashed there only to find that that area weathered the storm quite well and high water and a swift current seemed to be the only remnants. I find this interesting because not to far to the east (15 miles) was devastated, and not too far to the west (15 miles) was trashed as well.
We were on the road and home by 1PM yesterday. We did a bit of yard work, took care of some laundry, rested a bit, syphoned the gas out of the generator, and made plans to meet Jon to return the generator which of course involved mountain biking and beer. We spent an hour in Stewart Bufferzone (state forest preserve) being eaten alive (forgot bug spray) and tooling in and out of single track and double track. This was a fascinating place and I cannot wait to visit again. It was land that was condemned in 1971 by the government, NOT because there was anything wrong with it but because the government wanted it for a super sonic easement for Stewart Airforce base. 1200 people and 375 farms were dislocated. The preserve is a mish-mash of old farm roads, old paved roads, and single track trails in the woods. It was a really pretty place that beckons to be explored more thoroughly. Kenny managed on his third ride off road to do some breathtaking tricks, steep rock drop offs, wall traverses, and river crossings. One trick of note was this wall traverse (more of a rock garden) where the bike got hung up in the rocks and tossed him over the handlebars, he landed on his feet the bike went crashing to the ground. The cat couldn't have done this better. We would have like to have spent more time, but the bugs were really making things miserable because there was so much standing water in places. The slow pace of some of the technical riding seemed to make us a reunion dinner. We hit up the Golden Rail Ale House for some pints afterwards. They had cheap GOOD beer on tap but dressed the way we were in our biking clothing we stuck out like sore thumbs (akin to yuppies in a redneck bar). After a bit we stopped just down the street at Alexis where we split a Greek Salad with chicken on it.
Today included an early morning airport run to get Chris and some cleaning. There was this thought of getting out again on the bikes. Lets see what the weather is doing when we get back from shopping. More rain this week, severe weather even. Hopefully our power will hold out.
School tomorrow (finally).
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Off the grid?
We LOVE camping, go often, and don’t mind living according to the candle. I love making coffee on the camp stove, cooking that way too and even think that there is some merit to having to slow down. I don’t mind the slower pace, the darker nights, the increased need to be more involved in living. I don’t however like when I am thrust into darkness (even with warning) and then not being able to find out when/where I will be able to access basic life services such as dry ice and water, a means to pumping ground water and septic away from my house, a means to not worrying about what is happening to my investment when I am out taking care of basic essentials. If I chose to live off the grid, I would manage life differently. I would have a composting toilet, a means to potable water, and some food storage system to prevent spoilage. I realize that what I am going through is a FAR cry from what others are going through, but it is trying just the same. Maybe someday, soon, we will rejoin the grid and stop having to bail water every 3 hrs at night (we don’t want to run a generator why we are sleeping) or having to worry about where to get cleaned up, iron work clothes, etc.
Today, our electric company pulled something that encourages investigation. Several of my neighbors had their power restored 36 hours ago, and the electric company removed the rest of us from the need to restore list. Thanks to the diligence of several we managed to convince them of the need to re-open the tickets. Then this morning, what was once fixed blew up. A transformer gave out plunging the restored houses back into darkness. The power company refused to believe the reports. They even told a neighbor they would be put back in line. When they did show up a few hours later to fix things, it was only for what had been fixed 36 hours ago not for the “whole thing”. In the end however, there was only a DRIVE-BY and no new work done.
I write this from the comforts of my brother’s house where I stopped to charge a battery or two, get some water, take a shower and so on. I have seen my niece and nephew more this week than I have all summer. For that much I am grateful.
I return to work tomorrow. This will be a challenge with the resources I have but I will manage. Hopefully, as we were told would be so, our life off the grid will be a thing of the past.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
#...#...#... (UGHHHHHHHHH)
On Saturday night, as we sat having a hurricane party and drinking Bronx cocktails, I very foolishly felt like I had been stood up by Irene but by Sunday morning, as she apparently stormed into our neighborhood late (3AM) and with all the vengeance of a belligerent drunk and has so overstayed her welcome now. We have been without power since about 4AM Sunday morning.
In that time:
* no water, no toilet...and despite heeding the call to fill my bathtub and flushing very sparingly without wasting potable water we had a septic problem - ground water was filling out tank and with no way to pump it...
* I have chased dry ice from location to location. It seems that despite only having a small amount of ice, the providers continue to publicize where it will be available. Long drives, long lines, long waits, police on edge, no show trucks, police dispersing crowds, senators advising calling the governors office...and NO ice in the end...I have seen it all
* I have fought with the power company, not because I am impatient but because they have not been seen or provided us with any sort of updates. Actually it wasn't until I wasted 40. in gas and 10 hours of trying to get ahold of dry ice yesterday did I get upset with them. They claimed it was first come first served and that I must not have been there early enough- well when you arrive at a site 2 hours before it officially opens and you are number 234 on a list and the truck never shows up and the police have to break up a crowd of people...or when you arrive at a site 30 minutes before and you are the second one to arrive and the police tell you you cannot wait...things get testy.
*school hasn't even had its first day, and we already have two days to make up in June...
All in all, its not so bad, Jon an Samantha lent us their generator. We drove to Highland to pick it up at 9PM last night. We had a great break at Alexis Diner on the way back (chicken, salad, grape leaves, fries, ice tea). We managed to get our septic pump working, our fridge going, our freezer hooked up before it was too late, and our sump pump running too. The thing is loud but... hey its an improvement.
Our friends and family have offered us showers, laundry, lunch, dinner (generous) and liquor.
# NYSEG? Well despite them telling the town 65% will be restored by 7PM tonight they told me next week would be more like it... so? not sure what to believe. Just exhausted, but hey, its not the 'dacks, the 'cats, or VT right?
In that time:
* no water, no toilet...and despite heeding the call to fill my bathtub and flushing very sparingly without wasting potable water we had a septic problem - ground water was filling out tank and with no way to pump it...
* I have chased dry ice from location to location. It seems that despite only having a small amount of ice, the providers continue to publicize where it will be available. Long drives, long lines, long waits, police on edge, no show trucks, police dispersing crowds, senators advising calling the governors office...and NO ice in the end...I have seen it all
* I have fought with the power company, not because I am impatient but because they have not been seen or provided us with any sort of updates. Actually it wasn't until I wasted 40. in gas and 10 hours of trying to get ahold of dry ice yesterday did I get upset with them. They claimed it was first come first served and that I must not have been there early enough- well when you arrive at a site 2 hours before it officially opens and you are number 234 on a list and the truck never shows up and the police have to break up a crowd of people...or when you arrive at a site 30 minutes before and you are the second one to arrive and the police tell you you cannot wait...things get testy.
*school hasn't even had its first day, and we already have two days to make up in June...
All in all, its not so bad, Jon an Samantha lent us their generator. We drove to Highland to pick it up at 9PM last night. We had a great break at Alexis Diner on the way back (chicken, salad, grape leaves, fries, ice tea). We managed to get our septic pump working, our fridge going, our freezer hooked up before it was too late, and our sump pump running too. The thing is loud but... hey its an improvement.
Our friends and family have offered us showers, laundry, lunch, dinner (generous) and liquor.
# NYSEG? Well despite them telling the town 65% will be restored by 7PM tonight they told me next week would be more like it... so? not sure what to believe. Just exhausted, but hey, its not the 'dacks, the 'cats, or VT right?
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
park and ride....
This morning dawned early. The first day of school always does. I got my gear together, grabbed some coffee and a peanut butter sandwich and headed out the door. My destination, the park and ride 10 miles down the road, ten miles closer to work. I didn't want to deal with lights, my blinkys were on the blink, and I honestly did not want to give up the 30 minutes of sleep to add that extra distance. SO, I parked and rode, I guess you could say I followed the directions dictated by the sign, literally.
It was COLD this morning, too cold to be riding in shorts and jersey with no jacket. I think I didn't even warm up when I got to school. I was cold all day, even sitting outside at lunch, even riding the 15 miles back to my car. I even put on a sweatshirt when I got home. I wonder if the same thing will happen tomorrow? Thats if I ride in again. Ia m planning on it, but a bit nervous as I have a later day tomorrow and Chris has a flight to catch. I may just abandon that thought, but we will see. I am packing my bag as if I am pedaling in.
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