You could spend hours looking at old photos of Japan. (via, via, TYKIWDBI first seen via)
[...]edited by: paul_h,
Richmond Editor
I've been on immune system suppressants, for the lupus, since August. I wasn't tolerating the first drug (methotrexate) too well, so my doctor is having me try the next least horrifically toxic drug on the list.
All well and good, as these things go, but I managed to catch a cold [...]
I've been on immune system suppressants, for the lupus, since August. I wasn't tolerating the first drug (methotrexate) too well, so my doctor is having me try the next least horrifically toxic drug on the list.
All well and good, as these things go, but I managed to catch a cold [...]
The buses have these signs up to remind people to keep their electronics to themselves (no speakerphone mode, no music players without earphones, etc.). The signs are illustrated with an ass. Or possibly a burro. The courtesy policy is reasonable.
People are generally pretty good, though sometimes you get treated [...]
Every day, I take public transportation to work. I have my car up here in Alexandria, but I only use it to run errands. Most of the time it sits in front of my landlady's house. Parking is a bit tight around here (narrow streets, little driveways that only accommodate [...]
Last week I had my watch battery changed by my brother's secret twin (separated at birth—by about twenty years). Same haircut and hair color, same facial structure, same fashion sense (my brother has that same shirt), similar crummy job at the same mall … Even down to the ne'er-do-well friend' [...]
Today's fail: I was gazing out the window as the bus drove up Mount Vernon Avenue, looking at all there is to see on a not-quite-autumn afternoon, and forgot to pull the cord to signal the driver for my stop. In my defense: a baby ballet class was just letting [...]
I took a walk around sundown. The light was about gone, so I didn't take my camera. The light there was would probably not have played well with the camera anyway.
Wild clouds in the sky blew around and bounced what was left of the sunlight all over. Lurid pink light,' [...]
I've really missed my regular dose of Japanese news. I watch a little when I'm home on the weekends, but the daily weird I got from NHK news broadcasts is not quite made up for by my workplace, most days, anyway.
One evening at home, some months ago, I had the [...]
Last fall I heard on NPR that their was an acorn crash throughout the eastern United States (this was discussed elsewhere at the time). I did notice that, compared to the year before, there weren't as many acorns lying under the oak tree by my apartment entrance' [...]
In the first year that I lived in Alexandria (2007-2008), three home décor places opened in a three block stretch of the commercial street near my apartment.
Bad timing, no?
Two were new, one went into a small space, one into quite a large space. The third place moved from a location [...]
In the first year that I lived in Alexandria (2007-2008), three home decor places opened in a three block stretch of the commercial street near my apartment.
Bad timing, no?
Two were new, one went into a small space, one into quite a large space. The third place moved from a location [...]
I take Amtrak when I travel between Richmond and Alexandria on the weekends. Oz picks me up (and drives me around) in Richmond. Transportation in Alexandria is a little more involved. I walk from the office over to the Amtrak station on Fridays to catch a train home. Very convenient. [...]
This product packed by weight, not volume …
Yeah, right.
A while back I got a pretty kitchen scale, mostly for measuring out dry pasta. The accuracy of my estimates of how much dry pasta equals a reasonable serving size are inversely proportional to my blood sugar at the time of making [...]
This weekend, we passed two busted water mains, in two different parts of town: Forest Hill Avenue, beyond Stratford Hills (of course), and East Broad near the I-95 on ramp.
Oddly enough, not in Church Hill. Lucky us.
For now, anyway.
[...]The adventure with offshoring my eyeglass purchases continues. The process, it is not always perfect, but still a reasonable way to go.
I got a new prescription back in April and ordered up a couple pairs from Zenni. Zenni is maybe getting swamped with its own success, because it took [...]
The stress fracture in my foot is supposedly healed. I'm taking my osteoporosis medicine and extra calcium. The next step is to get back to moderate, weight-bearing exercise to build up those bones.
The problem is that moderate, weight-bearing activity is what cracked that bone.
Theoretically, sturdy arch supports will help the' [...]
Except for monkeying around with my bread machine, which hardly counts, I've never been a yeast bread baker. The mess, the stickiness, the general tar baby experience of it. And did I mention the stickiness?
I have issues with stickiness. By the time I work enough flour into the dough so' [...]
With my left foot hurting worse and worse instead of feeling better and better, I broke down and went to a podiatrist, who found a stress fracture in my second metatarsal. No wonder it hurt so much to walk.
Treatment involves wearing a surgical boot and trying not to take [...]
All through this past cold, dark winter, I've been looking forward to spring, when I can get home before dark to walk around with my camera and take pictures of pretty things. But fate is cruel.
I've been hobbling around for the last three weeks. With a cane. Ugh. Either the [...]
Olive oil
3 shallots or one medium onion, chopped
crushed red pepper, to taste
2 fennel bulbs
6 cloves of garlic, pressed
28 ounce can tomatoes, with juice
2 15 ounce cans of small white beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 teaspoon of salt, or to taste
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar [...]
I went to Giant to pick up some milk and bananas. The usually lackluster produce section (What is it about produce in Northern Virginia? The produce at the stores in my area is generally made of Fail and brown slimy spots) had six spectacularly fresh and fabulous-looking fennels on display. [...]
Celebrating the Internet as the ultimate cat picture delivery system:
The Sparkster, deceptively sweet
Monte Alban, typically nervous
Wasn't there something else going on today?
Oh, yeah.
A while back I wrote about how we were going to try buying prescription eyeglasses online and saving big bucks. Now I can report: Success!
Oz, my mother, and I all ordered eyeglasses from the same online vendor, Zenni Optical, and we are all pretty pleased with the outcomes. [...]
Due to an extended interlude of drinking champagne and eating potato chips down in the kitchen, I missed a fair bit of the evening's rebroadcast too. Bad Kouhaku reporter. I am left to wonder about the Holstein-patterned ballgown I glimpsed at the end of the morning broadcast.
NHK introduced a few [...]
It being the time of tasty treats, we've been busy planning meals and snacks. We are determined not to have a repeat of Thanksgiving, when we planned the feast meal but neglected to plan any other meals. By afternoon, when the turkey was roasting, we started scavenging through the pantry [...]
The election is over. (Yay! Things will change … somewhat.) It would be safe to listen to the news again, except for the economic horrors. Remember that retirement you had? Even so, my friends and I are walking around saying, "I feel like this great weight has been lifted off [...]
I am still employed. This job thing takes up a lot of time.
Still riding the rails and playing with the iPhone camera:
I flew out to Dayton to visit family in September:
Made it [...]
I have been employed like an actual grownup person for an entire year, as of today. It's been nearly nineteen years since I managed that, if you overlook my many years of self-employment. Today, the rest of my entering team and I said, "Woo. A whole year. And we're still [...]
When I got back to Alexandria, I walked down to the Giant to pick up some bananas. Poor timing. Apparently a pee-wee football team goes in on Sunday afternoons and drop kicks the bananas all over the store. At least that's what springs to mind when one sees such a [...]
I told a girl at my work how my friend's new baby is gaining two ounces a day. She said, "But that's just two shots!"
"Yeah, but when you're only eight pounds, it a significant percentage of your body weight."
I did catch some rainbows:
No, that's not what I've been doing for the last month, but it is what I've been doing for the past hour. We had a couple shallow waves of thunderstorms with declining sunshine in between.
The first rainbows hit when I was leaving the supermarket. I stood for a while beneath [...]
Where I'm working we have this huge Manual that tells us how to do our jobs, down to the most miniscule detail. The Manual has accreted a couple thousand pages, give or take, over the many, many years that the organization has been operating. The idea was to cover every [...]
Wabisabi: a Japanese "aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience."
Wasabi: "a member of the Brassicaceae family, which includes cabbages, horseradish and mustard."
Oz loves wasabi. When we go out for sushi, I have to make sure to get all the wasabi I want from the communal plug right away [...]
I'm back in Alexandria after a nice long weekend down in Richmond. I could use more time at home. We're all snuggle deprived, Oz, the cats, and me. Weekends are not enough.
I'm still employed. Oz asked me, "Do the other trainees all talk about the day they get fired?"
"Not out [...]
Spring is here, and that means cherry blossoms!
Peak day, down on the Mall
I've lived most of my life within 100 miles of the Tidal Basin and the cherry trees, but I've never been to see the cherry blossoms. Till this year! I had the [...]
When I left for work this morning, a cold dark rain started up as I walked to the bus stop, but tapered off to drizzle on the walk from the bus to my office.
My lunchtime walk around the block was warm and windy. I had to go around the windward [...]
My musing on the Reesey cup issue did not end with the last post. Oh, no, Reader. All language comes from somewhere and inquiring minds want to know exactly where that is.
So I bought a bag of mini Reesey cups and put them up by the white board at work. [...]
I got some new Chucks for spring. So cute! So red! Oz said, "Maybe too red for work." But if I'm going to violate the No Sneakers rule, I might as well do it in style. My work also has a [...]
Way back at the rehearsal dinner for the Princess's wedding, we met the Goddess, a friend of hers from high school. The Princess and the Goddess used to work at a bakery together in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Goddess had been at the bakery for some time before the Princess [...]
I am baking cake right now. This lovely chocolate cake (but with substitutions: balsamic vinegar in place of white vinegar and melted butter in place of oil). Seeing (smelling) as how the cake has turned my apartment into a den of chocolate-scented bliss, it doesn't even matter if the [...]
Four to six what?
I'm making this vegetable stew. About the same time I realize I'm going to end up with two gallons of the stuff, I also realize that the recipe reads like a list of Oz's least favorite vegetables. Okra! Zucchini! Sweet potatoes! Green beans!
Hmm. I'm going to have [...]
Not.
So very, very not.
As usual, I dismissed all the wishful thinking cleverly masked as dire warnings. Then, on Friday night we saw the ring around the moon, impressive and suggestive of heavy weather (the math, more photos). The only other time in my life that I [...]
TV viewers shocked. No one thought that was possible.
After last year's Kohaku incident with the not actually nude backup dancers, NHK decided to make this year's Kohaku the tamest ever. Even the wacky drag performers with their wacky costumes were operating at their standard level of wack.
The only really horrifying [...]
When I was heating up my lunch in the break area at work today, the guy with the very large lunchbox (he eats many small meals a day and uses a lunch carrier the size of a small suitcase) was setting up his lunch. He was opening a can of [...]
Yes! I have found the sweet spot in my apartment where I can get a fairly consistent internet connection. The sweet spot is less than ten feet from where I had been using the computer, and my landlady's house is pretty small, so I can't be that much closer to [...]
So. Is everybody thankful? I am thankful to be home for a nice, long holiday weekend. The trains were running on time Wednesday night too, so getting here wasn't nearly the ordeal that I feared.
Yesterday was all cooking. Cranberry sauce, buttermilk pie, turkey breast with cornbread stuffing, sweet potato casserole, [...]
Behold, we have news:
Oz is a grandpa. He kept checking the blog back around that last weekend in October, but I am a bad blogger anymore. Not that he needed me to tell him, he just [...]
As I walked from the bus stop to my apartment, I was feeling more and more overwhelmed by my to-do list. Lots of little chores, none of which would take very long to do, but so many! Then a bird shat on my head (the nasty purple kind of poo) [...]
Actually, I like my new job. So far.
We haven't done any work yet, but anyway …
We're in training. Eight months of training! The Princess elbows her husband and says, "Yeah, honey, they get training! Imagine that." She has started a job with no training whatsoever and is hating it. The [...]
North 11th and East Marshall Streets
An unexpected pleasure in Court End and the MCV area, which is somewhat short on pleasure because when I'm there I'm usually getting jabbed by a phlebotomist, is walking south on 11th Street and suddenly seeing the rippling [...]
"What? No update?" Oz looks over from his computer, where he's just made his daily visit to this blog.
"Hah."
I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. I've been shopping.
Actually, that's rather like descending to one of the outer circles of hell, so maybe I have.
We carried a load of [...]
The other morning I dreamed that I had whiskey for breakfast. A not-wee dram of single malt in a cut crystal glass with the sun sparkling through it. Very pretty, but even in my dream I was appalled at myself.
Later that morning, after one cup of coffee, I was buried [...]
After reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, you thought Turkish Delight must be the most wonderful treat in the world and you were sadly disappointed by the cornstarch dusted, rose-scented goo you bought at an international market. You said, "Ptooey! Man, what was C. S. Lewis [...]
After reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, you thought Turkish Delight must be the most wonderful treat in the world and you were sadly disappointed by the cornstarch dusted, rose-scented goo you bought at an international market. You said, "Ptooey! Man, what was C. S. Lewis [...]
If you're going to a baby shower, I highly recommend taking some LED ducks. They were a huge hit with the under-four set and the adults too. Definitely worth the drive out to Short Pump. After the unwrapping, the little kids latched on to the ducks (which stayed in their [...]
If you're going to a baby shower, I highly recommend taking some LED ducks. They were a huge hit with the under-four set and the adults too. Definitely worth the drive out to Short Pump. After the unwrapping, the little kids latched on to the ducks (which stayed in their [...]
Now it's time to wrap the baby stuff we bought. We don't have any baby paper, which means more shopping. As we dither around in the occasion-specific wrapping paper aisle, another confused shopper wanders through with a cart full of toys.
"You see any Dora paper?" he asks.
"No. Would that be [...]
Now it's time to wrap the baby stuff we bought. We don't have any baby paper, which means more shopping. As we dither around in the occasion-specific wrapping paper aisle, another confused shopper wanders through with a cart full of toys.
"You see any Dora paper?" he asks.
"No. Would that be [...]
A whole week since I updated. Not meeting my minimum standard, am I?
I have been keeping busy with arrangements for my upcoming (not quite) move to Northern Virginia. (Words are involved. It's like writing.)
I've lined up a place to live: a cute basement apartment in the charming Del Ray neighborhood [...]
A whole week since I updated. Not meeting my minimum standard, am I?
I have been keeping busy with arrangements for my upcoming (not quite) move to Northern Virginia. (Words are involved. It's like writing.)
I've lined up a place to live: a cute basement apartment in the charming Del Ray neighborhood [...]
I am known to the outdoor cats who live along my walking route. Most of them are glad to see me and get a little chin scratch. Some of them are pretty insistent about that chin scratch and run after me, meowing loudly, if I don't stop long enough with [...]
I am known to the outdoor cats who live along my walking route. Most of them are glad to see me and get a little chin scratch. Some of them are pretty insistent about that chin scratch and run after me, meowing loudly, if I don't stop long enough with [...]
I do in fact have some. They need some serious breaking in and I'm not sure my feet are up for it.
That's about the extent of my commentary on the thirtieth anniversary of the Death of Elvis. (Does that sound like a Terry Pratchett character or what? Death of Rats, [...]
I do in fact have some. They need some serious breaking in and I'm not sure my feet are up for it.
That's about the extent of my commentary on the thirtieth anniversary of the Death of Elvis. (Does that sound like a Terry Pratchett character or what? Death of Rats, [...]
Okay, so I skipped lunch. Fueled only by coffee and a chocolate truffle shaped like a pig (it was a big truffle), I headed out the road to Short Pump in search of light-up duckies.
The princess was telling me about a baby shower she'd just been to. One of the [...]
Okay, so I skipped lunch. Fueled only by coffee and a chocolate truffle shaped like a pig (it was a big truffle), I headed out the road to Short Pump in search of light-up duckies.
The princess was telling me about a baby shower she'd just been to. One of the [...]
After I get back from my walk, I ask Oz if he's still hungry. After demolishing tonight's dinner (mostly potatoes), he'd announced, "That was really good. I ate it all. I may want dessert later."
Now he says, "Well, if you feel the need for waffle cones full of ice cream, [...]
After I get back from my walk, I ask Oz if he's still hungry. After demolishing tonight's dinner (mostly potatoes), he'd announced, "That was really good. I ate it all. I may want dessert later."
Now he says, "Well, if you feel the need for waffle cones full of ice cream, [...]
As we were finishing up our lunch in our favorite East End eatery, a guy with a family reunion T-shirt came in and asked for directions to Byrd Park.
"Uh, do you mean Dorey Park?" the waitress asked. Dorey Park is just up the road from the restaurant.
As we were finishing up our lunch in our favorite East End eatery, a guy with a family reunion T-shirt came in and asked for directions to Byrd Park.
"Uh, do you mean Dorey Park?" the waitress asked. Dorey Park is just up the road from the restaurant.
I keep checking the weather site for better news, but the story doesn't change. Boiling hot till Saturday. Even now, it's 11:30 pm and it's still 92 °.
Today was all about hiding from the heat. And fretting over things I can't control, but that's nothing to write about here. I've [...]
I keep checking the weather site for better news, but the story doesn't change. Boiling hot till Saturday. Even now, it's 11:30 pm and it's still 92 °.
Today was all about hiding from the heat. And fretting over things I can't control, but that's nothing to write about here. I've [...]
Bear Affair carnival ride as seen on I-95 last Sunday.
This isn't the first time we've seen these bears. Back in 2003 I photographed them from a different car on a different stretch of I-95.
I've never seen this ride in [...]
Bear Affair carnival ride as seen on I-95 last Sunday.
This isn't the first time we've seen these bears. Back in 2003 I photographed them from a different car on a different stretch of I-95.
I've never seen this ride in [...]
"So, how long are we in this hellhole?" Oz asked.
Hah. Hah. We were at the Hilton in Old Town Alexandria. A three-star hellhole with fluffy towels, superb air conditioning, and Starbucks in the lobby.
I may be taking a job up in Alexandria soon, so this was a preliminary exploration of [...]
"So, how long are we in this hellhole?" Oz asked.
Hah. Hah. We were at the Hilton in Old Town Alexandria. A three-star hellhole with fluffy towels, superb air conditioning, and Starbucks in the lobby.
I may be taking a job up in Alexandria soon, so this was a preliminary exploration of [...]
I went to the farmer's market. I bought no tomatoes, though there were lovely tantalizing tomatoes everywhere for, like, a dollar a pound (so if you don't have a free source, get yourself to the farmer's market). I bought onion-rosemary focaccia, a pound of the cutest little oriental eggplants you [...]
I went to the farmer's market. I bought no tomatoes, though there were lovely tantalizing tomatoes everywhere for, like, a dollar a pound (so if you don't have a free source, get yourself to the farmer's market). I bought onion-rosemary focaccia, a pound of the cutest little oriental eggplants you [...]
My total tomato consumption for the day was a spoonful of leftover salsa on my burrito at lunch. The jolly red rows of tomatoes on the counter, they mock me. I'm not sure what I'll make next. Perhaps I'll try cooking them into a sauce. Maybe with a little roasted [...]
My total tomato consumption for the day was a spoonful of leftover salsa on my burrito at lunch. The jolly red rows of tomatoes on the counter, they mock me. I'm not sure what I'll make next. Perhaps I'll try cooking them into a sauce. Maybe with a little roasted [...]
Tonight's attempt to use up all my neighbor's tomatoes was salsa. Did I mention that both my neighbor and Oz have planted jalapenos? They are also coming ripe this week.
So I prepped six jalapenos (or was it seven?) by cutting out the seeds and membranes, then running them through the [...]
Tonight's attempt to use up all my neighbor's tomatoes was salsa. Did I mention that both my neighbor and Oz have planted jalapenos? They are also coming ripe this week.
So I prepped six jalapenos (or was it seven?) by cutting out the seeds and membranes, then running them through the [...]
The most certain way to get homegrown tomatoes is to grow them yourself. Having a friend or neighbor who grows them is also good. You get a less certain supply, but that's the tradeoff for the zero investment in tomato acquisition. We've stumbled upon a third way: have a neighbor [...]
The most certain way to get homegrown tomatoes is to grow them yourself. Having a friend or neighbor who grows them is also good. You get a less certain supply, but that's the tradeoff for the zero investment in tomato acquisition. We've stumbled upon a third way: have a neighbor [...]
It's been a tough weekend for me and my elderly iBook. The iBook is a real trouper. It was purchased back in early 2002 and has been chugging along ever since with the original OS X release plus one tiny incremental update. It's a G3 600 MHz with a 20 [...]
It's been a tough weekend for me and my elderly iBook. The iBook is a real trouper. It was purchased back in early 2002 and has been chugging along ever since with the original OS X release plus one tiny incremental update. It's a G3 600 MHz with a 20 [...]
We don't have any scales in the house, except for a little postal scale, but that doesn't really count since it can't handle weights of more than a pound.
I'm pretty good with only knowing my weight when I go to the doctor's office. The fit of my clothes lets me [...]
We don't have any scales in the house, except for a little postal scale, but that doesn't really count since it can't handle weights of more than a pound.
I'm pretty good with only knowing my weight when I go to the doctor's office. The fit of my clothes lets me [...]
A day that begins with a cat horking up a hairball can only get better. My reflexes are pretty good. I went from slumber to moving the cat off my pretty rug in about five retches.
With that small accomplishment under my belt, I went on to get a little more [...]
A day that begins with a cat horking up a hairball can only get better. My reflexes are pretty good. I went from slumber to moving the cat off my pretty rug in about five retches.
With that small accomplishment under my belt, I went on to get a little more [...]
My to-do list includes the item "acquire business casual clothing." I have in my head a picture of a few collared shirts, a couple pairs of slacks, and a better looking pair of shoes than what I have now. This isn't rocket science, after all, and I ought to be [...]
My to-do list includes the item "acquire business casual clothing." I have in my head a picture of a few collared shirts, a couple pairs of slacks, and a better looking pair of shoes than what I have now. This isn't rocket science, after all, and I ought to be [...]
Unoriginal I know, but I needed to get that last book cleared out of my head. This may not be a great book either, though I'm sure it will meet my expectations. Maybe that was the problem with the [...]
Unoriginal I know, but I needed to get that last book cleared out of my head. This may not be a great book either, though I'm sure it will meet my expectations. Maybe that was the problem with the [...]
I try to avoid bad books. I check out reviews and try to get the book from the library if I'm not sure. But we got this book the last time we went to the bookstore. The cover art has been calling out to me for a while and the [...]
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