While I was recovering

I had a wee bit of knee surgery last week and while I was recovering I watched this show on PBS called Diary of a Foodie and the particular episode I saw was all about food bloggers.
(I can't embed the video, therefor I can only offer up a link & the screen grab above)
I LOVED THIS SHOW!!! And was SO happy I'd stumbled across it, since I'd been watching a LOT of TV and there are only so many times you can watch the same episode of Top Chef.

If you get a chance, please do check out this episode and any others that might catch your fancy. Also please don't forget to support your local PBS.

Simply because I like it

March, 2008 - Our dining room - shortly after renovations and before the rug.

I hadn't posted in a while, so I thought I'd toss this one out there.

UPDATE:
Here's a photo of the rug that lives under our dining room table. It's the actual color of the trim and we got it at Pottery Barn.

I will try to remember to snap a photo of the actual rug under the actual table soon.

and it wasn't just a dream

Our veterans deserve more

We should consider our Veterans at least once every day. Even if it's to merely read a headline about Iraq or Afghanistan and send a thought out their way. Today being Veteran's Day, it kind of reminds me Valentine's Day for the military.

What I mean by this is - once a year on a specific day we are rather expected to show love and affection for a significant other or partner - there is a lot of pressure and should be something done out of free will and generosity on ANY day rather than forced at a specific time.

I kind of consider Veteran's Day in the same manner.

So please send a kind thought out to universe in honor of our Veterans, if only for this one day.

Bob Geiger has more...

feel good story

I was reading Crooks and Liars this morning and came across this story.
It's about James Brett and his desire to make the world a better place.
He helped start POM354 - Which helps Afghan farmers turn their fields from producing Opium Poppies to Pomegranates.
It's quiet inspiring and I urge you to please check it out.

YES WE CAN.
YES WE DID.

my trip to vote

I voted. I voted. I voted.
I'm usually nervous, seeing how it's a big responsibility - but today I was giddy with excitement and anticipation.
I couldn't WAIT to get to there.
My husband and I got to our polling location some time around 7.30am.
Our district in our town has some of the lowest voter turn outs for any/all elections and I was happy to see that when we got there we were numbers 68 and 69. This is a big deal.
There are times when I get to my polling place at 7.30PM and I'm number 68 or 69 and that is pathetic.
This is an historic election and I hope everyone takes their opportunity to get out there and make themselves heard.
I direct you to my friend Shore House Chic - she hits the nail right on the head.

If you're (still) unsure of your polling place, please click here, here or here.

If you're concerned about voter's rights, please click here, here or here.

If you'd like to volunteer on election day, please click here or here.

Please don't forget to VOTE!!

Tomorrow, Tuesday 4 November 2008, is Election Day and probably one of the most important elections of our time.
Please make sure you get out and V-O-T-E, vote, vote, vote!
This is one of the few inalienable rights we have in this country and should NOT be squandered.

If you're (still) unsure of your polling place, please click here, here or here.

If you're concerned about voter's rights, please click here, here or here.

If you'd like to volunteer on election day, please click here or here.

Give a read to what seven US authors had to say about the last eight years. Tuesday marks the beginning of the end of our long, national nightmare.

sh*t!!!!

Well, I was trying to add a new list of links and I screwed up.
I accidentally deleted a whole list of blogs I like, including those belonging to my friends, while I was working.
I can't seem to get the blog list back, so I'll be doing my best to remember what was in there and build it back from memory.
UGH!!!
Next time I'll take a screen grab before I start working, just in case this ever happens again.

I swear I thought Mercury in Retrograde was over!!

For Broken Ears

Chuck Ragan - For Broken Ears

stunning photos

There are some incredibly stunning photos by PLATON at the New Yorker Online.

You can view the entire slide show here.
Photo courtesy of PLATON and The New Yorker

they have crossed the line

I can't keep quiet about this any longer....

Just this afternoon I read a post on AmericaBlog by John Aravosis that has screen grabs of two craigslist postings (that have already been removed) that threaten Obama's life. McCain and Palin have whipped up the worst in the people that are attending their rallies and I am genuinely afraid of the consequences of their rhetoric. They need to stop inciting and condoning such violence...

So here is what I thought...

What if we all got together and started calling McCain’s campaign office or even his senate offices and asked “Does Senator McCain condone the remarks of people attending his campaign rallies when they yell out that Senator Obama is a terrorist or that he should be killed?”

I’m assuming the person on the other end of the phone would say “Of course not!”
And then we could say, “Well they must because neither he nor Gov. Palin renounce such remarks/behavior so they must condone it.”

I wonder if we all started calling, how quickly (hopefully) the two of them would change their tune? I mean, there’s a lot of us out there that are appalled at this and actually a little scared, and since the media won’t ask those question, maybe we should.

If you’re so inclined to call - here are the phone numbers
Campaign - (703) 418-2008

Senate office in DC -
Phone: (202) 224-2235
Fax: (202) 228-2862

Senate office in AZ -
Phone: (602) 952-2410
Fax: (602) 952-8702

Also - it's not a bad idea to phone Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid and ask them to come out against such abhorrent behavior.

You can contact them here:
Nancy Pelosi -
Washington, D.C. Office:
Phone: (202) 225-4965
Fax: (202) 225-8259

San Francisco Office:
Phone: (415) 556-4862
Fax: (415) 861-1670

Harry Reid:
Washington, D.C. Office:
Phone: (202) 224-3542
Fax: (202) 224-7327

Las Vegas Office:
Phone: (702) 388-5020
Fax: (702) 388-5030

***UPDATE***
I called McCain’s office in Arizona and spoke to one of his staffers and asked if McCain condones the hate speech yelled out at his campaign rallies. His staffer said what I expected, which was, “Of course he doesn’t condone it” so I asked for him to give me a specific example of where and when McCain said he’s against it. He couldn’t and wouldn’t and I pressed him, saying that McCain then MUST condone the hate speech because I have yet to hear him say one thing to the media or stop in the middle of one of his campaign speeches to renounce the horrible things yelled out from the crowd. So the staffer then said - “Well, it’s common sense.” So I said it’s not just common sense and that I’d really like for him to cite one single instance, direct me to one specific place where I can read McCain’s quote against the hate speech. The staffer said, “I’ll be sure to pass your message on to the Senator.” and I said, “Yes, I’m sure you will”

I also called Harry Reid’s office asking his staffer to please have Senator Reid come out against the fear-mongering and hate-speech and she politely said she didn’t know at this time if Sen. Reid had anything prepared but she would gladly pass on the message and the concern.

Please everyone, please make these calls - I am sincerely fearful of the worst and would hate to have it happen and done not even the smallest thing I could to stop it.

please register to vote

For the three of you that read my blog, PLEASE pass this info on to anyone you can think of. It's important to vote and the deadline to register is only days away. Muchas gracias!


You can also register to vote here, here, or here.

Today is Muppets Day

surf trip

In the beginning of September we went on a little trip. We started off by going to Vermont for a wedding and then we headed over to Rhode Island, Maine and up to Nova Scotia for some surfing.


Our trusty ride


Things you might see on the road to Nova Scotia


Surf recon.


View the rest of the images by clicking here.

circle pit

During Sick of it All at the Bouncing Souls, Sick of it All, Grey Area show at Terminal 5 - Friday, 19 September 2008.

Pick up 3

Now that the summer season has come to it's unofficial close and the towns in my area aren't staffing the beaches full-time - I thought it would be a good idea to pass this on to visitors.

It's called Pick up 3. It basically asks that any person visiting the beach pick up (at least) three pieces of trash when they leave. If each person did this our beaches and ocean would be SO much cleaner. It doesn't take much effort or time and I ask that you consider it the next time you happen to be at the beach.

Let McCain speak for himself

Every single person sitting on the fence about whether to vote for McCain or OBAMA, needs to watch this little ad.

lost his marbles

If you happen to be in Denver for the Democratic Convention, please go see Rik Clay.

For $5 you can send a few marbles back to Bush with the help of Clay, owner of a Boulder, CO ruler company by trade.

Clay says, "Be a part of history; for never before has one man lost so many marbles and been so in need of collective help to recover them."

now why didn't i think of this?

Top 10 Creative Responses To Junk Mail.
Borderline brilliant!

I'm pretty partial to #7.

it's about time

Since I sit at a computer most days and work on photos, I'm not always all that enthusiastic about working on my own images in my free time. I know I'm doing myself a huge disservice by neglecting my own work over that of the work paying the bills, but sometimes I can't help it. I simply can't bring myself to turn on the computer during the 48 blissful hours I'm not at the office.

However, sometimes I am inspired by the thought of my friend Mike... who is a comic book artist and has a job he loathes but takes time every day to make his own work. That's really something. And while you're at it, check out some of Mike's amazing work here.

So here are a few photos I shot LAST YEAR on my way out to South Dakota for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. It's not much, but it's a start... and as a fortune cookie once said to me "Begin. The rest is easy."

jelly donut cupcake masacre

This is what happens when you fill the cups too high and forget to put a cookie sheet under your cupcake pan (Thankfully fixed half-way through baking when I smelled the overflow jam burning the bottom of the oven).
The recipe for these cupcakes (which I made in a mini-bundt pan & added cocoa powder) comes from Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.

Finished product: