Where have the days gone?

QotD: Mother Nature

nobody@vox.com(SandyU) — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:34:35 -0400

What is the scariest experience you've had with Mother Nature?
Submitted by jacolily.

That would have to be the time I went canoeing on the Buffalo River in Tennessee with the Outing Society which I belonged to in college (Spring of 1979). I can't remember if it rained while we camped overnight, or if it had been raining a lot before our trip, but on the 2nd day of paddling on the river, all of a sudden we came upon a very very fast and high section of water, and a tree was down over the river, and somehow most of us capsized. A couple of us landed on the far shore, and had to find a way back across, which eventually involved jumping in and swimming for our lives across the raging current. It was quite frightening at the time.

We did get all the canoes back on to shore (I think they got caught on some branches and so on, and some of the guys were able to rescue them), and most of the gear was salvaged from the river where it got shallower, but I never did recover the sleeping bag I had recently sewn myself from a Frostline kit (remember them?). [Frankly, I can't remember what I slept in the rest of the trip - I think someone must've loaned me their bag and one of the couples shared.]

That was it for the canoeing portion of our Spring Break then - after we were all safely on shore, we built a fire and dried out some, then hiked to where we saw a barn, and most of us stayed there while some of the others hiked out for help and transportation. (Remember this was long before cell phones.) For the rest of the week we drove to the mountains and just camped by a pretty little lake, so it still turned out to be a fun trip - but could've very easily been disastrous. I know now that we were attempting to do something beyond our skill level, never a good idea; really dumb, in fact. As the old commercial says, "Don't fool with Mother Nature!"

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QotD: I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!

nobody@vox.com(SandyU) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 19:04:18 -0400

July is national ice cream month! What's your favorite flavor?
Submitted by LittleWiseOne.

Creme brulee

Especially yummy with sliced bananas on top!

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QotD: Step into My Closet

nobody@vox.com(SandyU) — Thu, 08 May 2008 21:59:20 -0400

How many pair of shoes do you have? Out of those pairs, how many do you wear more than a few times a year?
Submitted by fightinggale.

Without going to check, I'm going to say about a dozen total: Teva sport sandals, running shoes (my most recent shoe purchase, last spring), trail shoes (about 15 years old now; they're starting to wear out, and I hope I can find ones just like them), tan mules for summer (currently wearing to work every day), black flat moccasin-type (cooler weather wear, but after several years of constant wear they recently developed cracks in the soles which let the rain in, so I'll have to buy a new pair for next fall), navy Italian pumps (business-me), my wedding shoes (white pumps which I actually do still wear after almost 28 years, but they still hurt...), black zip-up chunky-heeled sandals from the 80's (little black dress type), beige wedge sandals (2nd hand), really chunky clogs Nikki handed "up" to me, cute brown bootlets (2nd hand, don't quite fit but now & then I squeeze into them), plus Nikki's closet full of shoes (nice to wear the same size as one's daughter who loves shoes!). But I generally only wear one pair to work every day, either the cold-weather flats or the warm-weather mules. Sport sandals or trail shoes for running around at home or camping. The rest not very often. Bare feet when possible.

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QotD: Today is the Greatest...

nobody@vox.com(SandyU) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 09:01:21 -0500

What's the best thing about today?

Mississippi trip reunion dinner: seeing our new friends once again, watching the slide show of everyone's photos. I found a recipe online for a carrot & parsley salad to take, since I've got lots of both of those.

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QotD: The Best Part of Waking Up

nobody@vox.com(SandyU) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 21:13:08 -0500

What's your morning beverage of choice? Coffee, tea, juice? Homemade or store-bought?

Cappuccino

Coffee made in our Italian stovetop espresso maker, made with freshly ground Starbucks espresso beans (or organic if I can get them), and heated milk - in our cute Italian coffee mugs!

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QotD: The Best Scent

nobody@vox.com(SandyU) — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 17:06:35 -0500

What is your favorite scent or smell and why?
Submitted by Nebraska Plates.

I think... rain in the summertime. Or it's not so much the smell of the rain, as it is the earthy smell it creates in the woods or in the garden. Mmmm.

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QotD: Super Bowl 2008

nobody@vox.com(SandyU) — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 13:34:29 -0500

Are you watching the Super Bowl today? Who are you watching it with, and which team do you want to win?

Get real! The Steelers aren't in it, so I couldn't care less.

Here's a joke making the rounds locally (in Steelers Country):

On the first day of school a first grade teacher explains to her class that she is a Patriots fan.

She asks her students to raise their hands if they, too, are Patriots fans.

Wanting to impress their teacher, everyone in the class raises their hand except one little girl.

The teacher looks at the girl with surprise,

'Janie, why didn't you raise your hand?' 'Because I'm not a Patriots fan 'she replied.

The teacher, still shocked, asked, 'Well, if you are not a Patriots fan, then who are you a fan of?'

'I am a Steelers fan, and proud of it,' Janie replied.

The teacher could not believe her ears. 'Janie, why pray tell are you a Steelers fan?'

'Because my mom is a Steelers fan, and my dad is Steelers fan, so I'm a Steelers fan too!'

'Well,' said the teacher in a obviously annoyed tone, 'that is no reason for you to be a Steelers fan. You don't have to be just like your parents all of the time. What if your mom were an idiot and your dad were a moron, what would you be then?'

'Then,' Janie smiled, 'I'd be a Patriots fan.'

hehe

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QotD: Penny Pinching

nobody@vox.com(SandyU) — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 22:58:50 -0500

What are some ways you save money?
Submitted by Pixiemom.

Well, the cool thing is that most of the things you can do to conserve the planet's resources... also save you money! Bonus! Here are some things I do:

Avoid disposable cleaning items (paper towels, Swiffer-type single-use junk, etc - cut-up old clothes are free)
Avoid excess packaging (single-serve food items, individually wrapped anything - always more expensive)
Turn down the thermostat and put on a sweatshirt
Use the least amount and lowest temperature of water to do the job
Re-use the backs of letters (including junk mail) instead of buying note-pads
Go to the library instead of buying books (most of the time anyway)
Stay out of stores and don't look at catalogs, unless I actually need something (as in, the old one fell apart and can't be mended)
Drive a hybrid!

Here are some ways I don't save money:

Spend $4 on a cappuccino almost daily (although I do at least bring my own cup... does that count?)
Buy organic foods (but I know it's better for me, my family, and the planet, so I don't mind spending extra here - also don't get me started on the societal cost of cheap fatty manufactured food vs its price to the consumer)

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QotD: My First Single

nobody@vox.com(SandyU) — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 21:34:35 -0500

Music-wise, what was the first 45, single or download you bought?
Submitted by Paddy Melt Wagon.

Download?!?

Killing Me Softly

Back in the olden days, I actually never owned any singles (not sure why...), but the first vinyl album I owned was Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly". It was a cool album, with a gate-fold cut-out cover shaped like piano. I played it over & over, especially the tracks "Suzanne" and "When You Smile."

I think I was in 7th grade, so that would have been around 1973. Yikes!

Um, actually I see I still have the album, though I have no way to play it any more...

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QotD: I'm Going Green

nobody@vox.com(SandyU) — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 21:56:42 -0400

Happy Earth Day! What are some of your favorite ways to reduce, reuse and recycle?

I've driven a Honda Civic Hybrid for the past 4 years (people are probably sick of hearing about it, but I love my little car)
We compost vegetable scraps / leaves etc (have been doing this since I was a kid - it means we have luscious gardens with no chemical fertilizers, meaning we can actually eat what comes out of them)
We recycle everything possible (also been doing this since childhood - yay for Mom!). Reuse or try not to purchase anything not recyclable -- sometimes this is hard to accomplish, and we still do end up with almost a full bag of garbage at the curb each week :-(
I use my pile of canvas bags when shopping -- I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who shops at our local grocery store who does this, which is a shame.
We do our best to conserve gas/electricity/water. For us this means motion sensors on a number of room lights, compact flourescent bulbs where feasible, high efficiency furnace, low-water-usage washer & dishwasher (both Fisher & Paykel)
I try to buy organic / local foods whenever possible, which ironically is rather difficult in this rural community. BUT, this season I discovered a local organic farm which has subscription weekly food deliveries, so I signed us right up -- we got our first little "winter" box a week ago: stored beets, carrots, potatoes, and fresh spring greens. I can't wait till the real growing season starts!
We try to be good corporate citizens as well... when we built our new manufacturing plant and office space 4 years ago, we opted for a "green" building (Silver LEED rating), mostly meaning recycled materials and high-efficiency lighting and heating (for example motion sensors in various office spaces, and heating and lighting such that we're consuming the same amount of gas and electricity as the old facility but with triple the production capacity and many more pieces of heavy equipment). Also, a portion of the electricity we purchase is from a local wind farm.

All this is not meant as bragging, it's just an issue that I'm pretty passionate about. [My daughter calls me a hippie and my husband calls me an eco-freak, but I assume those are meant as compliments!]

But I know I could do more, like air dry my clothes rather than use the dryer, not use the computer/electronics/microwave so much, drive less, try harder to buy even less stuff than I do, etc.

I do try to walk softly on this earth, but there are many aspects of today's society which make it difficult. All we ~~can~~ must do is keep trying.

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