Nacwolin’s Neighborhood

Why do people litter?

Living in downtown Vancouver near the water and the beaches, I see so much of this on my morning powerwalks, especially after big holidays or big events. 

Last night was the first night of the annual Celebration of Light fireworks.  Thousands of people lined the beaches last night to watch.....and this morning, the whole place is littered with drink containers, napkins, food wrappers, newspapers, and all sorts of refuse.  There are large refuse containers about every 50 feet but people cannot seem to make that trip....and they even put out extra for events in the high volume places like English Bay.

Don't even get me started on what the beaches looked like after Canada Day. OMG that was deeeesgusting!

We live in a city with much affluence....in addition to being known here on the wescoast for being tree-hugging, eco-conscious, granola-heads.  So why so much litter and crap left to soil and stink up the landscape in our parks, beaches, and city in general?

I just don't get it. 

I personally don't understand how people can litter, period.  Why is it so hard to gather up your refuse and deposit it in the trash can like a respectable human being?  People wouldn't dream of littering in their own home....or at a friend's home....so why do it in public areas?

Finished Zombie Blondes by Brian James--and seriously, this is a really fun book. :)  Like the Twilight series, it involves the undead except this time, the undead are a little...um...juicier than vampires.

Zombie Blondes

Brian James

I prefer zombies to vampires anyway, I think.  Incredibly fun book and I think most people could read it in a few hours.

Next up?

Generation Dead

Daniel Waters

Another zombie book, this time by Daniel Waters.  This is his first book, I think, but he's better known (to me anyway) as the guy who wrote Heathers.  (If you have not seen Heathers, rent it immediately.  If you don't like it, don't ever let me know.)

Meanwhile, weekend plans.  I have two episodes of 90210 (the ninth season is winding down, which means I only have one full season and a handful of episodes to go before I can say that I've seen every episode) in my DVR and Netflix sent me 21.  I have a load of clothes in the dryer. 

(90210 and 21 must be dealt with today as I am spending much of tomorrow in the movie theater.)

Walkscore.com recently ranked America's most walkable neighborhoods and cities. Where does your hometown land in the rankings? And how much do you actually find yourself walking instead of driving?

Baltimore is #12, but the three most walkable neighborhoods are not mine.  (They say Federal Hill, Inner Harbor and Fells Point.)  On the plus side, First Daughter Jenna Hager (no relation) can walk as much as she wants, as she and her new husband will be living in Federal Hill.

I don't walk instead of driving (this is Baltimore, hon, and people get shot here) but Sam and I walk 3-5 times a day. 

One of the positions that was filled in the district that I did my student teaching in fell through. It was not one that I interviewed for previously. It is better. Actually, somebody is shifting into that position and leaving open a 4th grade slot. Remember, I student taught in a 3/4 split. I know fourth grade. I taught fourth. OK. Some stuff will have to happen. First of all this is contingent on nobody in the district wanting to change grades. Then it should become an outside posting.

I am asking for prayer. Things need to align correctly. This is the job I want. I am made for this job.

I will update you as I know more.

(All of this information comes to me from people on the inside. My informant is looking out for me.)

The QOTD doesn't have an ? at the end, and this bothers me.

Questions do not end with periods, or do they.

See?

It just... irks.

Show us the last thing you bought.

Contour pillow for side sleepers

Body pillow

Today I went to Relax the Back store.  I have had a tempur-pedic contoured pillow for about 6 years now and its not doing it's job anymore....and lately my neck has been in so much pain because it's not getting any support when I am sleeping.  My shoulders are so sore every morning and I am not sleeping very much at all because my neck is so sore and making other parts sore,too....and I have been getting a lot of headaches from the neck pain. So, I figured it was time to look into something new.

I love Relax the Back store and could spend hours in there. With anti-gravity chairs, lots of massage chairs, and a whole bunch of beds where you can lie on to test the mattress (most are memory foam) and to try out different pillows and leg wedges.....they expect you to try everything and stay awhile.  I remember a long time ago, we spent a whole afternoon, practically, trying stuff out.  And today, lying on the tempur-pedic mattress with a side sleeper pillow and a body pillow......it was so comfy and supportive, I almost drifted off and had a nap!!

Today I invested in a new pillow that is good for side sleepers and is amazingly supportive to my neck. OMG!!  Love it! Love it! Love it!  And I also got a body pillow which I have been wanting forever.  I tried it out in the store and it's just wonderful.

It felt like a bit of a splurge....but, quite honestly, investing in things that help my back isn't really a splurge.  Less doctors visits and less pain....is a VERY good thing! :)

Now, I just have to save up to buy one of those amazing tempur-pedic mattresses that are just a DREAM to lie on!

Finished The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. 

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel

David Wroblewski

It was really, really good. :) 

I think Barack Obama (or, more accurately, his people) are doing the drawing at the end of the month.  Intellectually, I know I'm not going to be picked to go to the Democratic National Convention.  Fantastic things like that don't happen to me.  And I'm sure the people who have donated thousands are more likely to get picked than the person who donated the tiny amount she could afford. 

But wow, wouldn't it be awesome?

I know that there’s a lot of parents out there that say, “Happy Hour!?!? Are you crazy??? I’ve got no time for happy hour – dinner has to get on the table, and the kids need to do their homework, et cetera…”  Well, hopefully, everyone gets to that quiet time of the evening where they get to relax* – and sometimes it’s nice to wind down with a drink.

Now, every now and then I like to have an after dinner drink. A few of my favorites would be:

Scotch (appropriately referred to as whisky – no “e”)
Port (especially if there’s some chocolate around)
Good anejo tequila
Limoncello

Now the first three of those wouldn’t make for much of a post as the “recipe” would be: open bottle, pour into glass, drink. But one of the real joys this spring and summer was an “experiment” performed by The Beloved and one of our friends in making homemade limoncello (we’re scientists even at home, you know…).

Limoncello

Here’s the recipe – its pretty easy, and the final product is fantastic!

Limoncello Recipe

12 Meyer lemons (or big ol' Costco lemons like we used), peel only, no pith!
2 liters vodka (we used Skyy from Costco)
~4 cups sugar (you can use more - up to 6 cups -- but we didn't want to make it cloyingly sweet)
3 cups water

Put the lemon peels and vodka in a glass container and let
stand in dark, cool place for 4 weeks (we used the back of our pantry).

Strain the mixture into a decanter.  Mix the sugar and water in a
medium saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer until
the sugar has completely dissolved.  Let cool before adding to vodka
mixture.

Place in freezer for at least a day.  The limoncello is good for 6 months.  Start this weekend and you can have yours before Labor Day.

You can add an herbal touch to your limoncello by adding 3 sprigs lavender to the "steeping" mixture.  We made both and each is very good.  The plain limoncello is crisp and clean, and the lavender one has an interesting "woody" flavor to it.

* even those of us sans kids

Just got back from the gym.  I didn't make it a full hour as kids stormed the gym around the 40 minute mark.  (Those who know me know that if there's anything I hate more than physical activity, it's loud children running around, especially when I'm already doing something I hate [or at the movies].)

On the plus side (if my blog title sounds annoyingly familiar and you don't know why), I was there long enough to get to listen to Janis Joplin sing "Mercedes Benz."  (Thank you, Katie, for selling me an iPod.)

I'm still holding steady at two pounds lost.  So not great but not awful.  At least it's not creeping back on, I guess.

Okay.  Time to take a shower and then it's back to green tea.  (Sweet God, do I hate green tea.)

I'm also definitely seeing X Files with my friend Kim on Friday. :)  So that'll be fun.  It's a shame she has to work; I'll still be seeing Dark Knight by myself.

(Any local people have free time on Friday?  I can let you know locations and times of my movie showings and you're welcome to come with.  X Files is in the morning and Dark Knight is in the afternoon.)

There are two fishing poles out in the shed that weren't there yesterday. I get a little kick in the gut when I think about them, one of those happy-sad feelings that is both a hug and a pinch.

Yesterday after work, Lee and I took tacos over to my grandparents house. My grandmother has always had a thing for Taco Bell tacos. We had dinner and a little catch-uppy chitchat. Afterwards the sun had gone down enough that we could venture outside to sit in the shade and enjoy their yard.

With my grandfather wheelchair bound for 7-years now, and my grandmother recently recovered from surgery and not able to get around like she used to, they've had to let go of a lot of hobbies and passtimes. But one thing that amazes me is that they STILL have the best veggie garden in our little corner of suburbia. We left with a bag of cucumbers big enough to hold us over for the rest of the summer, if they wouldn't go bad first.

Anyway, after we marveled over the veggies and chatted with the neighbors, my grandfather started gesturing for my grandmother to go into their garage. After a while, he made it clear through their quiet and intricate way of non-verbal communication that he wanted her to get out his fishing poles. He wanted Lee to look at them and see if he wanted them, since he isn't using them anymore.

Lee was incredibly touched. And so was I. My grandfather loved fishing. His favorite thing to do was get up well before sunrise on a Saturday and head off to plant himself and his fishing gear by a riverbank. Now and then, he took me or went with my father. But mostly, he went alone, because he loved his solitary time with nature even more than he loved the act of fishing itself. That he's unable to enjoy that passion in his retirement years, when he could go every day if he wanted to, makes me want to cry. Him wanting to give up those poles is his way of saying "this part of my life is done, and I want someone who will enjoy it as much as I did to have them." It breaks my heart.

But it also makes me feel all warm and grateful inside that the person he wants to have them is Lee. He recognizes in my sweetheart that side of himself, that early-to-riser who is both healed and inspired by being alone with the woods and a body of water.

My grandfather can't say the words. But I recognized something in the way he held the poles reverently after my grandmom handed them to him, and then how he gently handed them to Lee. I saw it in the way they examined the poles together - Lee talking with words and Grandad with his hands and his eyes and his nods, about how too much time languishing in the garage has battered the poles a little but a fixin' here and there will make them good as new. 

He can't say the words. But in every action and in his smile there was mourning for his own past and a warm and loving approval of the future I have chosen - the simple and age-old happiness of a man who sees a bit himself in the guy one of his own little girls has brought into the family fold.