Scenes from my commute

I’ve been helping the hubster at KCS recently while I am underemployed. The greatest thing about working in town is the walk to work. It takes about 12 minutes. Today I brought a camera to see what caught my eye.

This coffee shop is only a couple of blocks from our house, but I don't usually get coffee on the outside since it's so tasty at home.

Migrating birds arrived in the area today.

I want to plant one of these pines in my yard.

Hey, the old ReStore building is gone! And now I can see the Chuckanut Brewery from here.

Roeder's Mill was right here in the mid 19th century - the first development in town

It is still cold enough to wear a winter coat, hat and gloves. Weee!

This is the "before" picture. Check back in about a month to see it in bloom.

A most kick-ass mural

The little figure is saying "I almost care"

There's that weird thing again.

Oh, I'm here already!

That new parking sign really offends me.

Awesome free score by the mailboxes!!

Inside the top secret underground map production facility.

Heading home again - a closeup on the cool mural

Trailside Salmon

Is it spring or fall?

Oh, spring. Only a few days away here!

watcher on the trail

Uh oh. One of the settlers is missing his head.

On the way home it was that great light rain that you almost don’t need a raincoat for and that your hair and skin loves. Aaah. Okay, it can stop now. Spring break is next week.

Favorite things

This kitchen gadget makes me very very happy.

Lime juicer

If you ever juice limes or lemons for cooking or mixed drinks you must buy one of these. Your struggles will be over. It is SO easy! And it really extracts the juice. Here’s what you could be drinking:

Beatgrl’s Margarita Recipe
1 oz tequila
1/2 ounce triple sec (or even better, Grand Marnier or Cointreau)
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 teaspoon agave sweetener (optional)
A splash of cranberry juice (optional)

Start with lots of ice in your highball-sized glass (or pint glass if you are going to double it like we usually do – oops!)
Pour the liquor over the ice. Squeeze the lime juice into the glass using the wonderful squeezer pictured above. Squirt in the agave and stir. Splash cranberry juice in. Taste and add more tequila as needed. Experiment with various fresh juices. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I never measure so I’m guessing at the amounts above. And I have no liquor so I can’t test it, dangit! I’m sure I will be refining this recipe and I’ll let ya’ll know what I come up with.

I got mine at the gourmet kitchen store in Fairhaven. If you don’t have one of those there is always the interwebz!

Hi Grandma

I'm too cool for school

Spring things

Happy spring everybody!! What’s up? Well, here’s what S and D are doing right now:

They are making a spaceship I believe. And now for a bunch of randomness:

I really like walking around my town. Having the ipod encourages me to walk even more. How else I I going to listen to all those Savage Love and This American Life podcasts, not to mention Sacred Dub, baby! One drawback is I don’t feel comfortable singing out loud on the sidewalk. Not like I do in the car. That’s my main rehearsal space!

Then there are the other people on the sidewalks. Am I the only one who goes through a whole range of awkwardness and discomfort when someone else is coming toward me on the same side of the street?

When do you make eye contact? Do you make eye contact?

Do you say hello, or nod, or pretend the other person isn’t there? We don’t really have social norms about this, being such a car culture. When you are on a crowded city street it’s not a big deal, but in a quiet neighborhood where there is no one else around it’s just weird. You can see each other coming for a couple blocks. I get tense when that happens. So, do I cross the street? Or fiddle with my ipod? Or intently study some landscaping or architecture off to the side? Usually I try not to make eye contact until I’m close enough to say hello. When there are dogs present it’s a huge relief. A socially acceptable thing to look at. Babies in strollers are good for this too.

I’m unemployed right now, which you’d think would give me a lot of free time but strangely I seem to have less. And the free time I do have I’m usually paralyzed with guilt about my choices: housework, “projects” (oh, the tupperware and jar cupboard! And the boxes of photos! And the piles of paper!), helping the hubster at his office, or any of a number of “responsible” things. It’s hard to just relax and take a walk, or a nap, or watch 8 episodes of one TV show in a row (Ahh, the DVD age.)

I have dsl now. My music life is wonderful now. I actually used to download podcasts and albums on dialup. It was awful. Now a whole world is at my fingertips. Yes.

Thanks, Chaz, for the TV show recommendation.

Good ole Al Swearingen

Deadwood is awesome. I’m trying not to go through it too fast. It must be savored. I have to watch my language when I emerge from a viewing session, though. Goddamn, those fucking cocksuckers in Deadwood sure have a way with profanity!

I have more random shit but that is all for now. I’ll leave you with some celebrity crushes:

Jemaine Clement

Kate Winslet

A day to stay in

Another cold front

There’s no reason not to be at your desk doing accounting.

Now get back to work. Go.