In the winter, I'm a ski instructor on the weekends. I have to be at the mountain earlier than my regular job, and I get there on time.
But I just can't seem to get myself to work on time during the week. I calmly take my time picking my clothes, matching just the right necklace, bracelet, shoes. But then as soon as I step out the door and into my car, I start stressing - why did I hit the snooze those last 5 times? Who cares what bracelet I'm wearing?! Why is the car in front of me going so slowwww? Not a good way to start the day.
So why can I get to the mountain early, but still sneak into the office late? Because I WANT to go to the mountain. I DON'T want to go to the office every day. Somewhere in my brain, I know that. It's easy to say "Oh I'm not a morning person," but sooner or later, something's gotta give.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Lately
I have been slacking!! And sleep is no excuse for not updating my all-important blog. I have several half-written posts that I will do my best to finish soon, so don't give up on me!!
xoxo
Lou
xoxo
Lou
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
My New Favorite!
So, pretty soon I'll be publishing some very serious, well-researched and hard-hitting posts about sunblock, Edward Hopper, and the double standards applied to sex in advertising. But right now I would like to draw your attention to my current FAVORITE website,
As the name suggests, it's galleries of pictures of graffiti-ed walls (and other surfaces) - silly, political, personal, nonsensical...this one makes me laugh out loud every time I think about it: 
I really like this one, too. Basically, you should go take a look.
If you're still bored after that, try Passive-Aggressive Notes, another favorite.
I really like this one, too. Basically, you should go take a look.
If you're still bored after that, try Passive-Aggressive Notes, another favorite.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Edward Hopper
Mom and I went to mfa boston to see the Edward Hopper exhibit! I must say, before going I didn't know any of his work other than being vaguely familiar with Night Hawks. Many of his paintings are of bright sun-lit spaces, but despite the initial cheery appearance, he chose to capture people isolated or alienated among other people, or alone in daily life. (Although I must emphasis that being 'alone' is not always the same as being 'lonely.') The stark urban and rural scenes are eerily realistic, showing desolate structures and sometimes painfully isolated people.
His work is really beautiful to me! I love the very straight lines and geometric shapes he sees created by sunlight and shadows, I love the snapshot-like effect of showing people in their daily settings, just going about their routine. I love that his paintings do have a melancholy tone about them that I can appreciate and understand even if I don't know the cultural significance of a woman wearing lipstick at lunchtime. (According to the recorded guide that went along with the exhibit, it IS significant) His urban scenes are gritty, posing the light inside against the dark outside, while his rural pieces seem more airy, light. There's an almost voyeuristic quality to some of his pieces, but he manages to pull it off as observational instead of creepy. He creates an almost tangible emotional setting.
There's a brick building on Main St here in Burly, and when the sun hits it right, it seriously looks like it fell right out of his canvas.
Images: Room in Brooklyn, 1932
Room in New York, 1932
Night Windows, 1928
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Ain't no sunshine
So, my garden is proving to be an interesting experience this summer. It was great fun to paint the boxes with Dad, and plant them on Mother's Day with both my parents. I love being able to see the boxes from my window, but the porch is proving to be an unsuitable place to sustain a garden.
Although the lettuce started sprouting up within two weeks, it has not lived up to that early promise. I guess I really don't have enough sun for it. The leaves aren't any bigger than those in the picture. I had to cut more than half a dozen to have lettuce on my burger!! A salad is pretty much out of the question. (But look at the cute little tags I painted!)
The pepper plant certainly looks healthy enough, which is deceiving. Don't be fooled!! It has lots of blossoms on it, that's true. But as soon as the flower falls off and the actual fruit starts growing in behind it, the whole thing FALLS OFF THE PLANT. It's happened three times already!! This does not bode well for my overall pepper harvest. All of the forks in the branches are turning black, which seems like a bad color for plants to be. Are there any pepper plant diseases I should know about??
The tomato plants are compensating for the lack of sun by growing three feet tall so they can reach the sun, which makes me think they're as determined as I am for them to actually amount to something. There are several clusters of tomatoes on the plant, and a lot of blossoms near the top. The plants (even though they're staked) blew over in the storms last week, so I tied them to the porch railing. Heh, just TRY to blow over now, stupid plants!! Good thing I have all that ribbon!
The carrots were planted in rows, but are all sprouting up in a big clusterfuck, and again don't seem to be growing very big. I've tried thinning them, but I don't know if it helped much. I guess I need to get more aggressive with them. The chives and tarragon are doing great, but of course how much of those can you really use at one time?
The cucumbers may end up being the stars of the garden!! I planted a row all along the back of one of the boxes, with a trellis behind them to climb, which they are doing quite happily. Now I just need to find some recipes that use cucumbers...pasta salads, anyone?
Although the lettuce started sprouting up within two weeks, it has not lived up to that early promise. I guess I really don't have enough sun for it. The leaves aren't any bigger than those in the picture. I had to cut more than half a dozen to have lettuce on my burger!! A salad is pretty much out of the question. (But look at the cute little tags I painted!)
The pepper plant certainly looks healthy enough, which is deceiving. Don't be fooled!! It has lots of blossoms on it, that's true. But as soon as the flower falls off and the actual fruit starts growing in behind it, the whole thing FALLS OFF THE PLANT. It's happened three times already!! This does not bode well for my overall pepper harvest. All of the forks in the branches are turning black, which seems like a bad color for plants to be. Are there any pepper plant diseases I should know about??
The tomato plants are compensating for the lack of sun by growing three feet tall so they can reach the sun, which makes me think they're as determined as I am for them to actually amount to something. There are several clusters of tomatoes on the plant, and a lot of blossoms near the top. The plants (even though they're staked) blew over in the storms last week, so I tied them to the porch railing. Heh, just TRY to blow over now, stupid plants!! Good thing I have all that ribbon!
The carrots were planted in rows, but are all sprouting up in a big clusterfuck, and again don't seem to be growing very big. I've tried thinning them, but I don't know if it helped much. I guess I need to get more aggressive with them. The chives and tarragon are doing great, but of course how much of those can you really use at one time?
The cucumbers may end up being the stars of the garden!! I planted a row all along the back of one of the boxes, with a trellis behind them to climb, which they are doing quite happily. Now I just need to find some recipes that use cucumbers...pasta salads, anyone?
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
GoldieLou and the three dogs
Yesterday was one of those bad days at the office, and I was in need of some dog-time. BUT I don’t get out until 5:30, and that’s when dog-walking ends!! So I called the HSCC anyway, and to my delight, I could get there in time for “evening TLC” from 5:30-6pm!!
When I arrived they sent me right into Camp Take-me-home to visit with whichever dog I wanted.
I started with Jake, the one I had walked a couple weeks ago. But he seemed really tired, and didn't really seem to want company. Austin was barking and jumping around, so I went to see him, but he was a little too high-energy for me. He managed to wriggle out of his collar, and started running around the room...not good. I finally lured him back into his kennel room and got his collar back on, and decided I needed someone a little more low-key.
Then I found Annabelle. She’s a sweet little hound mix who couldn’t stop kissing me!! After a few minutes of licking my face, she settled down and snuggled up on my lap for some quality petting and head-scratching time until they had to kick me out at 6 for closing. I think I've found a new best friend. I told her I would do my best to get in my five hours of dog-walking so that I could take her home for a paw-jama party soon! She sealed the deal by licking my face again (at least, I assume that meant she approves).
What a perfect way to end the day – now that I know about evening TLC, I’m going to do it as often as possible.
When I arrived they sent me right into Camp Take-me-home to visit with whichever dog I wanted.
I started with Jake, the one I had walked a couple weeks ago. But he seemed really tired, and didn't really seem to want company. Austin was barking and jumping around, so I went to see him, but he was a little too high-energy for me. He managed to wriggle out of his collar, and started running around the room...not good. I finally lured him back into his kennel room and got his collar back on, and decided I needed someone a little more low-key.
Then I found Annabelle. She’s a sweet little hound mix who couldn’t stop kissing me!! After a few minutes of licking my face, she settled down and snuggled up on my lap for some quality petting and head-scratching time until they had to kick me out at 6 for closing. I think I've found a new best friend. I told her I would do my best to get in my five hours of dog-walking so that I could take her home for a paw-jama party soon! She sealed the deal by licking my face again (at least, I assume that meant she approves).
What a perfect way to end the day – now that I know about evening TLC, I’m going to do it as often as possible.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Life takes...what, exactly?
I love the current "Life takes faster money; life takes Visa" campaign.
It's brightly-colored, visually pleasing, and fast-paced! There are new little things to notice each time! The music is peppy!
And at the same time, I hate it. It's reinforcing the idea that we always need to be moving faster, that human interaction is getting in our way. And frankly, I don't want to hear it.
It's brightly-colored, visually pleasing, and fast-paced! There are new little things to notice each time! The music is peppy!
And at the same time, I hate it. It's reinforcing the idea that we always need to be moving faster, that human interaction is getting in our way. And frankly, I don't want to hear it.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Lou's Bicycle
When the Burlington snow melted and the bike lanes were once again clear and visible, I decided it was time to try biking to work. I had even stronger motivation when my beloved little car had to go in for some work overnight. It took a little prodding (Ithaca beer), but Dougy reattached the front tire he had for some reason removed while my bike was housed in the guys' garage over the winter, and I was on my way! The rest is history...
There are lots of sites touting the many benefits of biking. Why do I do it? The most immediate benefit I get is improved mood. Biking to work is such a better start to the day than driving. It definitely takes a little more work (packing business clothes to change into, leaving early enough to be changed in time for morning production meetings), but that is more than outweighed by the boost it provides. There's also the smug satisfaction of it all...but I digress!
Second, there's that whole "environmentalist" thing. As you know, I love counting things, so I've kept track of how many miles of driving I've avoided. To date, I have biked 126.5 miles I would have otherwise had to drive. Each mile biked keeps about 3.75lbs of pollutants out of the atmosphere. That means I've avoided 474.38 POUNDS of air pollution.
Third there's the money factor. Gas prices are ridiculous. The less I have to fill up, the better. Originally my goal was to bike at least one day a week, but it's turning into a lot more - I biked every day last week! My new goal is to save an entire tank of gas (about 325mi) over the course of the summer.
Finally, there are the personal health benefits. Ski season kept me in pretty good shape all winter, but playing with puppies every other week is no suitable replacement workout plan. I've improved my commute time from 30min to 15, my slow stretches are less slow, hills offer less resistance, and I weave through traffic like a well-balanced pro (haha, that last one is a lie - but I'm better than I used to be).
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
My parents' house is 80 miles away in NH. Supposing I travel at an average 10mph, that's an 8-hour ride. Add water/food/bathroom breaks, that's 9-10 hours. Then I'd have to repeat the trip back the following day. Think I can do it??
GOAL: Bike from my house in Burlington to my parents' house in NH
There are lots of sites touting the many benefits of biking. Why do I do it? The most immediate benefit I get is improved mood. Biking to work is such a better start to the day than driving. It definitely takes a little more work (packing business clothes to change into, leaving early enough to be changed in time for morning production meetings), but that is more than outweighed by the boost it provides. There's also the smug satisfaction of it all...but I digress!
Second, there's that whole "environmentalist" thing. As you know, I love counting things, so I've kept track of how many miles of driving I've avoided. To date, I have biked 126.5 miles I would have otherwise had to drive. Each mile biked keeps about 3.75lbs of pollutants out of the atmosphere. That means I've avoided 474.38 POUNDS of air pollution.
Third there's the money factor. Gas prices are ridiculous. The less I have to fill up, the better. Originally my goal was to bike at least one day a week, but it's turning into a lot more - I biked every day last week! My new goal is to save an entire tank of gas (about 325mi) over the course of the summer.
Finally, there are the personal health benefits. Ski season kept me in pretty good shape all winter, but playing with puppies every other week is no suitable replacement workout plan. I've improved my commute time from 30min to 15, my slow stretches are less slow, hills offer less resistance, and I weave through traffic like a well-balanced pro (haha, that last one is a lie - but I'm better than I used to be).
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
My parents' house is 80 miles away in NH. Supposing I travel at an average 10mph, that's an 8-hour ride. Add water/food/bathroom breaks, that's 9-10 hours. Then I'd have to repeat the trip back the following day. Think I can do it??
GOAL: Bike from my house in Burlington to my parents' house in NH
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