My Head is Officially Mush

TV, even good intelligent witty TV, makes me stupid. If I want to turn my brain off for a couple days the fastest way is to watch some television. I'm not only stupid when I'm watching the shows, but for a couple hours afterward. So you would think I would turn the TV off and get things done. You would think that I would just avoid watching anything. You would think.... And you'd be wrong.

Cast of White Collar

The problem is that cable channel USA has developed a number of original series that are so fiendishly addictive that I am powerless to their pull. It started with NCIS, my gateway drug into the USA world. I started watching NCIS reruns on USA and then started seeing ads for some of their original programming. The first one we tuned into was White Collar. I've talked about my nearly obsessive addiction to White Collar here. That show lead us to Burn Notice, the series about a burned spy who is working to get himself back into the good graces of his employers. With a great cast and an engaging ongoing story, Burn Notice is intelligent narration and dialogue mixed with explosions and car chases. How could I not be hooked?



Then last year after watching a White Collar episode, Jeff and I stuck around to catch another of USA's originals Psych. This humorous police drama about a fake psychic detective and his partner quickly became my new favorite show. Shawn and Gus are hilarious and the rest of the police force play straight man beautifully. It's quirky and witty. I've been thinking about going back to the archives and watching the first three seasons, since we only started catching it in the fourth.

Cast of Psych

The last of the shows, and the most recently one to have been added, is Royal Pains. A medical drama/comedy about a concierge doctor in the Hamptons, has a great cast of characters, some beautiful scenery, and a lot of humor. Jeff fought watching this one for a while but I think we both have finally become hooked. But this leads me to my issue. This is the season for new episodes. White Collar has a new episode every Tuesday night, Psych is Wednesday night, Burn Notice and Royal Pains are Thursday. So every night this past week I have plopped myself in front of the TV to watch these shows. And that means that I'm not getting anything else done.

The even sadder thing is that once the new episodes are over, I stick around to watch whatever rerun is on. I've watched the new White Collar episode three times this week, including twice in one night. And the worst part is that I'm not looking to change. I've never been a huge TV fan, but suddenly I'm looking forward to "my shows", a phrase I had hoped never to utter. I used to get so frustrated with people who would run home to catch a particular show on TV and now I'm the one doing it. I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry. My brain is officially heading downhill. Thank god I'll be entertained on the way down.

Juneau

Time to head back to the frozen North. And Juneau was not only cool but rainy. As we left the ship after breakfast, the rain started falling. And didn't let up until almost noon. Luckily, we just had to walk downtown. Juneau was our only day with a planned itinerary. I had been told that while Juneau was pretty, it helped to have something organized. I would agree that the city was pretty. Even with the cold rain, the flowers were beautiful and the city was clean and beautiful. But after walking down to the park by the dock, I was ready for our first tour, a historical boat ride.

We had signed up for a steamboat ride around the harbor combined with a history lesson of mining in Juneau. When we arrived at the dock the boat wasn't there yet. Right before our appointment time, we spotted a boat out in the harbor. It was tiny, way too small to be our boat. But it kept coming towards our dock. When it finally pulled up we were shocked, the boat was small, it hardly looked large enough for the eight of us. It reminded me of the boat out of Willie Wonka with its mix of red and brass. We boarded and not only did the boat have room for the eight of us but eight or so more. It was a beautiful teak boat from the turn of the century (2000 to be exact). The trip around the lake was rainy and hard to see out the windows but the history lesson was much more interesting. The amount of gold that was pulled out of the hills around Juneau is staggering. Hundreds of millions of dollars, all taken at a significant cost to life and the environment. At one point one of the mines was so dangerous that at least one person a day was killed. The companies got rich and Juneau developed because of the gold mining trade.

I have no pictures from the boat. It wasn't until we headed to our next scheduled activity that the pictures started. And then I couldn't stop taking them. The second tour was a trip out to a fish hatchery and then a trip to the Mendenhall Glacier. When the bus that was scheduled to take us there was overbooked, we had to stand and wait for a while. But Princess found us our own personal bus and that was much better than being trapped on a bus with hundreds of strangers. The first stop was the salmon hatchery. I'm not sure what I feel about the hatcheries' work but it was certainly an interesting place. Fish return to the same stream they were born in to spawn. The hatchery catches the fish and extracts the eggs and sperm. The fertilized eggs are kept and nurtured until the fish hatch. Once the fish are old enough to set off on their own they are released into an imprint tank where they imprint themselves on the stream. Then they are released to the ocean and after a year or two return to the hatchery to complete the cycle. The hatchery was interesting but I was sad as well to see how humans were trying to improve on the natural process along with watching the fish try to finish their last swim.

The fish ladder that the salmon climb to return to the hatchery

The holding pen where the fish are kept before sorting and extraction

After the hatchery we headed into the wilderness to find a glacier. I don't even have words to describe my feelings the first time we turned a corner and saw Mendenhall Glacier. I didn't expect it to be so large, so accessible, and so beautiful. You can walk within 100 feet of Mendenhall.

The view from the parking lot

We trekked a bit down to the viewing platform and I took far more pictures than I should have. It was just so incredible looking. The blue ice is naturally occurring. If it had been sunny, the ice would have clouded quickly and the blue would have disappeared into white. We were fortunate to see it.

Blue Ice of the Glacier

There was a small trail that headed down from the main viewing area to a waterfall nearby. Even with my ankle I decided to try the hike. It was mostly flat and in twenty minutes I found out how worth it the trip was. The trail lead right to the base of the waterfall. I stood at the bottom watching the water rush over the rocks into the pool right at my feet. The water was cold and silty. I reached down to feel it and could feel the spray from the waterfall. It was one of the most amazing views. And it was an experience I won't forget for a long time.

A standard view from the bus

Poetry Friday

Juneau will have to wait until Sunday. I'll be gone at a funeral this evening and tomorrow. And I'm not quite feeling up to Juneau yet. So today we will mark with poetry. Today we mark a man who was like an uncle to me. Heck he was more of an uncle than some of my own flesh and blood uncles. And I'll miss him. I'm not ready to see him place in the ground. This is not perfectly appropriate (my apologies Mandy) but it fits with my mood.

Dirge Without Music
by Edna St. Vincent Millay

I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground.
So it is, and so it will be, for so it has been, time out of mind:
Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely. Crowned
With lilies and with laurel they go; but I am not resigned.

Lovers and thinkers, into the earth with you.
Be one with the dull, the indiscriminate dust.
A fragment of what you felt, of what you knew,
A formula, a phrase remains,—but the best is lost.

The answers quick and keen, the honest look, the laughter, the love
They are gone. They are gone to feed the roses. Elegant and curled
Is the blossom. Fragrant is the blossom. I know. But I do not approve.
More precious was the light in your eyes than all the roses in the world.

Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave
Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind;
Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.
I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.

Ketchikan

I've been trying to wrap my mind around my column today. I had most of it planned out this morning but over my lunch hour I found out about a death in my extended family and haven't been able to think of anything else since. I've been upset for most of the afternoon but I think that writing this would be the best thing for me. I need to take a step out of my own head and do something that would make me happy. But forgive me if this isn't quite as good as it should be. The city was fascinating, my head just isn't there.

The city of Ketchikan

Ketchikan is something of a tourist town but that doesn't mean that it isn't incredibly beautiful. And interesting. The city is currently a fishing port and a lumber city but the history of the city is what kept me interested. After stepping off the boat we were surrounded by the standard port city sights (meaning tourist shop after tourist shop after tourist shop, with a ton of jewelry stores mixed in). But we quickly walked past those and right into a beautiful park. With all the extra sunshine and extra rain, Alaska's flowers are extra beautiful. The park, Whale Park, was an oasis of calm in a sea of knickknacks. But the great thing about it was that it lead us to Creek Street, and that ended up being the most interesting part of the city.

Creek Street

Creek Street is exactly what it sounds like. The street is cut by a creek during low tide and a rushing river during high tide. The creek runs heavily through the city, serving as an outlet for salmon and some of the more questionable elements of the city. Creek Street was the red light district for Ketchikan. It was filled with bars and brothels and I loved every minute of it. We toured Dolly's House, the residence of Ketchikan's most famous madam. This woman was still turning tricks at 70 and was making $75-$100 a day in her prime (at $3 a pop that's a lot of tricks). She even used French silk condoms to decorate her bathroom. As a condom collector, I was in heaven.

Dolly's Condom Flowers

The brothels lead us to the Married Man's Walk, a great hiking trail that climbed up into the mountains behind Ketchikan. It was the path that many of the married men used to visit the red light district secretly, and weaving through the trees and waterfalls, I could see how it would be perfect secret. It was a great way to get away from the hustle and bustle of the tourists. For most of the trail we were completely alone.

Hiking the Married Man's Walk

After hiking we went shopping in a little bookstore where I bought way too many books. Then we headed over to the Great American Lumberjack Show, a must see in Ketchikan. Jeff and I have been fans of the Great Outdoor Games for quite a while so I was pretty excited to see some lumberjacks in action. The show was cheesy and touristy but fun. Jeff took some great pictures. When the show finished it was time to leave Ketchikan. We headed back to the boat and set sail early that afternoon for Juneau. Which will be tomorrow...maybe.

Home Again

Did you miss me? After a week of bumming around Southeast Alaska, we got home yesterday morning. We'd taken the red-eye from Anchorage so I didn't have enough brain power left to write this yesterday. For those of you who didn't know, I just got back from a week long cruise of Alaska's Inside Passage. I was traveling with Jeff, my parents, my aunt and uncle, and my sister and her fiance. So for the next week or so I'll be talking Alaska and salmon and bears and boats.

We sailed out of Vancouver which has to be one of the prettiest cities in the world (it made Forbes top ten actually). We met some old family friends in Vancouver and spent the first day with them wandering through the city and eating way too well (a trend that would continue). Vancouver is a young and very vibrant city. I have to admit that I thought about moving there and still do. A city filled with flowers and promise. Wonderful.

Port of Vancouver

The next day we had breakfast with our friends and then Jeff and I headed for the ship. Our luggage was already handled so we walked down to the harbor. We sailed on the Island Princess, which is one of the oldest boats in Princess's fleet but a beautiful ship. By the end of the first day we had walked every deck and had seen the entire length of the ship. We'd also spent some time checking out the city from the balcony in our stateroom and taken tons of pictures.

Island Princess

I have to start by saying this about Alaska, and even Vancouver; everywhere you looked it was like a postcard. The landscapes were amazing. Everything was picture worthy. And I ended up taking well over 300 pictures.

View from Vancouver Harbor

At 3:45 that afternoon we had our Muster Drill, a safety briefing that all boats are required to do. And at 4:30 we pushed away from dock and set sail. Our group stood on the balconies and talked as the boat sped out of Vancouver Harbor and headed out into the great unknown.

Jeff clowning around after the Muster Drill

My mother had said before that she never wanted to take a cruise. She doesn't swim and isn't a huge fan of boats. But she said that she'd go to Alaska on one, and that is how the trip began. She was okay with an Alaskan cruise because you are almost always in sight of land. And that proved to be the case for the first two days at least. After leaving Vancouver, our next day was a day at sea. I woke up insanely early (stupid time change) and spent most of the morning watching the sunrise and the land go by. I ate too much, read a lot, saw a naturalist talk on whales, and learned one very important fact about speeding boats and Alaska. They are cold. Very cold. Here is your humble narrator dressed up in her typical Alaska costume. Once the boat got going, it was too cold to stand on the balcony without gloves.

It's funny. I hardly took any pictures of the boat this trip, as opposed to our last cruise. The boat was just as beautiful as our previous one but it was well overshadowed by the natural beauty surrounding it. I'll try not to post too many photos but I want you to have an idea of just how incredible Alaska can be.

Lighthouse at Vancouver Harbor

Tomorrow...Ketchikan and the Notorious Creek Street

Big Round Numbers

In May of 2008 I started a blog with the idea of sharing what I was interested in. I wrote about whatever struck my fancy, and still do. At the time I had two readers, my sister and my friend Josh. I didn’t go around making the blog public and I certainly didn’t do any marketing of it (still don’t, I’m terrible at marketing myself). What I did do was make a promise to myself that I would try to be consistent with it. I’ve tried to write at least four days a week. Some weeks it happens, some weeks it doesn’t.

And in those two years I can track my history. I know what was going on in my life on those days. I read back and remember parts of my life that I forgot about, magic moments, tough times, interesting ideas, and current obsessions. And they are fascinating to me. I’ve been pretty blessed throughout all this.

But what makes me really blessed is that my two early readers are still there, still reading but now there are a number of others that have joined them. Some of you are friends that I’ve known for years that are willing to put up with my rambling. Some of you found me through other blog mentions and have stayed. Some of you have become friends through this blog. And I’m blessed because of all of you. You are what keep me writing. I’ve wanted to offer you something new every day. I’ve wanted to let you know about what fascinates me. I’ve wanted to share parts of my life and you’ve been wonderfully accepting. You’ve read, you’ve shared your knowledge with me, and you’ve been supportive and amazing.

Today is my 500th post. We always seem to celebrate the big round numbers and I’m pretty happy with this one. Five hundred times I’ve sat down and wrote about something. Some of the posts were good and I’m proud of those. Some of them were silly or rambling. Some were just plain bad. And some of them were hard to write. But you guys were there and I knew that. For 500 entries, you’ve been a part of my life. And for that I Thank You.

In honor of my 500th post, I’m taking a bit of a break. As you may or may not know I’ll be traveling next week and won’t have access to a computer. So sadly there will be no posting for at least the week. But when I come back I’ll have plenty of pictures and excitement to share. I hope you all will stick around.

Shawn Smith

I was trying to explain the idea of pixelated video game graphics to one of my friend's young sons recently and he was simply not getting the idea. I told him about Galaga and Asteroids (the kinds of games I played when about his age) and he still didn't understand the idea of pixelation. That's when I realized, he's never had to look at things that way. Graphics today are so good that things simply don't appear pixelated. So many of the games these days are good enough to be movies. I'm constantly amazed at how good some games look. But part of me still misses the days of BurgerTime and Pitfall, where my character was normally a couple differently colored pixels joined together.

In the spirit of that type of nostalgia, I wanted to share Shawn Smith, my artist du jour. Shawn uses wood (often plywood) which is cut up into small mostly uniform pieces. Those are then hand dyed and arranged into sculpture created a real-life pixelated image. Shawn says in his artist statement that he's interested in the intersection between nature and the digital world, how we view the world through the pixels of our TVs and don't realize that we're only seeing a depiction.

I found Shawn through Neatorama and have become fascinated with both his art and the statements his art seems to make. Like the one below with the vulture eating the typewriter. Here are pixelated creatures (new technology and nature) destroying an old technology.

Shawn's artwork has been displayed in museums across the country and he has certainly found an audience with his "re-things", the name he gives to his reconstructed creatures. The idea of using pixels to create sculptures fascinated me. I'm always interested in any artist using an unusual medium and this certainly qualifies. See more of Shawn's work at the website above. Inventive art using nature as the subject. I'm in heaven.

Excel for Self Improvement

If you haven't already guessed I'm a huge Excel fan. I spend more time on Excel than almost any other program on my computer. Since my current job deals exclusively with data I'm constantly working in one spreadsheet or another. When I first started I hated the program. It was boring and confusing to use. But that's just because I didn't know what I was doing.

Everything changed for me when I started using spreadsheets for personal things. Jeff has regularly used them to do our taxes but I always figured that as just more boring number crunching. Then one afternoon right before one of our trips I worked out a trip countdown spreadsheet. Using autofills and formulas I created a rather useful countdown that I could actually watch our progress on. I was instantly hooked. Here was a fun use for what seemed like a boring program. Excel allowed me to create countdowns, databases, and most importantly, goal trackers.

I've always been a bit of a list maker. I create lists of books I've read, places I've been, quotes I like, and goals I want to achieve. One of the hard things about setting goals for me is not having any way of tracking them. If I set the goal that I want to write more I have no way to measure that. After a couple days of concentrated effort I fall off the wagon without ever really noticing. I just wake up one morning and don't think about it. The same with my ideas for weight loss. I find that I do better if I break my big goal into smaller goals. The goal then stays in the front of my mind. That's where Excel comes in.

I've created spreadsheets for my weight loss plan. I track the pounds that I've lost on one sheet and my daily calorie intake on another. Using basic formulas I can simply plug in the number of calories I've eaten and the computer will list how many I have left for the day. I can also track my exercise for the day and match that against my weekly goals. Even if I fall short for a couple days I'm still keeping the goal at the front of my mind. I'm still working towards it.

I do the same with writing, setting workable goals for each day and then goals for the long term. My plan was to be writing 1000 words a day, not a ton but enough that it's a bit of a time commitment. I'd been failing to make that mark (not counting blog writing) and have been giving up entirely. I used to figure that if I wasn't reaching my big goal, it was never going to happen. Now I break that goal up. I'm starting with 200 words a day, an easy goal to achieve. Every month I move that up by 50. If I go over, no big deal, but at least I should be writing that many words. I keep increasing until I reach 1000. But those little goals are the secret.

I've finally realized that consistency is more important than talent. Consistency is more important than willpower. Consistency (creating a habit) is the only way I know to achieve my goals. And Excel helps me break them down. Helps make me accountable. Even if it's only to myself. I know it seems strange (and reading back through this makes me feel a bit like the crazy list-lady) but so far it's been working for me. On my writing desk I have a great quote from children's writer Kate DiCamillo, "I decided a long time ago that I didn't have to be talented. I just had to be persistent, and that that was something that I could control...". Every time I mark a box complete, or stay under my calories for the day, I think about persistence. And how Excel hopefully helps me to achieve it. Hey, whatever works.

Full Fourth

Fourth of July weekend came and went without any fireworks. It was raining so hard on Sunday night that we didn't even bother going out to see if the city was going to set them off. That's not to say that the weekend wasn't a blast. We had more fun (and it felt longer) than any weekend I can remember. It was just the less explosive type of fun.

The weekend started late Friday night when our friends Lon and Lisa arrived in town. It was late but we headed out for a quick bite of dinner only to find the noodle place we were planning to go to was closed for the night. Instead we headed next door for a surprisingly speedy pizza dinner. The kids did really well for being up so late and were great during dinner. After pizza we couldn't pass up the tasty gelato before heading back to the hotel to talk. We stayed up way past my bedtime (and I think theirs) talking but had a very nice time.

The next morning Jeff and I headed back to their hotel with the promise of finding a park to play in and then lunch. We didn't have to walk far to find a park though. While the youngest child took a mid-day nap, we took Lisa and their son Logan out for a walk around the pond near the hotel. What we didn't realized was that the pond was stocked with goldfish and filled with ducks. After one loop we were joined by the rest of the party and went around again. I'll talk about that walk a bit more in my other blog. Sorry no pictures. Then we headed out to lunch (noodle place was open this time) and then out to Raccoon River Park to play on the playground equipment. At about 3, Lon and Lisa continued on their way out of town and Jeff and I spent some time sitting on the patio soaking up the sun. That evening our neighbor came over and we spent a couple hours sitting out, drinking some good red wine, and talking. We hadn't seen Jeanne much since last fall and I was missing her. We talked and laughed and set up new drinks dates surrounding made up holidays (who needs an excuse to drink good whiskey?). It was incredibly relaxing although I will admit I had more red wine than I should have.

Sunday was a bit of a lazy day. After all the red wine on Saturday night I had problems sleeping. So after finally falling asleep at 5 a.m. I slept until almost noon. It was only when my parents called about lunch that I finally got out of bed. After lunch at a barbecue place we headed back to their house for a quiet afternoon of visiting and board games. We played a couple hilarious rounds of Apples to Apples (my current game obsession) and a couple rounds of Bananagrams (my mom's favorite). Jeff and I didn't leave there until 9 and by then it was pouring. We headed straight home, figuring that no one would be lighting off fireworks, and started a jigsaw puzzle. It's been years since I've done a puzzle and it was one of the things that Jeff and I did when we first started dating. We stayed up way too late working on it but ended up with some nice quiet relaxing time together.

Monday was a work holiday for me so we planned to eat breakfast out, a traditional weekend luxury. While waiting for our table we got a text. It was Lon and Lisa on their way back through the city wondering if we wanted a late lunch. We left the sit down breakfast and headed over to Caribou for a quick bite, then back to the house to do some cleaning. We were having a box springs delivered that afternoon so we needed to be home and have the bedroom ready when it arrived. When lunch ended up being at 2 we ran down to the mall to meet them and then had to hightail it home since our delivery window was from 3-5. Of course the bed didn't arrive until 4:30. The evening was spent working on our puzzle which we finished surprisingly quickly. We actually started and finished another 1000 piece that afternoon. By the end of the day my back was killing me from bending over the table. But the new box springs helped soothe that. All and all a great weekend, filled with friends and visiting. We never BBQed or watched fireworks, but it was still an amazing weekend. I feel refreshed.

You Can't Have Just One

Okay if you thought I was insane before, today I proved that I'm certifiable. How you ask? Well today, for no other reason than that it seemed like a good idea at the time, I started a new blog. Yeah another blog. Apparently they are addictive. You start one and then suddenly it snowballs into...well...my current count is four. They're like potato chips, you can't have just one.

My new endeavour is just beginning so no need to check it out quite yet. But this one has a goal. It's called Weekly Walks and I'll be using it to showcase photos, descriptions, and my thoughts about the hikes I'm planning to take weekly. As part of my ankle rehabilitation I decided that I need a bit of a motivator to get out and walk. This blog is my answer.

My hope is to post at least once or twice a week, so this won't be a regular thing. But I hope to fill it with pictures, most likely of animals, birds, or scenery. Something new, something exciting. Did I mention I'm insane?

Into Boneville

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I read Out of Boneville, the first book in the Bone series by Jeff Smith. I had picked up the book on a whim and had been fascinated by the first chapter in this graphic novel series. Shortly afterwards I picked up the second book The Great Cow Race and was brought deeper into the story. So after picking up books Three and Four on Tuesday at the library (and polishing them off in short order), I knew I had to go back last night and borrow the rest of the series. Once we got home I promptly sat down and read the last five books (5-9). I was up well past midnight, but it was worth it.

As I mentioned before, the Bone series follows the adventures of the Bone cousins after they are kicked out of Boneville and find themselves in a strange valley. The cousins, Fone, Phoney, and Smiley are as different as night and day. Fone is the main character of the story and is of the noble hero mindset. He's extremely loyal, intelligent, and caring. He's the heart and soul of the books. Phoney is the con artist. He's the reason they got kicked out of Boneville. His constant get-rich-quick schemes often lead the boys into more trouble or fuel the fire of whatever drama is going on. Smiley is the simpleton who seems to go along with either cousin. The cousins end up befriending Thorn and her tough-as-nails Grandma who end up being far more than we expect. They also encounter a friendly flea who helps them out, a tough and loyal villager who's sweet on Grandma, a red dragon who always seems to aid them at the right time, and a slew of other unique characters.

The story follows the group of heroes as they fight against the Rat Creatures who terrorize them, a gigantic mountain lion who can't decide his allegiance, and The Lord of the Locusts, an ancient evil that will destroy the valley and everyone in it. During the series we encounter ancient religions, a crazy hooded figure who'll stop at nothing to kill Thorn and kidnap Phoney, and enough magic and mischief to keep us entertained. Add onto that the constant schemes and dilemmas that the Bone cousins create or deal with and you have a pretty action packed series.


The series is located in the children's book sections of many bookstores. It was in the young adult graphic novels section of the library but I've also seen it in the adult graphic novel section of bookstores. One bookstore had it located in all three places. The series can be read by children but I actually think that adults might get more out of it. There is a lot going on in this series. In many ways it reminded me of the Lord of the Rings series. No matter what, it's a series I recommend. Quick reads, unique and interesting characters, lots of action, and some great humor and emotion. I was completely enthralled.