views from the (bike) road

Last night Hubby and I watched a Netflix rental -- Children of Men. The film's runtime is 109 minutes. About an hour into the film, I asked Hubby if 4 hours had gone by. Yeah, it wasn't my favorite movie.

This morning I decided to ride my bike to the post office to return the movie. Along the way I spotted this crane. (Or is it a heron? I'm not quite sure of the difference.)



I also pedaled by the llamas. This one was a particularly good sport about posing for me:



It was a beautiful fall day today -- sunny with blue skies and a pleasant temperature. Do I have to go to work tomorrow???

Fey-lin

Woo hoo! Tina Fey reprised her role as Sarah Palin on SNL. But this time Amy Poehler played Katie Couric instead of Hillary Clinton.

While it didn't give me nearly as many giggles as the original Fey-Palin/Poehler-Clinton opener, it's still worth watching:




I always appreciate a good parody.

thirsty

Sigh... I miss Mr. Tumnus. (He's back up in Bellingham where Offsprings #1&2 attend college.)

I especially miss how he used to bring me a little cup of water every morning:

Johnny Appleseed Friday Five!

Singing Owl tells us that today, September 26th, is Johnny Appleseed Day! In honor of this legend who traveled west planting apple trees (and apparently did some preachin' along the way), here are the questions:

1. What is your favorite apple dish? (BIG BONUS points if you share the recipe.)

It's hard to pick a favorite, but my grandmother's apple crisp would be right up there. Since I want those big bonus points, here is her recipe:

10X7 pan
Slice 3/4 full with apples, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water

Topping:
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup melted butter

Mix thoroughly, put over apples and bake 30 minutes or more. Double when you use a large pan and bake 45 minutes.

And, hoping for even bigger bonus points, I'm sharing a picture of my grandma:


2. Have you ever planted a tree? If so was there a special reason or occasion you can tell us about?

I've planted a few trees over the years -- mostly when we've moved into a new house (with a new yard). My favorite part of planting (for some inexplicable reason) is digging the holes into which the trees are placed.

3. Does the idea of roaming around the countryside (preaching or otherwise) appeal to you? Why or why not?

The idea of roaming around the countryside sounds wonderful (sign me up!!!), but preaching would not be a part of it. (Can I substitute eating instead?)

4. Who is a favorite "historical legend" of yours?

Just to annoy RevSS, I'm going to say Hillary Clinton.



5. Johnny Appleseed was said to sing to keep up his spirits as he travelled the roads of the west. Do you have a song that comes when you are trying to be cheerful, or is there something else that you often do?

When the Empty Nest Hiking Club is hiking through the woods, I sometimes start humming (and/or singing) the Happy Wanderer. (Must be my German roots.) I can get especially obnoxious with the "Val-deri, Val-dera, Val-deri, Val-dera-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha" part.

Here's me...

...looking at my clinic schedule this week:



(OK, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but it's been busy!)

so quiet you can hear...

...a pin drop. Yep, that's my house now. Just got back from taking Offspring #2 to the train station. I took Offspring #1 and Mr. Tumnus back up to college on Friday. (Offspring #1 can pick up Offspring #2 from the train station this evening in Bellingham -- a nice feature of having them both attend the same university.)

To quote Tony the Tiger, it was grrrrrrrrreat! having them both home -- and noisier (but in a totally good way).

And to accentuate the quiet, Hubby is at the grocery store and Marble is snoozin'. I should probably 'noisy' it up a bit by getting a load of laundry going. (But a snooze with Marble is tempting too...)

spot on

This just never gets old...

short post on the beach trip...

Had fun. Went here:



(Yep, I said it was a short post!)

at the beach...

Just saying 'hey' from the beach. Hubby, Offsprings #1 & #2, my mom, Mr. Tumnus, and I have all rented a beach house for the weekend. The house doesn't have internet, so I'm quickly posting from a wireless hotspot.

Oh, forgot to mention Garbage Puff is along too. He was excited to find some friends at a local gift shop. They were happy to pose with him:

He has also enjoyed snoozin' with Mr. Tumnus.

Will check in with everyone when we get home!

kitten-sittin'

WooHoo! I have had the opportunity to "kitten-sit" the cute and busy Mr. Tumnus while Offspring #1 is visiting her boyfriend Doug's family up in Lacey, WA.

Mr. Tumnus snoozed with me last night and awakened me this morning with a wet, slobbery kitten kiss. (I'm hoping his kitten lips weren't wet from toilet water... Nah, the lid was closed.)

Marble (our cat of many years) has unfortunately not rolled out the welcome mat for Tumnus, so this morning Offspring #2 and I let Mr. Tumnus socialize with Simon the Neighbor Cat (who is much more laid back than Marble).



This afternoon, Mr. Tumnus amused himself by watching our big orange fish. (I think he was doing the necessary calculations to remove the fish from the tank and have a snack.)



Offspring #1 returns this evening, and I'm betting Mr. Tumnus will be greeting her with one of those wet, slobbery kisses...

things that go bump

What I like about bike commuting:
(a) It's good exercise
(b) It (usually) reduces stress
(c) It's good for the planet

What I don't like about bike commuting:
(a) Sometimes people have trouble doing this:


Yep, today I had a bit of an altercation with a car -- The driver was not paying attention and came zipping out of an alley and (almost) into my path. I was able to brake and only did a minor bump into the side of their car. All's well that ends well as they say... but I think I will try to figure out a slightly different route to work to avoid alley areas. Gonna get these guys to help me:

on the road with garbage puff

This weekend Garbage Puff helped move Offspring #2's things into his new apartment. Since Offspring #2 had some big things to move up to college (e.g. a recliner from his grandma, etc.) we opted for a small U-Haul instead of our trusty Honda van. Garbage Puff offered to drive, but he had a little trouble reaching the gas pedal...



In spite of not being able to help with the driving, Garbage Puff was a lot of help moving the heavy things. In fact, while Offspring #2 was relaxing in his recliner (as seen here) Garbage Puff was huffing and puffing, lifting the mattress off the moving truck.



So we thought Garbage Puff deserved a little ice cream when we were done. Here he is enjoying some Apricot Ice at Mallard's with Offspring #1 and her boyfriend Doug.

return of the empty nest hiking club

REE REE REE ... We're baaaaaaack! Although can we call it the Empty Nest Hiking Club if Offspring #2 joined us?! In any event, here's the kick off hike for the fall.

two items...

#1. Is it just me, or did Joe Lieberman look and sound like Droopy Dog tonight at the Repub Convention?



And, more importantly...
#2. Tomorrow, Mr. Tumnus is having surgery to repair a hernia. Good luck, Tumnus! Hope everything goes smoothly!