Semenza Chronicle

MMMMmmm Crockpot Garlic Chicken

2011-10-03T19:31:00.000-06:00

Experimented in cooking today....
4 lbs chicken breasts
1 large onion sliced
Bunch (10 very pungent) garlic cloves roughly chopped

Salt, pepper, olive oil

Put sliced onion on bottom of large crock pot
Rinse chicken, toss in olive oil, salt and pepper and garlic
Put chicken on onion, do not add any more liquid

Put crock pot on low heat for 7 or so hours

Garlic chicken just falls apart in yummy chunks.

Lucky - part 1

2011-04-02T21:37:00.003-06:00

January 27, 2011

Lucky, that’s what I am.

The morning started per usual. I finished my sun salutations (yoga sequence) and then decided to do every pose/stretch that I am capable of doing to work my legs. I then finished prepping for my day. Feeling good I stepped out my doorway in my sturdy Doc Marten shoes and headed out for the day. Well, that was the plan. I stepped one stair down on my front staircase and ZOOOOOOM. I tried to scream because of the pain, but only squawks emerged. I finally called Nick’s name. I knew he was, moments earlier closing the door behind me. I then gently grasped my right leg and moved it so that it was parallel to my outstretched left leg.

Nick brought the little chair that I keep on the front porch to me and I propped my injured leg on it. I had twisted it and could feel the bones clicking. Surprisingly the endorphins managed to keep me calm. Nick called 911 and we waited for the ambulance. They arrived and awkwardly splinted my leg onto the challenge of getting me on the gurney. Luckily I have been doing yoga for awhile. I picked up my damaged right leg and set it over to the right on the gurney then the big guys helped me to stand on my left leg and voila, I was ambulance ready.

Two blocks later, I was at the hospital. They immediately brought me into the emergency room where the nurse/assistant looked at me and said, how are we going to do this… They needed to move me to the other bed. One of the paramedics beamed at the assistant and said, “watch this” and I redid the move the leg then the body maneuver. Flexibility, it is my friend. I was promptly offered pain meds via IV. But I HATE needles so declined. The endorphins were still flowing and I get weirdly calm in a crisis. I did accept a couple of pain pills though.

Nick arrived just after I had transferred to the other bed. Luckily he was home with nowhere else to go. He stayed with me through the xray and diagnostic processes. Several times I had to decline the liquid pain meds they wanted to IV me with. I was then informed that the break in my fibula was up near my knee and a minor issue. The problem was with my ankle. Frankly, they seemed desperate to IV me but NO WAY. I was then told by the emergency room orthopedic doctor that I had ruined all the soft tissue and it had twisted over to the wrong side of my ankle. He was going to have to manually push it back into place. I said okay and started my yoga breathing.

Several nurses and assistants stood around my bed. I think they thought they would have to hold me down. In any case, I was lucky enough to know how to cope. He said ready, I breathed and he moved the ankle, ligaments, muscles, tendons, and tissues… Weirdly it felt kinda great like things were back where they belonged. I continued to breath and he continued to manipulate my ankle and voila it was over. The doctor then said to the staff “I need to have her come in and work with my patients.” This was sweet of him to say. It was also the last time I allowed anyone to touch my ankle for weeks.

They then put a hard cast up the back of my leg and wrapped it in layers of ace bandage and sent me home. I had an appointment for several days hence with a new orthopedist who would manage my continued care. Before leaving I was informed that I’d probably need surgery and wouldn’t be well for 10-14 weeks, lucky me (yes that one is sarcasm).

Addendum. I was very lucky to have worked out that morning. The fall should have mangled more of my legs and groin but the stretching worked and I didn't suffer from other damage. The Doc Martens were not my friend. They are good at sticking so instead of sliding with the rest of my body, that right foot stayed put and got mangled.

Andrew Weil, M.D. - Fat Facts

2011-01-17T16:33:00.002-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvcK6A-yEoQ This is a video about how fat is not in fact making us fat. Take a look.

Fortunately Vulnerable aka How to Be Happy

2011-01-17T16:29:00.001-07:00

This video is very powerful, funny, and eye opening. Take a look! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o It's 20 minutes and well worth your time.

Plans for the New Year?

2011-01-09T08:32:00.000-07:00

I try not to make any real resolutions though I do have some plans worked out.

1. Try to read more books, more spread out instead of clumped together. I missed my target of 2 books per week last year by 8 books. In the end I decided I wanted to spend the holidays with friends and family (and writing) instead of just buried in a book, no matter how delightful. Oh, 2 books at 52 weeks = 104 books, this year I'm going to make it. I just need to find a balance between novel speed binges and nonfiction slowness. - READ/LEARN

2. Trite, I know, but relose the weight I've gained over the past 2 years. It crept up on me and the six weeks of broken foot didn't help. Any weight lost beyond that is just gravy (*snicker*). I've been doing yoga in the morning for a few weeks and expect that to continue, and I'm back on my treadmill. - TAKE CARE OF BODY

3. Write more. Maybe the writing raven fairy can inspire me. - CREATE

4. Remember to breathe, remember that I like people and doing things, remember to let go of control ... - RELAX

Really, all 4 of these in one form or another are constant activities/goals and not just once a year things.

As for other kinds of plans...

I'll be going

Boise in January to attend the ILA board meeting
Boise in October for ILA conference
Spokane in August, I'm hoping to present with Karen at the PNLA conference there
Yellowstone a couple more times in order to make that parks pass worth it's while
Rock hunting/camping in the Tahoe region for Summer Solstice
??? depending on where Nick is

I'm sure there are going to be other adventures. I can't help myself.

Christmas/Holiday Activities: Part 2

2011-01-01T07:52:00.004-07:00

Image: Emailed Greeting card from my Alma Mater. Though it was the College of Arts and Sciences when I graduated with my history degree.

23rd – Thursday - Christmas Eve Eve party in Utah

Bringing
• Cheeseballs & crackers
• Devilled eggs
• Mostacholi
• Presents for kids, Salt scrubs for women

I ended up not getting presents for the kids. I didn't know how old Glen's kids were so I just bagged the idea altogether. We left around noon and arrived right at 2:00. We'd have been early if the fog hadn't slowed us down. Dinner was great and it was good to talk to the fam. Sam may be leery of dogs, but Tom sure wasn't he followed Barkley around and around and around. Nick had bathed him the night before and had fluffed the poodle into one big puffball. He is irresistible. When Tom wasn't following the dog, the dog was following the kid. He knew Barkley sat for us on command, but his high pitched voice didn't register as a command with the dog, who ignored him. I read many chapters of the Harry Dresden book 'Small Favor' on the way down and back. The feasting was good, the conversation awesome. I'm hoping we can do this one again.
Attendees: Aunt Susan and Harry; Glen, Nicole, and their kids Zach and Abigail; David, Jen and their kids Amy, Aubrey, Sam, Tom and Jen's mom.

24th – Friday - Christmas at home with family
In the end Rebecca and Hannah went to Texas so it hardly seems like it counts for a social activity since it was just the three of us. We kept it low key but had a great time.

25th – Saturday- Christmas at home with family

Menus
BREAKFAST
• Homemade bread (machine)
NOT • Sourdough bread
NOT • Boiled eggs
NOT • Tomatoes
NOT • Cucumbers
NOT • Cheeses: Havarti, Swiss ...

Simplify, simplify, simplify became our motto so a simple breakfast of eggs and homemade bread worked great for brunch. We decided to SLEEP in.

LUNCH
NOT • Veggie tray

DINNER
• Persian chicken and rice stuffing
NOT • Dolmathes
NOT • Greek olives
• Pita bread
• Swiss chard ala Nick
• Greek Salad
NOT • Tiropitakia
NOT • Baklava

The simplify motto came into play for dinner too. We're going to bring the baklava and tiropitakia to New Year party instead. Christmas was awesome, we sat on the sofa's and opened presents and laughed and enjoyed each other's company. I got the cutest fairies EVER, and a movie I had been dying to see (The Expendables). Shanna snagged a cloak and Nick got a new GPS along with a stocking full of mini-bar items. We also received many other wonderful gifts such as the bird book from Melinda, hand crocheted scaves & hats, clothes, kitchen stuff...

26th – Sunday - Breakfast with Annie
Shanna and I met up with Annie at Elmer's where we had a great breakfast and talked and talked and talked. Nick had pain in his back so he stayed home and worked on thesis.

29th - Wednesday - Visit from Sarah & Lance Bitter
Weird. It was weird seeing Lance again after 30 some years. Seeing him in the context of him marrying my sister was even weirder. I'm sure it'll get more normal as we see each other more often, and I am very happy for her. He is a nice guy and she deserves nice, funny, kind. They're great together, it's just weird.

27th – 30th Mon-Thu (South Family xmas Party)
(NOT) The South family party never got off the ground. We're all just too busy at this time of year. I think that next year I may suggest moving it to November, cause after Xmas just didn't work.

31st – Friday New Years Eve party
Nick is making roast lamb and chicken with olives. Shanna and I are making baklava and tiropitakia. Dinner should be awesome...

And it was, other people brought greek salad, hummus and pita chips, stuffed saffron rice, rum soaked fruited couscous. We were joined by Nancy & Dan, Janet, Heather & Duo, and of course Maura & Jim - it was their house after all. We sat and ate and talked and laughed and talked and laughed and Jim shared some of his alcohol from foreign countries and we laughed and talked some more. We started toasting the new year at 10:00, it was the new year in New York, and then at 11 for Chicago ... I just wish we'd started the silly idea earlier in the evening. We never got to the movies though we did manage to stay up till midnight.

Solstice and Surrounding Parties

2010-12-30T20:13:00.000-07:00

Image: Fire from Solstice Party 2008

16th – Thursday
(I’m on vacation from the 17th – the 2nd, going back to work on Monday the 3rd)
Prep house, do laundry, wrap presents ...

17th – Friday - John & Bill Arrive
Decide to make and send biscotti to friends for Christmas
• Gingerbread biscotti (not very good, tossed it)
• Double chocolate
• Chocolate mint
• Vanilla Almond
• Cranberry Almond
Decided there was too little and what I had was too ugly to send.

Dinner at Mama Inez with Heather, Duo, Bill, John, and Chrissy (plus her boyfriend and another couple of her friends). Later that evening exchanged presents at our house with H&D, J&B. (see: http://www.yellowbook.com/profile/mama-inez-mexican-quisine_1820761515.html)

Read "Hyperbole & a Half" blog posts out loud to the clan...

This is Why I'll Never be an Adult http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/06/this-is-why-ill-never-be-adult.html
The God of Cake http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/10/god-of-cake.html
The Party http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/09/party.html

Seriously, we could not stop laughing. Some were of us were crying. Not me of course ... I had to try and maintain composure while reading aloud and showing the pictures. This woman is a genius.

18th – Saturday - Prep for Solstice party, Dinner

Went through holiday music, created a 190 song playlist including Ru Paul, Transiberian Orchestra, Enya, Twisted Sister, Loreena McKennit, piano, Nightmare before Christmas, Barbra Streisand, Axemas, Muppets ...

Dinner of Lasagna and salad with H&D, J&B at our house.

Made fudge & toffee with Heather

Read "Hyperbole & a Half" dog based blog posts:

Dog http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/07/dog.html
Dog's Don't Understand Basic Concepts Like Moving http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/11/dogs-dont-understand-basic-concepts.html

I recommend that you do not read these at a service point, or while drinking any sort of beverage. I read the last one at the reference desk one evening and HAD to stiffle the laughter. I'm sure I looked like I was having a seizure or something. Good thing it was at the end of the semester when everyone is out studying, not in researching.

19th – Sunday - Solstice

Made peanut brittle that morning for Bill

Nick loaded up the Jeep, and then reloaded it, adding stuff to Bill & John's vehicle.

We also brought the spare tree plus decorations, music, movies, bonfire stuff, wood, candles, butter, zip lock bags, tablecloths...

I forgot to arrange for a dog sitter so Barkley came with us. He was quite the hit. We rented the conference center at Aura Soma. http://www.aurasomalava.com/ It is a lovely facility with beds, hot pool, fire pit, views of the river and usually snow, and a big kitchen.

Attendees: Jenny, Nick, Shanna, John, Bill, Heather, Duo, Darci, Adam and Barkley

Had a GREAT TIME!

We decorated tree, then everyone went to Purple Moon to do some last minute shopping. I hung out with Barkley reading Solstice myths, it was very peaceful. Next came the awesome feast...
MENU

• Turkey - Duo
• Greek Broccoli Pie - Heather
• Creamed Carrots - Heather
• Rolls - John & Bill
• Dressing – Jenny
• Potatoes – Shanna
• Gravy – Nick
• Pumpkin Bread - Darci
Plus: all the biscotti, the cookies, mint divinity, fudge, peanut brittle & three butterscotch banana breads.

Then outside we trooped to the fire. Barkley scampered around in the snow eyeing the river. A couple of years ago I was taking a walk with a friend and Barkley decided to check out a different cold river and promptly fell in. He could not get out of the river on his own but was clinging to the bank with his cute little fuzzy paws. I got wet and muddy pulling him out. Nick, Shanna and I kept a close eye on him. None of us wanted a repeat of that incident. Though Nick did say he'd take care of it if it did happen. Alas he was not with me the previous time.

The bonfire was warm and was a great way to welcome back the light. Heather decorated a Yule with greenery and put it in the middle of the fire. Later we did the white elephant gift giving game and I managed to score three frogs doing yoga. Some went and soaked in the hotpools, others of us hung out and watched The 300. Lots of talking and laughing at all times.

20th – Monday - Shanna Birthday

Got up early, packed and stopped for Breakfast at the Wagon Wheel diner in Lava. Made everyone listen to

The Viking Before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the Hall
Not a creature was stirring, not warrior nor thrall.
And I in my armor, my shield and my helm
Was drunker than anyone else in the Realm.

I staggered upstairs and fell into bed
While four quarts of mead were ablaze in my head.
Then up from below came the sounds of a brawl
So I grabbed up my axe and ran down to the Hall.

I missed the last step and crashed down in a heap
Thinking, "Why can't those low-lifes downstairs go to sleep!"
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But two brawny strangers, wielding mallet and spear.

I said to myself, "We'll soon have them beat!"
Then I noticed ten warriors laid out at their feet.
I gave out a yell and leapt into the fray...
I'll always regret my poor choice of that day.

For the one laid his hammer to the side of my nose
And up, up, up to the rafters I rose.
Then came a lone frightened voice from the floor,
"Those are no mortal warriors -- that's Odin and Thor!"

Then they looked at each other and they said, "Battle's done.
Now they know who we are, it no longer is fun."
Then Thor raised his hammer, and his elbow he bent,
And with a loud crash, through the ceiling they went.

I crawled through the Hall and flung open the door,
Not really sure that I'd seen them before.
The snow bathed in starlight, the moon like a glede,
I saw them ride off on an eight-legged steed.

And I heard them exclaim, 'ere they flew out of sight,
"TO HELA WITH CHRISTMAS, WE JUST LOVE A GOOD FIGHT!"

http://www.odins-gift.com/poth/U-Z/vikingchristmascarol.htm

Image from Aura Soma Lava Solstice Party 2008

Headed for home, unloaded the Jeep and then I went directly to bed for a long winters nap (okay it was about 3 hours). Bill & John, visited other people for awhile. When I awoke we talked a bunch more. That evening the clan gathered again and we had a small party for Shanna. More Italian food in the form of a pasta bar Nick made alfredo and I took care of the marinara. Meatballs from the freezer, grilled chicken and steamed broccoli rounded out the pasta bar menu. Heather brought a great salad with grapefruit and cilantro. Shanna had requested brownies for dessert, though really we'd already had so much sugar it was overkill. Hung out a bunch more that evening. John and Bill took off early the next morning. We had a great four day party with them. :)

Christmas/Holiday Activities: Part 1

2010-12-30T17:25:00.001-07:00

Decorating for the Holidays... We put up or Christmas decorations on Thanksgiving weekend. I take it slow and watch movies. Usually it's the extended Lord of the Rings series. This year, my family voted for the Harry Potter movies instead.

1st – Wednesday - Lunch with the Girls (Maura, Robin & Loretta) at Ruby Tuesday
This was very fun, talked to Maura about her hosting a New Years Eve party. :)

4th – 5th Satunday & Sunday
Cookie baking weekend
• 12 dozen chocolate chip cookies
• 8 dozen peppermint bark cookies
• 8 dozen peanut butter toffee bit cookies

7th – Tuesday
Not feeling well, stayed home from work. It ended up lasting the week.

8th – Wednesday - Xmas potluck at Work - skipped too sick
MADE: Applesauce Spice Cake in the morning, too sick to bring it to work, it was lovely to just eat instead.

10th – Friday - Cookie Exchange at work - skipped too sick
Bagged chocolate chip cookies and sent them in to work with Shanna for Cookie Exchange

11th – Saturday
I was supposed to go to Salt Lake City to visit Mom, Rebecca, Jessica, Doug & Rachel. I was feeling better, but didn't go down to visit. I was afraid of giving my illness to my pregnant sister and her young child. Instead Mom came up that evening for a visit, which was awesome.

12th – Sunday
Visit with mom till she left for Logan around 2:00

13th – Monday - Lunch at Remo's with reference crew: Cheryl, Kristi, Spencer, Regina and Emily
Another fun time, but we always have a good time hanging out or even in meetings. I am very lucky to work with such great people.
Work and work and work

14th – Tuesday
Work and work and work
MADE: Baklava for tomorrow's party

The fire alarm snafu...
Shanna and I made a baklava, we put it in a big jelly roll pan instead of the normal cake pan. It ended up using twice as much of everything but the Filo. Because of this it overflowed in the oven during the baking. As I pulled it out of the oven I saw big clumps of debris on the floor of the oven. I left the oven door open, as is my wont when I am finished baking. After all, why waste the warm air when it is so cold outside. What I didn't know was that there would be smoke from the remains of the clumps in the oven. It set off the fire alarm. We had recently purchased a new "for kitchens" fire alarm. It works. It emits a really loud set of three beeps then pauses and repeats, indefinitely. At first I just shut the door to the oven and the big door between the kitchen and me hoping it would turn itself off once the air/smoke ratio normalized. That didn't happen. Barkley started crying about the sound and Shanna, taking matters into her own hands pulled it off the ceiling. After turning it off she left it on the washing machine because it was way too high for her to put it back. We then went to bed.

Meanwhile, Nick had been out and about shopping for Christmas Presents. He didn't know what happened. Upon his return he saw the cooling baklava and this triggered in him a need to clean the oven. It is one of the self-cleaning type so he turned it on, never opening it, and went down to his office. Later the alarm went off, it penetrated my sleeping brain, but I assumed it was just a leftover alarm from the baking. It kept going, finally I smelled a new icky burning smell and thought, maybe the house really was on fire this time. I got up and went out and was greeted by the ferociously thick smoke emanating from the oven. I met up with a very confused Nick who explained that he had tried to clean the oven. I nodded and went back to bed.

The next morning confusion unraveled, Nick had banged on the sleeping Shanna's door accusing her of taking the alarm down but not turning it off. She became equally confused having decided to just ignore the second blaring of the alarm. We unconfused him by explaining the first alarm, and he explained how he hadn't looked in the oven before turning it on to be cleaned. I had gone to bed with the intention of scraping out the clumps in the morning, but that was no longer necessary. The only thing left to do was to vacuum out the ashy remains. Thank heavens the baklava didn't acquire any flavor from the smoke in the kitchen that night. It was fine and yummy...

15th – Wednesday - Holiday party at Sandi's (Social Activity 8)
Work and work and work
Holiday party at Sandi's was great fun, lots of interesting people and the view from their house is stunning.

Holiday Plans: 2010 Thanksgiving - New Years

2010-12-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

I didn't intend for this year to be the whirlwind of social activities it turned into. Fate intervened to eliminate a couple of them.

This was the plan that evolved over time:

1. Nov. 25 – Thursday - Thanksgiving
2. Dec. 1st – Wednesday - President's Christmas Party
3. Dec. 1st – Wednesday - Lunch with the Girls
4. Dec. 8th – Wednesday - Xmas Potluck at Work
5. Dec. 10th – Friday - Cookie Exchange at Work
6. Dec. 11th – Saturday - Salt Lake City to visit Mom, Rebecca, Jessica, Doug & Rachel
7. Dec. 13th – Monday - Lunch at Remo's with Reference Crew
8. Dec. 15th – Wednesday - Holiday Party at Sandi's
9. Dec. 17th – Friday - John & Bill Arrive - Dinner Out with Friends
10. Dec. 18th – Saturday - Prep for Solstice party, Clan Dinner
11. Dec. 19th – Sunday - Solstice Party
12. Dec. 20th – Monday - Shanna Birthday
13. Dec. 23rd – Thursday - Christmas Eve Eve party in Utah
14. Dec. 24th – Friday - Christmas eve with family Rebecca & Hannah visiting
15. Dec. 25th – Saturday - Christmas with family Rebecca & Hannah visiting
16. Dec. 26th – Sunday - Breakfast with Annie
17. Dec. 29th - Wednesday - Visit from Sarah & Lance
18. Dec. 27th – 30th date never decided for post xmas Extended South Family Christmas Party
19. Dec. 31st – Friday New Years Eve Party at Maura's

19, somehow I committed myself to be involved in 19 social activities. I sometimes think I'm a hermit. Times like this remind me that I'm not. I LOVED all of the stuff I went to. With cancelations the schedule ended up like this:

1. Nov. 25 – Thursday - Thanksgiving
NOT 2. Dec. 1st – Wednesday - President's Christmas Party too tired, skipped it (1)
3. Dec. 1st – Wednesday - Lunch with the Girls
NOT 4. Dec. 8th – Wednesday - Xmas Potluck at Work came down with flu, skipped it (2)
SORTA 5. Dec. 10th – Friday - Cookie Exchange at Work still sick, sent a proxy (Shanna)
SORTA 6. Dec. 11th – Saturday - Salt Lake City to visit Mom, Rebecca, Jessica, Doug & Rachel - Didn't want to expose Rachel to my illness, mom came to visit instead.
7. Dec. 13th – Monday - Lunch at Remo's with Reference Crew
8. Dec. 15th – Wednesday - Holiday Party at Sandi's
9. Dec. 17th – Friday - John & Bill Arrive - Dinner Out with Friends
10. Dec. 18th – Saturday - Prep for Solstice party, Clan Dinner
11. Dec. 19th – Sunday - Solstice Party
12. Dec. 20th – Monday - Shanna Birthday
13. Dec. 23rd – Thursday - Christmas Eve Eve party in Utah
NOT 14. Dec. 24th – Friday - Christmas eve with family Rebecca & Hannah visiting (3)
NOT 15. Dec. 25th – Saturday - Christmas with family Rebecca & Hannah visiting(4)
16. Dec. 26th – Sunday - Breakfast with Annie
17. Dec. 29th - Wednesday - Visit from Sarah & Lance
NOT 18. Dec. 27th – 30th date never decided for post xmas Extended South Family Christmas Party (5)
19. Dec. 31st – Friday New Years Eve Party at Maura's

Meaning I skipped out or had canceled five and sent a proxy to one leaving me with 13 marvelous, entertaining, fun get-togethers this past holiday season.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-30T16:36:00.000-07:00

(Image from: http://www.cupcakestocarrotsticks.com/2010/11/i-survived-one-thanksgiving.html)

Menu
APPETIZERS
• Devilled Eggs
• Crudités
• Cheese Balls with Crackers - H & D

MAIN DINNER
• Turkey
• Mashed Potatoes
• Gravy
• Candied Yams
• Dressing
• Corn with Butter - oops forgot to buy
• Cranberry sauce - H & D
• Rolls - Geraldines - oops forgot to pick up or bake the substitute
• Butter
• Salt & Pepper

BEVERAGES
• Spiced Apple Cider
• White & Red Wines
• Water
• Coffee

DESSERT
• Cheesecake - purchased
• Banana Cream Pie - purchased
• Pumpkin Mousse - H & D

Gingerbread Houses

Nick's traditional/realistic house

It was entertaining to have all three of us begin with the same kit box house. We ended up with three very different houses. On Thanksgiving day we were lucky to get the walls up, it took us a couple more days to finish them.

Heather & Duo came for the gingerbread house raising and appetizers. They found a train kit that had premade frosting that was ready in its own piping bag. Now that was awesome cheating. We watched cooking and house shows and then 'How to Train Your Dragon' and 'The Incredibles'. Terry and Robin came for dinner and afterwards we watched 'Up!', the two short movies on Up! and 'Boneknapper Dragon'. It was an animation extravaganza.

Shanna's Viking/How to Train Your Dragon inspired Swedish Fish house

I had dinner prep interruptus. I was going to baste the turkey for the first time and got a severe steam burn when peeling back the foil. I ended up with second degree burns. And while we're on it, that dang turkey was quite the trial. First I wanted to brine it. I've never tried it before but it's all the rage right now, so why not. I made the brine on Monday and left it to cool on the stove. I remembered it the Tuesday morning and had to chuck it out. You do not cook with chicken broth that's been left out overnight. Then I needed to figure out how long to cook it the way I normally do. So I took the weight on the package and did the math. Good thing Nick figured out the weight was in kilograms not pounds and redid my conversion. Now I felt I was in a hurry, eep. Instead of using my tried and true Betty Crocker for the timing, I used the Joy of Cooking. It suggested to preheat the oven to 450 degrees then turn it down when you put the turkey in. I put the turkey in and forgot the turning down part for 30 minutes. I'm really glad I remembered at all. So the Turkey was finished about two hours before dinner was on. Nick is the hero of the day. We turned down the heat and he basted it every 15 minutes till dinner was ready to be served.

My Cinnamon Bear Fantasy Cottage

The burn on my hand gave me the opportunity to do two new things. One, let go of the control of the dinner. I continued to help as best I could with a cold pack on my hand, but everyone else had to do the cooking. Nick, Shanna and Heather pretty much finished the dinner, set the table, and served the food. The second one was to cry in front of people without freaking out. I was in real pain for about 8 hours even using the prescription burn ointment, cold packs and pain killers. I was also no longer in control of my dinner and it just kinda messed with me. I do not cry in front of people. It seems like a sign of weakness. I also feel that I'll be mocked or perceived as weak and or that it will be used against me. It's one more symptom of my inability to trust people. I seem to have a huge need to keep who and what I am and what I feel a secret in order to prevent mocking/shaming/dismissing. Well Thanksgiving 2010 seems like it was a breakthrough.

Friday was a day of rest for me if not for Nick who was the hero again cleaning up the kitchen, doing the dishes etc...

Journal Entry - Preparing For The Holidays

2010-11-29T16:02:00.006-07:00

Weekend before Thanksgiving:

With some 13-19 social engagements for the holiday season, and being the control freak I am, we started our preparations early. It took all three of us but we managed to make and freeze a bunch of stuff ...

Nov 20 - Saturday
• Huckleberry Muffins (36)
• Butterscotch Banana Bread (26 mini loaves)
• Meatballs(40 some)

Nov 21 – Sunday
• 1 (foil) big lasagna
• 2 (foil) cake pan lasagnes
• 6 (foil) bread pan lasagnes (1 noodle wide)
• 1 (glass) big lasagna (had to add prego)
• 1 (glass) sml alfredo lasagna with broccoli, cauliflower & tortellini. Serve with grilled chicken.

Unfortunately I still want to get a bunch of cookies, biscotti, truffles and other candy premade.

Cheating...Sometimes it's good to know when you don't want to or perhaps don't
have the energy to do everything yourself. I broke my toe three weeks earlier so I wasn't feeling all that capable. Our sweet real estate agent sent us a letter gifting us with free rolls from a local bakery. Our persistent auto dealer sent us a letter gifting us with a free turkey if we test drove a vehicle. Instead of making our gingerbread houses from scratch we bought kits. And for dessert I purchased frozen cheesecake and banana cream pie.

The turkey operation was fun. We went on a very snowy day to the dealer and test drove a Toyota Highlander. It was awesome! I'd really love to have one, but can't afford it at this time.

The rolls became a comedy of errors. Hubby got them reserved then we forgot to pick them up. So late Weds night he was running errands and picked up Pillsbury crescent rolls, which I forgot to bake. First Thanksgiving in a long time without rolls of any kind.

The cheesecake was lovely with huckleberry jam (from the Idaho store) as a topping.

Heavy duty paper plates and glasses were the final, lifesaving, cheat.

Cheating. Definitely going to try it again next year.

(Images, I have no idea where I got any of these on this blogpost... Sorry)

Journal Entry - ILA Business Mtg in Boise

2010-11-20T22:42:00.004-07:00

ILA BOARD MEETING - NOVEMBER 14 -16

As the Academic Chair for the Idaho Library Association, I went to Boise for a meeting in mid November. I left on Sunday the 14th, driving my little red car. I listened to Janet Evanovich's book 'Hot Six' (Stephanie Plum). I didn't stop till Mountain Home when necessity overwhelmed me. I ate a late lunch there at the truck stop, chicken and potatoes. Later I got to the hotel (Safari Inn http://www.safariinndowntown.com/). My foot was a problem and I was happy they had an elevator, I was not happy with the five stairs up to the elevator. Ack. After settling in I drove off looking for a grocery store where I could pick up cheese and grapes for a late snack/dinner. I then returned to the hotel and continued reading: 'One Hex of a Wedding' (Chintz 'n China, Book 5) by Yasmine Galenorn.

The meeting began at 8:00 a.m. in the hotel. A box lunch was provided so we worked on through the afternoon, finishing around 4:00. It was quite interesting, lots of conversation about the next conference, budgets, strategic plans, and subcommittees.

Phil and I arranged to meet up at 5:00 to do a little shopping - Cost Plus (Where I bought a bottle of wine for Nick) and Barnes and Noble (Where I got the Transiberian Orchestra Xmas album). Then to Bar Gernica http://bargernika.com/ for Basque food dinner. MMMMMMmmmmmm Potato/egg tortilla, which was more like a quiche for appetizers, then croquettes and other stuff for dinner. I can't remember all of what I ate, just that it was scrumptious.

On the drive home, I had planned to listen to another novel, but instead found myself thinking and listening to music. I LOVE driving. My brain always feels more relaxed after it has had that kind of time to ponder.

I did not take any of these photos but found them on various sites.

Journal Entry Oct 31-Nov 4

2010-11-07T22:12:00.000-07:00

PUMPKIN TOSS & HALLOWEEN PARTY - OCTOBER 31

The ISU physics department sponsored a competition Pumpkin Chuck. Shanna and I went and had an awesome time. The trebuchet's launched pumpkins near, far and even in the wrong direction.

Heather, Duo came over later and we hung out and watched movies and feasted on candy (candy corn, mini chocolate bars...) and popcorn (cheese & caramel). We only had two kids stop by for trick or treating.

Movie List
Hocus Pocus
John Carpenter's Vampires
Van Helsing
Van Helsing Cartoon

BIRTHDAY - NOVEMBER 1
As fall roared in I made another change to my bedroom. I had fallen in love with the autumn jewel tone picture of a pair of tango dancers. I left it at the store cause I just didn't want to be spending the money. It was still there when we went back a week or so later. I bought it. It went well with the rich reds and golds I had as my regular bedding. Still, I was hoping to add another level of panache to my winter bed. I went shopping in Idaho Falls, looking for something in a jewel toned orange or amber. Kohls had a great set but it was over $500, TJMAXX had nothing, Ross had nothing, Bed Bath and Beyond was strike three. I had wondered about Target and there is where we found an amber velvet bedspread with pillow shams. It was fine. I brought it home and it turned out to be perfect. I swapped out the green palm leaf art for my autumn leaf painting in my yoga room. This was another perfect fit as the palm leaves echoed the palm tree (fake) already in the room. Now if I can just figure out how to get rid of a few more clothes, or shoes, or bags, or ...

THE TOE - NOVEMBER 4
Sometime in the middle of the night on the 2nd of November I had to get up. On my way back to the bed, fate decided to lend a hand and between me being groggy and the dog and a piece of furniture I bashed my little toe really hard. Apparently I broke it. I never did go to the doctor cause there's nothing they can do for you except tell you to stay off it. Friends encouraged me to tape it to my other toe but that was excruciating. My little toe doesn't move much when left alone.

For the first few weeks the weather was lovely and I was able to wear sandals to work. Then winter came in with a blizzard. Luckily my snow boots are large through the toebox. I wore them for the next couple of weeks. At week six I finally was able to wear boxy shoes. At week seven the tendon/muscle/ligament I damaged settled down enough to wear regular shoes, and by week eight I finally put my workout shoes back on.

I really appreciate being able to walk without pain and to be able to wear shoes. (dec 28, 2010)

Journal Entry - Reading

2010-10-30T22:19:00.007-06:00

Most of October was spent recovering from September and reading. I spent a lot of time on the sofa reading and reading and reading.

I started binge reading on September 15th ...

1. Pawn of Prophecy (1982) by David Eddings
2. Queen of Sorcery (1982) by David Eddings
3. Magician's Gambit (1983) by David Eddings
4. Castle of Wizardry (1984) by David Eddings
5. Enchanters' End Game (1984) by David Eddings
6. Guardians of the West (1987) by David Eddings
7. King of the Murgos (1988) by David Eddings
8. Demon Lord of Karanda (1988) by David Eddings
9. Sorceress of Darshiva (1989) by David Eddings
10. The Seeress of Kell (1991) by David Eddings
11. The Trouble With Magic by Madelyn Alt
12. A Charmed Death by Madelyn Alt
13. Hex Marks the Spot by Madelyn Alt
14. One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, No. 1) by Janet Evanovich (on cd)
15. Two for the Dough (Stephanie Plum) by Janet Evanovich (on cd)
16. Three to Get Deadly (Stephanie Plum) by Janet Evanovich (off audible)
17. Four to Score (Stephanie Plum) by Janet Evanovich (off audible)
18. High Five (Stephanie Plum, No. 5) by Janet Evanovich (off audible)
19. Witchling (Sisters of the Moon, Book 1) by Yasmine Galenorn
20. Changeling (Sisters of the Moon, Book 2) by Yasmine Galenorn
21. Darkling (Sisters of the Moon, Book 3) by Yasmine Galenorn
22. Dragon Wytch (Sisters of the Moon, Book 4) by Yasmine Galenorn
23. Night Huntress (Sisters of the Moon, Book 5) by Yasmine Galenorn
24. Demon Mistress (Sisters of the Moon, Book 6) by Yasmine Galenorn
25. Bone Magic (Sisters of the Moon, Book 7) by Yasmine Galenorn
26. Dead Witch Walking (Hollows, Book 1) by Kim Harrison
27. The Good, The Bad and The Undead (Hollows, Book 2) by Kim Harrison
28. Every Which Way But Dead (Hollows, Book 3) by Kim Harrison
29. Fistful of Charms (Hollows, Book 4) by Kim Harrison
30. Where There's a Witch by Madelyn Alt
31. No Rest for the Wiccan by Madelyn Alt
32. Ghost of a Chance (Chintz 'n China, Book 1) by Yasmine Galenorn
33. Legend of the Jade Dragon (Chintz 'n China, Book 2) by Yasmine Galenorn
34. Murder Under a Mystic Moon (Chintz 'n China, Book 3) by Yasmine Galenorn
35. A Harvest of Bones (Chintz 'n China, Book 4) by Yasmine Galenorn
36. The Seventh Witch (Ophelia & Abby Mystery) by Shirley Damsgaard
37. For a Few Demons More (Hollows, Book 5) by Kim Harrison
38. The Outlaw Demon Wails (Hollows, Book 6) by Kim Harrison

I continued to read in November and December but the real binge happened in October. 38 books in about 6 weeks equals a little less than a book a day. Yeah, I know, there's a twelve step program for this.

ILA Conference - Oct

2010-10-11T15:43:00.004-06:00

IDAHO LIBRARY ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE - OCT 5-10

Image - view from my balcony

Back to Coeur d'Alene... This is my second trip up in two weeks. Eep. At least this time I was more ready for the long drive. Shanna and I went to the public library the night before I left and found the first two Stephanie Plum novels: One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, No. 1) by Janet Evanovich and Two for the Dough (Stephanie Plum) by Janet Evanovich and a couple of Louis L'Amour. I listened to both Evanovich books on the way up. They were AWESOME! I then called Nick and used our Audible account to buy and download the next three for the way home. I also went out and bought a small iPod shuffle at Walmart. My own MP3 player, though enormous in space, does not have compatible software to use Audible books. :( While there I also read The Trouble With Magic by Madelyn Alt, A Charmed Death by Madelyn Alt, and Hex Marks the Spot by Madelyn Alt. In other words, the reading binge continued...

There is quite a contrast between Alt's and Evanovich's writing styles. Evanovitch grabs you and yanks you along for a screaming rollercoaster ride. Alt's are slower, more of a cozy mystery where, while things are not all love and light, they tend to be more descriptive.

The conference was held in the small town of Post Falls ID. I arranged for a room with a view off the hotel main site. The conference rate was more expensive and the rooms were less good. I LOVED the room. I had a mini balcony and a view of the big river and it was awesome to sit there and look out. I brought my binoculars in and was able to watch a bald eagle eating a breakfast of fish one morning.

Image from http://www.skolaiimages.com/stock/displayimage.php?album=51&pos=37, not one of mine. I would have needed a telephoto lens to get a picture of the one outside my balcony.

I got there a day early in order to be ready to do my preconference session. It went well and we had a lot of fun although there were only 4 people in my session. I brought a box of handouts from my Learn Something Quick web 2.0 workshops and allowed them to take what they wanted. Unfortunately, I also brought too many mini candy bars. I think I will stop trying to bring treats to this kind of activity.

Image is not mine, but from Trip Advisor

For dinner I went with Cathy Gray and another colleague to the nearby mideastern restaurant 'The Whitehouse Grill' http://whitehousegrill.com/white-house-grill. The food was fine, though not as good as what Nick & I can do. I think the big problem was that I wasn't in the mood for it and really wanted something simpler. I also ordered poorly, hoping for something that wasn't there. Still, the company was good and it was entertaining. They dropped me back at the hotel and then trundled off to the reception. After a 4 hour stint of teaching, all I really wanted was my book and my bed.

I attended sessions the following day. For more details see my other blog Library Banter

I skipped out of the lunch Thurs, in the past year I discovered that I get canker sores in my mouth from grilled bread products from restaurants. Since this was a big part of what they were serving, I gave the mediocre convention center food a pass. Instead I braved the rain and found a marvelous little Mexican restaurant 'La Cocina' they had some of the best food I ate that week. I also took the time to find the Walmart and buy the iPod.

Friday I once again skipped their lunch. Heading to a diner 'The Corner Cafe' I had spotted earlier. It serves breakfast and lunch only. I used to order a lot of grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. Now I order a lot of fried eggs and hashbrowns... I stopped briefly at the nearby bookstore and then headed back to the conference.

More sessions were attended, see Library Banter http://librarybanter.blogspot.com/ for details.

I went to the for dinner and had a terrific steak. Then back to the hotel for more reading. In the morning we had the ILA business meeting. It was surprisingly short. I had reserved the hotel room for Sat night because I didn't want to be driving back after a long meeting. Oh well.

Since I suddenly had free time I drove into Coeur d'Alene and visited their public library. Or rather, I tried to, it didn't open for an hour or so. I went over to a bagel place and ordered, what I thought was a simple cheese bagel. What I got was a fiery hot jalapeno and cheese bagel. EEP. I didn't eat much of it, but I did enjoy the super hot mint tea. Then back over to tour the library. It's new and very lovely. My favorite part was the sculptural books on the stairs. I stopped for lunch late at the Breakfast Nook just before it closed for the day for another meal of eggs and hashbrowns. Then on back to Post Falls. I toured their library. My favorite thing here was the animal sculptural posts and walls. For more on the libraries see my Library Banter Blog.

For dinner I wanted something light so I stopped at Rosa's Italian Market & Deli. Nothing appealed so I left before being too noticeable. I ended up doing cheese, bread, and grapes for dinner. That evening I downloaded book 'Three to Get Deadly' (Stephanie Plum) by Janet Evanovich off audible. And readied my plan for the next day. I couldn't seem to get more than one book to function on the iPod so I needed to plan out stops every three hours. Hooray, McDonalds has Wifi.

Not my image

I left early so that I'd still be able to breakfast by the time I reached Missoula. I stopped at McD's, had breakfast and switched to the next book, 'Four to Score.' I also stopped at the Book Exchange on Brooks street and bought another pile of used/new books for Shanna and I. Next stop Dillon and another McD's for lunch. I had to sit in the parking lot to finish the last book. I then went in and switched to 'High Five.' When I went back to the car I turned it on and realized that the Low Fuel light was flashing. I had completely forgotten to watch my fuel gage. I drove/coasted across the parking lot and filled the car. I'm really grateful that it gets such great gas mileage, or I would have been stranded somewhere in nowhere Montana. I made it home just as the last book finished, very awesome.

Bowling Green Ohio

2010-09-21T11:19:00.000-06:00

BOWLING GREEN 15th - 19th

Kay invited me out to speak to the librarians at her new job. She's the Dean of Bowling Green State University (BGSU). The idea was for me to present on my sabbatical and inspire them to go out and find new ways of doing things. On Weds September 15th I drove down to SLC to stay with Jessica. I had a lovely visit with Jessica, Doug and little Rachel. Rachel is sooo adorable. She's learning sign language and was signing and speaking. In the morning the girls drove me to the airport and I was off. Kay picked me up at the Detroit airport, which is freaking huge. It was quite the walk just to get out of there. We chatted and she drove us South towards Bowling Green. We stopped in another nearby town for some great Italian food. Next was a stop at a nearby Walmart for candy, pens, post-it notes and poster board, all things I needed for the presentations but didn't want to bring on the plane. Then she dropped me at my hotel (Holiday Inn Express) which was immaculately clean and pristine.

In the morning she picked me up and we drove to the library. The first session was packed with people. And it was FUN. I know that librarians are the most fun to be around, but it's always a mild surprise at how interactive, curious and fun they can be. I LOVE my peoples. Lunch was on campus at a great little place that had a flashmob dance thingy nearby. Kay had invited most of her key people and the conversation was great. Then came session two, and surprise, more great people attended. I think I learn as much as they do. Afterwards I crashed. Kay drove me back to the hotel so I could nap. Later she picked me up with her sister Karen and we went to dinner. We had planned on going to a local diner (Easy Street Cafe), but it was packed with football fans visiting for the big home game. Next door was a soup/salad place (Panera Bread Cafe) that served great food, and wasn't over-run by nostalgia fans.

Saturday and Sunday blend together now. I know we went to the Schedel Arboretum & Gardens which were AWESOME!! See photo set on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157625368778079/

And we toured the library extensively, see photo set on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157625368619369/ and blog posts on Library Banter http://librarybanter.blogspot.com/. We shopped for miscellaneous stuff at Home Depot, worked on unpacking clothes, talked, laughed, and generally had a great time.

Saturday night we finally got to have that dinner at the diner. Karen arrived Friday night then took of Saturday morning to take her loom to Michigan for repairs. She got back in time for dinner with us that evening. She and Kay are quite the pair. They remind me of me and any number of sisters.

We had another nice drive back to Detroit then I had the long plane ride to SLC. When I got there, Rebecca and Kristi Red Hair picked me up and drove me to Jessica's to get my car. The plan was for me to spend the night with R. Unfortunately I just wanted to be home. And the SLC valley was filled with smoke from a huge fire. See: http://www.cachevalleydaily.com/news/local/Utah-fire-burns-hundreds-of-acres-threatens-homes-103260174.html It burned hundreds of acres and two homes. So I sang and drove and stopped and drove and got home in time to crash into bed.

(Written Dec 2010)

Journal Entry - Fair & TV

2010-09-15T11:01:00.004-06:00

EASTERN IDAHO STATE FAIR

Nick came to visit and we took a morning and went to the Eastern Idaho State Fair in Blackfoot. I made us leave super early so that we'd be there when they opened. I wanted to watch the Stock Dog Competitions again. They are so awesome. First the dogs herded sheep around then they herded cattle. The cows were much more frisky and argumentative than the sheep. One cow did a bunch of dog chasing. Behind the bleachers the dock dog people were set up and testing. Nothing like launching a dog out across the water... Those dogs really could move. We looked at travel trailers and horses.

I fell in LOVE with the Norwegian Fjord horse http://www.nfhr.com/catalog/index.php. I want one so badly. We ate bad fair food and looked at lots of stuff. I ended up having to buy a hat because the sun was more fierce than I was. It was fun to hang out and enjoy each other. We headed home in the early afternoon, worn out but happy.

Image from: http://www.zazzle.com/norwegian_fjord_power_house_card-137184665408827815

For more images from the state fair see:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157625368901137/with/5218756622/

CLEANING THE CARPETS

We should have a rule. After the carpets are cleaned, I'm not allowed back into the house till all the furniture is back in place. Last time we cleaned it all out and had the carpets done I wouldn't let the sofas back in. This time, it was the TV. Shanna and I had been cleaning out and cleaning up all summer. We had removed plants and a bookcase and knick knacks and I knew that if I replaced my big square of a tv with a flat screen I could clean it up even more. Well, seeing it all empty I just couldn't take it. AND worse still, I had the money in my checking account. I went around and around with myself but ended up buying one from Walmart, the biggest and best I could afford. It is AWESOME. (Sanyo 46" LCD 1080p) I'm calling it my birthday present. Nick studiously avoided giving an opinion on the whole thing. I finally asked him if he thought it was a good decision or not and he admitted that he wanted one badly and did not want to influence my thinking too much. :) I love him.

(Written Dec 2010)

Yellowstone with Friends

2010-08-30T10:06:00.002-06:00

YELLOWSTONE WITH SHANNA, HEATHER, DUO, REGINA, & DAUGHTER KATRINA (SAT AUG 28th)

Weather Forecast from http://wwwweather.com/
You can never tell, but right now it says "high of 56 degrees, low 35 degrees (F) with scattered thunderstorms, 40% chance of rain." We decided to go anyway. The picture above was taken somewhere north of Rigby.

Image of Osprey in Island Park

Shanna and I drove to Enterprise to pick up a minivan in the morning. Unfortunately they didn't have any left. Fortunately, they let me take the suburban for the same price. It was AWESOME to drive. I felt very safe. Everyone met up at our house and we loaded up and headed out. We stopped to take pictures of clouds and did a brief bit of shopping in West Yellowstone. Shanna and Heather were after earrings. Shanna had saved up since the last trip and bought a set of hand carved & painted purple hummingbird feather earrings.

Image of Roaring Mountain (notice the dark gray sky)

Storm clouds and rain followed us into the park, though mostly it was drizzly and spattery kinds of rain. We headed to Mammoth stopping along the way, for Roaring Mountain.

Image - Heather, Duo, and Katrina looking at the Bison, taken by Regina.

for Bison. We spotted this Bison on our way past. It required us to drive a bit further in order to turn the behemoth I was driving around and go back. It's always funny how surprised passengers are at the Semenza willingness to stop, turn around and take another or better look.

for Sheepeater Cliffs

Image of a view at Sheepeater Cliffs (the basalt cliffs behind us on the left)

for Ravens

This bold bird was in the parking lot at Sheepeater cliffs. I have quite a few photos of him online at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157625368422743/

for Waterfalls.

and for the Hoodoos.

Heather found ripe currants and shared with those of us in the car. Regina had just been talking about going berry picking for these very berries, from her aunt's cabin in Siberia.

We got to Mammoth and got out. Heather had said something about there being less water going on in Mammoth but it wasn't until I saw it that I realized that it was about 25% of the water that had been flowing in the pools last time I visited. Quite a letdown. We were talking about where to walk when the rain picked up. We turned to return to the car and the sky opened up and dropped lots of water and then hail. We were all glad that we hadn't gone too far down the trail. We sat for awhile but it didn't seem to let up. Next stop Mammoth General store. Luckily we found a parking space. Shopping and ice cream cone eating took up some time but the rain continued. Back into the car and then we went looking for the missing Elk. Usually there are Elk all over Mammoth, but not one was there this day. We drove down and around the campgrounds but there was no sign.

Giving up we headed back towards West. (Image taken in Monument Geyser Basin)

A couple more stops for the thermal features of Monument Geyser Basin.

Image - Regina & Katrina on boardwalk in Monument Geyser Basin

A rest stop in the park for a break yielded our elk sighting of a mom and a youngling.

There was a division of whether to stop for dinner but it was out voted in favor of continuing. Since we had the time and had been talking about it we swung out to Big Springs in Island Park.

This was probably Katrina's favorite stop. We used up all of our quarters getting food to feed the fish and the 'ducks' or rather, the Blue Winged Teals. Then off we went to home. The only bad part about this day was that Shanna and I didn't think about returning the car that evening, which we could have done. Instead we had to get up early and return it first thing in the morning. Ack. We'll both remember to do it differently next time.

Image of Big Springs, Island Park

While we were in the park (probably during the storm at Mammoth), West Yellowstone was hit by a serious microburst. Interestingly, none of us noticed the damage on our way home... Microburst: http://www.localnews8.com/weather/24815467/detail.html

More images from the trip can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157625368422743/

(Written Dec 2010)

Journal Entry - Huckleberries & Garage Sales

2010-08-23T21:44:00.004-06:00

HUCKLEBERRY PICKING (FRI 13th)
Image from Small Goat Garden Blog: http://smallgoatgarden.blogspot.com/2009/08/idaho-huckleberries.html

With Maura, Shanna, Heather, & Duo, I left work early and we drove up to the Huckleberry patch Northeast of Idaho Falls. I didn't find many huckleberries, it was late and the bushes had been picked over quite thoroughly. Still, it was nice to be outside in the forest with friends and squirrels. One chattery fellow was most unhappy with the invasion into his territory.

Heather & Duo had other obligations leaving Maura, Shanna and me to find dinner. We ended up waiting a long time for a table at the Brownstone Restaurant and Brewery http://brownstonebrewpub.com/. The food there is always good and the service is also, even if you do have to wait 30 - 45 minutes to get a table.

GARAGE SALE - FINALE FRI & SAT 20 & 21

Nick came home to continue/finish his repainting of the trim on the house. Heather & Duo along with Jim & Maura hung out and we did a big combined garage sale. The highlight for me, was the picking up and walking off (by two of the three college guys) of the old sofa we had in the basement. Nick and I purchased it for $15 from Salvation Army oh, 13 or so years ago. We sold it for $15. After we had packed it all in we went over to celebrate at the Five Guys Burgers. I don't go for burgers very often, but Jim loves them. I was surprised at how much I liked it. It's a whole different kind of burger.

Applesauce Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-08-03T20:27:00.002-06:00

I seem to be in the mood for baking. This week's cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour a 13"x9" pan or two 8" or 9" rounds

2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cups applesauce
1/2 cup water
2 eggs

Mix ingredients into large bowl (I usually cream the sugar, shortening and eggs, and sift fork stir the dry ingredients before adding them all together with the other liquids)

Don't over mix this batter

Bake oblong ~60 minutes, layers ~50 minutes. Toothpick test will come out clean.

Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Sorry I don't measure my frosting
~2 tbsp Butter, a bit of vanilla, cream cheese, milk and powdered sugar

Summer Projects... June & July

2010-07-31T21:23:00.001-06:00

PAINTING
Shanna painted the hall downstairs (walls & ceiling) a bright white to bring more light to the library. Our hall is long and five feet wide and we've lined both sides with varying sizes of bookcases. The white really helped lighten it up. She also painted the back stairwell with Nick's help. This was really tricky because of the woodwork and the heights involved. Again, we went with a bright white to bring light into the dark space. Between that and the recently (2 years ago) installed back door with window you can clearly see the stairs. Meanwhile, Nick was painting the trim around the outside of the house. He changed it from the 80's cornflower blue to a classic black. I couldn't believe the difference it made. We'll have to finish repainting the outside pieces next summer. He managed to finished all of the windows on the main floor, the outside door trims, and the garage doors and windows. The big garage door had been painted blue and it showed all of its flaws. He painted it white to match the house and the trim black and it looks like a whole new door.

Nanette and Sydney, while visiting decided to help us move our library. We had to move it into Nick's office so that Shanna could paint the downstairs hall. It was quite an undertaking but moved quite quickly with their assistance. During the painting, Shanna got marked by the white hand. It took a lot more effort to put it back with just the two of us.

ROOF & TREE
I arranged for Randy Stone to come and replace our roof. We went from an asphalt tile to a light gray steel. I chose the light color for its reflective and energy saving properties. I couldn't bear to go with straight white. I wanted a neutral that would not stand out. Our white clapboard style ranch needs to remain lovely but neutral. It doesn't have any architectural finesse and so it needs to blend into the background and let the gardens and greenery steal the show. You really can't get worked up about light gray, for good, or for ill. It was perfect. It was fun to have him here. He had lots of suggestions for improving the place and with any luck we'll be able to hire every year for a project. (Don't forget the tree dude showing up to trim tree back so they could roof - Shanna) That's right. He left small stick debris everywhere, but my tree in the back looks much better and he cleared the limbs from hanging over the house.

MOVIES
A confluence of events triggered buying dvds on an enormous scale. First, the tv/vcr/dvd combo in my office died. Instead of replacing it, I bought a new computer. This computer has a big screen, a dvd player and a cute little adapter that allows me to view my cable tv on my monitor. I completely lost the ability to play vhs movies in my office. This is a problem since most of my collection is in the vhs format. C'est la vie, or so I thought.

Second, Nick took off for Rawlins with his computer, no tv, no vcr, only the built in dvd player. And we had about 15 dvd movies.

Third, I really wanted to simplify my living room. I began by cleaning, and cleaning out. As Shanna and I worked I realized that the big barrister's bookcase holding videos was, if not an eyesore, a clutter station. It needed to go. What would enable its removal? We needed to condense our movie collection. We'd weeded it earlier that year so that wasn't an option. Soooo we decided to replace the vhs' collection with dvds.

I started small ordering our favorite dvds used from Amazon. It was going to be a slow process. Then we found out that the local pawn shop sold used ones for less than the shipping price of Amazon. WOOT that made us buy a few more. Finally the last piece to the marathon buying was the closing of Hollywood video. Every weekend for many weeks Shanna and I would go to the Pawn shops, and Hollywood snapping up dvds for $1-$3. As the weeks wore on the prices at Hollywood got cheaper. Other Hollywood stores were closing and shipping their remainders to the one in Pocatello or Chubbuck. It was a bonanza. We were able to replace a large chunk of our existing collection and pick up quite a few others that we had wanted to acquire.

On the last day of the Hollywood closeout the pickings were slim but only $.25 per dvd. I called Nick and he okayed us spending his money. Shanna and I began by alphabetizing the horror section. It was the largest collection left in the store. Then we picked out one of every title. We piled movies and piled movies and then left the store with 400+ horror dvds. I did call Nick and asked him if he was really serious about buying them, and he was. We brought them home and serpentined them across every surface in his office. He now has enough movies to last a few years. Shanna and I had a great time laughing and buying and so did the rest of the people around us, when we told them we had been tasked with buying every one they had left, excepting the duplicates.

GARAGE SALE
By the end of July we found ourselves in possession of several hundred vhs movies that we didn't need or want. It seemed a shame to give them to the DI. So we started setting up for a garage sale. We sold quite a few to friends and then more at the garage sale. It was awesome. We used these funds to reinvest into the project. This was our first garage sale and Shanna and I realized that it was pretty easy to set up and this triggered a couple more such activities. (We also let our friend join in and bring and sell some of their stuff to)-Shanna

MY BEDROOM
I have wanted a summer white bedroom for a long while and this summer I made it come true. I found the most delicious white comforter set with a lovely little green border at TJMAXX. My room was airy and white and lovely. We set the bed to four posters and hung the white sheers on it. Shanna and I found two green palm leave paintings to hang on the wall where the red Persian rug had been. The decorative pillows were all white and it was awesome.

The green is much less yellow and more leaf green in person...

Upside Down Peach Cake

2010-07-28T13:08:00.004-06:00

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Butter cake pan (I used oblong, two rounds would work)

Pour 2/3 cup melted butter into bottom of pan
Spread on top of butter 2 cups of light brown sugar
Peel and slice peaches, layer on top of brown sugar (calls for 3 cups, I'd use more next time so that the layer is thicker, the peaches shrink a little when baked)

Cream together:
2/3 c shortening
3 1/3 c sugar
4 eggs

Add
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 c milk
3 1/3 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp mapeleine (original recipe calls for 1/2 tsp almond flavoring)

Bake (350 degree oven) oblong for 60 minutes, rounds for 45 minutes

Baking time may vary depending on material of pan so keep an eye out, the top should be golden brown and a toothpick will come out clean from the cake part. If you push the toothpick in too far it will pickup the peaches/sugar mixture.

Nan & Gary & Sydney & Erica & Hannah Visit

2010-06-27T19:48:00.000-06:00

The visit was very nice lots of talking and doing and eating.

On Saturday June 26th we decided to go to Yellowstone. I handed out the radios, and off we went. First we stopped in Rexburg to round up the rest of the available Clarks (Tess, Ashley & Family). Then we stopped in West Yellowstone where Shanna and I did a little shopping (jewelry at one store (hand painted raven feather earrings on bison bone, amber and turquoise earrings ... and I was out of spending money), everyone else did a lot of shopping. We snuck off quietly and got milkshakes from McDonalds, then gathered the crew and headed into the park. I paid for the park fee for the other two cars and paid for a year long pass for our car. It's a new thing I'm trying, generosity. I need to remind myself that I have plenty of money for the things that are important. Anyway the park was awesome (as always). We saw lots of ...

1. Rockdoves
2. Red winged blackbirds
3. Brewers blackbirds
4. Brown headed cowbirds
5. Crows
6. Ravens
7. Juvenile Golden eagle
8. Bald eagles
9. Osprey
10. White crowned sparrows

11. House sparrows
12. Tree swallows
13. Kestrel
14. Trumpeter swans
15. Sandhill cranes with babies
16. Cinnamon teal
17. Great blue heron
18. Chipping sparrows
19. Mountain bluebirds
20. Rough winged swallows

Elk
Bison
Vole
Ground squirrels
Chipmunks
Coyote - There really is a coyote in the picture below. It is near the tall & smallish trees on the left side. He caused quite the 'bear jam' in traffic.

Thermal features
Water features
Mountains
Trees
Gorgeous scenery

It was a lot of fun. They are a nifty family to travel with. We stopped at the Fountain Paint Pots and the Midway Geyser Basin. At Old Faithful Shanna and I let the others go off and we rested. I was tired (I didn't figure out till months later that I'd been taking my thyroid med wrong all these years). Anyway we sat under the trees at the back of the parking lot and watched the ravens. I started making notes for my crow oracle deck and talked with Shanna about it. On our way out of the park we stopped at the regular Firehole Lake drive spots.

Afterwards we stopped for dinner at our regular diner in West Yellowstone. Gary was tricksy and paid for our dinner which pretty much evened us out, but I didn't care. It was needful for me to act in a generous manner. I have a lot more money available to me when I behave that way. We got home late, but not too late and crawled into bed. I'm sure that Nanette has many more details of this trip in her head than I do. Shanna probably does also. All I know was that it was fun, and lovely and I really enjoyed it. (Most if not all got sunburned as we all forgot sunscreen-Shanna)

For more photos from this trip see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157625368277499/

(Written Dec 2010)

Journal Entry for June

2010-06-19T19:34:00.001-06:00

INTERVIEW FOR INTERIM DEAN Fri June 11th

This spring Kay decided to take a job with Bowling Green State University in Ohio. It's near her sister and mother and a good opportunity with good pay. I couldn't blame her a bit. The Provost's office sent the library staff an open letter requesting recommendations for someone from the staff to serve as interim dean. I was surprised and honored to be nominated by my colleagues. One in particular wrote an amazing letter, and led the charge so to speak. I was further surprised to be interviewed and thought I did well. It was exciting and thrilling to be nominated, but it was not meant to be and I think it has turned out well. Sandi is doing a great job.

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KAY'S FAREWELL PARTY Fri June 18th

The library hosted a large farewell party at the library. Lots of irises, books, shakespeare, photos and people. We will miss her. I will miss her.

See library news post at: http://libpublic2.eol.isu.edu/blogs/ln/wordpress/?p=766

Gardening

2010-05-31T18:36:00.001-06:00

Nick came back from Rawlins to spend the Memorial Day weekend gardening. When he left I'm sure he was ready to just not return. We worked like dogs. In the end I had summer squash, zucchini, pumpkins, tomatos, carrots, lettuce onions, peas, strawberries, bell peppers, chard, beets, basil, mint, and many more herbs and flowers planted. Our garden yielded many crops, which I ended up giving the bulk of to other people (primarily lettuce & squash). Apparently without Nick here to water and tend and cook and eat we just don't use up enough on our own. Next year, if Nick is gone for the majority of the summer I'm going plant lots and lots of flowering shrubs.

Meanwhile, Shanna took over the maintaining of the sprinkler system and mowing the lawns. She did an awesome job. She found buried sprinklers that Nick had never discovered. Our lawn was covered in little sprinkler flags waiting till he returned to help her fix them.

(Written Dec 2010)

Birding At Bear Lake Migratory Bird Refuge With Melinda

2010-05-27T18:25:00.002-06:00

Melinda drove to Utah with Mom for a very short family visit. I met her in Logan and we took off birding. The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge http://www.fws.gov/bearriver/ has a stunning array of birds. I kept saying, what species I expected to see and lo and behold it would show up. The best was as we were leaving, I mourned the loss of spotting a curlew and one immediately flew by. It was a delightful day.

We saw:
Tree swallows
Barn swallows
Bank swallows
Cliff swallows
Western kingbird
Coots
Redheads
Gadwalls
Ruddy ducks
Yellow headed blackbirds

Red winged blackbirds
Magpies
Robins
House sparrows
Starlings
Cinnamon teals
Mallards
White faced ibis
Avocets
California gulls

Western meadowlarks
Ravens
Great blue herons
Cattle egrets
Bullocks oriole
Horned larks
Franklin's gulls
Western grebes
Vesper sparrows
Snowy plovers

Killdeer
Double crested cormorants
Canada geese
Grasshopper sparrows
Snowy egrets
Black necked stilts
Wilsons phalaropes
Northern shovelers
American White Pelicans
Brown headed cowbirds

Clarks grebes
Marsh wrens
Forster's terns
Black crowned night herons
Pied billed grebes
Common terns
Brewers blackbirds
Greater yellow legs
Eastern kingbird
Northern harrier

Great egret
Long billed curlew
Willet
American Kestrel

and a Muskrat

We had a really late lunch at a Mexican restaurant who's name escapes me. The interior looks like a Mexican street market. Then back to Dave's where I had to say bye. *sniff*

Photo's from Bear Lake 2009
(Written Dec 2010)

Utah Library Association - May 14 - 15

2010-05-21T18:04:00.000-06:00

All Photos from Zion's National Park: Kolob Canyon

May 14th Conference/Presenting

I realized the night before that I would need to download the youtube videos to my computer and play them directly from there instead of pulling them from the internet. The internet at the conference center was too thready. So for the most part of the conference day I sat behind the exhibits area and downloaded, first a program to pull youtube videos to the computer then the videos themselves. It was tricksy with the internet being difficult and took about 4 hours for me to accomplish. ARRRGH. I am very glad I did it, cause the presentation went very smoothly.

For lunch we were invited up to the reserved table. This was a big mistake. Some of us were smart and left before the speaker began, but not me. NOOOO I had to stay and listen and then had to get up and walk out because he was running long and I had a computer that needed setting up for all of us. However, the luncheon speaker was fantastic. Music, creativity, scenery, a lovely presentation that I hated leaving early.

Our session, unlike the others I attended really did incorporate active learning techniques. I used the Cephalonian method, Annie used learning teams, and Regina used a hands on exercise. Cheryl began the session with a lecture that had lots of useful and helpful URLS which kept the note takers busy. All in all we did very well, especially for a two hour last session of the conference time slot. Our attendees stayed and a few others came in. Only one left and she told us why during the break.

I looked for dinner on the internet using the open door between the two rooms to facilitate the flow of information and suggestions. We settled on the 25th and Main restaurant. It serves sandwiches, salads, and cupcakes. I overdid it on the cupcakes, but what I didn't know was that the sandwich I ordered came with a full helping of food poisoning.

I started cramping in the middle of the night and got up and down and up and down. Eventually, I prayed that things would improve. I was doubled over in pain and relief seemed to escape me. Moments later things started to come up and out and I've never been so happy to be barfing. It was an excrutiating night. I was mostly awake and in the bathroom for one reason or the other. In the morning, we had planned on leaving early, early to visit Kolob, I declared an emergency and had Cheryl drive me to Albertsons where I bought a bottle of Pepto. It started to help immediately.

May 15th Driving Home

We took off. Dawn was breaking over the mountains and though I felt like 10 miles of bad road we went to Kolob canyon. The lighting was exquisite. The scenery gorgeous and the flocks of Western Tanagers surprising. Then off we went towards home. Cheryl and Regina took turns with the driving. After dropping Annie off we stopped at Thanksgiving Point for lunch. Though I just stayed in the car with my napping and my bottle of pepto. I've never been more grateful to get home and go to bed. I had a horrible ending to an otherwise amazing experience.

For more photos see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157625367951323/

(Written Dec 2010)

Utah Library Association - May 12 - 13

2010-05-20T17:51:00.001-06:00

All Photos from Zion's National Park: Zion's Canyon

Late last fall I submitted an application to speak at the Utah Library Association Conference in St. George with Annie, Regina, and Cheryl. Luckily our proposal was accepted.

For more details about the conference itself see: http://librarybanter.blogspot.com/2010/05/utah-library-association-may-2010.html

May 12th Driving to St. George
Early in the morning I picked up the minivan from Enterprise. This would have been easier if they hadn't advertised it as the Airport Enterprise Office and located it on Yellowstone instead of out by the airport. Regina met me out at the airport and we searched around and then finally realized that the address on the website had an address on Yellowstone. Very misleading advertising. Next we picked up Cheryl and headed south.

In Orem we snagged Annie and went to lunch at a great place called Mimi's Cafe. It's one of her colleagues favorites and I could certainly see why. More driving followed. I drove and drove and drove and then stopped and switched with Cheryl. I then fell asleep. What I didn't know was that the snow was awaiting us at the upcoming mountain pass. All the bad weather we encountered occurred while Cheryl was driving. The best part is, Cheryl is an extraordinary driver and we were safer with her than with anyone else in the car.

We bypassed Kolob Canyon, instead, we drove directly to The Best Western Abbey Inn where we were staying. I knew we'd be going to Zions the next day and didn't want to spoil it for Regina by seeing Kolob first. Zion's is spectacular and it may have seemed less so if the scenery of Kolob was viewed. For dinner we went to Pancho & Lefty's for Mexican food.

Then we stayed up working on sequencing and timing of our presentation, uploading it to the website and otherwise working.

May 13th Conference & Zion's
The Best Western provided a free continental breakfast then we drove over to the Dixie Conference center and attended conference sessions.

Later we met at the van and headed for Zion's. It was spectacular. We parked the car and got on one of the free bus things that patrolled around and around the park. You can get on any of them and then get off at any stop and back on any other one coming around. It was awesome. We got off and looked and then got back on. At one point the others decided to take a hike up the mountain. I stayed on a lovely bench overlooking a scenic valley and watched the birds.

Birds for the day included
Robins
Yellow rumped warblers
Yellow warblers
Western tanagers
Chipping sparrows
Wild turkeys
American goldfinches
Lesser goldfinches
Turkey vultures
Possibly a plumbeous vireo
More likely a canyon wren

Driving to and fro
Red tailed hawk
Osprey
Crows
Ravens
Magpies

St George:
House sparrow
Common grackle
Great tailed grackles
Mourning doves
Brewer's blackbirds

That evening, really late, we stopped for dinner at Olive Garden. We also practiced our presentation for a last time.

For more photos see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157625367830621/

(Written Dec 2010)

Honor's Tea

2010-05-03T23:14:00.000-06:00

Kay was out of town for this event which is how I got involved. She had paid for a table and needed to fill it. Peter called me and a couple of other people and then I took over. I love asking people to things so I get to spend time with people I enjoy... Our table had the most men, Nick, Jim, and Keevan. We also had myself, Maura, Sandi, Karen, and Janet. The tea was awesome and it just kept coming. I was truly wired by the end. I love black tea but don't drink it often because of the caffeine. EEEP. I took photos with my phone and sent them to Kay so she could be involved. It really was lovely, with good food and entertainment ranging from awesome to not so awesome. This kind of fund raising event is a great idea. I hope they do it again, whether I'm involved or not.

Other sizes of the photos can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157625367976389/with/5217782753/

Journal Entry - Rocks & ILA Regional

2010-04-30T22:54:00.002-06:00

Rock Show (Pocatello) April 4th

Every year the local gem and mineral club hosts a rock show at the county fairgrounds and every year we go. This year I found three lovely pieces of red coral that I had to take home to use for future necklaces.

ILA Regional in Soda Springs April 30th

I went as Academic Vice Chair to the regional conference in Soda Springs http://www.sodaspringsid.com/. I drove Spencer & Regina down with me. Unfortunately we arrived a little late and missed the first bit of the Keynote speaker John Brown, writer of Servant of a Dark God http://johndbrown.com/. He spoke about his experiences being a writer. It was delightful. Spencer went to the Kindle session and he brought us back a wealth of information about using them in the library. We used this info to inform our own decisions and policies when we purchased three for ISU in July. I sat out and talked with librarians and vendors. I believe the networking and vendor schmoozing pays off. I attended Nick's session on his work in Soda Springs. He did a great job, very interesting. I must say that the food provided for this regional conference was the best conference food I've ever had. It truly was outstanding and the range of sessions was solid even though I only attended two.

Louis L'Amour

2010-04-21T10:30:00.002-06:00

What you must understand is that as a child/youngster/teenager I was horse crazy. I read every horse book in my grade school, the local public library, both of my jr. high school libraries and my high school library. And by every book, I mean EVERY book, both fiction and non-fiction. It didn't matter that I owned a horse, what mattered was that I was obsessed with horses. I was quite thrilled when my jr. high burned down, not just because I got out of school two weeks early. I was thrilled because I'd get a whole new library when I got back. What I didn't know then was that books cost tons of money and the library would be 1/4th the size of the previous one. *SIGH* In jr. high, I had hit a dead end as far as horse books were concerned. I had to branch out.

Louis L'Amour was part of the branching out. His books may not have had horses as the main characters, and they weren't in the card catalog under the subject horses, but horses WERE present. I read aka devoured all that I could get my hands on. Over the years I purchased or was given most of them and I still have them. I was 13/14 and I loved the heroics, the horses, the style.

The majority of them are quite predictable and I haven't read them in a long while. I started re-reading L'Amour about six months ago. What I didn't realize when I first read them was how accurate he was in describing landscape, people, and history. I mean the books felt correct and authentic, but I had never seen a cholla so I just didn't bother with trying to put that concretely into the described landscape. Now I know that every place is accurate, every bush, every plant, every little thing.

Over the past couple of years, I have driven through every state, and through every environment in his western novels. I have studied the plants and seen the sunrises. Now his novels are still quite predictable but his descriptions of the landscapes and locations are amazing adding a depth to the books that I had previously ignored. Additionally, I found a website that includes many of the maps from the stories. see: http://www.louislamour.com/Maps/map_title_all.htm. Not every book is represented but many are.

Another thing I really like is that his slim novels can be read in a couple of hours. It's like a really great brownie, familiar yet still delicious. L'Amour's lengthier works are less predictable and take longer to read. My favorite of these is “Last of the Breed”, a book about a Native American pilot captured by Russians in Siberia during the cold war.

I’m not rushing to re-read all of his books; I have about 125 of them. But you’re definitely going to see me type “Finished ____ by Louis L’Amour” in the status line of Facebook and Twitter more frequently.

P.S. In Jr. High during my branching out I also discovered “The Lord of the Rings”. Thank heavens for a really great librarian.

Hanging Out and Driving Home

2010-03-31T20:27:00.004-06:00

Journal Entry March 2010 (Written December 2010)
Friday March 26th - Monday March 29th

Photos are from the Santa Rosa NM to Price UT Drive.

FRIDAY MARCH 27 - Shopping and Hanging out
Our last full day in Italy TX. First we went shopping at a little place in Waxahachie that sells my size clothes. Wonderfully it was chock full of white, yellow and turquoise blues. I couldn't believe it. I love yellow and rarely find it. After shopping we went home and played games and hung out. Sydney beat all of us at a strategy game, which was the cap to the evening. Went and visited Nan & Gary's house, it's lovely with the new paint, walls, shells, and rag rugs.

---

SATURDAY MARCH 28 - Departure
I talked with dad a bit in the early morning before he left for work again. Nick and I stopped by Melinda's to see what she'd done with the place, then took a tour of Tessa & Mike's menagerie. We then took to the road heading back towards Santa Rosa. We started listening to our book and realized that we didn't have that much more of it to go. I called the Barnes & Noble in Amarillo and arranged for a copy of the next book 'Blood Rites.' It was waiting for us when we arrived. It was the perfect time for a break. I then started reading that book out loud in the car. We did not finish the book and I ended up reading it aloud at home to both Nick and Shanna. This started a new tradition of reading while cleaning up after dinner. As the reader, I think I got the best part of the deal.

---

SUNDAY MARCH 29 - Driving home day 2
And we drove and drove and drove and tried to take back roads and got turned around and the wrong direction and then back on track and it was stunning, the red rock and evergreen trees dusted with the power of snow. Gorgeous. We stopped again in Price for the night.

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MONDAY MARCH 30 - Home
We've aged. No longer are we willing to drive 12-20 hours in a stretch. It just wasn't happening our bodies didn't want to and neither did our minds. It just takes a long time to get to or fro Texas. We had a great trip and really enjoyed being together.

For more photos of the drive home see:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157624106927164/

Birding around San Antonio

2010-03-26T20:08:00.007-06:00

Journal Entry March 2010 (Written December 2010)
Thursday March 25th

This was a very busy day. We started birding in the parking lots of the hotel and adjacent McDonalds.

It continued from there as we used the Great Texas Birding Trail maps to find lots of great places. We got a day use pass for a couple of private lakes.

Black vultures on the wing

Tree full of Great-tailed grackles

There were more fields of flowers to be seen too...

After lunch at Appleby's, we walked around the Mission Espada grounds.

And after much driving about found the Mitchell Lake Audubon Center. We saw a great number of birds this day. Many of them new to me. The flock of black vultures on the dumpster at one of the private lakes was awesome in every sense of the word. And the grackles displaying for mates were amusing.

Bird list:
1. House sparrow
2. Common grackle
3. Great tailed grackle
4. Rock doves
5. Starlings
6. Cliff swallows
7. Mocking birds
8. Black vultures
9. Mourning doves
10. Cattle egrets
11. Scissor tailed flycatcher
12. Crows
13. Kildeer
14. Crested caracara
15. Turkey vultures
16. Barn swallows
17. Coots
18. Savannah sparrows
19. Great egret
20. Pied billed grebe
21. Mallards
22. Double crested cormorants
23. Common moorhen
24. Blue winged teals
25. Neotropic cormorants
26. Osprey
27. Glossy ibis
28. Spotted sandpiper
29. Song sparrow
30. Red tailed hawk
31. Red winged blackbird
32. Gadwall
33. Great blue heron
34. Eastern meadowlark
35. White winged doves
36. House finches
37. Cardinals
38. Cliff swallows
39. Kestrels
40. Northern shovelers
41. Blue gray gnatcatcher
42. Swamp sparrow
43. Loggerhead shrike
44. Common yellowthroat - Jenny only cause she was searching the reeds with her binocs

And finally a fixed wing cargo bird that kept psyching us out.

I found the book 'Bird Brains: The Intelligence of Crows, Ravens, Magpies, and Jays' by Candace Savage at the Refuge and read it to Nick and Melinda while we drove home. The family went to the new Chinese place in Italy for dinner. Surprisingly it was really good. Later a very tired group of us played Scrabble.

For photos see:
Birding day 2 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157624106750920/
Mission Espada - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157623982568747/

Birding our way South to San Antonio

2010-03-25T19:37:00.004-06:00

Journal Entry March 2010 (Written December 2010)
Wednesday March 24th

Melinda's Car & Nick's Coffee

Nick, Melinda and I took off for San Antonio. The plan was to meet up with Nanette for lunch somewhere along the way. The plan worked. We birded and met them just north of Austin for lunch at Wendy's.

Black-bellied whistling ducks

Then they took off to go to a cave and we continued our birding adventure. By now, Nick had figured out that Melinda and I don't sit for hours looking at a bird. Instead we drive around looking at cool stuff. We get out and hike down interesting trails in the middle of nowhere and generally go and see what's out and about.

From the bridge we could see kinglets. Frisky kinglets flicking wings and darting about. Unfortunately they didn't stay still long enough to identify the top of their heads. So we have no idea if they are ruby or golden...

This was a lovely deserted stretch of park. Notice the big spiny prickly pear cactus on the left.

Nick had to investigate it...

That day we saw 43 bird species including:
1. Eastern phoebe
2. Northern cardinals
3. Great blue heron
4. American crows
5. Great tailed grackles
6. Common grackle
7. Black vultures
8. European starlings
9. Carolina chickadee
10. Mourning doves
11. Osprey
12. Kildeer
13. American coots
14. Double crested cormorants
15. Forsters tern
16. Red wing blackbird
17. Roadrunner
18. Mocking birds
19. Pied billed grebe -- We saw this on a pond beside the road, it was bobbing along and then Nick shouted "THAT DUCK JUST SANK!" it was awesome.
20. Orange crowned warblers
21. Barn swallows
22. Chipping sparrows
23. Black bellied whistling ducks
24. Ring necked ducks
25. Mallards
26. Lesser scaup
27. Turkey vulture
28. Cedar waxwings
29. Lapland longspurs
30. Lark sparrows
31. Eurasian collared doves
32. Eastern bluebird
33. Kinglets
34. Eastern meadowlarks
35. Vesper sparrows
36. Bank swallows
37. Cliff swallows
38. Rock doves
39. Kestrels
40. Red tailed hawk
41. White wing doves
42. House sparrows
43. Great egret

Additionally gray squirrels and cottontail bunnies

On the trip I got notes to look up Ogilvy's book "Ogilvy on Advertising"

I also needed to look up the history of 'cast aspersions'

From the OED:
6. A damaging report; a charge that tarnishes the reputation; a calumny, slander, false insinuation. Esp. in the phr. to cast aspersions upon.
1596 Spenser View State Ireland Pref. 2 Which may seeme to lay‥any particular aspersion upon some families.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Bristol 37 As false is the Aspersion of his being a great Usurer.
1692 King James II Let. 2 Apr. (BL Stowe 158 f. 61) , Even that precatuion [having witnesses at the prince's birth] was not enough to hinder Us from the malicious Aspersions of such as were resolved to deprive Us of Our Royal Right.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones IV. xi. vii. 155, I defy all the World to cast a just Aspersion on my Character.
1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede I. i. v. 113 Vindicating myself from the aspersions.

It was a LOT of fun. We crisscrossed around birding in Waco and Austin and San Antonio environs. The spring wildflowers were out in force this weekend and they were gorgeous. Fields of blue and red and orange and yellow were all delightful. We ended in Southeast SA at a Best Western. The desk clerk gave us directions to one of my favorite Mexican restaurants EVER. It was filled with locals and for good reason.

For more photos see:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157624106750920/

Day in Dallas

2010-03-24T15:31:00.000-06:00

Journal Entry March 2010 (Written December 2010)
Tuesday March 23rd

We arranged to meet Jeff & Randi at the Aquarium. They were late, not just a little late, but really late. We sat in the parking lot, then we sat in the building, finally we started wandering a bit. Thank heavens for cell phones.

The Aquarium is outstanding with lots and lots of birds and plants and of course fish. After the Aquarium we went to the Spaghetti Warehouse for lunch and then over to the Dallas Museum of Art. The exhibits had changed since I had last visited and it was fun to wander around and look. We had a great time with Jeff & Randi. I miss them.

When we got back did a little birding around town with Melinda and Mom. We saw, not this Jaguar which was at the aquarium, but:
Northern shovelers
Ring necked duck
Blue winged teal
Red tailed hawk
Starlings
House sparrows
Eastern phoebe
Barn swallows
Kildeer
Wilsons snipes
Eastern meadowlark
Mourning doves
Kestrel
Great tailed grackles
Common grackles
Savannah sparrows
Great blue heron
Harris sparrows

For more Day in Dallas photos see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157623916716030/

Nor did we see this penguin in Italy TX, it is another denizen of the aquarium.

Domes

2010-03-23T09:57:00.001-06:00

Nick & Jenny drive to and visit Italy Texas
Journal Entry March 2010
Written December 2010
March 22nd (Monday)

In Texas, time to show Nick a few more domes. :) Dad took us around to the nearby Gymnasiums, apartments and around the business complex. He then took off with Nick to show him more plans and stuff. Me? I took a nap.

Mom and I did some shopping then we made Mexican food for those who wanted to come visit. This was pretty much the only day we spent with Dad. He was always out and about working for some big shot in Dallas.

For more dome photos I've taken see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157623903629464/
For more on monolithic domes, including plans, photos and other information see: http://www.monolithic.com/

Drive to Price UT then to Santa Rosa NM then to Italy TX

2010-03-21T22:04:00.003-06:00

Nick & Jenny drive to and visit Italy Texas
Journal Entry March 2010 (Written December 2010)
March 19th - 21st (Friday - Sunday)

The plan was to drive the freeway for as much of the trip as possible, stopping in the great plains flyway to do some birding, but weather intervened making the road through Wyoming, Colorado, and Kansas a crazy mess of snow. The plan changed, we'd drive through Utah and take the southern route to Italy TX.

We left in the late afternoon on Friday and drove to Price. We had originally planned on getting to Green River but a miscommunication landed us with reservations in Price. This miscommunication was a real blessing. Passing Malad ID we found deer. Deer, hundreds of deer, were scattered in clumps along the fields, streams, and canyons on both side of the road through any area devoid of civilization. It would not have been safe to continue once night had fallen. Additionally, the snow caught us in the canyon leading to Price. AND we were both exhausted. Nick had been reading Grave Peril by Jim Butcher and was close to the end. I read it aloud and finished it.

The next morning we left bright and early and headed out across the red desert and canyon of Utah. It was a stunning though confusing drive. Nick and I were listening to the book Summer Knight by Jim Butcher and forgot to pay attention to the driving directions on occasion. This led to many a scenic detour. Eventually we arrived at our next stop, Santa Rosa NM. Dinner at a local Route 66 diner where the song 'Get your kicks on route 66' started haunting me again.

The rest of the drive passed uneventfully, we finished Summer Knight and moved on to Death Masks by Jim Butcher. Regretfully we were unable to finish listening to this. Before we left I signed us up for Audible. An audio book club that allows you to download a book a month for ~$15.00 and more books really cheaply compared to cd prices. This book club has been extremely useful. We called as we neared Italy and the extended family met us at the local buffet restaurant that Dad likes. It was great to see everyone.

I've uploaded pictures of these days to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157623847229968/

Final day in Anchorage

2010-03-12T09:35:00.004-07:00

Our last day in Anchorage, Melinda and I slept in. The hotel graciously allowed me a later checkout (3:00 p.m.) so we hung out, talked, ate lunch in the hotel and napped. About 3:00 Arlene came by to pick us up and we headed out. The snow had fallen and was continuing to fall. They may have had to truck in snow to cover the street for the Iditarod, but now ... There was also quite a bit of wind blowing drifts hither and thither. There was no parking at the museum so we went to the Alaska Native Medical Center, which Arlene has discovered has a nice collection of native art.

We drove around hoping for Ravens and finding public art, lovely snow covered trees and silly signs. Full circle, we had dinner at the same diner we stopped at on the first day in Anchorage. They have post offices that stay open really, really late. Who'd a thunk that 9:30 pm would be a busy time at the post office? I sent my box home via priority mail, much cheaper than taking it
on the plane. Arlene dropped us off at the airport at 10:00 p.m.

After checking our bags Melinda and I got together and played boggle at the Chili's inside of the airport. At 11:30 we had to stop and head for our respective gates. I hate the parting part. My flight left at midnight, completely packed and headed for Seattle. I had dumped my water bottle before going through the TSA checkpoint at the Anchorage airport. Once in I decided to buy a new bottle, but was thwarted by the $3 price tag. I'm just not going to pay that much for a bottle of water. In line to get on the plane another TSA approached me and asked me if I had any liquids, other than the little stuff in the plastic baggie. BWHAHAHAHAHAHA (in my head) No I said, I wouldn't pay 3 bucks for a bottle... She suggested that what she does is bring her own bottle and fills it at the water fountain. :) She had to move on and test someone elses water. Why yes, I did the happy bum dance for that.

Once on the plane I hoped for sleep. I was sooooo tired. Sleep eluded me. At Seattle I recharged my phone, hunted down a less than $2 bottle of water and waited for my next flight. On this flight I closed my eyes and hoped for sleep but once again... There's a chance I got the 1-10 minute out, but overall I don't remember sleeping at all. In Boise we stayed on the plane for a quick turn around. I texted Nick asking him to pick up breakfast for me. He met the very tired me at the Idaho Falls airport and the food was waiting in the car. Funny, I wasn't able to sleep in the car on the way home either. Once home though... Poof out like a light.

I had a lovely time in Anchorage. The people were great, the conference was interesting and my presentations were fine. Melinda and I had great fun with Arlene and I got to see Anchorage in it's snowy glory. Marvelous.

Monday, Out and About

2010-03-09T12:18:00.004-07:00

Today, it was very cold, and then not so cold, and then kinda cold. The morning wind blew snow off the ground and at us. Min and I walked over to the Snow City Cafe to meet Arlene for breakfast.

Spent a chunk of the day driving around to parks and other areas where we could watch ravens or scenery or get out and hike around a bit. What we found were lots and lots of ravens playing on the wind. A few magpies tried to play on the wind like the ravens, but they just didn't have the stamina for the prolonged soaring and swooping bouts. A single bald eagle flew across our path as we watched the ravens. The hiking only occured after the wind had stopped and the temp had gone up a bit.

We got a great tour of the public library's special collections area.

People watching and talking at a local coffee shop

Went in to Title Wave Books which carries both used and new books and was overwhelmed by the number of titles I wanted to leave with. :) good thing it was a short visit.

Another short stop was at the Iditerod's official hotel and it's gift shop.

Dinner at Beartooth with it's fantastic fish & chips (fresh halibut & garlic/cilantro fries). Page met us there so we had a lovely time talking and laughing. By the time we left the wait to get in was over an hour.

Back to the hotel early to begin packing and readying for tomorrow. Tomorrow is Tuesday, we check out of the hotel at 3:00 p.m. and catch our planes at midnight. It's going to be a surreal day.

As for today, it was lovely. Arlene is a fabulous guide, she's funny, she's knowledgeable about the area's history and people, and she's endlessly willing to go and try things out.

Final Conference Day - Out and About

2010-03-07T22:30:00.005-07:00

Woke up 20 minutes before the session I wanted to attend started, so I slapped on some clothes and pulled my hair back and headed out.

The first session 'Sabbaticals Near and Far: What You Need to Know by Daria Carle, Judy Green, Kate Gordon, and Diane Ruess' was about sabbaticals that have been taken by three of the UAA librarians. I now know a lot more about Fulbright monies. The sabbaticals they did were all fascinating. They provided a list of books and links that would be interesting to have for my own library.

Program Abstract: Sabbaticals are fairly common in academia, but more recently, job exchanges and work abroad opportunities have opened up for librarians of all types. Public and private entities benefit when employees take a break from their regular jobs. Join us in a panel discussion with several members of the University of Alaska faculty who have recently been awarded sabbaticals or Fulbrights. The panelists will discuss how they came up with their ideas, and how they went about translating their ideas into sabbatical projects. Hear about their experiences, including where they went and why, and what they accomplished. Find out about the process of applying for leave, and learn some tips to help you think outside of the box to create a sabbatical project.

The next (and final for me) session was 'Adding Google Gadgets to Your OPAC by John Wohlers.' The title really should have been about creating Google gadgets that bring your OPAC, Federated Search and other resources to iGoogle. It was a tech and jargon heavy session that could be very useful.

Program Abstract: John Wohlers will demonstrate how libraries can create Google Gadgets that make it possible to integrate the library catalog into patrons’ iGoogle pages. He will demonstrate other gadget possibilities, including the real time display of a patron’s account via SIP2.

Headed out to the great outdoors on this gorgeous sunny day. It was cold and clear and stunning. Arlene drove us out on the Seward Highway to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (http://www.alaskawildlife.org/). On the way we saw bald eagles and ravens. At the park I discovered a new kind of bison... Wood Bison. I didn't realize there were more than one kinds. I now need to go through all those sabbatical wildlife photos to find out if I have some of them on film. Weird.

There was a fence between me and this Elk

"Wood or Plains Bison?

The Plains bison is only slightly smaller than the more northern Wood bison, which are the largest terrestrial animal in North America They are dark brown with "humped" shoulders, shaggy manes and beards. Both the male (bull) and female (cow) have short, sharply-pointed horns. Commonly called "buffalo" by most people, although it is not a true buffalo.

There are several characteristics that distinguish Wood bison and Plains bison. Wood bison are slightly heavier, taller, have a higher and squarer hump, and have little or no chap hair on their forelegs. Wood bison also have long, straighter hair on their head and a smaller chin beard." -- http://www.alaskawildlife.org/bison.html

Then we headed out for Whittier. In order to get there you have to pass through a 2.5 mile tunnel. This tunnel is only wide enough for one way traffic. So, every 1/2 hour the tunnel switches directions, unless there is a train. The trains use the same tunnel and have the right of way. We got to the other side and found Northwestern Crows, Pacific Loons, Red Breasted Mergansers, Fork Tailed Storm Petrels, Greater Scaups, Goldeneys, Magpies and a pair of sea otters in the water. It was fabulous.

We then drove back to Anchorage and went to the Native Arts Craft show in the local mall. They had tons of things in fur, fur hats, fur gloves, fur mittens, fur coats, fur slippers, fur earings, art ringed with fur, and the list goes on. It was all fascinating and gorgeous and I wanted lots of it. I was good up until the turquoise bead necklace with the carved abalone bear. It had to be mine.

I'm very tired, but I sure saw a lot today.

Conference Day 2 - Iditerod Day

2010-03-07T22:19:00.003-07:00

We got up early and met Arlene downstairs at 7:30 a.m. And then we wandered and took pictures of the doggies, sleds, and humans that would be participating in the race. So many adorable dogs, dogs sniffing, dogs barking, dogs singing, dogs doing doggy things, dogs in their race truck kennels, noses out to smell what's going on. It was a doggy festival and they were happy and bouncy and ready to go.

After wandering for an hour we went back to the hotel and I changed clothes and went off to teach my last session of the conference. I had a nice handful of attendees and the session went fine. Afterwards I met up with Page and took care of the paperwork.

When I got back to the hotel I changed clothes again and called Arlene. Melinda and I were both really hungry so we took off for lunch. Arlene took us to the Beartooth (relative of the Moose's tooth restaurant). They were out of halibut so instead of fish and chips Min and I shared a huge thing of nachos. We then got in the car and headed out of town. Completely forgetting about the Iditerod.

No birds to be seen, and the road was getting snowy so we turned around. On our way back in we remembered the race. But it was too late. *sniff* This was quite disappointing and I'm trying to just get over it. But I really did want to see the dogs running. :(

We drove over to the park where we had seen so many birds, but again, other than Ravens they weren't to be seen, though they were heard. It was gorgeous and still and quiet and lovely with snow falling.

Then back to the hotel. I really needed a nap and Arlene needed to prep for her presentation tomorrow morning.

Melinda and I caught the early evening news (including some footage of the race start) and then a fabulous 30 minute weather in Alaska broadcast. I did nap and skipped the last session on ethics of web 2.0. The sleep was necessary.

Upon awakening we made arrangements for dinner and went to the China Lights buffet. Large buffet with mediocre food but filling and the conversation was good.

It'll be interesting to see what tomorrow brings.

Tomorrow brought new birds, scenery and marvelous things and I became just fine with skipping the dogs taking off. After all, I would have only stood around for a few moments before being too cold anyway. I did get to watch lots of it on the news here. :)

Conference Day 1

2010-03-06T01:03:00.002-07:00

Today I got out of the room early and headed for the first session on the Jesse Lee Home in Seward. A local historian (Jackie Pels) was telling stories from her book (Family After All: Alaska's Jesse Lee Home). She collected oral narratives, slides, pictures, documents, and stories from descendants to tell the tales of the children and adults who populated the orphanage. It was fascinating, touching, and a great session. Now I need to go buy her books...

Program abstract: Children’s Voices, 1925-1965: Portraits from the Jesse Lee Home, Seward "The story of Alaska’s boarding schools and orphanages is only beginning to be told,” Alaska bibliographer Bruce Merrell wrote in 2008. In this presentation from Family After All: Alaska’s Jesse Lee Home, the stories are firsthand, accompanied by photographs that First Alaskans called amazing, a rich visual context. The Qutekcak Native Tribe of Seward called the collection a
testament to the survival and persistence of today’s Alaska Native elders. Pels will talk about the project and the book."

After being misled about where the breakfast was, I finally rendez-voused with Melinda and the rest of the librarians to attend the session by Daniel Russell from Google. First this guy was fascinating and there was so much info in the talk that I was unable to capture everything. Here are some of my highlights:

TED: Ideas Worth Spreading a website of riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world. http://www.ted.com/

Baby Name Wizard/Voyager - http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager

Google SketchUp - http://sketchup.google.com/

Google "What's That" feature for phones and searching google

Google.org - Technology-Driven Philanthropy

Google Trends - http://www.google.com/trends

Maybe subscribe to the blogs: google, searchengineland, searchresearch

You cannot pay attention to evevrything

Look up the study of rats devfeloping religious postures

Good Searchers ...
1. Choose good search terms
2. Understand info sources
3. Domain (subject) knowledge
4. Search strategy (when to change, to narrow, to widen and how)
5. Assessment of the results and the information
6. Know how system works (search site, database)

Basic skills lots of people don't know about
control F
Using tabs to organize results
Keyword choice /synonimization
Tactics for searching

And
How to detect authority / crap
Hemingway's crap detector quote
Staying on task
Discovery
Notetaking
Data integration
Representing of info

Librarians need to:
Show the info landscape
Teach how to paddle the canoe and dodge the bears
Research is more than 'search'
Learn

Google Scholar is 4 guys and one is only part time. They do not have a "catalog" because it changes all the time with publisher putting things in and pulling things out.

Program Abstract: Breakfast Keynote: The Mind of the Researcher
Research is complicated and has changed significantly over the past century. Search engines have significantly changed our conception of what constitutes research, and yet how common is research literacy? Russell will argue that research is a fundamental skill that we need to understand, and he’ll talk about some of the findings gathered through his research at Google. The range of research skills is broad, and yet not widely distributed. Russell will discuss what we can do to help disseminate these basic and increasingly important skills.

Next we visited the exhibits. My session was next and it was a packed program with approx 65 people there. I think it went very well. At least I got a few laughs, some interaction, and a few questions. We had lunch in the hotel (Arlene was working). Grilled tuna with a side of conversation from the the WorldBook vendor who attended BYU in the 60s/70s. He knew the gorgeous Suzy South.

I attended the session on Games and Instruction by Jenny Levine. Her presentation is fully online (complete with links) at http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/presentations/2010/20100305AkLA-Gaming4Instruction.pdf

I had thought it would be about incorporating game ideas into library workshop sessions. NOPE. It was about games and how they teach and what games to bring into the library, and how students think now and... It was still useful and interesting.

I also now have a list of games I might want to buy to play with friends and family.

Program Abstract: Using Gaming for Instructional Purposes
Modern games teach kids important 21st century skills such as managing resources, problem solving, analyzing data, and synthesizing information. Is it possible to harness gaming principles to make instruction more interactive and engaging for today’s students? Hear how some libraries are incorporating gaming to teach a variety of social, literary, and curricular skills.

Games that inclcude reflection and strategy

Cool looking games: Flux, Bananagrams, 10 days in Asia, Qwerty warriors.

Someone has mapped HALO to information literacy standards

Look for "research quest" blog

Board gamesQuiddler, ticket to ride, numbers league, carcassone

"Libraries Got Game"

University of North Carolina Greensboro: Infolit game that is open source and customizable for your libray

"Quarantined" by ASU West Campus

"Head Hunt" by Ohio State

Here are a few notes I took... Just in case

Carnegie Melon: Arcade games i.e. shelve book and I'll get it

Game Maekr Academy and Scratch from MIT

"Librarians guide to gaming"

Trading cards nintendo wii characters of staff and students had to get them all to get a cookie, and they did

Geocaching in the library that freshmen can register to play when the register for classees

Fantasy football research lesson plans

Old Bridge Library serivces for seniors - nintendo wii's with teen mentors

The last session of the day that I attended was on making Book Enclosures with Mariecris and Arlene. It was a fun hands on session where we actually made archival quality book boxes. They'll be posting a video to youtube where we can see a full demonstration of the process.

Program Abstract: Do you have worn books that you need to keep? Can’t repair them? Need to protect some of your rare volumes? This hands-on training will show you how to make quick and simple book enclosures from sheets of folder-weight paper. We’ll provide the supplies and books. You bring your ability to use scissors and to draw lines along a ruler.

Dinner in the hotel room then lots of NCIS followed by a chaser of the movie "The Game Plan" with Dwayne Johnson.

The Preconference

2010-03-05T01:00:00.006-07:00

Today was the big day... The Preconference. This is the view from the room I was teaching in, there were many distracting ravens doing acrobatics during my presentations...

Melinda and I got up early, dressed, loaded up and headed down the elevator to registration. There we found out (allegedly) where I would be speaking. Hijinks then ensued as we tried the two elevators we knew about and much walking around before finally asking the concierge dude where to go. there was a much hidden third elevator we needed to use. Thank heavens we left early. After arriving I got to set up and then present. EEP. I think it went very well, I found it interesting, they were talkative and we had a good time.

I skipped a few of the exercises on the biggest challenges for time and sanity's sake. The ones we focused on were the most important and the discussion was interesting. Lunch was a boxed wrap thing that we ate in the room, continuing the previous conversations.

As the session ended I realized how much pain I was in from standing. I sat down and stayed there for a long while. Melinda was a lot of help. She gathered up all my debris and put it together. Page came with us back to the hotel room so that I could keep the boxes/handouts/binders to take to other sessions. She had a hand truck which was great, I was much too tired to be lugging the box 'o stuff around anymore.

I tried to nap but it eluded me. So I rested and rested. We made arrangements to meet Arlene downstairs. While waiting for her a bus pulled up and unloaded all of these older folks wearing fur coats and toting lots of luggage. Eventually we started getting up and holding the door. The doors to the hotel are not automatic and they are big and heavy. It was our good deed(s) of the day. In particular I noticed a couple of ladies with stretched faces and poofy duck lips, tons of regular folks and one stylish lady with gray hair, fancy boots with heels and a really long fur coat. Melinda said 'that's the Rebecca of the future' and I totally agreed with her. Arlene arrived and off we went to Sorrento's for amazing Italian food. I had the four cheese pasta with vanilla ice cream for dessert.

By the time we got back to the room (just before 8) I was more than tired. I got ready for bed and by the time I got in it I was ready. It's been hard to sleep recently (aka the last few weeks). So I was a bit worried that I'd lay down and wake right up. I didn't. I slept. It was great.

Out and About Anchorage

2010-03-04T00:58:00.001-07:00

Morning started really early, or late if we're still on Idaho time. I woke up at 5:00 a.m. Alaska time and stayed in bed for another 1.5 hours just because. We had arranged to meet Arlene at the Snow City diner for breakfast.

Getting dressed is always a challenge, do I go with super warm clothes cause we'll be outside or light weight ones cause we'll be inside. I was going to wear my red shirt, but Melinda beat me to it and wore hers. Good thing I changed my minds, cause when Arlene showed up she too was wearing a red shirt. I ended up with lightweight wool socks, blue silk crinkle shirt, black pleather vest, and black pants.

We walked over to the diner and got seated. I got yummy oatmeal with bacon on the side for breakfast. For the first time in a long time the bacon did not give me nausea. Then we went to Arlene's car and she started driving us around to look at stuff. We found a flock of redpolls and many common ravens. The zoo was next, (I should have worn the long underwear).

The zoo was filled with native animals that were feeling frisky. I've never seen a wolverine running, and running, and running. The polar bears were wrestling, the wolves were frisking and the ravens flew close enough for us to hear the buzzing sound their wings make. We heard boreal chickadees though we didn't see them.

Next we went to sams club for me to pick up the last supplies for the conference, then off to the grocery store. This means we don't have to buy breakfast every day. (Phew) Then we headed over to the library. Arlene needed to work at the desk and I needed more pictures of the library, particularly the exterior.

First Arlene showed us to a break room where we could eat lunch. I had picked up a piece of quiche from the grocery store and some chips. The quiche was icky so I tossed it, ate a few chips and carried on. Frankly, I wasn't that hungry cause breakfast was very large. While waiting Trina came in and we talked some and then Jodee from collection development then Page and... Well, Page came back and we went to her office to go over paperwork and other miscellaneous things. Eventually we went to Arlene's office. Melinda stayed there and I left my stuff and took off with the camera to get more photos.

It was surprisingly warm 40 degrees, semi-sunny and slightly humid. A lovely afternoon. I took pictures of the outside of the building and then more of the inside and then back to Special Collections. Arlene had girl scout cookies. She had LEMON girl scout cookies. I didn't know they came in lemon. Yummy. After much hanging around we left.

An early dinner at the Arctic Roadrunner (location 2) came next. I ordered the grilled 3 cheese sandwich with onion ring bits and tomato ravioli soup. It was truly delicious. Then back to the hotel.

We rested while Arlene took care of her kitties and gathered up her exhibit. We then met her downstairs and helped her assemble the multipieced Alaska, Dogs, Librarians display. When finished we toddled off to bed.

Heading for Alaska

2010-03-03T00:51:00.002-07:00

I couldn't sleep last night, way too much stress about getting on the plane. I finally just gave up at 5:00 a.m. and got moving, slowly. By now I was already packed so I watched tv and did the morning stuff. One of the channels was playing mockumentary about what would happen if there was a huge pandemic and we lost a large percentage of the population. It was kinda fascinating.

I realized that I was dressed fine and had makeup on so Nick fluffed Barkley and we tried to get the picture of dog and librarian that Arlene wanted. Barkley thought we were trying to play so he was acting the fool. We used my camera so I could choose to email them, or not, that evening. Surprisingly Nick managed to snap 3 really good photos of us.

We left and I was thinking we were leaving a little late, I hadn't factored in the dog fluffing time. We went through the McDonalds drive through just in case I didn't get real food on the trip. On our way to the freeway Nick realized he'd left his phone. A potential problem for sure so we stopped and then headed out again. Now I really was nervous about the timing. I know I can make myself crazy with trying to be early everywhere so I breathed deeply and tried to focus on other things. Technically I only had to be there an hour before takeoff. The problem was that the boarding pass said the time of boarding not takeoff and I guess it freaked me that there was a difference. I would have preferred to be there by 9:30 (an hour before boarding) instead of 10:00 (an hour before takeoff). We go there by 9:40 which was way good enough. There is no curbside check in at the I.F. airport, so the stopping at McDonalds and getting change was completely unnecessary.

There was no screening of passengers being done early so Nick sat with me till that opened up much later. I had confessed to Melinda earlier that I was most nervous about the planes and my weight and she said she'd asked mom to pray about it for her. I asked Min to add me to mom's prayer list. I took Rebbecca's advice and really dressed up for the plane, skirt, blouse, jacket, jewelry makeup and all. I don't know for sure whether it was the dressing or the prayers but for the first time in a long time I wasn't pulled out of line for a more thorough going over. Neither were my bags. (phew) I was through the first hurdle.

Upstairs while waiting for my plane I looked at my phone only to find that it was down to the last power bar. EEP. I bought a bottle of water from the vending machine and plugged my phone into the nearest outlet. I was exceedingly nervous and unable to settle to a task, whether it was reading or whatnot. (there I've used the whatnot word in a sentence like a proper idahoan). I called Nick to let him know he could head out. I didn't have anything on any of my bags that was going to be tossed by the tsa. So boarding was occurring and while the seat looked small, I fit and was able to put both armrests down. The guy who was supposed to sit next to me was able to sit elsewhere cause the flight wasn't full. The seatbelt closed and all was well with the world. It was a short trip from I.F. to Boise and the steward said I'd have plenty of time to get off and buy some food in Boise before reboarding and heading to Seattle. I took his advice and much to the chagrin of the coffee girl bought a simple turkey and provolone sandwich without coffee, treat, or apple. I ate half of it and stored the rest.

Boarding in Boise was complicated by a tribe of children. On the plane I was seated next to a guy (who wasn't squeezed) who was one of the chaperons of this 4th grade class. The class had a teacher who was entered in the Iditerod. They got to build his sled for him. I'm not certain I'd be willing to race in a sled built by 4th graders. Apparently he has done this before and it's been fine. Weird. I also got to promote libraries to the guy sitting next to me. He thought librarians were a dying profession. NOT. But it still points out the problem we have with perceptions.

At Seattle I had to climb some stairs to the main airport, I was able to heft both my purse and my computer bag fine (another phew). Hooray for all the working out I've done for the past 4 months. I stopped at the nearest stand to find out what my next gate was and where it was. Down a hall, down some stairs and to the right then a train ride past two stops. EEEK! I turned around and there was the mob they were headed to the same plane I was so I just trailed along behind the speeding 4th graders. One last trepidation, would this new plane fit me. I got on board and SUCCESS! This one was even better. I ended up surrounded by 4th graders and couldn't have been happier.

On the plane I bought a deli pack. The purchasing of food on a plane isn't a bad idea after all. It certainly means you get more choices. I read, I tried to nap and I played with my Nintendo ds. As we approached the Anchorage airport we encountered a lot of turbulence, but the landing was smooth. I had arrived and no airport drama had occurred. I did do a lot of deep breathing, in part to make sure I was not holding my breath and to also be a bit more calm about the whole thing.

After deplaning I headed out to find my luggage. On the way I found Melinda and Arlene. And off we went. Luggage, car, visit to the gorgeous park by the airport, hotel check-in, unpacking (Arlene went home to feed the kitties) then out to dinner at a diner. The diner had a chili burger so I had to try it. Turns out it was a carne con chili burger, (mostly meat, very few beans) I ate some, but not all. The strawberry milkshake was what I wanted most.

After dinner Arlene dropped us off at the hotel and Melinda and I both crashed.

Journal Entry January/February 2010

2010-02-25T15:05:00.001-07:00

(Written December 2010)

All I really did for these two months was prepare for the AKLA conference sessions. In February Nick and I attended a pair of gardening classes at the local green house

· Sat Feb 13th Vegetable Gardening for Beginners/ Seed Starting

· Sat Feb 27th Gardening Success- even with Poor Soil and Harsh Weather

Otherwise it was very quiet socially. All my energy went towards work. I ran the Learn Something Quick workshop series, was heavily involved in the Budget Council's work with the budget crisis (nonstop meetings), and of course writing, revising, editing, photo editing... for AKLA.

Miscellany for December 2009

2009-12-22T17:10:00.012-07:00

Written December 2010... Ooops, I had the notes I just forgot to convert them to a blogpost.

December activities included:
Getting away from it all, I took off one day to think and found myself driving up Scout Mountain way. I spotted:
Magpies
Dark eyed juncos - Oregon race
Horned larks (flocks)
Crows
Ravens
And best of all, the above Ruffed grouse crossing the road. He was moving ever so slowly. Stealthy. But unfortunately for him, he stood out clear as day on that tarmack.

This was the year of the pink birthday cakes. They were awesome. Shanna's includes Swedish Fish in honor of her Swedish Fish Inn gingerbread house.

For Christmas Hannah and Rebecca stayed with us. They were delightful to have around. Funniest thing was doing a little stocking stuffer shopping. We decided to get the girls their favorite candy. Hannah was easy, but Rebecca was hard. Nan did not know, Hannah did not know, Melinda remembered seeing her buy a Three Musketeers bar so that's what we got. What's truly ironic, is that since I'm writing this a year late, I don't remember what the real answer was. I do remember having a lot of fun with them. This was the first year we tried the middle eastern feast for our Christmas feast. Rebecca, having spent time in Turkey contributed the ideas for breakfast. Nick managed to find a bunch of funny, yet useful, stocking stuffers for her at the grocery store. Things like fingernail clippers and a fly swatter...

Nevada Library Association Conference, Elko 2009

2009-11-12T16:00:00.003-07:00

Wednesday October 7th Drive to Elko Nevada

I'm not normally a complainer, but this trip was definitely trying at times. Overall, it was fun and interesting, but only because I deviated from my set routines. :)

The morning was crisp and clear, the roads were good, & the music was fun. As I approached Aberdeen this huge cloud was sitting on the ground so I pulled over for pictures. Lovely, gorgeous ... and then continued to drive into the big cloud bank for miles and miles at a crawl. Okay, fine no problem just chillin along for the ride.

I don't like stopping all the time, so I try to, well, hold it till the last possible moment. I made it to the Eden stop, then zoomed through Twin Falls and Jackpot and past the outhouse reststop just south of Jackpot. It's a gorgeous stop in the desert with a lovely creek and trees. I would have stopped, but I was alone and a big truck was already there. It wasn't THAT far to Wells, so I kept on going. What I didn't know was that there was road construction, and I'd have to sit and wait in my car for 30 minutes before being allowed to move forward. I barely made it to the stop in Wells. Then and there I vowed NOT to let that happen again.

I made it to Elko in the early evening and checked into the tiny Days Inn. Tiny room, but free wireless, a microwave and fridge and it was all good.

I drove around scoping out the town and stopped at the Nevada Dinner House (Basque) for my evening meal. I got there too early but they let me in and I read & drank tea till dinner was served. They serve vast amounts of food and the chicken on top of the alfredo was AMAZING. The sauce was adequate, but the chicken yeowsa!

Thursday October 8th Conference
I went to the desk and they really didn't want to let me into the conference without paying, but seriously. If you drive from another state, what's the big deal. In the end I only attended the Keyone address and the session that was just before my own. If they didn't want me there, I was more than glad to oblige them.

The Keynote Speaker was Nick Arnette he is a comedian and a teacher and was a great speaker. He talked about bringing fun into the workplace.

For the afternoon I drove up Lamoille Canyon, it was a gorgeous fall day. The cirque was deep and classically cut into the mountain. The vegetation was not as lush as it is in the forests of Island Park/Yellowstone, but it was lovely and the lighting was excellent.

Friday October 9th Conference
I spent the morning shopping at odd little tea/book/craft stores. It was a lot of fun. I ended up at lunch at the Ruby Station diner. Food was solid and predictable. I like that. I then headed over to the conference where I attended an unremarkable session and then gave my own. See my Library Banter for more on that.

Saturday October 10th Drive home to Pocatello
This time I drove home with a little more sense about stopping when I needed. I also grabbed my novel so when I got stuck at that construction zone I was ready. Matt and Carrie got married in August, at their wedding they had a chocolate fountain. The caterers chopped up twinkies for the fountain, and I rediscovered the fact that I really do like twinkies. This is very good, because they have the fewest calories of all the hostess goodies. So my drive home included twinkies. :)

I didn't talk about it till after I had left NV... I couldn't really afford a different hotel since I was paying for this trip myself. But in the middle of the night that first night, I sprawled out under the covers and encountered a wet spot. EWWWWW. It was towards the foot of the bed so I curled up on my side and tried to forget about it. In the morning (thank heavens it's a desert) there was no more wet. I did not check the bed but decided that it was an accident involving cleaning fluid or water and I wasn't going to worry about it. The second night was when I realized the refrigerator made this horrible high pitched squealing sound. Of course, most people probably can't hear it, but it drove me crazy. I ended up leaving the heater up higher so the fan would drown out the squeal. And last but not least, in my search for power outlets I discovered a dessicated/moldy piece of bread crust behind the entertainment center. ICK. In the end I just toughed it out, the mystery wet spot was no more and I just ignored the rest as best I could. It was spotlessly clean otherwise and the bedding was replaced daily. *phew* I have no intention of ever stopping at this place again. But it served its purpose for that trip. Three nights for about $140 was dirt cheap.

Birding American Falls - again

2009-10-02T17:21:00.007-06:00

On our way to Burley for ILA Cheryl and I did a little birding around American Falls. We spotted:

Common loon
American white pelicans
Red tailed hawks
Flickers
Canada geese
Double crested cormorants
Rough legged hawk
House sparrows
Crows
Magpies

The conference was fun, we presented on Evaluating Databases and Decoding Salesspeak. We also got to watch an episode of Project Runway together.

Tooele - A Housewarming

2009-08-03T10:38:00.002-06:00

My friends Bill & John recently moved to Tooele Utah (pronounced two-ill-uh) and invited us down for fun and food. So we crammed all of our usual weekend work into one packed morning and then headed for Utah. We had the best time eating pizza, talking, crafting and hanging out. Instead of us bringing gifts John made us gorgeous bracelets from chips of amethyst, citrine, garnet and other stones. This was my first drive on the new Legacy Parkway, which certainly is a great shortcut. The trip out on I80 made me crave the drive over the Bonneville Salt Flats. One of these days, Nick and I are going to go this way to Sacramento, instead of dropping down through Twin Falls ID and Jackpot NV. The next morning we had to leave early cause my allergies kicked in to high gear. I was sneezing and stuffy and miserable, I took a claratin, but it didn't help. I'm allergic to Utah much of the year. Still it was great to see their home and everyone else too! What's really strange is that I didn't take any pictures of the weekend. I have no idea why, I always have my camera it just didn't happen.

Huckleberry Picking

2009-07-28T10:15:00.001-06:00

Thursday I had a mad compulsion to go find our old berry patch and see if there were any huckleberries. It's early for berries to be sure, but I just needed to know where the patch was. I left work early and headed North. No I'm not going to tell you where my patch is. Go find one yourself, or come with us next time.

Sure enough the berries were out in abundance, lovely purple berries of deliciousness. I picked until the bugs drove me out. I managed to get about a cup and a half in my hour of picking. That evening Nick & I feasted on the berries for dessert.

I then let the clan know of my plan. Saturday morning we left Pocatello early (as in 7:00 a.m.) met up with friends in Idaho Falls and ventured out for berries. The patch was wet with newly fallen rain and dew and we were soaked to the knees before finishing.

Back in Idaho Falls we had lunch at the Brownstone Restaurant & Brewpub and talked and laughed till it was time to call it a day.

We netted a nice haul of 6.5 cups of berries now frozen in 1/4 cup measures for later use as toppings for ice cream, cheesecake and pancakes or fruit salad. We ate some too. Nothing like eating berries off the bush in the wilderness.

Book Review: Good Time Girls

2009-07-22T19:12:00.006-06:00

Written by Lael Morgan, "Good Time Girls of the Alaska-Yukon Gold Rush" is a book that we picked up in our travels in Alaska. I finally finished it last week.

It is an extremely well researched book. Ms. Morgan definitely did the work to make certain her sources were valid. The scope of source material is also outstanding, from newspapers to legal records. It is beautifully illustrated with photos of the girls/women involved in the text.

The book contents are fascinating enough that I read the whole thing. Okay, here's the thing. I hate scholarly writing styles. I know that academics are encouraged to write in a manner that adheres to a dispassionate, even handed, balanced accounting of the facts. But I find this to be boring and tedious. I bet Ms. Morgan has delightful anecdotes about her research process, what she learned that she could not include for lack of verification, and it would have been fascinating to see how she felt about what she learned. I am very, VERY tired of dry academic writing.

"Good Time Girls" is fabulous in that the topic is quite interesting and entertaining and the quotes and stories are delightful. I even laughed out loud at one point, which was quite a surprise. So my rant against academic writing is leavened in this case. I'd love to hear Ms. Morgan talk about this book, the women in it, and how her research process went. I bet that's even better than the book. Alternately, if Lael Morgan has literary interests, she could mine her material for novels and short stories.

I do recommend reading this if you have an interest in the history of Alaska or the Yukon, or in the roles of women settling/opening the west.

Home again, home again, jiggety jig...

2009-07-21T09:35:00.008-06:00

Sunday Nick and I drove to SLC (or rather Nick drove, I was along for the ride, still recovering from the overheating at Crystal Park) to pick up Shanna from the airport. We are very happy that she's coming back and going back to school. We've missed her. So it was about driving, snagging her from the airport and driving home. I did make one stop at the Whole Foods to pick up blackberry izzes, a fizzy, all fruit drink that I love.

Yesterday we moved her in to various and sundry places in our house. Her bed and necessary stuff is in my yoga room and her boxes are in the craft closet. She's going to redo her room before really moving back in. We're going to take up the crappy tiles and do something about her floor. She's going to repaint the whole thing a bright white to increase the light in the basement room. It worked amazingly well for the bathroom. We're lucky in that the basement does get a lot of light from it's big windows. It's just that Shanna's room has a North facing window. The window that looks out under the porch is going to be retained, but we're going to insulate it, and cover it with pegboard so that Shanna can use it as a jewelry hanger. She doesn't like the window there. Personally, I would have redone the window so it looks like stained glass, but it's not my room so...

Hopefully her phone recharger will arrive in the mail today or tomorrow. She accidentally left it in Texas and this prevents her looking for work. We no longer have a general home phone. She needs/wants a job asap. I would love to have a general home phone again. Frankly it may be the first thing I do once Nick is employeed. I frequently don't hear my cell phone, it moves around my house too much and I am prone to leaving it in my purse as well.

Its great to have her back.

Crystal Park Montana

2009-07-21T09:22:00.008-06:00

Check out my web page for the outting if you want the technical/directional details. http://www.isu.edu/~semejenn/adventures/crystalpark.html

Usually we go in the off season of September after Labor Day weekend. We've never gone in July before. Now I clearly understand the reason and won't do it again. Ever. First it is hotter in July. It may only be 75 degrees at the top of the mountain (approx 8,000 feet up) but that is too hot when digging and the sun is relentless. Second, mosquitoes. We've never had the serious, severe, and irritating swarms in September. Third, hot pools are just too hot after a hot day in the sun. They are so much more enjoyable when it is cold outside. I overheated, then got in a hot pool and really overheated. I should not have done that. It took me a couple days to recover. Fourth, people, there were more people though most seem to have realized that digging in the midday sun wasn't a good idea. My guess is that they are camping or staying in the cabins and only come out in the morning and or evening.

Still, we got some really nice crystals and had a fun time hanging out with friends. It was great to be outside and in the mountains.

The radios worked very well! I love being able to talk between the cars. Coordinating stops is much easier. Also Heather was able to tell us about the flowers on the side of the road and I was able to point out a few of the birds. Most were on the wing and I knew that wouldn't work, but a Golden Eagle posed for us just outside of Dell. And the Red-tailed hawks were very obliging. Antelope and elk were both spotted, though not everyone saw both.

Other birds I saw were: House sparrows, Rock doves, American crows, Swainson's hawks, Brewer's blackbirds, Kestrels, Magpies, Eastern kingbirds, Barn swallows, Double-crested cormorants, Western meadowlarks, Red-winged blackbirds, White-faced ibis flying in a flock, Lots of common ravens, Canada geese, American white pelicans, Black capped chickadees, Dark eyed juncos and a gorgeous Gray jay at our dig site. One of the most fun sightings for me was the Rough-legged hawk who misjudged his soar in our cars direction and made a sudden turn right over the windshield.

Grays Lake

2009-06-25T16:00:00.003-06:00

DSC08491
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

So why did I have so much time off and time with friends? Well, originally we had planned a 4 day campout Thurs-Sun. The Idaho weather decided we weren't going to get to do that. It had rained so much that even if it had stopped the campgrounds were still going to be closed because of mud.

I had also taken Monday off thinking I'd need a day to recover. After sleeping in I decided to go and do something. By now the sun had come out and the weather was spectacular. Again nature was displaying its finest in green with accents and fields of flowers.

Doing something for me nowdays means birding. So off I went, South instead of my usual North and circumnavigated the Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge. There were a LOT of good birds. I was particularly excited to see the 4 Long-billed curlews flying in for a landing. Once landed, I couldn't see them at all. This wildlife refuge doesn't have the viewing areas that you can find at Camas or Market Lake. Still my list was quite good and I got to watch Red-tailed hawk after Red-tailed hawk after Red-tailed hawk. I've been studying raptors hoping to be better able to identify them on the wing. I think I really know the RT hawk now.

Ravens
Crows
Red-winged blackbirds
House sparrows
Rock doves
Great blue herons
Long-billed curlews
Horned larks
Vestper sparrows
Cliff swallows
Tree swallows
Brown headed cowbirds
American goldfinches
Magpies
Robins
Western meadowlarks
Mallards
Redheads
Cinnamon teals
American wigeons
Yellow-headed blackbirds
Coots
White-faced ibises
American avocets
Wilson's phaleropes
Canada geese
A.White pelicans
Osprey
Western Bluebirds
Turkey vultures
Common terns
Sandhill cranes
Coppers hawk
and a Mule deer

I drove home the long way up through Wyoming then Palisades, Ririe and Idaho Falls. It was also gorgeous and added to the bird list. I am most proud of the Coopers hawk identification. Woo Hoo!

The rest of the weekend

2009-06-25T15:49:00.002-06:00

While Yellowstone was a high point of the weekend, the rest of it was fun too. On Friday morning Nick and I went horseback riding with the ISU outdoor center people. I need to find more leg strengthening exercises. Mounting without a block just isn't possible for me. Good news is, my horsy friend says that it isn't that great for the horse either. So my new excuse is I'm trying to keep the horse in good shape. It's not that I'm out of shape...

That evening we had a potluck with a larger group of friends (Ty, Emily, Duo, Heather, Bill, John +Emily's brother). It's always good to get together and talk and hang out.

At dinner on Saturday in Yellowstone we discussed getting together for brunch on Sunday. When and where were frustrating for all of us. Most restaurants here are packed on Father's day. Finally we decided to just cook it ourselves. A Sunday feast of pancakes, eggs and bacon was enjoyed by all. Then we dispersed to recover from the weekend. I must say I was happy to nap and sit and do a lot of nothing.

Yellowstone, a Day Trip

2009-06-25T15:41:00.002-06:00

DSC08404
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

We left for Yellowstone around 8:00 a.m. on a cloudy and overcast day. The clouds thinned as we headed north and by the time we arrived in the park it was gorgeous! The sun was shining and the grass was green and the flowers were abundant.

Last weekend Nick and I went to a bunch of garage sales. We found 4 radios with an alleged broadcast radius of 5 miles.

On my trip with the Great Salt Lake birders I discovered how useful such radios can be. They used them between the cars to point out birds to each other. So no one was stopped, stuck and wondering what everyone else was seeing.

So back to the story, we found these radios and the guy selling them told us the batteries didn't work. Nick did some research and we can get new rechargeable ones pretty reasonably, but not in time for the Yellowstone trip. So we just put in regular double A batteries and voila, functioning communications devices.

These are much better than cell phones. Everyone in the car can hear what is being said, and in the park, there just isn't good cell coverage anyway.
Though John grew up in Idaho he had never been to Yellowstone, so our traditional West Entrance to Old Faithful was the route to go. This year that route was amazing. Again the flowers were all in bloom. Heather, in the other car has a great memory for wildflowers so as we were driving she was able to tell us what we were seeing.

We saw mega fauna: Mule deer, Elk, Bison, and Antelope (between Yellowstone and Island Park)

We also saw mini fauna: Yellow-bellied marmots, and Golden-mantled ground squirrels.

And of course, birds and more birds:

Crows
House finches
House sparrows
Starlings
Rock doves
Red-tailed hawks
American kestrels
Western grebes
Magpies
Red-winged blackbirds
Cinnamon teals
Yellow-headed blackbirds
Flickers
Turkey vultures
Redheads
Canada geese
Yellow-rumped warblers
Chipping sparrow
Tree swallows
Bank swallows
Northern rough-winged swallows

Most spectacular were the numerous, bright, Mountain bluebirds and the ever entertaining Ravens.

The clouds caught up with us at Firehole Lake drive, adding atmosphere to the already picturesque location.

Rain caught us at the Midway geyser basin and we (or at least I) scurried off to the car.

I needed a break so everyone else braved the rain to go shop at the Old Faithful stop. I took a 10 minute nap, read the free paper, changed shoes and then felt so much better I headed into the lodge myself, about 5 minutes before the geyser was supposed to go off. This meant, I had the restroom to myself. Oh, and the rain had stopped so there was no need to dash anywhere. I spotted the Ice Cream vendor and picked up a cone. I haven't had an ice cream cone in forever.

The Old Faithful geyser began spouting while I'm getting my ice cream. There really is a good view from the lodge. I walked out and radio in hand got a hold of Nick. I asked him if he had picked up any ice cream and he said they didn't have any in the building. I replied, then how am I eating this? Needless to say, we all went back in and everyone else got treats.

A last stop at the Black Sand geyser basin was cut short by rain. We stopped at the diner in West Yellowstone and then headed home.

As we were driving through Island Park a gorgeous bald eagle jumped out in front of the car and swooped up and out away from us. It was so close and so amazing!

Home by 10:00 p.m. and in bed shortly thereafter. I had a new number on my pedometer. I've never seen it read 40,000 steps before. Close to 12 miles of walking/fidgeting. My normal number is 10,000 and I have to work to get that.

Lovely day.

Squash in the Garden ...

2009-06-02T10:42:00.007-06:00

It all started with the question “Why?”

Why are squashes planted in hills or mounds? It’s not like I wanted to buck tradition, but it is extra work to create such mounds or hills. Two days later, I have a lot of conjecture but no real answer. The books all treat the planting in mounds as a de facto practice that need no explanation. Apparently it has been the custom for more than 100 years...

“For general field conditions, the seeds of Squashes are usually planted in hills where the plants are to stand. If the land is mellow and rich, these hills are nothing more than a bit of ground 12-18 inches across, which has been freshly hoed or spaded and leveled off. “ (Bailey, 1910, p. 1712)

“All squash and pumpkins are frost-tender, and grow best during the heat of summer in soils that are warm and have a high water-holding capacity. … Planting distances vary widely, but the bush types are usually planted in hills…” (Wyman, p. 1064)

My friends had ideas for why we plant in hills.

1. Growth Space or Area
2. Warmth
3. Drainage

After hours of reading books and searching the Internet I finally found the wisdom of an individual gardener who states:

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Posted by macmex 6b (My Page) on
Mon, Mar 31, 08 at 12:01

Waterlily, where do you live and garden? A lot depends on one's climate. For instance, Sueloring is in zone 4 and finds that it really helps to mound up soil and plant on the mounds. I assume her climate is pretty cool, with a shorter growing season. I, however, live in Oklahoma with a long hot growing season. I sometimes grow my squash and pumpkins in "hills" meaning I simply group two to three seeds to one spot. But I don't make a mound. In fact, I often plant in a depression, so I can more easily water during the hot season. In the strictest sense "hill," in squash and pumpkin planting terminology really only means a group planting. The other option is to plant in a row. When I want a lot more of a given squash I will pour a line of good compost where I want my row and turn it under with a fork. Then I plant my squash in that row of enriched soil, perhaps a foot a part.

Another matter of terminology is that of the names "squash" and "pumpkin." Most people think of pumpkins as being round and orange, or at least round; and squash being most anything else. Strictly speaking any pumpkin is also a squash. So, if someone mentions "growing squash," you can know that what follows will also apply to your pumpkins.

Happy gardening!

George
Tahlequah, OK

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/gourds/msg0314405422835.html

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Well this year I planted in my pumpkins in small mounds and my zucchini in a raised ridge. I think I’ll try the gourds and cucumbers on a flat surface. Though I may train those vines up and over a trellis… Check back with me later to see how things have worked out.

--- Jenny

Bailey, L.H. (1910). Squash. In The Cyclopedia of American Horticulture (Vol. 4, pp 1711-1713). New York: Macmillan.

Wyman, D. (1986). Squash and Pumpkins. In Wyman’s Gardening Encyclopedia (pp. 1063-1065). New York: Macmillan

Last day of GSL Bird Festival

2009-05-30T16:08:00.002-06:00

Bummer the picture is blurry, I've got a problem taking pictures while on a horse. Still you can see the coyote looking at us on the far edge of the shadow of the tree.

Last but certainly not least fun was our "Birds & Spurs" bird tour. Sunday morning 8:00 a.m. at the ranch on Antelope Island. Good thing we always try to be early for things. We made it just on time because of our, okay my desire to look at birds. We saw more birds going in to the ranch than we saw on the tour. That just doesn't matter though. We got to spend two hours riding around the environs on horses.

I signed up for this even back at the beginning of April. I hadn't been on a horse in ages. So for the subsequent 6 weeks I did strength training 4 days a week and rode horses a couple of times with the outdoors program. It worked! I was able to 1: Get on the horse. 2: Ride the horse without pain for 2 hours. 3: Dismount the horse with a modicum of grace. 4: Walk away from the horse without acting like a cripple. 5: Be able to walk the next day. I was very happy to have achieved all of those goals.

Our bird list included:
Ring-necked pheasant, California quail, Chuckar
Red-winged, Yellow-headed, and Brewers blackbirds
Magpies, Robins, Ravens
Horned larks, various unidentifiable warblers and flycatchers
Grasshopper sparrows, White-crowned sparrows, House sparrows, House finches
Cliff and Barn swallows
Wilson's snipe, Willets
Burrowing owl!!!

And then we also saw Mega-fauna
Pronghorn
Bison
Mule deer
Coyotes
and the skeleton of a bighorn sheep

Twas very, very cool and I hope to go again next year!

Birds of Prey workshop at GSL Bird Festival

2009-05-30T14:18:00.000-06:00

DSC08035
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

Raptor Notes

Raptor Identification by Ben Woodruff, SkyMasters
"This program is geared towards serious bird watching enthusiasts. Ben will share many non-traditional and little known identification tips. Live raptors will be displayed in this program as well as digitally displayed images."

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When identifying raptors take the time to ask yourself these questions:
What is the bird doing?
Where is the bird?
These can help you figure out what the bird might be.

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Falcons are like bricks the weight of 5 large raptors are compressed into this little raptor making them super dense and heavy. The exception is the Kestrel.

Falcons DO NOT glide. They zoom to their destination without a pause in the wing beat or a dip in the flight plan. Unstoppable cruising speed that they use to catch other birds for dinner

Falcons have long skinny wings.

Kestrel v Merlin
When sitting they have different silhouettes. The Kestrel nips in at the rump and then out for the tail. The Merlin does not.

Peregrines have stumpy tails

Prairie falcons are less tolerant of humans. They LOVE larks and are found in the prairie hunting them. Particularly abundant on the salt flats desert.

The Gyrfalcon has a longer wing and can be found in the Bear River area in Feb & March

Prairie falcons are darker underneath. They like to sit on the second rung down on the telephone poles (to help hide from larger raptors). They will lean next to the post or "hug" the post in order to hide.

If it is a falcon in the city it is a peregrine.

When hunting other birds the peregrine will strike, circle up and strike again.

When hunting other birds the Prairie falcon will hit just as it is coming up under its circle.

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Hawks or Buteos have long broad wings. They are the "soaring hawks"

Buteos don't worry about eagles eating them so there is no hiding near fence posts.

They have very broad shoulders and glide, there is an up and down motion in flight. In Utah Swainson's are the summer hawk, Red Tails and Ferriginous (the prairie eagle) the spring and fall, and Rough legged in the winter.

Ferriginous hawks have tiny feet and hunt on the ground.

Harris hawks are pack birds

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Accipters are forest hawks. They are high strung and aggressive.

Goshawks are not found in town

Coopers & Sharp shinned can be spotted in neighborhood trees.

Coopers have a white tip on their tail that is noticeable.

Sharp-shinned do have a white tip, but it is not noticeable.

Accipters have shorter wings compared to their height, and they love water.

Accipters have big deep rowing wing beats (pigeon like). They will flap 3-4 times then soar. Look for them in canyons hunting for ground squirrels.

Goshawks nest in areas with Fir and Aspen. their nests of sticks are right next to the trunk of the tree.

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A Harrier is hawk size but really light, it hunts by coursing out over fields.

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Great horned, burrowing, barn and short-eared owls can be spotted in the daytime.

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Golden eagles are aggressive, they pull their heads in close to their body to take off and have a longish tail.

Bald eagles are more social and tend to have "poofy" heads. They keep their heads down to take off and have a shorter tail.

This was a fascinating lecture and one I will remember for always. If you have a chance to attend one of their lectures, GO!

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Great Salt Lake Bird Festival May 15-17

2009-05-30T13:51:00.004-06:00

Ah, the Great Salt Lake Bird Festival that was something else! I began Friday by driving up to BYU Idaho. I was the closing speaker for their Library Week festivities. I was able to take 1.5 hours for my Notes from a Wandering Librarian and that was a relief. I'm normally talking so fast it's a little obnoxious. It was interesting to visit the old Ricks campus, so familiar and yet so foreign now. The library used to take one wing of the building with administration in the other wing. Now the library occupies both wings. Lunch with librarians and then back to Pocatello to repack for my next trip.

On the drive down to Farmington on Friday evening I called Krista and sure enough she and Terrial were available for dinner. We met up at Applebees and had a great visit. It seems impromptu works well for both of us. We stayed at a nearby Day's Inn. It was important to drive down Friday cause I had signed us up for a 7:00 a.m. bird tour.

The tour "Glover Ponds at Sunrise" was very fascinating, not just for the birds, but for the birders. I'm so used to going with family and being silly that the seriousness of the group was a bit intimidating. I am not going to let that put me off. Next year I'm going again, only maybe I'll wear clown shoes and a nose. They seemed so afraid of getting it wrong. Pity.

We saw lots of bird species and many, many, adorable chicks (as in baby birds).

Western kingbirds, Yellow-rumped warblers, Marsh wrens

Brewers, Red-winged, and Yellow-headed blackbirds

Great blue herons, Snowy egrets, American avocets +chicks, Black-necked stilts, Kildeer, Snowy plovers, White-faced ibises, Sandhill cranes +chicks, Double-crested cormorants

Pied billed grebes, Western grebes

Canada geese, Northern shovelers, Redheads, Cinnamon teals, Ruddy ducks, Gadwalls, Mallards, Coots

Forsters terns

Tree, Barn, Cliff and Bank swallows

Red-tailed hawks

Ravens, Crows, Magpies, Starlings

The program advertised the Glover Ponds tour as:
"These ponds bring YOU into nature, with an enriching experience, as you come in contact with this marsh habitat. The Nature Center deck and surrounding wetlands at the edge of Great Salt Lake, enhances your opportunity for close-up observation. A nearby Great Blue Heron rookery will be active and Avocets will be building nests. Other possible species include: Cinnamon Teal, four species of grebes, Snowy Egrets, Ruddy Ducks, American Pelicans, plus other shorebirds, and other wildlife."

--------------------------------------------------------

I attended a couple of workshops on Saturday. (Including the Raptor one).

The "Nature Photography" class was interesting and I learned a lot of basics on how to take better pictures.

The "Ruling by Obfuscation: Tyrant Flycatchers of Utah" was great and I have a marvelous cheat sheet that I need to make copies of and affix to my bird books. I'm not sure if I am more confused or less confused but I'm sure I learned something. The blurb for the workshop was marvelous:

"Are you confused about flycatchers? Losing sleep over the Empidonax group? Do you lash out at family and friends when they bring up lower mandible coloration? You should consider an experimental new treatment: Flycatcher Stress Reduction Therapy. The treatment is free and you can be seen on a walk-in basis. So don’t let flycatcher confusion rule your life any longer. Come and learn the truth about flycatcher identification. Plumage characteristics are not always enough, but you can use other distinguishing features like song, habitat, and even behavior to help surmount your fear of misidentification. You can go from “Oh no, it’s a flycatcher, let’s go the other way” to ”OH LOOK! It’s a flycatcher, let’s figure out which
one!”

I got a little turned around on our way back to the festival after lunch. This meant we wandered into a neighborhood with a fantastic yard sale. We've now officially replaced our ice cream maker with one that seems much more sturdy.

There were a lot of activities geared for kids at the festival and the workshops were all free. I'd highly recommend this as an activity for families!

Salt Lake City

2009-05-26T16:08:00.002-06:00

DSC07826
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

I went to Salt Lake City Feb 28 - Mar 1 with friends to shop and hang out. Luckily I was able to rendez-vous with my family and get Shanna. The next weekend (see Birding entry on March 7) I went to SLC to go birding with Melinda and pick up some stuff from Rebecca's storage unit.

I had previously planned on going to the Ogden Rock show with my friend John on Friday March 13th. So for the third week in a row I headed out for Utah. Shanna went with us and we had a great time. I only realized that neither of them knew how to drive a stick shift after we had been driving for an hour or so...

By now, Mom and Melinda had driven back to Dallas because they didn't want to get snowed in here and weren't feeling well. So this is the second week of having Shanna which was great. We decided to pay her to paint our living room moldings and the hall. Anyway we're driving back from Ogden and I get a call from the family telling me they have a plane ticket for Shanna. Bet you can't guess when... Eyup, they had planned it for the very next day, March 14th. Well, neither Shanna nor I were ready to be parted just yet. (AND the painting wasn't finished). So we asked them to check into a delay. *PHEW* they were able to delay the flight for another week.

Nick and I were able to take Shanna to the airport on March 23rd (during spring break). It was a bummer to see her go, and I thought I'd be done with this driving to Utah stuff but no.

So to recap that's the 4 trips to SLC between Mar 1 and Mar 23.

Then April came along. I went to SLC on the 11th for Jessica's Baby Shower (see other entry), and again on April 22-25 for the Utah Library Association meeting. Conveniently Jessica gave birth to Rachel just before I went down there so I got to see mom, dad, and baby in the hospital. Must say that Rachel is truly adorable.

Recap again, we're now at 6 trips to SLC between Mar 1 and April 25.

Then came May. I thought things would slow down, instead it went in two directions. First north to the Idaho Library Association Regional Meeting in Moscow ID (10 hr drive) on May 7-9 then BACK to Utah for the GSA conference with Nick May 11-13, home for a day of work then North to Rexburg to speak at BYU Idaho's library week event. Of course, the pull of Utah cannot be denied so back we went for the Bird Festival May 15-17.

I believe this makes 4 more trips, 2 of them to Utah for a total of 8 trips to Utah, plus 2 trips North between Mar 1 and May 17th.

I like to travel, really I do. But this was a tad ridiculous.

Jenny
who was very happy to sleep in over Memorial day weekend and NOT go anywhere.

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-26T15:51:00.002-06:00

Nick & I went with Duo & Heather to three gardening classes in Idaho Falls at the Town and Country Gardens Greenhouse: http://www.tcgardens.com/seminars.cfm
February 7, 10:00 a.m. Pruning and Tree Care
February 21, 10:00 a.m. Square Foot Gardening
March 21, 10:00 a.m. Fruit Trees
It was a lot of fun and good learning. We (or rather Nick) put the Pruning and Tree Care to good use over the Memorial Day weekend. Hopefully the little honey locust trees in front of the house will be able to straighten up. I'd hate to have to remove them because they didn't have parents training them to grow upright. ...

I spent one day weeding off and on as the rain permitted. It was really easy to pull those pesky weeds because the ground was so soft. However, I didn't want to crawl around on the ground so I did lots of lunges and squats and bending over. I am so much more sore from the gardening than I was from the horseback riding. OWWWWIEE!

Still with any luck we'll be able to put all the herbs and other veggies in the ground this weekend.

Horseback riding

2009-05-26T10:30:00.002-06:00

DSC07753
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

I grew up on horses. I love them. One of my fondest memories is of the two weeks I got to spend on Sandy, my Welsh pony. The Jr. High burned down so I had two whole weeks with siblings still in school and the freedom of my little palomino. While birding with the Salt Lake Audubon group I discovered a thing called Bird Festivals.

Who knew that such a thing existed. I was so excited I came home and signed us up for a couple of outings. One of which was titled Birds and Spurs. Birding on horseback, sounded delightful! After paying for all of it I realized that I might not actually be in good enough shape to endure the experience. After all, I hadn't been on a horse in at least 15 years.

I talked it over with Nick and we signed up to go to the ISU outdoors program sponsored horseback riding practice. I am so glad we did. I am not the athletic girl I once was. We were able to attend two of these sessions before going out to the Birdfest. During these sessions I rediscovered my ability to boss a horse around. To not be intimidated by the lovely creatures and eventually, with the aid of a mounting block be able to get on with at least a modicum of grace.

Now I am looking forward to more riding sessions with the outdoors program. Who knows, maybe horses really are back in my life.

I'd love that.

Jenny

Scooter

2009-05-26T10:21:00.002-06:00

DSC07795
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

As many of you know, this is Scooter my traveling bear companion. Years ago I saw him in a bin in a store in West Yellowstone. He was adorable and I wanted him, but was feeling too cheap so I didn't get him. As I continued to shop, my sneaky husband scooped him up and bought him. I discovered him on my pillow at the cabin we stayed in that night. Since then this little bear has gone all kinds of places with me. I just wish I had more pictures of him on his travels. Here he is on US-95. We're on our way to Moscow ID. -- Jenny

GSA May 10-13

2009-05-20T16:48:00.000-06:00

DSC08014
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

Geological Society of America: GSA, Conference Location: Orem Utah, Special Speaker: Nick Semenza.

I got home on Saturday from my trip ILA North trip. Sunday we had a graduation lunch with friends at our house. Because of all of the traveling I've had to do recently, I wasn't looking forward to taking off on Sunday evening to head for the GSA conference. Nor had we made arrangements for our dog for Sunday evening. See, we had thought to drive down on Monday. It wasn't till Saturday evening when we realized that the conference actually started at 8:00 a.m. on Monday. We decided to take two cars down. This way I could sleep and sleep and sleep and drive down in time to hear Nick speak. And he could leave Sunday and be there first thing in the morning. It's probably too late to try and make this story any shorter so ...

Sunday after lunch Nick gathered stuff up, packed, and headed out while I sat and talked with our friends. They left early and I did a wonderful bunch of nothing. I did get to Orem in time to find Nick (who was all decked out in a suit looking very professional) and go to his session. He did such a great job, everyone loved it. He spoke about using historical records and geoscience/mapping to find lost springs.

The first evening we went out to dinner at the Brazillian Grill "Tucanos" near the mouth of Provo Canyon. Annie met us there and we gorged on the all you can eat grilled food. I am in LOVE with grilled pineapple.

I went birding while he attended GSA for the next couple of days. First I visited the South end of Utah lake. Here I found:

Western meadowlarks
Yellow-headed, and Red-winged blackbirds, Brown-headed cowbirds

House sparrows, Robins, Mourning doves, Western kingbirds, Magpies,

Tree, Bank, and Barn swallows

Canada geese, Redheads, Coots, Mallards, Western grebes, Pied-billed grebes, White-faced Ibises, American-white pelicans, American wigeons, Cinnamon teals, kildeer, Double-crested cormorants, Cattle egret

American goldfinches, Western tanagers, Yellow-rumbed warblers

Turkey vultures

The second evening we were looking for much lighter fare and discovered a relatively new place that served great salads, sandwiches and tea. A lovely change to the heavy Brazillian fare. After dinner we drove out Provo Canyon to Bridal Veil Falls. I thought Nick should see the amazing rocks and mountains of the canyon. It is too bad night fell so swiftly.

We had to check out on Wednesday so I headed north for a leisurely drive home with more birding while Nick attended more conference sessions. I stopped at Willard State Park, Brigham City, Honeyville, and the Bear River Refuge. The Refuge is STUPENDOUS! I saw so many birds...

Tree, Violet-green, Cliff, Bank, and Barn swallows

Great-tailed grackle, Robins, Magpies, House sparrows, Crows, Ravens, Starlings, Rock doves

Bullocks oriole, Western kingbirds, Western meadowlark, Horned lark, Marsh wrens

Kildeer, White-faced ibises, Cattle egret, Long-billed curlew, American avocets, Willets, Black-neck stilt, Snowy egrets, American-white pelcians, Wilson's phaleropes, Western grebes, Clarks grebes, Canada geese, Great-blue herons, Double-crested comorant

Mallards, Coots, American wigeons, Cinnamon teals, Redhead, Ruddy duck, Northern shovelers, Gadwalls, Northern pintail

Kestrel, Red-tailed hawk

Yellow-headed, Red-winged, and Brewers blackbird

Bonaparte's gulls, Forsters Terns

The best part was driving out of the Refuge. I was driving along and glanced to my left and thought, oh northern pintail duck. My inner critic then said Nah, so I stopped and turned around and sure enough it really was a northern pintail. I was very, VERY excited. I've been birding for a long time and it is getting more and more fun as I can identify many birds at a glance and many more after a bit of study. It is only now and then that I have to get out the book and ponder. And I've only had to email a picture to Melinda once so far this year. Whoo HOOO!

Home from ILA North

2009-05-10T13:51:00.000-06:00

DSC07922
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

I attended (and presented) at the ILA regional conference in Moscow. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to book a room that evening in Moscow because of graduation ceremonies. I finished the conference and drove to the Super 8 in Coeur d'Alene. Next moring I headed for home. There was so much to see on the way home. It was fabulous!

On the way home I stopped at the lake and took a few pictures, and I stopped at the Mission and took a few pictures. I did not go in the Mission, I've been there before and I didn't want to take the time. Heading south I got to Missoula around 1:00. I headed into the city hoping to find somewhere interesting to eat. With Nick's long distance (thank heavens for cell phones) help. I did find a great lunch place but it was packed and there was no parking in the downtown area and there were people everywhere so I gave up and headed south. That little detour (which still didn't get me lunch) took an hour. Anyway, I ended up at a roadside diner south of Missoula.

As I passed Camas wildlife refuge the urge to go birding was overwhelming so I stopped in Roberts and did a drive by through market lake. There were tons of birds! It was early evening and I found the Short-eared owl out hunting. I just assumed it was a RT hawk, still it was sitting on a post and I might as well look and once I got my binoculars up I realized that this was no hawk. It posed for awhile and then took off to find more food. It was very cool.

I saw a LOT of birds over the 3 days including:

Short-eared owl, Golden eagles, Bald eagle, Red-tailed hawks, Swainsons hawks, Turkey vultures and Kestrels

American-white pelicans, Long-billed curlew, Kildeer, Mallards, Western grebes, Double-crested cormorants, White-faced ibises, Sandhill crane, American avocet, Black-crowned night heron, Wilson's phaleropes, Great-blue herons,

Ruddy ducks, Cinnamon teals, Coots, Lesser scaups, Northern shovelers, Readheads,

Franklins gull, California gull, Common tern
Crows, Ravens, Magpies, Stellars jay

House sparrows, Rock doves, Mourning doves, Robins, Western meadowlarks, Ruby crowned kinglet, Yellow rumped warblers,

Red-winged, Yellow-headed, and Brewers blackbirds

Bank, Cliff, Tree, Barn, and Rough-winged swallows

Red fox, Antelope, and Mule deer.

For more photos see the flickr set at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157618913280236/

Driving to Moscow

2009-05-08T10:07:00.000-06:00

DSC07782
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

There are two ways to get from Pocatello ID to Moscow ID. The first is via I15 to Couer d'Alene then South on US-95. According to Mapquest it takes 9 hours 7 minutes (612.64 miles). The second way is to drive to Boise on I84 then North on US-95. According to Mapquest it takes 8 hours 42 minutes (558.94 miles).

However, the first route is mainly on Freeway so it goes rather quickly. The second route (after Boise) is on two lane highway so it can go much more slowly. Then there's also factors such as weather to take into consideration. I'd rather do the long fast way if there's a chance of snow.

In any case, I decided to go the short slow way for the first time as an adult person this month. I had a speaking engagement at the Idaho Library Association - Northern Region in Moscow. And so began the drive. US-95 is very scenic!

See more photos of this drive at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157617844962542/

I drove the long fast way home. Since I compulsively stop and stretch my legs or take photos or what have you, both drives take the same length of time... 10-11 hours.

Jenny

April in American Falls

2009-04-30T15:21:00.000-06:00

DSC07650
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

April to me is about springtime. Birds start returning, trees begin to bud. This April I spent a lot of time in Utah. On one of the few weekends I was home I went out to American Falls. Here I found many birds and much water.

Birds included:
Robins, Pelicans, Magpies, R. doves, M. doves, N. flickers, A-w Pelicans, Common mergansers, DC cormorants, Ring neck ducks, Great blue herons, Northern harriers, A. crows, White-crowned sparrow, Common loon, Coots, Mallards, California gulls, Swainson's hawk, R-t Hawk, House sparrows, Red winged blackbirds, and Red-breasted mergansers...

I loved finding an osprey near the fish hatchery. I know it was trying to find a way past the protective netting.

Best of all was surprising two bald eagles in the trees in the cemetary. The American Falls cemetary is set on a cliff above the river and the trees were on the cliff side. I'm sure those two birds were hunting/fishing. I was probably more surprised than they were. I did not expect them to be there.

Lentil Stuffed Zucchini

2009-04-13T10:11:00.009-06:00

This post on "This is why you're thin" blog made me create my own lentil stuffed Zucchini recipe. The image is from their post.

I am using old lentils (don't ask me how old, I have no idea). I cooked 1/2 cup lentils in vegetable broth till they were just done. For me this was approx an hour. Your timing may vary. There is very little in the way of liquid remaining in the pot.

Saute 1/4 yellow onion till almost translucent in olive oil
Add 1-2 cloves minced garlic
Add 1/4 diced red bell pepper
Stir fry till onion is translucent and peppers are almost done.
Add this to the lentils in the pot
Add 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper (or to taste
Add 1/4 cup tomato based pasta sauce
Simmer briefly to reduce the liquid (I simmered it while prepping the zucchini).

Set oven to 350 degrees F
Scrub 2 zucchini,
Cut in half
Hollow them out putting the scooped parts into the lentil pot

Put zucchini in an oiled baking dish (I used olive oil)
Stuff them with the lentil mixture (If it is too soupy use a strainer to remove the excess)
Excess lentil mixture can be placed around the zucchini

Bake in oven for 15 minutes

Shred parmesan cheese approx 1/2 cup - 1 cup
Sprinkle over top and return to zucchini to oven for another 5-10 minutes.

I like to leave my zucchini quite crunchy so I only bake for 20 minutes. You can bake longer if you like.

I was surprised by how much Nick & I liked this. I'm not that fond of zucchini, and Nick isn't that fond of lentils.

Sisters & Birds

2009-04-12T01:15:00.004-06:00

I left work a few minutes early and headed home. I was still not certain if I would drive down to Salt Lake City that evening or the next morning. As I started packing and getting things together I got more into the idea of getting there Friday night and NOT trying get up at 5:00 a.m. on Saturday. With the car loaded I took off, arriving at Rebecca's downtown apartment at 8:00 p.m. She met me downstairs and we headed for Sawadee Thai Food.

Sawadee has amazing food. For the first time I really, REALLY enjoyed the tofu parts of my pad thai. Rebecca says the trick is to drain the tofu, chop it up in cubes, and let it sit for awhile to finish draining (approx 1hr). You then fry it and add to whatever you want.

If you want to go to Sawadee it is located at:
754 East South Temple
Salt Lake City UT
http://www.sawadee1.com/

Hung out with Rebecca and her daughter + friend for awhile before going to sleep.

Woke up early, had too. Really wanted to go birding with the Great Salt Lake

Audubon group http://www.greatsaltlakeaudubon.org/ on their Inland Sea Shorebird Reserve (Kennecott Mitigation Property) field trip. It was really amazing the area is HUGE and normally off limits to people. I didn't count, but it seemed like hundreds of Avocets were present, along with the trifecta of teals and more:

American Avocets
Cinnamon Teals
Blue Winged Teals
Green Winged Teals
Great Blue Herons
Western Meadowlarks
Sage Thrashers
Northern Harriers
Northern Shovelers
Coots
Willets
Savannah Sparrow
Yellow Headed Blackbirds
Red Winged Blackbirds
Canada Geese (surprisingly few)
Eared Grebes
LEsser Scaups
Long Billed Curlews
Logger Head Shrike
Ruby Crowned Kinglet
Golden Eagle

And best of all a new species for me: Barn Owl!!

Outside of the field trip I also saw:
American Robins
Red Tailed Hawks
Starlings
Rock Doves
California Gulls
House Sparrows
Trumpeter Swans

And the cutest Wood Duck.

For Mammals, there were Pronghorns on the reserve and dozens of Mule Deer along I15.

I met some great people and ended up carpooling with a Yvonne from the Utah County Audubon group http://www.utahbirds.org/. She was very congenial and interesting. She has a spotting scope and so I got more information about them from her. The best surprise was the fact that there are Bird Festivals where there are field trips and classes and vendors and I gotta go to one!!

After birding I cleaned up and headed for Jessica's.

Jessica is very pregnant right now. She's having a girl and the little baby Rachel is expected to make her debut within the next few weeks. Thank heavens for Rebecca, she let me pay for half of a great present. She found a gorgeous sterling silver necklace with coin like monogram charms for each member of Jessica's family.

It was one of the best baby showers I have ever attended. Jessica's friends had set it up as an open house so people could come and go. There were presents and cake and veggies and it was only friends and family. I wish I coulda stayed longer.

More later...
Jenny

Shanna's Honey Vanilla Granola

2009-04-06T16:16:00.000-06:00

Dry
4.5-5 cups oats (the big rolled oats, not quick oats)

Liquids and Flavors
1 tbsp vanilla

3/4 c honey
1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 tsp salt

1. Toast the oats
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
Put oats in even layer (maximum 1 inch deep) in roasting pan or baking sheet. Bake for 5-8 minutes stirring every 2-3 for even toasting. Oats will be a bit less chewey. Be careful not to over-toast as this wills scorch them and make them bitter.

After removing from oven put in large bowl, add the almonds and sunflower seeds and stir together.

Leave oven on, you'll be using it again in a minute.

2. Warm the liquids and flavors
Over medium heat mix together the remaining ingredients, stir till it is warm and thoroughly mixed. You do not need to bring this to a boil. I recommend you don't let it go to a boil, after all, you're not making candy.

3. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir till thoroughly coated.

4. Spread into 1 inch deep layer in roasting pan or baking sheet (I usually have to use two). Put in oven for 20-25 minutes (still at 325 degrees F). Every 5 minutes stir and re-spread.

5. Remove from oven, press into even layer and allow to cool in a solid mass (this will make it more clumpy).

6. Once cooled, break it up and store in tight container

Birding - March - Camas, Market Lake, Mud Lake...

2009-03-27T19:35:00.007-06:00

Two days of birding, Camas Wildlife Refuge, Mud Lake, Market Lake, the Snake River North of Idaho Falls, and my house. I was able to find the Long Tailed Duck on the Snake River, though it took two days of hunting. It was very nifty!! I was also able to plot a path outside of I15 from IF to Market Lake to Mud Lake to Camas. I ended up seeing so many more birds because of this change of path. I really liked the fields filled with ducks (northern pintail mostly...)

Golden eagle	Rough legged hawks
Swainsons hawks	American kestrels
Red tailed hawks	Northern harriers
Red winged blackbirds	Yellow headed blackbirds
American robins	Dark eyed juncos
Western meadowlarks	California gulls
Ring billed gulls	Northern flicker
Horned larks	American crows
Rock doves	Mourning doves
House sparrows	House finches
Lesser goldfinches	Pine siskins
Red breasted nuthatch	Magpies
Canada geese	Snow geese
Starlings	Red naped sapsuckers
Trumpeter swans	Tundra swans
Common goldeneyes	Gadwall
American wigeons	Northern pintails
Coots	Ring necked ducks
Long tailed ducks	Blue winged teal
Mallards	Lesser scaups
Cinnamon teals	Red breasted mergansers
Red headed ducks	Kildeer
Sandhill cranes	Great blue heron
Chinese pheasants	Great horned owls
Bohemian waxwings	Cedar waxwings
Porcupines	Captive bison

Birding around American Falls

2009-03-22T13:22:00.002-06:00

3/20/09

I had planned on going to Mud Lake, Camas, and Market Lake, but slept in and missed the timing. Instead I headed for American Falls. There are many great birding spots around this reservoir and the Snake River. Of particular interest is the birding trail that the Audubon society has marked near the fish hatchery.

At my house:
1. House sparrows
2. House Finches
3. Pine siskins

On the road:
4. Rock doves
5. Magpies
6. Western Meadowlark
7. Red tailed hawk

By the marina:
8. Song sparrow
9. Mallards
10. Crows
11. California gulls
12. Ring billed gulls
13. Robins
14. Starlings
15. Tree swallows
16. Goldfinch
17. Kestrels
18. Norther 'red shafted' flickers playing mating games

By the dam:
19. Northern pintail

By the fish hatchery:
20. Red breasted mergansers
21. Yellow rumped warblers
22. Norther shovelers
23. Common mergansers
24. Common goldeneys
25. Barrows godleneyes
26. Dark eyed juncos
27. Canada geese

It was a gorgeous sunny day and lots of fun to be out and about.

Birding in Utah

2009-03-22T12:57:00.003-06:00

Melinda and I went birding in Utah, around Antelope Island and the wetlands nearby.

Day 1 3/7/9

kildeer
robins
canada geese
northern shovelers
eurasian wigeon
bufflehead
northern harrier (male)
american kestral
mallards
western meadowlark
common ravens
whooping crane
red winged blackbird
american tree sparrow
long eared owls
white breasted nuthatch
crows
chuckar
magpies
mourning doves
rock doves
starlings

coyote (heard the pups too)
pronghorn

Day 2 3/8/9

european house sparrows
american kestral
robins
starlings
rock doves
magpies
red breasted nuthatches
crows
common ravens

Jenny's Gingerbread Granola

2009-02-22T08:15:00.000-07:00

Dry
9 cups oats (the big rolled oats, not quick oats)
2-3 cups sliced nuts and seeds (I used 2 cups sliced almonds and 1 cup sunflower seeds)

Liquids and Flavors
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp clove
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp cardamom

1/2 c molasses
1 cup honey
1 cup canola oil

1 tsp salt

1. Toast the oats
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
Put oats in even layer (maximum 1 inch deep) in roasting pan or baking sheet. Bake for 5-8 minutes stirring every 2-3 for even toasting. Oats will be a bit less chewey. Be careful not to over-toast as this wills scorch them and make them bitter.

After removing from oven put in large bowl, add the almonds and sunflower seeds and stir together.

Leave oven on, you'll be using it again in a minute.

2. Warm the liquids and flavors
Over medium heat mix together the remaining ingredients, stir till it is warm and thoroughly mixed. You do not need to bring this to a boil. I recommend you don't let it go to a boil, after all, you're not making candy.

3. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir till thoroughly coated.

4. Spread into 1 inch deep layer in roasting pan or baking sheet (I usually have to use two). Put in oven for 20-25 minutes (still at 325 degrees F). Every 5 minutes stir and re-spread.

5. Remove from oven, press into even layer and allow to cool in a solid mass (this will make it more clumpy).

6. Once cooled, break it up and store in tight container

Ravioli with Veggies in a Lemon Cream Sauce

2009-02-10T20:05:00.007-07:00

Just had this for dinner, it was FABULOUS. Yes, I just made this up. -- Jenny

Steam the veggies
1 big floret of broccoli approx 1 - 1.5 cups + 2 medium carrots chopped

Cook the ravioli/tortellini (I just buy the packaged stuff)
2 of the smaller packages from the refrigerated section of the grocery store

Mince 2 cloves garlic and 1/4 yellow onion
Sautee in olive oil over medium heat in a mid sized sauce pan

Add:
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 brick Parmesan shredded (5 oz)
1 cup whipping cream

Cook over medium heat till cheese is melted and thoroughly blended.

Stir all ingredients together and serve

Stuffed Bell Peppers

2009-02-09T07:47:00.005-07:00

Created a new recipe yesterday and loved it enough to write it down.

Stuffed Bell Peppers
4-6 red, yellow or orange bell peppers.
Slice off top (retain)
Scoop out seeds and membrane

1 lb pork
1 Tbsp canola oil

4 green onions chopped
1/2 head cabbage chopped
1/2 cup bean sprouts chopped
Mix chopped ingredients together and set aside

1 tsp minced ginger
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 tsp serrano pepper powder
1 Tbsp rice wine Shao Hsing (cooking sherry is an acceptable substitute)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp honey
Mix the seasonings together and set aside

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Begin by sauteeing the pork, when it is mostly done, add the remaining ingredients. Allow to cook a few minutes partially wilting the cabbage.

Stuff peppers with mixture and place on pan (I use a glass casserole pan). Leftover mixture can be put around the peppers. Use toothpicks to secure pepper tops back onto peppers.

Bake in oven till peppers are the done to your taste. 20 minutes will leave them with a bit of crunch.

This was surprisingly yummy.

Solstice

2008-12-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

DSC07507
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

We had a solstice party at the Aura Soma conference center in Lava. The best part was that we didn't have to leave that night and drive home, but could wait till the next day.

Who knew that 2 feet of snow would drop that night.

It was gorgeous outside.

Teton Dam, December 2008

2008-12-14T10:51:00.000-07:00

DSC07452
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

In 1976 the Teton Dam broke open and flooded the Snake River Plain. I remember dad trenching around the houses on the ten acres with a backhoe. I remember planting trees in the morning. I remember listening to the news on the radio as the water headed south. I remember the news programs of sandbags being filled and placed on the Snake River in Idaho Falls (near where we lived). I remember dad talking about how they decided not to allow the diversion of water into the small canals but to keep it in the main river. This meant our house wasn't flooded.

I had been to the site before, but this time I went with Evelee. We went looking for interesting rocks. The Teton river is fed by Bitch Creek. This runs through a mountain range that has a layer of nephrite jade. The hope is always to find a chunk or pebble of the gorgeous dark green jade. I was not so lucky this time. It was cold and windy and beautiful.

The start to the day began with being pulled over by the cops in Rexburg for speeding. Evelee forgot to change her cruise control. The nice young man took pity on us and let us go with a warning. After all we do not look like we're up to trouble. - bummer that.

The end of the day was a fabulous dinner at Jakers restaurant in Idaho Falls.

I so love being outside.

Thanksgiving in Sacramento

2008-11-30T10:41:00.000-07:00

DSC07443
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

Shanna moved to Texas in August to work for her grandfather. She started out as part of the grounds crew but ended up as an interior house painter.

The weather was good and we were missing Shanna so we loaded up the car and headed for Ellisa's house. Wells NV makes a good place for an overnight stop.

On the way down we stopped at Winnemucca for the best Mexican food. Melinda and I found this restaurant a couple of years ago.

Ellisa decided not to do a traditional Thanksgiving feast and served Italian food instead. Yummy, though I did miss the turkey. It was really nice to hang out with them for a few days! I volunteered to watch In Bruges, a show which is totally ridiculous. There are some truly funny bits, and some terribly tacky bits too. Not my cup of tea, but certainly something I'll remember. I definitely like to stretch my cinematic point of view now and then. This qualifies as the stretch for 2008.

I started and mostly finished the book "Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise" by Ruth Reichl. It was a fascinating look into food criticism, restaurants, food, newspaper publishing and New York.

We didn't get out and do any bird watching. I was still fighting with the chronic migraine issue.

Loved hanging out with the family though.

Jenny's Maple Cinnamon Granola

2008-11-10T10:56:00.001-07:00

Watch out, this makes a lot of granola. It is easy to halve this recipe though...

Dry
12 cups oats (the big rolled oats, not quick oats)
2 cups sliced almonds
1 cup sunflower seeds (salted)

Liquids and Flavors
1 cup honey
1 cup maple syrup
1 cup canola oil
2 tbsp vanilla
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt

1. Toast the oats
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
Put oats in even layer (maximum 1 inch deep) in roasting pan or baking sheet. Bake for 5-8 minutes stirring every 2-3 for even toasting. Oats will be a bit less chewey. Be careful not to over-toast as this wills scorch them and make them bitter.

After removing from oven put in large bowl, add the almonds and sunflower seeds and stir together.

Leave oven on, you'll be using it again in a minute.

2. Warm the liquids and flavors
Over medium heat mix together the remaining ingredients, stir till it is warm and thoroughly mixed. You do not need to bring this to a boil. I recommend you don't let it go to a boil, after all, you're not making candy.

3. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir till thoroughly coated.

4. Spread into 1 inch deep layer in roasting pan or baking sheet (I usually have to use two). Put in oven for 20-25 minutes (still at 325 degrees F). Every 5 minutes stir and re-spread.

5. Remove from oven, press into even layer and allow to cool in a solid mass (this will make it more clumpy).

6. Once cooled, break it up and store in tight container

Walnut Italian Salad

2008-10-26T15:31:00.002-06:00

This salad was deduced from the fabulous salad that Annie and I had at an Italian restaurant. Ours is definitely different though the idea is similar.

Walnut Italian Salad

Romaine lettuce
Spiced walnuts
Dried cranberries
Crumbled gorgonzola (or other blue cheese)
Sliced sharp green apples
Good Italian dressing

This is a great salad, Nick and I add grilled chicken and call it dinner.

-- Jenny

Spiced Walnuts

2008-10-26T15:22:00.003-06:00

Just made another batch of these today. We use them in a salad, I'll post next. -- Jenny

Spiced Nuts
4 cups walnuts (I keep an additional 1-1.5 cups of walnuts on hand in case the syrup will cover more) Also, other nuts can be used. I've even mixed walnuts and pecans together.
1.5 cups sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp water (this is equal to 1/4 cup and 1/8 cup water)
1 tsp vanilla

Put 1/2 of the nuts (2 cups) into a large bowl (metal or glass). Keep the other half in another container.

Cook the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and water in a small-medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir continuously till the temperature reaches 234 - 240 degrees farenheit (soft ball stage).

Poor over nuts and stir, continue adding nuts and syrup till all is mixed well. Sometimes we have added more nuts to sop up the excess syrup.

Spread onto wax paper to cool. As it cools you can break the walnuts into smaller pieces if desired. I do this if I am using it on salad. I don't do it if I'm giving them away as candy.

Dome Tours

2008-10-25T10:58:00.000-06:00

B.T. Dome
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

I arranged for a bunch of us to go see the dome homes in Menan. We started at Randy's house, stopped at Cliffdome, the Boyd residence and ended at Andrew's house. It was a lot of fun. At Cliffdome, I was able to tell the new owners about the beam mounted heater. (Okay they've been there almost 20 years now, but they are still the new owners to me). Regina, her husband & daughter, Krista & Terrial, and Cheryl went with us. Afterwards, we (minus Regina's family) went to lunch. We tried to go to the cajun place, only to find out that it was closed for lunch. Ended up at Olive Garden in Idaho Falls. I really want a dome again now.

Riverwalk

2008-10-21T11:19:00.001-06:00

DSC07342
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

I have mentioned in other blog posts that I am obsessed with the Bonneville Flood. When I discovered that the Riverwalk was to be led by Geoscience Professor Paul Link and he would be discussing/pointing out geology related to the flood I HAD to go. As expected it was very interesting.

This was the same morning as the homecoming parade. So after the fruitless attempt to help with the library float, I dashed over to Mocha Java for a bit of Chai to warm me up for the second morning walk. Somehow I managed to get there before Nick and Barkley. Barkley loved hearing about the flood, or maybe he just liked being outside with so many people.

This is a picture of one of the many boulders that the Bonneville flood ripped out of the basalt lava, tumbled till smooth and deposited all over Pocatello. Dig anywhere in downtown Pocatello and you find monstrous black boulders. Apparently, these are much coveted for landscaping...

My other entries on the Bonneville flood are here:
http://jsemenza.blogspot.com/2006/04/geology-lake-bonneville-timeline.html
http://jsemenza.blogspot.com/2006/04/geology-lake-bonneville.html

After that walk, we returned the doggie to the house and went to the baglery for lunch. A pleasant day, I walked 5 miles before lunch.

Homecoming Parade

2008-10-20T09:15:00.003-06:00

DSC07334
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

So, the library, or rather a couple of ambitious library folk figured out an easy idea for a parade entry. I was going to meet up with them and help with last minute decorating on Saturday morning. I got up really early and drove out to where the parade would be forming up.

The bad news is that we weren't allowed to get anywhere near the parade line in our cars. AND I didn't know where in the line the library vehicle would be. So I parked my car a few blocks from the head of the parade and started walking down the line of entries.

Some were very cool, like the Native American one with the big bison statue. It was a brisk morning with a good Idaho wind keeping people near buildings and in cabs of trucks. I kept walking.

And walking, and walking, and I go to the end of the parade (though it continued to be created as I walked) and still no library entry. Somehow I got my wires crossed on where they would be, bummer. I arrived at 8:10 a.m. at the parade line-up. I got back to my car at 8:45 a.m. My pedometer told me I had already walked a mile and a bit.

I didn't help them one bit, but I got to see the parade and get in a nice morning walk.

After later
Jenny

Crystal Park MT, Sept 2008

2008-09-20T12:17:00.000-06:00

DSC07296
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

Once upon a time there was an email group called Semenza Adventures where we would post upcoming field trips that other people could join us on. Unfortunately, that list died, along with the number of trips (had been going once a month through the summer/fall). It died when Nick went back to school. One of our favorite trips was to Crystal Park Montana to dig for quartz crystals.

After a 3 year hiatus, we went back, with a new batch of friends. We got really lucky and found this hunk of smoky quartz. We always find clear quartz crystals. Allegedly amethyst can also be found, though we have not been that lucky. I forgot how much fun it is to just dig in the dirt. Maybe we'll go back in the spring.

Yes, when Nick graduates we'll start a new Semenza Adventures group. Probably using Facebook. For more photos from the trip check out my link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157607378919824/

-- Jenny

Green Beans & Peppers

2008-09-18T16:52:00.002-06:00

Okay, just so you know, Nick HATES green beans. The only reason we tried (and modified) this recipe is that it was part of a menu plan in a book we've been going through. Here's his modified, fabulous recipe:

Couple handfuls of fresh green beans
1-2 red bell peppers

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Snip the ends off the green beans
De-seed and slice the bell peppers

Put veggies in a colander. Drizzle olive oil over them, add salt and pepper to taste. Toss.

Place on cookie sheet in oven for approx 12 minutes. Stir at the halfway point.

This is yummy, easy and good for you.

Jenny

Favorite Poem

2008-09-17T20:39:00.003-06:00

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
by Portia Nelson

I.
I walk down the street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in
I am lost ... I am helpless
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find way out.

II.
I walk down the same street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place.
But it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

III.
I walk down the same street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I see it is there.
I still Fall in... it's a habit
My eyes are open
I know where I am
It is my fault.
I get out immediately

IV.
I walk down the same street
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I walk around it.

V.
I walk down another street

Taken from the book "Inspiration Sandwich" by SARK 1992, page 120

Fettuccini Alfredo

2008-09-17T16:42:00.003-06:00

Nick, is a fabulous cook. Shanna called asking for this recipe last night so he sent it to her and I thought I'd share it with all of you. It is super easy to put together and extraordinarily yummy. Of course, it'll harden your arteries while you eat, but what's not to love about that.

Nick's Fettuccine Alfredo

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup butter
1 cup Parmesan cheese
dash nutmeg
salt & pepper to taste

1 lb fettuccine pasta
**Bunch of steamed broccoli florets
**Grilled chicken breast or other cooked chicken

Mix whipping cream, butter, Parmesan cheese, nutmeg, heat through, stir on occasion till creamy. This step can be done in either the microwave or on the stove top. Just be sure it doesn't burn. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cook pasta. Pour sauce over pasta and toss.

** Add cooked broccoli or chicken and toss with pasta and sauce.

Mesa Falls September 2008

2008-09-16T11:45:00.000-06:00

DSC07237
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

Mesa Falls is one of my favorite places ever. I drove up on Sunday September 7th and spent the day taking photos there and at Big Springs in Island Park. I'm going to try and go to Mesa Falls every month for 1 year and take pictures from the same spots to see what changes can be seen. It'll be fascinating to see when snow will stop me. For more photos of Mesa Falls and Big Springs Sept 08 see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157607382268669/
-- Jenny

Torta

2008-09-11T20:35:00.003-06:00

Simplified, leftover using torta. It's a very yummy recipe.

1 cup cooked rice
3 eggs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (the fresh kind from brick, the stuff in the can will not work).
1 TBSP onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees
Spray bread pan with olive oil
Whisk together eggs and seasonings, stir in rice and cheese
Pour into pan
Bake for 30 minutes

The Weekend

2008-09-02T08:50:00.002-06:00

DSC03014
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

Decided to stay home and mix up being lazy and being productive. Saturday, we ran all over Pocatello, shopping, going to garage sales and checking things out. I found a book by Louis L'Amour (Frontier) that I had been looking for and Nick found another cast iron pan. Apparently, we need more cast iron pans...

Sunday, we made lots and lots of lasagnas and integrated Shanna's weapons collection onto Nick's weapons wall. She added ten, he owns three or four knives and the rest are mine. Shanna's include the Klingon stuff and a really great Chinese sword (horizontally hung green and black). It's a great looking wall.

Monday began with tomato processing. A friend of ours gave us a bushel of tomatoes. By adding fresh garlic, onion, basil, oregano and parsley we make a beautiful tomato sauce that freezes well. It's the perfect base to pasta sauce or tomato soup. Annie came over and kept us company for most of the process. We then went out for Chinese food. She took off and went to the fair with family. Me?

I vegged out on the sofa watching America's Next Top Model marathon and reading two different books during the advertisements. One book is on yoga and the other on herbs. It was a great way to do nothing. Oh, and the ANTM marathon was the season where the "Plus Size" model one. Though how you can call a size 8-10 a plus size is beyond me.

Labor Day Weekend

2008-08-29T15:19:00.002-06:00

3 days off in a row, Nick without the homework hangover, home improvement done for now, what in the world are we going to do??? Ideas thus far:

1. Stay home, go to a bunch of garage sales, maybe a couple of movies, bake a bunch of food to freeze (Lasagne...) sleep in, read, hang out, soak in the newly functional hot tub.
2. Go daytripping to Soda Springs, Yellowstone, Jackson, City of Rocks, Craters of the Moon or other places.
3. Go for the weekend someplace like Soda Springs or West Yellowstone.

Hrmmmm, The Eastern Idaho State Fair starts this weekend, I'm beginning to really like option A. Perhaps its the hot tub and how tired I am. This is week two of working full time again and I'm wiped out. I know it'll get easier but really.....

Jenny

The newly finished bathroom

2008-08-26T08:49:00.002-06:00

After
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

Okay, things get out of hand. First came the yoga room, and while talking about paint Nick suggested that maybe we could get the bathroom painted at the same time. Great Idea I said. We had some high gloss white paint (originally only going to be used for trim) and he wanted it white. So we started, or rather, he started. I was working on the yoga room.

First came the cleaning of the walls and the taping off of things and we started talking some more, about maybe getting something done to the floor. Then he primed the walls and ceiling. We started talking about fixing the sink and toilet. Then he painted and painted... As the room started to look better the plans grew. In the end, he fixed the toilet. He leveled the floor and put down a gorgeous faux tile linoleum. He stripped the old metal shower of years of latex and oil paint, rust, and contact paper then coated it with something more suitable. The parts for the sink are on order, a new shower curtain is up and we found the bright green curtains at a garage sale for a dollar.

The room looks so much larger and brighter. This is a basement bathroom and we finally feel like we can use it. Or in Nick's words: not be ashamed if anyone sees it.

For photos of both before and after see:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157606958859859/

Whooo HOOO
Jenny

Packing

2008-08-25T13:21:00.003-06:00

Spot in need of a wash - Haines Junction, Yukon
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

After traveling a great deal (10,000+ miles) over the past six months, I have come up with some travel/packing tips that might be of interest. I also figure that if I write them down here, I won't forget them.

The primo tip, from my brilliant husband:
Bring a surge protector. Then in the hotel room you only have to find one outlet and you can plug all your rechargeables into it and you won’t accidentally leave a cord or device in the hotel room.

Packing Tips for Car Travel:

Mp3 player, and transmitter
A cheapo plastic tarp. It can keep the rain off the stuff in the trunk when loading and unloading. Alternately, it can be used on the ground when you have to pull everything out to fix the spare tire.
A bag of condiments such as ketchup, hot sauce, mayo, honey, salt & pepper. If you get the individual serving kinds like they serve at fast food restaurants no refrigeration is needed. Though I might worry about the mayo. Why? Because then you can doctor any food you need to. You might also add individual tea or coffee pouches to the bag.
Ziplock bags
Paper towels
Baby wipes
Hand sanitizer (I had two, one in the glove compartment and one in the condiment bag).
Book-light and flashlight in glove compartment
Mints, Tums, sunglasses, sunscreen, lip balm, Kleenex, telephone, CDs, camera, binoculars, if traveling alone these can be placed in a box on the passenger seat for easy access. (The box idea is from my friend Barb in circulation).
Big white shirt and cotton gloves to keep the sun from burning you. The windshield is somewhat effective at keeping out the rays, but in most cars, the side windows do not have the same type of glass and then the sun will get you. Especially true when driving 10+ hours in Texas sunshine.
Full size spare tire
Emergency kit with tools, jumper cables and flares
Car recharger for cell phone

Tips for Clothing:

Monochromatic is your friend. If your socks, pants, shoes, and most shirts are black, then you know what you’re wearing in the morning. Just add jacket.
Polyester is your friend, fewer wrinkles and packs tightly. There are a Lot of good polyester based clothing out there that masquerade as silk, linen, wool and other high end materials.
Layers, one good cashmere cardigan is invaluable. Thin enough to go under jackets, yet a warming layer over shirts.
Keep jewelry and accessories simple. The fewer, the easier. One good pair of real gold earrings, a couple of necklaces, a couple of broaches and a really good watch is really all you need.
Keep styling products simple, maybe it’s time to rethink your haircut if it’s going to require a zillion products and devices to maintain. Don’t rely on the fact that most hotels provide shampoo, rinse, and blow-dryers. I discovered that the ones I stayed at had migrated to an ‘all-in-one shampoo/conditioner’ product. The blow-dryers are frequently not up to par. Best bet is a wash and go hair style

I expect I’ll add things to this list as I remember them. - Jenny

Yoga Room

2008-08-20T10:28:00.003-06:00

After 5
Originally uploaded by J Semenza

I realized recently that I wasn't stretching out, doing yoga, or even belly dancing anymore. And I figured out the cause... my living room. My living room has become chock full of large beautiful pieces of furniture. So in order to work out I had to move it and then move it back. I have known for awhile that my evening stretching wasn't happening because of dog hair and debris. In order to use the floor I needed to vacuum. Nothing quite like fuzzy poodle paws to track in dirt, pine needles, and leaf debris. I don't mind vacuuming that much, but before every evening stretch was a bit much.

So I was racking my brain trying to think of a space to convert to a place for yoga and the light bulb went on over my head. (Yes I think you could really see it.) I had a little used guest bedroom downstairs. It had ugly blue carpet, paneling and would be just perfect with a little work.

And here it is. We gave the bed away, removed the dresser and one of the night stands. I kept a night stand for the fountain to sit on, traded out the desk for a real tv stand and kept the nice desk to hold videos, candles, cd's, etc...

Best of all, it works. I stretched out before going to bed last night. Whoooo HOOOOOO!!! I might even take up regular meditation again.

Jenny

For more pictures see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157606750786749/

Day Twenty Two - Homeward Bound

2008-06-14T13:52:00.004-06:00

Saturday June 14th 2008
Drive from Great Falls to Helena to Pocatello
412 miles – estimated 8 hours of driving

And we drove and drove and drove and were thrilled to be home at a reasonable hour. Hugged our daughter and our doggie and I went to bed.

Receipts:
Best Western – Great Falls MT
Exxon – Great Falls MT
McDonalds – Great Falls MT
Teton Truck Stop (gas) – Roberts ID
McDonalds – Idaho Falls ID

Wildlife & Birds:
Wasn’t even looking by now, just ready to be home.

June 15 Sun Sleep

Photo set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157605669078783/

Total number of animals spotted in the wild on the trip:
21 moose
7 caribou
8 black bears
4.5 grizzly bear
2 coyotes
1 humpback whale
pod of orcas
1 red fox

Various beaver, porcupine, elk, mule deer, bison, antelope & snowshoe hare
Numerous harbor seals, steller sea lions, sea otters, bighorn sheep, dall sheep, & mountain goats

Image: Grizzly Bear in Anchorage Zoo

We kept a Moose Log on our trip:
1 Moose in Yukon after haines junction - Nick has pictures
2 Moose in Alaska ouside of Tok Momma & baby - Nick has pictures
1 Moose in Alaska outside of Tok - no pictures
1 Moose in Alaska outside of Delta Junction - Jenny has pictures
2 Moose in AK outside of Delta Junctions Mile 294 Momma & baby - Nick & Jenny have pictures
1 Moose in AK outside of Fairbanks Mile 302 - Nick & Jenny have pictures
2 Moose in AK Denali park, blonde momma and baby - Jenny has pictures
2 Moose in AK Potter Marsh, no photos
1 Moose in AK Rabbit Creek Rd, with dandelion - Jenny & Nick have pictures
2 Moose in AK on the road to Seward, far apart from each other
1 Moose in Yukon past Muncho lake - Jenny has pictures
2 Moose in British Columbia past Toad River Momma & baby - Jenny has pictures
1 Moose in Alberta - no pictures

Day Twenty One - Onward to Great Falls MT

2008-06-13T13:44:00.001-06:00

Friday June 13th 2008
Drive from Westlock to Edmonton to Calgary to Great Falls
567 miles – estimated 11 hours of driving

Image: Scooter on the lookout

This was another big driving day. The best part was that we finally found INTERSTATE! WHOOOOO HOOOOO. Before we found the interstate we stopped at the sign for the Devonian Gardens so Nick could prove it existed.

Another stop was for a Tim Hortons. We’d seen a lot them throughout the Canadian part of our trip and had to find out what it was. It is a coffee and donuts place kinda like a Starbucks.

Although both Edmonton and Calgary beckoned us to come and explore what they had to offer, budget constraints and a desire to get home kept us on the road.

Best Western in Great Falls
1700 Fox Farm Road,
Great Falls, Montana, 59404
Receipts:
Best Western – Westlock AB
Petro Canada – Aldersyde AB
Petro Canada (souvenirs, snacks) – Aldersyde AB
Tim Hortons – Leduc AB
Dairy Queen – Clairesholm AB
Applebee’s – Great Falls MT

Yes, we really did eat at a familiar chain once we crossed into the U.S.A. I won’t miss the international service charge that we got hit with for every transaction on a credit or debit card. Nor will I miss an exchange rate that favored Canada. Why did I have to go during the one time it would benefit them the most? It was also interesting to hear about how many Canadians were planning vacations in Hawaii because of the exchange rate.

Photo set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsemenza/sets/72157605668576783/