Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Nick's Leg

Sunday Nick came home with a swollen and apparently sprained ankle. But that's just the tip of the story. Let's begin at the beginning.

The geology class instructor didn't arrange for vehicles in time to borrow state ones. So he volunteered to put gas in Nick's jeep if he (that is Nick) would drive. Nick agreed so Sunday morning at 5:30 am he drives down to the campus to pick up some of his classmates. They all drive out to Gray's River, gather up their gear and begin the hike out to the field area. It's a fairly nice day and they're only part way in when they encounter a log. First the log takes out the professor, dumping him on his face. Next the vindictive log takes out Nick, wrenching his ankle badly and painfully. Well, a classmate happens to be an EMT and happens to have an elastic bandage with him, so he wraps up Nick's foot. Nick, brave, pain tolerant man that he is turns around and hikes back to the Jeep with the assistance of a couple of large sticks. It's too bad they didn't toss the log into the river, it certainly deserved it. This was still early in the morning, maybe 9:00 or 9:30.

Unfortunately, there were no plans made to be stuck in a Jeep for the day. Nick did not bring homework, book, headphones for mp3 player or anything. Apparently he spent the day alternately soaking his foot in the river (40 degrees, so that was smart), watching the clouds and horses or napping. I think we can say that he definitely caught up on his rest. He returned home around 10:30.

Since he could put weight on the foot and still move his toes, I just thought it was a bad sprain too. At work the next day one of my colleagues suggested that since we have health insurance an x-ray wouldn't be a bad idea.

Nope, it wasn't a bad idea at all. I was so surprised when the doctor wheeled Nick out into the urgent care waiting room. With strict instructions not to put weight on it. The doctor had put a wrapped cast and splint on the foot and told us to go see an Orthopedist. We also needed to get crutches so off I drove to Albertsons, one of the few places open at that time in the evening. That was Monday night.

Today was the first opening with the Orthopedist. He gave Nick a walking boot cast and basically said to take it easy and let it heal. We're supposed to come back in a couple of weeks to check for ligament damage.

Wow, lots can happen over one weekend.

After later
Jenny

Monday, October 15, 2007

Books from Oct 15 2006 to Oct 15 2007

I read Annie's list over at Textual Frigate and I had to create my own. Nick doesn't think I should count the new cookbooks, but I read them too. In any case I read more than I thought, though not nearly as much as Annie. I know her list is really just half of what she read, the ones she remembered. I definitely binged on Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Cozy Mysteries.

Non-Fiction: Geology & Natural History
1. America's Wildlife Hideaways by National Wildlife Federation
2. Field Guide to Wildlife Habitats of the Western United States by Janine M. Benyus
3. Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and the Middle Rocky Mountains by J. David Love
4. Creation of the Teton Landscape by David D. Love, John C. Reed, and by Kenneth L. Pierce

Cozy Mysteries
5. Bleeding Hearts (China Bayles Mystery) by Susan Wittig Albert
6. Tale of Holly How (The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter) by Susan Wittig Albert
7. Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood (The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter) by Susan Wittig Albert
8. China Bayles' Book of Days by Susan Wittig Albert
9. Death at Bishop's Keep by Robin Paige AKA Susan Wittig Albert
10. Charmed Death by Madelyn Alt
11. Trouble With Magic by Madelyn Alt
12. Witch Way to Murder by Shirley Damsgaard
13. Trouble With Witches by Shirley Damsgaard
14. Charmed to Death by Shirley Damsgaard
15. Scent to Her Grave by India Ink
16. Blush With Death by India Ink
17. Glossed and Found by India Ink
18. Mournful Teddy: A Bear Collector's Mystery by John J. Lamb
19. Fruit of the Poisoned Tree by Joyce and Jim Lavene
20. Pretty Poison by Joyce and Jim Lavene

More Riveting Mysteries
22. Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1) by Jim Butcher
23. Fool Moon (The Dresden Files, Book 2) by Jim Butcher

Non-Fiction: Self Help
24. Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
25. The Two-Step: The Dance Toward Intimacy by Eileen McCann

Non-Fiction: Biography
26. Snake Hips: Belly Dancing and How I Found True Love by Anne Thomas Soffe

Graphic Novels
27. Girl Genius Volume 1: Agatha Heterodyne & The Beetleburg Clank by Phil Foglio
28. Girl Genius Volume 2: Agatha Heterodyne & The Airship City by Phil Foglio
29. Girl Genius Volume 3: Agatha Heterodyne & The Monster Engine by Phil Foglio
30. Girl Genius Volume 4: Agatha Heterodyne & The Circus Of Dreams by Phil Foglio
31. Girl Genius Volume 5: Agatha Heterodyne & The Clockwork Princess by Phil Foglio
32. Girl Genius Volume 6: Agatha Heterodyne And The Golden Trilobite by Phil Foglio
33. What's New with Phil & Dixie 1 by Phil Foglio
34. What's New with Phil & Dixie 2 by Phil Foglio

Funny Fiction
35. Nice by Jen Sacks

Harry Potter
36. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander AKA J.K. Rowling
37. Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp AKA J.K. Rowling
38. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1) by J. K. Rowling
39. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2) by J. K. Rowling
40. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3) by J. K. Rowling
41. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4) by J. K. Rowling
42. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5) by J. K. Rowling
43. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6) by J. K. Rowling
44. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J. K. Rowling

Non-Fiction: Style
45. Don't go to the Cosmetics Counter without Me by Paula Begoun
46. Little Black Book of Style by Nina Garcia
47. Lyn Revson's World of Style by Lyn Revson
48. The Executive Look: How to Get it-How to Keep it by Mortimer Levitt

Lord of the Rings
49. Lord of the Rings Weapons and Warfare by Chris Smith
50. Making of the Movie Trilogy by Brian Sibley
51. Atlas of Middle-Earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad
52. Fellowship of the Ring Visual Companion by Jude Fisher
53. Two Towers Visual Companion by Jude Fisher
54. Return of the King Visual Companion by Jude Fisher
55. Lord of the Rings Official Movie Guide by Brian Sibley
56. Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien
57. Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien
58. Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien

Buffy the Vamire Slayer
59. What Would Buffy Do: The Vampire Slayer as Spiritual Guide by Jana Riess
60. Slayer Slang: A Buffy The Vampire Slayer Lexicon by Michael Adams

Cookbooks
61. Making Artisan Chocolates by Andrew Garrison Shotts
62. Truffles: 50 Deliciously Decadent Homemade Chocolate Treats by Dede Books
63. Great Meals in Minutes by Time-Life Books
64. Alfresco: Over 100 Recipes with Menus for Memorable Outdoor Meals by Linda Burgess

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Fun, Full, Weekend

I had a lot of fun on Saturday. It began early on Saturday. Nick and I attended the Riverwalk sponsored by the Museum.

RiverWalk
Saturday • Oct 13 • 9:00-10:30 am • Taysom Rotary Park
Don’t miss out on our monthly RiverWalk entitled “Autumn Colors” led by Pocatello’s favorite biologist, Dr. Karl Holte. Co-sponsored by the Portneuf Greenway Foundation, RiverWalks are family-oriented field excursions, each focusing on a different natural history topic. Meet at Taysom Rotary Park on Bannock Highway and bring a “bigger maker,” if you have one.

I loved the renaming of a hand lens to "bigger maker"

Next we went over to the Farmers Market where Kristi's band Rhiannon was playing. (See her blog for the Idaho State Journal.) I found gorgeous purple potatoes, onions, bell pepper and garlic.

We drove by the Marshall Public Library Centennial Celebration. But hunger won out and we had lunch at the Pocatello Co-op's Kinport restaurant. (http://www.pocatellocoop.com/) The food is yummy! I highly recommend the croquets.

Later we ran errands, I got a hair cut, visited Robin, Terry and Terry's two daughters and son-in-law. Eventually I took a much needed nap.

To finish the fun filled day we met up with Cheryl, Chantal, Tom and Mira to watch Ratatouille. I gotta say one of the highlights was the sheer glee and unstoppable laughter of Mira watching the preliminary short "Lifted." I also loved the movie. Thanks Leonard for the recommendation.

Sunday Nick went off on a Geology field trip and I stayed home. I opened the blinds letting in all of the sunshine and spend a lazy day cleaning house, doing laundry and cooking. I made tons of stew with the purple potatoes, the last of the carrots from my garden, garlic, onion and other fresh herbs. I also candied some walnuts to use later on a Gorgonzola, Cranberry Salad, and boiled a few eggs for lunch this week.

Nick came home with a sprained ankle. OW OW OW OW I dug out one of my fancy canes for him to use. Apparently he did it while hiking to the field area, so he spent the day in his car waiting for everyone to come back. Poor guy, he didn't have his computer, a book to read or anything. He did get to catch up on his napping, watching the clouds and enjoying the beautiful day. I love that he is so easy going.

After later
Jenny

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

ILA

Wednesday October 3rd is all about driving up to Nampa and the need to pay attention to where one is going. Cheryl and I left mid morning going west into a serious headwind. The day was beautiful and we had every intention of stopping in Twin for lunch. Unfortunately we were talking so much that I forgot to pay attention to the signs and we were at Bliss before I realized I had missed Twin. Rats!

We had two concurrent themes for the trip. Theme one - Raptors, it seemed that every fence post, high point and telephone pole had some kind of hawk lurking about on it. We saw a broad winged hawk, lots of swainson's hawks, many red tailed hawks, a kestrel, possibly a two ravens (I know, they aren't raptors, but they are still cool) and later that evening a golden eagle.

The other theme was Chocolate. I had grabbed a couple of dark mint chocolate bars for snacking and we shared one on the way there (particularly since we missed the lunch turnout). Once at Boise we headed in towards the Co-op. Cheryl spotted the Egyptian restaurant on the Left so we made an impulsive sudden decision and ate lunch there. They have an afternoon buffet that is really great. Next, shopping. We went to the Co-op, Eyes of the World and Cost Plus. Chocolate was found at two of the three places. Eyes of the World, usually has the best jewelry, but this time it was kinda lacking. So we packed up the mobile red suitcase (aka my red car) and headed to Nampa and the hotel.

We found dinner in Meridian at a fabulous Thai place called Sa Wah Dee
Yummy!!! http://www.sawaddeethai.com/ 1890 E Fairview Ave # B, Meridian (208) 884-0701

We arrived late to the ILA reception, but that was okay. We watched a couple of the Ballet Folklorico performances, and all of the Native American Entertainment and Irish Dancers. The Native American guy got us up and dancing in a big circle. As ISU Librarians trickled in we became the most numerous group. WHEEEE.

Later that night Cheryl and I did yoga and finally got to sleep. All in all a very fun day.

For more on my ILA trip see my boring Library Banter Blog Entries:
Keynote Speaker ILA - day one
GIS and Libraries - day one
But I Didn’t Even Like History - Lunch with author Kirby Larson
Podcasting - day one
Joy on the Job - day two
Susan Swetnam - Carnegie Public Libraries - Lunch
Bibliographic Software - day two

The trip home on Friday (we left the conference at the end of the last session) we encountered no wind, but there were no raptors either. A little of the chocolate got us to Twin Falls where we really did get our Thai food. Eyup we love the Thai food. A Taste of Thai http://www.atasteofthai.net 837 Poleline Rd, Twin Falls, ID 83301, (208) 735-8333

The rain came down on us gently as we drove the last hour into Pocatello. We were home by 10:00 that night. All in all I had a great time! Cheryl is a great roommate.

After later
Me