So long Seattle, and thanks for all the fish!

Seattle is awesome – the people, the culture, the activities, the Troll, and on and on. And, for two years, it’s been overcast and rainy, which has worn thin on Dean and me.

This spring, meaning April, not every other alleged season for two years, Dean was wistfully looking at an internet list of the sunniest cities in America. Little Rock was on the list and also was noted for being the rainiest of the sunniest cities, making it great for gardening.

As it so happens, I lived in Little Rock for 3 or 4 years back in my tender college years. I loved living there. My best friend of 18 years and her family live there. It is where I found Unitarian Universalism and where I joined my first congregation, which I still fondly consider my home congregation. I only moved back to Nebraska because I was young and poor and didn’t have a family support system there to help me through the lean years.

So, when Dean mentioned the article, I mentioned how much I enjoyed Little Rock and how much I would adore living close to Leslie again, then he mentioned how good it was for gardening, then I mentioned how expensive Seattle was, then he mentioned...you get the picture.

Out of that article, in late April we decided to move to Little Rock –
In three to five years. Dean pressed for a year. Leslie pressed for a year. I wanted to get things in order and have a plan, of course. So we settled on April 30, 2014 as our target move date. Dean started a countdown of the days in soap on the bathroom mirror.

In early June, I was just looking around on the internet at jobs in Little Rock, starting to get a feel for the major employers, their career sites, etc., and I found the absolute perfect job for me. There is only one of them in Little Rock and these jobs don’t open often in smaller cities like Little Rock. I had to apply. Dean was in full support.

I think the only real question they asked in the phone interview was, “You know this job is in Little Rock, AR, right?” I had to do a lot of convincing that, yes, I lived in Seattle now and, yes, I wanted to move to Little Rock, AR. Went down for a site interview. All went well.

Today, I accepted the position and start in mid-August. Notice how many years before April 30, 2014 that is? The universe works in mysterious ways.

And, like when we up and decided to move to Seattle, I’m leaving Dean behind to fix and sell the house while I jet off to the unplanned job. Very crazy stuff.

Seattleites – Fear not. I will return occasionally. Dean may not move until next spring. There will be plenty of time to feast and fest. I suspect we will have some sort of soirée before I leave in August.

That’s the long and short of it for now. I shall remember to take my towel.

What the heck is a tenterhook, and why do we wait on them?

Tenterhook

Tenter

Me. Waiting. Still can't blog about it.

37 and counting

Yeah! I finished the original drafts of my last two textbook chapters so I'm once again free to blog. Of course, there is a lot more work to do before you all have the greatest E&M textbook in your sticky little fingers, but having the original text done is huge!

But now I don't have a blog topic. I have a potential blog topic, but I can't blog about it until next week. A word to the wise - be careful what you put out in the universe. You just might get it, and sooner than you think!

I'm trying to find the top of my desk this afternoon at work. Just like the house, I prefer to have everything neat and tidy at work but, just like at the house, finding the time to make it happen is hard. I've made three new file folders, which makes me happy.

I also have a new arch nemesis at work, which keeps things interesting. The rest of the avengers and I are working to vanquish the evil that has been brought forth to the office. It's more interesting than creating flow charts.

And my birthday was Tuesday. I was thoughtfully gifted by those that love me with a near non-event of a day.

More, better, later.

Grace and Delay

When I was a child, my paternal grandmother called me Grace. This was due to my profound skill as a clutz.

Last night while cooking another delicious Indian meal, I sliced off half of my right index finger nail, including some of the nailbed. Needless to say, I'm typing one finger down today, which is quite the challenge.

I haven't posted lately because I'm feeling very guilty that I haven't completed the last chapters in my textbook. They are going painfully slow. I figure if I'm not getting that writing done, I shouldn't be doing other writing either.

So now, I'm two Indian meals behind and I still want to write this great piece about Mormons. But, I have to write chapter 14 first, and maybe let my finger heal a while.

Happy Monday. Happy April. Here's to your health, and the health of all of your fingers!

Paved Roads, Baskets, Intentions

I can't believe it. After I take in my car for service Saturday morning, I put the nose to the grindstone and finish writing first drafts of the last two chapters in my textbook. It should only take me this weekend if I'm focused. Angie is gone and Dean has to work in the office prepping for a big meeting. No new Netflix are due in the mail and I've watched every last English period film on streaming that I can stand. There should be no distraction.

Yes, it's long overdue. I was reading Douglas Adams' wiki recently and found he is credited with the lovely quote, "I love deadlines. I love the whoosing noise they make as they go by." Unlike Mr. Adams, I hope my tardy writing habits never become cause for my intrepid editor and I to be locked together in a hotel room for three weeks!

Yes, that's only the first part of writing a book. There are still versions and revisions, test questions, case studies, student exercises, parts, introductions, and appendices. But, having the nucleus of the book done will feel so good.

Now, let's see what I have to say Monday morning. Stay tuned...

ETA: Sunday - My goodness. I have learned so much writing this book. Seemingly every time I think I know something, or the source of it, I am surprised to find misquotes, vagaries, and redirection. My research estimate is always low...

SoulPancake & Project Conversion

Rainn Wilson, who plays Dwight Schrute on The Office, co-created the site SoulPancake. It is an attempt to create an on-line, contemporary place to talk about spirituality and life's big questions. It's interesting, if, sadly, geared towards someone younger than me.

I also am rather uncomfortable with Mr. Wilson's faith, Baha'i because of their ambigious to negative stance on homosexuality. If it wasn't for that sticky point, Baha'i would be a pretty cool religion, as religions go. It is rather focused on individual righteousness without judging other people. I'm down with that much.

Within that framework, then, I am skeptical of SoulPancake. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. For some reason, I don't buy that it is as cool as it seems. But then, they have a feature called Life's Little Lists, that is a tool to help a person consider their inner life. It's these parts of the site that make me forget the other shoe.

The current question is, "Name three things that you and only you can do for yourself." As a strong believer in self-determination, of course this appealed to me.

1. Only I can determine whether I am really ticklish.
2. Only I can decide how I will feel about or react to another person's behavior.
3. Only I can see my dreams.

I don't think I've posted about it here, and since I'm feeling religulous today, and since it also happens to related to Baha'i it reminded me, I'll point out for those interested in comparative religion, Project Conversion. This guy is trying on 12 different religions, one per month for a year. Fascinating project. I highly recommend it. I am intrigued by his work on his own spiritual journey and connection to the divine through the windows of these faiths.

Next in the religious post series, my musings on My Favorite Mormon, Ken Jennings, my recent trip to Salt Lake City, which included a trip to Temple Square, and why Mormons are so gosh darned nice.

Zen and the art of cleaning out one's track ball

Wow. Do not let your track ball mouse go without a regular cleaning. Mine seemed to be sluggish today. I finally popped out the ball and pulled what seemed to be felt pads off the three contact points for the ball. They were actually dust and debris. Now, the mouse cursor moves so fast I'm having a hard time controlling it. Note to self.

Now, I have to do something about the lunch crumbs in my keyboard...

The herd increases

I became the wife of an urban chicken farmer this weekend. Dean had talked for a couple of years about getting some chickens. We can legally have 8 chickens in the city limits.

Interesting to note that chickens lay eggs regardless of whether they are fertilized by a rooster. It's preferable not to have a rooster if the chickens are laying hens.

This weekend, we went to a chicken show for Angie. She is in 4-H and has really taken to showing and judging chickens. She borrowed a chicken to show and did a great job with it. She also was happy with her work in the judging portion.

We have four chicks in the basement two Black Star, one Dark Brahma, and one Spangled Sussex. Angie wanted a sleeping bag last night to spend the night with them. It was so precious!

They are really precious. On the 30th, we're having 4 more. For sure, two Buff Orpington, and either one Silver-laced Wyandotte and one Light Brahma or two Silver Wyandotte.

I just wanted a couple of the buff color, so I'm happy. My chickens will be named Priscilla and Henrietta, which seem like right fine hen names. I get to name at least one Orpington and one other.

Dean has 5 weeks to build the coop. This weekend, he worked on clearing the area of the yard.

I'm looking forward to working through Julia Child's egg chapter in Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

So, in all it is quite the family venture we're in. You'll have to stop by for an omelet.

Are you in your feet?

I've been taking meditation classes with Kim Trimmer. One class a few weeks ago, as we were practicing yoga before we sat, she asked, "Are you in your feet? Not are you aware of your feet, but is the essence of you in your feet? Do you inhabit your entire body?"

What an amazing question. I would say, as I think most of us would, that I am in my brain, or I am in my heart, but rarely do we inhabit the whole body. The body is a vehicle that the brain or the heart or the soul drives. I like the idea of trying to really be in the whole car.

I have been embracing another quote from class, paraphrased here - You are not a human being having spiritual experiences. You are a spirit having human experiences. Or, said another way, one I've enjoyed for years - You do not have a soul, you are a soul.

Be in your feet!

Tasty, Tasty Copycat

Since moving to Seattle, Dean and I have discovered an immense love of Indian cuisine. I bought Madhur Jaffrey's seminal cookbook Indian Cooking last year. I was looking through it this weekend to find some meals to prepare, and couldn't decide which sounded tastier.

So, like Julie Powell discovering Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I'm diving in to Indian Cooking with plans to make every dish in the book and then self-obsessively blog about it.

Amazon says it is "over 100" recipes, so 103 maybe? I'll count for sure and starting posting the tasty results post haste.

For Alysen, a post about design

Well designed things give me a sense of peace. I love taking a break from work and perusing Design Milk or Dwell.

I get a weird combination of amusement and enjoyment from Unhappy Hipsters.

A smooth line, a well placed roof line, a seemingly random yet purposefully placed splash of color in the exterior world calms my inner world mightily. It is a mindful meditiation for me.

Around the new year, Design Milk had a post about great new calendars. I instantly ordered one from an etsy shop The Made Shop. I got it in red to match my office decor and I simply adore using it multiple times a day. Its lines and structure are so beautiful.

I think that's a big reason why I love my iPhone. Great industrial design appears so simple and elegant. When I interviewed for my current job, one of the interviewers asked me to talk about some phrases, one of which was 'simplicity on the other side of complexity'. That is great design. It often takes immense effort, but when done well, it looks so easy.

Consider design, not just function in your decisions. It really can make all the difference.

Things to do

I want to drink an ice cold glass bottle of orange soda that I get out of the cooler in a country bar.

I want to run on a trail for hours until I am completely physically spent.

I want to sit on the beach and watch the ocean roll and crash - all day until it's too dark to see my hand in front of my face.

I want to have nothing to do for an entire day.

I want to rent a cottage overlooking water and spend three days reading, eating really great cheese and fresh bread, under a pile of blankets and pillows.

I want to drive and drive and drive until I run out of gas, or come to an impassable border, or I arrive at the sea.

I want to marinate in a warm pool of water, with the ability to breathe under water, just hovering for hours.

I want to disappear in a writer's retreat for six weeks and write an entire chapbook of poems.

I want to laze on a mountain river, watching Dean fly fish up and down the bank all morning.

I want to dissolve for just a little while.

Slow Saturday Mornings With White Man's Gospel

I started college when I was 16. I don't remember what the class was, but it was in the early evening, and the instructor had us listen to bits of this show called "All Things Considered" during class. It was on this radio station called "NPR". From the first listen, I was hooked.

Twenty years later, I keep what is really my only religious ritual, listening to my local NPR station for as long as possible on Saturdays, preferably starting with Weekend Morning Edition, ending with Says You. In the middle, Car Talk is over and I'm awaiting my favorite show, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me.

One of the very first things I do when I move to somewhere new or am on vacation or traveling for work, is to tune in the local public radio station.

When I lived in Little Rock, my ritual was to clean house Saturday mornings while I listened.

I was so proud when I made my first annual pledge of $60 when I lived in Lincoln.

I didn't know what to do with myself when I found out there were multiple stations in Seattle.

I have a love/like relationship with Prairie Home Companion. I prefer when the program is more homogeneous. I don't mind an opera singer or two, but not in the middle of a banjo piece and a children's choir. I enjoy sitting quietly and listening intently to the news from Lake Wobegon.

When my sister-in-law and her kids lived with us last year, they quietly suffered through long Saturdays filled with Auntie's radio programs. It was a foreign listening experience for kids raised on hip-hop. One day while PHC was on, my then 5 year-old nephew walked through the kitchen as a bluegrass piece with vocals was being performed. He stopped, thought for a moment, and said, "Oh! Auntie Terri Ann like white man gospel!" Having figured it out, he continued on his way.

Just now, I had discussed with Dean going to run errands after Wait, Wait... is over at 11. He went to tell Angel that we would leave at 11.
Angel: I know.
Dean: Oh, did you hear us discussing it?
Angel: (Quite matter-of-factly) No. That's when her show is over.
Even the 12 year-old knows me so well. I suppose there is some comfort in consistency.

Simple Joys

Our work conference room overlooks Elliot Bay from our offices on the 17th floor. I usually sit on the window side, facing in. However, I took the opportunity to sit facing out yesterday during a long meeting.

While I was enjoying the gorgeous blue skies and lazy water, watching the occasional jet approaching the airport for a landing, the parasailers crazily drifting behinds boats, and the ferries running back and forth across the Sound, I looked out towards 2nd and University and there around the 20th floor of the building on that block, a lone red balloon on a string floated with gentle purpose towards the sky.

I always wondered where those escaped balloons went after letting loose of a tiny fist. They make it at least to the 30th floor, where I lost sight of it. Beyond that, I still wonder.

What did I say about being clever?

Using the word "whilst" in a blog post is an attempt to be clever.

Note to self: Don't be clever.

Rules for Naps

I posted this to another on-line spot back in 2007. I think it bears repeating.

Rules, or guidelines perhaps, for Naps, in no particular order. Disregarding them will result in a low quality nap.

1. The best naps are taken purposefully. Plan ahead.

2. Naps are most effective when taken semi-dressed, preferably dressed normally waist-up, but without pants - just underwear - and no socks. If you're the commando type, put some underwear on for the nap. You'll be pleased. Being a naked sleeper myself, I find these clothing rules hold true only for naps.

3. Naps should be taken in a bed, but on top of some of the usual covers. Only the upper-most bed covering, or preferably a throw or quilt, should be used.

4. Naps should be taken where dappled sunshine or light rain are accessible, but not directly in them. The best naps are taken in that odd, afternoon bedroom shade and quiet. The lightest breath of a breeze from an open window occasionally licking your cheek is a bonus.

5. Naps are even better if taken while someone is fixing something in the kitchen that you can eat when you get up since you'll be hungry, and you can't quite make out the chit chat or what the thing is being cooked, but you know it will be good.

6. One if not two cats must be present to watch over you for safety reasons.

7. Whoever said power-napping meant one of those twenty minute dozes was cracked. Power napping, in fact, is the ability to pass out for 1-2 hours, but have just the occasional drizzle of wakefulness. This allows for a good sleep, with the ability to still appreciate the dappled sunshine or light rain and breeze. This also allows for smelling updates on whether the food being cooked to be consumed post-nap is actually complete, signaling the end of the nap.

8. While spicy chicken sandwiches and frosties from Wendy's can replace the thing being cooked in the kitchen, it isn't really a great substitute. Try to employ a cooking relative or friend to be active in the kitchen during the nap.

9. A potty break is essential just pre-nap to avoid nap disturbances.

10. Under no circumstances answer the phone, the bell, the IM, the telepathic implant, whilst napping.

11. Team napping will result in snuggling, which results in snogging, which results in you-know-what. Nap alone, in separate bedrooms.

12. Submitted by Kyle: I've found that napping mid-day while fully clothed (even shod!) can be very successful IF, and ONLY IF you are watching a documentary narrated by Leonard Nimoy and/or have a nice, meaningful book such as "The Four Agreements" open and laying across your chest.

Your additions are solicited and welcome!

Eleanor Rugby

Oh my. Dean and I happened upon a rugby game on tv last night - the first we had ever seen. All we knew of rugby was the scrum, and that didn't seem very interesting.

As our man Keith Jackson would say, "Whoa Nelly!"

Instantly sucked in. It has all the criteria to be a sport -
Things happen.
It is played outside.
It is played outside and does not stop when it rains.
People end up with bruises.
Major sponsors are trucks, beer, and outfitters.

The best part was when two players were down on the field with injuries - and the other players just kept playing!

I think we have found our football off-season sport.

In other news, I am loving going to Green Lake three mornings/week for a walk and yoga. This morning, the sun broke as we were practicing and we laid in savasana in the rising sun. I heart outdoor yoga.

Parkour

Since I was a child, I would sometimes dream of moving without effort, running through a forest, jumping stones without stopping, climbing walls, dodging trees. The smooth action was soothing and meditative.

The French burgled my lizard brain, creating parkour. While it is more often practiced in an urban setting, I still prefer my dreamy, green, pastoral landscape.

Farewell, Jimmy Dean, and thanks for all the sausage

Jimmy Dean, famous for a coal mining ballad and tasty breakfast protein, died Sunday at his home.

Obit

This started me thinking about people who became known for one thing, particularly in the arts, and then were also successful doing something completely unrelated (unless you find country music and sausage inextricably related).

Sadly, Kenny Rogers was the first person to come to mind, having branched out in to chicken restaurants and unfortunate plastic surgery.

That's all I can think of now, and I suck at googling, so I wasn't able to cheat and just look them up on Wikipedia either.

In other news, it is a sign of the end times that someone spent time generating a "news article" because Brad Pitt trimmed - not even shaved, just trimmed - his beard.

Who knows how to make love stay?

Kaia ate through another one of my Kindle cords, so I can't access any e-books. I have also been in a reading funk, not sure what I want to pick up next. I was in my closet the other day and something reminded me of a great Tom Robbins quote, "Erleichda!" which roughly translates to Lighten Up! It was apropos of the moment, but why I don't know. That prompted me to pick up and commence rereading Jitterbug Perfume, probably my favorite novel.

That has caused me to consider just rereading great books for the rest of the year. SJP was on Studio 360 Sunday night and mentioned she just read A Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin, which I have read at least 3 times, and is an amazing read. Now that I have lived in New York, I would have a different perspective on the book, and I think I might reread it as well. It would be a great 7 months of nostalgia, but then I worry about all the time I could have spent reading new books. Such a quandary.

I was reminded of another great Tom Robbins quote this morning, "Who knows how to make love stay?" Al and Tipper Gore are separating after 40 years of marriage. Separating. After 40 years. Al and Tipper Gore. Huh? Am I being punked?

What keeps a relationship going for 40 years or 50 years or 60 years? What makes a relationship change so significantly after 40 years that they chose to end it? It is incomprehensible. I was counting on having all of that worked out after 40 years. We have to work on our romantic relationships that hard after even 40 years? I figured by then we would be worn down in to comfortable ruts at that point - rutted, but meandering across life's prairie in parallel.

And Al and Tipper Gore?! They are liberal royalty! If they can't do it, who can. Do relationships last forever only through inertia? Who knows how to make love stay?

Or, is another Tom Robbins quote more telling, "We spend more time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love."