Sometimes heaven, sometimes hell

Monday - I worked at home, sitting at the dining room table with sunlight streaming in. Christmas carols filled the air and kittens tested how long they could stand on the table before I scooped them up and off. I had a pot of tea at my elbow and a turkey sandwich for lunch.

Tuesday - I left work at 2:30 to take the boys across town (14 miles) to the vet for a 4pm appointment. I wanted to get to the vets before my 3pm conf call started. Three and a half hours later, I staggered home. I had a kitten in each hand and left everything else in the ice and snow encrusted car. We never made it to the vets.

You have your good days and your bad ones.

Getting to know you,

Getting to know all about you.
Getting to like you,
Getting to hope you like me.

That would be the boys and I. Things have settled down enough that we are starting to really get to know each other. I'm working on where boundries will be. One of them is "cats are not allowed on the dining room table." Can't say this sits well with the boys, who just want to explore and be where I am, and right now I'm working at home at the dining room table.

Compromises can be found. Voila.

Meet The Boys

Kittens! I adopted them last night. They are brothers, 14 weeks old. And boys! Never had boys before. They won my heart last night at the humane society. And they kept me up last night, racing around and wrestling. But they also snuggled with me and gave me kisses.

I'm still working on names.

Tempest

my heart is broken.

rest in peace, baby angel.



Tempest S. Pending Waskey Pollard
1993 - 2008

Off to DC

Can't wait!! For the meetings, no - not so much.

I can't wait to meet up with Sam for Operation Spy and the Spy Museum, followed by an tantalizing dinner out at Jaleo.

What is Operation Spy, you ask? Google it (jeez, do I have to do everything?).

Anyway, it looks right up my alley. I'll share the experience when I return from DC.

YAY!

I'm walking on air, right now.

Adventures in voting

I voted.

Felt good. Historic, whichever way it goes. And I feel really inspired by my candidate. Been a while since I could say that.

Things did not go as smoothly as they could have. This year I have a new polling location. I looked up the address and general location last night. Then today, I couldn't find the street. Drove around aimlessly for a while. Then finally stumbled across a sign that said, Vote Here. Yay!

Wrong polling place (who knew there would be a second location one block away from mine). Got rerouted and took off for the right address. Much better.

What do you mean my name's not on the list? I checked that I was registered, but something went screwy and my name wasn't on the list. It's possible I'm still listed at my old polling place. But the nice volunteers suggested I just register right then with my driver's license (and an extra nod of thanks to MN for having same day registration and preventing extra wasting of gasoline).

So I sat down and signed up. While I was there, the man next to me, who was also trying to register, discovered he needed a second piece of ID with his current address. Who was this young man? Why my new across the street neighbor. We shook hands and exchanged names (vs our usual nodding acquaintance). And I vouched for him. Yup - Not only did I enable myself to vote, I smoothed the way for a fellow Minnesotan. I'm just chock full of pride and patriotism.

Now I'm back at work and wearing my I Voted sticker with pride.

Because I voted.

Election Day is coming...

I think I'm ready. The big decisions I'm already decided on, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't stumped on the judicial candidates and stuff. Thank you, League of Women Voters.

I can't decide whether to tough it out and watch the results roll in or to just head to bed early and wake up to a final answer (hopefully, though the last two presidential elections don't give much hope for that). I probably won't be able to sleep.

Happy Halloween!

I love this holiday so much. Perfect weather, crisp and clear. There's the smell of smoke, leaves and mischief in the air. Think I'll build a fire to go with the candy tonight.

Here's me in my Halloween get up. I think I look good with candy floss pink hair, don't you?

Back from Philly

So my hopes of sharing my Philly adventures as they happened were dashed on the rocks of limited connectivity. Sad.

I, however, was happy. I had a great meeting, saw lots of people I knew, drank too much (and too often), ate lots of good food, and worked a m*****f****** room! That's right, I went to a party on Saturday and worked the room like a pro. I later found out that people who have now known me for years were surprised to find out I was ever shy. That blew my mind.

I'm back home now and suuuuper sleepy. I'm taking a couple of days off and will try to recharge before heading out for the next adventure.

two in one month...crazy

Yahooo! I'm on Facebook. I've caved to the public pressure and added a profile. Need to find some time to poke around though. Perhaps when other people can't see my computer screen.

I'm in Philly today. Arrived yesterday and got to watch the Phillies kick the Dodger's collective asses. They are on the way to the World Series! Philly went kind of crazy last night.

I'm here for the ASTC (Association of Science and Technology Centers) conference. Though I never seem to just attend like a normal person. I spend most of my time in the Expo since I'm here to share my Nano work. But it's always good to see scattered friends who gather for these meetings.

I'll try to keep this current and give you a taste of the conference. Exciting, no?

Filling in the last couple of months

A bunch has happened since my last post.

The regional workshops have ended, for now (we've got three more next year). I got to watch the Durham Bulls play in North Carolina, eat at the famed Moosewood Cafe in Ithaca (not to mention played a kick ass game of putt putt), and walk around and enjoy my second favorite city, Portland OR (seriously - It's awesome, you must go).

I survived the RNC (but grumped the entire time). I inhaled no tear gas, but can confirm that sleepy downtown St Paul looked like a war zone for that week. I met no one famous. Instead, I am simply happy to have the helicopters gone.

My grandmother died at the end of September (last of the grands for me, she was 91, my dad's mom, she hadn't been herself for years but it was still unexpected when she passed). I went to Tennessee for the funeral and helped out where I could. Her kids are still stunned and trying to figure out what's next. My aunt, Emily, is in recovery from cancer but she managed to make it through the funeral. I'd like her to come visit when she's feeling stronger.

I've now had a solid week at home, which is super nice. I hit the farmers market for root veg, fall lettuces and pot roast fixings. For those who are interested, parsnips do not take to pickling as well as carrots. Too fiberous.

I leave next week for a weeklong conference in Philly. I insist upon squishing a dinner with Susan and Brian in while I'm there.

I've got two trips in November (DC and Boston - I'll be calling).

Most exciting...I'm hosting Thanksgiving this year!! Can't wait. This should shake up the old routine, too. In Philly, Susan and I prep like clockwork, we are a vision of efficient movement. Here we'll have to find new places to shop and new rhythms. Yay!

Anyway - Miss and love all of you. Talk to you soon, too.

Oh - just so you don't think it's all toil, here's a photo of me at the Moosewood Cafe in Ithaca. LMAO, if you know what I mean.



Plus an image from the funeral. Her coffin is draped in a quilt she made. For those who know them, that's my mom and dad nearest sitting down. I took photos because I knew my aunt would want to see more of who was there.

Moose drool

So here I am in Montana. Breathtakingly beautiful. I opened the curtain behind me so I can gaze out at the mountains when I'm not chatting with the scientists. Tonight is my last poster session. Everyone's used to me being here by now (my stuff does not fit a standard "poster" session." Everyone who wanted got a free beer so I'm nursing my Moose Drool. It's brown and lovely.

The air is crisp and smells of pine. I wish I had more free time to wander, but it's nice just being here. Learned something new about myself, too. When I was a kid, I thought I'd want to live in the mountains. Now I'm not so sure. It's wonderful to see them, but I don't miss them like I miss the ocean.

Tired now

Doesn't look like I'll get my crop art finished in time. I'd need to drop it off on Friday, since I won't be in St Paul on Monday. Shoot. I left it for too long. But I've got a cool idea for next year. A seed diagram (in seeds!). Please don't tell me if it's been done before.

One down, three to go

Yesterday ended the first in a series of four (soon to be seven) workshops my project (www.nisenet.org) is holding around the country. This one was here in St. Paul and turned out better than I hoped (I was worried we were not prepared enough. We weren't but we muddled through pretty well anyway).

Next week I'm off to Montana (outside Bozeman) for a week at a Gordon Research Conference. Then I'm heading to Durham, NC the next week.

I'm going to have do some serious sucking up to the cat.

Dad came to visit this weekend and we got bunches done. We insulated the mudroom floor, meaning the whole house is now fully insulated. I feel very snug. Plus we installed ceiling fans into the two bedrooms upstairs. Those should really come in handy - if it ever gets warm again.

Photos (and some video, possibly) soon.

Flight of the Conchords

Wheeee! Got to see Flight of the Conchords on Tuesday. Great show!

In honor of my France loving friends and foreign language speakers everywhere, I bring you Foux Da Fa Fa, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5hrUGFhsXo.

(though I think my favorite is still Business Time, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGOohBytKTU)

Big weekend

Whew. I had a great weekend. Chock full of fun and excitement.

Friday night, Lisa and I co-hosted a party. I made my first fire in my new fire bowl. I was so happy. I spent most of the night sitting around the fire with my guests. We went through a lot of beer and wine. Could not have asked for a better night.

Saturday I hit the Mill City Farmer's market. We've had a very late spring around here, so no one had veggies yet, but there were still lots of tasty items to sample. I split a lemon cheese tart with Lisa and then splurged on a fresh bratwurst. I just love that moment when your teeth pierce the skin and the juices start to flow out. Mmmmmm... Then we headed to the Mill City Museum for a tour, to explore and to see flour explode. All in the name of science (for Lisa's job, not mine).

Saturday night was a chowdown at a Somali restaurant. Very hands on food. We had some new chowfolks join us and felt the need to explain that we weren't usually this messy. It's always nice to share a meal with my chow friends.

Sunday was full of downtime. I did not leave the bed until 1:30. Then I puttered around and cleaned the house, inside and out. Then off for laundry - Which may be my new favorite activity due to the new Chris and Robs Chicago Eatery across the street. I mean, what better way to kill time during the wash cycle than digging into a damn good version of an italian beef sandwich (dipped - with sweet peppers please). Lisa's cheese fries edged out my fried cheese curds. I'll be trying those again. And in the spirit of the weekend, we dropped off our clean clothes and headed to Grand Old Creamery for scoops in their fresh waffle cones.

I am utterly sated at this point.

Just give me a few hours :).

catching up

Lots happening recently. I spend a week in Denver (nice, dry, faintly phallic city) for AAM. Got to catch up with some friends and participate in earthshaking conversations. Saw some cool stuff, too. Photos and videos to come soon.

The bigger news is that I have a housemate! Two if you count Lisa's dog, Sienna. I'm loving having a dog in the house (though Tempest is less than thrilled). We are working on the slow integration of the two. Tempest has currently retreated to my room and we've moved her food and litter box there. Sienna stays out (most of the time). It's a temporary truce. Just this morning, T ventured to the end of the upstairs hallway (the lure of the sunbeam is fierce).

Lisa's fun to hang with and we get along so far. She moved here two weeks ago from Boston so that she could start a new job working on Dragonfly TV (a kids science show) on our local PBS station, TPT. Her show is nano-focused as is my project, so we have had some fun brainstorming conversations at home. I met Lisa through my current project, when she was working at the Museum of Science in Boston. We are having a shindig tonight to welcome her to Minnesota.

CONGRATS TO THE ENGLANDS ON THEIR NEWEST ADDITION. I CAN'T WAIT TO MEET GAVIN UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL LIKE.

Kisses,
Karen

Restyled Bathroom

Check it out! I spent the weekend working on the house (I feel like a real Minnesotan). I cleaned out the guest room in preparation for my house guest (Lisa - she's arriving tonight. More on her later). And most excitingly, I decorated my bathroom. I painted and installed stuff and reorganized. So much fun (in a swearing like a sailor kind of way) and I feel a wonderful sense of accomplishment. I might move into my bathroom now. I learned a bunch of stuff along the way and I suspect I'll want to repaint in the near future (edges are more tricky than I expected).

Ta da!

April Fools snow

Just wanted to post a few shots of the 6 inches we got on April 1st. It's all pretty much melted away by now. But it was sure pretty while it lasted.

Portland in words and other

Portland was amazing. Lovely place, good folks in the workshop.

Here are some photos of mine. The flikr ones were taken by another attendee (I'm actually in some of those!) It was a wonderful time and we got a lot of work done, too.

http://picasaweb.google.com/karen.pollard/Portland

http://www.flickr.com/photos/octoberdandy/sets/72157604115082349/


And I wanted to share this short video of my boss, Paul, describing Sun Ra (after a very long day). There are practically no words. It's just lovely.

Limbo

This has been a weird week. I felt like I was swimming through molasses. My sole event was seeing I am Legend with Ethan and Joe (we're the Cool Kids Book Club) last night to round out our exploration of the short story (sounds all smart when you say it like that, but really we like to sit around and talk about zombies and things).

Anyway - Ethan canceled (with a stupid good reason so you can't even be mad). He's got a gallery showing of some of his photos and he wanted to hit some other galleries and establish a baseline worth for his prints. We haven't managed to reschedule - since I'll be in Portland Sun through Thurs. Ah well, we'll figure something out.

I posted photos of Nook burgers and Pagoda dinner on Chowhound (links below). And I'm off to the Russian Tea House (featured on Alton's River Run - Though I liked it before that) for lunch with Rebecca.

Nook
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/493556#3462529

Pagoda
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/496141

Snowtubing ROCKS!!!

Saturday was my annual "Coerce my coworkers to snowtubing with me" event. It's in it's third year (though last year was canceled on account of extreme cold (-17 before wind chill is no time to go zipping downhill)).

This year we went to a new place, Badlands. Super cool. Very rules free and four hills to choose from. Here's a link to their site http://www.badlands-snopark.com/snotube.htm.

The most terrifying (and therefore best) hill was the Big Hill. So steep that when you stood at the top and looked down, you couldn't see the people who were ahead of you (as in - you saw then start to slide down, then they disappeared on the steep slope and then they reappear at the bottom.) I ran it twice.

The bruise is actually from the medium hill which has some awesome moguls. The first time I went down, I wasn't holding on tight enough and my tube slipped in front of me. My leg slapped the slope pretty hard.

Was it worth it? Of course.

Who knows

Who knows what this week will bring...

Maybe a sandwich night on Wednesday (cubans)? Or will Project Runway keep the other sandwich nighters away? Will I manage to watch Song of the Thin Man before it's due back? Will I make it to The Witch on Tuesday? (http://www.hardcovertheater.org/2008/witch_main.php)

And most importantly - Will I get a group together for snowtubing at Badlands on Saturday? http://www.badlands-snopark.com/snotube.htm

The seeds have been sown. Now to see if they bear fruit.

It's a sunshine day

Cold yes, but so wonderfully sunny. The sky is this really intense shade of blue. It's wonderful.

Did everyone catch the eclipse last night? I watched most of it from the big window in my upstairs hall. Magical.

Recent food writing

The first is a recap of the New Years visit. This should bring some good memories to those who came to visit.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/481910

This one is a response to the lone troll on the Midwest board. But it has very pretty pictures I took of some lovely sandwiches.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/485348#3363556

Art Shanty photos coming soon.

Cheers!

New year

Thanks again to my friends that visited. It was wonderful to have you here and to get to share my home with you.

An observation: The frost on the outside of the car is nowhere near as annoying as the frost on the inside of the car. Thankfully it is not yet cold enough that the inside frost builds up while driving. I only have to deal with it in the morning.