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July 23, 2006
Today's Bounty
If I had known gardening was this gratifying I would have taken it up years ago.
I guess I am going to have to make more pickles this afternoon. Unfortunately there is no sign of any eggplant or zucchini, but I do have about 4 dozen green tomatoes waiting to ripen.
Posted by Julee at 12:20 PM | Comments (4)
July 21, 2006
Iris' Fortune
How appropriate!
Posted by Julee at 01:34 PM | Comments (2)
Sandals
Every summer I have the same problem: half-way through the summer at least one of my children has either outgrown or worn out their sandals. What makes this a problem is that by mid July sandals are really scarce in the retail world. I understand that they need to start clearing their shelves for the annual back to school extravaganza, but we still have about 2 months of sandal-wearing weather left. I had to visit 4 stores before I finally found a new pair for Henry, who is particularly rough on his shoes. Maybe next year I will get wise and buy an extra pair in a size larger.
Posted by Julee at 12:58 PM | Comments (5)
Friday Random Ten
Shuffle Those MP3s
1. Hillbilly Motobike - Stereolab
2. La La Love You - Pixies
3. Time for Heroes - The Libertines
4. Baby Britain - Elliott Smith
5. Lilac Wine - Jeff Buckley
6. All Day Sucker - Stevie Wonder
7. Sympathy for the Devil - The Rolling Stones
8. Ya Mama - FatBoy Slim
9. Lost Again - Dance Hall Crashers
10. Radio Theme - Tullycraft
Posted by Julee at 12:14 PM | Comments (0)
July 20, 2006
Blog Friends in Real Life
I told Colleen that next time we went to DC I was going to go to her house and meet her. So... true to my word, Eric, the three kids and I imposed ourselves upon her and her lovely family. It especially worked out in our favor because she even made dinner for us.
(check out all of those Darth Vader cups!)
Her oldest, Connor, is a little guy closer in age to Iris,
but that didn't prevent him from keeping up with the big boys. Colleen and her husband, Jason, didn't even flinch as the boys spent the entire evening running through the house, tearing things up and sword fighting.
You should actually head over to her site because her photos are much better.
Posted by Julee at 10:35 PM | Comments (0)
Another Trip to DC
Eric had a few days off earlier this week so we made the 3 hour drive down to Washington, DC. It's wonderful being so close. We feel like we can just concentrate on doing one or two things each visit instead of trying to cram in as much as possible. There is just so much to do there.
This visit we spent almost the entire time in the Natural History Museum. I was really amazed that the kids, even Iris, were able to really go through nearly every exhibit in the whole museum without getting worn out or bored. I owe much of that to the Smithsonian Institution's ability to create incredible musuems.
When asked what their favorite things they saw Theo said he liked seeing the sea creatures that predate the dinosaurs. (not his exact words) Henry's favorites were the Native American artifacts from the Lewis and Clark Exhibition. I promised him next time we go, most likely in the fall we will spend our time at the National Museum of the American Indian.
The three kids in front of the elephant in the rotunda of the Natural History Museum.
Iris holding some caterpillar thing that neither of her older brothers would go near.
Trying to stay cool in the suffocating heat with some Dippin Dots.
Posted by Julee at 10:08 PM | Comments (0)
July 13, 2006
My Observations Regarding Life on an Air Force Base
1. Saying you live in a flight path is an understatement; you live right next to an airport. The planes are low and loud but at least they don't fly everyday. Actually, after a while you don't even really notice them.
2. At 17:00 (5 o'clock) everyday Retreat is sounded. The National Anthem is played throughout the base over a loud speaker. If you are outside when this happens you must stop what you are doing and stand at attention facing the direction of the music until the last note. All of the little kids playing will stop and do this too. If you are in your car you must pull over until the music stops.
3. Those same loud speakers are (too) often used to run tests of the military's emergency system. The monthly tornado siren test of my childhood in Kansas has got nothing on the noise level of the military's siren. I nearly jump out of my skin each time it is sounded. They are also used to issue various other warnings. Yesterday a lightening advisory was announced.
4. You rarely need to leave base (if you choose). McGuire is adjacent to Fort Dix and between the two installations you will find a supermarket, a BX, (which is like a scaled down K-Mart) a movie theater, a bowling alley, 2 golf courses, a putt-putt course, 2 libraries, a handful of places to dine, 2 gas stations, 2 convenience stores, 2 post offices, an arts and crafts center, day care centers, elementary schools, dozens of playgrounds, a skateboard park, a few swimming pools, a state-of the-art athletic center, a medical clinic and so much more.
5. Occasionally upon stepping outside I hear the distant rat-a-tat of machine guns coming from the Ft. Dix training grounds. It creeped me out the first time I heard it.
6.Speaking of guns... if you don't have a Department of Defense ID or a special pass, you are not getting past the guard carrying that M16 at the front gate. So I guess no one will be just dropping by my house. (Except you, Colleen) Though I do feel comfortable letting my sons ride their bikes up and down our street unsupervised.
7. We don't pay rent nor do we pay for our utilities. (But that is still no excuse to run your sprinkler during a downpour! grrr!) But if we had decided to live off base we would have received a housing allowance that probably would not have covered what we get at McGuire. New Jersey is expensive!
8. We are constantly getting new neighbors. This time of year you see a lot of people come and go. In the past month we have seen five families on our street move. It was sad to see 2 really excellent playmates of my sons leave, but that is just how it goes.
9. Having neighbors move can also be beneficial, say for example, when they are being stationed in England and they need to get rid of their swingset, so they sell it to you for hardly nothing.
10. I used to get a thrill when seeing a license plate from Hawaii or Alaska. Now I see them almost daily.
11. I cannot get the New York Times delivered and National Public Radio reception is spotty at best. Hmmmm.
Posted by Julee at 10:15 PM | Comments (5)
July 08, 2006
Today's Bounty
I wish I had gotten a picture of the bowl full of jalapenos we had harvested earlier this week - before I made hot pepper jelly, which tastes absolutely wonderful with chevre on crackers.
I'm going to use this recipe to turn those cucumbers into pickles.
Posted by Julee at 12:54 PM | Comments (2)
July 07, 2006
A Few of My Favorite Things
Colleen tagged me to come up with a list of things that I like that have nothing to do with my family. Since I am actually an individual, not only a wife and a mother!
So here is what I like:
-really good coffee
-an hour or two alone at a comfortable coffee house with a stack of magazines
-an hour or two alone to browse at a bookstore or the library
-spending an entire Sunday morning leisurely reading the New York Times
-snail mail
-stationery
-stamps
-the nice fountain pens Eric bought me
-a really good haircut
-the way I feel after I exercise (so why don't I do it as often as I should?)
-traveling and exploring, seeing new places
-taking the back roads
-reading about foreign places
-trying new foods, new restaurants
-meeting new people
-the beach - the smell, the sounds, playing in the surf and hunting for seaglass
-the scents of lemon and lavender
-Avalon Organics bath products
-sunglasses
-lipstick
-ripe peaches and cherries
-cheeseburgers cooked on the grill
-frozen maragaritas
-India Pale Ale
-doing creative things
-taking photographs
Lisa, Yolanda, Amy, Corrie? How about it?
Posted by Julee at 04:15 PM | Comments (3)
Friday Random Ten
Shuffle Those MP3s
1. Over the Hill and Far Away - Led Zeppelin
2. Extraordinary Machine - Fiona Apple
3. There is a Light that Never Goes Out - Smiths
4. Dub Latina - Calexico
5. Shotgun - Mary's Danish
6. Big Iron - Marty Robbins
7. At the Bottom of Everything - Bright Eyes
8. Troubles - Mark Erelli
9. Prisoner of Love - James Brown
10. I Wish - Stevie Wonder
Posted by Julee at 03:50 PM | Comments (0)
July 05, 2006
Look, No Training Wheels!
Posted by Julee at 09:39 PM | Comments (2)
Wiki Wednesday
Courtesy of Karen
1. Go to Wikipedia.
2. Click on "Random article" in the left-hand sidebar box.
3. Post it!
Dipolog Airport (IATA: DPL, ICAO: RPMG) is the main airport serving the general area of Dipolog City, the capital of Zamboanga del Norte, in the Philippines. The airport is one of the busiest in Mindanao, especially considering its classification. The airport is classified as a secondary airport by the Air Transportation Office (ATO), a body of the Department of Transportation and Communications that is responsible for the operations of not only this airport but also of all other airports in the Philippines except the major international airports.
A recent two-day airport closure of Zamboanga International Airport caused the ATO to expedite the improvement of the airport's facilities to accommodate additional passenger traffic for Zamboanga City and Dipolog-bound passengers after airlines were suggested to divert flights to Dipolog should a closure happen again in the future. The airport is the closest open airport to Zamboanga City and is the only one with existing modern facilities within the vicinity, being only 6 hours away by land travel.
By early next year, the widening of the airport runway, taxiway and apron is scheduled to commence along with the installation of new radar equipment
Posted by Julee at 09:34 PM | Comments (0)