why i have to move to turkey

Do you know what this is?

Probably not because that would be really random and maybe a little creepy.  Well, I'll tell you.  It's Turkish Delight.  My friend and neighbor brought them when she came over to visit last night. 

I apologize for the appalling lighting for these photos but, well, I had candy to eat and no time to slow down for some stupid lighting.  I'm just telling you like it is.

Turkish Delight isn't for everyone but if you like it - this box will make you want to move to Turkey.  It's that good.  I'm one of the "do like it" people.  Not the kind you get from Cadbury's but the real stuff. 

I didn't try the ones in this box until shortly after she left and I had to tell her right away and in no uncertain terms that I was deeply in love with these and she was not to tell me that they actually came from Turkey. 

Me: "WHEEEEEERE did you get this candy?  And don't say Turkey because then I'll die because I can't get anymore."

My Friend: "Turkey.  Istanbul."

!

Darn you, Turkish Delight, making me love you!  So now, I have to move to Turkey.  I hope they have Red Bull there.  And fresh peaches.  I love fresh peaches. 

See that little hole near the middle of the next picture?  That's the place where the first one I ate was before said consumption.  After I ate that piece I ran for my camera because I had to share it with you.  Now I'm going to eat the rest of the box.

I'm not kidding.

red around town

This week for Alphabe-Thursdays, we're starting colors for the summer!  Yay for colors!  This week the color is red.  I love red.  Red makes me happy. 

I thought I'd walk around my subdivision and around the lake where I run, take pictures of anything red I see and see what I come up with.  Here's what I got. 

 Which is your favorite?

 

my first camping trip

There were a few tempting prompts on this week’s Writer’s Workshop, but I chose this one:

3.) Describe a memorable camping trip.

The first time I ever went camping was when we were in Peru last month, hiking in the Andes down the Inca Trail. Boy was it ever memorable. This is at the trail head.  That's me with the bright green backpack.  I was hiking with enthusiasm.  Taking no prisoners.  OWNING THE INCA TRAIL.  Yeah.  That lasted about an hour.

After hours of intensive hiking labor, we got to the first lunch site.  What a relief.

What a nice view!  Worth it. 



And after "going" in these for about four days...

I was glad to see this, randomly placed on the mountain trail.  Sort of.

A very tired Paige at the first campsite.  Thought I would never make it.  But I had on my thumbholes shirt!

More satifying views.

The view from our tent on the second night.  Cold.  It was so cold.  Brrrrr.

Some of the tents.  There was hard, rocky dirt underneath.  You got a "thermarest" pad thing to put under your sleeping bag.  Didn't help a bit.

But you got more pretty views!  Stupid thermarest = bad.  Nice views = good.

From inside home sweet tent.  The bear is trying to organize us...and wake up from a good night's sleep hell.  Had good views, though.

It was a foggy and early start on this day.  We got up to watch the sun rise over the mountains.  Because it's all about the view. 

Us in the lookout spot as the sun was rising.  Freezing cold and no sleep the night before.  BUT THE VIEWS.  And someone was waiting there with nice, hot tea - or I might have been a little grumpy which was nice.

More tent fog.

But the fog soon lifted.  This is the view from the front of our tent.  Incidentally, I nearly plummeted to my death taking this photo because there was exactly six inches between the front of the tent and a sheer drop of 4 feet.

Time for breakfast!  I'd show you a photo of the breakfast table but we all look simply awful in every photo (could have been the trekking with no good sleep for several days), so I'll show you this picture of the head porter making us wash our hands, just like he did before every meal.

VIEW! VIEW!

Our last campsite.  This one was much better because A) it was much warmer and B) there was nice, soft, fluffy, wonderful grass under the tents instead of evil, jagged, deadly rocks.

Bye-bye tent and sleepless nights, hellooooooooo hotel and real bed!!

fun stuff and advice

I’ve won two giveaways in my life on other people’s blogs and it’s stuff I really, really like and want to show you. Also, I need some advice about some of it.

First, back in May (yes, I know that was months ago), I got this from Jen at Hamster Central. It’s a bento box set with lots of little extras. You have no idea how much I love stuff like this. NO IDEA.

Here is a close up of the smaller stuff. The boxes are for the food and the smaller containers are for condiments. There’s even a cute little cutlery set! (If ever you need/want to buy me anything, first of all – thank you. Second, this is the kind of stuff I love.)

My question to you is – do you have any good recipes I can use for these for a picnic? Rice dishes are traditional, but any good picnic ideas? I need something that I need condiments for…because I NEED to use those little containers. These have already been on picnics, but I need ideas. Ideas from you. If you’re shy, you can always email me.

Jen also sent me these super cute hamsters. These are the kind of hamster that give her blog its name. I call these Jen and Jason after her and her husband.

The other giveaway was held in July by April at April, Maybe. It was this sweet little San Francisco themed candy tin and heart shaped locket.

Another need for advice: What should I put in the locket? I thought about photos of me and the Bear, but that seems cheesy. Maybe the two doggies? But then Jessie won’t purr for me anymore. Two strangers? Two of you?? I’ve already got a small oval locket with photos of my parents in. I’m at a loss. Any other ideas?

Here’s hoping you can help me!

(PS: All of you people who said you've never had Red Bull - What are you waiting for?  Get one.  Now.  Well, or maybe not...because they are completely addictive and a very expensive habit.  Forget I said anything.  You're not missing anything.  Except total happiness.)

blurry but hilarious

This photo isn't very good in quality, but makes up for it in COMPLETE HILARITY.  I call it, "Kung Fu Puppy." 

Behold:

Won't Laura make such a good guide dog?

I feel sorry for poor Phoenix. Except that she dishes it out, too.  They do play well together sometimes.  See?

Sorry for all of the doggie photos lately but......just look at them.  How can I resist?

q is for questions

I love answering questions. SO MUCH. What is it about a serious of questions that is such a vortex for me? I suppose everyone loves to talk about themselves. So you can imagine how happy I was to be tagged by Mrs. Mayhem at Mothering Mayhem to answer these. (Very happy, in case you don’t have an imagination.)

This might be a longish post due to the number of questions so I forgive you for skimming. I do it all the time. There’s just not time to read everyone’s epic posts. So just read the questions that interest you. That is, if you’re still reading at this point. There are stories of crazy people and my addictions, though, so there you go.

What experience has shaped you most and why?
A few days after I got my bachelor’s degree I boarded a plane to Europe. I spent about a year traveling and working on a student exchange visa. To this day I still feel that it’s the single most important thing I’ve ever done. It made me more independent and less afraid. I was at the right age to see things with the right eyes and appreciate them and I wasn’t jaded or smart enough to be afraid of the world. I know it was the right choice for me.

If you had a whole day with no commitments, what would you do?
Sleep. After that I’d probably read, take my dogs for a walk in the park and then come back and sleep some more. I’d also catch up on all of those little things you want to do but never get prioritized to the top. You know that stuff? I’d do that. And I’d probably take lots of photos. Yeah. Pretty much all of the stuff I do now, only without having to clean up puppy poopy.

What food or drink could you never give up?
Red Bull. Don’t know what it is about that stuff, but I just can’t put it down. I can limit myself to them, though. I only have one can in a day and sometimes I go weeks without one. I don’t have them very much, but I just can’t see my life without having the liquidy goodness of Red Bull.

If you could travel anywhere, where would that be and why?
WELL. I’m not really the person to ask this because I want to go everywhere. Literally. I go on and on about traveling to anyone who will listen. I’ve not been that many places on Earth, so I’m behind on my world tour. I have a tab at the top of my blog where I’ve put some photos of some of the places I’ve been. It’s by no means comprehensive, but it’s got highlights. I think the next big place that the Bear and I plan to go is Egypt because we’re both fascinated by the culture and history. However, we need to visit some aging relatives in New Zealand soon so, basically, who knows.

Who do you have a crush on?
The Bear. And MyHeritage.com for telling me I look like Kate Hudson.

If you were leader of your country, what would you do?
DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON THIS, PEOPLE. Sorry. I get upset about the way the world is run. I’m going to move on before I taint my blog with my political rantings.

Give me one savory recipe that doesn’t include cheese.
Why? Why would you want a recipe without cheese? Me no understandy. That reminds me of a story about someone I know involving cheese. This person says they are “allergic” to melted/cooked cheese. YET, they eat cold cheese all the time. They say that melted cheese will make them die but as long as it’s cold it’s all okay. Is that the most bizarre thing you’ve ever heard…or is it just me? Anyway, the problem with me giving recipes is that A) I never measure anything and people get frustrated when you use “a little of this” and “some” as measurements. Especially when baking. B) I get a lot of recipes from other people and websites and once I’ve printed them I forget where they came from. I don’t want to post something without giving credit. Life is full of tough decisions.

What did you think you were going to be when you grew up?
I was in the beauty pageant when I was really young and one of the questions was, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Most of the people said movie star or astronaut or princess. I said microbiologist. My mom said it quieted the crowd nicely. I don’t want to be a microbiologist anymore but I don’t know what I want to be, yet. I’ll let you know if I ever decide to grow up.

If you could spend just one day in someone else’s body, who would it be?
Have you ever seen the movie Being John Malkovich? What a strange movie. This question reminds me of that. I would not choose John Malkovich, though. I think maybe I’d choose Queen Elizabeth. She is so interesting to me. And she can fix your car.

Which woman writer, living or dead, do you admire most?
Call me crazy, but I tend to like authors because I like to read what they write and not because they've overcome adversity or have accomplished so much or that they are a woman...blah, blah, blah.  Although I suppose it's pretty impressive to get published, so I guess all of them.

What character trait inspires you the most?
I’ve written about this a lot, especially in this post. Intelligence is at the tippy top of my list, but it must be accompanied by a sense of humor, passion, compassion and happiness. Intelligence on it’s own does not an admirable person make.

What is your favorite kind of music?
All kinds. I have so many different kinds of things on my iPod that if you were trying to put together a profile of my personality by looking at my playlists, you’d have no chance.


Now I get to add a question and ask a few other bloggers to answer these, too. Here’s my question:

What is one fact about you that most people who know you wouldn’t guess?


I’m going to tag a few people, but don’t feel you have to play along. These things are not for everyone, so only answer if you think it’s fun!

I’m tagging Jen from Hamster Central, April from April, Maybe and everyone else reading this far in the post. Let me know if you do it so I can come and visit!

It's Alphabet Soup today at Jenny Matlock's.  Should be fun!

hank

I have this friend that we’ll call “Hank.” We’re calling him that because I use aliases on my blog for people I haven’t asked if I can out them on all of the funny (re: embarrassing) things they do in my confidence or people who don't have blogs. I mean let’s face it – if you have a blog, you’re free game. Also because I think calling him Hank is funny. And on this blog, funny is chief lawmaker.

Anyway, my friend Hank makes me laugh. So much so that I’m going to tell you why. Probably in a series of these posts because putting it all into one would be too much of a good thing - and because each time I talk to him I add to the list. (He doesn't comment on my blog but he emails comments to me or he gives me his full commentary when I talk to him on the phone.)

For example, Hank lives in a place where it’s extremely hot in some seasons (summer, fall, winter, spring). Last winter, they actually had some cold. A little bit of snow appeared (seriously it was like three flakes that lasted an hour). And as it had a meltdown, so did my friend Hank. You see, Hank does not do well with the cold weather.

In his own words:

“IT’S FREEZING. Whatever happened to global warming? I’ve been spraying aerosol cans in the back yard to try to deplete the ozone all week. It’s still freezing.”

I very much miss him. He’s one of those perfect friends you find once in a lifetime and he lives on a different continent now. Granted, that’s my fault, but still. He’s the perfect family man/husband, he’s extremely intelligent, always helps anyone in need (this is often me), has the best sense of humor in the world and is always happy. Oh, and he’s really good to look at. Plus, he’s been the best friend I’ve ever had...for more than eleven years.

So guess what? You get to hear a lot more about Hank in the future.

I’ll leave you with some Hank logic.

In a comment about this post where I was complaining about ironing:

“Buy smaller tee shirts, they stretch straight when you put them on."

And for this post where I posted pictures of Phoenix in the tall grass around the remains of St. Michael’s church on the Glastonbury Tor (which he called my “castle trip” post):

“Can they not afford someone to cut the grass?"

Are you beginning to understand the thinkings of the Hank?

(Yes, I made up the word "thinkings."  You know who'd appreciate that?  My friend Ted.  Hank would tell me I should spend less time making up words and more time eating meat.)

a (difficult) lesson in sharing

Today Laura discovered Phoenix's bed.  By Phoenix's expression, she was less than thrilled.

But she eventually relented like a good big sister.  They won't be able to do this for very long.  Soon only Laura's head will fit in the bed.  They grow up so fast.

At least this is a good excuse for me not to do laundry, as they are in front of the machine.  What a shame.

PS: Phoenix may look like a demon, but believe me - she is the angel in this situation!

i look like…

Way back in May, Jenners challenged her readers to go to My Heritage and see which celebrities it thinks you look like (in this post). I finally got around to trying it and….RESULT!! How awesome is my list?? Granted, I don’t actually look like any of these people but STILL. My Heritage thinks I look like Kate Hudson! I think I might have a crush on My Heritage now.

Barry = not so lucky. His first person was Tony Blair at 72% (even though my friend Liz would think that’s a good thing). His second person, at 61% was Heath Ledger, though, which is good. Then, number three at 56% Yul Brynner. I am a lucky, lucky woman.

If you decide to put in your photo or if you already have, let me know who topped your list. I love things like this! (Especially when the results are like this one.)

PS: I'm sorry I haven't been visiting much lately.  There's a furry black thing in my kitchen that has eaten all of my time (and pretty much everything else she can reach).  I will be making rounds soon.  Can't wait to visit you all again!

z is for zoo (and some big news!)

Our house is now a zoo. For those of you who don’t know our fur babies, we have an eight-year-old tabby cat called Jessie, a one-year-old toy poodle called Phoenix (no relation to the blog name) and now Laura, our newest addition!

[MAJOR DISCLAIMER: We did not name her. Do not get me started on people-named pets. You can read all about it here if you are so inclined. I’ll explain why we didn’t name her momentarily. Just wanted to let all of you who gasped in horror and ridicule when you read the name know that I’m not as much of a hypocrite as it seems. AND, the name Laura is just fine…for a person, not a big black dog. So if your name happens to be Laura, it’s not personal. I just think they should have named her Pickle or Spot or even Bubbles. Okay, I’m on a tangent. Going to move on now.]

Moving on to the good news…

So Laura is a Labrador/Golden Retriever cross. She came to live with us yesterday and she’ll be our foster fur baby for about a year. You see, the Bear and I are now volunteers for Guide Dogs for the Blind as “puppy walkers.” Basically, we look after a future guide dog for the first year of her life. Our goal is to make sure she’s happy, healthy, well-adjusted and obedient. We’ll love her and teach her to be a pet and part of a family. (Since she technically belongs to Guide Dogs, we don’t get to name her. They have some sort of system for working out what their names will be.)

We’ll also start the training process. We’ll teach her the basic commands – sit, stay, come, etc. – and some that are guide-dog specific like how to “go” on command and how to walk on a leash without sniffing the ground or paying attention to other animals. We’ll also make sure she is familiar with all of the areas she’ll go with her new owner like trains, buses, the mall, etc. In a few months, our grocery trips will include our black lab. Fun, ey?

We’re very excited about our new foster baby. I’m even keeping this blog of her progress – how much she grows, what she learns each week and photos. It’s mostly for me, but you are all welcome to visit! Click here to see her first update.

So, back to being keeper. Please feel free to come back and visit the zoo anytime!

PS: If you include Bears, then I really have four animals. That’s enough for a zoo, right?