A Baker Bear's Life

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Apartment Garden!
A few months ago, thanks to conversations on one of my Yahoo! Groups, I got a strong urge to do some apartment gardening. Our previous apartment was not AT ALL suited for such, but I found out that all the windows in our new apartment are south facing. Woohoo! I've done some digging and research and reading (and any resource recommendations would be awesome). Now that we've finally had some time to settle, it's time to get started! With some thanks for the coupon in the USPS moving package, we went out to Lowe's today and stocked up -- seeds, peat pods, pots, planters, soil, all that good stuff. Our pockets a fair bit lighter, it is time to begin! In the not-too-distant future we'll be getting some shelving to put it all on. Suffice it to say, I am most excited!

Current Mood: excited

After being delayed a half hour and then left sitting on the tarmac for another hour because of a non-existent weather condition around National Airport, we have returned to VA, retrieved the Darlanator, and loaded up the cars. Tomorrow morning we clean out the last of the fridge and then turn everything in to the Parliaments before hitting the road for RI.

Wow.

Current Mood: tired

"Literal" Fail
"...she ran like the wind, and literally ran herself into the school..."

-Ms.Terri Hanrahan
Glenbard South Principal

Current Mood: amused

Filing in to the Chase Auditorium for "Wait Wait.. Don't Tell Me" as I type. Awesome :)

Current Mood: excited

Hello, Iowa!
So Jason and I flew into Chicago yesterday. His dad picked us up and dropped us off at a car rental place closer to their home (it was a few hundred cheaper than picking the car up at the airport) and then we got right on the road to Iowa. Much to my relief (and that of my mild headache) Jason got stuck with the worst of the traffic on the first half of the drive, and things were considerably clearer for my latter half. We are now settled at my parent's place and, thankfully, my sister has been kind enough to bunk with the exchange student and give us her room for the visit. This means we are not stuck in the basement, listening to the kids tromping around upstairs as they get ready for school around... oh... 7 am.

Anyway... hello, Iowa! Most of this trip will be spent with family, but we should be finding some time to get out and about a bit..

Onward down the road of insanity...
Jason's family came in for the weekend to witness his official gradification. I'd say all in all it went quite well. They said I'm nice, and I think that's the best I can hope for right now. :-D Friday we just did a late lunch of dim sum and a light dinner. Saturday was quite full with commencement, Wendy's for a quick lunch, and then a bit (belated) Mother's Day dinner at the Korean BBQ Buffet (so yum as always). After puttering around with nothing to do at our place Jason got the brilliant idea of turning on the Wii which his parents really took a liking to. Just bowling and tennis, but still. It was quite amusing. Sunday morning we went back to Mason to take some pictures since such things as the George Mason statue had lines for picture taking on Saturday. Afterwards it was lunch at our place, then off to the Kennedy Center for the Master Chorale's final concert.

I don't recall if I posted about that here -- basically, the Chorale knew it wasn't on sound financial footing a few years ago. Many people got together to start driving fundraising and such but the board screwed things up royally. In particular, the chairman for most of my tenure with the group spent lavish amounts of money on meals on an all-too-regular basis that never in fact resulted in an influx of money for the chorale. The economy as a whole started going south, and the Chorale took a real hard turn, the chairman disappeared (quit? fired? unsure) and his tangled mess of bookkeeping was left to those after him to clean up. We got a new chair in who really knew what needed to be done and how to do it, but it was too little far too late. It was sad I couldn't sing with them, but seeing their final show was a very good second best.

After the show we went to Hook in Georgetown for Jason's celebratory dinner (and thank goodness we didn't go Saturday as originally planned because Georgetown is enough of a mess on Sunday). That was followed by a quiet evening at our place. This morning we all met at his parent's hotel for breakfast and then took them to the airport.

We came right back home and started the moving countdown -- final loads of laundry, boxes and bubble wrap everywhere. We're off to Home Depot quick now, we bring Darla to a friend's place where she'll stay the next few weeks, and then back home for more packing! The truck and loading is tomorrow, and the plan is to hit the road at 6:30 on Weds. We'll likely do some touch-up cleaning before we go, but we don't have to do the deep clean until next week when we come back for a few days.

Good times :-D

New Kitchen Toys!
On my last day at Whole Foods, the crew pulled me into the back room for a little 'thank you' and 'farewell.' The team had gotten together together and got me a very nice card, a guidebook to New England B&Bs (something Kelly told me about before), and a decidedly generous gift card for Williams-Sonoma. Jason said I need to quit more often! I wasn't entirely sure what to do with it -- I had thought perhaps another couple knives, but wasn't really sure. While browsing W-S Jason pointed out that I'd wanted to get an espresso machine, and never had because they do run a bit steep for a good one. He was right, though, and this seemed the perfect opportunity! I was tempted towards the Saeco model that Alton Brown used in Good Eats, but W-S didn't carry it which rather defeated the purpose. A woman at the store absolutely adored her Breville and had EVERYTHING to tell me about it. I took that as a good start, but still did a good bit of digging both on machines and grinders. In the end, I went with her recommendation and used the card towards this lovely machine...

...and, thanks to it being on sale plus free shipping from Best Buy I got their burr grinder as well...

Truth be told, some reviewers were less than thrilled with both units, but that was true of everything I looked at, and the overwhelming majority was positive. Plus, on closer inspection, some of the negative reviews were obviously written by morons. "I bought this coffee grinder to make peanut butter and it did a lousy job! Zero stars! Awful machine!" Not exactly that, but that sort of thing.

To complete the ensemble, Andrea and Dori found these great cups for cappuccino that I really liked. I found some ok prices online, but it turns out the Marshalls stores in the area had them for cheap so I have matching mugs and demitasse glasses (and I picked up a couple extra boxes for them, too). Now all I need is a kitchen counter to put them on. Soon enough!

Current Mood: pleased
Current Music: Mediaeval Baebes -- Return Of The Birds

The Village Hearth
So the grand re-opening weekend has been great. Andrea and Dori are going crazy -- I think they've each put in about 18 hours a day all weekend. The new cafe space has made things a bit different, and a bit busier. Dori noted that they're going through pastries even faster than was previously usual. Right now I'm helping in the back of house and they have two people on retail. I think they want one more for each. They may already have a pastry person for the back. That would be good so they don't run out of croissants at noon every day.

All in all, I'm HAPPY to be at work again, even on the days where I've not slept much. This job will surely have it's ups and downs, but more on the up side. Andrea said before I went home that they were happy to have me, and I said I was happy to be there. The work is good. Even on the crazy weekend, it was never too insane, just very steady.

I have a few quick pics of the new cafe area. Dori said they've been thinking about this for a long time, so when the time came for their seasonal closing they knew what they wanted and jumped right into things. Aside from the bit of extra time needed, it came out incredibly well. They did pretty much all the work (mostly Andrea, but Dori a good bit, too). Andrea did the table and counter forms, and somebody in the area did the copper on top. A local potter did their mugs. It's just... great!

Somebody was taking a lot of pictures of pizza night. I'll try to get those up later if I get them. For now, just a few quick shots ( under the cut... )

Ok, done rambling. Bedtime! I can finally sleep in again ('til 8 or something) :-D

First day at the new job
I am tired, but happy. This is good.

More later. For now, goodnight!

So when do I get to be a Rhody?
Last night I got my car mostly packed (in the rain), and this morning I loaded the last few bits in. The weather wasn't entirely agreeable, and I hit a few spots of congestion, but generally the trip up to RI went a-ok. Now I'm starting to get settled in -- I will sleep well tonight I'm sure!

Current Mood: exhausted

It was raining when we got up, and it just keeps coming down.

And I'm supposed to be loading my car for the move.

And it's only supposed to get worse.

Whee!

Payday!
During my nearly 3 1/2 years with the company, I've found it rather interesting that, for whatever reason, my direct deposits on payday never show up until well after midnight. And now that I'm done with them, I finally realize why...

National offices are in Austin, Texas -- Central time zone!

Go me.

Riverdance recording?
Out of curiosity, does anybody out there have the original cast recording of Riverdance? I'm trying to hunt down the original "Lift the Wing," sung by an amazingly beautiful alto voice. Everything i've heard since has a soprano/tenor duet I've never enjoyed nearly as much as the original.

(Just under) two days...
I just began my penultimate day at Whole Foods. It's a little surreal. There's a good bit of gearing up to go, winding down, making sure the rest of the team is ready to take over. At the same time, though, it's very much business as usual. I'm on gelato this morning because one of the TMs is on vacation and it's quiet. I'm logging received orders and placing some others. Aside from a very touching farewell from Fazi, one of the sweetest ladies on the planet, and some 'wow, you're almost done,' everything is pretty normal. However this will 'register' for me, it's apparently happening until after I'm done.

Go, Iowa!!
Many of my friends have posted this already, both in Iowa and out, but I definitely think it worth posting yet again.

Iowa Supreme Court unanimously rules in favor of gay marriage

Go, Iowa!!

Customer: *points* Can I get one of those bagels with cream cheese?

Me: Sure thing. Cream cheese is over there, I'll get the bagel for you.

Customer: And could you toast it for me?

Me: No problem, I can split it and pop it in the oven for a few minutes.

Customer: Oh... no toaster? So it's not a pre-made bagel? Nevermind... *walks away*

I had no idea it was that difficult to split a bagel and spread cheese on it. Go figure.

I'm not made of money...
...so apparently I need to slow down. After all of six or seven weeks of renting a 13/12 dulcimer, I upgraded and bought a very nice 16/15 with a good chunk of my tax return. This was SUPPOSED to hold me for a while, but NO! Apparently I'm moving along fast enough and -- just another month or so later -- Jody has commented at least twice now that I'll "be ready for an upgrade soon!"

At the very least, an instrument in that range starts around $1750, but with the progress I'm making I really should just go all out with the $2800 one. Like I have that just sitting around. Oy.

Do I have any gracious and well-off donors out there? Thought not! Fortunately Jody assures me that my current instrument should be ok for a good while yet at least. Time to start saving! I've never been very good at that...

Leahy
Anybody else out there familiar with Leahy? I thought about seeing them perform at Mason two season ago (forgot) but we made it out this year for their Christmas (and other stuff) concert. Canadian group that does a lot of fun Irish and Irish inspired stuff. They put on really fun show, too. The front row seats helped, but it was more than just that. Anywho, I just got ahold of their 3rd album off half.com -- one more to go I think. Good stuff. Give 'em a listen!

Current Music: Little Ditty (Finbar Dwyer'S/Gypsy Reel) -- Leahy

How'd I do, Mykie?
I recently subscribed to the RIMagick Yahoo!Group since... well... I'm headed that way soon and figured I'd meet some locals of a pagan-y bent. Anywho, somebody posted a link the other day to an Australian article with the headline "KIDS as young as three are going bush hunting with their parents in a trend that experts fear will teach them brutality." This brought on several comments to the effect of "These parents are irresponsible," "Kids with guns grow up to be criminals," and "Hunting is icky! That's what supermarkets are for." Now, I'm by no means a gun rights advocate, but this struck me, at the very least, as silly. The supermarket bit actually got my blood... well, simmering if not boiling. Finally one reasonable (IMHO) response came up and then I was able to settle a bit and type out my reply.

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Many thanks for this reply. I held a bb gun but once as a kid (Scout camp). That said, I think painting all who allow children around guns with the same broad brush stroke is a disservice to many responsible parents. Saying that kids who know how to use guns are likely to be future criminals is a bit unfounded in and of itself. Teaching children a respectful understanding of such dangerous tools seems to me far more respnsible than simply exposing them to media that shows the use of such weapons quite regularly, and often with little regard to consequences thereof.

In addition, I think those who actively hunt for food, even if they do not need to because of supermarketsas mentioned, can have a better understanding of and respect for the fact that, yes, an animal has died such that you might subsist and live. Not to say any and all share this feeling, but the potential is much greater than for one shopping at the supermarket with all those neat little cuts of meat, completely disassociated from the animal from whence they came, and served up in sanitary little shrink-wrapped styrofoam packages. I think this is a very important little truth lost of many in this day and age.

All that said, there certainly are plenty of irresponsible families who do not treat guns with due respect and care. And sport hunting, killing solely because one is able, I personally see a problem there (and perhaps this is the case with the kids in Australia). It's just that not all who own guns and hunt are like this, and I think it's worth giving those folks some credit.

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Is that passable, Mykie? :)