Monday, December 8, 2008
Comments (more) welcome (now)
I figured out that I was not allowing people to comment anonymously. Since anyone reading what I am writing probably also would want to hide their identity, I have fixed that. Comment your heart out, Anonymous!
Friday, December 5, 2008
Thanking the Yous
It was only a few days ago that I mentioned Leslie Harpold and her advice on creating a Thanksgiving feast for many. If you liked that, you should love this one. Her old writing spot The Morning News just reran her even more popular and useful piece about writing Thank You notes, so I thought I would mention it too. If you have ever received a gift, Leslie offers simple rules to follow to get that all important note out quickly.
'Tis the season, after all.
'Tis the season, after all.
Death and the Morning Commute
I'm sitting on a train on my way to work. I got a jump on the day due to an earlier-than-usual crying baby which brought me to an earlier-than-usual train. All advantages of that jump disappeared when the announcement came over the PA that there had been an "incident" with a "trespasser" and we would be delayed indefinitely, which is defined as 20 minutes to an hour. I don't know what I expect them to say when the train hits a person but the judgement in specifying them as a "trespasser" (which is standard) always seems a little crass.
The train got the go ahead to move closer and closer to the incident closer to the 20 min mark than the 2hr mark. We must have been the next train down because we had to stop to pick up the passengers of train 210 the one that hit the guy. Just before that we passed all the sheriffs milling about near the yellow tarp that almost covered the body. The passengers that we picked up are the regular commuting crowd and a whole lot of high school kids (damn, they are small) all on their cellphones telling friends and parents that "their train ran over a guy". I bet those kids will be the talk of the school for a few hours anyway until the story gets boring.
Weird morning all around. Weirder still when we passed the body and I mentioned it and said to the 60ish Portoguese (maybe) woman in the next seat that the day could be worse. She agreed and said "Yes, it could be raining".
The train got the go ahead to move closer and closer to the incident closer to the 20 min mark than the 2hr mark. We must have been the next train down because we had to stop to pick up the passengers of train 210 the one that hit the guy. Just before that we passed all the sheriffs milling about near the yellow tarp that almost covered the body. The passengers that we picked up are the regular commuting crowd and a whole lot of high school kids (damn, they are small) all on their cellphones telling friends and parents that "their train ran over a guy". I bet those kids will be the talk of the school for a few hours anyway until the story gets boring.
Weird morning all around. Weirder still when we passed the body and I mentioned it and said to the 60ish Portoguese (maybe) woman in the next seat that the day could be worse. She agreed and said "Yes, it could be raining".
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Post of Thanksgiving Past
I just ran across this post from Leslie Harpold in 2003. She was an amazing person that Jenn and I were just getting to know when she passed away suddenly in early December 2006. Her writing always makes me smile and if you have never read this one, today is the perfect day. If you like it, she wrote lots more and lots more was written about her because many people loved her.
http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/how_to/how_to_cook_thanksgiving_dinner.php
Happy Thanksgiving!
http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/how_to/how_to_cook_thanksgiving_dinner.php
Happy Thanksgiving!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Haiku-ing
A really good excuse for my lack of blogging has been the amount of work piled on me at home. This is not the typical husbandly duties like garbage removal service or protecting the family from dangerous flying insects (mostly moths) but the writing duties that I am assigned by the taskmaster at 13creative (who I married...on purpose). I am often asked to write some form of copy for Jenn's invites and projects. Today's (and Yesterday's) task was to write some copy for Sara Remington (our favorite photographer who did our engagement, wedding and Grace pictures)holiday mailer that will include fabulous food pictures and some chocolates in a box (it will look much cooler than I describe but I was not hired to write this description...yet). My solution was to go haiku as they wanted words that evoke emotional connection with food and obscure Japanese art form that I remember from 4th grade was the best I could do on short notice. I think they turned out ok...
Remember the food
Melting, sweet and delicious
The best of our lives
----------------------
Brown from the fire
Marshmallow melts chocolate
This night sticks for days
----------------------
The heat of the summer
Softening ice cream on cones
You have to lick fast
----------------------
Berries are lovely
Picked like perfect ripe moments
To squish with your tongue
----------------------
Warm smell of apples
Steams out of crust as it cools
Dinner please hurry
----------------------
Brownies are baking
My finger searches the bowl
For one final taste
----------------------
Both taskmaster and photographer went wild for them. In fact, Sara thanked me by giving me one back:
Remember the food
Melting, sweet and delicious
The best of our lives
----------------------
Brown from the fire
Marshmallow melts chocolate
This night sticks for days
----------------------
The heat of the summer
Softening ice cream on cones
You have to lick fast
----------------------
Berries are lovely
Picked like perfect ripe moments
To squish with your tongue
----------------------
Warm smell of apples
Steams out of crust as it cools
Dinner please hurry
----------------------
Brownies are baking
My finger searches the bowl
For one final taste
----------------------
Both taskmaster and photographer went wild for them. In fact, Sara thanked me by giving me one back:
Grace is really cuteIt's funny, because it's true.
She makes the dinosaur screech
Watch out, she may barf
Oh, yeah...blogging
I was reminded of a couple things recently that are tenuously related like most of the things in my life.
The first reminder was from my sister. We had a family gathering and she casually mentioned that I hadn't been doing much with the blog since China. So I was reminded that I am a slacker. I'm a slacker with enough ambition to create a blog, enough confidence to announce to anyone that cares to listen that I am going to write things about my life, my world and my thoughts and then just enough slacker to allow weeks to go by with nothing said. Sorry, Christie...I am back on it now...
The other remindering was this morning. On my drive in NPR had a story about lobster and Thanksgiving that reminded me about my Thanksgivings past. My family was never, collectively, a huge fan of turkey (probably the amount of work + the amount of ceremony + the slim margin of error to get it right) but we do like our lobster. For many years, my family would spend our Thanksgivings out to dinner with the Duivens at a restaurant that served lobster and almost everyone would order one (Dad would often as not go for lamb because Mom won't cook it at home). Eventually, lobster became our turkey-of-the-sea and even when we would cook at home for the holiday, lobster would take center stage. Eventually, Thanksgiving moved from my parents house and the lobster tradition moved from eating them in November to dressing like them in October (see gratuitous Grace picture) and most of my parent's friends created a horse track Thanksgiving that is much less work and many more trifectas.
Even though it is now a ghost of traditions-past, I have always thought of lobster as a modern Topliff (ok, and Duiven) Thanksgiving tradition. Now that the all-knowing NPR points out that it was on the menu in 1621 at the First Thanksgiving alongside Wild Turkey and delicious eagle (which eventually beat out the Turkey to be the national bird and left our menus forever), I have to wonder if this tradition is genetic. While there were no Topliffs at the first Thanksgiving (on either side of the table), as far as I know, they did show up about 14 years later and settled in Dorchester Massachusetts so maybe our habits stretch back that far. Before Grace came along, I spent some time tracing the family tree, so I will have to look and hopefully get some of that down here. If someone reminds me...
The first reminder was from my sister. We had a family gathering and she casually mentioned that I hadn't been doing much with the blog since China. So I was reminded that I am a slacker. I'm a slacker with enough ambition to create a blog, enough confidence to announce to anyone that cares to listen that I am going to write things about my life, my world and my thoughts and then just enough slacker to allow weeks to go by with nothing said. Sorry, Christie...I am back on it now...
The other remindering was this morning. On my drive in NPR had a story about lobster and Thanksgiving that reminded me about my Thanksgivings past. My family was never, collectively, a huge fan of turkey (probably the amount of work + the amount of ceremony + the slim margin of error to get it right) but we do like our lobster. For many years, my family would spend our Thanksgivings out to dinner with the Duivens at a restaurant that served lobster and almost everyone would order one (Dad would often as not go for lamb because Mom won't cook it at home). Eventually, lobster became our turkey-of-the-sea and even when we would cook at home for the holiday, lobster would take center stage. Eventually, Thanksgiving moved from my parents house and the lobster tradition moved from eating them in November to dressing like them in October (see gratuitous Grace picture) and most of my parent's friends created a horse track Thanksgiving that is much less work and many more trifectas.
Even though it is now a ghost of traditions-past, I have always thought of lobster as a modern Topliff (ok, and Duiven) Thanksgiving tradition. Now that the all-knowing NPR points out that it was on the menu in 1621 at the First Thanksgiving alongside Wild Turkey and delicious eagle (which eventually beat out the Turkey to be the national bird and left our menus forever), I have to wonder if this tradition is genetic. While there were no Topliffs at the first Thanksgiving (on either side of the table), as far as I know, they did show up about 14 years later and settled in Dorchester Massachusetts so maybe our habits stretch back that far. Before Grace came along, I spent some time tracing the family tree, so I will have to look and hopefully get some of that down here. If someone reminds me...
Friday, November 7, 2008
Half proof of a half marathon
The picture below only really proves that I made it most of the way through the US Half Marathon on Sunday. I am clearly on the bridge and I imagine by the thinning crowds behind me that this is the trip BACK towards the finish. I actually did make it, though I was moving none too fast for the last couple miles.
I remember consciously fighting the pained look from my face when I knew there would be a photographer but I was not always successful.
I am very happy to have made it and happy to take a week or two off from running. In the future, I will probably stick to more manageable 10Ks to avoid walking around like the recently vasectomized for days after.
I remember consciously fighting the pained look from my face when I knew there would be a photographer but I was not always successful.
I am very happy to have made it and happy to take a week or two off from running. In the future, I will probably stick to more manageable 10Ks to avoid walking around like the recently vasectomized for days after.
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