The other message board that I hang out on is the Infopop forms (where we bitch at Infopop about the message board software and the servers). Recently they did this really fun thing - they got together to make the longest thread on the board.
What I did today: With less than two weeks before we leave for Rome - and with a TON of work to be done on SlowTrav and for web clients and for Steve - I cleaned out our bedroom closet and am getting caught up on my ironing. I also went through mail that piled up on our September trip - Pauline's rule - don't go on a trip without having gone thru the mail that accumulated on the previous trip.
And I got a brand new, very fast computer, up and running - so my posts will be SPEEDY!!!
Cold in Santa Fe - no snow today, but on this weekend I think.
Well my day is just starting. I still have to wake up the kids, take them to school and then race home to meet the little pensionato (retired man) who is going to help me take off the radiator type heating grill in our basement as we don't use it (we have a STUFFA for heat) and it takes up much needed space. Once that is done I will do the one in the kitchen alone (need a graemlin with wrench here)because who needs a heater in the kitchen??????? Cold here but no snow. Lots of rain expected again today. Floods throughout the north and the south but so far we are fine.
Today must have been THE day for golf in SD because, like Tommaso, Dan played golf today too - only I'm sure he would have been jealous of Tommaso's score since Dan's game is in kind of a slump at the moment!
Jody
Posts: 352 | Location: San Diego, Calif. USA | Registered: 19 June 2003
ok, this'll be like watching paint dry (my days, I mean). And I could single-handedly make living in Italy look like the most boring thing. Anyway, yesterday we ran out of gas (it's about 100 euro per week and it hasn't been that cold yet!) so we cooked the fish in the fireplace. That is not unusual here, but heating the water to wash the dishes and my face is.
Woke up to a bit of sun (unusual so far this fall), so I washed the blanket hoping it'll be dry within the day. Doubt it, but at least we have heat again. Now, I am packing for 2 climates while in the US for the holidays. Whoohoo, like I said, a thrill a minute.
Karen
Posts: 377 | Location: Santarcangelo di Romagna, Italy | Registered: 08 July 2001
this is a great idea! my day started at 4:30 am... my friends in NY call me every week at that time as they are winding down our West Wing Dinner Party - we used to get together every Wed night and take turns cooking dinner for each other and then watch the West Wing.. so they still include me... after falling back asleep, i was up at 7 to take my usual morning run along the Tiber. Not as sunny as yesterday but still beautiful.. the color of the leaves has changed and they are falling.. it is relatively balmy... back home to get ready then off to my local bar where Daniele makes me my cappucino with a heart in it every morning!!! And then off to work...but when you start your morning like that anything else you do is icing on the cake!!!! Tonight I am going to meet Elizabeth (Lizard LA from the message board)... and la vita e' bella (life is beautiful!)
Karen - I think your paint will dry quicker than mine.
Got up early today (4:15) b/c Sammi decided she was hungry. Got her back to sleep and decided to come into the office (yuck). I have a doctor's appointment this morning (double yuck) and I need to make up the time anyway.
Later, I get to drive Becky to/from Hebrew school and drop off the cookie forms for Sammi's brownie troop. And tonight, joy of joys, I get to go to a planning meeting for the 5th grade class dinner (i'm helping with invitations and the program).
I know, you're wondering how I handle such an exciting life - it's tough but someone has to do it.
Oh, but tomorrow we get snow, then rain, then more snow - maybe 1 - 3 inches here and 3 - 6 inches further north. It's cookie baking time!
Fun idea, Pauline! Yesterday I threw some scrambled eggs at my boys; made sure everyone had homework/lunches/warm coats/ hats/ gloves/instructions; slurped down some coffee; had a nice conversation with some man I assume is my husband; and then spent 5 minutes trying to convince my poor car to start up in the 27 degree morning. Car protested, but eventually got with the program. My commute takes six minutes, so there's barely enough time for the heater in the car to take the chill off the steering wheel. Spent the bulk of the day at school shadowing a particular child who's social skills need some work. "David, if you want to play with Eli and Mark, let's ask them what they're doing", (instead of bopping Eli on the head with a block and pushing over the tower they're building.) Also managed to work with some kids on pre-reading skills, supervised some kids negotiating on painting a mural, gave David a hug because he asked Sophie for a playdough roller instead of grabbing it out of her hand, convinced Josh that eating playdough is not a great idea, helped kids figure out ways to squish olives to make oil, did math patterning using channukah candles, helped 16 kids get into jackets/mittens/hats so they could play outside, helped four of then get back inside to use the bathroom because cold does terrible things to small bladders, and somehow managed to get blue paint all over the back of my sweater. Went to the grocery store. Went home, picked nine year old up from school. Supervised howework. Greeted 12 year old. Supervised more homework, plus Bar Mitzvah practice. Threw in a load of laundry. Checked Message Board. Prepped for parent conferences. Made vegetable stir-fry using leftover turkey. Yay! The last of the turkey! Greeted husband. Had lovely 15 minute conversation. Ate dinner. Went back to school for three parent conferences. Back home at 9. Watched West Wing. Missed Sorkin. Went to bed. Rinse, repeat.
Amy in MA "Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not." --Ralph Waldo Emerson
Posts: 8273 | Location: Newton (outside Boston), MA | Registered: 17 June 2001
I'm drinking coffee, planning my next-to-last day of work before vacation. Since I was at my office at midnight last night, I'm taking the luxury of not going in until 10am.
I'm also re-organizing my to-do prior to leaving for Florence list; hmmm, I think that unpacking the 5 boxes of stuff that have been stored in the livingroom closet since I moved from Salem to Boston 10 years ago is once again not going to happen.
Maureen
Posts: 4720 | Location: Boston or Florence | Registered: 07 July 2001
It's a very bright and sunny Thursday morning in Toronto. It's brisk outside. It's been cold enough that I felt quite justified in donning my mink coat for two Xmas luncheons earlier this week. There is a tiny bit of snow, but not quite enough to cover the grass.
On today's schedule are making thank you calls for the luncheons, and then forcing myself to do two work projects that I don't want to do: send out a long-overdue invoice and write a report for a client. I can't figure out why I am procrastinating about sending out the d*** invoice, but I am. (Heaven only knows that it would be nice to have the payment in my bank account.)
Also on the To Do list is to make the final arrangements for the Pedicure Party on Sunday -- I've invited four women to "take over" a small salon, drink some wine and eat Korean food, have a great gab, play our own CDs, and get pedicures together. I booked this months ago thinking it would be a fun Xmas treat. The salon informed me only yesterday that they can't give us manicures as originally agreed as they have only one estetician working that day. It will take one person an awfully long time to get four pedicures done, so I need to give some thought on how to structure our little party and ladies lunch.
At some point later today, I am going to take a couple of hours off to go shopping a second time for a dress for a wedding in Quebec City on December 27th. I'm torn between buying something very basic and black (like everything else in my closet) or going hog-wild and buying a lovely blue beaded gown with a swishy skirt. It was a smidgen too snug, but if I buy it, it may motivate me into losing some weight before the Big Event.
And while I am out shopping, I am going to take some huge paper documents (historical land registration and tax stuff from Ireland) into a copy shop and beg them to fiddle with them to get them reduced down to a manageable, but still readable, size. They are part of the huge family research project that I undertook over the last six months. I am trying to tidy all the loose ends up so that I can present my report and copies of the documents to my Dad as his Xmas present. Haven't given a moment's thought to all the other presents that I need to buy, so that's another looming item on the To Do list.
And if I play my cards right, today might be the day that I go to the Passport Office to renew my passport. Need to phone around to find out which office has the fastest moving line-up.
I've spent the week working on Christmas shopping and gifts. Most of our gifts have to be shipping out of state or overseas to family and friends so I need to get it done soon so I can start wrapping and packing them all up. I hate the malls though so I have to do it small doses, going to Old Town to find local gifts and enjoy the better ambiance of open air, quaint buildings and the smell of pinon fires burning in the fireplaces around the area. The main project I've been devoting my time to all week is a cook-booklet I'm putting together for my mother-in-law. She and my father-in-law are both on special diets, he's had a heart attack as well as bypass surgery; she has diabetes and has had a stroke in the recent past but she has a difficult time sticking with the diets and cooking accordingly. When they visit I always adapt recipes to conform to their diets and she comments on how great all my cooking is, so I decided to type out a small book and format it all nicely to present to her after their stay here during Christmas. It's been fun but time consuming since most of my cooking is "all' occhio" and without exact measurements, so I'm having to approximate to put them in print for her. I've hardly had time to look at the message board or (gasp!) to check the Sorrento webcam. I like the new positioning of the cam, btw.
I also spent time yesterday perusing the new selections on Amazon, adding a great number of new books to my wishlist, including a new one by Paul Paolicelli. I loved his book Dances With Luigi, so I'm very interested to read this new one about Southern Italy, especially since we spent some time there in Basilicata and southern Campania on my last trip.
I'll be working this afternoon, actually making a little bit of money for a change, filling in at the church. I work on a temp basis when someone is on vacation, etc. That's my exciting life!
Woke up to more Paris Hilton spam. Didn't care about her before, have no desire to see her half lit and nekked now. It is foggy outside, so I'll work with my tree lights on today! After that it will be the same - sit in my pajamas working until 11 when the UPS guy could possibly show up, change into sweats, work more, do my yoga and run, come back, work more. My boyfriend is working at the "Jingle Jam" concert so he won't be home till late, so I'll work even more than usual. Thrilling, eh?
Tomorrow will be better. And Sunday we are making ravioli!
Pauline - almost forgot - this morning I dreamed that you owned a rental property in Santa Fe. People were coming to stay, showing up any minute and the place was a mess. Dirty dishes in the sink, unmade beds.. I said "don't you have a cleaning person?" And you said you did but she was sick. So me and my mom cleaned up.
I like this! I tutored my tutee (heehee) for 2 hours, during which I proudly showed her my sack of American brown sugar. "Ma e' schifoso!" was her judgment...said it smelled just like boullion cubes.
Then I got to cook a delicious lentil soup with pancetta for my husband which I was not able to eat since I'm torturing myself with a "detoxifying" diet. Just lemon water, quinoa, a fruit, and steamed vegetables for me. This is an effort to lose the 8 lbs. that I've gained in the 2 months since we've been married (I swear it's the cheese). He's lost 15 lbs. Does that say something about my cooking?
After cleaning, I went to his office where I surfed the net seeking whacked out outfits for my father's chihauhau and information about baby turtle care.
And right now we're still at the office; hiding out from our condo meeting
Well, I can't say I approve of THIS! I've always been oddly proud of starting that thread! I cannot be party to an effort to unseat it as the longest thread.
quote:Originally posted by ktravers: Well, I certainly am not helping my desperate bid to hold on to the dubious honor longest thread-starter by posting here, am I?
Heck with it, I might as well join in at this point, eh?!
Yesterday I woke up at the unusually early hour of 6:00am. I used the time wisely, of course- web surfing! I did identify some online-available items for hubby's potential Xmas gift purchases (he's always challenged in this respect). I also decided that I could use a little more buffing up of the upper body to look smashing in my holiday dress, so I did a whole series of pushups and dips. And I still managed to get to work early!
The workday was like any one of my workdays of late- meetings, meetings, meetings, and an endless onslaught of emails. I idly looked other available positions in my area. Perhaps a job change is in the offing?
I arrived home to find 2 packages on the doorstep. A nice ham and some speck in one box from Niman Ranch. And an Amazon.com shipment containing a set of Pee Wee Herman videos for our nephews (we got them the 1st half of the set last year and they loved it!)
Watched the Daily Show repeat on Comedy Central, then some of the movie Kingpin. Read the New Yorker, hit the hay.
I'm at home today so,after a manicure (ok, you can make fun of me, but remember, no criticizing the spending habits of others) I am preparing to pick up my 5-year old granddaughter at school. She has only a half day today and I am taking her to see the NYC Ballet Nutcracker at Lincoln Center for an early evening performance. I am quite excited, perhaps more than she is! Although I've had a NYC Ballet subscription for years I don't think I've seen Nutcracker live since I took her mother when she was about 6.
It's supposed to snow here in NJ tomorrow, but we'll see. My view is that all this dwelling on the snow is a conspiracy of broadcasters to make you stay tuned!
Topic Closed
).
Played in a golf tournament & shot 78! 
colds 
& crying 
babies.
Didn't care about her before, have no desire to see her half lit and nekked now. It is foggy outside, so I'll work with my tree lights on today! After that it will be the same - sit in my pajamas working until 11 when the UPS guy could possibly show up, change into sweats, work more, do my yoga and run, come back, work more. My boyfriend is working at the "Jingle Jam" concert so he won't be home till late, so I'll work even more than usual. Thrilling, eh? 
This is an effort to lose the 8 lbs. 
that I've gained in the 2 months since we've been married (I swear it's the cheese). He's lost 15 lbs. Does that say something about my cooking?
I've always been oddly proud of starting that thread! I cannot be party to an effort to unseat it as the longest thread.
Well, I certainly am not helping my desperate bid to hold on to the dubious honor longest thread-starter by posting here, am I?
Heck with it, I might as well join in at this point, eh?!