October 31, 2009
October 30, 2009
October 28, 2009
Harper's Ferry #220 Socks Trigger a Fashion Flashback
Socks dry on the line. . .
I eschewed socks in about 6th grade. They didn't work with my Speery topsider, kahki short, wish I were on a boat, in a body of water bigger than Raystown Lake "style." My look slowly evolved into something of a West Marine meets Gap business casual. (Tragic, I KNOW!!)
WARNING: I'm about to do a rather lengthy and boring personal style recap. I feel it's only fitting since I'm staying awake until all hours listening to a Top 40 Countdown from 1989!!!
I went back to socks in the high school era when they were essential for keeping my toes warm while trudging around the kitchen at the local Wendy's where I worked, or in a friend's parent's hunting camp or basement, or a truck while doing something mildly stereotypically redneck like spotlightin' or cow tippin' or paintballin'. The rest of my look waivered between basic/classic/simple and thrift store mix/match adventure. I picked a novel suit for Homecoming - something between a kelly and emerald green. I loved that suit. I loved everything about how a well fitted suit feels. It was an ah ha moment.
And then came college and the revival of the plaid kilt and knee socks look. I went full "Scotish/Irish/French/American" with these socks. Cable knit knee socks in navy. Navy Blue and Hunter Green plaid kilt (to the knee complete with big brass skirt pin). Camel hair cape (from the thrift store reminiscent of my paternal Grandma Dot), and a navy blue beret. I earned a couple of approving looks in biology lecture for sure. . .
But after intro biology came all sorts of other environmental science classes. These kids were wearing Doc Marten sandals and Birks with wooly socks, bib-overalls, tie-dies, and other borderline hippy stuff. They washed their hair with bars of soap. No conditioner?! They drank interesting beer and smoked clove cigarettes. I tried it out. The beer and clove cigs gave me the worst hangover EVER and the attire made me look like a Sherman tank. I did mix it up a few times with what I'd call low-rent Bebe. Pinstriped skirts, tights, white shirt, blazer or cardigan, heels, boots. Whatever could be cheaply purchased from the thrift store or local Fashion Bug.
What followed can best be described as poverty professional. I was straddling two worlds: student and working young adult. I tried to keep everything neutral or black.
Things may or may not have gone up from here in terms of my wardrobe depending on your taste. I recall with ridiculous fondness when I purchased my first Ann Taylor suit. It was my first semester of law school. It was a basic black all season three piece suit. It was a petite, sleek, and fit beautifully. C was there for the splurge. I really felt as if "I'd made it."
I stretched every piece of that suit as a wardrobe piece to the max. When it started to get that sheen from over-drycleaning, I was sad to part with it. I held on to it for a long time.
After all, It got me through Civ Pro with Lynch. It got me through Ks with Meyerson. It got me through happy hours. It got me through C's company's holiday party. . .And each time, it looked slightly different. And each time, I was confident in the fact that I looked just like me.
October 27, 2009
Clearly I have a Sickness
We are having a Halloween potluck at work Friday. I've spent a ridiculous amount of time selecting my dishes, deciding how they will travel, how I will reheat them, planning when to make them. . .AND creating recipie/menu cards for the kitsch factor and so the recipie is available in case anyone cares.
I'm pretty smart. Shouldn't I be pursuing more "challenging" things? I used to think that but I keep finding so much happiness, passion, and strange satisfaction in an odd assortment of domestic and creative endeavors.
I apologize for spelling issues. . .sent from the crackberry which surely has a yet discovered spell check function.
Happy Early Halloween Ghouls and Goblins!
October 26, 2009
Today's WTF? "Butterballs"
Mom: "We were watching the Sunday news and they were featuring this fair in Texas and the entire fair is based on deep-frying."
d: I pretty much hate heavily fried stuff.
Mom: They were frying butter.
d: (Whatchutalkingboutwillis?!) Frying butter? How?!
Mom: They made the buttery-est dough they could make, rolled it around a ball of butter and deep fried it.
d: How is that even good?
Mom: Folks that ate it said you had to eat the ball in one big bite otherwise it was a greasy mess.
d: I can only imagine. How can this be appealing to eat?
Mom: Heaven only knows! I just think it would be like eating a zit.
EATING A ZIT?! Oh how vile. ECK!!!!!!
I'm not sure I'll ever look at even a stick of cold creamy Irish butter again . . .Thanks Mom!
d: I pretty much hate heavily fried stuff.
Mom: They were frying butter.
d: (Whatchutalkingboutwillis?!) Frying butter? How?!
Mom: They made the buttery-est dough they could make, rolled it around a ball of butter and deep fried it.
d: How is that even good?
Mom: Folks that ate it said you had to eat the ball in one big bite otherwise it was a greasy mess.
d: I can only imagine. How can this be appealing to eat?
Mom: Heaven only knows! I just think it would be like eating a zit.
EATING A ZIT?! Oh how vile. ECK!!!!!!
I'm not sure I'll ever look at even a stick of cold creamy Irish butter again . . .Thanks Mom!
Sunset in the Alley @606 #310
Still have more HF pics to post but this day is dripping off the page and I need to wind down and get some sleep. . .Here are a few "sunset" pics I snapped this evening from the vantage point of my basement door.
October 25, 2009
Harper's Ferry #196
So after hiking a bit farther beyond Jefferson Rock, we come upon a stone wall. When you peek over the wall. . .
you find. . .
a cemetery!!!
C said after all that hiking he was glad it lead to something I enjoy. I was just gald the hiking was over. Well-kept cemeteries are easier to walk than steep, leaf covered paths.
Harper's Ferry #172
Photographer's crawl all over Jefferson Rock. This photographer is mildly terrified of falling from a decent height so I was happy to watch their Spidey moves. They are looking towards the confluence of the two rivers. Thomas Jefferson reportedly stood on this rock and declared the vista was "worth crossing the Atlantic to see."
Harper's Ferry #142
The ascent begins. . .Definitely wanted to stop by the Catholic Church which is visible from nearly every vista. I would imagine it's iconic. Did I mention I'm so glad I didn't have a heart attack climbing?
Did you notice how beautiful the red tree looks in the bottom right of the frame? That tree was so vibrant, it caught our eye at nearly turn. You literally couldn't ignore it's vibrancy. It was stunning in color and form.
Harper's Ferry #136
C and I had lunch at the Quarterfield Tavern. It has a nice selection of vegetarian dishes. And who doesn't love fresh hummus as an appetizer? Yummmm. . .
Little did we know, it was all "up" from there. We did a LOT of uphill hiking. I'm so proud I didn't go into cardiac arrest! (And I finally had on the right shoes)!
Harper's Ferry #121
The way the buildings hang on precipices is astounding. My words will never do it justice.
Harper's Ferry #28
So I seem to have an issue with snakes. It's not that I'm scared of them. I just seem to unexpectedly and inconveniently happen upon them. I'll save the "nearly peeing on a rattle snake" story for another post. . .
Anyway, when you get to HF, the best thing to do is go to the National Parks Service welcome center, pay your $6, park, and ask a ranger what they suggest for hikes that fit your time frame and skill levels. You can then catch a shuttle bus from the visitor center closer to the "lower town."
C and I did just that. We had already decided we wanted to walk the Virginis Island Trail 'cause it was fast (our time was limited) and it followed the water.
C very wisely forced me to wear sensible sneakers on this adventure. He was right (for once - haha).
So I'm plugging along the trail, feeling the sun begin to warm the brisk air. I'm looking ahead for some good potential pics and I do this trip/stutter type step. It was very instinctive. I just had the slightest hint that I was about to trip or there was something underfoot.
Mind you, I didn't see anything at that moment, nor did I feel anything. In hindsight, it's really strange how many things our brain does without our being consciously aware.
After I do my "trip," I look down and find this fellow quite displeased that I nearly stepped on him. I can see how being stepped on could ruin a sunbath so I forgave his salty demeanor.
Again, I'm very glad C had the good sense to suggest sneakers.
Where C's good sense flew out the window? When he insisted he wanted to "move" the snake off the trail. I spent an entire semester studying vertebrate zoology. But I really only took that class to learn about birds so reptiles, amphibians, fish, and mammals I learned just enough about to pass exams. I had no idea what this snake but suspected cottonmouth and I knew we weren't trying to move it. . .Finally convinced C that he would likely go right back to the same spot.
Whew.
I have been sitting here with my Peterson's Field Guide and I'm not sure what to make of this snake. C was adamant that it was a hog nose snake but I'm not so sure. My initial reaction to that snake was it was a Cottonmouth. But it didn't seem aggressive enough. The only thing I can find that resembles a cottonmouth is a brown water snake. I'm still not sure I'm right. I've been staring at an enlarged pic to see if I can see the "pit" for a venomous snake and I can't see one. As best as I can tell the pupil looks rounded also a trait of non-venomous snake. . . .Oh who the bloody hell knows?! Pls advise if you do.
Harper's Ferry #23
Harpers Ferry is located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. The geology and the history are fascinating.
Harper's Ferry #7
C and I are complete geeks and following the PBS/Ken Burns series about our national parks, we agreed to start seeing more of them. Being the type A psycho I am, I printed the list (it's 12 pages long) and started checking off our visits.
Harper's Ferry is on the list. Its about an hour and fifteen minutes away so an easy day trip for us. The weather was perfect when we got awake despite yesterday's torrential down pours.
Today's Foolishness
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