another lucky discovery

Discovered a really deliscious salad dressing last night. 1/3 olive oil, 1/3 balsamic vinegar and 1/3 POM original pomegranate juice and some fresh ground black pepper. It's excellent on a Waldorf salad. Just another reason to have POM in your fridge. Yay.

You won't believe it!

We had ANOTHER power outage! It went out around 9:30 last night and didn't come back on till 6am! It wasn't as cold last night as the last time, thank goodness, but it was still wretched. I just can't believe that in this first world place we could be without electricity twice in a few weeks. On the other hand, it does give us a great excuse for eating all the ice-cream in the freezer.

eina.

Last night we played squash and then fiddled around on the gym machines after. I was on a high from winning a game against K for the first time in... well pretty much since the first game I played with him ever. It was also his first game ever. In order to win last night's game it required K to be daydreaming and me running around the court like a fly in a window. My gym machine of choice is what has fondly been called the gynecological machine. It's the one where you put your knees against it and strengthen your inner thighs or outer. This morning I am paying for my enthusiasm. I can barely walk and if anything falls today it is staying on the floor cos I can't bend. I am going to try and get to the pool when it opens to try and work out the kinks but K may have to carry me there.

Yikes!

There is currently a tornado warning on for C'ville. Which translates to sheets and sheets of torrential rain. K and I did our groceries and when we came out of the store it was starting to pour. By the time we got home, and got out of the car it was like walking into a shower! We actually had to change our clothes when we made it into the house. cray-zy! mmm think I will now go online and research what one is supposed to do in a Tornado or to prepare for one? Hopefully it is make pasta for dinner and watch CSI.

gone

We have eaten all the cookies in the house. At least, all the ones I like. THANK GOODNESS. Now I just have to avoid the little pushers, so we don't get any more.

House Finches

The photo is a little blurred cos I have to stand on our rocking chair and lean left to get past the screen on the window. But aren't they adorable!

Bus musings

I rode the bus a LOT yesterday, had to take three buses to get to my interview and the reverse to get home. SO I had plenty of time to make comparisons to my previously adored bus route straight down Connecticut ave in DC. Firstly, buses here are practically empty and therefore a lot less frequent. I never minded waiting for buses in DC cos the next one would always be along presently. Not so here. If you miss one, you could wait 45 minutes for the next! One of yesterday's observations was that there is a coffee shop near every bus stop I waited at. Smart of the owners. Total niche market.

The biggest difference I found though is the social interaction on the buses. In DC people were mostly quiet, or at most talking gently to the person they were riding with. Of course there was always the occasional boffoon on the phone letting us all know about how much beer he and Brad drank last night. On the buses yesterday, everyone was chatting to everyone. As far as I could tell they were all complete strangers. One particularly long, tedious and loud conversation was between five guys sitting at the front with asides from the driver. It was all about how to get money from your workplace by falling down. Additionally, there was a segway about how one guy was arrested for harrassing his girldfirend and was looking at 6 to 15... also, a segway about how one guy beat up the chef of one of the downtown restaurants where he was a waiter. Charmers the lot of them. Quite the incentive to get my license.

cookies and calories

The squash courts at the gym are longer and narrower. Which puts the T far back on the court. You'd be surprised at how this affects your game. Taking control of the T means you can't reach the drop shots anymore. It took us a good half hour to work out the problem with our game. (and it wasn't that we hadn't played in months!)

Girl Scouts are EVERYWHERE! This is dangerous because it is cookie time. They are ruthless in their little uniforms with their little puppy-dog faces. And if that doesn't get you, their Mothers loom in the background promising flat tires and lipsticked windscrrens if you don't buy some cookies. IF you manage to get into the grocery store through the exit, thereby avoiding scouts and mothers at the entrance then there is always someone you know whose daughter is selling the things. An entire hour of squash down the tubes alongside a handful of Samoas. Let me explain why I can't just say no. Donut shaped goodness, shortbread biscuit topped with toasted coconut, toffee and drizzled with chocolate. erg.

Mostly quiet

Aside from getting an interview, life has been mostly quiet. I do have a few interesting things to note though. Or at least they are interesting to me.

We went and sat in a coffee shop on Sat evening, just to get out of the house. While we were sitting there the girl at the next counter got up and went to the loo. She left, on the counter, her books, papers, laptop, cell phone, blueberry and wallet, amongst her work. Keir and I stared at each other in amazement and fascination. After spending a year in WHK we couldn't believe that she expected it all to be there when she came back from the loo, and more amazing, it WAS still there when she came back. Huh, I guess we really don't have to worry so much about whether the back door is locked.

K wrote a test on Sunday. There is this Honour system at Uni's here. You collect your test paper from your lecturer, due a week from when you collect it. Then you study. At some point you write the test, and it is just trusted that you won't cheat, or take longer than you are supposed to. Wow.

In the grocery store there were 27 different kinds of milk to choose from. Including vitamen A and D added kind. I made K decide as my brain was boggling.

The bird bath was frozen over this morning

It made me glad I was snuggled up in bed all night.

even more ooh, aah than the moon!

JUST saw a HUGE sharp-shinned Hawk sitting at my back door. Literally! I opened the back door and there he was, we gave each other such a fright. It looks amazingly like southern Africa's Rock Kestrel. The book says they like to sit near bird feeders and nab little birds. Shame! Now the birds will never come to my feeder. You should have seen Henry and Oleo scurry inside after he flew off. Don't think he is big enough to actually catch them though, especially with Oleo's retrieved beer belly.

Eclipse last night

Last night was a full eclipse of the moon. We didn't stand outside in the freezing the entire three hours but instead dashed out, oohed, aahed and then dashed back inside. It was really something to watch, very eerie and ghoulish. These are some of K's photos over the eve.

Today at the bird feeder

Two Carolina chickadees, a female red finch and a tufted titmouse. Also something small and adorable and too fast to identify.

The weather

It's so cold outside today that when I opened the back door for the cats this morning, Henry decided to pee in the litter box and Oleo went back to bed. They didn't even stick their noses out and sniff. They both sat about a foot from the open door and gave me the classic "is she crazy?" cat look. Hence I have decided to do the same. I peed in the loo and went back to bed. I am sad to say that after some time under the covers, the weather is still freezing and now the reports are offering rain and possibly snow. erk. What an excellent day to write dozens of cover letters. double erk.

Learning to share.

YUM!

We made a fantastic discovery last night, an excellent combination...

Bird feeder

Nothing new at the bird feeder today. Am beginning to wonder if our wind chimes are keeping them away?

The best spot in the house

And he kicked his sister off to get it!

Outside

The weather is absolutely stunning right now, (as in, this half hour) so Oleo and I sat outside on the side steps for a little, while Henry gallivants. While I was sitting there I had to rush back inside for the bird book and binocs. A pair, male and female, of House Finches came along. Not exciting for anyone else as they are apparently quite common, but exciting for me, sweet little re-headed chap and his stripey lady. Speaking of red-heads, the woodpecker was back too, and he was in a fould mood. Dashing around the trees in the back garden making his angry little Chchch noises. He sounded like a squirrel so I ignored him for ages till I caught sight of his bright red streak.

Back to birding

Yesterday as we were about to leave the house, a bluebird just casually sat down on the fence in front of us. We were in raptures. We have only ever seen a bluebird once before and it was exciting then too. It was a female and it wasn't long before a male joined us. We then noticed all kinds of little birds hanging about. Including a few chicadees, a junco and a red-bellied woodpecker! We were so excited that we went out and got a very nifty bird feeder for the front garden. More on that later. Meanwhile, here is a pic of the female bluebird and also the woodpecker.