London Day 5: Sun to Rain and a London Walk or Two

Despite the overnight rain, we woke to sunny skies and promptly go out to Portobello Road Market in Notting Hill. It's a good thing we were there first thing in the morning because by 10am, the area was seething. Notting Hill is a an area made famous by the movie but known best as an affluent and older fashionable area with lots of trust fund babies with an equally thriving "alternative" culture (per wikipedia's description) with lots of second hand clothing and antique stores. On Saturdays (like today), vendors set up stalls with fruits and vegetables, meats, clothing (new and used), antiques, silver, art, accessories and more. All sorts of items were here and mostly divided up by category.

I finally found something affordable to buy in London at Portobello Road, a new cute wrap top for only £10 from a new designer called Emily and Fin. And I tried it on in the market behind a little sheet...in 40 degree weather. As the morning went on, the day became more lovely and the streets of Notting Hill more crowded. We wandered some side streets and took pictures of the multi-colored house fronts until stopping at a bagel store. The English may admire a New York bagel but they haven't learned how to imitate it yet.

More later including our adventures with London Walks in the rain...

London Walks is a GREAT company that provides guided walking tours of London, with very professional, knowledgeable and somewhat theatrical guides. We joined up for an afternoon This Is London! tour with Judy. This is the Flash-Bang-Lightning Highlights tour that includes a visit to the biggest sites that London has to offer including a ride along the Thames, Tower Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, St. James's Park, Whitehall, Buckingham Palace, the Mall and Trafalgar Square. What London Walks specializes in is giving you the keys to the areas that you would never find on your own and stories that you will never read in a guidebook. Only have one day in London? This tour is a great introduction.

We liked this tour so much that we decided to take another £6 a person London Walk to the Old Hampstead Village Pub Walk with Peter G. This walk covers the high hill above London, looking at areas where history ranges from Keats and DH Lawrence to Elizabeth Taylor and Jamie Oliver. We punctuated our historical (and rainy) adventure through Hampstead and the border of the Heath, with two great pubs - the Holly Bush and Ye Olde White Bear. At the Holly Bush, we played tour guide for a young man whose wife was taking her mother for a two week holiday in the States. He wanted to know where they might travel between Boston and DC. Funny that we would be very familiar with that area! We were led by the Admiral's House, on top of which are 12 cannons which the original owner used to fire to claim victory in naval conflicts, the inspiration for a certain scene in Mary Poppins. Our travels also took us past the oldest known house in Hampstead - the Fenton House, as well as past the home of the late George du Maurier, now owned by Ridley Scott. We ended up meeting a great couple from Amsterdam, Jacob and Femke and stayed on at the restaurant above the Holly Bush for dinner after the pub crawl. W had his first English sausages and mash! Smoked salmon, salad and crusty bread for me. Butter served on the slide in big slabs like cheese. And the oddest small WC (toilet or loo in the UK) that I have ever seen. Four steps inside the front door including one to get to the commode. And the sink in a corner in front so small and close you could wash your hands while sitting down! I guess fire codes are different in the outer reaches of London, the restaurant / pub had candles sitting open on every other stair up to the second floor.

Finally back to the tube, agreeing to a possible meeting for the next evening's New Years' Eve walk with our new friends.

London Day 4: And the rain came down....

We've been in London for almost four days and the rain (and wind) finally made an appearance. Unlike Bermuda, where we were expecting nice weather and didn't get much, we were mentally and physically prepared for total crap weather wise here in London. We were pleasantly surprised by the first three days and expecting today to finally come.

Turned out that it didn't begin to rain until we stood in line at 10am at the TKTS booth at the south end of Leicester Square. 45 minutes and £25 Chicago 4:30 matinee tickets later, we'd changed our plans from a walk through the neighborhoods around Chelsea to a visit to the Victoria & Albert Museum off of the South Kensington Tube station. We joined what seemed like all area schoolchildren and their parents in the looooong walk from the train to the exit (see yesterday's post about the distance from tunnel to train and stairs), but luckily nearly all of them departed for the National History Museum.

The Victoria & Albert was just what we needed on a rainy day for several hours of viewing interesting sculpture, historical artifacts, clothing, painting, furniture and more from the Renaissance, the Reformation, and many other eras in human history. I even tried on a hoop skirt (and tried to sit in it!)

We wandered around downtown for awhile then hopped on a VERY crowded Tube back to Paddington and on to the Bakerloo line for our ride to the flat. W and I stopped at the Tesco again for a refill on soda, beer (Strongbow Cider for me!), sponges for the flat (aka wash ups in the UK), digestive cookies for our friend Katherine, and some afternoon snacks. While waiting outside we noticed a dog barking its head off down the street. Turned out to be a woman having her afternoon tea outside with some Bichon type fuzzy white thing and a shop owner yelling at her about calling the police. It seemed the shop owner and the woman were in disagreement about the dog's behavior and the shop owner wanted her to leave. She refused. Police dispatched. Ahhh...nice to know that people are people no matter where you go.

After a snack and a change of clothes, we took off on a mad dash for the West End and a production of Chicago with a bunch of BBC stars like Ian Kelsey and reality TV stars like Aoife Mulholldand. Not bad for a 4:30 matinee!!! Choreographed by Ann Reinking, one of my heroes, the dancing was great! The only bother was that many of the leads and minor characters kept varying between a slightly Southern / Texan accent and their native Irish / English / Scottish brogues. It seems that the instruction on how to be American includes adopt a twang!!! Otherwise, really nice production!

Spent the rest of the nice at a local hip chain All Bar One. More about that tomorrow. Early day at Portobello Road in Notting Hill tomorrow (in more forecasted rain.) Pictures and details to follow....

We spent the evening after the theatre at All Bar One, a restaurant/bar chain designed specifically to give women a place where they can feel comfortable ordering a drink and having a bite. Open and airy with large seating areas with tables and couches, pillows and stools, this is an obvious 20-30 something locale. One of the oddest things for W and I is the fact that only quite expensive restaurants have table service with waitstaff. Most places like the Porterhouse and All Bar One, while serving decent food, require you to order and pay at the bar. Then based on your table number, typically carved or stickered onto the edge of your table, the staff will deliver your meal. Want another drink? Go back to the bar. We enjoyed several types of beers and some tapas (not real tapas, more lots of little appetizers.) If this is a chain, I'd like to franchise it in the US! One funny moment came when I ordered a 'red beer' for W, intending to receive an amber ale. No such thing really in the UK, at least at All Bar One. Bitters, ales, lagers, ciders, whites - yes. But ask for a red beer in London and you'll get what I got and sent back, a framboise or strawberry flavored beer, much like the Fruli that I enjoyed our first night. While I would have liked it, I had already received my cider so I promptly ordered W a lager. Hilarity inducing for the English lad next to me at the bar. The barkeep was understanding and I was reminded by the observer NOT TO TIP! We sat, ate, drank and people watched for the rest of the evening.

London Day 3: Stairs

Started off the morning at about 8:15am by taking the Tube to St. Paul's Cathedral. Even more majestic than Westminster Abbey and far more accessible. This Christopher Wren masterpiece was once the tallest building in the London skyline. It houses the graves and memorials of many Royal servants, as well as a memorial to Winston Churchill and Florence Nightingale. We climbed up 259 steps from ground level to visit the Whispering Gallery, then an additional 378 steps up to the Stone Gallery, which is the round vestibule visible at the base of the dome and stands at 173 feet above ground level. Finally we braved the additional steps (total of about 530) up old wood, stone and spiral staircases to the Golden Gallery, the smallest of the galleries, which runs around the highest point of the outer dome, 280 feet above the ground. (Look at the photo on your right, look at the top of the dome and see the stone gate type architecture. We were up there!) For those of you who know I don't like heights, I'll just say that it was worth it for these irreplaceable views of London!





We then walked slowly down the steps and across the Millenium pedestrian bridge to the Tate Modern, a large free modern art gallery. We both realized that we weren't really crazy about surrealism, took a respectable journey through at least 20 rooms of modern art, said hello to Warhol's Marilyn Diptych and Double Elvis and promptly left for Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.



We had a very entertaining walk through the Globe on the South Bank of London, standing in the groundlings' area, sitting in the 2-3 penny seats, listening to our tour guide explain the particulars of Edwardian and Jacobean theater.


Next came a late lunch of panini from a small shop in Gabriel's Wharf, next to the OXO Tower. Then we walked to Waterloo tube and train station, possibly one of the largest (and most dodgy) train stations we've ever seen. There's a reason why almost everyone in London is trim, you have to walk everywhere! From the Tube entrance to the actual train is typically at least 20-50 stairs and nearly a quarter mile. (W says - more like a half!) Thank heavens - no rain yet and good shoes = no blisters.


We took the Tube back to the other side of the Thames and attempted to secure West End theater tickets at the TKTS booth in Leicester Square. Nothing was available that we wanted to see so we vowed to arrive by 9:30am tomorrow morning and wandered around the Strand until we found a pub recommended by one of my co-workers who is a native Londoner. We grabbed some much needed rest and a pint at the Coal Hole.


After much cajoling, I finally got W to try the bus, recommended by most travel books as the way to see London. Included in the cost of our TravelCards for the Underground, these double deckers are the way to go. If buses were only this clean in the states, people might voluntarily ride them. We took the bus down to Knightsbridge where we braved the Harrod's sale for about 45 minutes. This is like no other department store in the world - Cavalli, Lauren, Burberry and Armani 'salons,' specialty themed areas like the Egyptian room and escalator, appointment only shopping services and more Harrod's teddy bears and tea for tourists than you could possibly know what to do with!!!


We strolled down through Kensington in search of restrooms (loo's or WC's here) and vowed to visit the Victoria & Albert once we passed in this evening. We took a very crowded Tube back to Covent Garden and wandered again for about an hour before finding the Porterhouse Brewery for dinner. Seats are rare in this order at the bar for all type of brewpub and we ended up sitting next to two young Brits, one of whom resides in San Francisco and is a chemist for a pharmaceutical company. We picked their brains about football vs. cricket vs. rugby, UK vs. USA costs and received recommendations about where to travel to outside of London this weekend (Cambridge or Canterbury.)


After a twelve hour day, we're back in the flat and ready for bed!

London annoyance of the day - small children (4-5) racing on scooters across the Millenium Bridge, nearly taking out all those walking across

London joy of the day - the view from the top of St. Paul's

London: Day 2 Walking, walking, walking

Aaaaah! Life is good after 12 hours of sleep. After a quick breakfast at the flat, we took the tube to the Whitehall area around 11am. We walked in a very, very cold London to the Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum. A little too expensive for a museum, we moved on down Whitehall Street to the Horses' Guard Parade Grounds and had our photos taken with what looked like Her Royal Majesty's 12-16 year old guards on horseback. Then through the archways to the largest open space in London, the actual Parade Grounds. This large pebble landscape is next to the very modest home of the Prime Minister and backs up to St. James Park. The lovely stretch of green, complete with joggers, fountains and swans, looked like a small stretch of Central Park.

Walking on, we reached Westminster Abbey where for 10 pounds and less than a ten minute wait, we were treated to some of the most impressive architecture we've ever seen. The Abbey, still a working church, is the gravesite and memorial to royal subjects and contributors to art, literature, politics and even science. In Poet's Corner, most people paid attention to the memorials of Dickens, Keats and W.H. Auden, but missed the crypt of Goeffrey Chaucer behind them. We moved outside into the Cloisters (photo coming soon) and into the narthex, lighting a candle and asking a very polite guide where the memorial to Sir Isaac Newton might be. Interestingly, the globe and sculpture memorial stands above his grave and nearby is the barely noticable tomb of Charles Darwin.

After Westminster Abbey, we walked around the Whitehall area a little more and viewed the London Eye, Big Ben and Parliament. "Look Kids - Big Ben....Parliament" Clark Griswold.

Back up Whitehall Street to the Silver Cross (a traditional English pub) for lunch of fish & chips and tempura battered chicken. And of course, beer. Strongbow Cider for me and an IPA and a Bombadier for W. The second one was free as they ran out 3/4 of the way into W's pour. There was a half hour wait on food and only one bartender. When I asked politely if they were understaffed, the unflappable bartender replied, "No - only undermanaged." We smirked as we watched a French family yell at the staff about the slow service. It seems as if half of the French population is here on holiday as that is the main language we heard at the Abbey and at local restaurants and shops.

By the time we reached Trafalgar Square, it was nearly sundown at 4pm. We wandered through and took pictures before entering the National Gallery. The crush of people inside this free museum was incredible. And they kep closing gallery after gallery, making it even more crowded. We did find some respite in the basement at the Manet to Picasso Exhibition. W really liked the work of Pissaro, Manet and Degas. We were waiting around for the free 6:30pm tour and asked at the information desk about it. Good thing we did as we found that it was cancelled (and the portions of galleries shutting down) due to 'industrial action' by the staff. English politeness for a strike. Now we understood why curiously no one could tell us which galleries were closed or why?

We left the National Gallery around 6pm and spent the next several hours criss-crossing through central London and the West End, stopping at the Times Square craziness that is Picadilly Circus, browsing the markets at Covent Garden, viewing the Americanized Leicester Square and accidentally wandering into a gentleman's area in Soho (whoops!)

We finally settled on a little Turkish restaurant that sat about 12 people, Opuz Kitchen, for kebabs and beer. At about 9:30pm we stumbled home, chatted with our fellow Elon roomies and wandered back out to Robert Browning's pub in our neighborhood (Little Venice) for a final pint courtesy of Sam Smith's brewery.

Back in the U.S. W has now decided that I can swear at home, but only in an English accent. It just sounds cuter and more sophisticated.

London: Travel and Day 1 - Can we just find a pub?

Also known as Damn that Marky Mark

Because of his flowing hair, abnormally large biceps and underdog working class Philly story, W and I got stuck watching Invincible on the plane for the first two hours over and barely slept a wink. We soldiered on in London, deciding to stay up until at least 9pm to fight the looming jet lag. After successfully navigating the tube pricing, maps and international travellers with little regard for personal space, we arrived at the hotel that gave us our flat keys. We weren't in the mood for more tube stops with luggage so we took an official black cab to our flat at 29-31 Clifton Gardens. These are two old buildings combined into a series of rental flats. We have a two floor flat with one bath, two bedrooms and a combined kitchen and living area (approximate sq. footage of 600). W and I decided to be nice and give the two twins to our incoming Elon flatmates and took the bunk beds for ourselves. It's like camp, but in England and free!

First adventure: the London Underground and a trip to Bond and Oxford Streets. And we thought that Times Square was crazy!!! Never have we seen such a melting pot of people and cultures all in search of one thing....a post-holiday sale. We experienced British department stores such as Selfridges at 50% off (still expensive) and all pulsating with 3am type club music. More people watching and less shopping due to the horrible exchange rate.

After wandering through the shopping district, we landed at The Three Tuns for an afternoon snack of beer, potato wedges with cheese and yummy roasted tomato soup. W had a Guinness and I discovered a new favorite in Kronenbourg Blanc, a Belgian style white beer from France! Warm fire, super friendly barkeeps calling us dear and love and some food kept us going another couple of hours.

After nearly falling asleep on the tube, W and I visited the Tesco Express - a mini grocery store down the block from us for some cereal, juice, soda and bananas. And although we're not in New England and it's not Easter, he found his favorite breakfast treat - hot cross buns. Hooray!!

So a shower to wake us up and we set out again from the flat for a traditional English pub style dinner. We tried the Prince Albert, a recognized favorite among Elon students, but the food was a bit out there and dear for us. So then we tried the Robert Browning pub on the other side of our flat, but they weren't serving food on Boxing Day. What does a person have to do to get gastro-pub food on Boxing Day?!?! We ended up across the street at Cafe Rouge, a French cafe style 'fast food' restaurant described by Frommers as so 'uncool' that it has become 'almost fashionable' again. Didn't seem fast food to us....great baguettes with chicken or steak and special sauces inside, true French servers with barely passing mastery of the English language and the best fries since the Fryeburg Fair in Maine according to W. Of course I discovered another new beer called Fruli, a wonderfully light strawberry flavored drink. Cringe at will you beer snobs...I'm happy with my beer adventures.

Off to sleep in the bunk beds for us....more to follow!

The mystery is solved!

After some oh so fun rounds of scratch tests and blood work, it turns out that I am severely allergic to nearly every grass, tree and weed known on earth....and to pumpkin. We found our smoking gun. At least it is something that I can give up easily. No more pumpkin-chocolate chip muffins for me!

Anaphylaxis is fun!

Two new and exciting things happened in my life this Saturday.

1. I ran four miles with my running group in Mebane this weekend - without stopping. It was a first. (For those of you who've known me in my gym rat phase - I wasn't always this way. My entire family used to run together at 6am. I'd stay in bed. Until the last two years, I couldn't run a mile. I could walk 25 in a day quickly...but couldn't run. Now I've started a local running club and I can run 3-4 miles without stopping to walk.)
2. Two hours later, while planting perennials in the front yard, my hands began to itch. Ten minutes later I looked like I ran into an evil plastic surgeon with a plethora of collagen. My bottom lip was about double the normal size. Welts broke out on about 75% of my body and we took a trip to the urgent care. Benadryl shots, epinephrin shots, a lecture from the physician about the risks of this type of systemic response happening again, discussions about the possibility of bites and stings, two hours of sleeping off the Benadryl and being 'under observation' - we were allowed to leave. Now Dad is telling me to go get a prescription for an epi-pen. At the very minimum, I'm carrying Bendaryl with me everywhere and getting the yard sprayed for bugs again. Welts stink.

No song of the day - Just a good episode of Entourage on HBO.

Tips for a do it yourself patio

It's been a busy week and a half in our household. W's dad drove up from Key West last week and helped us start a long awaited project - the back patio! W's mom joined us for the holiday weekend. In between trips to Chapel HIll for dinner and a great group of winery tours - we initiated a major do-it-yourself project. Our builder filled in the patio area with a continuation of tar from the driveway. In the summer it radiates heat and just isn't attractive to look at. W had already torn out half of our back porch to make room for the grill and our gate opening...now it was time for major destruction.

• Point 1 - as Tim the Toolman said "more power" - Half the day into the demolition of the tar, W rented a tool from Ace Hardware. Some type of hammer drill with a flat blade. They asked if he wanted the big one and he said no. He forgot the laws of Tim the Toolman. After discovering the tar the builders had poured was not your typical 2 inch tar and wearing down the first drill to a low growling thing, he went back and got the big drill. (See photo)
• Point 2 - What is crush & run anyway? - It's the stuff you put down after you've removed the tar, dug out 8 inches of grass and North Carolina red clay using the Mantis, your back and a lot of sweat. It looks like...um...ground up tar and rocks. Then you add the sand.
• Point 3 - Thank heaven for our houseguest's truck. And we're sorry about the water pump and truck bed cables. We'll pay you back.
• Point 4 - Are those bricks pink? - Open all three pallets and take a really good look at them before you start laying the pavers. You might find out about 45 bricks later that it really isn't a bad dye lot but a factory mistake. Take a much needed, though slightly frustrating three day break for the holidays.
• Point 5 - Borrow a friend once the relatives leave - Eric - you saved our rear ends and allowed for the holiday trip to Nag's Head proceed with a FAR lower stress level. Paul - wonderful brick carrying and lunch getting.
• Point 6 - I can transplant! Two gerbera daisies and a mess load of dianthus transplanted and they're still alive. We had to make room for the walkway.
• Point 7 - Careful of the toes - Check out the picture. I married the master of tools. Enough said.
• Point 8 - Sweep and tamp - Repeat. Many times.
• Point 9 - We're tired and we're dusty.
• Point 10 - Grab an adult beverage and enjoy being master of your domain.

• 

Barstow, Calif. 2554 miles

That's how far it is from Wilmington, North Carolina to the end of Interstate 40 in Barstow, California...according to the sign by the side of the road. I saw it today as I left Wilmington, where I had visited in order to see a dinner program presentation for work. It just made me smile. According to the internet, there's an identical sign in Barstow telling travellers that it is 2554 miles to Wilmington.

I-40 is the road you take to get to Lubbock. Many people think I'm crazy when I say that we live in the same gardening zone here in North Carolina (7) as we did in Lubbock. 'But isn't Lubbock south?' they say. To which I reply that it's nearly on the same latitude and has very similar temperatures (though drastically different levels of humidity, dust and greenery.)

If you ever get the urge to drive to Lubbock and want to know the directions...it's really easy.
1. Take I40 West
2. When you get to Amarillo, Texas, turn left.
3. You'll find it.

Harper is sitting in my lap shaking due to the thunderstorm outside. Guinness is playing ball as usual. We need the rain so I've unplugged the computer and settled in for the duration.

Song of the Day: Boston - Augustana

Great article from USAToday

And rarely would I say that about the ubiquitous hotel freebie. But this article made me pause and think to the point that I wrote a letter to the author, Craig Wilson. What blew me away even more was that he responded back with a short thank you! I didn't realize that some national writers actually read and respond to their own email.

However you feel about the issue (and everyone is fully entitled to their beliefs), you have to admit that this is powerful writing that looks at the topic with very little politics. Ok, a little - but far less than some others. Not trying to stir up debate - just sharing something put in a different way that moved me.
Take a read.

Craig wilson: Final Word - Kids Know Family Even if Politicians Don't

Weekend in Mebane, NC

Busy weekend with Mom and Dad visiting from Annapolis this weekend. Guinness and Harper were delighted to have new playmates to torture. Based on our fun adventures, I've compiled a list of...

Some things to do while visiting Mebane, NC

• Back country road drive around Mebane, Haw River, Green Level and more - cows, goats, old barns, farm houses.
• Dinner at Natty Greene's in Greensboro - home of the new Wildflower Witbier, a Belgian style white brew that could easily become a favorite. Stuff to love: the T&A sandwich (turkey, avocado, cheese, wheatberry bread, cilantro mayo)
• Shopping at the Bass outlet at the BMOC - the Burlington Manufacturers' Outlet Center
• Locating native plants and good gardening advice at Mebane Shrubbery and Niche Gardens
• Browsing through antiques, reproductions and consignment goodies at the Elegant Relic in downtown Mebane. Rumour has it that the owner is working on opening a new restaurant a few blocks away. Maybe a place to visit on the next trip! We could use a more upscale dining location in town.
• Breakfast, good coffee and conversation on the patio at Strong's Coffee
• Dinner at Top of the Hill in Chapel Hill. Stuff to love: Shrimp & Scallop Angel Hair with artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, spinach, and feta in a white wine herb sauce. I skipped the scallops and doubled the shrimp. This was probably one of the best pasta dishes I have ever tried. W thought that the Davie Poplar IPA was one of the best he's ever tried.
  

Hope you can join us sometime soon! Let me know if there are locations that should be added to the 'must see and do' list.

Song of the day: Wisemen - James Blunt

Gardening success!

There is a huge amount of satisfaction in making a salad out of things you grew in your own backyard. While this may not be a big deal to many people, in our fast-paced and electronic age I find it a refreshing change to walk outside and pick my own food.

Dinner? How about a salad with homegrown lettuce, green onions, cucumbers and green peppers. (The tomatoes are about a week away from harvest, with the jalapenos running a close behind.)

That is a trellis on the right side of the photo. I built that last weekend while W was still in Colorado.

The photo on right is the same as one about four posts ago. You can see that the tomatoes have gone crazy and the peppers are prolific. The dark area in front is a new plot for watermelons.



While at Mebane Shrubbery I had a long conversation with the counter person about the presence of Peter Rabbit in my backyard. Dad lifted up the lettuce two days ago and baby Peter went darting across the garden. And on Saturday there were som e large nibble marks in my strawberries. So this afternoon I sprayed Liquid Fence around all of the edibles. Reportedly this stuff keeps out the deer and rabbits but whew(!) does it smell. Considering the main ingrediants are putrescent egg solids and garlic, I'd stay away too. After it dries, humans can't smell it but deer and bunnies can.

Before and After

Today W and I made multiple trips to Lowe's in Mebane and spent about five hours outside working on various projects. I planted the geranium, phlox, Sweet William, honeysuckle, sweet potatoe vine, and some other items that I can't remember the name of. There is also a new plot in the backyard garden where we may see some watermelons in about 2 months! I love my Mantis rototiller!

W worked all day to begin implementation of our plan for an entertainment worthy back patio. You may remember the back of our house and porch looked like this upon move in....

Of course we added the gate about two weeks later for the sake of our puppies. Then came many plants and the herb garden. But we discovered that in the heat of the summer, the tar patio is too hot...and too small. We want some space for a table and chairs for al fresco dining. W has been trying to convince me of the need to rip off the side stairs that now walk down to nearly nothing except the gate between the house and garage. There is no room for the grill and hose holder. I thought the idea sounded good but I was worried about the outcome. I need not have feared. W is extremely handy with a power tool (and he has been thinking this through for about two months.) He put in a railing between the house and post. Then he spent many hours removing the side stairs and finishing the remaining side. Sometime this week we will put in some lattice on the side to keep the puppies and inebriated houseguests out of the under porch area. Here are some photos of the nearly finished results...

Yes, he did this all in about 3 hours and helped me dig a few holes too!

Now we're ready for bids for our brick patio and walkways to the two gate entries - W's summer project...

Gardening and the heat

Returned from Chicago last night to nearly 90 degree heat and an overflowing herb & veggie garden! Baby green tomatoes and popping up and W has decided we need a few more tomatoe cages. I am facing a weed invasion from the areas where W 'reclaimed' space in the backyard. Every weekend is a weed killer and Preem application. Two weeks ago saw the addition of weed fabric and mulch. Now I may need to find a way to keep Peter Rabbit out of my lettuce! I'm curious to see what the total cost of producing one bunch of edible tomatoes and a few green and jalapeno peppers is going to be!!!

Sick

So I'm sick. Not really sure why. Started with wierd CNS side effects with allergy meds...turned into stomach issues...now I'm achy and ill all over. W thinks I'm dehydrated. Possibly. I feel the same way I did after the now famous Lakeridge Country Club buffet to the ER visit incident. Except minus the...um...praying to the porcelain gods. But due to that and prior food poisoning happenings, I am aware of the bone flaying, skin pain feeling of dehydration. Somehow I have it. (Or I'm getting meningitis - hypochondria coming out.)

So I've spent a day and a half on the couch. Coudn't really enjoy Flying Burrito in Chapel Hill last night. Mexican and Tex-Mex just aren't the same after living in Lubbock. Give me Abuelo's or Chimy's any day for real margaritas, fajitas and fish tacos. All else pales in comparison.

Lots and lots of planting yesterday...potentially the reason for the dehydration. But the herb garden is now complete. Photos coming soon. Funny, you say herbs to any of our friends and they think we're growing an accesory to a Jimmy Buffet concert. No square grouper here. Just two kinds of basil, two kinds of lavender, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, lemon balm, cilantro, and dill. (Stop with the Simon & Garfunkel humming.)

Also I planted findings from the Alamance County Women's Resource Center Herb Sale. It's official - I'm becoming my mother. I'm visiting herb sales with girlfriends on a Friday early evening and spending time talking to the Lavender Lady of Orange County, NC. Oh well, there could be worse things than spending time with a girlfriends, contributing money to the local community and buying gorgeous Thai basil, lime scented geraniums, and dwarf bleeding hearts. My mother says I've become a more well-rounded person since my induction into the world of digging in the dirt. (But do you realize how much money you can spend on gardening equipment? Speaking of the green stuff, W and I have ambitions to spend some time and money on putting in a brick patio and two walkways in our backyard. Ambition is a crazy thing. If this works out, it will culminate in a July fajita / margarita party. Be prepared.)

Travel Update:
Home this week and some of next
Kansas City in mid-May
SPBT conference in Chicago the third week
Colorado for vacation with W and some Elon friends the last week

Song of the Day:
How to Save a Life - The Fray

Fresh air

Sitting at dinner last night we noticed something that had previously escaped our attention. We can open our windows here!

Due to the ever present dust and constant fear of dust storms in West Texas, W and I probably opened our windows 2-3 times each spring and fall. Even with the windows constantly closed, our new home would gather a layer of grit over everything within two hours of being cleaned. Our brand new windows were no match for the fine, red-brown, swirling dust that would creep in and gather sometimes two inches high in the sills. A dust storm would rise from a clear day, blowing at 50-60 miles per hour, dragging trash cans, loose bicycles and yard furniture in it's wake. In Lubbock I learned how to cope with grit in my hair, my teeth and even my ears.

But in North Carolina we have humidity instead of dust! How wonderful it is to open up our windows, turn on the fans and leave the house without fear of coming home to a pile of dirt and a large professional cleaning bill. We are learning to enjoy fresh air and the sounds of birds again!

TV's and trips

So after much hemming and hawing we have purchased the big HDTV. We solicited advise from our nephew Jordan who works in the electronics department at Sam's Club, Cnet.com reviews, Amazon.com reviews, my brother and various big box sales people. And the winner is....

The Vizio 37" widescreen HDTV

It's big, it's beautiful and you can see the sweat on Phil Mickelson's brow. W is in heaven.

On Friday, I returned from a week in Puerto Rico for a company meeting. This is not regular...we just had a very good year. Ran into an old friend from my training five years ago who was there on a rewards trip with his company. The older I am, the more I realize how TINY the world actually is...

I'm actually home all week and catching up on lots of work stuff...and some personal stuff including the garden. Maybe this weekend I'll be ready to post some pictures of my developing vegetable bed. W is dreaming of adding a putting green to our backyard. Oh my!

Checkmarks between the travel

Rototill the garden - check. Finally finish the taxes - check. Fly to California - check. GTD - filing of personal paperwork - check. Close out personal mailbox - check. Laundry - check. Take a red-eye to New York - check. Visit to garden center - check. Buy first plants of the year - check.

OK - I like this GTD system. It forces you to write down all of the little nagging stuff that you have to do but never remember or get around to doing. Plus about 90% of my annoying paperwork is off of my desk. I highly recommend the book and the system.

This weekend, W and I rented a tiller and tore up the garden plots around our house. We are also preparing a plot behind our back fence which has ambitions to be a vegetable garden. If all goes well, we'll be begging you to take tomatoes, onions, peppers and herbs off of our hands in a few months.

Saturday afternoon, we went out with our friend Sara and her two adorable kids in metropolitan downtown Mebane. We had sandwiches and sweet potatoe fries from our favorite local place, Strong's. Then we waked around downtown and visited the ever increasing number of antique / consignment / gift stores. So nice to just run around for two hours!

Tomorrow I take off for California, then on to New York and Connecticut and then back to RDU and home on Friday afternoon. (Hence the checkmarks between the travel and my photo from last week's trip to Connecticut). I'll arrive just in time to celebrate St. Patrick's Day! Green beer anyone?

Song of the day "Let Go" - Frou Frou

Taxes, money and paper

Can I just express how ridiculous I feel that our current US tax code is? Can anyone simply figure out what a tax basis is on investments made through a company stock purchase program employing dollar cost averaging and discounted purchases? I consider myself a reasonably intelligent person but after trying to retrieve my "corrected" 1099-DIV and 1099B forms from the very incompetent *%^#$ Investor Services for over a month, the idea of trying to figure out the stock basis on a total payout of $156 is just not worth the effort! I spend 45 minutes this morning reading tax code on the IRS website. Isn't the proces of paying taxes supposed to be easily understood by the everyman? No wonder there are so many business and accountants making money off of doing other people's taxes. I guess I'll have to wait until Monday to call Mellon and request their assistance. Another few days we have to wait to get our tax refund.

So I am practically chest deep in paper this morning. W is out on a (very cold) bike ride that may last in indeterminable amount of time. I decided therefore to tackle my paper collection stage of the GTD process. I'm surrounded by manila folders, items I need to decide whether they will take two minutes or less to finish, reference items that need to be filed, and an open Palm Pilot for writing down my task items and someday / maybe lists. This could get dangerous by the time W arrives home. I may have 200+ manila folders all over the floor by that point (or possibly a bonfire in the backyard.)

Remember when you were a kid and thought that the coolest thing in the world was going to the mailbox and seeing a piece of mail addressed to you? I used to wish that I would get 'official looking' mail. OK, I was a wierd kid...I had a Franklin Day Planner in 6th grade. But now, I wish the mail would STOP coming. We only use one credit card a piece, have four total magazine subscriptions (Time, Cooking Light, and Golf Digest) and work with a limited number of investment companies, yet somehow we receive a seemingly huge amount of mail. It just ends up stacking up and feeling like a huge mental burden after awhile. Maybe this GTD process will help make it easier to tackle and a little less of a burden. One can only hope....

Are you a salmon or a cod?

Are you a salmon or a cod? That was the main question last night at West End in Elon. Much to the consternation of the attendees of the ubiquitous 'black-out' party and the Elon Rugby celebration, there were a bunch of slightly older folks celebrating for reasons all their own.

With orange hats bearing the Salmon Run House logo, we imbibed, made 'salmon runs' and generally confused all with our presence. Thanks to Steve and his Superbowl winnings for hosting the fete, Nick for taking the future bribery photos, Eric for allowing his apartment to be the sight of the salmon run, Stacy for protecting my bathroom door and generally providing humor and perspective, Denard for the swim...er...construction goggles, W, Molly, Jamian, Cheryl and Sarah for rounding out the festivities. A great time was had by all. We will be tracking down Nick and the camera film in the near future. Let's hear it for the Elon Rugby team and the "Days of the Week!"

As a Steve-designated 'salmon' - I swim upstream. This upcoming month I will be swimming up to Connecticut February 28th - March 2nd and March 7th-10th, to California March 14th-15th, to Connecticut March 16th and again March 29th-30th. Later in April I'll spend some time in Puerto Rico. W and I plan to make use of our frequent flyer miles, hotel points and car rental credits during a May trip to Colorado. Anyone have input on things that one MUST DO in Denver in the summer? Hikes, restaurants, shopping, breweries - we're open to suggestions.

Starting out

Embarking on several new adventures this month - one of which is the phenomonal book / way of life / time-management process known as Getting Things Done. I may blog a bit about how this is going.

Another adventure is the blogging experience. Topics to cover? I'll stay away from work items unless it's a big promotion or adventures in travel. Most of you know that I'm a pharmaceutical sales trainer for a great company. Beyond that, I'll keep this general and confined to personal, fun, websites I like, family items, 3-Day and other charitable activities, and anything else that catches my fancy...like this little funny from my niece...sometimes don't you want to just say "get your own box"?!?!

Hope you enjoy! Please post comments or send me an email. Thanks!

Goals for 2005? Whoops I mean 2006:
Learn to play guitar
Work-out at least 4 times per week
Volunteer as a crew member in at least one Breast Cancer 3-Day
Produce a garden with usable items in it by late summer: herbs, vegetables, flowers
Get at least halfway through my CMR coursework
Decide whether or not to pursue graduate school
Paint & decorate my office
Explore Chapel Hill, Greensboro and other areas in my new surroundings
Have fun with W, my family and the dogs all year long