Not just another hobby

Two down, ten or so to go

2010-05-13T11:16:00.001-04:00

Classes, that is. Hurray! I’ve got one semester of grad school under my belt! It feels good to have made it safely to the other side. Of course, I won’t know my grades for a few days, so I’m trying to take an “it’s out of my control so don’t angst over it” (or as Jim would say, “it is what it is”) approach. And since I have two weeks of “free” time, I’m going to distract myself by catching up on the gardening I’ve been missing out on and maybe getting some inside projects completed if the weather is bad. At least that’s the plan. On the other hand, I may just sit around and read the mystery novels piling up on the coffee table or catch up on HGTV shows I’ve missed.

But soon enough, it’ll be time to start over again . . .

Fleeting attraction

2010-05-10T15:10:00.000-04:00

As I was heating my lunch in the lower level break room, I checked out the vending machines, just out of curiosity. And that’s where I saw them – at the bottom of the snack machine, directly beneath the peanut M&Ms – a package of Twinkies! I don’t know why I was surprised to see them in a vending machine, after all, they have a shelf life of practically forever. But I was; and there they were, those spongy little yellow cakes puffed up with gooey cream filling, just waiting for me to insert my dollar bill and swoop them up. Because I haven’t had a Twinkie in years. But alas, I didn’t bring any money down with me and by the time I got back upstairs the spell was broken and the desire gone.

Digging in the dirt

2010-05-07T20:30:00.003-04:00

I was able to leave work a little early today, and was rewarded with a chance to spend a couple of hours moving plants and weeding. It felt good to be outside doing something that didn't require memorizing formulas and checking assumptions and conditions! We are continuing to fill in the new planting bed in front with stuff we're thinning out in the back. I'm beginning to refer to this as "frugal gardening." So far, all we've spent any money on has been the sweet peet, and we've managed to fill in the new planting area and some empty corners with what we have.

My nail tech was telling me how she and her fiancee helped his grandmother mulch her flower beds with 6 yards of mulch and how much she hated doing outside stuff. And I heard myself saying, "Oh, that's not so bad. And mulch is pretty light."

So now I'm wondering: when did I become this person who would rather muck about outside in the yard? Or was she always there and I just didn't know it?

May 4, 1970

2010-05-04T09:36:00.004-04:00

Federal troops, sons of WWII veterans, fired on unarmed college students, also children of WWII veterans, who were exercising their constitutional right to free speech. Forty years later, four families still grieve. And both sides are still sniping at each other.

Tin soldiers and Nixon coming,
We're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drumming,
Four dead in Ohio.
(lyrics by Neil Young)

Food for thought

2010-05-02T21:02:00.004-04:00

Remember that post I wrote about having too many reusable grocery bags? Well, I may have been a bit hasty. Jimmy has started cooking for us. The good news is that we're eating really well. The bad news? Well, look at the results of this week's grocery shopping (I think I counted 8 bags). It's been ages since I bought this much food! Now I'm wondering how I managed when the kids were growing up!

Where in the blog-world is Pat?

2010-05-01T15:17:00.006-04:00

Hiding in my office, actually.

It’s been over 6 weeks since my last post. Unlike the other, more prolific blogger in the household, I often seem to lack interesting subjects and/or the creative energy to formulate a post. But I want to keep this blog current, so I have promised myself that I will make an effort to be more productive and post on a regular basis. So here’s a quick recap of what I’ve been up to lately.

In the past month and a half I have

Read 6 chapters of Statistics
Completed 6 chapters of Statistics homework
Taken (and completely bombed) 2 tests
Read 8 chapters for Fundraising Class
Wrote 3 papers for Fundraising Class
Composed, produced and mailed 2 SWL newsletters
Read Eudora Welty short stories for book club
Hosted said book club meeting
Spent a weekend in DG helping Sarah move

All this while still holding down my day job, trying to keep the house from getting buried in dog hair, and putting in some time in the garden.

But wait, there’s more! Coming attractions include prepping for the Statistics final and completing a 10 page paper and a class presentation summarizing the paper. Then I have a week's respite during which I can start working on the new vegetable garden. Oh, and sometime in there my mom is coming to visit.

Hopefully by then I'll figure out a routine.

The first day of spring

2010-03-20T13:00:00.003-04:00

It's a gorgeous day, temps in the 50s and very sunshiney -- fitting for the first day of spring. It's one of those days that demands that you work (or play) outside, because you know that spring weather is fickle and can turn ugly at a moment's notice. So here I am, sitting in my office, staring at my statistics book, while Jim (and the dogs) are outside, digging in the dirt.

--sigh

Giveaways

2010-03-11T11:27:00.003-05:00

Over the years, I’ve attended lots of trade shows and bar association meetings. You find all kinds of interesting vendor giveaways in the exhibition sections. They range from the useful, like canvas tote bags/briefcases (a staple at the ABA annual meetings), pads of sticky notes, and pens, all the way to the “what the heck is this?” variety of trinket. And people get in line to snap up the stuff.

Every once in a while one item takes the lead in most-used (or over-used) giveaway. In fact, right after 3M™ came out with their Post-It® notes, sticky-note pads became the giveaway of choice. Then someone invented those squishy “anti-stress” thingies and soon every law firm in the country stamped their name on some variation and handed them out. This year’s winner: reusable grocery bags.

It’s a great idea; having shopped at Aldi for a long time, I heartily embrace the concept. Before we moved to Ohio we picked up two bags from Trader Joe’s. And I bought a couple from my local grocery chain over a year ago when they first offered them. This year, the trade show people seem to have bought into the idea big time. At the last two garden shows we attended, the major sponsors provided a bag to each attendee as they presented their ticket. It’s a good fit – gardening and ecological responsibility – and we eagerly snapped up our bags. But when I got home, one question surfaced: just how many does one household need? I figure I have at least a dozen now, and that doesn’t count the last couple of plastic Aldi bags that haven’t worn out yet. We simply don’t buy enough groceries to fill all those bags! So this begs the question:

Can they be recycled?

Garden Show Finds

2010-03-08T10:57:00.008-05:00

You can tell that spring is just around the corner when the garden shows start popping up. This year, we were lucky enough to get to four. In February, we hit two in Cleveland and one in Akron, and this past Saturday we took a trip down to Columbus for the Central Ohio Home and Garden Show. We made a day of it, starting off at the North Market, which is an emporium of eateries, food purveyors, and a few clothing and household goods vendors. I spotted some Fiestaware, but at the prices they were asking, we decided a trip to the outlet store in Newell W.V. would actually be more economical. But we found a great place to eat breakfast, and Jim took lots of pictures, as usual. Check out his blog in the next couple of days for several in-depth posts about the market, the garden show and the cute restaurant we ate lunch at.

The show was held at the state fairgrounds, in two buildings connected by a tented walkway. The garden “part” was in one and the home-related in the other. We almost missed the “home” section, until someone we were chatting with told us about it. The garden part of the show was different than what we had seen before. The show had an overall theme, art in the garden or something like that, which the display gardens reflected. That made it a little more interesting as we walked through the displays. There weren't as many garden vendors as at other shows we've been to, but I still managed to find a couple of cute items. Oh, and Jim made a new friend.

This will look cute in the sunroom.

More yard art.

Jim and friend.

2010-02-03T18:24:00.002-05:00

Well, I've survived three weeks of graduate school. So far, so good.Even the Statistics class is pretty interesting. However, I AM glad I let my graduate advisor talk me out of taking a third class. So much work, so little time. Some observations, in no particular order:

Mandatory preparations for the first day of class include locating the nearest coffee vendor. This is especially important when your classes are held from 6 - 10 pm.
I can still do the cross-campus dash in under 5 minutes. Thank you Leslie Sansone!
The downtown walk/don't walk signs make no sense to me, so I've reverted to the Chicago school of crossing: wait til there's a break in traffic and make a run for it. I haven't lost my touch.
It seems that the Transit Police can drive on the sidewalk. What's that all about?
Some things haven't changed: academic types still prefer turtlenecks and blazers.
Interesting, even after just three weeks, my brain feels like it's running on all its cylinders again, after just chugging along for so many years.

Coincidence?

2010-01-25T22:22:00.002-05:00

We went to dim sum Saturday after the Garden Show. This was my fortune:

An optimistic attitude is half of success.

Believe these things or not, but the timing was interesting . . . .

Making lemonade

2010-01-21T13:30:00.004-05:00

It’s time for a change. Actually, it’s been time for a change for several years. For a long time I’ve been restless, thinking that there must be something interesting out there that doesn’t involve actually practicing law, but a nice salary, 5 weeks vacation and a job without much heavy lifting kept me nice and comfortable.

Sometimes life has to give you a little push. This one came in the form of an announcement that my office is closing at the end of this year. I had two options: move to Rochester NY or move on. I chose to move on. So I’m embarking on a new adventure.

I’m now a graduate student at the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Studies at Cleveland State University, working toward my Masters degree in Nonprofit Administration and Leadership (it’s kind of like an MBA only for nonprofit entities). Classes started this week. All I can say is . . . this is going to be fun!

When life hands you lemons . . .

The great cranberry sauce escapade

2009-12-29T17:36:00.002-05:00

Christmas Day started out pretty low-key. We just hung out, trying to stay out of the way while dinner preparations were begun. It was the first time in years that I wasn’t doing Christmas dinner, so it almost didn’t feel like Christmas. So when Katie asked us to run out for some cranberry sauce, we just jumped into the car and headed for the grocery store. Which was closed, of course. Down the road was an open store, which turned out to be an Asian market. It was a neat place, but not only did they not have cranberry sauce, I’m not sure they knew what we were asking for. We then came across a Walgreens. They have a small food section, so we tried our luck there. They had one can of the jellied version left, which we bought. We regarded this as only a partial victory, since we weren’t sure (a) one would be enough and (b) whether we were supposed to get this kind or the whole berry kind. So on we went. We found a Subway restaurant where two police cars were parked, so Jim did his “I’m from Cleveland, my daughter sent me out for some cranberry sauce, do you know where there’s an open grocery store?” routine. They sent us to an Albertson’s, which was closed. In the meantime, we found a Mexican grocery store which only had the jellied sauce in stock, so we bought one can, just in case the can we bought at Walgreen's wasn't enough. But we were still in search of the whole berry sauce. A few consultations with the rental car company map, and we wound our way to a retail district that I recognized, having already been there with Katie, where there was another grocery store. Not only was it open, but it had lots of both kinds of sauce. We grabbed two cans of the whole berry stuff and headed to the checkout. Then it got kind of weird. The clerk asked us if we had a preferred card. We said no, we’re from out-of-town. Do we have a Safeway Card (it was owned by Safeway)? No, we said, but we have an old Dominick’s card from when we lived in Chicago. She practically squealed when she told us that’ll work! So using our old phone number we got the sale price on our two cans of sauce. Off we went, feeling we had saved Christmas and relishing (ooh – sorry!) our little Christmas adventure.

The fruits of our labor! (pun definitely intended!).

Weather shock

2009-12-29T17:06:00.006-05:00

In a few short hours, we went from this . . .

To this. Welcome back to NE Ohio!

It is a very GRAND canyon

2009-12-22T16:06:00.003-05:00

This was taken as we flew over the Grand Canyon. It was a little hazy that day, but still, it's very impressive from 30,000 feet. One of these days we'll see it from the ground.

Cooking with Jim

2009-12-22T15:46:00.003-05:00

Yes, Jim CAN cook! Those of you who have known us for a long time know that for years he professed a lack of a cooking gene. But all those years of boy scout camp outs finally laid that image to rest, especially when we started camping as a family! And now I reap the benefit from all cooking experience, especially at breakfast. Most Saturday (and Sunday) mornings we sleep in, then Jim fires up the cast iron skillet. The actual result varies, but generally involves eggs, bacon or some other meat, onion, bell pepper and sometimes potatoes. Oh, and always cheese! Whatever form it takes, be it scrambled eggs, an omelet or fritata, it's always tasty. Lucky me!

Why poinsettias?

2009-12-18T23:42:00.004-05:00

Whose idea was it to pick the poinsettia as the official (or maybe semi-official) flower of the Christmas season? It's actually native to much warmer climates than most of the country has. It doesn't do well in the dry, furnace-heated environment of your typical house. And while it can be drop-dead gorgeous when you first bring one home, it drops its leaves if you just look at it funny. So after a week or two, you end up with a plant that looks like a cross between a flower and a lollipop. But still, every year I succumb and get at least one, just because they do look so good.

Christmas lights in our fair city

2009-12-18T22:33:00.012-05:00

Tonight we drove around town, checking out how other people decorated their houses and maybe getting some inspiration for next year. I love doing this. It reminds me of when I was growing up, and we would drive around this neighborhood in Chicago called "Candy Cane Lane," where every house had a huge (probably 6' or taller) lit-up candy cane set up in the front yard, and the houses were completely covered (or so it seemed at the time) with lights.

The Santa in the chair looks eerily real.

There's a cul-de-sac in a nearby development where all the houses on the block get together and decorate the whole block -- I think it's part of their Homeowners Association rules. The sidewalk is covered with lit up archways, and every one (except one notably dark house) is decorated to some degree -- some took it to the max. During the season, traffic is backed up for a couple of blocks and there are crowds on foot. One house even managed to get Santa to take a break from his busy schedule to talk to kids today and tomorrow!

Every year Strongsville sets up a Christmas display in the public square in the center of town. Donations from local businesses, organizations and citizens help fund this annual extravaganza of lights. Depending on the day and weather, it can be quite crowded. Tonight, we had the place to ourselves.

Where Katie and Sean's wedding pictures were taken

Other highlights of our tour:

Our next door neighbors' house:

You knew it would turn out this way . . . part 2

2009-11-30T10:04:00.003-05:00

You knew it would turn out this way . . .

2009-11-27T21:29:00.004-05:00

This year was supposed to be low-key, Christmas-decor-wise. Since we’re going be celebrating Christmas in warmer climes (it will be warmer, right, Katie?) Jim had me convinced that we didn’t need to put up any Christmas decorations this year: no tree; no angel, snowman, Santa and Christmas tree collections, no village, no outdoor lights. Almost. Then my women’s group needed a place to hold their annual holiday party. I hosted it last year when I chaired the event. Based on that, I knew that all I had to do was clean the house – and decorate! Up went the tree, out came all those holiday collections! Christmas was back in the Groble house! Now if I can just convince him to put up a couple of our spiral trees out front . . .

Christmas trees.

Santas

Snowmen

My angel collection.

The tree

Thanksgiving at the Grobles

2009-11-27T21:05:00.007-05:00

Grilling the turkey on Thanksgiving and Christmas day has become something of a Groble tradition, carried out no matter what the weather. We've grilled in conditions ranging from above-normal temperatures to rain to 12 inches of snow and counting (our first Christmas in Ohio). It's tough keeping that grill hot in a blinding snow storm! We continued the tradition again this year; fortunately, the weather cooperated and the bird (14 lbs) was done in 2 hours. 15 minutes. As usual, I made way too much food, but leftovers always taste so good! And I froze some, so that Jimmy and Sarah, who came home for the weekend, can take some of it back with them.

Jimmy does the honors of carving the bird.

The dogs are hoping Jimmy will drop some of that turkey.

This is me, showing Sarah how to use a can opener (just kidding!)

Everybody dig in!

Playing with dead flowers

2009-11-26T15:44:00.003-05:00

For the last couple of years, we have not dead-headed the plants in the yard, leaving the seed pods for the birds to enjoy and incidentally encouraging new plants. This year, I was fascinated by the shapes and textures of the dried seeds, flower heads, and foliage. So I thought I'd try my hand at a few arrangements. I started with the dried hydrangeas flowerheads and the ligularia seeds, and soon I had cuttings from the sedum, goatsbeard, hosta, and even the grasses from on top of the berm. I grabbed 3 vases and played around and viola! My favorite is the grouping in the beer stein and Jim's is the one in the red vase.

How I spent my birthday

2009-11-25T14:58:00.006-05:00

Today my drivers license expired. I wasn't really paying much attention to that fact, although I knew it was happening this year. I had decided to take the day off to just hang around the house, so of course we didn't. First stop: the Westside Market for bread for tomorrow -- and the rest of the week, because neither of us has ever met a loaf of bread we didn't like! We also stopped at the Vietnamese booth and the crepes vendor, where I got a banana, peanut butter and chocolate stuffed crepe. That was supposed to be the only stop on our trip, but on the way home we decided to go to the Verizon store to unplug some of the apps on our phones. It was when the sales associate there asked Jim for his drivers license that I realized we had one more place to go!

The Drivers License facility was on our way home. As always, it was a pleasant experience. I was second in line. The very nice lady behind the counter and I chatted about vision restrictions, glasses, and the fact that both of us were named "Patricia Ann" while we completed the paperwork. There was a mirror by the picture-taking area so you could comb your hair and make sure there weren't any little green things in your teeth. LESS THAN HALF AN HOUR LATER, I was legal for another four years, with a picture that actually looks like me. Doing business with the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles is so unlike my past experiences at the Lombard IL facility that I am always amazed.

Mother Nature’s last gift?

2009-11-25T14:53:00.003-05:00

Sunday was a gorgeous autumn day: high 50’s, not a cloud in the sky. The nice weather drew us out to the front patio, where we sat for a couple of hours, soaking up the sun and enjoying what most surely will be the last day like that for a couple of months. All too soon, the snow will arrive.

Election Day thoughts

2009-11-03T18:45:00.004-05:00

Today was one of those off- off-year Election Days -- no major races in our quiet suburban community, just a bunch of ballot proposals and a few local contests. We got up at the crack of dawn so we could be among the first voters at the polling place. The event sparked a few observations, as it usually does, since we are “students” of both politics and history.

Because there were no “glamour” contests (president, governor or even mayor) voter turnout today will probably be very low. This is unfortunate, because local contests such as tax levies, ballot proposals for changes to local government structure, and city council and school board elections have the most immediate impact on the everyday lives of the average voter.

I am continuously awed at how seriously we take the process of our elections. The folks that man the front lines (i.e., the polling places) are ordinary people who sit through training on the election-system de jur, get up at a god-awful time on election day to set up the voting booths and equipment, put in 12-15 hours more to make sure everyone who wants to vote can, submit the results to the proper authority, and then dismantle everything. Many of them do this time after time, perhaps giving up vacation time out of their real jobs. They do this no matter how many or how few people turn out to vote. And when you consider the potential for disaster, the fact that a (very) large percentage of the time things go off without a hitch is truly amazing.

So kudos to the polling place workers, those uncelebrated ordinary citizens who are the real cogs in our election machinery.

Lookin' good and chocolate too!

2009-11-02T20:38:00.004-05:00

So last week I hosted a fundraiser committee meeting, and decided to make cupcakes. I threw together a mix, adding an entire bag of chocolate chunks to boost the chocolate level a little bit. When it came time to frost them, I remembered that my cookie press came with decorator tips and thought, why not? The hardest part was keeping the pressure steady as I went around the cupcake. Throw on some chocolate sprinkles and they looked pretty good for a first try. And it was surprisingly fun! No wonder cake decorators seem to really love their jobs! Hmmm, I wonder if Charm City Cakes has any openings?

Wrapping things up

2009-10-25T16:13:00.014-04:00

For the first time in what seems like months, we had some good weather. Outside we went, to start the fall clean-up process. It's kind of bittersweet, since it means the end of another growing season. But there's always next year!

It was time to say good bye to the farmette.

The flowerboxes were emptied,

as were most of the pots.

A few plants were salvaged for a few more weeks.

And the garden bunnies have started lining up in preparation for their winter stay in the garage.

Fall color

2009-10-24T16:02:00.001-04:00

Every fall, there is one day when the color peaks and it seems that the color couldn't get any better. If we're lucky, and conditions are right, it may last a couple of days. Yesterday, when this picture was taken, was the day. Even though the sun was not out, the yard was absolutely aglow in brilliant yellow. Today, about third of the leaves are down, and it's downhill from here.

Can technology cure this problem?

2009-10-21T18:40:00.002-04:00

In a recent fit of organizing fervor, I decided to put all the kids’ baby and school pictures in chronological order, with the "someday" goal of putting them into an album, all neatly labeled. It should have been an easy job, as they were already sorted out by child. Well, most of them were. Some were buried in the bottom of the plastic bin I store miscellaneous pictures in. But that was not the problem. The problem was that none – not a one – of them were marked on the back with a name or year. I could pretty much figure out who was who, especially during the school years, but it’s not as easy as you would think to figure out which was a child's first grade versus second grade picture and even harder to tell whether a child was 18 months or 2 years. And it didn’t help that Katie and Sarah looked identical when they were babies! A couple of times I went downstairs to ask Jim: okay, which baby is this? I give him lots of credit for being able to figure out the answer more than once! The only thing that saved me from going completely nuts during this project was that the most of the grade school pictures came with a class composite complete with year and grade, and some of the high school pictures were stuffed back into the original folders the orders came in.
So, my question is: why can’t they add a little imprint with the year on each of the photos? It can be somewhere inconspicuous, like the corner. And it can be done tastefully: one of Jimmy’s baby pictures had the studio logo and year in the corner and it was barely noticeable.
In the meantime, all you parents and parent-wannabes: label your pictures now. It'll save frustration later.

Library tales

2009-10-19T19:45:00.003-04:00

I love libraries. All those books -- so little time. And I love the fact that libraries have gone techy -- my library card is a little tag on my key chain, and I can "browse" online, reserve a book online and then pick it up on my way home. But I really miss those due date cards that used to be stuffed into that little pocket in the front of the book. They made such great bookmarks! The computer-generated "receipt" that they give out now looks like every other receipt in my purse and gets lost too easily.
I also love the library's annual book sale. When I picked up my book, we happened upon the last days of the book sale. All the books you can stuff into a plastic bag for the hefty price of one dollar! The selection is usually hit or miss, but it's a great opportunity to take a chance on a book you otherwise might not buy, if you take the time to look through the piles. Jim got a copy of a history book he used in schoool, a book on growing up Catholic (which he proceeded to guffaw his way through for the next several days) and some maps that came from old National Geographics someone had donated to the library. This last resulted in a heated, whispered discussion on book sale ethics. I picked up Ladies of Liberty, Cokie Roberts' follow up to Founding Mothers; a book by Donny Duetsch; Tom Brokaw's Boom, about the 60s; and one of Sara Paretsky's mysteries (my mother was astonished that I, a confirmed serial mystery addict, had never read any of her stuff, especially since it's set in Chicago). And for less than 20 cents each, I ended up with some pretty good reads!

Playing hooky and eating exquisitely delicious food

2009-09-28T18:22:00.002-04:00

Jim had the day off from work, so I took the day off too. We treated ourselves to lunch at Lola, Michael Symon's downtown restaurant. A review mentioned that their lunch menu featured many of the same dishes as the dinner menu, and was more affordably priced (affordably priced being a relative term). We went the whole route: appetizer, entree, dessert. The food was, as Jim pointed out, lick-your-plate-clean good. Everything he ordered had bacon in some form or another. I ordered their take on macaroni and cheese, made with goat cheese -- definitely NOT your mother's mac and cheese! Dessert was a chocolate pudding-like dish, topped with vanilla bean cream. It was served in a glass, or I would have licked that dish clean! As I said -- exquisitely delicious! We definitely will go back.

All those people . . .

2009-08-18T22:17:00.006-04:00

and not a Klingon in sight! Sunday we took in the Sci-Fi concert at Blossom with the Ganns. We were greeted by a phalanx of folks dressed up as various Star Wars characters, who were part of a non-profit fundraising group. But, alas, despite the presence of George Takei narrating two selections, Star Fleet was in abstenia. There were no Vulcans, Ferengi or Cardasians to be found. The music was, as always, superb.

An evening at the Fair

2009-08-11T22:09:00.003-04:00

The Cuyahoga County Fair is in full swing this week. So these city-born-and-bred suburbanites decided to head on over and check it out. I do believe it was the first time I'd ever been to a county fair. It was kind of like Heritage Fest in Downers Grove, except there was livestock. Lots of fried foods, rides and exhibitions. We checked out sheep, goats, llamas, alpacas and some REALLY big horses. We watched the yearling heifer contest in one barn. I have a new appreciation for people who handle livestock all the time. Those animals were HUGE and the young handlers had their hands full, especially when the animals decided to go their own way. It was not quite the same as a dog show! We learned that they had all kinds of competitions, in addition to the usual baked goods, vegetables, and animals. At the booth of an Ohio apiary, I tasted a variety of honeys, and bought a jar of Texas Wildflower honey. Jim rode the Ferris wheel and took pictures and a home movie, coming soon to his blog. Oh, and we had cheese curds from a place in Eau Claire, Wisconsin -- a little trip down memory lane.

First Harvest

2009-08-11T22:03:00.005-04:00

My little garden has yielded it's first harvest: a few cherry tomatoes (the green one fell off while I was staking the plant up) and some jalapenos. The bell pepper plants now have a lot of flowers and a couple of itty bitty peppers. I have bigger plans for next year!

It helps to have been in Boy Scouts

2009-07-19T16:10:00.007-04:00

Where else would you learn to take down a tree by yourself with just a chainsaw and a pruning lopper?

Dinner with the Grobles

2009-07-17T13:08:00.002-04:00

Wednesday we ate supper on the deck, something we do as often as possible. It’s always fun to see what wildlife will visit the yard while we’re out there. This time it was like Grand Central Station. There were more birds than planes stacked up at O’Hare – starting with the hummingbird feeding at the blue salvia in the flower box on the deck. There were bluejays, a couple dozen finches, and a cardinal that swooped by, barely missing Jim’s head. We spotted at least three chipmunks scurrying around and grabbing birdseed that dropped from the feeders. Do you know that they really do look like Chip ‘n Dale? A trio of ducks also stopped by for a snack. Three rabbits made their way into the yard. One was a very young guy, which Jim has determined to be the culprit behind some recent nibblings on low-lying plants. Let me tell you, cuteness is that little guy’s saving grace! There are days when I start looking for a recipe for rabbit stew.

We Have Produce

2009-07-14T21:37:00.002-04:00

And soon we'll have salsa! The cherry tomatoes and the jalapeno peppers are doing well. The two bell pepper plants are still in the flower/bud stage. I have high hopes for my little crops.

That noise you hear in the back ground? That's Jim, humming the theme song for "Green Acres."

Good bye, old friend

2009-07-14T21:22:00.006-04:00

This is one of two trees we planted in the first few months after we moved in. About three years ago, a snow storm hit in late April, after the flowers had started blooming, and the tree was never quite the same. This year, it was evident that it was not going to make it.

Even though we'll plant another tree in its place, we'll still miss this one.

Pantry Transformation

2009-07-06T20:57:00.013-04:00

For seven years, I dealt with a pantry that had just 4 2-foot deep wire shelves, which bowed under any kind of weight, until Jim installed some wood supports. The depth meant that things got lost (witness the 2-year-old jar of peanut butter I found way in the back -- we go through the stuff so fast, I bet I've bought countless jars since that one). And some items just didn't stack well on those shelves. Something had to be done. So Jim went to work, installing 12-inch deep laminated shelves, supported on all three sides to avoid warping, and spaced so that we could get one more shelf in. Then he painted everything. The result was amazing. I seem to have way more room than you would think, having effectively cut the shelf space in half. Most suprising of all is how much better I can see everything now!

Thanks, honey. Great job!

Saturday my pantry looked like this:

Sunday it looked like this:

"Starving children in China would be happy to eat this . . ."

Tonight it looks like this:

(Yes, all that stuff on the table did fit into this space!)

"Because I'm worth it"

2009-07-03T20:04:00.003-04:00

Every couple of months my nail and hair appointments hit the same week. This time, I decided to take the beauty thing up a notch and get my long overdue summer pedicure, too. So I picked out a fourth-of-July festive color and put my feet (literally) in the capable hands of Kelly, my nail stylist.

After all, a girl's gotta have good looking toes for the summer!

You can't even tell . . .

2009-07-03T19:54:00.002-04:00

Early last month, we fixed the sun room ceiling, with the help of our friends Bill and Sarah --well, that is, Jim and Bill fixed the ceiling, Sarah and I provided moral support and food (I seem to recall cream-filled things from Presti's . . . but I digress . . . ).

The original plan for the fix didn't quite work out, but after some problem-solving, which I think involved math, and some high-decible cutting of the metal soffit material with some sort of power tool, the hole in the ceiling was a thing of the past. A little white caulk filled in a few remaining gaps and voila! it looks good as new.

The best thing is that now whenever I go into the sunroom I'm not reminded of that scary day last December.

Summer solstice

2009-06-21T22:11:00.002-04:00

Last night, when I mentioned to Jim that, in addition to Father's Day, today was the Summer Solstice, he commented that we should do something pagan to celebrate. I suggested building a fire on the patio and drinking wine.

And so we did.

To paraphrase Kinky Friedman: may the god or gods of your choosing grant you a happy and bountiful summer.

Suburban agriculture

2009-05-30T20:18:00.003-04:00

I’ve dabbled with growing herbs on the deck and planted an herb garden in the front, and was rewarded with tasty additions to our meals for many months. So I’ve decided to expand my repertoire to include a few vegetables in containers: a cherry tomato, a jalapeño pepper, a purple bell pepper, and a golden yellow bell pepper. After all, when the kids were younger, I had a decent sized vegetable garden in the yard for a couple of years running. In the interests of economics, I’m starting small, but if it works out, who knows?

Jim refers to this as my “farmette.” The box on the railing contains two kinds of basil and some cilantro.

We need more what?

2009-05-25T19:33:00.003-04:00

You know you're seriously into gardening when you call in your order for compost and the voice at the other end of the line says: "Good morning Mr. Groble. You ordered 3 yards of sweet peet and one yard of topsoil last week. What would you like this weekend?" . . . and you proceed to order more.

Up to my neck in sweet peet . . .

How could I live anywhere else?

2009-05-16T22:06:00.006-04:00

During the past seven years, we have continued to be pleasantly surprised with the great things to do/see/eat in the Cleveland area. But it took the possibility of moving again (after I posted for a job opening in the Home Office) to realize how much we had grown to love this area, and how many great friends we would miss. During the past three weeks, our lives seemed to be on hold, held hostage to the corporate application process. And no matter where I went, around the house or around the area, I realized how deep our roots were. We thought that it might be harder to leave Cleveland than it was to leave Chicago. I started planning one last run to Newell WV to stock up on Fiestaware, and tried to figure out how to dig up and move cuttings from all that hosta and ligularia. When the word finally came that I did not make the next cut, I was a little disappointed. After all, no one likes to hear: sorry, you’re not a good fit for us. But truth be told, I could barely contain my glee when I finally hung up the phone! I could plan which room to repaint next, put my rabbit collection out in the garden, we could go ahead and install the rain barrels, and yes, order those 3 yards of Sweet Peet!

So, could I live anywhere else and be happy? Probably. But not for a long while. I love our house and garden, and yes, I love Cleveland.

The Perfect Color

2009-05-16T22:01:00.003-04:00

What a difference color makes! The living room/dining room painting project turned out even better than I expected (and I have high expectations, since my personal painter is such an expert). Although you can’t really tell from the picture, the new color not only coordinates perfectly with the carpeting, it also makes the rest of the furniture and fabrics look good! All that agonizing over paint color was well worth it.

Three cheers for the Iron Chef!

2009-05-09T23:13:00.004-04:00

For the last couple of years, we have celebrated Mother’s Day by going out for dinner the evening before. It’s a nice alternative to crowded restaurants full of families with screaming kids you just know have never been in a restaurant before. This year, we decided to go to Lolita’s, one of the two Cleveland restaurants owned by Iron Chef Michael Symon. Lolita’s is in an up-and-coming neighborhood called Tremont. It has chic boutiques, hip art galleries and trendy restaurants. We had been to Lolita’s once before, right after we moved out here. It was the first indication that we had not moved into a culinary wasteland. But for some reason, I don’t remember much of that first visit, other than we sat at a window table and I kept thinking “this doesn’t look like Chicago.”

Tonight’s meal was wonderful. We ate way more than we should have. Between the two of us, we had three drinks, three appetizers (we took half of one home), two entrees, two desserts and coffee. Our waiter actaully "coordinated" our appetizers with our entrees, and his recommendations were perfect. Everything was so good, I don’t think I can pick out a favorite of anything we had (although the roasted dates appetizer does stand out as an oh-my-god moment). My dessert was called chocolate pot de le crème. It was basically a glass of chocolate ganosh, topped with cream. Can you ask for anything more? We have decided that we will not wait another 7 years to go back – we will just exercise a little more self-control.

Their to-go boxes are pretty classy, too.

My new office

2009-05-09T21:30:00.002-04:00

Yes, I know I was supposed to turn Sarah’s old room into my office/sewing room/whatever. But I have discovered that I would rather set up the laptop in the family room. I think it’s partly a matter of convenience. I’m on the first floor most of the time. When I go upstairs to turn on the computer to check email or do a blog post I feel like I have to stay up there until its done. And I feel isolated (not that there are a lot of people roaming through the house these days). I think I have to come to grips with the fact that I don’t need a place to get away from the kids – that ship has sailed. We have the house to ourselves. Jim has his space downstairs and I have pretty much the rest of the house to choose from. When we moved the desk into this corner and I sat at it the first time, it felt right. It actually reminds me of our first apartment, with this very desk tucked into a corner, surrounded by shelves full of law school textbooks, where I studied for the bar exam. I guess home décor is as much emotion based as anything.

The things I learn from my job . . .

2009-05-08T10:08:00.002-04:00

Why do people think Sunday Blue Laws are okay?

It is an actual crime in the state of New Jersey to sell a motor vehicle on a Sunday (NJSA 2C:33-26), for which you could possibly do real jail time. The statute uses the language “engages in the business of buying, selling or exchanging” motor vehicles which seems to make it apply only to businesses, but there are enhanced penalties for licensed dealers, which makes me wonder if it also could be applied to ordinary folks. So, if I wanted to sell my old clunker to my next door neighbor for cash, and the deal was consummated on a Sunday, and someone reported us (that being the key in these things) am I in trouble? Just asking . . .

Cute as a button

2009-04-30T15:02:00.002-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, Jim found a Home Depot ad for individual solar lights for way less than the 6- or 8-light packs. We needed to replace our front lights, so he picked up 10. When I got home and saw how cute they were, we drove back to the store and got (ahem) a "few" more to replace the aging lights in the back.

The result is really pretty. They cast a nice white light in a really cool starburst pattern, which adds interest to the pathways as you walk around at night. Who knew being green could be so cool?

A weed is just a plant growing in the wrong place

2009-04-27T11:18:00.004-04:00

We were unloading the car after our trip to The Wilderness Center on Saturday (see Jim's blog) when I heard Jim say "Oh no" in the understated tone he usually reserves for major emergencies. I looked around, expecting to find the birch tree on its side (or worse).

The actual cause of the distress:

The view from my kitchen

2009-04-14T19:03:00.005-04:00

Because life is not interesting unless we're deep in some home/yard project, I decided it was time to paint the living and dining rooms. After all, it's been seven years, and what was a pleasing soft blue now is at odds with the carpet color, which has definite under-tones of black. Not to mention that the stripes painted in flat paint have faded to an off shade of bluish pink. After much deliberation I decided on a color, just as Jim's spring break began. Such good timing!

But before we could paint, I had to pack, and pack -- I had forgotten how much glassware and dishes I had stuffed in those cabinets -- and move some very heavy furniture. Jimmy did most of the heavy lifting.

Then there is the patching and the sanding and the priming, which is where we are now. And that's just the dining room. The process starts again in the living room. And when we're done, I'll probably rearrange the furniture three or four times before finally settling on the same old layout.

Jim at work . . .

The latest attempt to tame a pesky crack . . .

Bunnies and Pots

2009-04-02T19:18:00.005-04:00

Spring is in the air. The bunnies are all lined up, ready to take their places in the yard. The pots are waiting for their assignments too. This year I'm aiming for the "less is more" approach. But I say that every year, and each time I go to the garden center and get seduced by all those flats of beautiful flowers and end up buying way too many plants. But that's all part of the fun.

Opening Day

2009-04-02T19:05:00.002-04:00

No, not the Cubs (or the Tribe). The temperature was 60+ and the sun was shining brightly on Wednesday, so it was time to fire up the grill. It might have been simply the fact that they were the first of the season, but those burgers were tasty!

It's a dog's life . . .

2009-03-19T22:28:00.004-04:00

Because we don't have enough pictures of the dogs, we took some more.

Fred has turned into a lap dog.

Bob loves his #1 human.

I ♥ Barbie

2009-03-04T13:08:00.003-05:00

I wasn’t planning on using this blog as a place to rant, but I can’t help myself. Another instance of some well-intentioned but common-sense-deprived lawmaker trying to save us from ourselves has popped up.

It seems that a West Virginia state delegate is trying to introduce a bill that would ban Barbie™ from the state. The basis of this law is that those kinds of toys have an undue influence on the development of young girls and teach them that physical beauty is more important than intellect. Good grief. We’re talking about toys here, not state-mandated grade school curriculum. And more importantly, this is something that is (or should be) within a parent’s ability to control.

And why stop at Barbie? If he really is interested in the issue of self-image of girls (of which I am very skeptical – I smell something more insidious afoot), then why not hold the cosmetics and fashion industries’ feet to the fire? And don't forget the car ads that equate hot cars with gorgeous women as the ultimate man-prize. And don’t get me started on the anorexic moviestar/faux celebrities that tout themselves as role models these days. No, the self-image of young girls is under attack from far more sinister sources than a doll.

People don't realize that Barbie’s creator, herself the mother of a young daughter named Barbara, developed the doll as a response to an absence in the American toy market: the vast majority of toys suitable for girls at the time were baby dolls. There were no representations of adults in the doll market, other than paper dolls. So role-playing was pretty much limited. Barbie™, and all of her many outfits with their implied lifestyles, was created to show young girls that there was a wider world out there. Today, thanks to a lot of courageous, pioneering real women, our daughters and granddaughters have options some of us could never have imagined, well beyond anything that a fashion doll could inspire. But in 1959, Barbie, the Teen-age Fashion Model™ was a very big deal.

Besides, she is just plain fun.

The good news is that this legislator couldn’t get anyone else to sign on to the bill, and it got sent to committee, hopefully to die in oblivion. The bad news is that it takes the focus away from real solutions and positive actions for something that is in fact an important issue.

By the way: Barbie™ turns 50 this month. Happy birthday, girl. May you have many, many more.

Has it really been that long?

2009-03-02T11:45:00.002-05:00

Seven years ago today, we stood in an empty house, waiting to hand over the keys to the new owners. Outside, the van and the Escort station wagon were filled to the brim with an eclectic assortment of items that we were going need right away or that didn’t make it into the moving van. After saying goodbye to Jimmy and Sarah at their grandma’s house, we hit road, just as the second snow storm of the day descended upon the area. My recollection of the drive to Ohio is pretty much a blur: slipping, sliding and skidding through Illinois and northwest Indiana; the snow/sleet turning to rain, heavy rain, relentlessly pounding on the car, keeping Fred on edge (he paced in the car for all but the last 30 miles of the trip) and adding to the surreal nature of the day; standing with the dogs outside a rest stop along I-80 (in Indiana, probably) in the rain, waiting for Jim; and relief when we finally tumbled into the extended stay hotel, about to begin a new chapter in our lives that we never imagined just a year earlier.

Walkies!

2009-02-11T11:46:00.003-05:00

There's nothing like a good walk to push aside the winter doldrums. Monday we made our first official outing of the year with the boys, getting in a little over a mile. We were hampered only by a couple of leftover piles of snow blocking access to the crosswalks. Tuesday, thanks to some pretty warm temperatures, there was little snow left. So we did the whole two miles. The dogs were happy to get outside. And we all had a good time. We met two new puppies, Roscoe and Bella, and checked out all the houses that got new siding over the fall and winter. It felt so good to stretch our legs outside!

Winter blues

2009-01-18T13:38:00.003-05:00

It looks like we won't be grilling for awhile . . . .

Adventures in Furniture Building

2009-01-02T22:10:00.018-05:00

With Jim out of commission temporarily, I took on the challenge of assembling the new bookcase I picked up on sale at my favorite home decor emporium, Target. How hard could it be? After all, the only tools they said I needed were a hammer and a philipshead screwdriver.

Step one: sort out all your parts. Note that I have the instructions at the ready.

I love the way they sorted and labeled the hardware.

So far, so good.

Almost done . . .

TA DA!

That wasn't so hard. In fact, it took less time to put the bookcase together than it did to complete this blog! The bookcase is now tucked into a corner in my office, and the office is one step closer to getting organized.

Cookies

2008-12-24T21:52:00.000-05:00

What's Christmas without cookies? Especially in our family! The first two batches, made earlier this month, are long gone. So Sarah and I made a double batch of peanut butter blossoms. We then rolled and cut spice cookies made from Grandma Kunde's recipe, which has now been handed down three generations. It is an intimidating recipe. Just to give you some perspective: a whole batch calls for 8- 10 pounds of flour. I usually make half a batch, which results in a lump of dough the size of a small bowling ball. You don't roll and cut the entire batch at one time (unless you've been working out). Today we made a mere 11 dozen: that's 132 of them (yes -- I did count!) These, plus the date-nut pinwheels I made last night, are more than enough for two people who are supposed to be watching what they eat.

Peanut butter blossoms. Less than half an hour after I took this picture, the pile was decimated by the non-bakers in the family sneaking by and grabbing samples.

These spice cookies used up only a third of the half-batch of cookie dough I mixed. (There really are 132 cookies in this pile).

Watch out for that ice!

2008-12-19T11:06:00.000-05:00

Jim's camera is out of commission (temporarily, we hope) so I thought I'd document our latest storm. It could have been a lot worse. Unlike the last ice storm we had, the trees were not so full that they were bent to the ground.

This is the view from the front door.
One of the hemlocks.

This is ice, not snow. I had to walk across this to get the next picture.

It was worth the trek.

Holiday entertaining

2008-12-08T21:08:00.000-05:00

Last Wednesday I hosted the Strongsville Women’s League Holiday Party. Usually we have this event in a restaurant, but it’s always been cramped quarters with no room to mingle or socialize. So I volunteered our house. I figured if we could handle a wedding for 65 people, surely half that number would be no problem? There was one small problem: I had less than a week to get all my Christmas stuff set up, including the village, which sometimes takes two or three evenings. The stars must have all been in the right alignment this year: everything went up without a hitch. Although I did sacrifice one tree (in the family room). It would have been too crowded. The weather, which is always iffy this time of year in NE Ohio, cooperated too. We had 27 people show up and for awhile they all assembled in the kitchen! The food was wonderful, and everyone had a good time.

That's me making punch.
How do you fit 25 people into one kitchen . . .

One of our traditions is a partnership with the Strongsville Food Bank to help provide gifts for the children of families who rely on the food bank throughout the year. These are just a portion of the gifts we collected that night.

Christmas decorations

2008-12-08T19:42:00.000-05:00

Since Jim has the outside Christmas decorations covered (check out his blog), here's a tour of the inside stuff.
There's the "bird tree" on the second floor . . .
The tree (note the new location)

Angels watching over the living room . . .

Christmas trees in the den

Santas and the dogs . . .

And finally, the village. This is the the first year I did not have to lug (okay, Jim did not have to lug) a piece of plywood into place on the buffet to make more room for this ever-growing collection. We simply pulled the kitchen cart next to the buffet, added books to make the transition, and voila! Why didn’t we think of that years ago? Of course, now what do we carve the Christmas turkey on?

Another addition to the blogging population

2008-12-04T22:04:00.000-05:00

Ever since Jim got hooked on blogging in one of his Ed. Tech. classes, he's been suggesting that I start a blog. After all, Katie has one, and so does our new son-in-law Sean. And our friend Sarah Gann has not one but three blogs.
The problem with beginning endeavors like this is that I tend to lose interest after awhile. And to prove it, I have a closet full of half-started needlepoint kits, patterns and fabric that remain in their JoAnn Fabrics bags, and knitting needles and crochet hooks that haven't been used since, oh, college. Hence the title. I have taken up (and abandoned) more hobbies (for lack of a better word) than you would believe. There was macrame and latch-hooked rugs (what can I say? -- it was the 70s), knitting, crocheting, sewing, and needlepoint (some of which I still dabble in). Of course, there's our yard, and browsing flea markets and digging in the seconds room in the Homer Laughlin Factory Outlet store for great deals on Fiestaware. All of which provided enjoyment at the time. Many still do.
So I'm hoping that updating this blog, in addition to being a way to communicate with our far-flung family, will act as a "nudge" to motivate me to finish a few of those languishing projects, and provide some entertainment value as well.
We'll see.