Today I made the mistake of going to Lowe's. A mistake because as soon as I entered I was struck with the strong desire to buy all kinds of unnecessary things for my home and garden! Why do they have to put the roses right in the front? After I got the things I needed, I walked to the Easter lilies. Lovely things they are! I think I stood by them for five minutes, examining the hundreds of plants for the most beautiful and fragrant one. But then, as I was smelling a flower, it gave me a static shock. Very surprising. Then it shocked me again! I took this as a subtle hint that I didn't need to buy any Easter lilies. My arms were full and I wouldn't have been able to carry it anyway.
Soon it will be St. Patrick's Day. I don't know why, but I find traditional Irish songs endearing. We used to listen to them every Monday morning on KDHX. Recently, I ran across this one. I enjoyed it very much. I wonder why it never made it onto Ireland in America!
I came across this website. They are making maps of "public domain" places to pick produce. Very clever. It makes me envious. I have never seen a lemon tree in person before, and I didn't even know what a loquat was! Neither does Google spell check, apparently.
Been having some water in my creepy basement. Had a waterproofing company come and look at it. It's not like my house is going to fall down or anything, but depending on what I choose to do, it could cost a whole lot of money. Now, I'm not stupid. When I bought the house it was pretty obvious that water had been there in the past, so it wasn't a surprise to see something going on down there. What is interesting is that the seller did not make any disclosures about water. But guess what the waterproofing company showed me--a record of the owner having them come out to look at moisture in the basement! I live in Madison County, the most sue-happy county in Illinois, so it's very interesting that the seller would take a chance on a non-disclosure suit! I'm going to do anything, of course. It's just irritating to find out they knew about the problem.
Okay, that's my lovely blogging update. Should do for a month or so.
1 Comments:
That's just mean, to not even tell someone that the house has had some problems. I know they probably feared to lose a sale, but still...I'd be really frustrated. My parents have found some "interesting" things about their house that the previous owner did, and they've spent a lot of time redoing some of them.
George Crumb would be proudFriday, February 08, 2008
8:31 PM
Today we talked about double stops in class. I explained that you can only play them on adjacent strings. One of my cello players spoke up and said, "So we can't do A and C." "Yes, that's exactly right," I replied. Said cello player proceeds to insert her bow under the strings and play A and C with her bow hair facing out. Genius! I've never seen anyone do that before. When she makes her big break I hope she remembers me!
0 Comments:
A review of all the trails we hiked for the MO State Parks Trail of the Month Program...
Rock Bridge Memorial State Park: Sinkhole Trail This trail led to a cave called the Devil's Icebox, which was great because I love caves. It was amazing to feel the difference in temperature after descending only a few steps. The boring name of this park is misleading. I want to go back sometime.
Castlewood State Park: River Scene Trail How can you go wrong with the Castlewood trails? They have lovely views, and the history of the park is fascinating. I loved seeing the remains of the grand staircase and the leftover foundations of the resort buildings.
Meramec State Park: Bluff View Trail Meramec is too crowded for me. The trail was interesting enough, but I would suggest going on a weekday when people will perhaps be enjoying nature sans radios.
Cuivre River State Park: Frenchman's Bluff Trail Cuivre River is also one of those parks that has interesting history if you take the time to explore it. I think we often forget this park is so close. The trail was fun to hike during sunset-- the light filtered through the trees as we made it to the crest of the hill.
Mark Twain Birthplace State Historic Site: Barefoot Sam Trail Well, this trail was nothing to speak of. It was very short, and we could see a little of the noisy and crowded Meramec River as we walked. What was interesting was the museum next to it. The building looked quite modern to me, although I think it was already 30 or 40 years old. I enjoyed watching the video there and looking at the Samuel Clemens memorabilia.
Clark's Hill/Norton State Historic Site: Clark's Hill Trail Oh. My. Goodness. Avoid this trail like the plague! Of mosquitoes, that is. This trail is infested with HUGE swarms of the beasties. It was insane. The view at the top was nice, although we couldn't stop moving for fear of being eaten alive. Wow.
Mastodon State Historic Site: Spring Branch Trail Mastodon is one of several State Parks along the Highway 44 corridor, in the "broccoli" section, as I like to call it. The trail itself is on the opposite side of the park as the museum. The trail was wide and paved with gravel. It wasn't the most interesting of the park's walks, but there were some pretty wildflowers along the way. This trail backs up to homes in a local subdivision, which perhaps accounts for power lines in the more wild parts of the park.
Graham Cave State Park: Fern Ridge Trail Graham Cave isn't much of a cave, considering that you can't go into it. The trail isn't that memorable--I actually remember the first time I went back in middle school more than I do the trip this summer, hmm...
Washington State Park: 1000 Steps Trail This is also one of my favorite parks. Though we did not take time to count them, the many stone steps lead the trail a long way up and then down again. This is another trail I remember from years ago. I don't know why, but the exercise from this hike felt by far the most rewarding to me.
Katy Trail State Park: North Jefferson Trailhead Okay, it's the Katy Trail. It looks like the Katy and it feels like the Katy. There was a nice view of Jefferson City; but other than that, it was just a walk in the blazing sun.
Babler Memorial State Park: Dogwood Trail We went to this one in December, so there was a lot of mud and not much else. Oh, one woodpecker, I think. Maybe I should go back when there are plants that are green.
Sam A. Baker State Park: Shut-ins Trail This trail was the most difficult of anything we hiked. The easy part led to the shut-ins. We weren't really equipped to go swimming, but still had a good time wading with Archie. The second half of the hike had a huge incline (from our our amateur perspective), and I wasn't sure if our entire party would survive. We did, of course, but I'm not sure I could convince everyone to go back there.
Hawn State Park: Overlook Trail This is not really a trail, but rather a path to a bench. If you are going to take the trouble to go to Hawn, you would do better to hike on some of the other trails in the park, as they are quite beautiful. We, unfortunately, did not get to do so, as we had another park on our itinerary. It was sad, because I would consider the Pickle Creek trail one of my favorite trails of all time.
Okay, so that's my rundown. I'm interested in what everyone else thought of the hikes--what was your favorite, etc.
1 Comments:
I'm impressed at all you were able to see. I personally like the Katy trail a lot, but it is probably best taken in at some speed.
I am ready for Christmas break. Ready to go hiking, ready to go clearance clothes shopping, ready to practice violin, ready for a break from atonal "Jingle Bells" and "Twinkle" every half hour. However, I am not ready for Christmas Day. I have not bought any presents for my family. I have lots of ideas for one person, but no one else. Michelle, if things were left to their natural course, you would make out like a bandit!
I just read that PBS is showing 4 new Jane Austen films this winter. At first, I tried to not be too interested (some of my friends have me put into a J.A. box!). But really, I'm sure I would enjoy watching them a lot. Especially Persuasion. I like that book. Problem is that I don't have a TV. Not that I want one--I'll just have to find a different way to watch them.
Ugh. Does anyone know why the dogs are barking outside my window? I'm about ready to go out there!
0 Comments:
Today I made the mistake of going to Lowe's. A mistake because as soon as I entered I was struck with the strong desire to buy all kinds of unnecessary things for my home and garden! Why do they have to put the roses right in the front? After I got the things I needed, I walked to the Easter lilies. Lovely things they are! I think I stood by them for five minutes, examining the hundreds of plants for the most beautiful and fragrant one. But then, as I was smelling a flower, it gave me a static shock. Very surprising. Then it shocked me again! I took this as a subtle hint that I didn't need to buy any Easter lilies. My arms were full and I wouldn't have been able to carry it anyway.
Soon it will be St. Patrick's Day. I don't know why, but I find traditional Irish songs endearing. We used to listen to them every Monday morning on KDHX. Recently, I ran across this one. I enjoyed it very much. I wonder why it never made it onto Ireland in America!
I came across this website. They are making maps of "public domain" places to pick produce. Very clever. It makes me envious. I have never seen a lemon tree in person before, and I didn't even know what a loquat was! Neither does Google spell check, apparently.
Been having some water in my creepy basement. Had a waterproofing company come and look at it. It's not like my house is going to fall down or anything, but depending on what I choose to do, it could cost a whole lot of money. Now, I'm not stupid. When I bought the house it was pretty obvious that water had been there in the past, so it wasn't a surprise to see something going on down there. What is interesting is that the seller did not make any disclosures about water. But guess what the waterproofing company showed me--a record of the owner having them come out to look at moisture in the basement! I live in Madison County, the most sue-happy county in Illinois, so it's very interesting that the seller would take a chance on a non-disclosure suit! I'm going to do anything, of course. It's just irritating to find out they knew about the problem.
Okay, that's my lovely blogging update. Should do for a month or so.
1 Comments:
That's just mean, to not even tell someone that the house has had some problems. I know they probably feared to lose a sale, but still...I'd be really frustrated. My parents have found some "interesting" things about their house that the previous owner did, and they've spent a lot of time redoing some of them.
George Crumb would be proudFriday, February 08, 2008
8:31 PM
Today we talked about double stops in class. I explained that you can only play them on adjacent strings. One of my cello players spoke up and said, "So we can't do A and C." "Yes, that's exactly right," I replied. Said cello player proceeds to insert her bow under the strings and play A and C with her bow hair facing out. Genius! I've never seen anyone do that before. When she makes her big break I hope she remembers me!
0 Comments:
A review of all the trails we hiked for the MO State Parks Trail of the Month Program...
Rock Bridge Memorial State Park: Sinkhole Trail This trail led to a cave called the Devil's Icebox, which was great because I love caves. It was amazing to feel the difference in temperature after descending only a few steps. The boring name of this park is misleading. I want to go back sometime.
Castlewood State Park: River Scene Trail How can you go wrong with the Castlewood trails? They have lovely views, and the history of the park is fascinating. I loved seeing the remains of the grand staircase and the leftover foundations of the resort buildings.
Meramec State Park: Bluff View Trail Meramec is too crowded for me. The trail was interesting enough, but I would suggest going on a weekday when people will perhaps be enjoying nature sans radios.
Cuivre River State Park: Frenchman's Bluff Trail Cuivre River is also one of those parks that has interesting history if you take the time to explore it. I think we often forget this park is so close. The trail was fun to hike during sunset-- the light filtered through the trees as we made it to the crest of the hill.
Mark Twain Birthplace State Historic Site: Barefoot Sam Trail Well, this trail was nothing to speak of. It was very short, and we could see a little of the noisy and crowded Meramec River as we walked. What was interesting was the museum next to it. The building looked quite modern to me, although I think it was already 30 or 40 years old. I enjoyed watching the video there and looking at the Samuel Clemens memorabilia.
Clark's Hill/Norton State Historic Site: Clark's Hill Trail Oh. My. Goodness. Avoid this trail like the plague! Of mosquitoes, that is. This trail is infested with HUGE swarms of the beasties. It was insane. The view at the top was nice, although we couldn't stop moving for fear of being eaten alive. Wow.
Mastodon State Historic Site: Spring Branch Trail Mastodon is one of several State Parks along the Highway 44 corridor, in the "broccoli" section, as I like to call it. The trail itself is on the opposite side of the park as the museum. The trail was wide and paved with gravel. It wasn't the most interesting of the park's walks, but there were some pretty wildflowers along the way. This trail backs up to homes in a local subdivision, which perhaps accounts for power lines in the more wild parts of the park.
Graham Cave State Park: Fern Ridge Trail Graham Cave isn't much of a cave, considering that you can't go into it. The trail isn't that memorable--I actually remember the first time I went back in middle school more than I do the trip this summer, hmm...
Washington State Park: 1000 Steps Trail This is also one of my favorite parks. Though we did not take time to count them, the many stone steps lead the trail a long way up and then down again. This is another trail I remember from years ago. I don't know why, but the exercise from this hike felt by far the most rewarding to me.
Katy Trail State Park: North Jefferson Trailhead Okay, it's the Katy Trail. It looks like the Katy and it feels like the Katy. There was a nice view of Jefferson City; but other than that, it was just a walk in the blazing sun.
Babler Memorial State Park: Dogwood Trail We went to this one in December, so there was a lot of mud and not much else. Oh, one woodpecker, I think. Maybe I should go back when there are plants that are green.
Sam A. Baker State Park: Shut-ins Trail This trail was the most difficult of anything we hiked. The easy part led to the shut-ins. We weren't really equipped to go swimming, but still had a good time wading with Archie. The second half of the hike had a huge incline (from our our amateur perspective), and I wasn't sure if our entire party would survive. We did, of course, but I'm not sure I could convince everyone to go back there.
Hawn State Park: Overlook Trail This is not really a trail, but rather a path to a bench. If you are going to take the trouble to go to Hawn, you would do better to hike on some of the other trails in the park, as they are quite beautiful. We, unfortunately, did not get to do so, as we had another park on our itinerary. It was sad, because I would consider the Pickle Creek trail one of my favorite trails of all time.
Okay, so that's my rundown. I'm interested in what everyone else thought of the hikes--what was your favorite, etc.
1 Comments:
I'm impressed at all you were able to see. I personally like the Katy trail a lot, but it is probably best taken in at some speed.
I am ready for Christmas break. Ready to go hiking, ready to go clearance clothes shopping, ready to practice violin, ready for a break from atonal "Jingle Bells" and "Twinkle" every half hour. However, I am not ready for Christmas Day. I have not bought any presents for my family. I have lots of ideas for one person, but no one else. Michelle, if things were left to their natural course, you would make out like a bandit!
I just read that PBS is showing 4 new Jane Austen films this winter. At first, I tried to not be too interested (some of my friends have me put into a J.A. box!). But really, I'm sure I would enjoy watching them a lot. Especially Persuasion. I like that book. Problem is that I don't have a TV. Not that I want one--I'll just have to find a different way to watch them.
Ugh. Does anyone know why the dogs are barking outside my window? I'm about ready to go out there!
0 Comments:
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