SECRET SANTA 2011

ALL YE KRAMERS AND BURDS 

HEED THE CALL

SECRET SANTA TIME IS NOW

RULES:

     1. $41.56 IS YOUR SPENDING LIMIT (give or take)

     2. HAVE FUN

     3. KEEP IT SECRET, KEEP IT SAFE

Holiday Wreath

I have been wanting to make a wreath for a couple weeks now, but I have been dreading making time to go collect supplies. SO, during the Thanksgiving weekend, Zed, Martha, Greg, and Max went foraging for supplies while I was at work.

And here she is. 

 Nina is investigating

A wreath is a great thing to have for those of us who want the holiday spirit around us, but can't go all out because we'll be out of town. And with the extra bits I decorated our mantel.

YAAAY DECEMBER!!!

Thanksgiving!

Peeking in on the russian tea cakes... love watching things bake.

This year I'm thankful for zed, and a healthy family.

some pepper with that peace?

Well, I'm sure most of you have seen all the pictures and videos of cops liberally spraying peaceful peeps with pepper spray. The recent UC Davis spraying was particularly appalling due to how passive the crowd being sprayed was. Here is the cop spraying at close range:

My initial reaction was horrification at such an aggressive act, and sympathy for the physical pain the students experienced. Then, this morning, Zed showed me what the web community is doing with the images of this scene. http://peppersprayingcop.tumblr.com/  People are abuzz! Here is my favorite meme:

So, all the negative attention this one cop is getting has stirred empathetic thoughts and feelings for him within me. Certainly, I think what he chose to do was very wrong and deserving of consequences, but it was one mistake, one lapse of good judgement (that we're analyzing). So is it right to persecute this man's character globally, eternally seared on the archive of the web? Maybe it's necessary to do so in order to send the message that most of us humans prefer peace over violence. Still, this cop is one man, who made a mistake, but now carries the weight of mistakes made by many.

My final message is, as we try to create change, let us have empathy and not loose sight of the global picture.

peace.

Chocolate Extravaganza!

Just a quick little post here to say I'm back! (maybe) hehe

Mom came to visit this weekend and we were REALLY lucky because there just happened to be a chocolate party benefiting the after school program Flagship scheduled for Friday night. So, of course we went and it was really delicious- we even got to pack a goodie bag to go.

dancing

A dear friend of mine took this picture of me when I was in my first year at UCI. I have only a few photos of myself as a more mature dancer, and this is by far my favorite. Unfortunately, I only have an 8x10 print of it, and I'm impatient... so here is a picture of a picture. very savvy of me.

I went to a ballet class last week, and again tonight, at the Downtown Dance Collective in Missoula... and I feel amazing.

It has been 6 years since I stopped dancing, with a few brief and unsuccessful attempts to get back into it.

I really want to share this because it feels different this time. I don't know for sure what it is, if it's that my teacher this time around is extremely positive and encouraging, or that I'm finally letting go of some of the crap that used to bring me down. 

For sure though, I am enjoying moving this way again... and I feel comfortable and delighted to say that even after 6 years, I am a very good dancer. and I am proud of that.

falling pears

Our neighbors have a pear tree and the squirrels LOVE chomping down on all the little pears. They chew and spin and chew some more, then drop discarded pears onto our lawn. It's very sweet, the little noises their munching makes, and then the thud. Fall is coming!

First Day of School!

Late to post this, but, here is the first day of the year pic! I didn't get to take the photo because I was working a graveyard shift, like I am now. waaaaah! but yay for built in cameras.

Third year means half way done (fingers crossed) with class work at least. And it means defending his masters, meeting with more clients, and working on his doctoral thesis!! woot woot! Go, Zed go! We're all very proud of your hard work!

picnic, planning and... puppy

we both had the day off yesterday and decided to take a picnic by the river. it was so nice out. we played rummy and tried to tempt a squirrel to join us, no luck. then we spent time with friends in the evening playing euchre, and possibly making a date to learn bridge. clearly, zed and i are taking our plans for a comfortable future life in the retirement home very seriously.

i've heard whispers about another heavy snow year. So, in an effort to combat my tendency to burrow my head in blankets all winter long, i've made an agreement with my dad that i will try some winter (ick) sports (ick x 2). Here's my list:

1. Build an igloo (maybe more of a backyard snow fort)

ok that's it. maybe i'll also take a couple dance classes, audition for a couple musicals(oct 9th and nov 20), take an ASL class?

we have begun discussing what our halloween costumes should be this year. no winning ideas just yet, but i am confident we'll get our act together in time.

Garden Overgrown

our garden is in a full state. some of it is gone, long gone, to seed... some of it is ripe... and some of it is still developing. most appreciated veggies: green onions, carrots, beets, and cucumbers. least appreciated and most pissed off plant (and letting us know about it by trying to take over the whole garden): arugula.

oh arugula. i would have cut you down and pulled out your bitter disgusting leaves long ago, but you invited friends... and i like them.

I am so so so excited about pumpkins and the dozens of heirloom tomatoes we'll have. soon! i can't wait to show you all what a horrendous job we did at staking our tomatoes.

Doggie days

This picture is from our trip to Orcas. It was so fun to have the family together, and the pups together too. I wish I would have thought to snap a few of them all together, next time!

It's been hot in Missoula... but I'm making good use of our clothes line (thank you sweetie), and today we soaked our feet in the now very shallow Clark Fork, with iced coffees in hand.

I'm thinking of Jared and Galen and hoping they are settling in well, and finding treasures in Flagstaff!

all winter long...

and here it is. Today felt like everything we dreamed summer would be. Warm, drinking iced tea, laundry on the line, picking veggies, taking bobby for a walk by the river... he actually went in all on his own and did very well swimming around, it was so cute.

The only poopy thing is that i'm tired. work is cramping my style. did an overnight shift last night and I have another tonight. What is harder than sleeping in the middle of the day is sleeping in the middle of a hot day.

but i am so lucky zed takes good care of me, and the house, while i am less useful.

summer vacation

I can't believe it has been a year since our month long trip in Europe. This is a photo from our stay in Riomaggiore. SO gorgeous, it was unbelievable at times.

I am really looking forward to seeing everyone on Orcas. Going swimming, sitting on the porch, more iron chef? and maybe doing some geocaching, sounds so perfect.

Iron Chef: Burd vs Kramer

(Please forgive the not so awesome photos... )

The ingredients:

ZUCCHINI

CARROT

BEET

HOT ITALIAN SAUSAGE

The competitors:

BURD vs KRAMER

KRAMER

Here Kramer is preparing a masterful blend of sausage and zucchini to fill his handmade pasta pockets!

 KRAMER

Here we see Kramer's beet and goat cheese salad!

 KRAMER

Here is Kramer's winning dish, carrot soup. Masterfully seasoned.

 BURD

Burd is preparing her zucchini to fry!

 BURD

Burd presents her sausage sliders, roasted beets and carrots, with fried zucchini! Delicious!

 BURD

Today was so fun! First we spent several hours in the garden thinning out the carrots and beets. Then we picked zucchini. THEN we decided to do iron chef home edition and compete against each other. We cooked for 2 hours, and when it was all over Zed's carrot soup was the winning dish.

on the crust of a supervolcano...

Then on to Yellowstone.

We arrived minutes before Old Faithful spewed up. (It goes off about every 2 hours-ish).

Best treat of the day by far was getting up close to this guy. He is so cute!  Reminds me of bobby. Well! Look at how fuzzy his head is! cute.

See how close I was to it! about 30 feet!!

Okay. I also really enjoyed LOVED the thermal pools.

BE WARNED:

There are a lot of photos of them...

This is Chromatic Pool.

I am just so fascinated by how different they all are from one to the next. And I love how being on the caldera reminds me of how old, old can be.