Gift Idea

A year or so ago, I kept hearing this buzz about a book called The Daring Book for Girls. It came about because a year or so prior, a book called The Dangerous Book for Boys was published. Both books are meant to be nostalgic, in that they offer a "how to" guide for all of the essential boy or girl activities of childhood. Tying knots, chinese jump rope, paper airlines....things that a boy or girl should just know to have a wholesome childhood. Both books were quite popular, sucking in both young readers and older ones who just wanted to reminisce a bit.

In any case, when Jesse and I took our little day trip to Boulder last summer, I spotted what looked like the cover of one of the books. (They have a very distinctive, old school design.) When we got closer, I realized it was a spoof of the books, called The Dangerous Book for Dogs. We flipped through and it had us both laughing out loud in the store.

I didn't think much of it after we left, but now that Christmas time has rolled around and different people have been asking me for gift ideas, I thought about what a great gift this book would make, not just for myself, but for any dog lover/owner. The few pages I read in Boulder had me cracking up. Subject titles include: How to Make Your Owner Look Like an Idiot, Creative Pee Stains, The Formal Rules of Fetch, and if my memory of the book serves me correctly, a warning that mounting a bitch is never as easy as it seems.

In any case, though I don't own it and haven't read the entire book, I have to say, I would highly recommend it for any dog lover on your list!!

Thanksgiving Weekend Happenings

I have spent the morning touching up the paint on our walls and painting our dresser. I'm in between coats, and what better way to pass a few minutes than to blog?

Before Jesse left for work we put up a couple more of the ceiling panels. (The project that was started last spring... the hernia surgery and Abe's ordeal kind of threw us for a loop and house projects have generally been on the slow track ever since.) Anyway, anyone who has visited our little house will recall the ghetto popcorn ceiling in the office and bedrooms. It is no more (or at least will be no more by the end of the day), though we still need to get the moulding up around the edges.



Another project I finally finished a month or two ago is doing a painting for the bathroom. (The reddish orange border isn't really part of the painting, but I was apparently holding the camera crooked, so I couldn't crop out the wall. Whatever, you get the idea.)


It's good to finally catch up on some projects. I've been trying to stick around the house this weekend anyway to keep an eye on Horton. He tore his ACL, and is supposed to be kept as immobile as possible for 30 days. Depending on how he heals, he may or may not need surgery. I am really hoping for the not. I don't want to put him through that. It is a really major surgery, where they have to cut his tibia and everything to attach a metal plate. Very bad deal. Monkey doesn't fully understand why her buddy can't play anymore, so Jesse has been taking her with him on some longer runs to try to drain her energy. (Energy which has been put toward digging holes in the yard, annoying us, and trying to nibble Horton's ear off.)

Anyway, last weekend, besides making some trips to the emergency vet, we went to a wedding, and did our usual routine...Jesse to work...me to the shelter. Here's a shot from the wedding.



Otherwise, I guess I have nothing to say. I am going to see if my paint is dry yet!

Our Weekend

The weather has been insanely wonderful the last few days and we have done our best to take full advantage of it. Yesterday before Jesse headed to work, we gave the dogs a much needed bath in the backyard. Horton always loves it and Monkey always hates it.

This one didn't turn out quite like planned, but I had to post it anyway because Horton was so cute in his little towel when I was drying him. The Groomers: We grilled out for lunch and then I spent the afternoon cleaning. Maybe it was all the sunshine putting me in the mood for "spring cleaning". It was nice to have all the doors and windows open.

Anyway, this morning we loaded up the pups and headed to one of our favorite trails along the river. We took a slow 2.5 mile walk, during which Monkey did her very best to undo everything we had done yesterday during her bath. Note the doggie headlocks. They were not at all interested in stopping for photos, but the weather and everything was so nice, I wanted at least one of our little family. Shortly I am headed to the dog shelter. I was very excited when I saw the adoption list this week. One of the "regulars" got adopted out. There is a core group of dogs who are there week in, week out. In this case, the dog who got adopted has been at the shelter for 14 months....finally a happy family for her!! She deserves it, though I will miss seeing her around each week. Anyway, I will leave you with this video of our crazy one from earlier today -

Coveting

Going garden geek on you -

I found the coolest thing ever online today! Check out the Nature Mill Plus XE indoor composter. It basically eliminates all of the inconveniences of composting.

While we do use our current old-school outdoor composter, and I do like it a lot, we don't use it to its full potential due to the inconveniences. For instance, you have to walk out in the cold winter to dump your food scraps. (And actually, now that I think about it, that's not even convenient in the summer time when you are making a meal.) And since it has a lid and rain doesn't get in, you have to make sure the moisture level is correct. And it speeds things up if you turn your pile on a regular basis, but this is hard to do given the size and stability of our composter. Plus, it is a traditional method, so takes patience - as in give it a couple months before you can harvest anything.

By contrast, you can keep the Nature Mill inside, next to your regular trash can, or tucked away in a cabinet, which means you can dump your scraps in as you are cooking. And, genius - it provides heat to your pile, so you don't have to wait around for the microherds to do their thing and generate the heat for you. It also mixes for you, so it's always aerated...another key for composting. All of this means you can harvest compost in 14 days!

It says it can handle 120lbs per month, and I have no doubt we would max that out. When we first started composting, I was shocked at how small our weekly trash bag was. (And for the record - compost, when done the right way, should never smell. I think a lot of people are leery of composting because they think it stinks. If it stinks, that means there is too much nitrogen in the pile, which is really easy to correct by adding some carbons, like newspaper or dried leaves. So having this inside would not equate stinky house.)

I am SOLD! This is officially on my list of things to covet.

Shopping Just Got Deep.

I have gotten a jump start on the holiday shopping this year. A few names on my list, year after year, I always have a terrible time buying for and generally don't enjoy the gift giving experience at all. I think I am finally starting to realize why, besides just chalking it up to the fact that they are "hard to buy for".

I realized this year that it's unfun giving to people who are totally self-sufficient. It's not necessarily about wealth even, though certainly only some people can afford to be self-sufficient. But, maybe the real joy in giving and receiving gifts is the interpersonal symbolism behind it -

From the giver's viewpoint: I have something you might like. I can offer you something. I am valuable to you because of this.

From the receiver's viewpoint: I like what you give me. You have something to offer me. I value you because of this.

By that, I don't mean that the value is in the object, or that people only value each other based on what they can/can't get. It's more about the relationship exchange. When you think about it, generally our most fulfilling relationships are those in which we feel used to our full potential. We inherently want to give of ourselves and our resources.

I feel happy when I cook something that Jesse really likes. Why? Because I think it's something I can offer that fulfills a need or desire of his, which he accepts from me. And I imagine he probably likes it when he can fix our cars and save us hundreds of dollars in mechanic fees. Why? Because it's something he's good at, a part of himself, that he can offer to me.

Why do jobs suck and get boring? Often, it's because the employee feels she has more to offer than what the company will let her. He can do more than answer phones. She can do more than data entry. Or he has great ideas for marketing, but they won't be heard because he doesn't have the right title or whatever the reason. And the best jobs? They are fulfilling because the employee gets to use their skills to contribute to something greater than self - even if that something is a corporation -it's still something.

And why is it hard for parents to see their kids grow up? Because the parents know the child is growing closer to independence. Someday, the parent will no longer be a necessity for the child. And when the grand kids come along and Grandma won't shut up with her "advice" - she's probably doing it because she wants to give of her experiences. She offers a piece of her history, of herself.

In some sense, our sole fulfillment in life comes from this connection; some delicate balance of giving and receiving whereby what we offer is accepted with joy and what we receive is valued as unique and irreplaceable.

But, the key in making it work is that we have to be willing to do both. We have to give, and we have to receive. And the receiving part, I think a lot of us are a bit rusty on. After all, aren't we supposed to be self-sufficient?

I know the holidays and gift giving is all kind of just a silly obligation to consume in the name of "holiday spirit", but I think it still boils down to the connection. And when someone is self-sufficient, providing themself with their own heart's desire and not expressing any of their wishes, it really sucks the fun out of it all. They are, in some sense, withholding of themselves, refusing to let you in. You don't know what to get for them, because you really don't even know who they are. You don't know what they like, because they won't share that with you. So you are forced to come up with some offering, blindly hoping that perhaps maybe you stumbled upon something that may have some remote sense of value to them. Because the fact is, maybe what you are really hoping is that you yourself have value to them.

I am probably making gift giving way too deep, and obviously, this may not apply to baking a nut loaf for your neighbor or being forced to partake in the office secret santa party, but - at least for me - there are people on my list that I really care about, and I really wish I knew better, yet despite my best efforts, each year when jingle bells start playing, I find myself sighing and plastering on a smile while we exchange obligatory, extremely meaningless gifts. So why do I keep doing it every year? Why do I spend my money, money that is often very tight, on something so meaningless?

Well, it's because even if my gift is forgotten, at least I can say I offered something. I tried. I put some piece of myself out there, and I was still open to the possibility that someday, maybe I will have a gift that matters.

And until that day comes, I will let my heart be thankful for the exchanges that do work; the ones where I see something at the store, and I think of this or that person, not because it's a cool object, but because I know them.

I Heart Chipotle

I recently learned that Chipotle is test marketing a vegan burrito in one of their DC locations. It's called "Garden Blend". It's a mix of plant proteins, grains, and vegetables marinated in their Adobo sauce....mmmm....sounds so super yummy!!

I decided to e-mail them about it - representin' the meatless, ya know? Here is part of their response: We are getting rave reviews so hopefully we will be able to offer it nationwide someday.

Yeah for rave reviews....hope they keep pouring in and I can someday taste this yumminess.