and here we go again...

What is it about summer that makes it impossible for me to post regularly?

I visited Barnhenge Mama (and her adorable new Boob Monster) yesterday, taking a moment to breathe and enjoy. Florence and the Machine were the soundtrack of my day, pulling at the depths of my soul to rip the music lover out of hiding, watching a spontaneous dance by a whimsical pre-schooler. A beautiful day to just try to BE.

Of course, there was DOing too. The wonderful world of Pennsic begins for me at the end of the week. And, as much as I enjoy sewing, there is only one time of year in which significant sewing happens... the week before Pennsic. (am.i.right?)  So all spare moments have been dedicated to coating the carpet in thread and trying not to burn or stab myself. Bella has been forced to go retrieve her own food and manage door knobs. Luckily, the Olympic games have been good company and inspiration as I try to at least try to place in the time-trials of the yards-to-garbs competition.

In summer, there is this irreparable swing between BE and DO. Days when gardening and cooking up CSA fare and cleaning and sewing and berry-picking and sweating leave you breathless. Days when sun and water and blue skies and good company and fresh food wash away everything else. There is no in-between. There is no moment to think "yes, I shall post about this later". There is only a to-do list or leaving it all behind.

Of course, life has been happening, and things worth sharing. Friday escapes into Philly with a kindred-spirit. Spontaneously-stuffed zucchini (1/2 cup dry bulger, cooked; 5oz goat cheese; 2oz sun dried tomato, diced; toaster oven for 20min on 350). Foxes at weddings. Broody chickens that return to the flock, lay wierd eggs, then go back to being broody. Awe-inspired light displays at Longwood Gardens (GO DO!). Gluts of zucchini turned into gluts of muffins. Having a full back-up generator installed two weeks before losing power for 3.5 days. A Bella whose wounds (and those that she inflicts) have healed, leading to a calmness around semi-strangers and friendliness with those who show her interest. The best of parties being thrown in the worst of heat waves. Quarts and quarts of blackberries. Magical trips to New England, complete with beautiful weather and playing wiffle ball on the beach.

And best of all, a best friend. Don't get me wrong, I have a blessed life full of wonderful friends and family, who are amazingly supportive and always around for a shoulder or a laugh. But we all need that Person, the one that gets us, sees our place in the world, has been through what we're going through or is going through it too. The Person whose beauty and soul you see, who hasn't yet seen what you see. Now I have my Person and I am content :) Considering she does not want to be a Canadienne, I believe she shall just be My Person. I hope that word holds the same gravitas with you as it does me. I am truly blessed.

Other than that, I look forward to the end of the summer. When life and schedules come back to some sort of sanity. When there is less DO and BE and more share and create. When sushi-days can come back. When I actually get on the bike, or go do yoga. When we can enjoy the (frozen) fruits (and veggies and meats and other prepared foods) of our labor. When sewing projects will be done at leisure and with more thought (and less seam-ripping!).

In the meantime, how is your summer going?

Much Love,
Able-Bodied Girl


  

bella's beautiful progress

Last year, after the joy of adopting Bella, we faced the struggles of her unknown past. I haven't posted anything about her since, so let me remedy that now by telling you about her progress - both as a beloved member of the house and as a dog recovering from abandonment.

• Bella learns our routines quickly, and amusingly. When we first got her, she knew that my post-breakfast glass of ice water was the last step before she went into her crate. So as soon as she heard the ice clinking into my glass, she would go sit by the basement steps. These days, she goes WILD in the morning after Able-Bodied Boy gives me my morning kiss goodbye; this means he's about to take her downstairs for food.
   
• Speaking of food, we overfed her and she's really turning into quite the chub. We're currently working to get her weight down by 20%, and as such she constantly hunts for sustenance elsewhere. We are obviously letting her waste away and she reminds us frequently.
   
• Bella has gotten 100% comfortable with our Tuesday night gang. Her first "incidents" were with two of the guys on Tuesday night, and it took all parties a while to recover comfort and confidence. But now she can't get enough lovin's from them. And we recently added Purple Monkey and her infant; Purple Monkey has already gotten belly offers (this is when we flop on our back and wiggle around to show you a warm fuzzy belly that you know want to rub, right?) and the infant is a mild curiosity.
   
• Bella has always been great with little kids. Our first encounter with a toddler was a little traumatic for the toddler (more on that in a moment), but she otherwise just flees in the presence of the unpredictable young ones. She'll yelp if accidentally hurt, but never anything more.
   
• Bella doesn't know how to play. She chews hard bones. She chews soft cloth toys/blankets/towels if we allow her. She barrels into you from a running start, if you let her. But otherwise, she won't take balls, rope toys, frisbees, or anything of that sort. If you throw something in the yard, she runs after it, past it, and enjoys watching you fetch it. Which is why, the first time she saw a toddler, Bella barrelled into her from a running start... because that's the only play she knows. We would love to teach her how to play, but really have no idea where to start.
   
• Bella is quite comfortable with my family now, having spent a bit of time with them at their various houses lately (with the holidays and all). Her main issue now is with the other dogs. They do fairly well for the first few days (maybe a growl here or there to remind them that she likes her space), but after a couple of days, the tensions start running higher and they get into a scrappy fight. All this has mainly taken place at other's homes, and we haven't had the other dogs to our place in a while. It will be interesting to see how she does with that, if the occasion arises.
   
• Bella was wonderful on her first long car ride. We went from a longest trip of ~2 hours to a 9-hour trip. A little whining in the beginning, and a little whining at the end, but otherwise she was content and had no car-sickness. At each stop, she gladly hopped back into the car. I think she would just do anything to be with us.
   
• We are becoming better at identifying her signs of discomfort with other people, know when we are better off just leaving her isolated (which she tolerates/understands more now) and at providing rules to "strangers".
• If she is laying/sitting on her bed, that is her territory and you should not approach her.
• If she is laying/sitting near me, I am her territory and you should not approach her.
• Ignore her. Let her sniff you and do not try to pet her. Ignore her. If she wants your attention, she will come up and sit by you and look at you. Otherwise, ignore her.
   
• We used that last tip with my parents the first time they ever met her. Within three hours, she was sitting at my father's feet, begging to be petted. I call that a Win. Of course, there are still some who, after listening to the rules, say "Oh, dogs love me!". I am happy to say they are still in possession of all fingers, but may be a little less confident in that personal assessment.
   
• Bella still makes some of our friends and family uncomfortable. So we send her to boarding (which she now tolerates much more, now that she knows we always return) instead of traveling with her, or lock her away upstairs while they are at our house. It doesn't bother us to do so. It's all about the comfort and safety of all parties involved. There are some situtations in which everyone wants her to be present, but Able-Bodied Boy and I don't feel like it's appropriate. She is our responsibility, and if we can't always be watching her but feel like we need to keep an eye out, we have to decide if we have the time and energy to devote to her introduction to the particular group. We take our responsibility seriously and judge each situtation independently.
   
• My favorite part about the whole thing, about wanting a dog for so long, about working through that with Able-Bodied Boy, about finding Bella and dealing with all her quirks and all the coordination to keep her - ya know - fed and happy and alive... my favorite part is that Able-Bodied Boy LOVES her. Loves her so much it makes my heart ache. Loves to get down on the floor and play with her and use his playful kid voice. And that means more to me than anything...
   

Do you have similar stories of 'time healing all things'?

Much Love,
Able-Bodied Girl


  

weekend excitement

What a weekend (and it's not over yet)! No time - or photos - to post about it all just yet, but here's a taste....

We spent Saturday chasing a sex-crazed rooster (yeah, Bunty is decidedly NOT a hen) off of our poor dear Ginger, who was getting injured.

I made a hearty eastern-european meal of Hungarian Chicken Paprikash over homemade German spaetzle noodles, shared with dear friends.

I ate delicious, fudgy brownies. Which - if you know my sensitivity to caffeine in any form - made for a very squishy-brained Able-Bodied Girl.

We shipped the rooster off to boot-in-the-ass camp at Barnhenge Mama's farm, where he will learn manners and respect of the ladies. We also picked up Bunty2 and integrated her into the mini-flock.

Tomorrow, I am off of work. And I've decided to have a tech-lite day. No internet. No email. No tablet. No TV. No DVD or Netflix streaming. Cell/text only for immediate matters. No computer. Until 9p. Able-Bodied Boy is willing to join, although pressing work matters may force email/computer use. Crafting, cleaning, and board games will abound!

 So until then, have a wonderful Monday!

Anything exciting in your world this weekend?

Much Love,
Able-Bodied Girl


  

happy. new. year.

Well, I finally have time to post, seeing as I stuck in the hospital, recovering from an apondectomy on New Years Eve.

Anyway, stellar end to 2011, here in a hospital bed at 4:30am. The thing is though, I'm not sad or upset about it. Granted, it was a little hard sending Able-Bodied Boy off to the big party of friends (I told him to), but overall, I'm happy, and it has been a great year.

2010 was the suck of suck. I won't explain why, but I have alluded to big changes that took place that made me believe that 2011 would be great, and it has been. In a lot of way, but mainly it's been great in my head, heart, and spirit. My level of gratitude on an immediate basis has gone skyhigh, and it's been lovely to watch my personal growth this year, mostly in my headspace.

With your encouragement, I blogged. It helped me expend creative juices, reviving my love of creative writing. It also gave me an outlet to express and codify and clarify many of the beliefs I have about motivation, choices, and our relationships with our selves, loved ones, and world around us. That has been huge for me, and I appreciate all the kind words and feedback about the things I've had to say. I know my blogging rate slowed down, but you all stayed around and that encourages me to continue in 2012.

I have also had an amazing year at work. I don't often speak of my employer, for obvious public-blog-legal-issues reasons, but I have to say that I love my workplace. Lots of changes to my immediate work group this year, including my own position/promotion, and any kinks in the changes have seemed to work themselves out. My employer has afforded me a ton of professional growth this year, and I am extremely grateful for that and the overall wonderful treatment of their employees. The commute still sucks, but that's not their fault :)

My relationship with my family continues to grow stronger. It's amazing how we get over those tumultuous early years of teenage drama and sibling rivalry. My sister-in-law mentioned that she couldnt imagine Able-Bodied Brother and I not getting along. On one hand, OOOHHH the stories... on the other hand, he is truly one of my favorite people on the planet and I'm starting to tear up here thinking about how cool he is and how fun it is to, every time we get together, bond more and more. Gah he's awesome!
Same with my parents. Dad and I were always close, but that relationship is more and more tangible every time I see him or speak to him. And after fighting it most of my teenage years, I am finally grateful for all of the ways in which I am my mother's daughter (Reppucci, you bastard!). I am so happy to see them fulfilled and loving their retired life - though I ought to call it semi-retired since they both now have jobs and are far busier than ever!

Able-Bodied Boy treats me like a queen and I ask myself every day what I ever did in my life to deserve his love and devotion. Our opposing perspectives on just about everything had been something I struggled with but have seriously begun to embrace and value. He has taught me so much about patience and acceptance, and has truly made me a better human being.

One of the awesomest things to happen this year has been new friends. My skydiving buddies from last year, who were virtual strangers at the time - having only met them once at a comping event - have turned out to be the most supportive girlfriends and I am so grateful to have found people I can relate to. Able-Bodied Boy and I have also become friends with our neighbors! Seriously, the walk-down-the-street-for-dinner sort of thing. The drop-by-and-check-on-my-animals thing. The I-don't-hate-living-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-quite-as-much thing. It has been an amzing few months getting to know them and Able-Bodied Boy and I look forward to that growing relationship. Neighbor-friends... amazing!

So, what shall the New Year bring? Well, for one, it better bring me some damn solid foods soon! I don't thing I'm going to have resolutions, per se. The 30lb goal was, well, too high a bar and, while I think I did pretty well at most of it, I know I'm far less ambitious that I wish I was.
>>More food preservation. Always a struggle due to Able-Bodied Boy's 3-week departure mid-summer, but he has some things he wants and we WILL work together for all of our canning goals (right dear??).
>>More cycling. Finding the in-the-moment motivation to get into the cycling clothes and on the road is sometimes tough, but man, I do love getting out there. As long as no one plans to get married that weekend, I'm definitely trying for the 75m Bike To The Bay this year, maybe even the 100m. No clue how many miles I put in last year, but I think I'll track this year and see if I can reach the 1000 mile mark.
>>More organization. I can be very type-A, and I can find plenty of outlets for that in the home.
>>More friends. I can't wait to spend more time with friends, new and old, this year. Especially if they agree to play some of the fun games Boy got me for my birthday and Christmas this year :)

And here's what I'm looking forward to in 2012...
>>More sushi days! January is booked. February guest list is being finalized. And I'm hoping to lure more friends that we don't see often enough with my fabulous sushi. (Sounds like a blog post to me:))
>>Bridesmaid! My dear childhood friend is getting married, and I've been honored to be asked to be in her wedding party. We met in first grade as neighbors, have kept in touch ever since, and now enjoy annual camping trips together with our significant others. Can't wait to spend her day with her in the Poconos!
>>Work! Ok, I know that sounds wierd. But I have so many exciting (self-imposed) goals for myself in 2012, and I just can't wait to get to it all!
>>Blogging! I think I need to schedule it into my week, which is pretty feasible. I just need to git'er'dun. So much more I want to share with you!
>>Solid foods! For the love of god, I'm starving....

What are you looking forward to this year? What made 2011 good/bad and what would you like to see change?

Much Love,
Able-Bodied Girl


  

tails of the turducken

Well, my family successfully survived two years of deep-fried turkey during my two years of hosting, so my father decided we would be ambitious and try making a Turducken for my parent's turn at hosting this year.

Ahh, yes, layer upon layer of MEAT. Yum!

My brother and I were set to task with boning the duck and chicken, respectively. Our first hurdle was the realization that my father didn't actually own three boning knives, nor three knives capable of proper boning.

Of course, I also broke a knife in the process, which didn't help.

So, we set to boning the birds...

Me with the chicken... before

Me with the chicken... after

Able-Bodied Brother with the duck...

and Able-Bodied Father with the turkey.

So, after that, we had the serious business of bringing them all together. Some instructions say to add stuffing between layers, but we opted not to. After much wrestling and squishing and tying and wrapping, we finally got all the parts into each other...

My dad roasted it at 300 for most of the day, with the extra wings on top, and it turned out lovely and not at all dried out! Show that beautiful meat footage!

Overall, the taste wasn't bad, but everything kinda got washed out in a "poultry" taste. And really, who focuses on the taste of the meat at Thanksgiving, when there is an awesome spread of dressings and gravies and sides and cranberry sauce and PIES!

I will leave you with Alton Brown's favorite friend...

How was your Thanksgiving? Eat any incredible foods? Eat too much? Did you try to be good?

Much Love,
Able-Bodied Girl


  

introductions

This is Bella. She is ours...

When she follows me around constantly, step-for-step, it's really hard to take photos other than this...

Little Miss Spoiled Brat, for the first evening, wouldn't lay on anything that wasn't a dog bed, blanket or couch.  And she sulked a lot when we scolded her for being on the couch. 

She didn't see Able-Bodied Boy go into the garden, so we got to hear her first barks as she defended me from the evil garden man. It took her a while to realize it was only Boy :) Note that she doesn't have a leash on. Unless there are horses nearby, she will stick close. However, she runs for the horses... I suspect there's some Aussie in her!

Her beautiful colors.

After months of deliberations and negotiations, research and no results, I finally stumbled upon this ad Monday on Petfinder, for a Chow-Chow/Keeshond mix (which we now suspect might also be German Shepard or Aussie too):

... is a very sweet and friendly 4 yr old dog. Her previous owners praised her as an excellent housepet and companion. (She was surrendered due to a move) She is a laid back and mellow dog and will do best in a quiet home.

She was 2 hours away from home, but only 40min away from where we were already planning to be on Friday. So Monday and Tuesday were a frantic mess of trying to pull together all the info for the adoption application, which we needed approved to even be able to meet her. Of course, Able-Bodied Boy was away on business, so I was bothering him constantly and nagging him to get information to me and to help submit the application all while he was under a lot of pressure from work.

And all the while I'm bouncy and can't sleep and falling in love with the little photo of her. And trying desperately to remind myself that she might not be "the one", that Able-Bodied Boy might not love her as much as I do, that she might have some issues the ad didn't mention that would deter us.

But no. We arrived Friday and she padded over to us as calm as can be. Within 5 min she was already enjoying our attentions. She seemed to be everything that we could have wanted. So we took her home.

Since then, she's been nearly perfect. Very well-adjusted to house life and will only need minimal training on a couple of issues. We love our Bella ;)

Any new loves in your life?

Much Love,
Able-Bodied Girl


  

a quick "i'm back! stay tuned! oooooh prius!"

As much as I missed the Able-Bodied world, fun and sun in Florida was a welcome reprieve to life. But that's done and life is moving on quickly...

~ I planned a weigh-in tomorrow to assess damages of home-cooking, booze, and dining-out (countered with a bit of walking, kayaking, biking, days of very light eating, and hauling of sails). Stay tuned, this could turn ugly :(

~ I'm considering a big parallel goal this year, to go with my weight loss. Stay tuned, I think this will be a great positive new direction for me!

~ In another amazing coincidence of fate, Jill over at Lost and Not Found was also out adventuring last week, and has some cool reviews and photos to share. Go check it out and read about Paris and Oxford and all the other places they visited.


One interesting note from Florida: we rented a Prius. Oh how much fun was that! Of course, Able-Bodied Boy might not agree, as he was the poor sucker trying to figure out all the bells and whistles and buttons and levers. But once we got the hang of it, we had smooth high-mpg quietly-electric sailing. ~200 miles later, we filled it up with 5-gallons of gas, FTW! While I'm not 100% convinced of the extraordinary "savings" of electric and alt-fuel vehicles, it was a very nifty drive, comfortable, and very roomy.


What did you do over the weekend?

Much Love,
Able-Bodied Girl


  

me wednesdays

It has morphed over the last year, this night o' mine. A way to get out of the house. An attempt to find a central place to meet up for girl's night. A place to hang out while waiting for yoga. A night that Able-Bodied Boy can do his thing and I can go do mine. A night for me. A Monday. A Thursday. A Tuesday. A Wednesday.
  

Decidedly decaffinated.



I head straight for the coffee shop after work. It forms one point of a triangle separating work and home, which is neither great nor terrible. And considering the vast Bermuda Triangle of nothing within... I'd almost consider it a reasonable distance from home.



I order tea. Green or Rooibos or chamomile. I do not order coffee, or black tea. I did, accidentally, a couple of times, before they re-did their tea board in color codes. Drew was wrong about a tea once; it is still our favorite, but only Able-Bodied Boy is allowed to drink it. I just bounce and bounce and bounce and bounce...

Yes, I took a bite of the pears before
taking the photo. nom nom.

It's warm and inviting there. A big purple couch, a half dozen cozy arm chairs, plenty of tabled seating. The walls are rich, they hand-write all the menus and drink offerings in chalk on the wall, the display is full of less-than-humble baked goods and larger-than-life quiches and richer-than-god mac-n-cheese. It is paradise.

I sit. I read. They bring me my drink and food. Oh the food. It's a light cafe menu of paninis and salads and wraps, with regular soup specials and special specials (Drew has been tempting me to try the eggplant or veggie lasagnas as they come available). But I'm normally just looking for something light, so as not to make yoga uncomfortable, so I order their signature salad (greens, candied walnuts, mandarin oranges, pears, cheese, carrots) with a stealing of the sesame soy dressing they use on the asian wrap. ohmygod.

I eat. I drink my tea after it cools down. I read. I use their free wi-fi. 90 minutes fly by. Then I go to yoga.


 



FitnessYoga Studio, from their Facebook page

Oh peaceful place. The instructors are very personable, extending warm welcomes and assistance to new folks, while taking the time to get to know the regulars. I took my first class with Jackie, but didn't have any other classes with her until a one-on-one thai yoga bodywork session (ohmygod) a year later, during which she recalled nearly everything I had told her about my previous experience and recalled how I had fared in that first class. That's the sort of personal involvement they bring to their clients.



My regular Wednesday night class is now being taught by Karen, and my favorite part of the night with her (besides the awesome moves she gets us through) is Fiona Apple's "Across the Universe". I get so caught up in the velvety tunes that I nearly always forget to breathe, listen, or move with the rest of the class. But that's ok. It's a lovely moment to have, nonetheless. I <3 Karen's play list, I just have to remember not to sing along during class.





I used to have company for one part or another of my Wednesday's, but that's been hit or miss lately. Which is ok. It's nice to have a night set aside for nothing. Once in a while, I'll skip it for very pressing matters at home, but for the most part, I plan my week around having a Wednesday night just for me. The offer stands for anyone who wishes to join me!

Do you have a time or a place of your own to relax? Where/when? What does it do for you?

Much Love,

Able-Bodied Girl

ps. no establishment gave me anything in return for my love of them.