sprite writes
broodings from the burrow

November 25, 2009


heading north
posted by soe 3:35 am

Rudi and I will be driving up to Connecticut in the morning. It’ll be nice to see friends and family, but I’d feel so much better if things here weren’t so … undone.

I meant to get more things taken care of this evening, but I just don’t know where the time went. I suppose when you don’t get home until after 8 and you don’t eat dinner until 10 there just isn’t that much night left, is there…?

Ah, well, there’s always the morning for me to be ultra-productive during. I’ll be asleep, but that shouldn’t stop me, should it?

Safe travels to all those headed to loved ones for the holidays…

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November 23, 2009


how???
posted by soe 3:03 pm

How did D.C. go from having two perfectly lovely downtown outdoor ice rinks to one to possibly none?

Why, yes, I am feeling bitter.

Hat tip to DCist for the depressing news…

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an uneventful weekend
posted by soe 2:23 am

It was a quiet weekend around the Burrow.

On Friday night, Michael came across town for happy hour with John and Rudi and stayed so that he could go out for dinner with us. I had been feeling a bit on the crabby side, but Michael was in a genial mood and so his company and some pizza helped put things right. Rudi and I were home by ten and got to catch up on our online watching of Numb3rs before bed.

Saturday was the Help the Homeless Walkathon, which required this night person to get up before the sun was out of bed and be out the door before she normally leaves for work. Secretly, I was a bit glad that I missed meeting up with the people I was supposed to join, because I’m not much of a conversationalist when I’m still half-asleep. I am, however, a fast walker regardless of the hour, because I somehow managed to start behind but finish before the people I was looking for, who were fellow alumni of Connecticut College.

I did catch up to them for an early lunch, which ended up being quite nice. All three of them had graduated after Rudi and me, but one had been the housefellow of Blackstone his senior year, which was a nice connection. Another had been an RTC (an adult student returning to college), and she and her husband are recent transplants to the region.

After a stop at the library, I came home and the cats tricked me into lying down on the bed, where I promptly fell asleep. I dozed all afternoon.

This morning we slept in a bit, then headed to the farmers’ market for a few things, like milk and carrots. After a leisurely brunch of chai and French pastries, Rudi announced he’d work on cleaning the kitchen while I went down to shutter the garden for the season and get some sunlight.

We spent the evening shredding papers, listening to music, and watching the soccer championship game. Two bags of recycling and a bag of trash left the apartment and I’m already feeling lighter.

I can’t wait to see what the week ahead holds…

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November 22, 2009


fall cleaning
posted by soe 3:39 am

Nothing can possibly be more dull than a blog post on cleaning. Even one on dentistry has the potential to drift into the horror genre…

And, yet, here we are.

The cleaning/organizing/mass purging is going slowly. Far too slowly, in fact.

Under the best of circumstances I am deadline driven. This means that I work better — and faster — the closer we get to when things need to be done. The day of my tree trimming, I will be a model of efficiency. Two weeks out, though, and I’m having a hard time finding the motivation. All I want to do is sleep and knit and read.

Sorting through papers I’ve allowed to pile up and clothes and books I need to shift out of the house is not my idea of a fun way to spend a Saturday evening…

So, I turn to you, dear readers. What is your best tip for fall cleaning? Or your secret to staying motivated on mundane tasks? I’m desperate for suggestions because I really do know that procrastination and last minute efficiency are not my friends, at least in this instance.

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November 21, 2009


ugh
posted by soe 7:46 am

Why can’t we fight large, societal problems at more reasonable hours — like noon … or midnight?

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weekly geeks: podcasts, anyone?
posted by soe 3:23 am

I’ve been reading the blog Weekly Geeks for a while now. The concept behind it is a thought-provoking, weekly literature blogging meme.

Last week’s post asked readers to share “a podcast [or three] you love, preferably book related, but not necessarily so. Give us the link, of course, and share with us details about that podcast and why you enjoy it so much.”

I have enjoyed podcasts, which are similar to online radio shows available for download, for many years and have listened to a variety of them. Some are done by single people. Others have a group format. Some are actual radio broadcasts, while others record from their living rooms. Their foci range from knitting, food, and books to baseball, old time radio programming, and music.

For those who are interested, here are several of the podcasts I download (and listen to) regularly:

  1. The Writer’s Almanac
    You might be familiar with this 5-minute segment if you listen to NPR during the day. Hosted by Garrison Keillor, it offers listeners a few literary “this day in history” highlights and concludes with a poem, often from modern poets. This is a great podcast if you have just a few minutes a day to spare or if you want more poetry in your life.
  2. CraftLit
    Hosted by crafter extraordinaire Heather Ordover, CraftLit provides public domain classics read aloud (often as a part of Librivox). Heather, an English professor and former high school English teacher, starts each episode with a bit of crafty talk before moving on to the analysis of the previous week’s reading and a preview of the current episode’s material. We’ve read a variety of works this way so far, ranging from A Tale of Two Cities to Frankenstein to our most recent novel, The Scarlet Letter. Whether I’ve read them before or if they’re new-to-me, I almost always enjoy and learn from listening to these weekly podcasts.
  3. Stash and Burn
    This podcast, hosted by San Francisco residents Jenny and Nicole, purportedly exists to help knitters work their way through their overflowing stashes, but instead is really just bimonthly love song to friendship and yarn. I like to listen to certain podcasts at certain times: CraftLit while I’m knitting and The Writer’s Almanac while I’m getting ready for work or on my way to the metro. Stash and Burn is my dishwashing podcast. Nicole and Jenny make excellent company while I’m doing tedious late-night chores, and I greatly appreciate their laughter and camaraderie.

I also enjoy and recommend several other podcasts, including Cast On, Quirky Nomads, Sticks and String, and The News from Lake Wobegon, a segment from Garrison Keillor’s popular A Prairie Home Companion.

What podcasts, if any, do you enjoy listening to?

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