
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Seoul, South Korea
Dear Author,
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Top Chef Masters - goes on a diet
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
update - this is going to take some time!
not here, not in this universe apparently,
and was issued in 1981 - I have to reapply.
And this is what they want nowadays -
- If you Claim Citizenship through Birth Abroad to Two U.S. Citizen Parents: Submit a Consular Report of Birth (Form FS-240), Certification of Birth (Form DS-1350 or FS-545), or your foreign birth certificate (and official translation if the document is not in English), parents' marriage certificate, proof of your parents' citizenship, and an affidavit showing all of your U.S. citizen parents' periods and places of residence/physical presence in the United States and abroad before your birth.
oh. my!
I get paranoid and with good reason...

So add in today's news story about possible new passport regulations -
"If you don’t want it to get even harder for a U.S. citizen to get a passport — now required for travel even to Canada or Mexico — you only have until Monday to let the State Department know.
The U.S. Department of State is proposing a new Biographical Questionnaire for some passport applicants: The proposed new Form DS-5513 asks for:
all addresses since birth; (for me that is about 17)
lifetime employment history including employers’ and supervisors names, addresses, and telephone numbers; (At least 10 over 40 years?!?! What if they are dead? Do I have to get a death certificate?)
personal details of all siblings; (I have one alive sibling and one dead sibling, same question applies as previous question.)
mother’s address one year prior to your birth; (Would my elderly parents even remember this; they've had 15 addresses since they got married.)
Please describe the circumstances of your birth including the names (as well as address and phone number, if available) of persons present or in attendance at your birth.” (If the doctor who delivered me was 50 years old at the time he'd be 105 now...)
any “religious ceremony” around the time of birth; and a variety of other information. (again, my parents are in their 80s. And it was in another country, not the one where I was born.... Will pictures do?)
According to the proposed form, “failure to provide the information requested may result in … the denial of your U.S. passport application.”
The State Department estimated that the average respondent would be able to compile all this information in just 45 minutes, which is obviously absurd given the amount of research that is likely to be required to even attempt to complete the form."
I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
But did tell my kids to collect this kind of stuff now because government NEVER goes back. Remember the temporary income tax? Of course you don't, that was 150 years ago.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Royal wedding and royal swag

When we got back I got up at 2am to watch the wedding live on The Today Show. It was sad to watch the marriage fall apart. I was watching TV the night Diana died. What a shock. Then the funeral and the poor boys.
I don't have much interest in this wedding. The dress is about the last mystery left. Being a good Project Runway fan I'll take an interest in that. I'll have the coverage on but no way I'm going to be up at anytime other than normal!
Seeing the Forest and the Trees
You can play with the map HERE.
Article on the map HERE.
Note we have so many trees in the PNW they have to color them red.
Note that we live in the big blank spot in Washington. Having grown
up in green to red spots, here and Canada, I'm still getting used to it.
Benefit of The Great Flood
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Abby says Happy Zombie Ducky Day
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
The Great Flood Update
Asbestos found in the old flooring (new was put over it) in the upstairs bathroom which will be a hassle as it is a huge operation. Also in the downstairs bedroom popcorn ceiling. We knew that. Estimate will come in next week and then we start on the removal of all downstairs flooring and bathroom floor and ceiling (everything - popcorn, sheet rock, wood). So we get a bit of a break here and will work on stuff we can do.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Top Chef Masters

Was not so keen on the twists in the main challenge. I don't think a restaurant could actually operate, legally, with the first one - safety issues and regulations.
Still don't know any names but, at least, know faces!
How can a bad situation get worse?

All materials to be removed from the basement (which is all flooring) is being tested for asbestos.
We already know the ceiling has it. The same guy who replaced one of our ceilings in '09 is the one doing the testing. It is probable all the lino downstairs is also asbestos contaminated. Many more $$$$ signs have been added to this project.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
update and what we found...
This hurt a lot, this wood floor is only a year old. They sawed it up.
(The top picture is a bag of potatoes, left in the pitch black, for over a year. The Engineer put them in the furnace room. We know not why....)
The Revenge of Abby...
She managed to magic the upstairs toilet. We've been having trouble with the thingy that makes the toilet stop running.
The Engineer has made fixes but.... (I blame Japan - the increased workload and stress is a direct result of their heartbreaking nuclear problems.)
Anyways... the toilet pumped out clean (thankfully) water for over an hour before I caught it. The reason I caught it was because the heat pump started screeching. The whole basement is flooded. The mattress in Eldest's room. Boxes in the furnace room.
THE FURNACE WAS SPITTING OUT WATER!
The familyroom carpet is soaked. Again (we had a water heater go a couple months ago).
The ceiling in Eldest's room is going to be a goner.
I've got calls into clean up people and furnace/heat pump people.
This one is going to hurt. A lot.
On the plus side Abby stops barking the two times I've asked her this morning.
She's exhausted from having to supervise GB and the shop vac.
Tar just says, 'like wow, just wow, dude.'
Monday, April 18, 2011
Abby and I are at WAR

She is now refusing to come in when she has the squirrel spotted.
No more coming to calls, squeakies, whistles, dog whistles.
No more coming to tasty treats. Tar getting a treat. Tar getting multiple
treats.
After dragging her barking self into the house a bunch of times yesterday
she had to stay in this morning after the first infraction.
She went to the door and made gagging sounds - like I'M GOING TO THROW UP!!!
Out she went, didn't throw up, started barking her fool head off at the damn squirrel.
This afternoon GB and I went out and bought a noise/buzz collar. Has 10 settings,
two warning versions. It has a remote control. It cost a lot.
And then we bought a bunch of chew bones and toys such as a lime
green squeaky hedgehog, to assuage the guilt.
Total bill over $200.
GB put it together, we read the directions, she is outside now. We are waiting....
The squirrel is waiting.... There is the rumble of thunder..... Tar is waiting...
UPDATE: Squirrel came outside his nest, stuck his fingers in his ears, waggled them, and
stuck out his tongue. Abby barked. As per instructions GB gave her the command, no and quiet,
still barking. Then he pressed the noise option on low. AND SHE STOPPED. And came in the house. The coming in the house may be due to the fact that it is hailing now...
Saturday, April 16, 2011
"There's an eagle flying by, carrying a baby!!"
asparagus harvest


sign of spring
Thursday, April 14, 2011
I. Hate. To. Vacuum.
First you find all the toys, pick up as much shredded sticks as you can and think, oh, the fluff from disemboweled toys - I can vac that right up.
No. No you can't.
So you have to do surgery to the vacuum on the porch but you can't get the stuff out of the last rigid hose which is packed with the stuff.
You try a bbq skewer. Not working.
You go in search of the two bendy things that The Engineer has. No where to be found. Do you call The Engineer and ask, keep in mind that all communication is monitored for security reasons. 'Dear, where are the bendy things?' I think not.
Then you feel the cord and the four mends where the puppies have chewed on the cord. Hoping that one of them is hot again so you can toss the vacuum in the pond and buy a new one? No such luck. Electrical engineers can mend cords...
I hate to vacuum because, around here, you never just vacuum...
The pond is waking up
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
too tiny kitchen - Top Chef Masters
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
They're BAAAAAACK

Well, of course he did.
They. Have. Come. Back.
Story on the newspaper's site this afternoon. "Last night at 10.30pm the man saw three lights over the river. The lights weren't blinking like an airplane's. They were lined up vertically in a close, tight formation. He watched for about 15 to 20 seconds as they moved west over the river between the two bridges, about 2,000 feet. They were moving down the river. The radar at the airport was shut down for the night...The Communications Center refused to say whether any strange reports came in to the 911 dispatch center Monday night."
Refused to say.....
Now I've seen unidentified flying objects in the sky twice. Three things. Twice. Freaked me out. Totally. You know it is... Different. I am completely ready to believe that they were some kind of experimental airplanes. I hope they were airplanes...
Monday, April 11, 2011
Shoes, especially GB's shoes, make the best pillow
So... just who accepts PR's award at the Glaad Awards?

Via Blogging Project Runway - Mondo Guerra accepted the award on behalf of the producers for best reality series...... Hmmmm....... A consolation prize? A we're sorry we gave you second place prize? Or a gol-damn were we stupid to give you second place and now we're trying really hard to hitch our series to your star prize?
Taking off my cynical slippers - okay, maybe, you are an extraordinarily brave young man who has conducted himself with good grace throughout the whole affair and for your work with HIV awareness prize. Go Mondo Go!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Why Murphy rolls in the muds after a nice baths

Inside of a Dog
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
playing with the camera
math magic

From Twitters -
"Blow your mind! Take the last two digits of the yr you were born -now add the age you will be this yr & the result will be 111 for all"
It works for every member of the Ponder family.
I loves this kind of stuff and my favorite assignment in grad school
was a lesson plan on math magic.
Like all magic it works by misdirection.
We're not talking his age, we're talking how far it is from 1900 to 2011.
Youngest son will be 22 years this year and was born in 1989.
Start at 1900. Add the years to his birth year, 89, add the age he will be this
year, 22 years
that takes us right up to now 89 + 22 = 111.
So you're adding the years between 1900 and 2011, which will always equal 111.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Once again I runs out of energies...
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Top Chef All Stars Reunion and Top Chef Masters

Then Top Chef Masters, which I hadn't paid enough attention to realize it was premiering tonight. Changes!
A new judge, a new host and a new format!
Just like regular Top Chef - they start as a group and get PPYKAG-ed one at a time. They are playing for more money $250,000 and for charity. In their stew room, which is the kitchen, they get to sit at a table in comfy chairs. I don't know if we are going to get to see them in their jammies in their chef house/apartment. Since some of them are older I hope they put their foot down about that!
I think I'll like this new version of TCM - will get to know folks better. Challenges - quickfire was crazy and the main challenge - wow, they really threw it at them early. I won't say any more in case you didn't catch it - nice thing about Bravo you can always catch up.
This. Is. So. Cool!!!

"Virgin Oceanic is a five-journey proposal, in which they'll hit the Mariana Trench (Pacific), Puerto Rico Trench (Atlantic), Diamantina Trench (Indian), South Sandwich Trench (Southern), and Molloy Deep (Arctic). "They" is Sir Richard Branson (whose cojones can only be measured in cubic miles at this point) and Chris Welsh, an American pilot and explorer. The Puerto Rico Trench is the deepest trench known, and has never been explored."
Full story here.
Why am I on the floor?
We made the news!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
chew proof
Monday, April 4, 2011
my new camera ordered today!

GB picked it out.
When Eldest took photography in school, he used my old 35mm and developed pictures in the darkroom. When GB took photography the teacher had just switched to digital and computers. GB was one of the kids who set the whole lab up for him. He kept GB in that class by making him a teaching assistant.