Lack of Wisdom (teeth) August 4, 2009

Yesterday I had my wisdom teeth removed.  Happily, and despite the many stories I’d heard to the contrary, it was uneventful.  I had two teeth that were in (the uppers) and two teeth that were impacted (lowers) so I received IV sedation.  Having never been “put under” before, I was definately more than a little bit nervous but it all happened so fast!  As soon as that needle was in I felt very, very sleepy and next thing you know, it was all over.

Jennifer had been roped into babysitting me yesterday, and she did a great job!  In the morning, while I was nervous, her deliberate stream of chatter made me distracted.  After surgery she did a great job of keeping me hydrated, and bought me puddings to eat (yes, I am on an all dairy diet right now {ice cream, ice cream], thought hopefully today I can eat a really soft avocado/peach I have waiting).  Also she helped time my ice packs and thanks to that the swelling today is not so much.  I owe you a big one, Jennifer!!

The only drugs I am on are Lodine (sort of like taking 8 advil at once) and a anti biotic.  Though I woke up early this morning in extreme pain, its not un livable and the workaholic in me will go to work.  My mom and Chris both told me the surgery was not a big deal so I made all these plans for work this week.   Maybe dumb, but we’ll see.

Thanks to everyone for your kind thoughts and words. It did the trick and here is hoping for a speedy recover AND the ability to eat lobster this weekend in Maine!!

Welcome, Olive July 20, 2009

Well, first of all my niece was born this weekend.  I have one niece already, the amazing Haley,  from Chris’s side, but this was the first “Browning” offspring. Her name is Olive and she is a real cutie!

Olive was due July 12, but I went and had a chat with her (yes, I spoke directly to Laura’s  [my sister in law's] belly) and asked if she could just wait until after my work trip to Bald Head Island, which was July 12-17.  Very nice of Olive to oblige. Don’t think Laura was too thrilled though, she was getting really uncomfortable!

Friday night Laura went into labor and off to the hospital she went!  I was deep asleep and missed my brother’s 11:30 call telling me that the epidural had been given, but when the phone rang at 4am I heard it.

Olivia Marie Browning

Next thing you know, I am getting all teary eyed on the phone and then I go to the hospital where I cried tears of joy all over my brother, Laura, Olive, and Carter’s in laws.  I don’t think anyone minded.

Olive has thick curly dark hair, which maybe came from the Brownings or her Italian heritage, but she looks cute in that infant way of  looking  like an old man.

Olivia, I look forward to watching you grow up!  Welcome to the world.

Joys of summer July 9, 2009

A few things that are good about this July, and the month of July in general:

-This weekend the free live show in downtown Raleigh is Joan Jett

-I am going to a Durham Bulls game. I want a Q Dog!  For those of you uninitiated, a Q dog is a foot long hot dog topped with nc barbeque.

-Last weekend we went to the mountains and it was so nice, we rented bikes and biked through the Smokies and on the way back I was all hot and sweaty so I jumped in a creek.

-I ended up buying a lovely new mountain bike which is so fancy but best of all fits me.

-Ribs and beer.

-Eating outside.

-Next week I am going to Bald Head Island for work!

-Riding the bike trails at Lake Crabtree.

-Freezing in my office and then walking outside and thawing out.

-My niece is going to be born any day now.

Making of a Hockey Fan April 5, 2009

My husband got tickets to game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals the year the Carolina Hurricanes won, and that caused his somewhat latent love of hockey to come out into its own.  This season, he and his pal Joe got a 12 pack of tickets.  Well, thanks to Joe’s dad, who is an every game, season ticket holder, Joe and Chris frequently have extra tickets (the how and why of this has been explained to me, but its complicated).  Consequently,  I have been to a lot of Hurricanes Games this winter.  More than I ever have before, total, in my life.  We spent my birthday, Christmas and New Years with the ‘Canes.  It looks like we are on track to spend Easter with them too.

Here is the thing.  At first, I liked the games for the spectacle of it; lights, fan games, Dancing Granny, etc.  And the company I was with, of course.  Then I got captivated by the game.  Its so exciting!  Reminds me of Roller Derby:  those guys go hard, without a break, for the whole game.  You know how sometimes you see chubby baseball players?  You would never have a chubby hockey player. The play is so fast, action packed, and some of those shots are amazing.   I have really fallen in love with hockey.

I don’t really want to go into the whole reason of what really makes the ‘Canes special, because there are many many great blogs that do that well.  But after spending this season with the team I can truly say that I am  a fan. For example:  last night we went to a dinner party, and I was horrified by the fact that basketball was on instead of the very important Hurricanes/Penguins Game.

Which the Hurricanes won, and clinched a playoffs berth. Yay!

A word on holiday overindulgence December 29, 2008

A conversation I had with a coworker about eating salad for lunch today, after 5 days of eating everything in sight:

Me: “but if we eat salad for lunch, that is going to ruin the 2 million calories a day diet I have been on!”

Lisa: “I have to go.  I haven’t eaten in like, 5 minutes”.

Whats my beef? December 26, 2008

I think I may have already mentioned that this fall/winter Chris and I are doing a CSA (community supported agriculture) which means that every week we get a big box of organic veggies from Coon Rock Farm.  Lucky for us, this farm also produces free range grass fed meats of all varieties: beef, pork, goat, lamb, duck, etc.  The meat is truly fantasic, and we have enjoyed everything we have tried.

As anyone who glances at this blog knows, I love to cook.  However, much to Chris’ dismay, I am intimidated by large cuts of beef.  They are expensive, for one, big, and, well, meaty.  When my folks were here, I managed to totally overcook a roast that a bought from the farm, and though it was still edible I was still disappointed.  The internet let me down: for the particular cut I had gotten (eye of round) I read everything from:  must be braised to be tasty to roast it normally and all in between.  It didn’t help that I got a relatively obscure cut of meat.

So, I think over the next few months I will get in touch with my meaty side and try and get some other cuts that are more common and perhaps easier to find information on and give it a try.  My goal is to turn out as good a standing rib roast as my father in law made for Christmas dinner.  If you have any comments or suggestions, please let me know!

Off to roast a safe chicken!

Fall Garden Update October 19, 2008

I really like fall.  I love the changing colors and the cooler weather, and of course the state fair (which is going on right now, and I plan to attend on Thursday!).   Fall is also the season for planting perennials and trees and shrubs so I have been very busy.  I bought a bunch of neat native perennials from the NC Botanical Garden annual plant sale including:  Spreading Jacob’s Ladder, White wood Aster, King Solomon’s Seal (I already have one of these but its very small and needs company), and Pink Turtle head.

I am particularly excited because the west side of our house has been chronically overrun by an invasive called Periwinkle.  Pretty, but bossy!  Despite my best attempts to clean it up the fact that our neighbor had it everywhere in his yard made my annual periwinkle pullings totally moot. This summer our neighbor got all fancy and hired someone who cleaned all his periwinkle up, and I pulled mine up a month ago and so now there is not much left at all.  So now I have a whole new side of the house to landscape.  OK, I guess what I do is not really landscaping but more like: I put plants in and then stress over them, occasionally water them, and act neurotic until they bloom and then subsequently neglect them.

Of course, I also love fall food, and it goes without saying that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, but there will be posts on that, I am sure,  later.

Mixed Feelings About Coffeehouses October 9, 2008

I have issues.  With coffeehouses.  I used to love them as a place to get a beverage after work/in the evening/on a weekend with a pal instead of going to a bar (I know, I know, but seriously, I don’t want beer all the time!  Just almost all the time) anyway, I don’t love them quite as much anymore.  I have noticed in the last couple of years that if I attempt to go to a coffeehouse to do something social, its impossible! The place is packed with folks on laptops and headphones “working”.  As a result, its very, very quiet and usually there is nowhere to sit.   In addition you quickly find that your party is the only one talking, and there are enough quick glances over the top of laptops to know that many people are listening to your conversation.  This is really uncomfortable!  Last year, my parents came to visit, and we went to a favorite local hangout on a Saturday afternoon, and it was stone cold silent in that shop.  And packed!  We couldn’t go outside because it was raining, and we had to endure the stares as we chatted uncomfortably.  Squeezed around a table for two.

I am not sure how to rectify this situation.  I also do not know enough about coffee shop business to know if these all day worker folks are the bread a butter of the business or what.  Perhaps they want them there.  Maybe we can have a social night?  Or an after work coffee happy hour where the folks with laptops have stop “working” and talk?  Or at least we could have the weekends for hanging out?

This post was not written on a laptop at a coffeeshop, by the way.

A now, a word about our backyard July 27, 2008

We used to have a lovely, deep, in ground pool.  In the winter, it looked like this.  Then we got rid of it which was a lot of work for us and took 2 years.  But it came together, see here, here, and here.   In the meantime, I discovered gardening.  Which is sort of funny…for years people would show me around their gardens and I always thought “eh”.  Then, all of a sudden, I got hooked.  I think it was due in part to my boss, a plant geek, because as we traveled around the state he was always pointing out nifty plants, and that got me interested.  Additionally, one nice thing about working where I do is that I am surrounded by native plant experts who are always wanting to share either plants on information about them.

Fast forward, and the back yard looks pretty good (I need to go get a photo).  Last year we had quite a drought, which was unfortunate for many reasons, one of which being that had I bought all sorts of plants with some wedding money last May and then many of them did not survive.  I learned the hard way that in NC its best to plant in the fall! Some things hung on, and combined with things already in there it looks pretty good. Currently blooming:  Black and Blue Salvia,  Swamp Hibiscus,  some variety of Black-eyed Susan, Joe-Pye Weed, and New York Ironweed.

I really prefer using native plants, for one they are adapted to the soil and the climate.  Secondly, they tend to be very useful to bees, butterflies and birds.  Yesterday a Ruby-throated Hummingbird came to the salvia while Chris and I were standing there!  I recently read an article in Audubon Magazine about native bees so I am on a kick to make some bee houses.  (We have bird houses already, of course)!  I have tried veggies….last summer my sister in law and I grew vegetables together at her house (she has an all-sun yard) but the drought did a number on them, plus it turned out to be a lot of work.  Not necessary when we have so many farmer’s markets in the area!  Annuals don’t do much for me; I think its too much work.  Perennials, however, I do love.  And vines.  In fact, I think I may have a vine problem!  Thank goodness we have so much chain link fence left over from the pool days.  The vines can climb around all they need.

I already have a list together of plants to buy this fall, now that the backyard is doing well I am focusing my attention on the front yard, which is a weedy mess.  I have a few things in there, but the soil is just so crappy!  I hope to glean from my coworkers a list of NC natives that LOVE red clay.  I can hardly wait for the fall plant sales.  Chris, you better lock up our credit cards!!

Final Swamp Dispatch July 21, 2008

Well, its done. Field season is over!  Now I get to work in the office and resume the daily game of trying to find a parking space in Raleigh.  I just lost the space I have been using for the last year, and I haven’t gotten my new bus pass yet.

Not much to say about the swamp last week:  we had lovely weather,  extremely pretty full moon nights, and our boss took us out for a fancy dinner, even.  The bird work was dull (currently our birds are just chilling out, eating and feeding babies before migration) and we spent a lot of time packing gear.  Moving day, and just in time.  I really thought parts of our trailer floor was going to give way from rot at any moment. It sagged like a hammock!

This weekend was a big celebration, a rowdy night of drinking on Friday at Landmark with a lot of pals (thanks, ya’ll for coming!) and Saturday a nice dinner at J. Betskis with Carter and Chris.   It is good to be back.  I really like August because for me its a nice break between the chaos of constant field season travel and the chaos of the school year routine of managing interns, part timers, and students.   August for me is a time to get ready for big fall projects (and I have a lot this year, thanks to the meetings in Oklahoma this spring) and reflect on what I want to accomplish at the museum.   Also on the agenda is cleaning my office, which (and this comes as no surprise to those of you who have seen my house or car) looks like a tornado went through it.

There are also a lot of really fun things to do in Raleigh this summer, and I haven’t gotten to take advantage of most of them yet.  Outdoor movies at the art museum, the Raleigh paddle trail, doing lots of mountain biking which is my new favorite thing, and going to a Bulls or Railhawks game.  Plus, cooking in my own kitchen!  Its going to be a great month.  Y’all should come visit!