Further Unravelling Begins

My class starts tomorrow: Unravelling Further.

The last class really upped my creativity level though that ended up
being bad for this blog which has been neglected. My emphasis has
been on learning about photography rather than working on my
writing (my first and true love). But it’s fall and fall has always been
good to me - maybe this fall will get me back to my wordly roots:

First task for UN - FURTHER is Why I like Fall:
Spring and Winter are tied for First Runner Up in the Favorite Season
Pageant for me. (Summer gets the Congeniality Prize). But Fall - Fall
makes me think that God may have experimented with LSD when s/he
was a teenager: magical light, surreal color, temperatures that
encourage mindfulness. During Fall, I am the person I would like to
be all year round: creative and happy.

365 - Moi

I recently joined a group on Flickr that is participating
in a 365 project: 365 portraits - One a day for a year.
And it turns out they are self portraits which muddies
things up a bit. I've finished one week. You can see
my 365s here.

So far I think I like this photo the best:

Ode to Joyce

Dear Mr. Joyce
I'm so dismayed
And so relieved
That you died before
I was born.
I know
you'll understand that
If I had seen your face
but once,
or heard you sing,
I would have sought you out
And charmed you
And made you love me.
Nora?
Nora who?
You would have said
And off we'd go
On the boat
And the train
To Zurich,
While Nora
Emptied bedpans
Changed sheets
And flirted with-
Slept with
Other men.
We,
You and I,
Would have been
Perfect for each other.
I would have
Calmed your fears,
Assuaged your insecurities,
Fulfilled your desires,
So much so
That all your pain
And doubts and torment
And regrets
Would have faded away.
And you would have felt
No need or desire
To write Ulysses
So you can see,
James-
Dear,
Why I am relieved
And sad
We never met.
Love,

Kelly

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Saturday we head to Boise for the summer.
Lots to do to prepare including getting the
house here in some sort of order for when
my son and his sweetheart come here in
July.

Too busy to blog much, but I did get my
assignment done for my unravelling class:
This week we have to photograph our faces.

Here's mine:

Hasselback Potato

I found this photo (and others) at Sea Salt With
Food, a very cool blog about food.
















It's basically a fancy take on a baked potato with
the following ingredients:

6 Medium Size Potatoes
2 - 3 Cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
30 g Butter
Maldon Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Click here for more info.

Hectic Week

This week we are packing the whole office
and it is NOT pleasant. It's rushed and
chaotic. Haven't had a lot of time to do
posts or photos so instead here is a photo
of my feet, one I took for my Unravelling
class.

Not A Cottage

I frequently peruse the Boise Craig's list
in anticipation of my relocation there and
have noticed that many people will call a
house a cottage when the house has no
attributes of a cottage. Here's one I found
this week that is NOT A COTTAGE:
















This is a GARAGE and is nothing like a
cottage. Here is a real cottage:









And here are some modern variations on
that no one would take offense to being
labeled "cottage" on craig's list:

Three More Weeks

About three more weeks till we head to Boise
for the summer. My office is relocating there.
It's a stressful time at work but I'm looking
forward to exploring a new town.

Whitman College

Visited the Whitman College campus on Thursday
while in Walla Walla. My co-worker says it is the
Amherst of the West and that his son thought about
going there but opted for a closer to home campus.
It's a gorgeous place, especially this time of year
but if you go to their website you'd never know it.
I wonder why they don't have many photos that show
how pretty the campus is?

Purple Hills of Pomeroy

Tomorrow I am on the road for work and
headed back to Eastern, Washington. In
the spring, from Pomeroy to Waitsburg
the hills turn purple with a specific type
of wildflower.

Spring has come late this year, so I'm not
sure if the wildflowers will have bloomed
yet, but if they have, it will look something
like this:

Uppers, anyone?

Mondays are always tough but this Monday
was exhausting. Perhaps I need a little
pick me up . . . like this woman:























This photo is from a 1956 ad for Dexidrine.
Part of it reads "why is this woman tired ?
. . . . She may be tired for either of two
reasons: because she is mentally "done
in." Many of your patients -- particularly
housewives -- are crushed under a load of
dull, routine duties that leave them in a
state of mental and emotional fatigue. For
these patients, you may find 'Dexedrine'
an ideal prescription. 'Dexedrine' will give
them a feeling of energy and well-being,"

Wow. Think I'll pass.

Saturday in the Park

I try to get to the park a couple of times
a week with the dogs but inclement
weather (it snowed most recently last
Monday - APRIL 27!) has really put a
dent in our outings. Yesterday however
was shiny and bright and perfect for ball
throwing.

Downtown Walla Walla

Spent a little time in downtown Walla Walla
yesterday (while there for work). They have
a very nice Main St, shops, restaurants, a
great bookstore and numerous wine tasteries.
There is also a nice old clock - perfectly
restored:












Here's a shot of the same clock in APril, 1931
when Walla Walla was having flood problems.

VERTIGO !

Today I found out I have positional vertigo, most
likely brought on by Labryinthitis. (Which is cool
but strange, given my proclivity to labyrinths.
I feel like a mythological being now.)

PV makes one feel like they just got off the Tilt-A-
Whirl. It isn’t a continual feeling, but a frequent
one, i.e. everytime I move my head I feel the Tilt-A-
Whirl feeling. Mix that with frequent queasiness and
a severe lack of balance that makes me look like Ray
Milland in The Lost Weekend and that pretty much
describes my last two days. The doc gave me some
strange exercises to do that should have this cleared
up within a week.. Fingers crossed.

Macy's Day Parade

My daughter is going to NY in November to
play saxophone in the US High School
marching band at the Macy's Day Parade.
SHould be a lot of fun for her. Her's a photo
of her with her other instrument:

Last Elixir Post

Last month while in Boise, scoping out the town,
I got my hair cut at an Aveda salon and got a
new take on the mysterious demise of Aveda Elixir.
(old posts about Elixir can be found here, here and
here. )

When I asked the girl cutting my hair “Whatever
happened to Elixir?” in my best investigator-like
nonchalant voice, used to throw off witnesses when
I am trying to get at important information, she
answered:

“Oh I think that was because it was found to contain
cancer causing ingredients. That happens sometimes
at our staff meetings. They’ll tell us this or that is being
discontinued because they have just found out one
of the ingredients causes cancer ...”

That would certainly explain why they have a hush-hush
attitude towards the whole thing.

A Busy Four Months

Have I mentioned work is insane right now?
In addition to scary looming deadlines, the
office is preparing to relocate to Boise. I will
be relocating for the summer to Boise before
making the permanent switch in June 2010.
I'm hoping I can deal with the heat.















I have also signed up for Susannah Conway's
Unravelling course as a way to make certain
I have time for something other than work.
I don't know if the class is full or not but
you can probably find out here.

Recent trip to Monterey

I recently went to Monterey for the annual CACJ Death
Penalty Conference. Here's a few photos of my
lovely room w/ balcony (@Monterey Marriot) and
the nearby wharf area. Perfect weather while I was
there - cloudy + sunny.

My Summer Home

Its been a rough couple of months with extended hours
at work, a looming deadline, and an upcoming office
relocation to a new town. I'm moving to the new town
too, though just for the summer, and trying to get it
all arranged - a furnished place, what to do with the
doggies, coordinating it all with Delaney's summer plans
- has been chaos.

But some good news at last : I've found a summer pad.
It's very cute, shady, has wood floors, is close enough to walk
to work and Nosey is welcome. NOw I just need to figure
out Seamus arrangements.

Here's the house (Miles, the cute dog, not included) :

National Tartan Day

Monday, April 6 is National Tartan Day, the national
holiday for all Scottish Americans. Though the
majority of my ancestors are Irish, I was pleased to
discover the existence of a GGGGG-Grandfather
named Thomas Lockett, born in Lanark, Scotland.
Lockett is a name which many to believe to be a
form of Lockhart, perhaps mangled into Lockett
upon coming to the US.

In 1683 Thomas Lockett bought land from Priscilla
Farrar. This land was described as "on Appomattox
River between the Spring and Deep Bottom" in Virginia.
Thomas named his land "Scotland Hills" and left it to
his oldest son, Benjamin Lockett, in his will.

Below is the tartan of Clan Lockart. You can look up
the tartan for your clan here.

Deadline

An important deadline is looming re an Atkins claim
that is taking all my time at work and home. Hope to
return to leisurely posting soon. . . .