Hey, Suzanne…..hope you are getting settled in comfortably. And it’s now summer. I’ll be anticipating an occasional dive…. for old time’s sake.

hey dearie — how ya doing tonight? iirc i did one (albeit a regular one) either fri or sat nite…. thank goodness for the elevator to the top of the dive tower :)

Sorry I missed that. I’ve been spending time with my dad. I’m pretty impressed that he’s wonderfully amusing and sharp as a tack at 94+. I feel so lucky to have this time with him…..and he feels so lucky to have the company of his kids, one of his granddaughters and two of his great-grandkids. Special times, for sure. But we’re all enduring June Gloom down here on the south central coast. Maybe a half-hour of sun in the afternoons.

Aloha, Suz and lln pups…! Ya dreaming about dancing again, Suz…? ;-)

today was a wonderfully sunny day after days of june gloom. supposed to be nice tomorrow but then the grey clouds return.

aloha tut — how’s paradise tonight? yea-ffirm dood — i guess it’s pretty obvious *laughing*

Hi, CT. How is Paradise tonight…..or is it only afternoon for you?

Neat, Fiona Apple’s got new music out.

Les Ballet Trocadero de Monte Carlo, men dancing women’s roles in Swan Lake. I knew someone who traveled with the troupe & did logistics and other arrangements for them

Great collection of classics in your clip Suzanne.

Good evening everyone.

hey hannibal — how ya doing tonight?

Suz dreaming of dancing is such a good sign!

My dad had a bit of a fall and had some pain in his knee…..we were off to the doctor this morning. All is well. Stopped at In-N-Out for burgers on the way back to his place. Amazing how a truly delicious burger can lift one’s spirits!

hey ecahn — how hot did it get today? how forking kewl!!!

glad ya liked it :)

If it’s any consolation for your june gloom, Dearie, it’s been soggy all day here…! ;-)

oh no! so glad to hear he is ok *whew* in-and-out burgers can make a bad day better for sure. i miss having a double double animal style with grilled onions

Low 90s. Hotter tomorrow (um, today), then a break. Stayed inside & read & was on the toobz more than normal today. Still comfortable inside house.

Hey, eCAHN! I’m doing some major rehab of my front yard — the dreaded thrip took out my lovely tree. I went on a wonderful adventure with my gardener…. to wholesale nurseries out in the country to pick new stuff to replace my old stuff. I’m going to get an olive (non-fruit bearing) tree and a small lemon tree and some lavenders and stuff. Lots of fun. I wanted bee friendly/hummingbird friendly stuff…and we found lots of that.

got up to 78 today. bright blue sky with hardly a cloud in site for a good part of the day and then got some more clouds but nothing like the gray blanket we had overhead. weather dood said portland got into the 80′s today

And also, too, thanks again, eCAHN, for sharing your bee-girls with us. Such an inspiration. I enjoy all of your reports.

Brother Paul…

Suz !

We hit 109 Tuesday and Wed, same for Thursday …

No complaints from me though, I like it Hot Hot Hot

hey thatguy — how ya doing tonight?

petro! omg that’s arizona hot *shaking head*

got anything cool for a warm summer night?

I was once at UAZ in Tucson when rows of olive trees were dropping their fruit. Messy black goop all over sidewalks. They must have to power wash the sidewalks after all the fruit had dropped. I didn’t check out vulnerability of cars in parking lots. Hopefully other trees planted there.I’m normally not in favor of cultivars where natural stuff is bred out, but if you’ve got limited space, I’d make an exception for olive trees.

One regret is that my climate is not warm enough for citrus. I’d love to have a lemon tree.

That sounds like fine weather!

OK. had to buy a new exercise bike, I BROKE the one I had. It was old and I found a good one on Craigslist for $150.

Oh, eat your heart out. We’re seeing Paul in the usual place, Rancho Nicasio in Marin, but he’s also playing two days at a music fest 10 miles from the cabin in MI, in september, so we’re going to see him there, and have a couple of the guys stay the night at the cabin. Maybe do a cookout, too.

the grey skies make me appreciate those warm sunny days even more than i did when i was in ca ecahn. supposed to cool down for the weekend and here is more ‘liquid sunshine’ on the way but… ya can tell that summer is on its way – it usually doesn’t arrive until early july and then it can get really hot. am hoping st helens doesn’t get as hot as pdx can

holy moly that’s forking great news! wow, twice! and near the cabin *snoopy one legged happy dance* that’s wonderful news dood

Whipping up a batch of Jumbo Strawberry Margaritas … sending you the first one STAT !

I actually went to school at UA…and I do remember the mess of the olives. My tree will be just for fun. The lemon, on the other hand, will be encouraged to produce enthusiastically! I’d been thinking of going tropical, but when I saw the olive tree, I was enchanted. Reminded me of Italy and the seller says it will do just fine at the beach.

extra whipped cream on mine please

comin’ right atcha …

summer has arrived… thanks petro

Hi Petro,

Hope all is well.

I make faux margaritas: can of frozen limeade, can of water, can of Souza tequila, dollop of Grand Marnia. Double recipe makes 3 quarts. Pour ‘em into Mason jars & stick ‘em in the freezer. Serve slush over ice cubes, otherwise they are too strong and don’t stay cold long enough. Always ready for company (had one earlier but that’s my limit for the day bc I’m not a sweet fan), and takes about 10 minutes to make.

Heh. It’s interesting when those mental pictures come back after so many years.

eCAHN !

Sounds great, I’ll be saving this recipe !

doesn’t sound faux to me — sounds yummy!

Hmmm. I think you can buy frozen strawberryade. Should check that out & see how it works.

Great recipe…..’cept it reminds me of playing bridge with friends while drinking strawberry daiquiris out in the sun………ouch, head hurts…. what was I thinking? I was maybe 26 and I got over it…..don’t think I could get over that now!

OH, my BG before dinner was 125 and after dinner it was 123. I’m getting there with the diet. It’s going to take a little while but it’s already measurably better. I don’t much care for stabbing my fingers.

iir my mom eventually found a meter where she doesn’t have to stab her fingers — she h-a-t-e-d having sore fingers and that helped motivate her to make the diet changes and exercise to keep her pre-diabetes pre

Dayam, Phil Giraldi, penned another awesome post…

Terrorism Arithmetic

…I don’t suppose statistical analysis of an official government report really means anything as President Barack Obama is expanding his little wars and presidential aspirant Mitt Romney appears to be intent on turning the little conflicts into much bigger ones. When Osama bin Laden announced his intention of breaking the United States economically by enticing it to overreact to terror attacks, he surely knew a good thing when he saw it. More to the point, he might even have understood that politics as usual in the United States would mean that the two parties would try to outdo each other in being tough about the terrorist threat. That is precisely what has occurred. Breaking the pattern does not appear to be in the national DNA, even though continuing to do as we have been doing is a recipe for ruin. The ultimate irony in U.S. politics is that fearmongering always appears to be a good card to play for a politician even when the numbers and analysis say otherwise. It seems safe to say that neither an Obama nor a Romney will do anything to disrupt that pattern.

*gah*

Faux bc it doesn’t use real lime juice.

I’ve become a 70%er in natural foods (meaning I prolly eat local organic about 70% of the time), so feel obliged to ‘splain when I start with mfg ingredients.

Switched to raw milk a month or two ago. Met the cow-girls. Once when picking it up, there was a calf born the prior night. Soooo sweet, esp the eyelashes.

I try to stay in shade while imbibing. Sun & alcohol definitely for extreme drinkers only.

what a cutie! i found a listing in a local paper of the when and where for the local farmer’s markets and hope to check them out soon. at jen’s, i didn’t have control over processes vs good for me food and am looking forward to being able to walk around and check them all out. gotta be able to carry the purchases and can’t do that while i’m still on crutches

Giraldi is high up on my fave list. Scott Horton interviews him frequently, which I like bc Scott knows the context so well and adds that to recent developments.

Yep, Overton window for sure. Anything my predecessor can do, I can do worser.

Are you able to get help with groceries and shopping now, Suz…?

I think it’s illegal to sell raw milk in NYS, or some such thing. Guessing local officials look the other way if farmer keeps it under the radar.

Have to laugh! Yes, I think that back in the day we were extreme drinkers, but I think the strawberry daiquiris cured me of that. I wasn’t much of a bridge player anyway, so I also learned to stay away from the bridge table. :)

am doing it solo — i put the crutches in the grocery cart and use the cart for support. i only get what i immediately need and try to keep it no more than 4 bags at a time. i’ve figured out that there is lotsa help at the store — its when i get home that i run into trouble. 4 bags i can get, one at a time, from the driveway into the house but then i gotta take a short rest and elevate my leg before i put the groceries away.

For those of you who can get to local farmers markets, look for Padron peppers — just coming in out here on the west coast. Small peppers that look like they would like to become pepperoncini. Saute them in olive oil and lightly salt…..then just gobble them down.

not sure what the farmer’s markets here will be carrying. i’m sure it will be different than the tillamook fm was

My fave bridge story (think I haven’t played in the 4 decades since then).

Were at another couple’s house for bridge & dinner. She got a phone call and I casually, in full view of 2 guys, arranged a spade every 4th card (was my shuffle & deal). When she came back, she cut the deck & I dealt. As she picked up her hand her eyes got bigger & bigger. I let the bidding go thru but then couldn’t keep the secret any longer. She was so disappointed.

hahahahaha how long before she talked to ya after that?

Took the prank in the spirit in which I offered it. Though she prolly still regrets that only time she got 13 spades (probability 50% after cut?), it was a trick.

Well, I’m laughing. I think I would have liked bridge, but I was married to a man who was such a scold that I just couldn’t catch a break. Kicked my introvert into high gear. I like Sudoku and crosswords nowadays.

yay! she had to have been getting more and more excited as each card was dealt….

Suz, I can’t find it. I find if I wash my hands a lot, the soreness doesn’t last.

when jen had pregnancy induced blood sugar problems, her doc got her a kit that had a little black butterfly looking thing on it and she could poke the sides of her fingers instead of the pads.

Perhaps that’s why I get so annoyed by the occasional scold who comes big-footing into our lovely Lake with instructions on how we could all do so much better! Bless their hearts.

My first husband & I didn’t know a lot of bridge players, and my second husband didn’t play. I liked the game but not enough to make an effort to find people we could play with.

‘Games’ often reveal some personality flaws. My first had plenty of those, but they didn’t come out when we played bridge. The other couple we played with, the guy was also an economist (switched fields from science to economics owing to first husband), so when we got together, often, we talked econ more often than playing bridge. I felt sorry for his wife. I’m pretty sure she had a college degree, but was definitely a shrinking violet in his presence.

my second ex-husband caused me to have a similar reaction — the more someone tells me that i ‘must’ be this way or that the more determined i am to be or do the opposite. gotta stubborn streak a mile wide at times

Those folks don’t bother me.

They liven things up.

If they are too obnoxious, I just leave.

One troll, kafka, started out obnoxious, but stayed and now makes infrequent, but interesting comments.

Stubborn is my middle name.

Drove my parents nuts, though I was the perfect daughter in almost every other regard.

I’ve outgrown a lot of it. Not in the sense of not being stubborn, just by trying to evict myself from situations when it is getting in my way to no higher purpose.

Got BBC going on another window. Cyprus is about to fall owing to investments in Greece. Who coulda guessed. Who can keep track of all the shit.

Cyprus is a tax haven for Russian oligarchs. Golly gee…

i think i passed on some of my stubborn to jules — she’s got a scowl when she wants something and/or doesn’t get her way

many thanks for the fabulous dancing and music!!! a childhood friend forwarded me this today and i am happy to enjoy it again at fdl.

am starting to slide horizontal again peeps. thanks for letting me hang out with ya tonight.

g’nite all

hey carma — thanks — so glad ya liked it. welcome to late late nite

I’m the girl in a boy-girl twin set, and I recently learned that the girl in that dyad often gets dosed with testosterone quite significantly. I had to laugh. I’m tall, tom-boyish, aggressive, and such. Hey, not my fault! On the other hand, my sister is equally A. We were recently all together taking my dad on an adventure and it was a stitch….three type-A kids with a type-A dad (age 94!) and my sister’s husband (a first child.) No one could get a word in edge-wise. Crazy fun!

Heh.

Now that you point out the genetic link of stubbornness, that is prolly why it drove my parents so around the bend. Mine vs. theirs. I remember my father as being more rigid than my mother.

I’m not rigid. I change my mind when evidence shows I’m wrong (h/t Keynes).

My father never did.

Hey, happy dreams and pleasant sleep, Suzanne.

Night Suz. Rest well.

Sweet dreams, Suz…!

There was a very interesting discussion of female athletes and testosterone somewhere I listened today. South African Olympic level female sprinter. I’ll see if I can find it.

One interesting aspect of discussion was that some women have higher testosterone than some men, but it also depends on how testosterone reactive you are, i.e., much more complicate than conventional wisdom.

Personal story of female in question was all she has already gone thru. Genetic testing, nude inspections, suspensions from intl competition.

I’ll see if I can dredge up the link.

Dry hole. Wasn’t where I thought it was.

I’ve been fascinated by some of the brain studies I’ve heard about recently and also the genetic information being explored. Exciting stuff. I’ve no doubt that some women have more testosterone than some men. Just makes sense to me.

I’m fading, too. Let’s catch up, eCAHN, on the brain and genetic stuff soon.

I poke the sides…I wash my hands a lot. I think some of the soreness comes from letting it get dirty and slightly infected. So I wash a lot.

Electric Bull Mountain

What I learned, besides the overlapping distributions betw male & female concentration of testosterone, is that another factor, reactivity to it, varies widely.

Long discussion of maintaining male athletic separate from female, is to est a legal gender. There are many other gender ambiguities, such as transgender (some think Geo Wash was XXY (Kleinfelter’s syndrome, accounting for is infertility as well as his tallness).

At early stages of figuring out subtleties.

Me too.

Night all.

Sweet dreams, eCAHN, Dearie, and all…!

Hi Suzanne and all. Hope you’re all doing well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3GTxRt4iao

Dang the sun still shines and i missed all here at LLN. Well happy solstice.
It’s now the long slide towards freeze up. I am still smilin.

I’ve got a groovy thing on my mind. My wild hair idea of supporting our state ACLU and our community hall maintenance fund is turning into a good thing.
Silent Auction: ” Art and Fine Junk” is a kicker! I was panicking that no one would be interested enough to hand over their stuff, even at a 60-40 gallery sales split. Man, did I underestimate the energy ready to spring if someone says “Let’s all jump for a good cause”.!! It’s so reinvigorating to have people come together.
Here I thought the ACLU and their backing of the legalization,regulation and taxation of Marijuana would be a hot button issue for the ACLU presentation. It’s a drawing point.
I’m not sure I’m sold on 502, I think there’s some nasty shit in that bill that will cause us much remorse if we support it willy-nilly. But, I don’t know so I will listen to the conversation.
But, we have great wines and good beer acquired at 10% over cost, great bling for sale and a venue to discuss an important topic while making money for a good cause.
It takes a person willing to make a fool of themselves if they fail to do this Fundraiser/Party idea right. Unless they can pay for catering, bling and fancy invitations with implied commitment to make it work on a Social Scale.. We didn’t do that. We went for the “If you are into this…we would love to make it happen “format.
I always go for the “We’re all Bozos on this bus” idea and work my way up. I’ve got 6 [at least] buckets of discard flowers to pick up from the florists on Friday. The power of the Non-Profit Community organization.
I’m so stoked.

Suzanne, thank you for such an appropriate song!!! One of my most favorite “Life Anthems”, for lack of better term.
We’re all in this together. And we rock!
“don’t you put me on the back burner….”

peace without fear
Sweet dreams