Saturnalia Cactus

Many modern holiday cactus cultivars are hybrids between Schlumbergera truncata and S. russelliana, first bred about 150 years ago in England. Ours is well over 100 years old and bloomed on Saturnalia this year.

Another Bear Raid

I just love living in an area where the damage done to my property is from wildlife. I much prefer it to the idea of druggies wandering through my yard.

I woke to a bag of garbage from who knows where being left near the edge of my yard and the field. It was someone's garbage who eats more expensive name brand food items. I think it may have been a neighbor's. Why shoot a photo of that, yuck. It was not too bad to clean up though.

The metal can of peanuts had been tipped over and the lid wedged off. The bungee was still holding it onto the can so I know it took a lot of effort. Must be a bear again! It was raining a bit when I found it. There were still plenty of peanuts dry in the can so I put it back right away. All I have a photo of are the peanuts that are left and the crunched up shells left behind from the raid.

Black Swan

Ravenboy had caught wind of a casting call that was held yesterday for Darren Aronofsky's upcoming movie, Black Swan. His one coworker is to be Natalie Portman's body double in the dance scenes and he has worked closely with the choreographer, Ben Millipied.

From what he could tell, it was pretty much just a formality to show up and show his interest in being cast. It's a given that anyone with his resumé can dance so what he figured was it was pretty much a decision based on if he fit the type. He was encouraged that they might be casting his type since an earlier casting call had turned down some of the taller male dancers he worked with. He was surprised when a few days prior, he was told to show up in dance clothes and be prepared to dance. Ravenboy was excited to perhaps have a chance to meet the writer and director, Aronofsky because he has a lot of respect for his other films like The Fountain, Requiem for a Dream, Pi.

He and another male coworker showed up a little early to warm up and what they found was a surreal scene. They were to show up in the garment district and found that they were directed to a ballroom. On there way to it there were literally hundreds of other dancers. Ravenboy recognized dancers from when he was as young as 10 years old from his school here in town, guys he met at summer dance camps on the west coast, from the two years he trained at School of American Ballet and Tim Lacetena who had the great dancing role of "Andrew" in Step Up. He had met Tim on the west coast in a summer camp years ago too. The were all smack in the middle of a real live cattle call! When he told us about it all, we agreed it sounded like a scene out of a cool movie called The Game.

They were pretty amused at it all and although his name was on a list of dancers they expected he was still asked to fill out an application (they had run out and he was handed a blank sheet of paper) and to pin a number to his chest. He and his coworker were good sports about it, said "hey" to the people they recognized and got ready to proceed to audition for the first time in years. He says he got the general feeling that they were all a little nervous to see him there.

He was cool enough to share a couple of photos they took for this blog. Apparently he was #310 and after the last group of women were finished auditioning they called in the first group of men that included he and his coworker. He nodded to Milipied as he came into the ballroom and took off his warm ups in preparation to dance. He saw Aronofsky and he was excited to dance for him.

I think it was about that time he said that he overheard Millipied tell someone that he didn't need to see #310 & #312 dance because they were, "...already in his troupe." They were asked to leave and confirmed that they didn't even need to stay for any dancing later. Ravenboy's coworker joked they they should have acted like they were crying as they left.

They were both a little disappointed not to dance at all. Less than 15 minutes after they time they were told to be present, they were calling Natalie Portman's dance double to say they were done and ready to go. I think it's the fastest he has ever been let go from an audition and it wasn't because he was being rejected. A funny story indeed and I look forward to hearing what his filming schedule is like.

Miles Helps Out

He is all about lending a paw with any tool.

The Reception

No garters thrown, one random nosegay toss and a cake with a Steampunk flare made this reception a unique and memorable one.

Held in the upstairs dining area of The Waterfront Tavern along the choppy wind blown waters of Lewistown's Juniata River, guests arrived at 1PM. Light appetizers were the menu with the thought that the day after Thanksgiving might be best suited to nibbling rather than a sit down meal served in a static fashion.

I owe my dear sis'er, Tracdc, and her hubzband, Satan, a huge debt of gratitude for putting some final beautiful touches on the day. Tracdc did all of the amazing silk floral decorations, including the ones on the two tiered dark chocolate fondant cake. Satan took photos of every moment and captured the day in images. Thanks to them I can know look back and see moments of the day I missed.

The upper floor of The Waterfront Tavern was just the right size for our party. They said it was suitable for 45 but the 30 folks that came made it just right. I think 45 would have been too many. We broke apart the banquet type seating into groups of tables. This made it much more inviting to move around some.

It was great to see everyone come and share their love with the newly weds. There were people we hadn't seen in years and we all got along fine. The couple of hours of visiting and nibbling with a cd of a piano jazz trio led up to the toast and cake cutting. We then switched to a digitally remastered cd of an old family favorite winter holiday album of music.

The cake was made by Nicole who works out of the Original Italian Pizza in downtown Lewistown. The chocolate fondant hid layers of vanilla cake and butter cream frosting that were flavored and textured just right. Not too sweet nor too rich, one big slice of this cake went down very nicely even the day after Thanksgiving.

The couple did NOT smash cake into each others' faces, it had been agreed in advance. It did keep the groom from wiping a delicate little smudge of frosting onto his wife's nose. The effect was absolutely charming. I didn't get to see the cake sharing but these photos from Satan and Toolman Luke let me enjoy what I missed from across the room.

Important people that made this event possible include Maga11 and Toolman Luke. The provided emotional, physical and financial support. Their last duties included picking up the cake and driving the newly weds to the reception. This allowed me to focus on setting up and final coordinating with the folks at the Waterfront. Thank you for being more than just happy grandparents on the exciting day.

A shout out of love goes to my hubby RGBisMe for petting my back and listening to me every time I irrationally started to worry about things that were out of my control during the weeks leading up to the big date(s). Standing by my side, we were able to create a perfect little party to the two most important people in our lives.

Ravenboy & Asrai were great sports, graciously social and glowing with real happiness all week during our time with them. I miss them both very much and wish them some peace now that the big day is over. I can't wait until we see them over the winter holidays.

Found Ampersands

RGBisMe and I are hosting a new blog called Found Ampersands. It will highlight ampersands we find on our travels. We will share photos, list where they were found and do our best to identify what font they are.

Found Ampersands is for entertainment purposes only. This also goes for our other blogs. We wouldn't want to misrepresent our blogs as educational resources so don't be surfing them from your workplace if it's taboo.

Morning in the City

Some photos from Monday morning as we wandered around New York City.The new Apple Store Upper West Side is a temple...

...at which RGBisMe worships.

A break in Central Park.

Strawberry Fields.

Imagine.

Flash Mob Wedding!

November 22, 2009 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We are to meet in Astor Court at 11:11 AM and the ceromy should be completed at 11:22 AM.

Groom and Bride bought the group rate and handed out passes before we casually made our way to Astor Court.

We trickle into Astor Court from different angles.

The ceremony begins.

Note the guard in the back. He was more concerned that no flash photography was being used. We were all very careful to keep our flashes off.

Vows and rings quietly and reverently exchanged.

A quick but emotional kiss.

We retired to another room for the witnesses to sign the papers and for some group photos.

A successful flash mob wedding! Congratulations Arron & Amy!!

More Faerie Doors

I have made some more faerie doors. I will post the photos when I can because many have been made as gifts and I don't want to spoil the surprise.



This one has not only a marble arch but sand stone bricks and mortar. The keystone even has a possum imprint on it. It is a bit much but looks good from a distance. The metal represented is a copper, much more faerie friendly than iron. I know it's all clay but I wanted to try a different metal look. The flowers are more of a glittery myrtle that is on a climbing vine and the centers glow in the dark.


Two with wrought iron and red bricks. The one one the left was my first attempt at mortar and the one on the right was my first super mini.

This one has granite and no flowers, just vines.

A Wedding at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

What a cool idea!! ;) Check it out here. Now if I could just "Jib Jab" our family's faces onto theirs, I could share what it might be like on Sunday!

Gender Bias

When I experience perceived gender bias in conversations my first reaction is that I must have misunderstood the intent of the speaker. I do try to get clarification if I can. When I hold a speaker accountable for the gender bias, the most frequent response I have gotten has been, "Oh, I'm just kidding." I have also been ignored after standing firm on the issue of fair treatment by pointing out the bias. Forgive me if I do not have limitless time and energy to waste on people whose brick wall and righteous attitudes are that women are to be inherently mistrusted and put down.

I found a great set of exercises for those of us who think we are pretty well boned up on the issue. Although gender bias is a serious topic with professionally damaging consequences, WorkLife Law’s gender bias training website offers a zany, brainy approach that allows you to learn what you need to know, share your experiences, and have fun in the process.

Giving Thanks

“When we are grateful for the good we already have, we attract more good into our life. On the other hand, when we are ungrateful, we tend to shut ourselves off from the good we might otherwise experience.” - Margaret Stortz

Ravenboy in China

At the Great Wall.
Second to last row, five in from the right (standing above Kevin McKenzie).

Early November Vignettes

This will be mostly photos since I don't have a lot of time to spare and it hurts my back to sit at the computer for too long.

I just love living where a hot air balloon will just skim by my roof and off into the field. This morning a crow sat on a craggy old branch of a dead tree in our yard and called, "Hello, hello" to me until I went out and took it some peanuts. No, really, it said "hello." It is who we call the Hello Crow, someone must have taught it to speak and it has been around for years. Fortunate happenings like that are plentiful here.

Just a couple of hours drive can take us into some of the most beautiful and remote parts of the state. Leave your cell phones behind but get ready to enjoy the opportunity to see so many starts in the night sky that you have a hard time picking out the main constellations.

I don't live in the city thus have not taken on the useless habit of venting at the traffic that gets in our way as RGBisMe drives. He is pretty zen about it too come to think of it. This attitude helps when we have to travel in and out of New York City to visit Asrai and Ravenboy. We leave a little extra time and thermostats stay cool in the car and in our personal core. Why fret? We will get there.

On the topic of dearest Asrai and Ravenboy I feel I may share the news of their upcoming wedding. Many will be shocked and feel the event in a couple of weeks has been a quick decision. I can assure everyone that their friendship that started many years ago when they met in Chicago and has blossomed into the most beautiful partnership. Well over a year ago, they started planning their wedding. They are very private individuals and have only shared the information with just their closest friends and family recently. Our next trip into NYC will be for that joyous occasion and we will return with them for a local reception for family that was unable to make the trip.

As we have been personally planning the local festivities it has been a very exciting and busy time. RGBisMe and I have happily been putting our heads together over supper in the evenings putting our special touches on anything we can help with and trying not to overstep our bounds. The wedding announcements were just sent out, the caterer is set with the menu, the baker has the cake specifications and the venue is booked.

A lot of the hustle and bustle of planning finally let up a bit after beginning of the month. I foresaw the upcoming little window of rest so earlier in October we accepted a generous invitation to camp with Jbzfarm! This past weekend was the date and we had such a good time catching up with them.

No iPod was needed to listen to, we sang tv show tunes. No computer was needed to surf the Internet, we filled our evening with lively chatter. No stars on tv to gawk at and poke fun at, we enjoyed star gazing in the Perry County skies. Not a chance of boredom, we enjoyed multiple board games, traded stamp carving secrets and sipped secret stuff from Sevoflorane bottles. All of that was our DOWN TIME at night!

Days were filled with local trails and tales. We walked to a pond which it is rumored will be dredged for a 15 year old cold case that is being reopened. A woman had disappeared nearby. We hiked to check on a couple of lonely letterboxes. The long standing Old Growth boxes were in fine shape and the hitch hikers that had been long waiting with their thumbs outstretched were finally moved on. We visited the ghost town of Pandemonium and another cemetery of local forestry folks.

We didn't even make a dent in all the trails that this area of Perry County has to offer. Most tempting were the remote camp sites outside of Fowlers Hollow SP that were near overlooks. The star gazing would be premium and no one around for miles to walk through the area.

We really must return. I know I slowed everyone down because I had hurt my back just hours before leaving. I feel badly for being the bent old lady and want to go back to hike every stretch of trail with freedom of movement. Thank you Jbzarm for being gracious and never acting like my snails pace was a bother to you. You were the consummate hosts, giving everything and expecting nothing in return.

Even though we are probably at opposite ends of the political spectrum, it was great to share a weekend with a family that appreciates the lands of central PA. We were all patting the ancient hemlocks and wondering what their fate would be with the woolly adelgid killing so many. Hunters and vegetarians hiking together and enjoying their commonalities rather than picking battles and trying to convince each other that they must be mistaken. Friendships fostered from nurtured common ground are very satisfying.

Final Day!

Lets cheer Toolman Luke for enduring the hours of trips to Danville and back. Today is his last regular trip and my LiveStrong band made it all the way through yesterday, it broke while I was on the phone with Maga.

I hope he will do something special, stop at Preistley House and take in some Oxygen. Preistley "invented" it you know. Maybe something else since his biography was less than thrilling. Anyway Congratulations Dad and I hope you grab a good bunk at GeeserFest!

Victory!

Thanks to Janila, RGBisMe and I were able to find our 1,000th letterbox.

I was really exhausted when I posted this blog entry. I want to come back to add that Janila was such a gracious hostess. When it was rainy, she was up to having breakfast first. As the skies cleared, she took us to a few excellent grab-n-go boxes of which she had printed the clues out for us. She was flexible about letting us choose which boxes to go for in Nolde Forest and when we wanted to give up on a trail or lead, she didn't complain and shared stories of her enjoyable times in the same park. She gave so much of herself and then she planted a surprise for us as we were seeking our 999th box. Just as RGBisMe found it, she told me of a set of WOM clues. I followed them and there was our 1,000th box along with a bubbly treat!

We did go on to find a few more boxes, one had been giving her a few problems. That 1,0001st box was just as sweet because we could all share the victory. We laughed and chatted all day. As the skies finally cleared to a patchy blue, the temperature had dropped. I started to get tired from the hiking and excitement and I was the one to say I was all in.

As she would say, we are on our way to 2,000. What I like is looking back on the various planters who made it possible. We look forward to all of the new experiences that greet us along the way.

She planted a special Celebration letterbox just for our 1,000th find and packed a bottle of bubbly so we could pop the cork on the trail! YUM! Thanks Jan, it was a great day and we are both exhausted.

Happy Halloween!