The Myth & The Majesty

It's a little odd the things that come up when you're bored. I just got done making my supper, and I'm working on baking bread so I can eat lunch for the rest of the week. In the process of doing these things, I had to laugh at what was in my fridge. Which I now intend to share with you. 12 Things In My Refrigerator 1. Half a gallon of milk, newly opened. 2. Eggs, probably at the end of their usefulness. 3. Fresh strawberries. 4. A jar of pesto from Trader Joe's in Minneapolis. 5. The last of a bottle of Riesling that I didn't much like but can use in sauces. 6. 3 bottles of New Glarus Spotted Cow. 7. A bottle of buffalo wing marinade of whose source I am unsure. 8. An unopened jar of salsa. 9. An opened and starting-to-mold jar of salsa. (Hm. I should fix that.) 10. Half a wedge of Brie. 11. The last quarter of a jug of cran-raspberry juice. 12. Mustard. There are a few other things as well, but I'll spare you the rest. Note that most of that stuff can't be

What a nutso week. In addition to spending six or seven hours at Sunnycrest six days in a row, I never went to sleep before 2AM. I somehow managed to catch about a dozen friends in various lunch/dinner/night out configurations, including my best friends from high school and Andyman, who left for Baghdad on Friday. Oh, and let's not forget puddle-jumping on my first Saturday home. Puddle-wading, actually. Almost puddle-swimming -- a rather incredible rainstorm lead to three foot deep puddles in the field next to the church. It was awesome. (The current through the gutter? Fast and scary.) The party at the parental units' house this past Saturday night just capped things off perfectly. Yesterday was a day of mind-numbing interstate driving (turns out I can make the trip without stopping for gas! I was very proud of Sophie) followed by a late-night softball game. Today I'm a bit zombie-like but mostly functional. Tonight I intend to sleep. Actually, most of this w

Tonight was the VBS recovery party, a tradition spanning at least eight years now and always held in my parents' back yard. Originally it was because we were a little more removed and those folks can get a bit loud (all the more when people started showing up with guitars and drums); now we're a bit less removed and the crowd is a little quieter. Things were pretty low-key and relaxed tonight, but I couldn't have asked for anything better. I managed to actually get caught up with a few good friends -- something that's felt much more rushed over my last couple of trips west. And then, as it got darker, the fireflies came out. In droves. And a neighbor started shooting off fireworks. Moreover, the house is still removed enough for that gorgeous, crystal-clear sky to be free enough of light pollution. It was a great night. Now, I repack everything so that we can leave straightaway after lunch tomorrow. On the road again ...

A photo essay of Saturday. Sadly, I have no clear pictures of Shakespeare in the park and I didn't take any shots inside the Institute of Arts.

Just watched "Juno." Highly recommended. Finishing our last batch of bread for tonight's dinner, too. Slept in today. It was spectacular. Who knows how much sleep I'll get tonight. Gotta get caught up with people again. Too much to do -- and my vacation time is starting to accelerate. Very sad.

I am such a slacker. Well, sort of. I feel like one, partially because it's already Thursday and I know quite well what my sleeping habits have been this week. Partially because I promised you pictures well over a week ago and still have yet to deliver. In my defense, I have had a CRAZY week. We're talking hours of meal preparation (seriously, I've been at church by 2:00 every single day this week) and hours of dealing with squealing high school/middle school girls, along with hours of movies with siblings and catching up with friends ... As much as I love being home, it hasn't been as relaxing as I had originally expected. I think, however, that my expectations were not based in reality. It's VBS week. I should have known better. Tomorrow's the last night of VBS. After that I have two full days that don't involve feeding 100+ people, then half a normal day and seven hours of driving. Kind of depressing, actually. Maybe some day I'll learn to take a rel

Tomorrow I head west. A whole week of semi-vacation awaits me ... Sleep, cable television, and a hundred people to feed each night. And the awesomeness that is Sunnycrest VBS. (Seriously, awesomeness. If you happen to be in the SuFu area, I recommend checking it out.) It's been an interesting week, starting with last weekend's festivities (which I will hopefully post about tonight, after I get the pictures downloaded onto my home computer) and carrying through to last night's company picnic. I've also had some nights of intense thought, a couple of nights of action-packed fun, and at least one night that brought a degree of clarity that I haven't experienced in quite some time. Wonderful. Now, I get things in order so I can leave with a clear conscience and an empty desk. Have a great day, folks.

Let me tell you a story. A long, long time ago in Ashleyland, I was a shy, awkward girl in high school who had absolutely no nerve when it came to the male species. And it wasn't going to be long before I headed off to school at Mines, where I would be surrounded by boys. Constantly. Where I didn't know a soul. Enter my friend Jessica. Her best friend's brother would also be starting at Mines the following fall and he didn't really know anyone there. He would be getting back from basic training soon. The girls got a great idea: let's set up Ashley and Friend's Brother on a blind date! They'll get along great, and then they'll each know someone at Mines. So they did. And in April of 2002, shortly before I spent a few days in New York City, I went on a blind date. With Jessica's friend's brother, Andy. Despite a disasterous start (there was a mix-up as far as where we were supposed to meet ... he only got half the message) and a poor after-dinner m

The Scene And Herd by Relient K (from "The Birds and the Beesides" ... or is it the "Nashville Tennis EP"?) So here it is, it's just me. A different drummer, but the same old thing. It seems like everything is gonna be just fine. 'cuz I'm having a good time. As long as I'm staying true to myself, Then how it is is something I can sell. And I can sleep at night without your help, it's fine 'cuz I'm having a good time. The Scene and Herd seem to make it all just a little bit worse and I don't wanna go down that road, Oh no, no, no. The Scene and Herd. I'll be the first to tell you I'm worse, but I don't wanna go down that road. oh, no. And I'm sorrowed that you probably magically got this song for free. (ha) I'm not sure if it bothers me it seems fine, 'cuz I'm having a good time. And the path I take to validate, Everything I do means everything I create is Knocking on the door of

The Lining Is Silver By Relient K (from the new release "The Birds and the Beesides") I found my new black shoes, while cleaning out the bones left in my closet they were there with a bad excuse Bon Voyage. And I found a backup plan I'm grateful that I didn't have to use it But its made up of real good friends. Bon Voyage. Isn't it nice to know, that the lining is silver? Isn't it nice to know, that we're golden? Well I found a list of flaws That I saw in myself and other people And I threw it away because, Bon voyage. Isn't it nice to know, that the lining is silver? Isn't it nice to know, that we're golden? , Oh oh. Isn't it nice to know, that the lining is silver? Isn't it nice to know, that we're golden, yeah we're golden, Ohhhhoh. When it all falls apart and you can't see the forests for the cemeteries. Oh Oh Isn't it nice to, isn't it nice to know. Isn't it nice to, isn

After a fantastic weekend (and exhausting, as so many vacations are), I am in no mood to cook. It doesn't much help that I have about four things in the refrigerator that are still edible; being gone for an extended period of time does nothing for available groceries. This means that tonight I caved in and ordered a pizza, covering both supper tonight and tomorrow's lunch (which will be a trade up from the crackers and handful of cheese curds that I had today). It's a little depressing sometimes. I have a great kitchen, but this summer it's mostly going to waste. The full truth is that I'm staying busier than I have in ages but turning into more and more of a hermit at the same time. When I'm out, I'd rather be at home. When I'm at home, I order in and hunker down to read. Or I go off on long walks around my neighborhood. On the weekends, I leave or I hibernate. This is a new phase to me ... I mean, I've always been a bit of a hibernator, but as a ge

Wow. I still haven't posted anything of substance about Andy & Kajda's wedding, nor have I attempted to summarize the Snooty Cultural Weekend. In two hours I'll be off and running toward Colorado, thus putting me behind by yet one more trip. Argh. In other news, I am lacking in a credit card since the ATM ate my check card yesterday and I am an anomaly of the American breed in refusing to get regular plastic. This means I'm really, really hoping the trip goes smoothly, as I will be short the abiility to get a hotel easily. Last time it was my cell phone -- this time it's my check card. I'm afraid to find out what happens next time I'm headed somewhere via plane. These things happen in threes.

I just went through a picture-ordering spree so I could have actual prints of the Snooty Cultural Weekend. That got me to thinking -- I remember when getting pictures developed was like Christmas. Until you picked them up from the store, you had no idea what you’d see. You wouldn’t know how things turned out, or if you got the reflection off the lake like you had hoped, or if there was enough light that night at the campfire. Digital cameras have taken out the guesswork, but they’ve also taken out the fun of that first peek. And I take pictures of a lot more random things now. Have a good evening, folks.