As we've mentioned before, Elliot and I read books together. We do this mostly while driving and most of the time Elliot is driving and I'm reading out loud. We've been reading books together for about 6 years and we just finished our 51st book.
Some of the highlights:
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Cold Mountain by Charles Fraizer
Our dear friend Ransom Riggs's book Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Our most recent book, Sula by Toni Morrison
We don't read only fiction, but those tend to be the books we both like best. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand was probably our favorite non-fiction book. Reading together is nice. It gives us something (besides kids or chores or bills) that we can both always talk about-- a shared culture. And it's something to look forward to on the weekends when we're driving around together.
Showing posts with label Mary's Hobbies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mary's Hobbies. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Finally: Nielsen Ratings Come To Our House.
I have heard about Nielsen ratings since forever. I even heard, when I was a little kid, that if you were chosen to be a Nielsen family, you got free cable for a week. Having free cable and a chance to tell someone all about what TV shows were my favorite was a lot of what I was looking for as a child. So imagine my great surprise and delight when I received a postcard informing me that I would receive a phone call and that the outcome of that phone call would determine whether or not I would become part of a Nielsen family.
After all these years, I would finally get to tell them what I watched on TV and also maybe get free cable. In reality it was even better than free cable: cash money. They sent us enough money to buy a pizza delivery with tip, which I thought was awesome. I guess it doesn't make sense that they would provide me with new viewing options and then ask what my normal viewing patterns are. Here is the best part of the entire thing though - we don't watch any TV(At least not on the TV and for Nielsen internet TV doesn't count).
I spoke at length with Nielsen representative on the phone and it turns out that it doesn't matter if you actually watch TV or not. I made sure to record the several hours of Arrested Development DVDs that I watched, just so they know what's up, but I left the rest of the diary blank. Maybe they will get the picture, maybe not, but I am glad that some research, somewhere, will show that we are not watching any TV except DVDs like Arrested Development.
P.S. We don't even have a digital converter box so we couldn't even get TV if we wanted, but in reality I think I should get one so that we could use TV as a way to keep informed in case of emergency. Of course, whatever sort of emergencies are only brodcast on DTV and not on the radio probably aren't emergencies of the type that I would really care about.
Monday, March 09, 2009
College Baketball!
We always have a lot of fun at FSU football games when we attend, so when Mary won tickets to a basketball game we though we would give it a try. It was Clemson playing FSU and it was great. 
It was a close and fun game and Clemson almost came back to beat FSU but didn't. It made me want to experience more live basketball, that's for sure. There was a colorful, humorous, announcer that would be difficult to describe here but I would highly recommend hearing a game if you can't see one. A good time was had by all, especially this guy.
It was a close and fun game and Clemson almost came back to beat FSU but didn't. It made me want to experience more live basketball, that's for sure. There was a colorful, humorous, announcer that would be difficult to describe here but I would highly recommend hearing a game if you can't see one. A good time was had by all, especially this guy.
Go team!
Thursday, October 09, 2008
I'm a bird watcher, I'm a bird watcher, watchin' birds go by...
Elliot and I have a new hobby! Bird watching.
This past Saturday we went to Birdsong Nature Center in southern Georgia and learned some "Birding Basics" along with our friends Ben and Sheila.
Elliot and I bought some inexpensive binoculars for the occasion. We didn't spot very many birds during our walk, but the nature center has a room inside its main building that has one whole exterior wall made of glass-- a big window-- and it faces this fancy bird bath where they also leave lots of bird food. We saw all KINDS of bird at that "bird window"-- chickadees, cat birds, thrushes, cardinals, and many more that I can't remember.
It was really beautiful out on the trails at the nature center. Elliot and I definitely want to go back.
We had a fantastic time.
Elliot and I also decided to start bird watching on our own. We bought the Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America and we've been bird watching in our neighborhood. So far we've identified: mockingbirds, mourning doves, cardinals, a pair of blue jays, and today we saw a red-bellied woodpecker. We've seen lots of other birds, too, but haven't been able to identify them yet.
It's strangely fun to watch for and identify birds. When we see a new bird and find it in our field guide we get so excited. We saw a belted kingfisher on Sunday and practically did a dance when we found it in our book.
This past Saturday we went to Birdsong Nature Center in southern Georgia and learned some "Birding Basics" along with our friends Ben and Sheila.
Elliot and I bought some inexpensive binoculars for the occasion. We didn't spot very many birds during our walk, but the nature center has a room inside its main building that has one whole exterior wall made of glass-- a big window-- and it faces this fancy bird bath where they also leave lots of bird food. We saw all KINDS of bird at that "bird window"-- chickadees, cat birds, thrushes, cardinals, and many more that I can't remember.
It was really beautiful out on the trails at the nature center. Elliot and I definitely want to go back.
We had a fantastic time.
Elliot and I also decided to start bird watching on our own. We bought the Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America and we've been bird watching in our neighborhood. So far we've identified: mockingbirds, mourning doves, cardinals, a pair of blue jays, and today we saw a red-bellied woodpecker. We've seen lots of other birds, too, but haven't been able to identify them yet.
It's strangely fun to watch for and identify birds. When we see a new bird and find it in our field guide we get so excited. We saw a belted kingfisher on Sunday and practically did a dance when we found it in our book.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Happy Birthday, Allen Ginsberg
My Barnes & Noble day planner makes note of the fact that today is Allen Ginsberg's birthday.
I saw Allen Ginsberg give a reading and speak in 1997, just a few months before he died. It was during my senior year of high school, and I went to the performance with a group of friends. I was very interested in Beat literature at the time-- Jack Kerouac was hands down my favorite author. I enjoyed Allen Ginsberg's poetry, too, of course, and I was thrilled to go see him speak. What a surprise to hear on the news just a few months later that he had passed away! I'm so glad that I took the opportunity to go see him.
Here's a short poem by the late Allen Ginsberg:
Fourth Floor, Dawn, Up All Night Writing Letters
Pigeons shake their wings on the copper church roof
out my window across the street, a bird perched on the cross
surveys the city's blue-grey clouds. Larry Rivers
'll come at 10 AM and take my picture. I'm taking
your picture, pigeons. I'm writing you down, Dawn.
I'm immortalizing your exhaust, Avenue A bus.
O Thought! Now you'll have to think the same thing forever!
New York, June 7, 1980, 6:48 A.M.
I saw Allen Ginsberg give a reading and speak in 1997, just a few months before he died. It was during my senior year of high school, and I went to the performance with a group of friends. I was very interested in Beat literature at the time-- Jack Kerouac was hands down my favorite author. I enjoyed Allen Ginsberg's poetry, too, of course, and I was thrilled to go see him speak. What a surprise to hear on the news just a few months later that he had passed away! I'm so glad that I took the opportunity to go see him.
Here's a short poem by the late Allen Ginsberg:
Fourth Floor, Dawn, Up All Night Writing Letters
Pigeons shake their wings on the copper church roof
out my window across the street, a bird perched on the cross
surveys the city's blue-grey clouds. Larry Rivers
'll come at 10 AM and take my picture. I'm taking
your picture, pigeons. I'm writing you down, Dawn.
I'm immortalizing your exhaust, Avenue A bus.
O Thought! Now you'll have to think the same thing forever!
New York, June 7, 1980, 6:48 A.M.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Elliot Has Inspired Me
I don't have any time to learn how to knit right now, but I was so jealous of Elliot's cool new hobby that I bought a Knifty Knitter loom set. Have you seen these? Here's what they look like:
You can make hats or pillows... or if you're really advanced then you can even make scarves and blankets, but I don't know that I'll ever get to that point. I'm working on a hat right now. The loom is really easy to use so I don't feel like I'm learning a new skill, the way Elliot has been. He's doing such a great job of learning how to knit, and I'm just twisting yarn around pegs. After 2 1/2 years in law school, I must admit that doing anything besides reading dusty old case books and writing pretend memos to pretend judges is a welcomed change of pace, though. I can't wait until graduation, just so I will have some time to be creative again.
So, if anyone needs a hat, let me know!!!
You can make hats or pillows... or if you're really advanced then you can even make scarves and blankets, but I don't know that I'll ever get to that point. I'm working on a hat right now. The loom is really easy to use so I don't feel like I'm learning a new skill, the way Elliot has been. He's doing such a great job of learning how to knit, and I'm just twisting yarn around pegs. After 2 1/2 years in law school, I must admit that doing anything besides reading dusty old case books and writing pretend memos to pretend judges is a welcomed change of pace, though. I can't wait until graduation, just so I will have some time to be creative again.
So, if anyone needs a hat, let me know!!!
Monday, September 24, 2007
New Recipes
There are a few new recipes up on our recipe blog, souperduper.blogspot.com. Taryn and Brendan sent us instructions for how to make homemade yogurt and Honey Granola, and Jen sent us the recipe for Pumpkin Curry Soup.
Yum!
Yum!
Sunday, September 23, 2007
I Heart Beethoven
On Friday night, our friend John invited us to go with him to see FSU's University Symphony Orchestra perform "Frenergy" by Estacio, "Songs of the Wayfarer" by Mahler, and "Symphony No. 5" by Beethoven. It was wonderful. Elliot and I both like classical music a lot, even though we don't know much about it.
We saw one other orchestral performance together several years ago when Kelli gave us tickets to see the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Reflecting on both of these experiences, Elliot and I realized how much we enjoy seeing live performances of classical music. We've made a decision to see AT LEAST one symphony orchestra performance every year.
Here's a performance of "Symphony No. 5" that I found on youtube.com:
We saw one other orchestral performance together several years ago when Kelli gave us tickets to see the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Reflecting on both of these experiences, Elliot and I realized how much we enjoy seeing live performances of classical music. We've made a decision to see AT LEAST one symphony orchestra performance every year.
Here's a performance of "Symphony No. 5" that I found on youtube.com:
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Soup Blog Becomes Recipe Blog
Elliot and I have decided to change the soup blog to a recipe blog! So, souperduper.blogspot.com will no longer be limited to soups but will include desserts, sandwiches, pasta dishes... the list goes on and on.
Please send me your favorite recipes. Elliot and I love to cook not-terribly-complicated vegetarian dishes. And we looooooooove desserts.
Here is proof that I love eating, and that I sometimes can convince other people that they like to eat, too:
Elliot actually made the sauce on the pasta that Kelli and I are eating in this photo! He's a good cook.
Please send me your favorite recipes. Elliot and I love to cook not-terribly-complicated vegetarian dishes. And we looooooooove desserts.
Here is proof that I love eating, and that I sometimes can convince other people that they like to eat, too:
Elliot actually made the sauce on the pasta that Kelli and I are eating in this photo! He's a good cook.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Cat Depot
Three years ago, my sister and I adopted our lovely lady cat, Radar, from a no-kill shelter called Cat Depot.
In 2003, the people at Cat Depot rescued over 200 cats from another shelter that was mistreating them, and Radar was one of those cats. She had a very rough life living in a "shelter" where cats were being starved and dying from diseases. The people at Cat Depot have good hearts and their organization continues to take in cats that need to find forever homes.
I've decided to adopt Cat Depot as the charity that I will send donations to when I have a little bit of extra money to give to a charitable cause. They took good care of Radar and I want to make sure that other families can be as lucky as mine when they decide to bring a new cat into their home.
Cat Depot's website: http://www.catdepot.org/Info.htm
I have also put a link to the website on the right side of this blog page, below the list of labels.
(Mary and Radar, June 2007)
In 2003, the people at Cat Depot rescued over 200 cats from another shelter that was mistreating them, and Radar was one of those cats. She had a very rough life living in a "shelter" where cats were being starved and dying from diseases. The people at Cat Depot have good hearts and their organization continues to take in cats that need to find forever homes.
I've decided to adopt Cat Depot as the charity that I will send donations to when I have a little bit of extra money to give to a charitable cause. They took good care of Radar and I want to make sure that other families can be as lucky as mine when they decide to bring a new cat into their home.
Cat Depot's website: http://www.catdepot.org/Info.htm
I have also put a link to the website on the right side of this blog page, below the list of labels.
(Mary and Radar, June 2007)
Monday, March 26, 2007
Our 13th Book!
Mary and I just finished reading Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. It is a great light-action type of half thriller half cyber-punk sort of read. I highly recommend it. We both enjoyed it. This book makes 13 that we have read aloud to each other, mostly while driving.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Soup Bloggy Blog
I am cataloging delicious vegetarian soup recipes on a new blog. It is located at souperduper.blogspot.com. Each post is a different soup recipe, and some of them are recommendations by my lovely friends. If you have a favorite vegetarian soup recipe (or one that is easily converted into a vegetarian recipe), please send it my way. I love making soup.
Also, I realize that a blog isnt the BEST way to organize recipes. But at the bottom of each is post a little place called "labels" and they are hyperlinks to a page that will compile all of the recipes that have the same label. So if you see a recipe with the label "tomato" at the bottom and you dont like that recipe, but you want to see other tomato recipes, then click on the hyperlink and you will see all of the tomato recipes.
Another way to navigate the page is to look in the top left and find the archive section that is organized by month. You can click the little arrows next to each month to drop down all of the recipes that were posted. So if you are looking for specific recipe and cant remember exactly where it is, open all of the months and if you still dont see it, then click (ctrl + f) to open the find box and start typing one of the words in the title. The find box will help you locate the recipe you are looking for by highliting the word you type wherever it is located on the page.
So eat more soup. And send me some recipes to try!
Also, I realize that a blog isnt the BEST way to organize recipes. But at the bottom of each is post a little place called "labels" and they are hyperlinks to a page that will compile all of the recipes that have the same label. So if you see a recipe with the label "tomato" at the bottom and you dont like that recipe, but you want to see other tomato recipes, then click on the hyperlink and you will see all of the tomato recipes.
Another way to navigate the page is to look in the top left and find the archive section that is organized by month. You can click the little arrows next to each month to drop down all of the recipes that were posted. So if you are looking for specific recipe and cant remember exactly where it is, open all of the months and if you still dont see it, then click (ctrl + f) to open the find box and start typing one of the words in the title. The find box will help you locate the recipe you are looking for by highliting the word you type wherever it is located on the page.
So eat more soup. And send me some recipes to try!
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Local Artist
I've been volunteering about 2 hours every week at a local preschool since February. I love it. The kids make me laugh non-stop. And whenever I walk in the door, they all yell "Miss Mary!" and run over to me and hug my legs. It makes me feel very special.
If I'm wearing my Batman t-shirt (which I make a point of wearing about once a month) then everyone spends the next 30 minutes telling me who their favorite superheroes are. We've all had the same conversation at least 5 or 6 times, but the kids are no less enthusiastic each time I wear the shirt. Eventually they start making up superheroes. At least, I'm pretty sure that there are no Mister Crazyhead comic books. I could be wrong, though.
Last week when I walked in, one of the little girls named Paxton ran over with a drawing she'd made and said "Miss Mary, I made this for you! It's me and my house." I can only assume that her house is the black box and that she herself is represented by the yellow outline of her hand. Very cute. So now it's hanging on my fridge. And posted on my blog. :)
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Sandhill Cranes
(click to enlarge)
Elliot and I saw these sandhill cranes walking thorough a parking lot in Tampa, Florida in January 2005. Aren't they beautiful? Cranes are such elegant birds, and sadly, the sandhill crane is one of the only species of crane that is still common. I just looked on the Threatened and Endangered Species List and there are currently 8 species of crane that are classified as endangered. There are only 15 species of crane in the whole world!
According to the International Crane Foundation (click for link): "Because of development and habitat loss, many species that once thrived in much broader ranges... are now restricted to fragments of protected land in parks, sanctuaries, even demilitarized zones between hostile nations." Seeing sandhill cranes (birds that are suited to wetlands) walking through a parking lot seems to speak to that fact.
Did I mention that I plan to go into environmental law?
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Guess what?
Mary and I just finished reading Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. That makes 8 books total we have read out loud to each other.
The other seven are:
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
Even Cowgirls Get The Blues by Tom Robbins
This Simian World by Clarence Day
The Witches by Roald Dahl
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling
God Bless You Dr. Kevorkian by Kurt Vonnegut
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Reading is fun!
The other seven are:
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
Even Cowgirls Get The Blues by Tom Robbins
This Simian World by Clarence Day
The Witches by Roald Dahl
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling
God Bless You Dr. Kevorkian by Kurt Vonnegut
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Reading is fun!
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