Yup, I'm gonna brag for a second..

Last month I sang a duet in our choir concert, and it went really well. And! I have video proof!

Shocking

We've been getting a ton of work done on the house lately. As we came up to and hit the one-year mark on Thanksgiving, I think we realized that there were a lot of things we had decided about taking care of, but just hadn't actually done it yet. So suddenly we've been putting up book shelves, wall shelves, buying little bits of furniture, and putting away the schnibbles that have been sitting around for a year without a home.

I hate schnibbles. You know what they are - the little bits of papers, small sentimental objects, old cell phones.. Things that aren't necessarily useful anymore, but for some reason you feel you might need to keep them? Ugghh.. For me the schnibbles in life are some of the most stressful objects.

Anyway, my one Black Friday purchase was this lovely 1920-1930'ish dresser. I got it at a resale shop near work. Debated about it for almost 2 weeks, then finally measured and realized it is exactly the right size for our guest bedroom. It needs a little bit of love. There are some black marks on it (still deciding whether to refinish it), and the handles are actually too long. They stick out funny. The front of the second drawer is broken off. But still, it's about the cutest dresser ever! And the front is birdseye maple veneer, which is just lovely.

Pictured at the resale shop -
our guest bedroom does not have
that much stuff in it!

So tonight I glued the drawer back together and busted out the Brasso to shine up the keyholes. 

And, dude. The Brasso shocked me! As soon as I opened the container, a huge blue spark popped out of the lid and shocked the fool out of me. It was the worst I've had in years - tingly fingers and a momentarily fuzzy brain. Nothing harmful, but it was rather.. shocking (sorry). 

Now I know for next time that the Brasso has a bit of an attitude, and can hopefully adequately prepare and/or ground myself for the experience. Who knew?

Checking out the fire damage

Our plan was to go for a long bike ride, like we did last Thanksgiving. Unfortunately it's been quite windy all weekend, so instead we hung out in the house on Thursday and Friday, and yesterday we decided to hike up to Bear Peak via the West Ridge Trail, which has been closed since June and reopened this week. June was the Flagstaff fire, which was the closest to our house. Thankfully it stayed up on the mountain and didn't rush down into Boulder as they'd feared it might.

We often hike from the trails that start in Boulder because they are quite pretty and, well, convenient. But for a couple weeks we had to go find other places which led to some fruitful exploration. (I actually really can't wait for wildflower season again so we can go back!)

In May we hiked up to Bear Peak, and this is what the view over to South Boulder Peak (and pretty much the whole hike) looked like:

Here are some pictures from this weekend. It was such a stark contrast from the last time we were up there.. Some Norwegians we met on the trail likened it to walking to Mordor, which felt like a pretty apt description. 

Hopefully the ash will become good fertilizer and some of the lushness of the area will return. We'll have to go back in another six months and see what kind of transformations have taken place.

Rogue

Getting ready to set up a rogue's gallery in our guest bedroom. Nothing says welcome like the artwork of family and friends!

Obligatory Election Day Post

I have voted in Presidential Elections in three different states. The first two times my polling place was on a college campus, and today I voted at the elementary school our children will likely attend.

Elections are always such momentous occasions. Not only for our country, but also as a rite of passage for so many young people. I cast my first Presidential ballot as an undergrad, and I remember feeling SO proud as I walked around town with my "I voted" sticker. I had the opportunity to impact life in our country, and I had taken it. It was incredibly empowering.

When Obama won in '08 I was at the University of Illinois and you could hear the students shouting, singing and cheering long into the night. It was electric. For days the students floated on air. They had voted. Their voices were heard, they had made a difference. I have faith that my students tomorrow will be similarly excited.

Being in a neighborhood during the election isn't quite as exciting as being on a college campus. But it was still such a thrill to get my "I voted" sticker, to see the pictures of stickers from across the country popping up on Facebook, and to chat (very casually, of course!) with people at work about the election process. I didn't get quite as bouncy as I did after my very first election, but I do have to say the sky did look just a little more blue.

Debate? What Debate?

Things I did rather than watch the debate:

1. Wonder why the first boy I ever kissed showed up in a dream Sunday night.
2. Got my Miami on while driving on a super-busy highway.
3. Drank a glass of wine.
4. Started to have an allergic reaction to said glass of wine. :-/
5. Made a devious plan of goodness.
6. Practiced for our upcoming concert (www.vittoriaensemble.com :) ).
7. Aired a grievance in the ‘conscious complaining’ zone of my friend’s house.
8. Worried for a moment that her dog might poo on the floor (still better than the debate!).
9. Practiced my posture.
10. Didn’t remember that there was a debate on that I could have been watching. 

Am doing a one-month writing project with my friend Victor again. His list is here.