Monthly Archives: June 2008

Taboo

Posted on by
2

Hi. My name is Christine and I am a tabaholic.

Always have lots of tabs open in my browser. There are even some days where I have multiple windows open, each window with a multitude of tabs going. I multitask and I find things (sites, pages, or pictures) in my internet travels that I want to look at later because I am trying to stay focused on the task at hand or, I am not in the mood to delve deep or, I don’t have time now.

When Billy borrows the computer and sees the vast sea of tabs I have created he often groans. Apparently keeping lots of tabs open slows down the computer as well as keeps it hot (not a good thing when its a hot day and you use a MacBook Pro) because of all the rendering it has to do with all those pages open. Today he installed a little thing called Taboo. It is a Firefox add-on that will save the stuff I keep open in tabs in one place that is easily accessible just to the left of my URL search bar. When you go back to look at it later it will bring the page up at the exact position you were in. Seems nice. I have tried it only briefly as of yet.

I wonder how the “out of sight out of mind” issue will play into things. One of the reasons I leave the tabs open is so that they will be there like a little flag to serve as a reminder to have a look at them.

Today, I embark on the Taboo adventure.

Steampunk Open (Ware)house

Posted on by
Reply

I have been allowed a bit more freedom on my bed rest in that I can go out from time to time, taking it slowly. I still feel the need to lay down and “take a load off” but I have been given the “okay” to do things like pre-natal yoga now as well as minor outings. Feels soo good. Today I visited the Temescal Farmer’s market with Billy and our friends Becka and Phoebe. It was such a beautiful day and there was a lot of great produce. The market has grown since my last visit about 10 weeks ago. I sat down a bunch and talked with my friends and did some people watching.

Later we visited my friend Sunny’s open house for her community Kinetic Steam Works located in West Oakland, California. They were showcasing a steamboat she and KSW are just putting the finishing touches on before they sail it mid-August 2008 on the Hudson River. Sunny was serving the croud steam powered margaritas:

There were a lot of beautiful machines in their warehouse. Here is a picture from under the steamboat‘s paddle wheel:

Billy and I (nearly 35 weeks pregnant) pose under the KSW Apocalypse Stagecoach:

Coming up in future posts:

–> a more detailed update on my pregnancy
–> more pictures of the belly

Up With Upset

Posted on by
Reply

Ah the joys of indigestion. I am coming up on 35 weeks pregnant. The last few weeks I have been feeling the pains of indigestion. Oi! Somedays it is not so bad, but I have become friends with antacid. This is against my way of thinking and living. But desperate times call for certain measures.

I awoke to a burning sensation in my chest and throat. I got up fast and felt like Frankenstein as I made my way to the bathroom. I never throw up, which is a curse, but I felt that this time could be an exception. It wasn’t. But, I still had enough upset to do damage at the back of my throat.

I am sooo tired and need to sleep but I can’t lie down. I tried propping myself up with pillows but just received another round of insult from my stomach. I just finished off a cup of loose leafed mint tea which I hope helped.

I tried reading up on this problem and wasn’t able to find much information. I think I need to be more strict about what and how much I eat. Today, I ate a bit adventurously for me. I wish I could take it back. I keep slightly falling asleep as I write this.

Wish me luck on navigating the path of food, sustenance and comfort.

Oh Bananas!

Posted on by
1

I love bananas. They are good on toast, in smoothies, as an egg replacer in recipes, and, oh! banana bread! mmmm. Then there is the simple elegance of eating a banana straight out of the peel.

I was shocked to discover the dark side of my dear beloved banana:

In the comments section on a blog called 101 Cookbooks in a post about Banana Chip cookies, I saw an article link to the The New York Times article called Yes, We Will Have No Bananas

Current Tv: Baby Catching Pro

Posted on by
Reply

I saw this pod on Current TV tonight. It was posted about a year ago. I found it interesting both in content as well as in production. Current TV has been bringing me some great content lately. I started really watching it regularly since Billy started working there about 3 weeks ago. There is so much good stuff and viewers get to contribute with comments as well as voicing what things they want see on the news at Current TV. You must head over there to appreciate the variety and wealth of information that it provides.

Start off with this one: The Baby Catching Pro

Music and Dance Musings

Posted on by
Reply

This afternoon I headed over to Hype Machine looking for a little random music but got distracted almost right away by the animated banner ad at the top of the site. The words “Treasure Island” caught my eye. I wondered “what is going on on Treasure Island?” I have never actually set foot on it but I pass by there a lot (when not on bed rest, that is) on my way from Emeryville into the city. “Treasure Island is an artificial island in the San Francisco Bay between San Francisco and Oakland. It is connected by a small isthmus to Yerba Buena Island.” I watched the whole ad cycle through and discovered that there is a Treasure Island Music Festival coming up in September.

The line up this year is amazing! I was going through all the artists and heading over to their websites to listen to their music and check them out a bit. Wonderful, wonderful stuff! When I made it over to Amon Tobin’s site I was seduced by a song I had not hear yet: Delpher. I had visions of dancing to it (tribal bellydance with modern stylings). The snippet on the site is short and a tease. I have to have it! I also discovered a video of a dance choregraphy to his song “Rhino Jockey”. Seems others have had their own visions:


I kept exploring more of Amon Tobin’s music and discovered that my dear friend Dulcinea had the dancing visions to his music too! I recognized a song that she choreographed a beautiful dance piece for her dance troupe Gemini Project. Funny, I had thought of her right away when I was listening to Delpher and I was excited to turn her on to Amon Tobin. But she is already all over it!

Here is a clip from one of Gemini Projects performances. The first song you will hear is the Amon Tobin song I spoke of:

As far as the Treasure Island Music Festival goes, I realized that it falls on the same weekend as my other brother’s wedding in September and that we will be in South Dakota. Well, there is always next year.

Nest Ring Holder

Posted on by
Reply

I may have already mentioned in my blog that I am going to miss my baby brother’s wedding in mid-July because of my bed rest and pregnancy. I cannot believe this is actually a fact. I keep hoping somehow I will be able to go. He lives in Portland, Oregon. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and am currently on bed rest. Sigh.

It has been said that I was a “second mommy” to my youngest brother. We are 9 and a 1/2 years apart in age. I am have bittersweet feelings about his wedding, the birth of my baby, and the fact that I love him so much. I really want to be there for him… for me. I can barely see the screen right now as I type because of the tears in my eyes. I know he understands that I can’t be there for his wedding. I am not sure I understand. It is one of those situations where I just can’t believe it. Well, believe it I must.

Like I have said before, one of the greatest gifts I can give him is a healthy nephew!

On my internet travels from bed today I came across this wedding blog that featured Paloma’s Nest Ring Holders today. They are pretty little white ceramic bowls or “nests” to place wedding rings in for the ceremony. Paloma’s Nest will stamp a custom message in the bowl for you. You can feed a ribbon that matches your wedding colors to hold the rings in place. When the ceremony is done you can hang the little nest on a wall. I think they are beautifully simple and lovely.

My brother’s last name is Parrott (we pronounce it like the bird parrot) so this little nest would be suited for him and his lovely bride-to-be!


You can head over to Paloma’s Nest shop on Etsy and check out all of the beauties they make. Lots of them are customizable. And, fun fact: “The studio is powered 100% by Renewable Wind Energy. That means when the wind is a blowin’ out in West Texas, my little kiln is a firin’.”

Toad In the Hole

Posted on by
Reply



The other day Billy made me a breakfast that he called Toad In the Hole. It is a piece of bread with a circle cut out of the middle. In this hole goes an egg and the whole thing is fried an a pan. When I looked at it I thought it would be bland tasting but since he used butter on the bread before frying, it was delicious!

A few days after experiencing this curious breakfast I came across this article in Small Magazine (my new favorite online magazine) that tells the story about this very same meal from the words of one of the artists, Amy Karol. She gives her recipe as well as a sweet background history of how she came to love this and other foods her dad made her.