Archive November 2007

A Pet Peeve: 

This past holiday weekend saw the beginning of the annual parade of visitors to the nursing home I work at. Over the next 30 days, we will be inundated with church groups, scout groups, and civic organizations all doing their part to make the holidays a little nicer for our residents. I don’t have a problem with this at all. The residents enjoy it, the staff doesn’t seem to mind and it makes people feel like they are doing something nice for someone else. I do however have a couple of questions for all of these holiday time visitors: 

Where are you the OTHER 335 days of the year?  Do you think our residents hibernate between the months of January and November? Is December the ONLY time of the year you can make time to visit?  

Come see them during February when the weather is awful and they can’t sit outside. Just come by and offer to play cards, or help with crafts. 

Organize a group from your church or garden club to come by in the spring and help our residents plant a flower or vegetable garden. The memory will last longer than your crappy carol singing back in December. 

Come during the summer and offer to help with a cookout or other event on the 4th of July. 

Drop by on Veterans Day and bring flags to decorate and spend some time visiting with the veterans who live here. 

Our residents are here 12 months of the year. Not just the 30 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Stop by more often. You might just find it as enjoyable as the residents would. 

Nov 26, 2007 9:06 PM

Thanksgiving Day, 2007

Burp. 

For the first time in many years, Steve and I stayed home for Thanksgiving. Usually, we are at one of his relatives, or driving north to Michigan to spend the holiday with my family. This year, for a variety of reasons, we opted to spend the day at home, and I decided to cook. 

We started the day with our traditional holiday breakfast of cinnamon rolls and mimosas. We also tried watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, but gave up after about 30 minutes. These days, they don’t show much of the parade and I’m not into watching people lip sync broadway show tunes. 

I cooked a small ( 7 Lbs) turkey and made stuffing, mashed potatoes and green beans to go with it. It turned out well, except for the stuffing that was a little too soupy. I think I needed more bread, although I did manage to get the celery to sage ratios just right. I tasted almost as good as my mother’s stuffing recipe.  

All in all a relaxing day. This evening, there is pumpkin pie and more wine for dessert. 

We may even brave the black Friday crowds for a little shopping and people watching tomorrow, something we haven’t done in years. 

I hope everyone is having a great holiday, and that you all have something to be thankful for. 

Nov 22, 2007 9:10 PM

Thank You Marathon Oil! 

Leaves

Yes, the title is a sarcasm.  

Last summer, Marathon Oil Company decided that in the interest os national security, they needed to clear trees and brush from the land over one of their midwest pipelines.  Unfortunately, that  pipeline runs right through a couple of Columbus metroparks, including Blendon Woods.  

I had not been to Blendon woods since they cleared the trees, so I was not prepared for what I found. Marathon has clear cut all the trees along the entire pipeline, creating a 100+ yard wide swath of destruction. Here are pictures:  


P1000223 Looking West


P1000225 Looking East


P1000226And just in case you forgot who brought this to your local forest.... 


Nov 2, 2007 9:15 PM