What is a box? -- jcarolek

We moved to England when I was 10. "We" included Mom and Dad, my sister, one year my senior, my four younger brothers and our pet monkey, Chico. The plane ride over was, of course, an exciting one for us. All humans rode in the passenger section of the plane, and poor little Chico rode in the cargo section. When we arrived in London, we traveled by bus to Cheltenham, to the hotel where we'd stay while we awaited the delivery of our household goods and our move into our house on Griffiths Ave.

Staying in the hotel was a lot of fun, I admit, but getting into the house was more fun. The moving van arrived loaded with gigantic wooden crates from which our belongings

Possum in a Bucket -- jcarolek

Last night we went out into the garage to take a look at the wiring of the satellite. We'd been working inside all evening and I'd heard no odd sounds coming from the garage, but almost as soon as we stepped out there, I noticed my dog was trying to squeeze herself through the lower shelf of the shoe rack and under the three-step stair leading from the kitchen into the garage. The cats were watching with cautious interest, not venturing near Killian nor the steps.

Realizing there was clearly something of interest under those steps, we got the flashlight and tried to see... sure enough, reflecting the flashlight's beam back were those eyes... the distinctive eyes of the opossum. It was not the largest, but certainly not the smallest of these critters that has made its way onto my property, only to be rudely "escorted off" by Killian. But usually these guys stay outside. Finding its way into the garage and under the steps seemed pretty brazen to me, considering three animals live in that garage.

Nevertheless, Killian was making herself into a pretzel trying to get to the critter and I decided to try to help the confused animal out by opening a "get away"

Two Months Ago and Across the Pond -- jcarolek

Two months ago I wrote a post in which I reminisced about some sweet treats we used to enjoy as children when I lived in England. I couldn't recall exactly what they were called, but my "charades" memory taunted me with "sounds like Java Orange Cakes." Of course, in my memory, these were actually cookies, but I digress. So, I posted, having been reminded of these tasty delights by some candy a friend had sent me.

kiriyamabattleroyale read my post and she commented, letting me know that these "cakes" from my memory really do still exist and are called Jaffa Cakes.

No, it wasn't what I'd expected -- jcarolek

In early December I was very much looking forward to an adventure. I'd never driven across the US and I had the opportunity, time and inclination to do so. So it was that, after a final, rushed week in Kansas for work, I flew out to CA where I met up with my friend who was to join me in this adventure.

Before we could leave, we had to pack our load. We were bringing a fair amount of product I'd secured out in CA, back to VA. All we needed was a little good weather to accommodate our packing and we'd be on our way. Genuinely ignorant of CA's diverse weather, I was a little surprised when my friend cautioned me that flights in and out of Fresno

Driving Diversity -- jcarolek

It's been nearly a month since I left home for work travel and then on to CA for personal "fun travel." We are on the way home now, delayed by the weather for several weeks in CA. It has been, to say the least, an interesting end to 2008 and beginning to 2009.

The road back to VA has offered us many additional weather challenges, and I am thankful that I am able to actually work from pretty much anywhere on the road. We have seen more accidents on this single trip than on any trip we can recall. Yesterday alone, as we made our way through unbelievably icy Texas, we saw at least eight accidents, cars totally spun off the road on the slick icy patches. More of the same today through Louisiana and Mississippi, though this time torrential downpours with standing water on the roads is the culprit. Just a few minutes ago I thought we'd be delayed dealing with an accident ourselves, as a lightweight pickup truck spun out on standing water, and very nearly spun into us. Thank goodness I am the passenger, as I doubt I would have been as successful in getting past the spinning truck. I don't know what happened behind us, as it is really too dark and visibility too limited to determine, but one thing is for certain, we suddenly had no traffic behind us. I hope the driver and the other drivers in the vehicles around him fared well.

I guess when I said I was looking forward to an adventure, I should have been more clear on my definition of adventure. Still, I really cannot complain. I have had a lot of fun, both in CA and on the road back to VA. One thing is clear to me. This is a trip we will have to repeat in better weather, and when we have more time.

A lot of our driving has been at night, out of necessity, since we got such a delayed start, so I have been able to take only limited pictures. Still, I do have some that will forever trigger memories of this road trip.

Joshua Trees at Sunrise in CA


Arizona morning


Arizona Afternoon....


Wheelsicles in Texas

Kansas Barbecue, Pigs and Full Moons -- jcarolek

This is my final night in Kansas. Tomorrow I head back to the facility where I have been taking my class all week and sit for the exam. After that, I am, officially, on vacation... and I plan to enjoy it. Still, I didn't want to leave this state without taking a few pictures to remind me of my time here.

Our class was treated to barbecue, apparently a Kansas specialty, at a local restaurant here in Overland Park. Actually, I did not even taste the barbecue, opting for the loaded baked potato...go figure. Still the others all enjoyed the local offering and the table of approximately 25 of us was buzzing with multiple conversations. Meanwhile, I took pictures of this and that, the interesting decor (a very cheerful pig), the folks eating, the food itself. Impressive to me were the fried mushrooms which have to be the BIGGEST fried mushrooms I have ever seen.... and I had one... it would have sufficed for my entire meal, but I poked at my loaded baked potato when it arrived. It was tasty, but I was already full.

I should have known -- jcarolek

Yep, I should have known, that the ice scraper I spied in the rental car when I got in on Sunday was there for a reason, and I should have known that my little post last night, the one lamenting the cold weather and dreaming of those hammock days would be asking for trouble. Today, as I sat down in class next to my coworkers, they were talking about snow. "Snow?" I asked, "Here?"... They assured me that if I would at least ONCE turn on the TV in my hotel room, I might actually KNOW that snow was predicted in this area today.

And sure enough, within the hour, the snow started falling. From our vantage point, three stories up, it looked like a blizzard, but accumulation was minimal... less than two inches. Nevertheless, it was snowing and I logged

Swinging -- jcarolek

I know it's almost winter...by the feel of the cold air, I think I'll just accept that it IS winter, even if this not technically true. And I, for one, am not a fan of the cold. I'd just as soon skip winter and jump right into spring. But, for every thing (turn, turn, turn) there is a season....yeah, yeah, yeah.

Once upon a time I lived in a place where the seasons were rather lopsided. The summers started in about April and carried on through mid October. It did snow there once or twice in the eleven years I lived there, but it was certainly

In Kansas Remembering -- jcarolek

The weather was ideal for flying today and my daughter and son-in-law drove me to the airport this morning. We'd had a very nice night last night, the kids and I, celebrating our Christmas. My son and his wife, my daughter and her husband, and I went out to eat and then back to the house for our "party." I am so NOT a party kind of person. I had not really planned anything, but had some fixins to make cookies, if we were so inspired (we were not) and to make hot chocolate, should that suit our fancy (it did not)........................................and my guitar, of course. My son brought two guitars, one for himself and one for his sister. His wife brought her violin... and, as you might have already guessed we ended up doing little besides playing and singing Christmas carols... for the next couple of hours. We were all too full from supper to consider baking cookies or drinking hot chocolate, and so we simply made music.

When we were ready for a break, we opened gifts we'd brought for each other. Jenn and Benoit are heading to France for Christmas, and I will be on the road for Christmas, so this seemed appropriate, if early. Everyone enjoyed

Perceptions -- jcarolek

I was thinking about my brother Tim today. Well, actually, I started out thinking about my brother Dan. At Thanksgiving dinner, as we sat around the table, fully sated and just preferring to rest for a while at the table rather than get up and have to move, we fell into discussion of "when we were kids." Dan asked if I remember how I, as a little child, would sit, back arched away from the table, arm extended "as if" to reach out to get the object, and start whining, crying that I could not reach whatever it was I wanted. As he said, I all I had to do was LEAN IN toward the object and I could have reached it. But I preferred to whine and get assistance.... Yes, I DO recall... what a WHINER!

Anyway, today I was thinking of that and thinking about how I perceived things as a youngster. Truly, all things DID seem to be just out of my reach. And then I thought about Tim