Daybook :: Everyday Photo Blog By Jodi Anderson a.k.a. soNOTcool

this blog has moved

2011-05-19T09:14:24-05:00

This blog has moved. Please visit daybook: a keeping of days at www.akeepingofdays.com. Thank you!

memorial weekend + blog move

2010-06-01T09:21:23-05:00

During my leisurely weekend, which I will detail below, I got a wild hair and decided to finally move my blog to my own url. I have been officially blogging for eight years (as of August) although I kept weblogs of other sorts long before the word blog was ever used. In 2002, I signed up with Xanga and blogged THERE for quite a while. (My monikers included soNOTcool, frejaluna, yourfavoritewife, and themissingtenenbaum.) In the spring of 2007, I started writing (and posting photos, poetry, videos, and vignettes) at Typepad, which has served me well.

About six years ago, I purchased www.jodianderson.com. I haven't done a lot with it in that time. It has essentially been my landing, where one can get a little info about me and find links to my various other blogs. I had always hoped to host my Typepad blog there, but... *CONFUSION*. I have decided to take advantage of my host's Wordpress.ORG services. Please note the DOT ORG because Wordpress DOT COM is a much nicer can of worms. Trust me. However, that's not an option since I'm hosting the blog and not the other way around.

(If you are a super-duper scholar on Wordpress DOT ORG, send an ambulance immediately.)

So, here is where I stand... I transferred all of my old posts and comments from my Typepad sites over to www.jodianderson.com. The comments are messy. The replies don't match up with the original comments. Some people have two profile photos. (???!!!) For a while, until I get things running fairly smoothly, I will be posting at both sites. HOWEVER, comments will be closed here because I will not be able to transfer them. Or, I just don't want to go through that again. Please. Fortheloveofscience, NO! So, if you'd like to leave a comment, please do so at www.jodianderson.com/blog. It'll really help me out, to see how things are formatting over there.

Speaking of THERE, please ignore the following: the lack of headers, the poor formatting, THE OMISSION OF ANYTHING PRETTY, the ugly themes, THE FONT, the nails on the floor, the stupid obvious tags, and the runaway lawnmower going in circles.

Here's the details; Please let me know if you run into any issues:

blog: www.jodianderson.com/blog (rss feed: http://www.jodianderson.com/blog/?feed=rss2)
photo projects: www.jodianderson.com/photos
video blog: www.jodianderson.com/videos
poetry: www.jodianderson.com/poetry
writings: www.jodianderson.com/writings

This weekend?

Saturday: breakfast - farmer's market: radishes, asparagus, kale; black fennel, parsley - planted black fennel, parsley and heirloom tomatoes - discovered baby dill from last year growing in the garden - sat in adirondack chairs under the maple - sauteed asparagus and radishes with garlic (I'll come up with a recipe for it and share soon) - read on the front porch in the early evening - tried to get video of Kin *covering* and *uncovering* the water bowl - finished reading Mrs. Miniver (LOVED IT!) - started adding books to my Amazon store

Sunday: breakfast with a breeze through the window - adding at least 40 books to my GoodReads list - seeing a young and downy Grackle sitting on the bird feeder roof, confused about how to gracefully get to the seed - careful placement of fans to keep cool - more sauteed greens with white beans - sauteed green beans with garlic and red pepper flakes - falling off the vegan wagon and having a raspberry shake - getting a wild hair to move my blogs to my own domain - staying up too late

Monday: road trip through and around Black Earth, Mount Horeb, Blanchardville, Mount Vernon, New Glarus, and Monroe - discovering a new park for picnicking - stopped at Brennan's for asparagus, Grana, aged Cheddar, garlic, and lettuce - figuratively banging my head against the table while trying to figure out Wordpress DOT ORG

through the looking grass

2010-05-27T12:57:54-05:00

(Playing along with SouleMama's this moment again.)

Whether you are in the States and having a long Memorial Day weekend, or just having a lovely ordinary weekend, what are your plans? I hope that everyone has a beautiful and sweet and very, very safe couple of days.

happy trumps misery

2010-05-25T13:30:16-05:00

It has been miserably hot the last few days. For anyone that doesn't know, I'm all about the winter. I am not talking oh-look-at-the-beautiful-snow. I like subzero temperatures, walking on frozen lakes, harsh conditions, fierce blizzards.

So, trying not to whine, I sat down to tap out some things that made me pause and smile. No more had I completed the following list... and clouds rolled in, a cool and steady breeze came through the open windows, it began to thunder, and finally it rained.

The house is comfortable again.

peony buds brought in last night that are full-on larger-than-my-hand blooms today
THIS PHOTO of my lovely friend
we will soon bring out the grill, which means that when I say that I'm cooking, it actually means that I'm prepping and someone else is grilling
i haven't done anything in my garden this year; it's still beautiful and abundant
heirloom tomatoes go in the ground later this week
no plans for memorial weekend except road trips and picnics
sauteed greens with white beans and garlic (i used kale and a bit more vegetable broth)

trying to make the bed

2010-05-22T15:33:53-05:00

photo + dalai lama visit

2010-05-19T19:19:12-05:00

I didn't get around to answering comments this last week. I'm sorry about that. I also removed a few posts while editing the site. So, if you're looking for something in particular and it's not there, just let me know.

We saw His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Sunday.

I decided, at the last minute, not to bring my camera along with me. It was bulky and I wasn't 100% sure that it would pass through security. While waiting for the dialogue to begin, I received a comment from Shokoofeh (on my phone) that she was not permitted to bring in her DSLR when she saw His Holiness. After reading that, I was quite relieved that I had left it at home.

The governor gave an opening speech and then introduced the Madison Youth Choirs. During their performance, His Holiness came out along with UW-Madison neuroscientist Richard J. Davidson (CIHM), moderator Daniel Goleman, and HHDL's interpretor. Afterward, two of the children gave HHDL a University of Wisconsin Badgers hat, which he wore throughout the performance. (You can see a newspaper photo HERE.)

The dialogue was very interesting. Rather than recount it myself, I'll just point you to THIS newspaper article, if you're interested. I didn't find a full transcript online, but I also didn't look very hard. There are some great photos of his seventh visit to Madison on the Dalai Lama's website.

to see his holiness the dalai lama

2010-05-16T09:03:38-05:00

Today, X and I will be seeing His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in Madison. There will be a live webcast at 2:15 pm CDT and you can view that HERE. The ticket information says that we can take along a handheld camera, so I'll be bringing my DSLR. I hope that is okay and that I can get a few snapshots of the occasion.

Have a lovely day.

it is not just a phase

2010-05-12T05:35:00-05:00

The shot above is my favorite parking spot at Monroe Street Fine Arts Center, where X has had art lessons, improv classes, and guitar instruction for about five years. If anyone local is reading this, I highly recommend MSFAC.

Next month, X will be 18.

I have found myself thinking about personal evolution lately and these so-called phases that one goes through in life. After mulling it over, I have decided that it is others, society in general really, who have left the impression that X and I should move onto completely areas in our lives because of this whole 18-thing. I don't feel that she must move directly onto college or career; She doesn't feel that she must move directly onto college or career. That is the beauty of the unschooling mindset ... There are no rigid rules about life and learning. This mindset shouldn't be restricted to unschooling, in my opinion, and more the norm as opposed to the exception.

Things will evolve slowly and naturally, with no real line between then and now, no clear definition of one phase or another. That is the way that I like it.

this class requires a notebook

2010-05-10T08:35:45-05:00

When we moved into this house, the majority of our neighbors were senior citizens. Slowly, they are vanishing and I know that it will always be like that. I'm grateful for everyone that is still here: Mr. and Mrs. Frey, who work so hard in their garden and, I suspect, have always been eco-friendly; Mrs. Dickerson, whose son died four years ago, now lives alone, although you'd never know it because family visits her throughout the day; Mrs. Schwartz tells us to pick as many grapes as we want because she doesn't know what to do with them since Mr. Schwartz is no longer alive to make wine; and Mrs. Meyers, who bakes us treats and borrows my husband when she can't lift or reach something.

There is an elderly man who lives about two blocks from me. For years, he regularly drove by on his bicycle and he'd have his little dog in the basket. It was the cutest thing ever, and I was always hoping to photograph or shoot a video of him going by like that. Two years ago, he started leaving his dog at home. Last summer, he didn't ride the bike at all, but I'd see him walking the little dog near his house. Now, I just see the old man when I drive or walk by his home. He stands on the corner of the sidewalk with his silver metal walker. He involves himself in the business of those going by, throwing out curt words and impolite stares.

There's no point to this story, no clever ending or a photo of him on his bike. I just want to remember this neighborhood as it once was and as it is now.

this moment

2010-05-07T08:11:30-05:00

(playing along with SouleMama this week; enjoy your weekend!)