land of the flies

My office has been taken over by the flies.  They need to leave now.  This game is a fair approximation of what it's like - only no fries or sugar packets... the coffee ring is about right though...

http://majman.net/flyswatter/

have fun!

everything being equal

Happy Fall!

It's a gorgeous day here at the lake!  I'm glad it's warmed up - I was beginning to think that I was going to be an ice cube until May.  I've had many an adventure this summer, and most of you know about most of them, so I won't go into too much detail here.  I just wanted to share the photos I've been taking.  My sister had some old film, and so I busted out my Nikon SLR camera - oh how I've missed taking photos!  Here's some of the first two rolls of film (I have two more that I haven't exposed yet) on my flickr photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/arnorachel/

I've also discovered a fun website called Pintrest.com.  I don't know how much I'll use it, but it seems like it could be another fun organizer/time burner.  

My boss is taking a 3 month sabbatical, so I will be 'taking over' until she gets back.  So far, I'm not thinking that it's going to kill me, but I will have a lot less free time, I'm thinking.  After 20 summers of working here, I'm glad she's getting some well-deserved time off, but it means we are one more person down for hosting retreats and doing promos for camp.  At least I enjoy my job!

Oh Yeah...

I DO have one of these!  :)  Poor blog, it has been taking a back seat to everything else since November.  *sigh*  Well, a few quick updates - I am now officially an EMT.  I spent the month of January in class, and took my national written test on the 7th of this month.  Here's hoping that I never have to use the skills I learned, but I feel better about living in the middle of nowhere knowing them.  

Anywho, I've been on the search for summer staff for camp, so since January, I've been travelling like crazy.  I'm looking forward to the time when I will be staying for an entire week in one place.  I think my house is looking forward to that as well - it needs some serious spring cleaning.  I did get a good start on that the other day though, and my bedroom closets are now very organized and clean.  Now to get to the rest of the house!  :)

now I'm here...

It's been a crazy few weeks, and there is much upcoming crazyness!  I have been traveling for work - to New Jersey.  It was quite fun!  I didn't manage to take any photos, but some of my friends did, and I'll see if I can find any good ones to post for you.  This is just a short blog to say hello, I'm alive, and will be gone again for a spell. I will be traveling out west for a week, so look forward to photos and tales from that journey!

of stuff and things.

September is upon us (and nearly gone).  Holy Crap!  I don't think I like this fact.  But, there is nothing I can do to slow time, so I guess I'll just have to deal.  I had a GREAT summer at the ranch - awesome staff, awesome campers, awesome horses.  :)  It's summers like this that make me want to work here forever!  

Anyway,  as I walked to the mailbox today, I saw several squirrels scampering about, searching for food (generally acorns around here), and it reminded me of several things, but mostly that I love food.  :)  I've had some fun lately in my tiny kitchen:

First, we had a German counselor this summer, and she LOVES potatoes.  She made us some Bratkartoffeln one day, and they were soooooo good!  I decided to try to make some, so, not having internet at my house, I made up a recipe.  They turned out awesome, and when I looked them up online later, I was actually very close!

I added a dollop of sour cream, and ate WAY too much!  If you're going to make them, I suggest slightly smaller chunks of potato...

Mom & Dad have started growing heirloom tomatoes, and gave me a few.

I decided that I needed to make something, and settled on Marinara sauce.  I have no recipe for it, so I made it up.

The green tomatoes (yes, they're ripe.  I don't know the variety, but they're the ones that are green with yellow stripes) made the sauce look a bit sickly, but it was tasty!  I also baked some Italian Herb Bread that day.

I decided that the two must meet, so I whipped out the George Foreman Grill for some nummy grilled cheese sandwiches - with sharp cheddar cheese.

 When all of the ingredients were compiled, it was exquisite!

(See what I mean about the way it looked?  But trust me, it was heaven!)

sad, sad day.

I just learned that Jack Horkheimer has died.  I used to watch Stargazer all the time on PBS.  

I will miss it. 

"Keep Looking Up!"

Dalmatians

We had a crew of about 70 1st-5th grade students here on Saturday.  Talk about busy!  They got here around 11 and left at 4.  We had a meal, played games, did a Bible study, sang songs, and had a craft project.  I was in charge of the craft - we made ShrinkyDink bookmarks.  I learned many things: 

1. Young children CAN use permanent markers without making a HUGE mess (I only had to clean a few spots off the tables).
2. Convection ovens are awesome, but will cause the ShrinkyDink to fly around because of the fan.
3. ShrinkyDinks curl alarmingly, but will mostly flatten out again
4. Stacking another layer of parchment paper and then another cookie sheet on top of the ShrinkyDinks will work and does keep them from ending up horribly mauled by the convection oven fan

Needless to say, I have now perfected the method of ShrinkyDink production in the camp kitchen.  Things I never knew I needed to know.  :)

When all was said and done, we went out to eat with the summer staff who had come up to volunteer.  One of my favorite parts of my job is the people I meet and get to work with.  Most of them are funny, smart, goofy nerds.  Much like my friends (you all know you are!).  I like them.  I can't wait for summer!

Lately, I've been falling asleep to NPR.  It's usually during 'World Cafe.'  I heard a song the other night that I vaguely remember thinking that I should look up, and then someone posted this link on Facebook today.  The song I had listened to was Josh Ritter's Change of Time.  I've been listening to the whole album, and have decided that yes, indeed, I should buy it.  Someday.  When I have money.  

There have been may things added to that list (the I should buy it. Someday. When I have money. list).  I've started trying to keep track of these things with a list in the small notebook I try to carry around with me.  I actually title the list (cuz I'm a nerd).  It's called 'If wishes were horses...'  Yup.  :)