What Was the Deal with 2009?

We watched the ball drop at our friends Mike and Sarah’s house on New Years Eve. We’d just had a lovely dinner—Todd whipped up a prime rib and I nibbled on a chicken pot pie, as I don’t care for beef—and we were discussing the last year and the last decade in the last few minutes of 2009.

“What was your favorite part of 2009?” Todd asked me.  I don’t think I could answer that question with just one particular moment, even at gunpoint.

I can just imagine how that would go down, being asked that question at gunpoint. The bad guys would lock me in some sort of dingy room with a bright light shining on me. All I would be able to see is their silhouettes against the blinding light. At this point they probably would have deprived me of sleep and, God forbid, pie. They would pace in exasperation in and out of the light, wringing their hands and threatening to hit me with them. I’d flinch every time and they’d sneer at me.

“Tell me,” one of them would say in an unidentifiable accent, while brandishing a lit and glowing cigarette precariously close to my cheek, “Vat vas ze best part of 2009?” And I’d start crying because I wouldn’t be able to name just one thing. I’d rattle off a bunch of things, and then they’d throw a folding metal chair at the filthy cinderblock walls and scream at me to tell them just one.

And here’s what I’d say.

1. In 2009 I fed an elephant. And a giraffe.

Todd feeding an elephant.  Did you know that they have 80,000 muscles in their trunk?  I didn't.  Now I do, and so do you.

Me feeding the giraffe.  And then I was drooled on by that same giraffe.  I'd forgotten an umbrella that day.

2. We went to Discovery Cove in Florida, which was the first stop on our 3 week honeymoon blitz back in 2003.

3. We dove the New England Aquarium in Boston, and played with all the animals in the tank.

4. We got Sabine repainted. And she looked great. She even sailed better, and I think it was out of pride.

5. We sailed for only a week this year. But still, it was a wonderful week where we still sailed to places we hadn’t been. We played, as a family, on a sandbar at low tide.

Todd, Griffen and Nemo on the sandbar in Westport, Massachusetts.

Me and Griffen on the sandbar in Westport.

Griffen dozing on my lap.  I just want to rub the short fuzzy hair on his snout, don't you?

Nemo navigating. 

6. We saw Willy Porter in concert.  Twice.  In the same night.  Then I got inspired by how much fun Willy looked like he was having, and then I played my guitar for about five minutes afterward.  I mean, look at him!  Don't you just want to pick up a guitar, play some amazing riff and sing flawlessly too?

Photo from guildguitar.com

7. We went to the Berkshires in December, and stayed in a spa resort where we got a couple’s massage. But we cracked jokes to each other the entire time. There’s nothing more relaxing than receiving a blissful deep tissue massage and laughing at the same time.


8. We bought a dive boat, and dove off it a few times in the summer. Or we just took it out and cruised around the bay, or at the lake in our town, Podunk. This spring we’ll have to fix the electrical system so we won’t get electrocuted while touching the throttle handle if it’s wet. But other than that, good times.

Now, let’s get on to making 2010 even more awesome.

Hookey

There is something about blowing off work in the afternoon to go to the zoo. Today, Todd and I went on a private tour of the Roger Williams Zoo in Providence, RI. Though we try to visit the zoo at least twice per year, we still managed to see and do things at the zoo that we hadn't seen before.


The Roger Williams Zoo was established in 1872, and is one of the oldest zoos in the US. It's home to many rare creatures, one of which I had seen today for the first time--the American Burying Beetle. This beetle is nearly extinct, and the conservationists are working to restore the beetle's populationby breeding them at the zoo and releasing them into the wild. We got the chance to see where the beetles are being raised and to learn about how their population is now thriving on Nantucket Island.


Also on our tour today we were given the opportunity to feed the elephants and giraffes. We held pieces of pears, green beans and oranges and they were sucked from our hands by Katie, a 24 year old elephant. It's a strange sensation, as there are 80,000 muscles in the elephant's trunk. The tip of the trunk extends to enclose the piece of food as it sucks to hold the food into place. Then the trunk carries the food to the mouth. The food is held in place by the suction and by the amazing muscle control the animal has in its trunk, which surprised me. While I know that there are no teeth in an elephant's trunk, I expected there would be some in there that would help her hold onto the food. She stretched the ends of the trunk over my hands to make sure that she captured the food. We played tug with her, and she gently pulled onto the food until she managed to free it from my hands. To give you an idea of the control they have with their trunk, the zookeeper told us that the elephants have been known to unscrew bolts in their pens with their trunks. Imagine unscrewing a bolt with your nose.

Todd is feeding and petting Katie. You can see how she closed his fingers into the end of her trunk. It didn't hurt, it just felt strange.

This is Xiang, an endangered red panda. The zoo is currently looking for a mate for this panda to help perpetuate the species. I would love to see those babies, I mean, look at that face.

This is Kenya, a baby giraffe born in late December. Kenya's mom and dad, Sukari and Griffin, are in the pen with her. There is another pregnant giraffe in the pen as well, who will give birth soon.




This is Sukari, Kenya's mom. Todd is feeding her some romaine lettuce here.

Katie's teeth. If you look closely inside her mouth, above her tongue, you'll see two rows of molars on either eide.

Camels in the sun. I wonder how these desert animals are coping with the snow.

Kenya sitting. She awkwardly lowered herself over her gangly legs, and clumsily flopped onto the floor. Adorable.

Beej feeding Sukari. Griffin, the darker giraffe, is on the left. They drool. A lot. I should have brought an umbrella.

Flamingoes in the snow. How weird does that look?

You Can Dress Us Up...

...but you can't take us anywhere.

*photos courtesy of Jeff Brum

Todd slipped his tie around my neck, then commandeered the ribbon from my top and tied that around his head, and began his new life as Toddbo: Avenger of Kamikaze shots.

A Week in Review

Sorry about the silence, my loyal readers. Life has been busy here in Podunk, RI, as it usually is for us in the summer. Work was crazy last week, we went sailing on Wednesday night and had a wonderful time, then over the weekend we went to Vermont to see our nephew Alex, who turned three years old on Friday.

Until I can get my head together to write a more meaningful post, I'll have to entertain you with some pictures.

Here's a nest of birds under our deck. I can see the nest when I walk out from the basement under the deck. On Thursday night I was in the basement doing laundry. When I pulled the drying rack in through the basement door, one of these baby birds flew into the basement. It sat on the frame of the window and chirped until I caught it with a dish towel and brought it outside to free it. It just barely flew onto the railing of the deck and chirped. A second later another chirp came from the tree, and my little friend flew toward the chirp and perched itself on a branch and chirped again to get a closer reading on the other baby bird in the tree.

This is Griffen jumping into the water near our mooring. I took this on Wednesday night before we went sailing.

This is Alex on his brand new bike. He's very serious as he rides it.

Uncle Todd and Alex walk up to the end of the driveway, where they cross the street so Alex can ride his new bike in the church parking lot. This is quite possibly my new favorite picture.

This is what happens when I swim with an overjealous Labrador.

A Tour of Providence

Like I've said in a previous post, despite living in Rhode Island for six years I've never really taken the time to explore Providence. Yesterday I slipped my camera around my neck and took a bus into the city, and walked around snapping pictures. I browsed in shops, I looked up at the buildings, I smiled at people walking around and pretended to be a tourist.

Apparently I looked like a tourist, with a backpack strapped to my back and the camera slung around my neck. People struck up conversation with me on street corners as I was waiting to cross, "Where are you from?" When I told people that I lived locally and just felt like puttering around the city they lost interest in me. Then I began to lie and tell people I was from Indianapolis and they began to give me advice on interesting things I needed to see and take pictures of.

I walked around for almost three hours, until my feet ached and the camera ran out of battery power. Here are my favorite shots.

Westminster Street

Water Place Park. This is a great place to spend a summer evening as the city floats huge torches on the water. You can walk along the river, look at the fires, see some outdoor art exhibits done by students at RI School of Design, listen to music, etc.

This is the Wall of Hope, located under a bridge just off of Water Place Park. The wall is made up of hundreds of tiles painted by school kids just after the September 11th attacks. It is a very moving exhibit, every time I see it I discover another favorite tile.

A view of the State House and the city from Benefit Street at dusk.

A very cool tree in a park just off Kennedy Plaza.

And now the most notable Providence landmark, the State House. I've never been inside the building, I think that will be on my next Providence site seeing tour.

Until yesterday I didn't even know Providence had mounted police officers. Here they are in Kennedy Plaza.

This is a map of Providence back when it belonged to farmers. The map is located near the Wall of Hope. Each farmer owned a narrow strip of land, and now some of these farms have become street names, for example Thomas Angell's farm became Angell Street, Thomas Olney's farm became Olney Street, William Wickenden's farm now has it's own exit off of I-195, well, Wickenden Street does. Mr. Wickenden would never have believed that his name would be on an exit sign if you told him about it back then.

This is the ice skating rink that gets set up every winter. I've never skated on this one, but it looks like fun.

Fountain in a park near Kennedy Plaza.

A doorway on Washington Street, I think.

Del's frozen lemonade is an institution in Rhode Island. In the summer you can see Del's trucks at all the parks and beaches. Del's is fabulous with a shot of Citron as well, or so I've read.

The Providence Biltmore sign has been a fixture on the Providence skyline for I don't even know how long. Just to the right is the hotel's glass elevator, the view from which is amazing.

This is the clock tower on the Providence Amtrak station. If you are ever catching a train in Providence, please be sure to wear a watch. As you can see, the clocks on the tower appear to be quite unreliable.

Not Providence, But...

It was stormy out today, so I didn't get the chance to go on my great Providence Expedition. However, I did cruise around when I was running errands today. I drove through City Park in Warwick, RI, and a blanket of fog had covered most of the park. By the time I drove home to get my camera, the fog had lifted.

The fog, was extrordinary. The trees were black from being soaked by the rain, and they stood out against the white of the fog. The silence in the park had an eerie feel to it, as I stood there in the fog while looking at it contrast against the trees.

You'll have to imagine these pictures with thick fog surrounding the trees.

Ladies and gentlemen, City Park, Warwick, RI

It feels like a lifetime ago...

I have spent the last couple of months looking forward to summer. Looking out my window today at the snow on the ground I decided that maybe the thing to do is look backward for a while....



On deck, on watch.


Where are we going?


He likes the wind on his face...


As happy as I have ever seen him.



Tastin' the wind....


Tastin' the big dog...


He's all ears !


Griffen loves to sail too...



Ok, now I remember why I was looking forward to the spring.

~Todd