Blame It On The Sun

It was a fun and fairly involved weekend in these parts! I wasn’t around Blogland on Friday, blame that on the sun. David was off for a long weekend and we took advantage of the trainlicious weather. I added the Conrail Heritage Unit to my collection on Friday and the Virginian on Saturday. With those I’m up to 13 of the 20 photographed “in the wild.” David wheeled me out to a river-bank picnic table on Friday for the best shot of one of the special engines I‘ve taken yet.

Norfolk Southern’s Conrail Heritage Unit

Saturday it was well worth being late to my dad’s place when we caught the Virginian in Toledo before we left.

Norfolk Southern’s Virginian Heritage Unit

Yesterday was a cloudy midday, which was great for napping after getting home late Saturday night and then rising early with the sun. This was my favorite Sunday morning shot in Deshler, Ohio, newly painted water tower and all!

So that was my weekend. Every now and then I really need to take a break from blogging, scrapbooking and cleaning the kitchen to do some things to blog about and scrapbook while making no new dishes in the kitchen.


But now the week begins, easing into it in a social way with Heather at Acting Balanced and Wayne at Touristic and the Monday Quiz About Me.

1. May is National Asparagus Month - do you like it? Haves a favorite recipe?

I just bought a bag of precut asparagus spears at Kroger yesterday. They were on sale because they were nearing the sell by date. I love asparagus and recently discovered I like them raw in my Crunchy Veggie Bowls too. Mt favorite recipe is just steamed with a little vinaigrette. However, being that David like asparagus too, but doesn’t care for vinaigrette, I make them either with a little butter or I heat up a little bit of olive oil and brown minced garlic is in, adding bite-sized pieces of asparagus and cooking until tender; YUUUM-MEE!


2. May is also National Salad month... what's your favorite salad?

Favorite? Only one? I totally believe that anything is improved by putting it on a bed of lettuce. Yesterday we had lunch at Bob Evens and I had their cranberry-pecan chicken salad, one of my summer favorites. I also often eat chili on a bed of lettuce at home. I’ve even had salad with scrambled eggs and bacon on it. Seriously, a bed of lettuce is almost always better than a bun.


3. Laundry Question: Fabric Softener yea or nay? How do you keep your clothes soft and static free?

We use dryer sheets and that’s usually enough for anti-static and fresh smelling. But I really love the smell of Tide detergent which we use.


4. Do you speak more than one language? What language would you love to learn?

Je parle un peut de francais, enough that I can ask for directions or order in a restaurant in Quebec. I’ve never been to France, but I do know my French is sufficient to impress store owners to speak English to me as a reward for my effort. That was the difference after the dismal warning my grandfather had given to me about Quebec before I went with the high school French Club. I could hold a conversation with our host family, who did not speak any English, and read the newspaper then, which means that I could again with a little practice, but I’m not sure I could just pick up a newspaper in Montreal and read as fast as I do an American one now.

I read a little Italian, just a little, but I’ve kept with letting my “other country” knows where I am so I continue to get political stuff in the mail. That keeps me reading it, but I always bring things to my dad and tell him what I think the letter says to see if I got it right. My Italian average is about .750. I can construct and speak a few sentences in Italian, but I’ve never had a conversation in Italian.

Really, there are still so many English words I haven’t learned well enough to make them part of my natural vocabulary I don’t even know if I can really say I even speak one language!


And don't forget to add a 5th Question on your own blog so we can answer as we hop around!

5. Do you find that you blog/social network less when the weather is nice, or do you use mobile devices to keep up in the cyber world wherever you are?

When I travel for any amount of time I take my laptop, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I keep up with social networking, like my blog or Twitter. I often use it for weather and email while I’m away. Ido will take a morning every few days while David goes out to stay in the hotel and practice the water pill ritual because if I go a week without that and spending lots of time in the car, my feet will swell past painful. That’s when I take advantage of some time to cyber-socialize.

I know there are those who blog from a tablet by the pool or Tweet from their seats at a ball game, but not me. (Although I think I’m probably more likely to want a tablet than a smart phone, I’ll probably end up with the smart phone because they’ll quit making dumb phones)