My Moral Dilema

So Sunday I had to choose between going to church and shooting guns. I've been trying to find a church up here that I would like to go to regularly, and I haven't been in a while, so I was figuring I'd try one again Sunday. Then VAP told me that he and a bunch of friends were going to a friend's parent's house to target shoot. I've never shot a gun before, and I don't really like the idea of having them at home, but the idea of shooting at a target and attempting to be accurate intrigues me. I was a 7th and 8th grade archery champion [as was BeepsNRays!]...so I've always wondered if I'd be good at target shooting.

So, guns won this Sunday. I have to say, it was pretty fun. I shot a 9mm and a AR15 [I believe]. There were other guns that I did not attempt to shoot. And to make everyone feel better, we were supervised by a cop who taught me how to shoot it and stood by me while I did it. So I felt pretty safe. Again, I have no desire to have a gun in my home, and I worry about other people that do, but I wouldn't mind going to a range and trying my hand again. We didn't really check the targets after each person for accuracy, so I don't even know if I hit what I was aiming for, or anything at all for that matter.

So, here are some pictures of me looking super tough!
Now for the super big gun...

'Garden' Update

So it's been a few weeks, here's an update on the 'garden'.
More tomatoes have sprouted, and some are even starting to look edible!
The peppers look awesome- these will eventually be red peppers [though, I did think they all come from the same plant and are just different ripenesses...]
Here's a new addition from my friend Sara. Her neighbor had lots of succulents and gave her some, so she shared. And, put this awesome plant art in, a ceramic 'stake' type thing w/ a cute flying heart. She makes lots of other ones w/ stuff on it like 'herbs,' 'basil,' and just pretty pictures. You can see them on her page here: http://www.kissmycraftsbysara.com/

So hopefully I don't kill these succulents like the last ones. Who, by the way, after I ignored them for a few weeks, pretty much assuming they were dead, actually are still alive [2 of the four]. We'll see if my new found attention kills them for good.

You know you are in WV if...

You know you are in West Virginia if your GPS has to ask you if you want a route that avoids unpaved roads...and you wonder- Can I get to where I'm headed without driving on unpaved roads? VAP and I drove to Alpine Lake Resort in Terra Alta, WV this weekend for a friend's mother's 50th birthday party. At one point we were on this road and the GPS clearly didn't know where we were b/c it kept trying to get us to turn off the road where no road existed, just trees.
This is the view from our car...we thought we might never see civilization again...

Once we finally got there it was time to relax and drink and eat. A rousing game of ladder ball and some BS card games. Then off to a WV style party. It was actually pretty fun, karaoke and bbq. I think I was in bed by midnight-sad but we did start partying about 12 hours before that.
AM and I taking a break from ladder ball. You can see the cabin we stayed in behind us.

the beauty after the storm

So, after actually "hiding" down in the basement w/ the kitties watching the news/weather at about 5 pm today, the skies cleared and looked like this by sunset.
and a few minutes later...

I want to be the kitty...

That's a MUTTS comic I found a while ago. MUTTS is awesome for anyone who has had a cat or dog, the author seems to know how to think in *cat* and *dog* and get all their intricacies-and it's super cute.

So, having two cute kitties around the house, I often come across adorable situations like this one the other day. Meatball and Betty like to sit on this chest that's in front of a window and stare outside, especially when the window is open and they can smell and hear the real world. Half the time they end up falling asleep like this. It's times like this where, I want to be the kitty. I want to be able to stare, thoughtless out the window and watch the neighborhood. I want to find a soft spot in the sun and sleep for hours, next to my best friend who likes to cuddle. I want to play by myself for hours, just by batting a bottle cap around...and when it stops moving, bat at it again just to keep going...you get the idea.

So, beyond wanting the lazy life of a kitty sometimes...sometimes I wonder if I wouldn't rather have a job at Walmart or something, where I don't care about my job when I leave, and I don't have to worry about doing a good job, and I don't have to commute 3 hours a day. But, then I realize I sort of like my job, or at least I like doing something I think is meaningful and well, dang, it pays waayyyyyyyy better than Walmart!

Veggies!

Our plants are producing babies! The herbs and tomato and pepper plants we planted a few weeks ago have finally started producing veggies. I'm so proud! I've never grown anything before, so this is lamely exciting for me...and if these keep going well, I think I'll actually be sad to eat them once they're ready. More updates to come while they get bigger :-)

Peppers:
Tomatoes:

I'm a building hugger

I spent Thursday and Friday at a conference in Baltimore on historic preservation. There were talks about tax credits, "green" building and sustainability, and tours of local historic landmarks. Sometimes conferences are lame and a bore, this one wasn't spectacular, but it was great to be among other people who are as nerdy as I am when it comes to buildings. Most people don't understand why I love old buildings and that sometimes seeing a building being neglected or demolished almost makes me want to cry. Or that I can stare at a building for hours just trying to figure out why it looks the way it does, who built it and how it is a product of it's time, built a certain way for a specific purpose, and that they just don't put the effort into style these days- at least not in everyday buildings. When I dream about what my next house will look like- it will be historic and it will have character, and it will be almost like another person in the family. I can't wait to live in an older house again, I miss the quirks and personality an old building has. I like my home now but we're the same age and it's just not the same living in a duplex from the 1980's as opposed to a bungalow from the 1920's or Victorian from the 1890's or...who knows where we'll end up.

So, the conference was fun and it was great to be around like minds who don't think you are strange for staring at a replacement window in a building and wondering how the owner could have put that aluminum window with sandwich muntins in a building with historic double hung, wood windows and true divided lights! [:-D]

Here's some pictures from the tours I went on. This is the American Brewery in East Baltimore, rehabilitated by the Humanum company. Really an awesome place.