How 'bout some Friday Catblogging?

Friday catblogging is back, courtesy of Merlin, the feline foot warmer.

Why yes, this Tuesday was super. Thanks for asking.

This afternoon, I voted YES to allow Sunday sales of alcohol in my county, and that made me very happy. The other thing on the ballot was a pointless exercise in futility, but who cares - soon we will be free to have impromptu Sunday mimosas without the need for planning ahead. I can decide at the last minute that I want to cook something with wine that I do not have, and won't have to change my plans because it isn't available on a Sunday. I'm buying on the first available Sunday, just because I can. W00t!

Is anyone still in here? Hellooooooo.

Just wondering if anyone still comes around. I confess to not keeping up with blogs very frequently these days. I sure as hell don't do much on my own blog.

Been slowly being my real non-anonymous self out there on the internets here and there. Including a yearlong foodie project which I will be posting on the low sodium blog on a roughly weekly basis. One new recipe (or an old one converted to low sodium) per week. That is not very exciting, but hopefully will be helpful to people who need to eat a little less salt and still want to eat well.

Happy New Year to all of you that are still out there reading this.

Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead (Sort of)

Looks like Sunday alcohol sales will be legal in Georgia, at least in some jurisdictions that actually allowed a vote on the matter. Finally! But not everywhere. In my area, we were not given the opportunity to vote for or against (so I boycotted the election and didn't bother voting - I'm not going to go out of my way and wait in line to answer a one question ballot on SPLOST). I will reward forward thinking and good behavior by going out of my way to buy ALL my beer and wine in those jurisdictions that allow purchases on Sundays. Too bad my county didn't bother putting this on the ballot, but I won't have to drive very far to the nearest city or county that did.

My Obligatory "I'm Not Dead" Post

Just thought I'd mention it, since I haven't posted in two months.

In the meantime, I had fun at the Dragon*Con Parade on Labor Day weekend...



...and Dragon*Con night at the Georgia Aquarium.



Georgia Tech football was really fun for six weeks, and then not fun at all the last two. And guess who we're playing for homecoming next week? *gulp* I can narrow it down for you - it is an ACC game and the opponent is undefeated. At least it is a night game and we'll all have a good time until kickoff. Wonder how long I can keep my buzz going?

While I'm being all productive on blog updates, I also put something up on that other blog I started (and have neglected for two months) as well.

I think PDM and I will probably do another mini-vacation around New Year's Day that is within 5-6 hours driving distance of Atlanta. Any suggestions? Would prefer to be near a state park or some other natural place where we can do a few winter day hikes. Last year we did northeastern Florida (Amelia Island) and had a good trip. The beaches were great (and deserted) but we would also consider going north to the mountains as well.

That's about all I've got for now.

The Photos Speak for Themselves

These are all from our last full day on vacation and were taken in the subalpine region near Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. Lets just say it was a terrific vacation. We probably crammed way too much into one week. Drove 1300 miles. Hiked 36 miles. Had some wildlife encounters (including multiple bears).

Dealing with that first week back to work is always the worst, although a light schedule and my fellow physicists made it easier this time. We had a lot of adventures. Great times!

It's Always Something...

Now that I can breathe a sigh of relief about the national parks being open during my vacation, I found an even bigger problem with my travel plans: SNOW!!! Since the trip is days away, I started checking trail reports. I did not anticipate that nearly every trail I want to hike would still be covered by a thick layer of snow in August. Apparently the Pacific Northwest got record amounts of snowfall last winter, which has failed to melt in the usual timeframe. The higher elevation trails are either impassible, impossible to reach because the roads are also snowed under, or both. Lower elevation trails can be challenging due to fallen trees and high flow creeks and streams due to melting runoff. The net result will be that we have to modify where we visit and will probably not get to do nearly as much hiking as I had hoped for. PDM might prefer this arrangement, but I am disappointed that I won't get to walk through an alpine meadow filled with wildflowers and surrounded by beautiful mountains (unless I can find one that isn't under several feet of snow).

I am also a bit concerned that with far fewer places to spread out, the crowds might be much larger than what we'd prefer (we would rather not have ANY company on a trail other than plants and wildlife of the type that doesn't eat people). Still looking through my books and guides for creative alternatives, and hoping that our innkeepers will be able to point us toward paths less traveled, or maybe the park rangers will have some suggestions. But I am still astounded that my August vacation plans are all shot to hell because of snowpack. That just amazes me - and never crossed my mind when planning this trip.