The designer created a custom logo for me - I don't have an image of the entire card but I can show off the logo.
What do you think?
Should have turned my phone off sooner, this seems to have ended the tendency toward weekend "emergency" calls.
I've been working with a branding specialist who has designed a logo and business stationary for me. Last week, I ordered the business cards (the other stuff can come later) and am anxiously waiting for them to arrive.
- Location:Sun filled room
- Mood:
working - Music:Terrier barking
- Mood:
bouncy
Mine is 7/26 and the boy's is 7/27 (and no, we do not fight all the time).
My schedule is totally crazy this week. Loads of meetings and stuff at mickey mouse software company, loads of social events (b-day dinners), the dentist will mess with my braces again and I've got an assignment to complete in my spare time for Passages. And I haven't seen the new harry potter movie, and I have the book and want to finish it, and my little dog needs to be house trained (my guess is that he smelled all of the places where shadow lost control and thought they were ok places to eliminate). ICK!
- Mood:
devious - Music:the pitter patter of little dog feet
The Snow ChuteSparky went on his first snow/rock climb this weekend. We went up Mount Ellinor in the Olympic Penninsula four miles and 3,100 feet up (1,500 feet of elevation gain in the last mile). He did really well until we got to a long snow chute where I slowed down, using my ice axe as an anchor as I kicked steps in the snow and made my way up. Its pretty easy to go too fast and slide down the slope (into the rocks below). After about 30 minutes of working our way up the snow, he sat down and refused to move. His feet were very cold! So I picked him up and stuffed him in the back of my pack. Then I slowed way down. It was hard to continue climbing up hill with ten extra pounds of weight. Once we were past the snow chute, I was able to take him out of the pack and let him walk.
Sparky doesn't get to hike off leash yet. He loves to run - away! On this trip, I let him off leash while we were going down a fairly steep, rocky section. Jim was ahead of me and I thought he could grab Sparky as he came by. Sparky ran past Jim and wandered off the trail. I kept calling him and eventually, he found me and went back on the leash.
Sparky, Riding in My Pack
Sparky, Crashed out in the car on the way home
- Mood: energetic
At first, it was frustrating to deal with large company beauracry. It took a week for me to get my building access and network sign-on. Till then, I couldn't review any of the project documentation, check out the Microsoft SDLC, or schedule meetings with people. Then, once I received access I had to completely reconfigure my lap-top to their network security settings and install a bunch of software. I've spent at least two days just futzing with my lap-top.
Once I did get everything set up it was pretty easy to find my way around Microsoft's internal web sites. I found their SDLC documentation along with templates that really make my life easier. I was able to create a project plan using their SDLC project planning template in a couple of hours (instead of several days).
The only problem is the commute. The Redmond, WA office where I work is about 15 miles from my house. It can take up to two hours to commute one way, depending on the traffic. My usual commute is 1/2 hour to the office in the morning, arriving by 7:30 AM. Going home, it takes about 1 hour when the traffic is moving well. When there are traffic problems, it is miserable. Redmond is on the other side of lake washington and there are four options across the lake and all of the options are bad. No rapid transit options here!
I'm here for 2 more weeks and they want to extend my contract another 4 or 5 weeks. There is a possiblity that I can stay to the end of the year if I want to stick it out. I'm not sure that I can handle the commute that long.
Soon, I will be able to add Microsoft to my list of satisfied clients. That will be nice.
- Mood: accomplished
- Music:D'Gary Very NY Bado
He also found the packet of rubber bands (for my braces), chewed it open and scattered tiny rubber bands all over the couch. With his jumping range, I have to keep stuff at least four feet above the floor and outside of his three foot horizontal leap.
This evening, he is relatively calm. He is running through the sprinkler I've set up to water my garden and then rolling around on the couch, rubbing the water off his fur and making a kind of GrGrGr noise. Now, there are little muddy footprints all over the red leather couch and love seat.
Luckily, leather is very easy to clean.
- Mood: mischievous
Seriously, I'm starting a four week project with Microsoft that could extend to the end of the year. And it is in my area of specialty - business intelligence. And it is a high profile project that reports up to the Chief Accounting Officer (he will be one of the users of this system). And I've never worked at Microsoft before (hard to believe for a native Seattlite).
Tomorrow should be fun!
- Mood:
curious - Music:dogs barking
Then there is the self portrait shot of me & Sparky taken at Rattlesnake Ledge - it was Sparky's first hike. Probably won't use this one.
Perhaps I can just use a shot of Sparky. Or better yet, Rosie and Sparky. Here they are pretending to be good dogs.
Here they have given up on pretending to be good.
- Mood: creative
- Music:Ceu
Check out www.biznik.com and their events page for more information.
- Location:home
- Mood: energetic
- Music:dogs playing games
I wonder if I could sell tickets to my front yard for the next concert. Karla Bonoff is coming on 7/15.
- Mood:
amused - Music:Gallellio
Yesterday, I took Sparky to the Fremont Solstice Parade. I wanted to take him in a picnic basket on the bus. Jim wanted us to ride our bikes to the parade. Then I got an idea.
So, I carried Sparky in a tote bag. He seemed to like it a lot. We sure got a lot of comments along the way.
- Mood: bouncy
Last month, I heard about a project that would be perfect for me and now I can pursue it!
I'm also networking like a fiend, attended a breakfast meeting yesterday and am going to another networking gathering this evening with a bunch of high tech people. I'm listed on a couple of cool business networking sites Linked in: http://www.linkedin.com/in/cmgronlu
Linkedin is a good source of "real" jobs. I'm not looking for one, but I've send job postings on to friends who are looking. It is also a good way for me to locate the names of HR representatives - so that I can follow up with my promotional material.
Biznik is kind of fun, open to self-employed people and business owners. It seems to be a good place to advertise personal services, locate independant high-tech consultants and meet some cool people. I'm attending a business workshop this weekend and will have a better idea of how it fits with what I want to do after that.
- Mood: jubilant
The "new" old house before the move.
And the "new" house in place, ready for a foundation, chimney, etc...
- Mood:
impressed - Music:Ozomotli - Don't Mess with the Dragon
Today we took a long walk, past Woodland Park Zoo, through the off-leash dog park, around Greenlake, back up to the top of Phinney Ridge and home. It is about five miles and the last quarter mile up the hill is fairly steep. I thought that if he got tired, I'd carry him the rest of the way. Silly me. He ran circles around Rosie and I throughout the walk and pulled on the leash up the hill while Rosie was dragging, pulling me back.
I think he will be a good running partner once he is used to being on a leash.
Rosie has been corrupting Sparky, teaching him how to guard our house from all of the dogs that walk by. She quietly waits in the bushes until they are next to the fence and then leaps out snarling and barking - generally scaring both dog and owner. It works. Most dog owners cross the street long before they come to our house.
Sparky doesn't lie in wait for them, he comes running whenever Rosie starts to bark and adds his voice to the noise. I'm thinking obedience school might not be a bad thing.
Now, Rosie is completely different when kids come by. She runs up to the fence to greet them with her tail wagging. Our neighbors (who don't own dogs) love Rosie.
I'm still trying to get a photo of Sparky when he is moving. He is very fast!
- Mood: amused
- Music:Ozomatli
Rosie has a new toy! Or so she thinks.
Sparky is a 10lb Yorkshire terrier who thinks he is much bigger. He came from the same place where we got Rosie four years ago, a friend’s retreat center and dog rescue (for those who find barking dogs restful). We spent last week there building a cabin (and learning to use power tools) and Sparky helped out. He is adjusting to life in the big city.
Yesterday, he had his first adventure. I had just given him a bath, removing his collar with the dog rescue number on it, thinking I would put it back on when he dried. Jim let Rosie out and he followed close behind. At some point, he saw a woman walk by with her dog and decided to follow, squeezing through a gap between the gate and main fence. The woman saw him right away and asked one of our neighbors, Becky, if she knew whose dog it was. Becky didn’t recognize him and decided to see if she could find his owners. He didn’t have a collar and she assumed he would have a micro-chip identification. So, she took him home, bought him a collar, leash and food and called around to see if any of the places that scan dogs for micro-chip identifiers were open.
I found Sparky on my way back from posting “lost dog” flyers in stores around the neighborhood. I saw Becky’s husband in their drive way and walked over to ask if he had seen Sparky – and there was Sparky on a leash. Sparky was very happy to see me, I picked him up, carried him home, grabbed my wallet and took him to the pet store to get an id tag with our phone number on it. Since then, we have tested all of the gaps in the fence and discovered that he can slip through the gap next to both of our gates. We have blocked the gaps with fireplace logs, temporarily blocking them so that he can’t get out. We are looking for a permanent solution to reduce the space between the gate and the fence.
Got the boy to go climbing with me on Sunday. I love rock climbing - he hates it. So, I "won" a climbing trip at the Passages NW Benefit that was offered by some friends of mine. Nick is a National Outdoor Leadership School(NOLS) instructor and mountaineering guide for Alpine Ascents. Jenna is learning to climb. The plan was to have Nick work with Jim, starting out with some easy climbs and increasing the difficulty level as the day went on. Jenna and I paired up so that we could climb along side them.
The weather didn't cooperate. It was cold and a bit drizzly in the mountains. We worked up a bit of a sweat hiking up to the climbing area and then got a bit cold while setting everything up for our first climbs. The rock was cold! I climb pretty fast, and the tips of my fingers were numb by the end of my first climb. Fortunately, it was an easy climb.
After the first climb, Jim reminded me that he wasn't here because he enjoyed climbing. By the end of the second climb, he seemed more relaxed and comfortable. By the end of the day, he was enjoying himself.
The last climb of the day had a harder variation that involved an overhang. Nick suggested that I try the hard way up and so I did. I looked at the climb - seeing water dripping down the rock where I would need to trust that a microscopic edge of rock would be able to hold my weight - and that my feet wouldn't slip off. It took a couple of tries before I figured out the sequence and was able to climb past the overhang.
After I finished, Jenna was eager to give it a try. As she tried to climb the overhang, she complained that I had made it look much easier than it was. She continued to struggle, long past the point where I would have stopped, and finally made it past the overhang.
As she struggled, I devalued my accomplishment, saying "its much easier for me because I'm taller." After I spoke, I wondered why it is so automatic to diminish my accomplishments when she said that I did something well. Could it be left over angst from earlier years hearing "Oh, you are so ____ (smart, thin, pretty, lucky) I hate you." I'd like to think that my friends would want to see me succeed.
It was a very fun day, in spite of the cold. As we drove home, Jim mentioned that his ideal day of climbing would involve 70 degree weather and shade. I'm sure I can arrange a perfect trip later this summer.
- Mood: accomplished
The sounds of a chain saw and chipper are in the background. My neighbor's oak tree is being trimmed back to provide extra room so that a house can pass by and turn the corner onto my block.
A developer purchased several houses a few blocks away and planned to tear them down so that he could build a four story condominium in their place. One of my neighbors owned a tiny house that would be difficult to remodel or update. At one time, I heard they were considering tearing the house down and rebuilding it completely.
Instead, they purchased one of the houses the developer was going to tear down and will move it to their property. This week, they are clearing the site, tearing the existing house down carefully so that most of the building materials can be recycled. Then on moving day, they will lift their "new" house off its foundation and move it to its new location.
The move will take place in the middle of the night on 5/19 - 5/20. Unfortunately, I'll be out of town and will miss the excitement.
I spent a bit of time watching the tree surgery this morning. Many people passing by on foot or in cars stopped to ask if the tree was being removed completely. I assure them it is just being trimmed back so that it won't extend over the street. The tree currently leans out over the road and has pushed the sidewalk up with its roots. During storms, I often watch it sway, wondering if it will topple over and which way it will fall. If it fell toward my house, it's large enought that it could go through the roof and demolish the northeast corner of my house - perhaps even damaging the house next door as well. Looking at the direction it is leaning, I'm thinking that if it did fall over, it would miss my house completely and take out the home of my neighbor across the street.
Today, the tree surgeons have removed a large portion of the tree and appear to be working on the last large branch. A couple of people ignored the no-parking signs and left thier vehicles in the path of the branches. So far, the crew has managed to miss these cars. They have an elaborate rope and pully system that allows them to control the way each branch falls. Another system secures the climber to the tree so that he can move around and secure himself when he is ready to cut off another branch. I'd love to see his harnass and climbing system!
Being careful takes a lot of time. Rosie and I headed off for a walk around 3:30 PM this afternoon and overheard the crew talking about another job that was scheduled for today. With another large branch to remove and clean-up, they weren't going to make it to that job.
- Mood:
thankful
http://pics.livejournal.com/cmgron
Tuesday – Final road trip
This is it. Our last chance to explore
We start in Cazaubon to drop off the rental car. Then we climb into Be Bop and are off. Our first stop is in
Then on to Fources on the River Auzoke – I asked Libby to take a picture of Jim and I – so that we would have something to prove we were in
This town is very charming, on the banks of a river with many flowering trees and a lovely garden park. Next weekend, they will host a flower show. We wandered through the town and I checked out a place with a for sale sign. A bit too much work for my taste.
We continued on to Larressingle – a walled town that has remained intact. In one of the fields outside of town, there are war machines – a catapult and other things I don’t recognize. There is also an arena where they stage mock battles during the summer tourist season.
Most of these towns have souvenir shops that sell cheap trinkets – machine made copies of famous tapestries, swords, pottery branded with the name of the town or region, and so on. In Larrenssingle, we found a potter’s cooperative that featured work by Christiane Fitzpatrick who has researched traditional French porcelain designs and is recreating them. We pooled our money (by this time we had used up most of our cash) and bought a small plate. I could have bought much more.
We continued on to Aignan – the picture postcard was much more impressive than the town and then through Auche and back home.
Lily was still gone, so we continued on to Mauvezin de Armagnac to meet Jean Claude and see the final painting. Jim and I plan to buy it, our only question is when and how we will transport it to
After a lovely visit with Jean Claude, we headed back to pick up Lily and go out for a final dinner together. Lily left a note saying she was at Chez Claude – the snack bar on Lac d L’uby. So we headed over to pick her up – which was not that easy. We had to have some wine, visit with everyone and after a couple of hours, were able to depart for the restaurant.
The meal was lovely – though they weren’t thrilled about our late arrival – even though we arrived long before their posted closing time.
Wednesday
Our final, final road trip took us to the
We arrived at the station in time for a 10:30 AM train so it would be a long wait. The station personnel were kind enough to let us stash our luggage in a back room. After 9/11 and attacks on European trains and subways, baggage storage areas in all of the train stations were closed and security measures enacted that prohibit anyone from leaving their baggage unattended. The woman who let us store our baggage said that she trusted us because we were US citizens.
We went with Libby & Lily to the cheap grocery store and then headed back to Mont de Marsan to kill time shopping and having a bit of lunch. I stopped in a store that looked great from the outside, once inside, I saw that all of the brands they carried were from the
Once again, we had lunch in the Chinese restaurant and then made our way back up to the train station in time for a nap on the lawn before catching the train.
Back in
At the hotel, the desk clerk took one look at my huge bag and offered to take it up for me. The elevator was tiny, barely enough room to take a little carry on bag. We took turns, taking one bag up with one person. The next day, I got stuck for about 10 minutes trying to fit my huge bag into the elevator with me. There simply wasn’t enough room for the door to close around the bag, I finally compressed the bag down long enough for the doors to close.
That evening, we wandered the area looking for a place for dinner and found La Meridienne (18 rue Guisarde) where I had a fabulous dinner, significantly better than any other meal I’d had on the trip.
Then off to bed and up early the next day so that we could get to the airport in time for an 11:30 AM flight. In the morning, we had one last café a lait and a final trip to the Boulangerie before the taxi came for us.
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cmgronlund- CM Gronlund
- Catherine Gronlund
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