Stephanie says

After reading about the healthful benefits of eating sprouts I decided to incorporate some into my diet.   Buckwheat was on hand and therefor my sprout of choice.   The process:   soak some seeds for a few hours, rinse and drain, then rinse and drain, rinse and drain some more a few times daily until desired sprouting size is achieved.   Couldn’t be simpler.     I followed the proscribed method – and nothing.   The seeds didn’t swell; there was no sign of little green shoots.   I kept at it for a few more days.   Still nothing.   I figured the seeds must be too old and tossed the little buggers.   A couple days later I happened across my stash of buckwheat seeds - in the fruit bowl. The seeds I’d used were from the spice drawer.   Weird.   Then it clicked.   I'd used black pepper berries in error.   Obviously wasn't wearing my glasses – I discern a pattern here – maybe I should bow to the in...

Hot damn, that's a beautiful car.  I've got a passion for English sportscars.  Wish I still owned this baby.  Photo:  Eastern Oregon camping trip circa 1973. Yes, I'm photo archieving - boxes and boxes of them.

(Click on photos to enlarge)                                                                                   Grand Canyon - brutally cold day, my favorite part was sipping hot chocolate... Acoma Pueblo - still occupied - our guide gave a colorful tour.  An egalitarian society with property handed down through the youngest daughter - loved that! Hiked down from the top - the pueblo sits at 7000 ft. - hand holds carved in the rock - it was envigorating - and left me with sore quads.    Truly beautiful country which left me wanting to see more.  Get...

I dated this guy; let’s just call him Jim2, for a couple years when we decided to move in together. We’d bought a seven-acre place with an old manufactured home (yeah, a trailer) as a supposed investment, but couldn’t score dependable renters worth a damn. So we decided to move in ourselves. The place was an eyesore but spacious enough for two people, the fine view of snowcapped Cascade mountain range, Bachelor to Hood, its saving grace. Built in 1976, plastic was hot in the mfg home market. The bathrooms had plastic tub and shower surrounds, molded faux-marbled scallops; picture the scallop shell in Botticelli’s “Venus Rising” and you’ll get the visual. I kept expecting an appearance by King Neptune, trident in hand. It was also reminiscent of 1960s hedonistic San Francisco public baths scene, at least in my imagination. Manufactured in two parts, a connecting beam, covered in Naugahyde, ran the length which I promptly dubbed “fine Corinthian leather,” in keeping with the Grecian...

By The Associated Press 8:33 p.m., March 21, 2012 CHEMULT, Ore. — An Amtrak spokeswoman says a train bound from Los Angeles to Seattle hit a tree lying across the tracks in southern Oregon's stormy Cascade Mountains, triggering a mudslide that derailed the baggage car and stalled the 246 passengers for hours. My daughter and BFF each rode the rails yesterday on behemoth double-decker trains: Ty boarded the Starlight in San Francisco headed north, due in Eugene at 13:45; Melissa in Seattle headed south, due in Eugene at 17:30, (this travel coinciding with an abnormally 25-hr long void of the moon. Just saying…) A spring storm debilitated Eugene dumping 7 inches of snow; school and business closures, snowplows out in force, stalled vehicles closing I5 off-ramps, downed power lines. Snow day! By day’s end, a mood of frivolity prevailed throughout town; kids sledded, flurries of snowballs whizzed past, an impressive number and array of snowmen stood sentry in front yards of...

Yes, I do have strange dreams.  Here is a visual for this particularly odd one.  A witch levitating a sluice (for invisible fish) while being observed by cheerfully colored aliens.  Open to any interpretation!