• Making: Paper mandalas and/or mandala resin coasters. (Just a plan - this is a Teaser! Photos if/when I actually make them!)
• Reading: Your Brain on Art by Susan Magsamen & Ivy Ross
• House project: Hang hanger for my necklaces. Hang necklaces from hanger

No, I've made no progress on the above list since last week. I did complete a 1000 piece puzzle, and read a bit of a different book on parenting teen girls. It is called Untangled : guiding teenage girls through the seven transitions into adulthood by Lisa Damour. Apparently girls are supposed to turn into jerks to their family and prioritize friend group packs. Mine hasn't (yet), but I'm reading up on what to expect.

My fridge has given up on cooling, and it snowed so the kiddo is home. So instead of an early start to all the things, a workman is here taking apart my fridge. I'm having trouble focusing. I don't do well with workmen in the house. And it's distracting - will I get a new fridge? Will I fix this one? Should I price new ones? How much will the damage be? Should I throw out pickles and juice and grated parmesan if it hasn't been cool in 48 hours? Did critters get into the food I stashed in a box in the garage? (just checked: new one is $810 + $79 to haul away to the old and deliver the new.) Distracting.

I've started to plan my 2 weeks in Portugal for this summer, based out of Porto. If anyone has suggestions on what to do, please let me know! I like history/prehistory, art, wild landscapes, typewriters. I don't much like sitting around on the beach (for more than a hour or two). If anyone had a recommendation on where to learn Portuguese history - book, podcast, film - please let me know that too!

One of the things I got for Christmas this year is a water bottle with spaces for stickers of all the states. I've decided I'm not going to put any more stickers on it until I've written up memories of the stickers I've already stuck. More "States I've Been To" memory posts coming soon.

<< part of my continuing series recording memories to assure myself I've actually been to the places I think I've been to>>

So I've only been to Hawaii once, in 2022. I was there for about 10 days, all on the island of Oahu, where you find Honolulu, Pearl Harbor, the Dole Plantation, and Waikiki beach.

I dug up some old note of some "recommendations". Plus with the almost 2 years of distance, I've added some more. 

• Don’t waste that jetlag! So, Hawaii is 5 hours off east coast time. This means 7pm Hawaii is Midnight for NYC. I suggest you go to bed early, get up early 4am = 9am NYC. And do a sunrise hike! In particular I recommend the hike up the eastern most point in Oahu the Makapu'u Point Lighthouse Trail. This hike is paved and perfect for dawn hiking. Get there about an hour before dawn to give yourself lots of time to climb to the top. The hike is steep but paved all the way. Parking lot is closed but just join the other folks parking on the road outside the gate. Bring binoculars - We saw a dozen or so whales from the peak when we hiked it early February.
• Turtle Bay hike is also a nice early morning hike to the most Northern point. Get there early and beat the traffic! We saw a monk seal on the beach there. On the way back, get lunch in Hale’iwa, then swing to the Dole plantation for a Dole Whip. I didn’t do the tour, just entered through the gift shop and got a Dole Whip with Pineapple. They are huge and tasty.

• As a beach, I really liked Iroquois beach. It had a little food shack with a full bar. A clean bathroom. And lots of open sand, umbrellas, little pavilions. I think the umbrellas/pavilions are for residents, but we were there late in the day and they were pretty much all open. No one seemed to mind that we sat under an umbrella. The sand in the water is a little rocky, but I still went in barefoot.
• Other things that were also cool and memorable are the Pali Lookout (photo below), Ho'omuluhia Gardens, and Waimea Arboretum.

• If you're into Petroglyphs (as I am), you can find some in the Na'uanu Cemetery 21°19'27.2"N 157°50'48.4"W 

• Honolulu is meh. Don't make it priority.
• I was there visiting a dear friend, who as a goverment employee has miltary base access. So we got to do the Kolekole Trail hike at Shofield Barracks (where I broke my phone), an "off the beaten path" but "don't stray from the path" type hike.

So yes, I've been to Hawaii. And I have to get back there and explore other islands. Someday! 

<< part of my continuing series recording memories to assure myself I've actually been to the places I think I've been to>>

Today, being undermotivated to write about my current life, and my head spinning with the realization that yes, indeed, I did book a 2 week trip to Porto and now need to figure out lodging & accommodations, I’m going to fall back on writing about a State. 

I’m gonna write about Connecticut

Almost all my Connecticut memories involve one formative trip to New Haven to vist Yale in the late ‘80s. These memories are poignant to me for some reason, clearer than trips I took even last year. I was a student at University of Delaware (Udel). I had a friend Nancy from summer camp who was going to Yale, so one long weekend I took the train up to visit her. Summer camp = CTY,  which was accelerated summer classes at a college campus. Smart kids could test out of a highschool course after attending CTY’s 3 week residency program. It was the first place I found my “pack” - other clever kids who didn’t 100% fit in back home. We kept in touch.

Anyway, I visited my CTY roommate Nancy and together we had a great long weekend. I look at my 20 year old self and cringe. I was a smart girl, but oh so boy crazy. But also zany and prickly and not interested in settling down. On the weekend up at Yale I found a guy (Ed, from wealth in upstate New Jersey) who I dated off and on for a year maybe. It went nowhere. I wonder what became of him. I wonder if I’d even recognize him now, or he me. I do look back and wonder, why was I so boy crazy and interested in dating around when I 100% did not want a future with anyone? I’m thinking it was probably the entertainment value, and that it made me feel more alive, and some insecurities that needed attention to ease. Still I cringe to think of my gauche self now, and wish I’d played some things differently.

I recall at Yale being introduced to the concept of veganism. We went to some party and the people drank vegan beer (isn’t it all?) (ok, I googled it. Beers are sometimes filtered with animal derived products. So those aren’t vegan), and there was talk about starting a brownie centric vegan bakery. Mind you, this was like 1989 and vegetarian eating - let alone vegan - was far from mainstream. Vegetarian food was often meat centric dishes without the meat, and sometimes tofu substituted in, and generally not very good. It was not the tasty inventive plant based dishes we have today. The Yale crowd was cutting edge in this regard. And I, a small town girl from a state school, wasn't sure if I was impressed or if I wanted to scoff. It did open my eyes to political relativity (<<< that’s probably not the right term but I don’t know a better one).  At UDel I was slightly on the liberal side of the population, and Yale I would be considered solidly conservative. 

There is a gate to an historic graveyard just outside campus engraved with “The Dead Shall Be Raised”. I have always found that ominous. I was impressed by the old stately architecture in general. I was in a phase of being fascinated by stairwells, but stumped on how to photograph them properly. Looking back, what I was experiencing was a fascination with Liminal Spaces. It wasn’t till recently that I understood there was a term for this - I learned it from my pre-teen. A liminal space means somewhere on the precipice of something new but not quite there yet. Often eerie, forlorn, surreal. I took a number of photos of the stairs, none of which came out. In those pre-digital camera days, I wasted much time and film trying to get a liminal shot. Never succeeded.

Visiting, I figured out that the students at Yale weren’t any smarter than the students at UDel, particularly in the area I was studying of Mechanical Engineering. But still they were offered more opportunities. I started to understand the value the network at a “brand name” school offered. Subconsciously, I set my sights on “brand name” for grad school, knowing that I could compete successfully with the Ivy crowd. I ended up going to Carnegie-Mellon, which didn’t exactly live up to my network expectations. Maybe it has one, but I never figured out how to engage it. 

Decades later, I wandered around New Haven when I was there for a work trip. I was hoping to find the mystique I felt from my college trips. It was not to be found. 

Most recently, in November 2020, I drove to Connecticut to buy a Ford Transit van which is now my camper van. I did not even try to look for the college mystique that time.

So yes, Connecticut. Been there.

Next on my docket to write about is Florida. But instead, gentle reader, I will talk about a glorious weekend of doing nothing. Nothing except watching season 2 of Bridgerton on Netflix and declaring to my offspring that I will be dressing like those society ladies. She asked: when will I dress so? I answered: For the rest of my life. It helps that the leads have skin approaching my complextion.  Visuals here. Representation, yo!

So today I’m up predawn and in my sweats because I have to do the school dropoff then head to the gym. One must workout if one is to fit into a regency silhouette.

<<interlude>>

The other thing I did this weekend is make a box on my trusty laser cutter. We’re doing a belated holiday gift exchange at work, where we are all exchanging mugs. I know very little about my coworker so I got her a mushroom mug because *I* think it cute. I did ask around and learned she likes Alpacas. So I AI’d (midjourney) a bunch of Alpacas for engraving, and made a box for the mug.

It feels nice to stretch the maker muscles now and again. I’ve slowed way down and am undermotivated these past few months. Which is okay, I know. But I also know I feel better when I have a project to make.

Florida notes will likely also not be done tomorrow. After kiddo dropoff,  I drive 2 hours for a typewriter pickup. My typewriter obsession is cooling, partially because they’ve become a demand on me instead of just a joy. The sit and judge me, saying “When are you going to get on with fixing us, Tinkeress?” I’m working on working on it, you marvelous machines! So it’s cooling, but not so much that I won’t drive 4 hours roundtrip to pick up a new and delightful one!

<< part of my continuing series recording memories to assure myself I've actually been to the places I think I've been to>>

This one is silly. Of course I've been to Delaware. I was born here, and I live here now. I did move away from age 21 to 41, but at 40 I had a kid and moving back "home" made sense. (Decent schools, low cost of living, family nearby) My parents had recently passed, and I inherited their house. It's a basic late 60s suburban track house but a house non-the-less, so I bought my brother out and have been living here rent/mortage free since 2011.

I could fill a book on Delaware - growing up in this lazy smalltown, going to the University of Delaware, that summer at the beach, coming back for visits and eventually settled back here, raising a kid here. I've been to all our 19 state parks. My favorite is White Clay Creek. My favorite beach is Indian River (err, more properly called Delaware Seashore State Park). We have a lovely blues jam night most every Thursday at a local bar. I work very part time these days at our local art museum, which is quite impressive if I do say so myself: Biggs Museum of American Art. 

Ugh, this entry is going nowhere. Too much to tell, and no story to knit it together. Here, a sunrise view from my bedroom window onto my neglected garden.

Also, my favorite Delaware bridge with dramatic morning sky, seen from my campervan after overnighting at Indian River

Yup. Delaware. Check!

<< part of my continuing series recording memories to assure myself I've actually been to the places I think I've been to>>

So Colorado has Denver. I had a boss in Denver, meaning we would have team meetings there. And since we were traveling consultant types, this meant we went to a bunch of bars and excellent restaurants. I recall a nice one in the renovated train station called something like "THE BAR". I really don't like it when places name themselves like this, but I took advantage anyway and posted "Greetings from THE BAR" to my socials. 

Also in Colorado is this swank resort hotel called the Broadmoor. I was at a conference there, back when I was still a strategic marketer for Autodesk. I recall the Brits on our team thinking this was hilarious since the Broadmoor is a famous high security psychiatric hospital in England. I also remember it was a few weeks after I split with my second husband. I recall a dude there from URS buying me drinks. But I was never much one for flings, so that went nowhere. Still it was nice to feel appreciated. 

In April 2021 my brother and I drove from the East Coast to Utah in my van, stopping in Colorado on the way. We spent a night at the Colorado National Monument park which is spectacular. It was freezing that night, and I saw a shooting star, one of those long trail ones so it was memorable. I'd 100% go back for a longer stay someday, but at the time we had an appointment for some hiking in Utah, so we just breezed through.

So yes, I've been to Colorado.

Continuing a short series on things I've learned on my Summer 2023 trip to Iceland, Norway, Amsterdam & Paris

Things I’ve learned this summer 2023 trip: # 4 - TRAVEL APPS

CITYMAPPER is the best app I’ve ever had for getting around in an unknown city. I’m surprised they don’t charge for it. It makes it stupid easy to figure out the best way to get from here to there within a city. It’s also easy to say: hey, I want to go by bus, not the fastest way like the metro so I can see more things on the trip. Or you can get the options that minimize the walk (because rain, or temperature, or sore feet or whatever). I used it a bit in Reykjavik & Oslo, and a bunch in Amsterdam & Paris. It’s going to be a permanent part of my travel toolkit.   

I bought & loaded my 24hour Amsterdam transit pass on my phone through their app (which I've already erased). Worked like a champ & I didn't have to go anywhere special to get it. In Paris I didn't use an app, I used the Navigo Easy+ transit card - still have 5 rides loaded on it. I also loaded the DC Metro app onto my phone and used it to get to Dulles, and expect to use  it going forward. The DC metro goes all the way to the Dulles terminal now. Yay. But I also got a smartTrip transit card for my kid, because I wasn't up to figuring out how/if you could pay for two people with the app - I had a plane to catch! 

There is this PASSPORT app that I recorded my passport info into. I didn't really use it, but it was great piece of mind. 

I know a lot of people use currency conversion apps. I do not. The euro being about parity with the dollar, and the Norwiegan krone being about a dime made the math trival to do in ones head.

Other APPS that I used A BUNCH were not strictly travel apps. WhatsApp was my go-to for messaging as you just need wifi for it to work. I've started using Wallet linked to my credit card to pay for things. I think I only got my credit card out twice, and paid cash three or four time. I only encountered one place the entire trip that didn't take credit card - even that park bathroom that charged 2euros took credit card. Which reminds me, I should pay my credit card bill. 

Marriott has its BONVOY app, which claims you can use your phone as a door key. FINALLY. I've been requesting something like this since 2004. I'm a freaking platinum traveler, in your hotels all the time. STOP GIVING me room keys. STOP making me stand in line to get them. Give me something that works across properties, or let me use something I have already like my phone or drivers licence. .. Anyway, it didn't work. The two properties I stayed at this trip didn't have phone-keys implemented yet. So I had to get keycards from the desk after standing in line. But at least they are working on it! Also, I could check into my room the night before via the app and let them know I'd be early. So even though it wasn't checkin time, I got access to my rooms early afternoon.

Finally, there is this app called TOO GOOD TO GO that I was surprised to see in both Oslo and Paris (I didn't check elsewhere). If you are an urban dweller and flexible, I *highly recommend* you check it out. The premise is that grocery stores/resturants will offload unbought food at pennies on the dollar. But you have to be available to get it at weird times and you never know exactly what you will get. I wish it was available in my area.

Starting a short series on things I've learned on my Summer 2023 trip to Iceland, Norway, Amsterdam & Paris

Things I’ve learned this summer 2023 trip: # 2 - HEALTH INFO

Coffee made without a paper filter may contribute to high cholesterol. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9240930/ Though google indicates research is ongoing and more results are filtering (hah) in.

Here, a dangerous café in a Paris café

And a dangerous coffee in a Scandinavian airport cafe, side of hot chocolate

And a non-dangerous coffee hidden is a chipper arty mug. (Artist: Marianne Aulie)

Starting a short series on things I've learned on my Summer 2023 trip to Iceland, Norway, Amsterdam & Paris

Things I’ve learned this summer 2023 trip: # 1 - NORWAY BITS

• There are white snails in Oslo. Perhaps once cultivated by monks. You can eat them. (I did not).

• There is a berry called a Sea Buckthorn. Apparently popular in many cultures but I’d never heard/seen it before. I tasted it as an ice cream flavor, and it was tasty - slight citrus, bright berry tasting, just a bit sweet. 
• There is a delicious traditional Norwegian dish called Finnbiff - kind of a reindeer stroganoff served with mashed potatoes, garnished with cranberry or lingonberry sauce. It’s reason enough in and of itself to go to Norway. Especially if you can find a kind northern Norwegian to make it for you.

• Vigeland was a dude who sculpted in the 1920-40s and you should go checkout his park. It's full of neo-romantic style sculpture - like 100s of pieces. https://www.visitoslo.com/en/product/?TLp=181601  Plus he made wonderful iron art deco gates and fencing and lights. There’s a good reason this is a top tourist spot in Oslo. Recommended. I’d have stayed longer, or gone back, but some things aren’t possible with group travel. Plus my kid, as usual, was bored.

• Some of those large boulders you see in the mountain fields were trolls at one point, before the sun petrified them.
• <contributed by my kid> Shoes are typically removed when entering Norwegian homes.
• Aperol Spritz is a drink and it will be added to my regular rotation.

Just a quick update on my trip to Norway. There is a lot to tell of course; this is just a tidbit.

I've been in Norway for a week, staying outside Oslo with a generous friend who has organized a lovely week of site seeing. Mountains, waterfalls, woods, historic buildings, short hikes, visiting with her family, eating and drinking. It's been a lovely time. My daughter is with me, who would not agree. She's bored with all the adults doing things she finds dull and she misses her home/friends in Delaware. "Sheez mom, do I really have to look at another old church. It's not very interesting to me." Ah well, hope she learns to appreciate the experience when she is older. 

Today we are going into Oslo to see a art exhibit (and shop). But the highlight of this day will be dinner. One of the housemates is from a northern fishing village and has offered to cook up a traditional Norwegian dish -- with Reindeer meat. 

The other highlight of Oslo is Vigeland Park. He was a sculptor the 1910-40s and the park is full of his works and augmented with art deco gates and fencing and the like. There is a reason it is the most popular attraction in Norway. 

Got to run be a tourist now. More later (maybe)