Rabbit, Rabbit!

Hello Everyone!

Ever since I was a little girl my dad would always ask us the same question on the first morning of each month, "Did you 'rabbit, rabbit' today?"  Now, to most of you this may sound like a very strange question for a father to ask his kids, but if you know my dad...  well, he's wonderfully quirky and it makes complete sense.

Painting by Pam Dallaire

I think Dad was made aware of the superstition by his mother, who, from all accounts was in a league of her own when it came to quirky behavior.  But it makes the whole thing even more special to me every time I say it!

Saying the words, "rabbit, rabbit" on the morning of the first day of each month is a superstition brought to the world by the British according to Wikipedia.  If these are the first words spoken on the first morning of each month, before your feet even touch the floor, you will have good luck for the rest of the month.

All of my dad's kids, and most of his grandkids are well versed in "Rabbit, Rabbit".  None of us are really superstitious, but I kick myself every time I forget to say it.

The only other person outside of my family I have ever met who knows and follows this wonderful and silly tradition is my good friend Jason Jones.  He's my wonderfully bright and unbelievably artistic and incredibly handsome friend from my days in NYC (although now, neither of us lives in NYC, but as the old adage goes, you can take the gal or guy from NYC, but you can't take NYC from the gal or guy!)

Jason and I met while sitting on a ladder together while helping open the Anthropologie store on 5th Ave. and 16th Street.  It was friendship at first sight!  Together with our mutual friend and Anthropologie-ite Lorena (who I share the same birthday with which means, of course, that she is especially cool) we made working our butts off in retail, much more exciting and colorful!

I digress.  Every time Jason or I mention those magical words, "Rabbit, rabbit," I feel like we are giving each other a wink and a nod and sharing a secret that only a few fine people know about, and it makes me smile even more.  It may be a little high brow, but that makes it even more fun... like playing dress up.

I've already passed this Manchester tradition on to my husband... although I doubt he ever says it, and I plan to pass it on to many more Manchester & Lopez generations to come... just like my dad.

I wish you all a "Rabbit, Rabbit" this month!

Stewart and Anabel Manchester.  Photo by Krakora Studios

Whole Foods Parking Lot

I'm been patiently waiting the Whole Foods Market to finally open its doors here in Boise.  They've been promising one since I moved here in October 2004, so I'm not holding my breath.  While reading this other blog, A Cup of Jo, I came across this great youtube video that really said it all about shopping Whole Foods in Los Angeles.  I'm dying of laughter, check it out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UFc1pr2yUU&feature=player_embedded#at=37

Too Hot to Trot

Today it is so hot outside, my eyeballs are sweating.  If it were decent to walk around naked in public, today is a day that both David and I would be pretending to be Adam and Eve.  And I'm not talking in a kinky way either, just plain old fashion comfort.  It's so hot that clothing feels restrictive.

But our hunger got the best of us, and our Costco run isn't until tomorrow so our cupboards are pretty bare, so we decided to brave the weather.  We rode our bikes down town to get some lunch.  Luckily it is basically down hill the whole way.  It's not a steep hill, in fact its such a small grade, most people hardly notice it unless your on a bike.  Its just enough to make it easier going into town.  Unluckily that meant the ride home was harder and hotter and after eating delicious, but hot Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup, I thought I was going to have heat stroke when I wasn't in the shade of the trees.

When we got home, poor Linus with his permanent wool coat ran straight into the house and sprawled on the basement floor.  This is especially unusual behavior for him... its usually hard to get him to come into the house.  All I could think was my friend from New Jersey saying, "Ya know its hot when...!"

Now we are all complete vegetables... cooked vegetables at that!  Maybe time for an ice cold shower to snap me back into action... how do you beat the heat?  I'm open to suggestions!

These Days

these days i'm reading more and computing less.

these days i wonder exactly what will come to pass and when.
these days i am looking forward to re-launching and designing again (something i love!)
these days i'm trying to enjoy downtime more.

these days i'm missing my family.

these days i'm loving riding my bike to and from work.

these days i'm trying to find me again, and not the person i've suddenly noticed in the mirror.

these days i'm trying to be more spontaneous.
these days i have really been digging the blogs a cup of jo, holding the world in a paper cup, & marta writes.
these days i'm missing the incredible summer storms in wisconsin.
these days i miss my friends there too!
these days i'm completely horrible at responding to emails. (sorry!)
these days black board shorts, a headband, and a loose tee are my go-to.
these days i can't quit scratching my sunburned legs or my husband's itchy back.
these days i need to take the time to finally get a manicure and pedicure.
these days i am so thankful for an awesome, supportive family and friends. 
these days i am so happy for hot sunny weather.
these days i'm still staying up too late reading beside my hubby.

these days i'm glad he is such fun to be around.

these days i'm stoked about my library card - free is good.
these days i'm dreaming about the addition we want to put on our house.

these days i'm having fun planning a trip to spain next spring.

these days i'm trying to get into focus. 

these days i've decided to start playing tourist in my town to shake things up a bit.
these days i have a case of serious baby fever.

these days the nomad in me wants to pick up and move someplace new.

these days the settled part of me dreams about a home and family in boise.

these days i am so in love with my handsome husband.

these days i am feeding off of your nice feedback. (Gracias!)

ps. these days i must give credit where credit is due... this blog post idea was copied from the blogger marta writes, and i made it my own. 

Legalizing Drugs: To be or Not To be?

Hello All,


Today I read an article (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/us/17salts.html) about people across the nation showing up in hospitals after snorting bath salts.  Apparently they get really aggressive after the high, and the doctors have been stumped because even after administering the sedative/tranquilizer nothing has worked, and they've actually had to admit people into the psych ward for 24-48 hours to get the stuff out of their system. 


My older sister Katie and I have very different views on drugs/drug policy, and I sent her this article per our ongoing discussion.  The question being posed to her by me is simple: Are we going to outlaw bath salts now because a small group of people are using them inappropriately?


The thing is, people are always going to find ways to use drugs no matter what.  Its human nature to do the thing we're told not to do (Adam and Eve http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_and_Eve ring any bells?) Instead of making things (like bath salts) illegal to use, why not legalize them, heavily tax them, heavily regulate them (Like alcohol or prescription drugs), and in turn, make the criminal actions done by people under the influence of said stimulants not only illegal, but more harshly punished.

Yesterday, I was talking to a young man I know that just graduated from a prestigious private High School in Boise. He was an intern in my office last year, and he stopped by to say hello.  I asked him how easy it was for him to get alcohol.  He said he might be able to get his cousin to buy some for him, but his cousin lives in Wisconsin, so it's a moot point.  I then asked him how easy it was for him to get marijuana.  He said he could have some within the hour if he wanted it (he has grand political aspirations and has no interest in drugs).  All he had to do to get some pot was just make a quick phone call to some kids in his school, and voila.

If marijuana were regulated the same way alcohol, or even in a more strict way similar to prescription medications, it would be a lot harder for kids (and everyone) to get ahold of.  Plus, the taxes generated alone would help fix our failing US economy.  

I was recently in the hospital with Kidney Stones.  They gave me a huge prescription for Norco.  It made me violently sick.  So they gave me a prescription for Percocet and one for Toradol- both incredibly potent painkillers, but no one reclaimed the Norco from me.  Now, I'm not someone who abuses the system, but it made me think, how easy would it be for some unscrupulous person to go into the ER not just to get high (while I was there they kept injecting me with morphine), but to get prescriptions for drugs they could turn around and sell on the black market fairly easily?  

Strict regulation combined with stricter punishments for criminal acts under the influence of said drugs seems like a more logical way for keeping drugs away from kids than the current system.  


My sister disagrees.  Katie's tennis partner is a police woman in New England.  According to her, legalizing pot just puts more stoned people on the street – a nightmare for anyone who’s involved in public safety http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-pot-drivers-20110703,0,3288424.story

Katie did say that she understood the need for a mind numbing substance for people who are dying of cancer or other painful illnesses, but she, and many like her feel that it’s a system that will be abused for sure.

Isn't it a system that is already being abused?  By legalizing marijuana will that suddenly make more people start smoking pot?  Or is it so easy to get now that the same people who would otherwise have smoked pot be the same people smoking pot after the drug is legalized- with the few exceptions of the terminally ill patients that would now be legally allowed some relief from their pain?  

I think we may see a spike in drug use followed by a steep decline once the regulations were fully in place. 


Thoughts anyone?  

Burgers in Boise

Recently, I have been craving foods that I'm not supposed to be eating- bread for example, I would love a french baguette with butter right now!  But alas, I really want to get past this colitis mumbo-jumbo, so... I'm watching David eat the yummy things I can't and living vicariously through him.

Anyway, on one of these such occasions, David and I went for a walk through downtown and ended up at The Piper Pub, which has been in Boise at least as long as me, and probably a lot longer.  I consider it a Boise staple.

We sat down for lunch and I ordered a Gluten-free salad and David order and proceeded to chomp down on what he considers the best burger he's ever tasted (at least in Boise.)

Because of its gargantuan size, I decided that it deserved a post of its own.  David has officially proclaimed the burgers at the Boise's old faithful, The Piper Pub to be the best in town... definitely check them out if you haven't already.

Look at how HUGE they are- I think they may be bigger than his face... YUM!

      

Skyping with Kitty

One of my favorite things to do in the whole world is chat with my niece Kaitlin (I call her Kitty) on Skype.  I'm sure if we lived close enough to her, my favorite thing would be to play with her in person, but alas, no dice.  They live on the LEast coast and we live on the Best- I mean West coast. ;)

Anyway, I thought I'd start a new feature called "Skyping with Kitty," but after starting it, I don't think other people (except maybe my mom, my brother Morgan, and his wife Deb) would find it half as entertaining as I do so... I figured I'd just dedicate one blog post to "Skyping with Kitty."

When Kitty calls me on Skype I hear her little pip squeak voice say "Hi Auntie Bel!"  "Hi!" "Hi Bel!"  "Hi Auntie Bel!" until I acknowledge her.  Then she usually doesn't have much to say to me.  Today was different.  

Today, Kitty showed me her toes- painted pink- and her new doll who she has named "Baby Doodle."  She named her this because my mom calls Kitty her "Doodle Bug".  She also has a doll named "Baby Cindy" and a doll named "Dolly".  She certainly loves her babies!

Then Kitty and I read the book, "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day" while she ate her lemon yogurt and snuggled in her Gee-ma's bed.  She LOVES this book.  Gee-ma is my mom who lives with my brother and his wife and takes care of Kitty while they are at work. She also cooks them dinner most nights and babysits whenever they want to go out.  Pretty nice set-up, huh?!  Anyway, like I said, Kitty loves that book, and she parrots me every time I say "...very bad day."  It's possibly the cutest thing ever... that is until I heard her say "Thank you" (unprompted) when I finished reading to her.

Kitty always insists we play with my dog Linus for a while.  Kitty is fascinated with him because one of his tricks is to bark on command.  Kitty likes to tell him to speak...  

It went something like this: 

Auntie Bel: "Sit Linus. Okay Kitty..."

Kitty: "Speak, Yinus".  

Linus barks.  Kitty laughs.  

Kitty: "Speak, speak Yinus!" 

Linus barks again and gets excited Kitty Laughs harder.  

She would have done this all day if Linus had stayed put.  

My first dog that I ever own on my own is Stela and now she lives with my mom, which means she lives with Kitty.  And Kitty thinks Stela is her dog.  I adore that dog more than I can say, she's my dog-soul-mate if there ever was one.  But my mom needs her because she's such an awesome friend, so she stays with mom... and now I guess that means she is Kitty's dog.  Anyway, I always ask Kitty, "Where's MY Stel-Stel?"  Kitty gets very serious with a concerned look on her face and she says "No, MY Stel-Stel. You Yinus."

Kitty always goes to get Stela to show her to me and she likes to put her arms around Stela's neck and give her loves.  Poor Stela!  Although she is quite loved by the little miss, sometimes Kitty gets a bit aggressive and in her affections... She says "Oooh!  Stel-Stel's soooo cute!" And hugs her harder until Stela is looking up at the adults in the room and begging to be released.  But Stela is ever so patient with Kitty and allows her to drag her around and love on her.

Arwen, my brother's dog, does not put up with Kitty even touching her for too long without growling.  Kitty thinks this is funny and she will actually do things to the dog to produce a growl like stomp on her tail.  Poor Arwen!

My mom and I started chatting briefly before said good-bye, and Kitty doesn't like to be ignored when we talk so she's always popping in front of the screen and saying, "Auntie Bel, look...".  When mom and I were finished chatting, I said, "Let me say good-bye to Kitty."  She heard this, perked right up, and ran over to Gee-ma and told her that she had to say good-bye to me.  "Let me talk."  She gets really animated and makes these big kiss smacking noises.  It all melts my heart.

Morgan certainly set a high standard for adorable, polite and sweet children... when its my turn, I've got a lot of work to to do!