Saturday I joined many of the TOADS to go to a demo/Renn faire thing in Long Valley, NJ. It was fairly nice, even if it was a VERY small, poorly attended event (weather was not so hot). But it was nice to hang out with friends.

Yesterday I went hiking at Flat Rock Brook Nature Center. Hard to believe that this place exists - on the outskirts of Englewood! It's about 15 minutes from my house - and beautiful! So of course - took a LOT of photos.

( Photos below the cut! )

Last, but not least - a shot I know nauraki  will particularly appreciate:



I will probably post more shots to my Facebook.

So I was adventuring about NJ yesterday, and explored some new-to-me places. Took a lot of photos - and felt the need to share some.

( Photos below the cut! )

Completed the day by seeing Up. What a very sweet movie (very funny AND very sad). I only wish I had seen it in 3D!

Fencing at Flemington today. This is a great weekend!

Hmmmmmm....

You are The Magician

Skill, wisdom, adaptation. Craft, cunning, depending on dignity.

Eleoquent and charismatic both verbally and in writing,
you are clever, witty, inventive and persuasive.

The Magician is the male power of creation, creation by willpower and desire. In that ancient sense, it is the ability to make things so just by speaking them aloud. Reflecting this is the fact that the Magician is represented by Mercury. He represents the gift of tongues, a smooth talker, a salesman. Also clever with the slight of hand and a medicine man - either a real doctor or someone trying to sell you snake oil.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

...but...

Happy Birthday liamstliam !!!

"What?  This is how my thumb-monkey sleeps!"

Happy Birthday mawth_treadwell !

This made me smile. :-)

1. Go to Wikipedia and ask it for a random article. The title of the article you get is the name of your band.
2. Go to the Random Quotations Page. The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page are the title of your album.
3. Go to Flickr's explore the last seven days. The third picture, no matter what it is, is your album cover.

I present to you:

Quite a few today, but among my own friends' list -
Happy Birthday caitlindancer  and berrick_grvsn

...or is it rather ironic to have a restaurant named Veggie Heaven, featuring no meat whatsoever - but the chairs you seat your customers on are leather?

Go see this movie!

It's animated in the same style (and by the same people) as Nightmare before Christmas.  It is a somewhat creepy but fantastic story.  Neil Gaiman is an outstanding writer.

I liked it a lot!

Something makes me happy.

In just over 2.5 hours - FENCING!

Ok, everyone, I am going to make a request.

Let's be blunt - things are pretty awful just now.  Jobs are being lost all over the place, the economy is tanking, money is being thrown around and wasted by entities big and small.  And this is, at least for me, not just something on the news I read or hear about daily - it's struck on a personal level.  Friends are losing jobs, I am still not working, and other friends of mine are beset by some scary stuff because of an insane person's demands.

SO - the request.  Take a moment.  Take a break from it all.  The bad news, the sadness, the pain, and think about ONE THING that still brings you joy, that makes you happy.  Take a moment, consider what that one thing might be - and then give it focus, give it some attention.  Focus on something other than the negative.

Post it to your LJ - or don't.  Doesn't matter.  But if we ALL change our outlook, I believe we can begin to change the world. 

Start small.

Pass it on.  Thanks!

Hehehehehe - this is so not a shock.

You know who you are.  :-)

Your result for The "Are You Likely To Be Eaten By A Grue?" Test...

No chance.

You scored 25% on edibility!

Take The "Are You Likely To Be Eaten By A Grue?" Test at HelloQuizzy

I needed to go to the post office this afternoon to mail out a small package, and I needed stamps.  And we all know my luck with committing Acts of Postal. 

(For those scratching your head and pondering the meaning of that - remember I was going to the post office that fateful November day I was hit by a car crossing the street).

Anyhow, I get to the PO without incident, and there is a single postal worker at the desk, and a nice old lady doing something.  Ok, this should be quick.

Right.  I have no idea what the nice old lady was doing, but almost every sentence began with "And can you check on this" or "And can I also get that" or "I just need to buy this" or "Can you tell me if there is enough postage on this" etc.

Ten minutes, two people behind me now, and $80 later (I am not making this up), she hands over a stack of letters, and turns to depart.  As she leaves, she utters the following to the woman at the counter:

"Thank you for your patience, dear.  Oh, and I will be back for the rest in just a little bit."

The mind boggles...