Amber & Nice Beasts

I know this guy could eat her face and, as Isaac suggested, hock her camera for $50.  But he doesn't.  And that just makes me weepy at the wonder and kindness of animals.



I am kind of mushy about animals.

Amber & Sealizer

Remember the Squirrelizer?  (And my much cheaper version?)

Well, marine mammals make memes, too.

Hee hee.  I love a happy sea lion.

P.S. Nick found this on Reddit while he was "working."  It's the number one thing over there right now.

Amber & Two If By River

We get whole fleets and armadas of canoes and rafters and fishers passing by the River House. They have no idea how loud they are talking, or that we can hear every dumb comment they make. "Look! There are people up there!" Yes, and you're lucky we don't have a cannon.

But yesterday, we had a welcome water invasion when Diana and Kevin came to visit via inner tube. It took them about an hour to float down from their River House which is about three miles up river. But, I spotted their pink fleshy forms paddling long before they came ashore.

It was exciting to watch out for them as they got closer...

...and closer. Until finally I was able to greet them on the muddy shore. I brought a noodle just in case there were any accidents.

And noodles can also be used to push back the aggressive weeds along the path.


It was a fun visit that ended hours and hours and several Pimm's Cups later in grilled chicken and vegetables and beets.

Thanks for floating over to see us, Kevin and Diana!

Amber & Laps Swum

I went swimming this morning before work. I swam laps in the medium-speed lane and also did stretching in the family lane. I like taking the water aerobics class, but it doesn't always fit into my schedule and sometimes it can be a little intense. When I get wiped out before the class ends, lest I pass out and drown, I just sort of float away from the other blue-haired ladies and make my own swim.

It's a little know fact that I was a lifeguard after high school. I worked at the New Britain public pools. I really enjoyed it, except when I had to work the kiddie pool which was always overflowing with toddlers. My lifeguarding experience was totally like you see on TV, only with less beach, more people of color, and less David Hasselhoff.

Oh, and we wore brighter orange suits.

Amber & Prices We Pay

Sometimes, we do things we know are bad for us. Like: We have that second shot of Sambucca to toast our eternal friendship with our college friend, even though we had four tequilas earlier and only weigh 102 lbs. And we pay the price later, perhaps in the form of a black eye or a wicked hang over.

I am living on the edge today. Used to be that my Distinguishing Characteristic Property was red lipstick. But then, Kevin pointed out that my lipstick was on a list of those that had lead in them. And, I decided that I had already lost enough brain cells during my summer as a lab assistant at Technical Coatings. I now only wear the lipstick on special or business occasions. Except for today.

You see, my nose skin is all blotchy and horrible from using the pump shower soap at the Y after swimming instead of my very expensive face soap. (I am sensitive; I cried over CRD's post yesterday.) You can't tell in the photo above because Photobooth nicely porcelainifies my skin. But, I thought that red lips would help distract from the red around my nose.

I'm not sure if it's working-- maybe because I am, right now, losing brain cells that would help me decide if it is working.

Amber & the House

After yesterday's post, some (one) of my dear readers asked to hear more about the River House.


The house itself is in Milfordpennsylvania, right on the shore of the Delaware River. The house has five key elements: the dwelling, the deck, the lawn, the spit and the walk into town. The photo above was taken from the spit, from which you also can swim across the River to New Jersey, looking up at the dwelling and the deck. Here is another shot of Jimmy, enjoying the lawn with the dwelling sort of visible in the back.

As you can tell, one of the key attractions is how secluded it is. For example, based on surrounding streets and following the stream down to the spit, I am pretty sure the house is somewhere in the trees in this satellite shot.


Here is a view of the covering trees from in front of the dwelling, looking up at Jimmy on the deck.
The lawn is good for afternoon resting and having lunch in lawn chairs, while the deck is fabulous for evening meals cooked on the grill and also morning coffee while reading magazines.


The beauty of the dwelling shouldn't be overlooked, though. Here are Baby Alicia and Jimmy in inclement weather hard at work.


The house is owned by some mysterious man who knows Mary Kay whose mother, Mary, knows me. I have been going there for many, many years with some sizable heart-wrenching breaks in between. Woody and Tiggy are old River House pros, but this will be the first year for Pickles and Ginger. I think we're all going to love it. I know I will.

Amber & Performance Reviews

On Friday, I got my first real performance review from my boss. I got three gold stars!

I am performing well at swimming, good working and no coffeeing. Yay, me!