the best i've ever seen 'em

these 5 different trees have made themselves into a little family. from afar they look like 1 tree.

update on the oil pulling - went to the dentist yesterday and the very sweet hygienist i've been going to since 2007 said my teeth were 'the best i've ever seen 'em.' i haven't had any head cold symptoms in 4 months now. i am keeping it up! 

i've been spending a huge amount of time the past 2 months getting a skippyhaha.com website together where i can sell my vintage clothing.  it will take me months plural for me to load all 1200 items into the new site, but slowly but surely i am getting there and i hope to have it done by june. the site is live now and open for business, but i want to get everything up there before really publicizing it. but i like how it turned out and it is getting there!

dogwood blossom, dog named nacho

spring, glorious spring!

good night march madness

the only action PJ Hairston saw at the Dean Dome this season

well, the unc basketball season came to an unceremonious close on sunday night. 

it was very sad and confusing at the conclusion, and i had tears coming down my face, but the tears were not of sadness, they were leftover tears of joy and pride from when james michael mcadoo hit both of this free throws! after a season-long horrific charity stripe struggle, what may have been the first time ever, he HIT THEM BOTH. to tie the game, in the last 10 seconds, when it really mattered, he hit them both. way to go j'michael!

too bad it didn't matter and the end was terrible, turble, terrible, but i am looking forward to seeing these guys play again next year. i believe marcus paige is an outstanding human being. and at least they made it further than dook. success!

happy first day of spring and march madness!

it's like christmas around here!

the ides of pouncey

HAPPY BIRTHDAY POUNCEY! The big 2!

his muzzle is already turning gray but he hasn't slowed down a bit.  no longer a puppy, now he is officially full grown pouncey doggy. 

he has already been pouncing around the woods and river chasing balls today, and will have a hamburger for dinner.

keep on pouncin, don't stop no!

buzz

ready or not, spring forward!

dealer decal begone!

buying a new car is fun! until you get home and see they've permanently affixed a stupid dealer decal advertisement to your trunk. 

luckily, these can be removed! pretty easily!

first, we washed that part of the car.

next, we sprayed turtle wax adhesive remover - made especially for cars - and peeled off what we could.  a lot was left.




next, we got an extension cord and a hair dryer and heated up the decal for a couple of minutes.

the heat made the remaining decal much easier to peel off.

next we peeled the decal into fun new words: VD HARLOT USA

finally, we sprayed some more adhesive remover, and wiped it clean.

just like new!

sorry south boulevard subaru, we don't love you that much.

regal pouncey approves.

where my oil pullers at?

just kidding, i don't think that anybody who reads here is an oil puller. but you never know!

i first heard of this practice - oil pulling - a few years ago on a facebook for hippies site called "tribe," where a lot of alternative thinkers would post questions and solutions, most with a decidedly natural bent.  i was looking for carcinogen-free toothpaste recommendations and saw a post about oil pulling. it was interesting but i did not try it.

fast forward to last fall when i was becoming aware of the wonders of coconut oil. i was fighting a cold and there was a recommendation i saw online for mixing coconut oil with eucalyptus oil and putting it on the bottom of your feet to clear sinuses. it seemed like a better (less malodorous) idea than the bowls of chopped onions i put around the house last year. the same thread mentioned oil pulling. several commenters chimed in with anecdotes of oil pulling easing everything from tooth decay to rheumatoid arthritis - head colds, blood sugar stability, cramps, asthma, back pain, skin problems, the works.

i bought a jar of unrefined cold pressed virgin coconut oil and was happy with how it plus eucalyptus helped my cold. 

i figured the ancient Ayurvedic practice of oil pulling might be worth a shot.

basically you put a tablespoonful of oil (unrefined coconut or sesame seem to be the most popular) in your mouth and swish it around for 10-20 minutes, first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.  i floss my teeth beforehand so the space between my teeth is bigger. after swishing through your teeth, you spit it out in a jar or trash can *NOT DOWN THE DRAIN* and rinse with warm salt water and then brush your teeth as usual.

it supposedly works like an intense mouth wash - the coconut oil is anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and it collects all your mouth germs and then you spit them out.

bonus is the lovely trippy layered tiers of half solidified - half liquid coconut oil collected in the jar!

i have been doing this for 2 months now. i can report my mouth feels terrific! i cannot attest to any other health improvements at this point, though i usually have a sore throat/ear pain at least every other week in the winter, and i have not had a hint of either since starting.  considering i spend many hours per week in the germ nest of thrift stores, and we went on a floating petri dish carnival cruise, i am pretty happy.

it seems that western science has proven oil pulling to have a positive effect on oral health, though the other hundreds of benefits have not yet been verified scientifically. i have a baby tooth - a molar that doesn't have an adult molar to push it out - and i would like to keep this baby tooth as long as possible before i need an implant. i am hoping oil pulling will at least help in this endeavor.

i will keep you all updated on this riveting oil pulling journey. i have my 6 month dentist appointment in april and i am interested to see if the hygienist can tell a difference.

at the bare minimum, it serves as a kind of meditation. for 20 minutes every day i am not talking.


as an aside: how great is talenti gelato and sorbetto? the mango is out of this world!

frozen valentine

happy valentine's day from snow-covered asheville! 

may your hearts, cockles, and fingers stay warm today. 

nachodoggy is ready for besos.

Macy's and Hallmark made it what it is today - well it's a corporate holiday!
http://www.alomusic.com/player.html - "Valentine's Day" (about 20 songs down) ALO - Animal Liberation Orchestra

 boogie boarding down the driveway. looks like more fun than it is!  should've greased the board.

formation of a polar bunny vortex:

love and hearts and chocolate to all!

time to fetch the donuts

what happens when there are 3 inches of snow on the ground, the roads are still not plowed, and your dogs have cabin fever?

snow party! fiesta de snow!

frosty whiskers!

powder pounce!

time to make the donuts

what happens when there are 3 inches of snow on the ground, the roads have not been plowed or sanded, but the court has not gotten itself together enough to declare whether it's open or closed?

you put on your suit and hike up the driveway and go to work! behold asheville's most dedicated bankruptcy lawyer.

pointing out the trail of footprints made overnight by small rodents.

carnival fantasy

i spent last week on a cruise ship in the atlantic ocean going between south carolina and the bahamas.

charleston is only 3 and a half hours from asheville. the cruise left at 5 pm on monday, so we drove down monday morning and got on the ship. no airports, no hotels. easy breezy!

i have never been on a cruise before. it was not exactly like the love boat, but it wasn't too over the top cheesy either.  it was a lot like woodloch pines, but on a ship.  lots of activities available, but nothing was mandatory.


 there were over 2000 people on the ship. if you're looking for relatively agreeable, polite passengers, i recommend a ship leaving from charleston as opposed to one from south florida and/or new jersey. it seemed like 99% of our boat was from NC, SC, or Kentucky. They blessed their food before eating, but did not bless out cruise ship staff.  Good trade.

here they are learning the 'thriller' dance

 the weather in asheville last week was snowy and sub freezing. the weather in the bahamas was 72 and sunny.

we got off the boat in nassau and went to a resort nearby- site of many james bond movies. they try to keep the riff raff (us) out, but our cabbie lied and said we were staying there and snuck us through the gate and we went to the spa to sign up for a couples massage. it was all very uncomfortable. we were chased out of a hammock in a deserted park while waiting. we drank the world's loneliest un-garnished bloody mary in a fantastically beautiful but soulless heartless silent bar.

we weren't supposed to be there, and everybody knew it. i was happy to see it and happy to leave it.

after a peek at the vegas-disney spectacle of the atlantis, we found a sweet spot at the other end of the island called traveller's rest.

people were nice! they spoke to us! and wanted to take our money! it was glorious!

they even gave us a bonus fritter. they are serious about their conch down there. delicious giant clams.

the next day, the ship stopped in freeport. we took a cab to the reef golf course at the grand lucayan and kevin played golf. it was very beautiful and relaxed. the course was in pretty dang good shape and greens fees were reasonable. he was the second person out at 9 AM and did not wait for a shot, done in about 2.5 hours. it was lovely.

the ship left the bahamas at 5pm on thursday and we had a 'fun day at sea' friday, arriving back in charleston at the crack of dawn on saturday. the carnival staff were great - friendly and diligent. they cleaned our room 2 times a day. all of the common areas were constantly being maintained - scrubbed, painted, re-tiled. twice i saw them RECARPETING somebody's room. i guess when there's an accident, instead of cleaning the carpet, they pull it up and replace it. it may not be the greenest method, but it definitely seemed clean. 

 one fun, quirky thing about carnival is they make 'towel creations' - twist towels into animal shapes. i thought this was extremely funny and wanted to buy the instruction book. kevin wasn't so amused, and so we didn't get the book. if anybody is looking for birthday present ideas for me, i would like this book.

all in all, it was a great escape for 5 days, and i would definitely do it again.