Category: Uncategorized

I am asking you to share with us a podcast you love, preferably book related, but not necessarily so. Give us the link, of course, and share with us details about that podcast and why you enjoy it so much. If you have a couple or three favorites, share them all!

I blogged about podcasts a couple of months ago, but since they are the topic of choice this week, I will gladly write about my love for them again. For the past six months podcasts have kept me sane, entertained me, educated me and have added substantially to my TBR pile.

Since switching jobs six months ago, I have found myself desperately trying to adjust to “cubieville”. For those of you lucky enough to not know what this means let me fill you in. Cubieville is the type of large office that is broken up into cubicles. Workers have “walls” but no real privacy. This does not stop people from behaving as if they had complete privacy. Just as cell phone users hold private conversations in very public places, cubieville works tend to forget other people can hear every noise he/she makes. I have grown people around me who consistently sniff, cough, hack, and snort like they are back in grade school. I have co-workers who not only talk loudly on the phone, but give out very personal information while on the phone. Hint, to male cubieville workers, it is probably not a good idea to talk sweet nothings to your mistress, all the women in your office will treat you like the dog you are! But I digress; I am not used to such a noisy atmosphere. My IPod is a blessing as it has stopped me from standing up and screaming when the unnecessary noise becomes deafening.

I started downloading podcasts because I missed National Public Radio, I could have just as easily listened to music. Talk of The Nation and Science Friday are two of my favorite podcasts. Next I moved to How Stuff Works and their two most popular podcasts; Stuff you should know, and Stuff mom never told you. These are educational but highly entertaining. Ask the Naked Scientist, Scientific America and other science podcasts have me scribbling down notes and adding titles to my TBR pile, but if I had to pick just one Podcast about books to share it would be NPR’s Book Tour. Sadly it looks like it is no longer being produced (I would love to start a letter writing campaign to bring it back) but still, it should not be missed. Here authors read from their own works then take questions from a live audience. I would have never ever considered reading G. Xavier Robillard’s satirical book Captain Freedom: A Superhero’s Quest for Truth, Justice, and the Celebrity He So Richly Deserves had I not heard this podcast. I did not remember downloading this episode but within two minutes of listening to Robillard’s story I was hooked; I came home and shared this gem with my son who quickly went out and found the book.

Podcasts are a blessing to me and keep me informed and updated on science and politics. They make me laugh and make me think. I am not sure I would get thru a work day without them. Now I am off to clean the house while listening to Ask the Naked Scientist. I look forward to reading my fellow geek’s podcast picks.

Before moving to Nevada five years ago, I told my real estate agent I required a house with a pool. I was tired of the cold Montana months and thought if I was going to make the change to a warmer climate I wanted a pool to swim in. See I am a California girl through and through. I wanted to garden again and splash in water; something you really do not get to do in Montana. So a pool and backyard was a must.
Surprisingly it was hard to find a house with a pool; you would think a state that has three months of extremely hot weather would have house after house with a pool. No, not many Nevada’s like water it seems; the dry dessert is the main attraction. When we found a house with a pool and huge backyard I was thrilled, and though I hated the Jack and Jill bathroom set up, I bought the house (but really I bought the pool). Now five years and no real garden later(the large backyard does not get a lot of sun) I am done with the pool.
The pool was an older oversized Dough-boy. It ran 24 feet long by 12 wide. I enjoyed swimming laps and lounging on a float. But as the years went by I used it less and less. When I went back to work full time I used it on the weekends only, as by the time I got home the wind had picked up and it was too cold to swim. This last summer I was toying with the idea of taking the pool down, but was not quite ready to give up on my weekend swims. Well the pool gave up on me! The liner and skimmer cracked, the sides started to sag and the ladder was starting to show signs of wear and tear. Turns out the pool is over 15 years old and needed an overhaul or taken down. I priced everything out and after adding up the cost I decided it was time to take the pool down.
This last weekend my friend Chuck, my son Alex and I spent two hours undoing over a hundred bolts and screws. We had no idea it would be so hard to take down, but once the chore was complete I was thrilled to see I had a huge garden spot! The sun shines on this part of my yard all day, which is what I need for a vegetable garden. Now once again I can play in the dirt and grow my own organic produce. For me, gardening is a spiritual endeavor, one I have missed for over 10 years. I have missed the daily routine of taking care of a garden and watching my plants grow. There is no bigger thrill than picking produce you have lovingly grown yourself. The produce tastes fresh giving me a reason to put on my chef hat and cook homemade quality food. Fresh basil calls for fresh pesto and ripe tomatoes and peppers make for the best salsa. Ahh I can taste it now.
To give you an idea of just how much produce can be grown in a large garden Mel Bartholomew the author of Square Foot Gardening says you can place up to four or six plants per square. I have over 24 feet to plant in! Oh joy oh joy! Spring cannot come fast enough for me. For now I will continue to work the soil, make the fence to keep the cats out and dream of my garden.
For those of you who do not have a lot of space but want to garden I recommend Mel’s book as he shows gardeners how to use space wisely. All you need is sun, good dirt and a love of growing plants.