Insomnia 101

Lately I've been doing the dance of little sleep. Maybe it's the impending departure/arrival stage of my journey. Maybe it's the impending storm of Earl. Maybe it's the moon. Maybe it's indigestion. The night/morning before last, I lay in bed with my eyes closed, trying to go back to sleep. Suddenly the wind was blowing hard in the room and I was slowly flying up into the corner. That's when I realized I was asleep, and dreaming I was awake. Not because of a sudden howling storm in the room. Not because I was flying. But because there were white curtains blowing wildly at the windows....and this room has no curtains - that realization had me awake again. Nope...no curtains. So it's like that...and that point is when we who sleep weirdly just decide to embrace and enjoy the wee quiet hours instead of wrestling with them, we might be writing blogs. Just so you know! And when I can find out who did the above piece, I'll be happy to ask permission to put it here!

Yesterday we went to the Portland Sidewalk Art Festival (yes, it's festival time around here, fairs, blueberries, you name it, there's a festival for it - and many of them are at the same time, making choosing tough). Over 200 artists participated, thousands showed up, but with the show stretched all over the downtown, it only felt crowded a few times. There was great art - including Mary Jane Cross, who paints with her fingers (really well, I might add). Need a little inspiration? Check out the link.

There were drummers and street fair type people, like the couple who hoped for tips to fund their 'tour'  by providing the entertainment of him juggling while on a unicycle and her using a hula hoop that was on fire. Good luck, you two! I think maybe that act needs a little work, or a dog or something, but at least they're out there giving life a big shot.

There was even a mini antique car show. But really, I've learned that Mainers will have a antique car show at the drop of an open space; you see old, dressed up cars everywhere around here, all of the time. Vintage car heaven, but now I'm sort of used to it. Yeah yeah, a Bentley from 1924, big deal. 60's woody in perfect condition? Another one? Nice...what's next?


But the best part of the day was still ahead of us. That was seeing Nancy at Local 188, a very neat bar/restaurant she and Sean used to go to a lot when he was in the hospital up here, way back when. Because I won't be here for Sean's celebration, it was a beyond very good surprise to have her show up early in Maine from her long, slow drive up the coast. We toasted Sean and love and friendship; we laughed, got a little teary but not much, and knew we'd see one another again...when. It was all good.

When we got out to the cars, Nancy showed us a bottle of wine that had caught eye at a local store - of course she had to get it; resistance would be silly. After the name, check out what is decorating the label (you can make it bigger with a click). The Great Prankster at work.

We stopped on the way home to have dinner at a place called Buck's Naked BBQ. Laurie thought we needed some distraction and she make an A+ choice. Noisy but not too noisy, fun but not stupid, well, the amount of food served is stupid, but in a good way...I think! And the food served was really good, if you are a carnivore...and you know, if you read this blog (or not) I am! The plate with the greens on it is Laurie's and she wanted someone on Culebra to see those greens, I'll have to check in again on who later.

That last plate is pure Phil...he just casually puts his bones like that on the bone plate. No, I'm not kidding. It was so pretty I had to take a photo of it, even though we tarted it up with a semi-full thing of horseradish and a pickle. Mine, the one that looks like a heap of three kinds of ribs (I thought they'd be little ribs, sort of like a sampler platter...wrong) covering, I kid you not, a baked potato, cole slaw - good slaw, and I'm picky - and a big piece of cornbread. So most of that is in the fridge.

But will I eat it today? Doubtful, because I am going to spend the day with Alex at the Outward Bound place where he works on...get ready for it...Hurricane Island. I figure instead of staying here and maniacally obsessing over what Earl is doing, I need to get outside and play. A pig roast with Alex and some of his buddies and co-workers sounds like just the ticket! And I may stay over, so if there is no blog early tomorrow, it's because I am having a good time Outward-ing. It doesn't mean I'm not thinking of home though...

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday
90° F | 79° F	90° F | 79° F	90° F | 81° F	90° F | 77° F	90° F | 81° F
Rain Showers 20% chance of precipitation	T-storms 50% chance of precipitation	T-storms 60% chance of precipitation	Rain Showers 40% chance of precipitation	Rain Showers 20% chance of precipitation
	Hurricane Earl	Hurricane Earl

If you are living on island time, please finish up your preps if you haven't already! We can't change the weather, but we can feel like we've done everything possible to keep our worlds intact, and then let's just see what happens next! Wish I was there to help out. Thanks to all who have offered to keep an eye on my things, and to the best cat watcher in the world for taking such good care of CWIM that I'm not worried about her at all. Pretty much. Really. Love to the loved ones!

Name of the Day is Earl & The Power of Twitter

Favorite quote so far, and maybe ever, about Earl, from Karen on Facebook:

Karen: I am a hurricane virgin, and I intend to stay that way! F### off Earl!!

Unless you have been living with a landcrab, I don't need to tell you that Earl is going to have some impact, if not direct impact, on Culebra (and other islands, yes). But just in case you HAVE been up close and personal with Mr. Crab, here is the latest on Earl.

BULLETIN
TROPICAL STORM EARL INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY NUMBER 12A
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL072010
800 AM AST SAT AUG 28 2010

...EARL CONTINUES HEADING WESTWARD AT A GOOD CLIP...

SUMMARY OF 800 AM AST...1200 UTC...INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...15.8N 51.2W
ABOUT 800 MI...1290 KM E OF THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...60 MPH...95 KM/HR
PRESENT MOVEMENT...W OR 270 DEGREES AT 21 MPH...33 KM/HR
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...999 MB...29.50 INCHES


WATCHES AND WARNINGS
--------------------
CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY...

NONE

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT...

A TROPICAL STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR...
* SAINT MARTIN AND SAINT BARTHELEMY
* ANTIGUA...BARBUDA...MONTSERRAT...ST. KITTS...NEVIS...AND ANGUILLA
* ST. MAARTEN...SABA...AND ST. EUSTATIUS

A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE
POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 48 HOURS.

FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA OUTSIDE THE UNITED
STATES...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR NATIONAL
METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE.


$$
FORECASTER AVILA

This sat pic is from yesterday

I want to toss in one other item, because I think it's absolutely one of the best uses of twitter I've ever seen. I am not on Twitter and won't say never, but I'd say it's unlikely I ever will be. But I"m sure glad this guy is...Douglas Wheelock, the poet astronaut who is sending some stunningly beautiful and amazing photos from the Space Station, where he is living and working at present. To check out his work, sure to take your mind off of Earl for a moment between doing prep chores, check out his site. You don't have to be a Twitterhead to see this site, and it is well worth it. Promise!


Thinking of friends and loved ones scattered across the Northern Caribbean and feeling way too far away, even knowing you all, each and every, are hoping for the best, preparing for the worst and making sure the liquor cabinet is stocked. Sending love, good thoughts and turning on all the vacuums I can find from here.

Free Range Friday - Pizza,The Moon and some other things Culebra

The moon was so bright at 4 this morning, shining directly in my window, that it woke me up. As if to say, sorry for being so elusive earlier. Of course, that is anthropomorphism on a stellar level, so to speak, but it works for me. On Culebra, the full moon often shines in my window and I've missed it, so thanks, Ms. Bella Luna!

But of course, I had to also 

go outside to try to catch the moon, stars and a planet...

though without a tripod, it was hard to hold steady, 

so I tried to write my initials with the moon...

which turned out pretty neat!

Last night Phil and Laurie made pizza, using a whole wheat pizza crust they'd gotten at one of the co-ops around here. I am not a big fan of certain whole wheat items (like pasta), but this one was delicious. Or maybe it was all of the additions. Regardless, it was an excellent pizza!

Home Made Pizza Toppings

Fresh basil
Tomatoes
Pesto
Onions
Garlic
Mozzarella cheese
Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

***Here's a little factoid for you, from About.com, and if you already knew this, you get points:


Question: Parmesan vs Parmigiano

What is the Difference Between Parmesan and Parmigiano-Reggiano?

Answer: Due to Italian D.O.C. laws that protect the names and recipes of certain cheeses, a cheese cannot be called Parmigiano-Reggiano unless it is made using a specific recipe and production method within the provinces of Parma, Reggio-Emilia, Modena, and specific regions in the provinces of Bologna and Mantua. D.O.C laws are meant to preserve the integrity of traditional cheeses by insuring the flavor and quality. Therefore, any cheese made outside of these regions with a slightly different recipe or production method cannot be called Parmigiano-Reggiano . A cheese called Parmesan is essentially a cheese that imitates the recipe for Parmigiano-Reggiano, but is made outside of the approved Italian regions.

Of course, this is for a veggie pizza, you can add any toppings you like, which is the joy of pizza.

If you have a stone, it should be pre-heated in a 375 degree oven for 5 minutes. The pizza crust should be baked about 10 minutes, or until golden (which isn't so easy to tell with a whole wheat pizza crust, so keep an eye on it). Remove, brushing the crust with olive oil and put on the toppings. Return the pizza to the oven for 10 minutes and...

wa la! It's all good!

And now, onto things Culebra:

Tropical Storm Earl is forecast to swing to the north of the Northern Leewards, but it has been tracking farther south along the way and is definitely something to be keeping a weather eye on.

From the Crown Weather discussion this morning:

Discussion
Tropical Storm Earl:
Earl is pretty much a steady state tropical storm with 45 mph maximum winds this morning. With that said, environmental conditions are favorable for intensification and I expect strengthening over the next few days. Earl is expected to become a hurricane by Saturday night or Sunday morning and reach major hurricane status probably on Tuesday. It should be noted that many of the intensity models forecast that Earl will be a powerful Category 4 hurricane by Wednesday and given the environmental conditions forecast along with the very warm ocean temperatures, I think this is quite possible.

Earl is tracking nearly due west at a forward speed of 17 mph and this general westward track will continue right through this weekend. Earl is forecast to approach a break in a ridge of high pressure, which will likely be enhanced by Hurricane Danielle around Monday and this should cause Earl to turn to the west-northwest or northwest. At this point, it seems more than likely that Earl will pass north of the Leeward Islands, however, all interests in the northern Leeward Islands should closely monitor the progress of Earl this weekend. 

In other words, until the fat lady sings (that expected but not promised northerly turn), it's a good idea to make sure all of your preparations are in order. There is more coming behind Earl...

There was something else going on at home I wanted to write about...but maybe that was just a dream I had (interrupted writing this to get Laurie's dog George out of the river - no swimming involved, tide low, mud flats - he was going after the Canadian geese gathered there, and at 17 years old, we were worried about him getting back. He on the other hand, seemed to be having quite the larky time, even without catching a goose). Oh well, so it goes!

A very fuzzy photo of George on his way out to catch geese...he went a LOT farther out

Have a feisty Friday! Do something ferociously fine.