The Contents of My Freezer

This afternoon I was putting something in the freezer. Don't remember what. And I noticed that our freezer was absolutely overflowing with stuff. But I had no idea what most of it was. So Teresa and I spent half an hour in archaeological pursuits. Here is what we found:

*1 large ziplock bag of chicken broth
*3 large bags of freezer-burned ice
*6 ears of corn, freezer burned
*2 pork loins, fresh (i.e., just put there two days ago)
*1 hunk of unidentifiable meat from our friend Christa, who borrowed some freezer space since her old roommate took up all of theirs
*2 pieces of uncooked chicken, still palatable
*1 tupperware container with 1 extremely freezer-burned piece of steak and one extremely freezer-burned hamburger, left over from when Mom and Dad visited in July (whoops!). Currently thawing in the fridge. Will give to Sasha tomorrow (lucky dog!).
*1 small bag of sliced zucchini, unreedemable
*1 small bag of sliced peppers, fresh
*1 piece of spinach lasagne
*1 3"x8" pan of lasagne, for a rainy day
*1 large yogurt container full of lentil soup, also for a rainy day
*1 large yogurt container full of unknown soup, for yet another rainy day
*1 full loaf of bread
*6 partial loaves (mostly ends) of bread
*2 bags of corn tortillas (~25)
*1 Caribou Coffee Vanilla Latte bar (where the heck did it come from? Not mine, not Teresa's . . . it's a mystery. Wendi and Scott, perhaps?)
*2 ice cube trays of fuzzy ice
*1 partial bag of frozen peas
*1 partial bag of frozen mixed vegetables
*1 cooler ice pack, small
*4 containers of ice cream:
Cookies and Creme, generic brand (age: 4 months? more? has now been washed down sink)
Rocky Mountain Rubble, generic brand (age: 3 months? same fate as above)
Cookies and Creme, Dreyers brand (age: 3 weeks: still good)
French Vanilla, Albertson's brand (age: 2 weeks: still good)

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode in The Life and Times of Al! Up next: The Contents of My Fridge, or perhaps, even more thrilling: The Contents of The Recycling Cave of Death (or RCoD).

Contra Dancing!

I had the most fantastic evening yesterday! It was a contra dance night, but instead of being held in the too-small space above the Union Club, it was in the University Center ballroom, a huge gorgeous space with high ceilings, great acoustics, and a smooth wooden floor, perfect for dancing. It was the best contra dance I've been to--all of the men I danced with were at least fairly good, and most of them were very good, and the music was fantastic. Such good energy! I keep recognizing random people, too--there was a man there from my yoga class, and one from my lit class, and then of course there were lots of EVST ladies. I danced with the cutest 17-year-old boy named Tor--shy, tall, courteous--and we laughed the whole time. It was like dancing with a little brother except that he was probably a foot taller than I. And then of course there are all the courtly 65-year-old men who have been contra dancing for decades and are fantastic at it. I admit there's a definite dearth of guys my age, but at a contra dance that's just fine. At any rate, I danced for three hours, ate carrot cake, and had a great time. I'll see if I can get some pictures for ya'll to enjoy!


Speaking of pictures, I promised to put up Halloween pictures. So here I am, cute as can be. Aren't I a convincing 6-year-old?? Notice the feet! Hee hee hee. I think this may be the most comfortable Halloween costume I've ever had.







































Awww . . .































It rained all last night and it's still going at it this morning. A good thing, I suppose, since I need to get my reading done. We read Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach for class last week--an intriguing utopian novel for those interested in a vision of an alternate, eco-friendly future, as written from a 1970's perspective. This week we're going for the other end of the spectrum with The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, a dystopian novel set in 2024. I haven't gotten very far, but the few chapters I've read are haunting enough. I'm wondering whether this will have a depressing or a cheerful ending. I'm hoping for cheerful . . .

Here's my funny story of the week, the story of a Sunday hike, mule deer, and bushwhacking up Mt. Jumbo:

Last week Sunday was a glorious day, the last real Indian summer day we had. Warm, sunny, full of golden sunshine and yellow leaves: I had to take a hike. So I walked east to the foot of Mt. Jumbo. My friend Jenny and I had hiked to the summit a few weeks ago, and I wanted to take the same trail. However, there are several trails, going to various spots, and I took the wrong one. Whoops. I was walking parallel to I-90, towards East Missoula, and the trail wasn't going up quickly enough. I looked up the mountainside, and, far above me, saw the trail that I wanted to take. Inspired by the beautiful day, I decided to bushwhack up the side of the mountain. It was horribly steep, and I tried to cut back and forth as I worked my way up, since going straight up was far too much of a challenge for my poor legs. Halfway up to the trail, I spotted three mule deer, casually grazing about 50 yards above me. As I came closer, they turned to look down at me, enormous ears pricked, watching curiously. By this time my legs were aching and I was out of breath, so I collapsed on the side of the hill to rest, and lay there, watching the clouds and the traffic on I-90, enjoying the view of Mt. Sentinel to the south. Suddenly, though, a chill breeze sprang up, and the sunshine vanished. I looked west, and saw a huge bank of clouds rolling into the valley, covering the sun and pushing a stiff cold breeze ahead of it. Time to get moving again, I thought. So I turned to look up the mountain again, only to see ELEVEN mule deer standing above me, all perfectly still, with ears pricked, staring straight at me, probably wondering what the heck this human being was doing sprawled out on the side of their hill. I lost it. I started laughing hysterically, flopped on the ground, while the deer watched with intense interest.

I didn't make it to the summit, but I did manage to get to the right trail, and took a far easier path back down the mountain. I wish I'd had my camera with me so I could share a picture of those mule deer, but that image will have to remain in my mind alone.

Hee.