Food, Racing, Music

Made homemade caramel corn tonight. It had been awhile. Needed more popcorn to balance the syrup.
Melt two sticks butter in a pot, stir in 1.5 cups sugar, 1/2 cup Karo syrup, and 1 teaspoon vanilla and a dash of salt. Bring to a boil for one minute. Pour over giant bowl of popcorn. Yum. Stir in nuts if you like.

Fun day at the track. Love those cars. It's fun to go totally out of my comfort zone and write a sports story. Challenging. And it reminds me that the absolute best thing about my job is being able to walk up and talk to strangers, and even ask for their phone numbers!

Watched much of the Grammys with Rosie. Lady Gaga is too weird for words. Love it that the girl from Lady Antebellum cried, and totally enjoyed watching Will Smith and his wife watch their son perform with Justin Bieber.

Took a day off on Monday, sort of ... Went up to Washington Oaks to meet some Audubon folks to talk about the potential closing of 53 state parks. I've written about the issue. Went for a walk on the beach. Wow. It is truly beautiful there. Saw quite a number of birds. No right whales, though I really was hoping. Had lunch at a little restaurant overlooking Matanzas Inlet. We live in Paradise.



Went out to the Speedway today. So many people are so excited about racing. It's hard not to be caught up in their enthusiasm for the Great American race.

Saw huge flock of American robins at the NJ today. Parked under a tree where they were feasting on cedar berries. Big mistake. Truck covered in bird poop, but it smelled like Christmas!

things ...

Went to a right whale necropsy today. You just can't imagine the smell. It is in my nostrils and I just can't get it out. Important work, but nasty.
Rosie got her driver's permit this week. What a huge milestone. She only missed three questions. I'm proud of her.
I realized today that it has been four months since I was out in my kayak. Seems really hard to believe. Sometimes I think I need to tweak my priorities.
Will be headed out to the Speedway again in a few days. I have been laughing for days about my encounter with Richard Petty. Funny how some little things stick with you.
And sometimes it's funny how little things remind you that it's time to make a course correction. What you do with the new wind is up to you...