Still going

My walking is starting to pay off. I can already my flab dissipating . Unfortunately the scale says I gained two pounds, two additional pounds over the ridiculous weight I achieved while imbibing my way through the holiday season. I suppose the muscles need to strengthen before they power-wash the fat off my ham-hock thighs. Damn WINE!

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Week 3
Walking: 12 miles

Peachy

Not only does she live... she blooms!

A neighbor started this tree from seed and was kind enough to give to me when I began planning and planting my garden. I of course nearly killed it. Actually everyone but me thought it was dead. I insisted my sister Jen plant it while she was visiting. After rounds and rounds of arguing back and forth she finally relented to my demands and just stuck in the ground. She probably kicked it when I wasn't looking.

I voted

On this most super of all Tuesdays, I hit the poles. As promised I took along my camera and documented my experience for the Polling Place Photo Project.

Happy Fastnacht Day!

Happy WHAT day? Isn't it Fat Tuesday? No, it's Fastnacht Day. It's almost like Fat Tuesday only without the drunken, shirt lifting debauchery. Rather than Happy Let's-party-today-because-tomorrow-is-Lent Day, it's more Happy use-up-all-the-leftover-lard-before-we-have-to-fast-for-Lent Day! Even though lard isn't so prevalent these days the Pennsylvania Dutch still keep the fastnacht tradition strong, because why wouldn't you choose one day a year to gorge yourself on donuts?

Generally we are not the first to align ourselves with the Pennsylvania Dutch, but I think in this case we can make an exception. Who doesn't love fresh donuts? To celebrate the momentous holiday, I popped out to Chow's Donuts to pick up our breakfast. As I drove down the hill I imagined there not being any donuts left to buy. What if I'm too late? The donuts might have been sold by 8 and here it is, 8:15 am and I AM NOT GOING TO GET ONE! (That is what really happens in Pennsylvania, you can't get a fastnacht anywhere if you didn't preorder last week!)

However, I've come to realize that we maybe the only people in our Southern California town to celebrate Fastnacht Day. Luckily, there was plenty to choose from at Chow's.

I made my selections and happily headed back up the hill to our home. It was well worth the drive.

Demonstrate the richness and complexity

Heading out to vote in the primary election should be the top priority for Americans, but taking photos of your polling place should be the second priority for designers. In a campaign called Design for Democracy the AIGA - the professional association for design - is working to “demonstrate the value of design by doing valuable things.” Working with different government agencies to redesign the voting experience, the AIGA hopes to improve the interactions between US citizens and their government. Designers across the country can contribute to the cause by documenting their voting experience and submitting photos to The New York Times Polling Place Photo Project.

"The Polling Place Photo Project is a nationwide experiment in citizen journalism that encourages voters to capture, post and share photographs of this year’s primaries, caucuses and general election. By documenting local voting experiences, participants can contribute to an archive of photographs that captures the richness and complexity of voting in America."

Tomorrow is Super Tuesday and I plan to vote and document it and submit the results!

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Polling Place Photo Project: how to participate.