Choosing your words when translating ...

From the manual of my new Lowa boots:

Before using new shoes, the leather or textile material should first be impregnated.

... Sure, Lowa. I'll ... get right on that.

Sneaky little alternate meanings ...

Nature hike weekends

Tom and I explored Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary last weekend. We'd never been there before and we really liked it.

There's a great boardwalk over a marsh, perfect for watching birds and other water critters.




It was cool because there were a lot of different habitats in a small space -- there was this marsh, there was a great wooded area with all kinds of birds, as well as meadow and ponds and just some pine woods to stroll through.

Boardwalks make an area more fun for some reason.

See what I mean?

Definitely a place to see again, especially in springtime!

Footie!

Last weekend, I got to see my first Aussie Rules Football (Footie) game since I was last in Australia.


One of my coworkers plays on the Boston Demons (sister team to the Melbourne Demons, as you can see by the shirts). Otherwise, I never would have known this league even existed! The sport isn't exactly on most people's radar here in the US, but it's a blast to watch (but I wouldn't want to play it myself! Yikes!).

The game's sort of a mix of rugby and soccer played on a cricket oval, but that doesn't quite describe it. There's lots of kicking, but no passing (though you can punch the ball to a teammate).

(This guy's just about to punt the ball down the field to a teammate)

A team scores by getting the ball between sets of goal posts. And it is definitely a contact sport.

Ouch!

(the random soccer net on the edge of the field was just put there to get it out of the way!)

There were definitely more players than spectators at the games (this wasn't the MCG, to put it mildly -- even though they did sell the meat pies!).

It was the first time Tom had seen this sport played, and I think he enjoyed it. It was definitely fun for me! Though next time, we'll probably pass on the meat pies (!!).

Labor Day Weekend

This picture kind of sums it up.



Mellow. Peaceful. Calm. Restful.

There was sleeping, guitar-playing, strolling in Rockport (hence the above photo), cookie-baking (okay, Tom did that part), reading, resting. Chillin'.

Verrrry nice.