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one
tues 1 sept 2009 | |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2009/090901.html | |
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Okay. Here I am posting. And there I am, signed up for a Blog Posting Month. But I'm still not sure if I'm going do it. I'm just going to plug along until I can figure out whether I want to blog daily or not. So anyway. Here's what I may or may not be typing about this month:
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two
wed 2 sept 2009 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2009/090902.html |
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Even tho the androgynous side of me had to cringe a bit. :) I got some lavender lotion (my standard scent) and some almond lotion (something new and different). A random bottle of shampoo, I just couldn't decide which to get, so it's Asian pear/red tea. And I got apricot scrub, which was just heavenly. I can't wait to treat myself to a full body scrub down. Maybe this weekend. I also got two notebooks, the paper is made out of sugar cane. I was delighted to see paper at my vegan store, and I was intrigued about the sugar cane. I haven't tried them out yet. The paper is on the thin side tho, plus it's lined. and I was a bit disappointed about that. But the little notebook is so little it's cute and it makes me smile. So I'll probably use it eventually. For something. |
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BTT, Recent Big
thurs 3 sept 2009 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2009/090903.html |
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What's the biggest book you've read recently? (Feel free to think "big" as size, or as popularity, or in any other way you care to interpret.) Nothing "recent" but... The biggest books that I own are two volumes of a Dover publication, of Thoreau's journals. Last summer I read volume 1, the first seven (of 14) of Thoreau's journals. The book is so huge and heavy, it's a pain to read... Amazon says the book's dimensions are 12.6inches x 8.8inches and 2inches thick. Volume One weighs 6.2 pounds. It has 900 pages, but there are four journal pages on each page. But I did love reading it, and I've been considering pulling volume two out. Unfortunately, I'm a bit intimidated because I'm not able to read as much as I want to any more. Darn that day job for sucking eight hours out of my day. |
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garden (in august)
fri 4 sept 2009 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2009/090904.html |
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And then we got a notice...
"This garden plot is posted for pending abatement action because it contains weeds or grass over 18 inches tall..." blah, blah, blah. I'm not exactly sure what "abatement" is, but it sounded bad. So Significant Other and I spent the weekend clearing out the ... wildflowers. It made me and the bees sad. But I planted some marigolds and lavender. We kept our sunflowers because they were so happy and I just couldn't bear to live without them. But Then: three of our sunflower plants, the great big huge ones, were destroyed this week. By management, I suppose, since they were right next to the fence. I was upset when SO told me... And I'm still terribly sad about the precious sunflowers. I was so fond of them. We still have the three shorter sunflowers. Plus the new flowers we planted. I guess I'll live.
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crochet projects
sat 5 sept 2009 | |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2009/090905.html | |
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This morning I worked on my file system for my website. It was looking rather pathetic. And I'm happy now that it's all fixed up. I've added a 2009 Garden tag, finally. go and check it out.
I sent the two
The last weekend of August,
I was inspired by the blankets my friend made:
cat approved blue blanket.
So I started a new
And, oh my gosh. I am so glad I write down my obsessive numbers. My first dish cloths took over three hours to make. Then it was 2.5 hours. Then it was 1h40mins. And my first one this time around (orange in photo) was 1h 30m... my second one (yellow and lime) was 1h 15m. !!! Wow. I am so happy with myself. :) I can almost whip up a little dish cloth in one sitting. And, speaking of... I have been able to crochet for more than ½hour at a time, and my wrists and hands have been okay. I've been making sure I'm not leaning against anything... sometimes when I leaned against my bean bag, I think it was cutting off my circulation, or messing with the nerves going down my arm. And I think that having my entire arm free has made all the difference. My fingers still get stiff while I'm working, but next day pain is below my threshold. So... Next: xmas Scarves! |
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a list
sun 6 sept 2009 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2009/090906.html |
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∞ Visit the garden once or twice. Usually meet SO there after work on friday. sometimes make a bike ride out there on saturday or sunday, too. ∞ Make yummy vegan bread. For sandwiches I bring to eat at the day job. ∞ Two loads of laundry. Only one load is required, but I've had this super huge pile of old clothes and blankets that I've been meaning to get through. I've been doing two loads 'most every week all summer long, and I've still got a pile. heh. ∞ Upload the scans of the PostCrossing postcards I've received during the week. ∞ ... and get at least a couple postcards out the door. ∞ Try to clean out my web-based email accounts. In july, I did a really good job of cleaning up my regular inbox... and if you can believe it, my inbox total is still hanging around 11 to 15 emails. yay me. hotmail and netscape accounts got messy in that time tho. ∞ Have a few drinks and type emails... mostly to my friends. Occasionally comment on random websites. I amaze myself by how much sense I make when I'm drinking. ;) laughs. |
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mon 7 sept 2009 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2009/090907.html |
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garden pics
tues 8 sept 2009 | |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2009/090908.html | |
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I took this photo of our happy cucumber plant at the end of august. This is the cucumber plant I found when I started clearing out the weeds... since it had grown UP, and the weeds were actually holding it up, I decided to put it in our extra tomato cage. And it has done really well, as you can see. I did find two more cucumber plants in the weeds... but they are a little bit sad that they have to live on the ground. I very much like cucumbers... but there are only so many cucumber sandwiches you can eat, to be honest. :) So I'm glad we only have a couple plants growing.
While I was taking pictures of the water on Significant Other's green tomatoes... I had an epiphany: I suddenly realized that I really, really loved taking photos of green tomatoes. I was thinking about how the shadowed leaves looked so interesting, and about the knobby stems, and the water drops were catching bits of the blue sky. |
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PostCrossing
wed 9 sept 2009 | |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2009/090909.html | |
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Today is my one year anniversary with PostCrossing. As of today, I've sent 126 postcards through the site and received 116. Along with the postcards I get from my monthly exchange, the stack of the postcards I've gotten in the mail this year is three inches high (about 8cm). I can have 10 postcards traveling through PostCrossing right now. (You start out with 5 traveling, and it slowly builds as you send out more postcards.) But ten is a bit more than I can handle. I send out about 4 or 6 postcards every weekend, maybe one or two during the week if I feel like it. And, of course, I recieve approximately that many during the week as well. I enjoy making my postcards, and I always get terribly disappointed when someone's profile says "no handmade postcards". I do have a handful of store bought pcs to send to these annoying people. But they are missing out on my brilliant photography. :) |
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pic
thurs 10 sept 2009 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2009/090910.html |
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garden
fri 11 sept 2009 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2009/090911.html |
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I was late getting out of work today. Crisis right at the time I was leaving. of course, "crisis" was noticed by me, therefore "crisis" had to be taken care of by me. And, yes, I saved the warehouse from being blown up. Literally! So everyone in North America who likes Copic markers better be thanking me!
Late getting to the garden for the rendezvous with Significant Other, he met me at the gate with bad news. the Chinese Balsam, which has been blooming wonderfully since we got it at Saturday Market in June, is going to perish. The weeds had been holding it up, and it's been droopy since we cleared them out. It was crazy top heavy with blooms. And finally the stem just broke. oh well. I'm wondering about the seed pods. And I'm definitely going to buy another next year, if I see it again at the Market. In the meanwhile, the cosmos are blooming. (That's the photo above.) And SO's cherry tomato plant has millions of little tomatoes. They are about the size of big marbles, and they are so yummy. |
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dust collectors
sat 12 sept 2009 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2009/090912.html |
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The rocks are from the Oregon coast and are usually stacked, but they fall over every time the printer runs and shakes them down. The little clay animals -- elephant, dog, duck, cat -- came in the tea I bought. How random, huh. If I had my choice, the little animals would also include a:
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crochet
sun 13 sept 2009 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2009/090913.html |
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My goal for the weekend was to start one of the scarves that I plan on gifting at xmas. I knew it was going to be a problem... a new kind of string, and a new kind of stitch... Who knows what chaos would ensue?! Only thing for it was to go ahead and start. So I did. "Gauge" always gives me a problem, so I automatically added a few stitches to make it big enough. The instructions said 8 inches and I had 8½, all is going well! I worked for an hour, but with increasing trepidation. My stitches were -- somehow -- getting tighter. And it was _twisting_. And finally it was so warped I had to stop. I got out my measuring tape: It may have started out at over 8 inches wide, but the newest rows were less than 6 inches wide! ARG! I have done so many little dish cloths, and they turn out perfectly. And now I want to do something serious, and it's a disaster! Try, try, again, right. And you know... it's a bit humbling. I've been crocheting since January, and I am _still_ having problems with tension and keeping things straight. My next attempt, I am consciously trying to keep things loose and straight. And I've decided Maybe I don't need to give away my first scarf. Maybe I'll keep the first scarf and see if the second scarf is any good! |
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at the Copic warehouse
mon 14 sept 2009 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2009/090914.html |
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Oh, it's awesome all right. It's a light table, basically, for tracing... but it's super thin, fairly light weight, bright with sunlight-type light and the light is completely even and won't get warm. Of course, I want one. :) Yeah, yeah, I'm not drawing anything right now, so technically I don't have a use for a light table! But just think! I could scratch down a rough sketch and then use the light table to trace just the good lines onto good paper before I start colouring! Or I could trace my photographs to get in some colouring practice! Sighs. Yeah, yeah, I'm not drawing anything right now. But darn it... if I could just start drawing! |
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driving
tues 15 sept 2009 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2009/090915.html |
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It's probably been a month or so, at least, since last I drove. When I got into the car, I checked my little book. The last time I filled up with gas was in February. So, yeah. Not driving so much these days. Don't know if the bad dream was entirely justified, tho! Stupid brain, just leave me in peace, will ya?! |
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flowers in the garden
wed 16 sept 2009 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2009/090916.html |
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And for those of us who can't remember what the flowers are named... The orange one above is Marigold. The pink one below is Cosmos.
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BTT, Recent Enjoyable (not)
thurs 17 sept 2009 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2009/090917.html |
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What's the most enjoyable, most fun, most just-darn-entertaining book you've read recently? Yeah, unfortunately, I have to warp this Booking Through Thursday to complain about a book that I recently finished. Palimpsest, by Catherynne M. Valente This is the author of The Orphan's Tales... which I loved and read again as soon as I finished the first read. I knew any other thing Valente wrote could not be as good as Tales. I knew. And yet, I hoped. The book was okay, definitely Not enjoyable tho. I just... I really wanted the magic and delight that was part of Orphan's Tales. But... eh. Too much urban fantasy I guess, and Orphan's Tales notwithstanding, I'm not a fan of fantasy. And the book I'm currently reading, The Picture of Dorian Gray, is also a disappointment. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but so far, I'm mostly just annoyed at the slightly evil main character. Sighs. I have a book I think I'll love... The Fox Woman by Kij Johnson. I've been keeping it back, waiting for something special maybe, or perhaps just enjoying the anticipation. I think Johnson may be my new favorite author, and the Fox Woman book will decide that. Granted, that book is fantasy as well. heh, maybe I should go back to my science fiction. |
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another flower lesson
fri 18 sept 2009 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2009/090918.html |
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This is one of the Morning Glories that was growing on the compost pile outside the community garden. This is one of the more vivid varieties. The normal morning glories have blooms about the size of a U.S. quarter (2.5cm diameter) that are white or a very pale pink. Usually morning glories are weeds, and the little white ones have definitely put their tendrils around all of our plants in the garden. To remember Morning Glories, the key word is "morning". See how delicate this flower looks? Morning Glories usually open up in the morning and close their flowers in the afternoon to protect themselves from the sun. That's not always true here in Oregon... Except on hot days, the Morning Glories stay open all day!
Back to the Marigolds. Key word here is "gold". Marigolds are yellow or orange or some combination thereof. Gold, right? easy to remember.
Today, From the Copic Warehouse.... One of our markers is "V-05 Marigold". Marigold. Except the "v" stands for violet and the "05" means it's a bright, medium colour. So. Bright medium violet... Is named "Marigold". A flower that is yellow and orange. I have mentioned how crazy this is several times at work. And I got into it with the boss this afternoon. He was saying that marigolds are purple in Japan (where our markers are made). And I'm saying marigolds are yellow and orange all over the world. Of course, I'm right. But the discussion went on and on and he would just not give up his purple position... it eventually lead to me punching him, and him firing me, and then the discussion was over. ;) *laughs* |
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um...
sat 19 sept 2009 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2009/090919.html |
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This photo needs... something. I'm not sure what. I went to edit it: decided not to histogram it, couldn't figure out how to crop it, and couldn't figure out what it needed... It needs help, that I know. hmm... |
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Answer meme
sun 20 sept 2009 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2009/090920.html |
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I found That's my Answer. You are supposed to answer the most recent question and then ask another question for the next person to answer. But I'm all about warping memes, so I'm just going to answer some of Today's questions... Besides yourself, do you have to get anyone else ready in the morning? How long does that take? I get the guinea pigs some breakfast. This involves cutting up some tangerines and some carrots, and getting a bit of dried apple. I spend a little bit of time with them while I hand them their carrots. All told, around ten minutes. If you had (or have) a PhD. what clever and creative field would it be in? oooh, good question. I can't decide... too many interests... it was a problem the first time around in college as well. :) Do you see your doctor annually, or do you put off going? I don't have a doctor and have never had an annual exam. For my birth control, they force you to get an annual gyn exam... and I have managed to weasle my way into getting one every four or five years. laughs. How many hours of sleep at night is enough to make you last the whole day I need a good nine hours of sleep. But for the past few months I've had some pretty good insomnia. bleh. Do you (or have you ever) played a musical instrument? If so, what is it? If not, what do you wish you could play? I took some piano lessons when I was little, but I never learned how to read music. That is what keeps me from playing now, even tho I do own a keyboard. |
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Yay Worms
mon 21 sept 2009 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2009/090921.html |
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I had to look to see when we got our worm box, it was 2007. The worm's first year was a little bit iffy. We had to deal with a fruit fly problem. And at some point we had more food than we had worms, and I had to quit feeding them for a couple months. But since then the worms have been doing a brilliant job. They get all of our organic kitchen waste. It makes me so happy that we are not filling up the landfills with stuff that can be used. Not only do we have less trash going into the bin, it doesn't have to be taken out as often, since there's nothing stinky in our trash! Our current system... any food scraps get thrown into a bowl and a plastic bag in the back of the fridge. I take that junk out pretty much whenever I feel like it... maybe every two or three weeks or so. I pull the worm box out, dig a hole on our current food side, dump in our scraps then cover it back up with dirt. I usually have to add some extra bedding as well... The guinea pigs get shredded newspaper for their bedding, and when I clean out their home, the used shreds go to the worms next. Hows that for recycling? :) I always put the food on the same side, and I let the other side get turned into dirt. Supposedly the worms slowly migrate away from the dirt and towards the food... But always there are worms living in the dirt side. When the box gets too full -- it takes a few months for this to happen -- I dump the dirt side. And then I switch sides to dump the food into, so the old food side can turn into dirt. It's really so cool. :) I wish everyone had a worm box. They are easy to take care of, fun to talk about, plus all that perfect dirt the worms make. If you're interested...
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Twitch
sat 26 sept 2009 |
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Permalink: http://www.static8.com/journal/archive2009/090926.html |
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In Loving Memory of
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You Are Here: |
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The "weeds" in our garden.
