On a life, while living

As 2007 winds it's weary way into the pages of history, I have started to think on things I have experienced, learned, or realized this year.

This blog reflects little of my life. It's merely a window into things I want to share. Mostly the little crafty things I do, or interesting things I have gone and done, seen, taken pictures of. Soliloquies on things I am passionate about, like living green or whatnot. This is here to share a bit of me with you. You being mostly family and friends, and I am sure the occasional wanderer in from the Internet since it IS public. (Hello random public)

This last year has been a long and arduous one. No one ever said turning 30 was easy, but that was one of the highlights of my year, my birthday. It was other things that proved a trial by fire. And to usher in a new, shiny year, a fresh piece of paper to mark up and doodle on and make history, I want to leave this one on a positive note.

I am doing something for me, and sharing it with you, that I don't think I have ever done. I am making a list. A list of things I am grateful for or that I have learned or realized. And sharing it it me being open in a way to make me accountable to what I say for myself. To remind myself I said that. I know this to be true. Because in my heart of hearts I know I will doubt, second guess and forget many of these things, even deny them. So let the record stand.

I have learned that cliches are so for a reason and some of these things will sound cliche. But they are new truths to me.

~I cannot change anyone. I cannot fix anyone.

~I am grateful for the people in my life that have taught me this.

~If I want something, I have to take a chance at not getting it to get it, even if it means getting hurt in the process.

~I can have long lasting meaningful relationships with people who care about me. I am grateful for my friends whom I have known now for over 8 years, for the most part. I didn't think I could. I'm so solitary.

~ And I am grateful for those friends and their sharing of their marvelous lives with me, it's a privilege.

~I crave community after a youth of individuality.

~Compassion is the way to love.

~I need to trust my instincts, they are always right.

~I might regret some things I have done, but I am grateful for everything I have done in my life. It makes me who I am now.

~And I love who I am.

~I have realised that this body, my body is the only vessel I will ever have and it is amazing. It may never look the way I think it should look, but it's never let me down.

~ I am grateful I am whole and hale.

~I am beautiful and complicated and quirky and strange. I am unique and special and I know it, even when I don't believe it. I need to believe in myself more.

~ I can be both strong and feminine. And I am feminine and that's ok.

~I love my family more than anything on this earth. There is no one I would rather spend time with.

~I am grateful hat I have the family I do, I am so, so lucky.

~I know what I want from my life. I know where I want it to go. I may never reach my goals, but at least I will try to obtain them.

~No one can take away my power, my self, my energy, my passion, my qi, without my having allowed them to take it, ever again.

~I should never have to apologize for being myself. So I need to stop saying sorry.

Know when to stop.
Know when to start.
Know when to let go.
Know when to say yes.
Know when to say NO.

~Take more risks, my greatest adventures have been the scariest things I have ever done.

~let others in. I am not alone in this.

love more, freely.
Trust.
dream.

and know when to shut up. I don't, but I need to learn. and listen more.

None of this makes me wise or makes me have everything figured out, by any means. I am still, for a surety, unsure of myself, my actions...I am still worried about what others think of me, whether or not people like me, whether or not that matters, should it matter? Shouldn't it? Things to work on for next year, insecurity, doubt, fear...remembering I thought these things at all at this time. the gristle of being human. We are all blind in the dark you know? What do I know.




2008 is going to be a golden year, I can feel it. Blessings and salutations. I hope yours will be too.

Love and peace,

~Kristi

Kitty

I posted about Kitty awhile ago here. My roommate and I have affectionately turned her name into Porch Kitty, because she would sleep in the cabinet in the little closet off our front porch.

Kitty was finally accepted and taken to the Humane Society today by Dawn, while I was at work. They said she was old, and that she was probably sick.

Dawn told me yesterday that the Humane Society had called to let us know they had room for her and asked if I wanted to say goodbye or if I wanted her to let me know when she was taking her in and I said no.

When I left for work today she was meowing, and I fed her the last little bit of food in the bin and thought about petting her but I didn't.

It was the last time I saw her.

I came home and there was a little box by the closet and I knew Dawn had taken her in. The porch was silent. Her cubby empty. Her incessant mewling gone and she was no where under my feet preventing me from opening the door.

I tried so, so hard to not get attached to her. I avoided contact when I could.
But I am so sad, as I type this I'm starting to cry.

She was so small and silly, and clumsy and so, so, sweet. Always so sweet. She wanted nothing but love and warmth and affection and I couldn't give her those things. I couldn't let her inside, since I have two cats already, and that's really one cat too many when you rent. I wanted to.

I know that this was right, that even if she isn't adopted that she will have a warm, dry place to live out her life, that she will always have food and water. And that there will be many people around to love her and give her attention.

And I hope that someone sees her poor little frame and her crooked little tale and falls in love, that she will have a forever home I couldn't give her.
But it is going to take awhile for me to get used to her absence.

I didn't expect to feel this way, I tried so hard to guard against it, but so it is.I wish I had pet her one last time.
Good bye Porch Kitty.

Objects of (in)Signifigance

I was walking through the park blocks recently and thinking about something or other, and my train of thought led me to thinking about stuff. The stuff that accumulates in our lives, over time, seems inevitable, like wrinkles or grey hairs or regrets.

It's something i have been pondering for some time in my efforts to become less, to own less, buy less, simplify. I have given away car loads of time to Goodwill the last several years, stratigraphic layers of my life I have been able to excavate and discard.

But it's still there, in the basement, in the closet, on the shelf... things of no significance in of themselves. Alone, they have no value.
The basement, the basement is filled with the remnants of a shared life, the broken pieces that cracked off and were left behind to be swept up and forgotten, for me to deal with, dispose of, despise.

It's also home to the shed moltings of my life that have no place anywhere else, but that I can't let GO. Obligations, memories, detritus..fingernail clippings and fallen hairs...

I thought about how, there is a mantle of things in my room that represent me. totems, physical manifestations of a place, time and situation. It's like I need these things to remember, lest my memory lets them slip away unbeknowst to me and I realise I've lost something, but I'm not sure what.
Would it be better to let these little objects d' vinget go and let my mind become uncluttered?

It's my house full of things I can't let go of because my mind is cluttered up with things I should let go?

I know that this mausoleum of things keeps me a bit immobile,I have moved with a lot of it before, but the longer you stay in a places, the more this stuff grows, home as a petri dish. It's the lint of living, you keep collecting it under the couch, on your coat, and you try to get rid of it, but it just sticks.

I've seen the garages of families, packed with this sort of lint, piles so high and wide, there is no room to live in it, no room to park a car, make a cabinet, play instruments...and I wonder if it's entropy, inertia...are we doomed to collect stuff?

I don't want it.

Small Exciting Things

It's been an exciting week (well, week and a half or so I guess, not week as in Sun-Sat), long tiring but many little happy things are coming to fruition or are seeds of potentiality.

This is the first year I have bought absolutely NOTHING as a gift for anyone. I have made (or am feverishly finishing) all my gifts this year. I did not step in a mall, I did not order a thing on line, and I did not fret over what to get anyone. And The making things? Not nearly as stressful as the buying of things, because of the inherent satisfaction of the creation of a useful object for someone else to enjoy.


After a harrowing journey to the DEQ (Oregon's smog check), while avoiding hills and not getting lost, I finally got to the DMV today to register my car. (Was slated for last week but well, last week was it's own thing.) I got special interest plates! I won;t get them till January because they are so spanking new. There is a new plate for Oregon called "Share the Road" and I'm getting it and that is exciting for me. =)

Most exciting is the event I organized at work and how it has magically come together into an amazing display of skin boat kayaks. It's better than I imagined and I'm so excited to see it in action with visitors. This is a big deal, it's a really cool event and I think, for me, a really big step in terms of what I do at work and branching out. I can;t wait for work tomorrow.

And then there are the little things like having several excellent times with friends old and new, which just reminds me how important the people in my life are to me and that I don't see some nearly as often as I should. Today I had dinner and knit at one such friend's house while her fiance made cookies and the other housemates knit and discussed things by the fire. Their home is the closest thing to what I feel as family I have here. And its all these little things, these little moments over dinner or drinks or beer, that keep me grounded and human sometimes.

I need more potlucks and outings this winter, it is soul warming, this human connection. I realise this as I sit at home alone, roommate gone for the holidays already and I'm soon to travel home myself, the warmth of hearth and home is unparalleled as my fingers blue here in my empty apartment. Sunday can't fly here soon enough!

Happy Holidays

Tabula Rasa

While recuperating this last Fri/Sat, I decided it would be a great idea to refinish my coffee table. The design I had on it before was getting old, and the table ( and it's cousin the end table) were looking rather beat up and worn.


I didn't want to sand the whole thing down, too much work, no garage or anything to work in, so I decided to repaint it instead. Yay paint. It was fun and I am very happy with the results. I also picked out some lovely new art papers to work with for the tops.

Condolences

In the last two weeks or so, three different people in my life, close and dear friends have lost family members,
A father, an uncle and a grandmother.

My heart goes out to them all, and I just wanted to mark their passing and hope others might keep them in their thoughts too.
We are all so lucky, to have each other.

Always remember how precious and short time is. How we take for granted health and wellness till we are no longer healthy or well. Remember you never know how much longer you have so make it good now, and don't wait.

I love you so much, family.

This is a real kicker...

So a couple years ago, Oregonians paid too much in income tax, to the tune of 1.1 billion too much. This caused the kicker refund, in which we would each get back the over paid portion.

I didn't earn much that year, so I didn't think much of what I would get back, I thought, oh 30-60 dollars maybe.

So when I get a letter from Oregon today indicating my notice of the donation of my kicker refund for education, and that it was 238$ I did two things.
First, I was like oh, that was nice of me to do that on my 2006 tax return, it wasn't going to be much money anyways....to 2) What 238$? Man I could really use than right now! AUGH!

So, Yeah, I really could use that 238$. I didn't forecast where I would be this winter, or how my finances would change as a single person. Or how much I would really get back.

I do know, working IN a Portland School, that they desperately need money. It's a little sickening and saddening. So I hope a whole lot of other people did the same thing.

Do I regret my little altruistic box check back at tax time now that I know how much I got back? A little.
But I think I did the right thing.

Oh.. When Darkness Comes...

Where did the last 3....4? Days go? I am not entirely sure. I slept through most of them and half watched Miyazaki films and chick flicks the rest of the time.

I got a bad case of strep and was apparently lucky the Dr. didn't think I should be admitted for an IV right then, She did give me a sprite, I think it was a test to see if I really could swallow anything.

Normally the germs and I have a peaceful cohabitation, but this time, it was war. I hate antibiotics, in general, not hate, dislike how they are over dispensed, and that folks are uneducated about good/bad bacterias and how antibacterials can;t fix viruses...yadda yadda, I also am rather attached to my own bacterial flora and hate to mess with that. But when MY throat is on like, fire from the pit of the sun and I'm in some delirious night sweat because of some microscopic streptococcal bender in my throat, then I will partake me some bread mold pills.

But I am now definitely on the mend, fever is gone (thank goodness, I am really tired of being really hot or shivering, or both. I spent all day watching lent DVDs from my dear J9 and catching up on light housework and still trying to eat solid food or liquids in any portion over a half a cup. (My poor tonsils still look pretty frighting.)

I have to say I am so grateful right now for my friends, my roommate took me to urgent care, I could have never driven myself, and she went grocery shopping for me. And if she hadn't been able too, J9 would have been there in a heartbeat, like she was with replenishing DVDs! I am so grateful for them both. And I really hope Dawn does not get sick.

Tonight I celebrated getting better with a delicious meal from the Thai place nearby and even though it hurt to eat it still, it was the first real food, satisfying food, that I have had in nearly a week. So, Yay for Tom Ka and Pra Ram. Yay for Antibioticals and Alexander Fleming and My Urgent Care Doc who was ever so nice. Yay for good roommates and good Friends.

Driving

So, my car sort of died, the Ford. And I now have a new car, courtesy of my dad. It's a lovely SMALL car, and it's cute. It's also a manual. I was driving it home last night from work and it struck me, that, this car, this stick shift, is analogous to my life.
This is the story;
I don't know how to drive a stick. When my dad called and said "I found a car for you...you can drive a stick right?" I replied "Uh, no, but I am sure I will learn." Diplomatic answer. What I really wanted to say was more like "Oh god...I'm terrified of learning how to drive a stick."
My roommate took me out in her car to practice some.
My mom and I drove up and I drove part of the way.
Now the car is here and I have no one to drive for me. And no other car to drive.
The car will not drive itself.
I have to drive it and I won't get better at it until I drive it more.
And sure enough, I am getting better at it.
And I have a sure feeling once I learn how to drive a stick as well as I did an automatic, I won't want to go back.

But it still terrifies me. Something I was able to do, without much thought, is suddenly strange and uncomfortable. But I have to keep driving it in spite of my fears and my discomfort to get it.


And my life is a little like that right now. Uncomfortable. Scary...But I am not going to get anyplace if I sit around and wait for it to take me someplace. I have to get in the car and drive. It's time to move on down the road.

It's Thanksforpiegiving Day

So this has been a crappy year, on several counts. Crappy crappy dismal evil worst year in a very long time.
That included the garden=( It was poorly tended due to many other things but it managed to give me some lovely, lovely pumpkins.

Two of those lovely pumpkins were from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company's Luxury Pie Pumpkins. I got about 4 lbs of meat from them. 4 lbs...
I roasted the pumpkin halves in the oven in a water bath and scooped out the meat and now I have pumpkin coming out my ears.
So it was pumpkin pancakes for breakfast (YUM!)
And now it's pie in the oven.


This is a crappy turkey day for me. (See re: above) My roommate and I are going to an absolutely yummy restaurant for dinner later and we will drink and dine and have a merry time, no doubt.


It's been 4 years since I was 'home' for thanksgiving and all those years I still had a loved one here with me. I don't this year. It's just a day. A day I wish I was back home...I am not too fond of much American history, not that we are any better than anyone else's history in regards to native peoples and divine conquest, don't get me wrong, humans are just mean no matter the nationality... But without them (pilgrims yadda yadda), we would not have Pie. I am pretty sure pie was around then and that pumpkins are American and so one could argue pumpkin pie is more American than apple. And people are especially nice around thanksgiving so I think hundreds of years of spreading good food and love around might make up for a little bit of the "humans are mean", like maybe it makes it "humans are just plain mean...sometimes....then it's thanksgiving and they are all nice and happy." But I digress.

Thanksgiving this year is all about pie. I made it from as scratch as I could. (Except the crust. I mean really, who cares about the crust on a pumpkin pie? it is simply a shell to hold the delectable pumpkin custard so when you are eating cold pie you need no fork nor plate, it's a tool the crust is a tool! I can understand apple pie crust being all flaky and perfect and buttery and adding something to the sweet soft apple filling a nice texture thing but pumpkin? I could make pumpkin custard and be happy. So the crust is not from scratch cause unless it actually contributes to the PIE? I don't care.


Fresh ginger and extra clove and cinnamon and brown sugar instead of white and damned if it isn't delish. (It is I had a bite when it got out of the oven about 10 mins ago now..spicy happyness)


Thank the turkeys for pie.
I miss you family, I will eat a slice for you too.

New Pics in Photographia

Check em out, it's late fall in portland.

Moratorium

I can only do this bloggy thing when I'm upbeat, when I have something fun or happy or cool to share. I'm not sure when I'll back, but I am sure I will be some day. For now, life is in the way, and if you want to get a hold of me, just email or call, no updates here for awhile.

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
not with a bang, but a whimper.

T.S. Elliot.

This poem I find appropriate for many occasions from war to death to painful change.
It all hurts someone.
and it all hurts.

Sew what?

Me sew?
hee!
First, note my new craft space. You may notice that it is kind of dark. That is becasue it is kind of dark. I need a craft light and I need the summer light back, cause it's just going to get darker form here on out! ugh. (Mom, please note the ironing board and Rowena Iron.)
I got a pattern from Angry Chicken to make the cutest bonnets ever made and I wanted one. I think there are some days I just wish I was Elizabeth Bennett, ( Heroine of Pride and Prejudice for you non literary types.) and this is so..cute. Anyways. I did it! With minimal fussing! I forgot your bobbin thread can be a different color from the other thread, and so can match your bottom fabrics, but other than that it all went swimmingly! I do need sharper scissors though. ugh.

Where Does the Time Go?

I am still busy... Actually I will be busier for a bit, until October. I have a full plate, side dish, soup bowl and thankfully, wine glass at the end of it all... Here is a brief rundown of August till now: (brief!)
~the big exhibit at my place of employment is hell. Oct 7th can't come fast enough and then I think we will ALL have a big party of some kind and sleep through October. Well, we would if we could.
~I did a bike ride! yay!
~I got a job working for my dad's company doing graphic design, it's neat-o. I am enjoying it. Mostly. The working on my own time, after working, well, it's artistic and challenging and better than watching Buffy ALL evening.
~My nearest and dearest celebrated my 30th with me here in Portland and much fun was had by all!
~We saw Spamalot!
~I got a fancy new camera which at some point I will have time to play with and you will see pictures. I did take pics of the lunar eclipse. I mean to put them in sequence but haven't had time.
~I got a lot of new software I need to find the time to learn (relates to graphic design job mentioned above)
~I interviewed for and did not get a full time position, again, at my job, but this may actually lead to better things this time, it was stressful though =P
~I did get a job, today, as a tutor for Portland Public Schools Night High School program, for credit recovery. two evenings a week till December. This will give me tutoring and some classroom experience and experience working with teens, disadvantages and motivationaly challenged teens. Should be fun, and I mean that. I was motivationaly challenged. See? =)
~So the garden is a bit neglected, although still making food, tomatoes potatoes squash beets, yum.
~Knitting! Has been my sanity activity, along with Avonlea and Buffy, and I finished a sweater for my neice. and some washcloths. woo! pictures someday. I swear.
poor thing does need water which i am going to do soon!
Hum.. looking forward to October. mostly.

busy!

I have been busy busy busy lately and also very tired. Someday I will properly post again and have new pictures and everything! Lots of things going on and stuff to write about. Maybe next week!

YARR!

My D&D group is starting a new campaign, in a world geographically like Portland. I gets to be a swashbuckler this time round, a half elf named Moaria Theoden, or "Mo". She is going to kick booty. I drew a pic for my CS, if I scan it, I'll post it.

It's Been an Exciting Evening ...

Here at Wild Jungle in the City.

Really, what next, a deer?

My First Ride

No, not my first car.
I am going to do the Bridge Pedal this year. I am gonna do the 8 bridge route, which is 24 miles. It will prolly kick my butt a little bit since part of the route is over the Marquam Bridge, which is high over the river. The rest, should be alright. It;s not a race, it will prolly take me about 4 hours, but it sounds like fun.
Every year, at OMSI, when I would drive into work on the day of the bridge pedal, there would be this silent mob of bicyclists crossing bridges, and it just seems so, lovely, idyllic, I donno, communal. So this year on August 12th I will be doing it instead of watching it and wishing I was riding instead of working. =)

Meet Kitty

Kitty is a stray who has been living in our yard, along with other yards no doubt, for longer than we have been here. She seems like one who has lived a grizzled life, her tail is well mangled and part of it was lost at some point, she walks stiffly. Her instinct is to run away from people. She is a funny looking little tabby, she is tiny, maybe with malnutrition, she had a little patch of black on her chin that with her big, round golden eyes,makes her look like she has a constant expression of surprise on her face. She is likely older than 8, but it's hard to tell since a stray has a really rough life. She hangs around the yard, the compost bin mostly, and under the huge shrub that divides our property from the neighbors.

I used to shoo her away, until I realized she may be keeping the yard rodent free. Then for awhile we had another stray, I am not sure where she went, maybe someone took her in, for she was a lovely cat, just very, very thin. I started to leave food out for them. Not every night, just when I rememberd to really. And then last week, Kitty started to show up every other night, sitting out near the food dish and under the bushes. She would run away when I would go feed her, but then she'd come out and eat.

Soon, when I fed her, she'd meow, and I'd meow back and we'd "talk" a bit. I would talk softly to her and feed her and then giver her space. Then I would sit by for a bit while she ate. She'd hiss softly sometimes but stopped running off, though she was still easily startled.
Last night she came up to me a sniffed my hand.

Today I got to meet her and she is all wary affection and acts like a soul who knew what is was to be loved and was then abandoned. Like she once had a nice warm house and people who doted on her while she was young and cute. Like a cat who finds itself out on the street after a landlord discovers their tenet is keeping a cat and the tenant can't find her a home. Or like a college student who is always on the move and doesn't have time for a pet anymore. Whatever happened to her, she once trusted people, was once loved, and now she trusts me, and it looks like I have a new pet cat. That wasn't my intention. I Just can't stand to see them starve. But now she has let me touch her, and I can't go back. I think she is fixed, I have seen no kittens or increase in local strays, although that could just be because we have no Toms. But no doubt she has heart worm, tapeworm, fleas, maybe ticks, maybe feline leukemia, I have no idea if she had ever had vaccinations or whatnot and I don't think Pixie or Max OR Kitty, would be welcome to an outdoor stray coming in. This makes most medical care moot.

So I will care for her outside for now. Someday, when we move, I will collect her up and take her to the humane society, where they will fix her up and find her a home. Poor Kitty.
I can't think of another name for her either. Maybe someday she will tell me.

Oh bother.

So I lied, I should have said, see you in less than 24 hours. I got home around 1, read till 3 something, slept till noon, went to get food around 1 and started reading again. A break here and there for this or that and I was done by 9:30pm. I can say nothing about the book, for that would be inappropriate. I will say I am really sorry I read it so fast, because now, it's all over. The last book, read. No more story! End of a series. I can only imagine how poignant this moment would be had I been there from the start, if I had started reading these when I was 11, the year Harry entered Hogwarts and had grown up with the books. As an adult who waited, several years, to read the books after the first movie came out, it's still unlike anything I have ever experienced with reading, ever. And I had started reading The Wheel of Time books a year or two after they began when I was 15. (and gave up on at 26...rat bastard, grumble grumble Mr. Jordan, grumble.) Nothing had affected me the way these books have. Not Tolkien, not Meredith Ann Peirce( She has her own very special place however.) not MZB, not Pullman, Rice, Carey, Weiz and Hickman, McCaffrey, Gaiman (gasp.) Nope. In my 29 and 9/10ths of life, Harry Potter has been unique, amazing, special and magical in ways no other book has ever been.
And the tale is told.
No more words to behold.
Just well read tattered covers
that will look more careworn and
well loved than the others
as I re-read them again, and again
and again.

thank you JKR, you have left a legacy.
I know it had to end, I am glad it did as authors are wont to not let go, but the best writers know when to end their tale. And that every tale should have an end.
It just all came to soon. Must, read, slower. next time. =)

I am a HP Fangirl

Powell's has outed me, can you find E-beth and me? hint- Second pic of the "throngs" of people waiting in line. (We, all of uis, Adam and David, E-Beth and I, are in another pic too, in the store, but we are hard to make out.)
This blog post details what Powell's does to make this such a fun and magical night for everyone in Portland. They do this stuff at all thier stores, even the airport Powells' had some fun going on.
Thanks for the memories Powell's! It was magical. =)


and now, I can't belive I am reading the.last.book. I am not sure I really want to...then it will be over.

***update***
Powell's blog also has this post from the other day, vbeutifuly written from an employee. it really moved me how well she captured the event and what it means for reading, books and literacy, and also that of a layperson seeing somthing magical in an experience they are outside of. Pretty cool a little book can cause so much frevor. It outsold the movie's opening weekend!

See you in a few days....

Livin' la Vida Verde

So I have been changing some things in my life lately to be less impactful on the earth. I do think that small changes we make as individuals will do the most for preserving Earth's resources and such in the long run, small changes made en masse drive larger social change over time. If we all do what we can, within our means to be more eco-friendly, we do right to ourselves and our good earth.

I have been trying out some new things and have adopted some others to the point of habit. Things like composting and gardening for example. Recycling, reusing. etc.

But there are other things too. And since lately I have been reading and discussing these things in the Greencraft forum on Ravelry, it's on my mind.

For instance, I have stopped washing my hair with shampoo. Before you go EWW, I still wash it. Just not with soap, exactly. Sodium Bicarbonate IS a detergent of sorts and it's a base, both of which soap is too. But baking soda is not sodium laureth sulfate and dyes and perfumes. And you use only a little. Like a tablespoon twice a a week, it breaks up dirt and scrubs dead skin of your scalp, rinses off product if you use it, but preserves your own natural oils.
Your body takes care of itself. The oils your scalp produces are stripped away and replaces with "conditioner". This is bad for hair and unnecessary.
Then i rinse with a cider vinegar solution. This is an acid, but a very mild one, we eat it, for example. It detangles and makes hair shiny and nice. You don;t use the soda and vinegar at the same time btw. ;) And you don;t use them every time you shower. My hair looks very healthy now, and it is soft and shiny and I don't think I will be going back to shampoo. My scalp is no longer itchy from the perfumes and synthetic stuff in shampoo and conditioner and I will be saving a lot of money since a bottle of vinegar and a box of soda will last for months and months. I use a little essential oil, like jasmine or orange after washing to make my hair smell nice, 'cause i do like that aspect of shampoo and conditioner. There is a lot more here about this sort of hair washing process.

I also got a diva cup, my sister got something like this years ago and I was all, ugh, whatever, but I am now saving a great deal of waste from landfills and sewage treatment and it's really, I think, healthier for you. More or less. I also ordered some Lunapads. Apparently lots of women are using both these products, as evidenced by the ravelry group I am in. I've been thinking about switching for a long time and so now, I'm in.

I have been air drying my clothes. I already wash them in cold water, but now that it's summer, using the dryer seems especially wasteful. In the winter, it's like drying your clothes and heating the house at the same time, which seems economical to me if you are using a heater anyways, two for one ya know? run the heater a bit less. Now I only dry things that take a lot of time to air dry such as jeans and towels. Everything else gets dried. It means a bit more ironing, but the energy and heat produced by ironing a handful of things seems minor compared to running a dryer that needs two runs to dry one load of laundry.

I have been very very good about riding my bike this summer and I hope, with the finding of good rain gear, to keep it up after the winter comes. I have found some good routes to avoid traffic and unsafe streets and the exercise is proving a good benefit, i have already been losing some weight and definitely have toned up some muscles. Not to mention, I am saving a lot on gas, not that i spent much to begin with, but now I am spending even less.

I feel better too, much more relaxed and energetic. It's really nice.

Furminated Max and other things...

So I was reading someone's knitting blog and they have a dog and they got this grooming tool called a FURminator. I looked at the website and read about what some others have said and it has quite the buzz going on. So I found a PetCo, they sell them, and got one. It's like 40$. Or 30, I forget. Anyways for a comb, it's expensive, but it is so much MORE than a comb. Check out Max here, a shorthair, and the ghostly pile of formerMax behind him...



Pretty stellar, and this was only a minute or two of brushing. Pixie and MAx BOTH got real calm and sedate and happy while being FURminated. It's like they KNEW that all the hair they want to get rid of in this 98 degree heat was being magically removed for them and with no messy hairballs to deal with. They love it. and man, I do recommend wearing clothes you don't mind pet hair on and a non-carpeted surface as this si rather messy. If you have (or think you have) pet allergies, you will know for sure after this. (oh yes, you will....)
Pretty awesome though.

And on a side note, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is amazing and the best HP movie yet I think. AMAZING!!! I HAVE TO SEE IT AGAINANDAGAINANDAGAIN!!!
that's all I shall say.

OHhhKAy...

It's not tomorrow. That would have been Friday but here it the continuation of "More later". I have just been rather busy. But tomorrow, one might expect a spoiler free Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix movie reveiw, oh yes they might!
I drove out to lovely, lovely hood river and picked cherries. I picked rather less cherries than I had planned because; one, it was in the 90's and therefore very hot and two, picking cherries is hard work. It involves a precipitously tall latter with one skinny little leg to balance the ladder portion of the whole contraption. Tripods are, in fact, the most stable set of legs one can have, and therefore, this is a very effective way to build a ladder. However, it looks more precarious than one would wish it to. You must ascend this ladder with a harness bearing a kidney beanish shaped bucket, a picker bucket. This harness and bucket set up leaves your hands free to climb ungangly ladders and pick persnickety cherries.

YES! cherries are persnickety. You see if you want the cherries to last, to not rot, mold or anything, the stem must remain on the cherry. A ripe cherry will happily disengage it's stem, but the stem will not so happy disengage the tree limb you are attempting to rend it from. Cherries grow in bunches with their stems firmly attached to the tree. So when attempting to remove a cherry or three and their stems, it is more like than not, the cherries will fall to the ground and you will have nothing. SO apparently, you rip the WHOLE bunch off the tree limb, there is a node from which all the stems protrude that will detach from the tree limb with care, leaving you a nice bunch of cherries you can then carefully remove stem by stem.
You do all this while not letting tree limbs snap at you or away from you and not falling out of the tree.
I got to 8 lbs. and had quite enough thank you. True, they are 1.50 a lb, but they are also 1 1/2 hours away up a tree in 90 degree heat where they are more than happy to stay, thank you very much. So I think maybe the 2$ a pound you can find them for at markets or some such, is more than reasonable.
It is very fine jam however. And a tasty fruit snack too.

Oh so cherries, yes, and adventure. I might do it again, if it was with other people and not 90 degrees out.
So then I went for a hike. It took a bit of hunting to find the trailhead I was hoping to tackle, but find it i did. By then it was 5 pm and peeerrfect weather for hiking. I loved it. I had the trail more or less to myself, unlike the conditions on the Multnomah Falls trail down the road which was swamped with people. I saw waterfalls and plants and pikas and it was just marvelous. I <3 the nature.

Then Thursday , the marvelous Lady J and I went out to Savuie island for more berries. We need more berries? We'll not any more I think... well, I donno, can you ever have too many berries in season? This is a serious thought problem folks. So we picked berries, raspberries, marionberries and blueberries. bushels. ok maybe just flats. A lot. ok?!

And then I made more jam. I now have a larder of jam and a freezer half full of berries. I am a bear. Grrr. I am hording them away for winter.

Then I got a new vacuum. All I have to say is, thank the vacuum gods for that. Uh, or our jobs. Whichever, the old vacuum was a lemon. Eureka Altimas look like a good deal, BUT THEY AREN'T. I am now the proud owner of a Bissel Lift-Off Revolution Pet. That is a long worded way of saying the Bissel version of the Dyson Animal for fraction of the cost. It's wonderful o have a clean floor again. it practically looks like we had the rugs cleaned.

End of story.

More later

I had fun today, it was a wonderful 4th of July and I will write more tomorrow, as I am having more adventures and will have more to say! For now, I suggest peaking at Photographia for a whole mess of new photos from today.

The Power of Compost

A tale of wonder and great feats of nature:
When we moved in to this place I started a compost bin and blogged about it in naturalista, I think. Anyways, this spring i moved it to a more hidden and less space occupying location. I turned the dirt the the patch of ground where the compost bin WAS and sowed wildflower seeds. This part of the story might be familiar.
So anyway, there were lost of sprouting things and a big mess of pumpkin volunteers that I dispatched in one way or another. I left two in there, for kicks. And now that it's two months later, there was a lovely verdant patch of plants about knee high and I was anticipating a bower of wildflowers. Well, I ignored the fact they looked a "little" like tomato plants. But of course, they ARE tomato plants, tonnes of them, all volunteers that sprouted up long after I started all my precious little heirloom seeds indoors. I weeded them out, since I want wildflowers there and not tomatoes, but here is the kicker.
The tomatoes are like FOUR times the size of my starts. I kid you not. and the pumpkins I left in there? About 6 times the size of the ones I moved. That garden bed of mine that I so lovingly and backbreakingly amended apparently does not compare to the power of hard compacted clay soil that has had compost happening on it for a year.

Volunteer cherry tomato. The result of the seeds from fruit that was composted last fall of a start plant purchased at Home Depot last year. This plant and it's ilk grew this big in one month. Maybe 2. Same with the pumpkin.

My cute 3' high heirloom tomato lovingly sprouted and tended and transplanted beginning in march.


So the lesson here to day is, compost! Not only that but maybe USE the compost instead of move it to add to your dirt like I will next year...*sigh*

New side bar stuff

see! look to you <----left and there are new things. There is info on getting jam from me, it can be done! just ask!
(Unless you are visiting in August and then it might be prudent to RESERVE your jam and you can eat it on the ride home. But i really reccomend it on toast and not straight from the jar, that's just too sweet!)

you will also see a new photo section "Cute of the Month"
Supposedly I will update this with cute photos of animals and stuff each month, bigger photos will be uploaded to Photographia.
The squirrl is out neighborhood squirrl, she and the Jay birds, who are nesting right now, carouse around together and it's very cute, I have named her Chippy.

Bolt Cuff Links

true geek craft by matt
see? they are COOL!

The Blackberry Massacre of 2007

A moment of silence please.....A billion potential blackberries cried out and were suddenly silenced this morning in the name of "weed control".
It was tragic.
however...
...my veggie garden will gain the benefit of more light.
We can always get blackberries on Sauvie, they just aren't free and right in the yard. =( there were soooo many last year.......

Random things.

I really wanted to blog about Matt's crafty cuff links, but I can't find them, so he is maybe wearing them today or they are someplace that I can't find. See, Matt is crafty too, sometimes. One day I was with J9, we were going to Savuie Island and Matt calls asking where my cuff links are. (Why do I have cuff links you ask? Good question, I had to wear a button down shirt to a formal event I was working, at work, and the only shirt I could find at Goodwill required cuff links, and so I got some, and then lost them promptly upon returning home. So somewhere, there are cuff links.) Anyways, I could not remember where the cuff links had gone and Matt needed some and he got the brilliant Idea of making some out of nuts and bolts. SERIOUSLY. It really looks cool. Smart. Anyway, if I find them I will take a pic.

I have acquired two new pairs of sneakers. I require new shoes maybe twice a year. And it's summer and all my sandals are a few years old and worn and I don't feel like buying new sandals since I only really wear Danskos. I tried crocs, and they are ok, but not for work, I require ARCH support for I may have big feet which are wide, but I also have high arches and if I don't support them they 1) hurt and therefore so do my feet entirely and 2) my feet will turn inward making me look a bit knock-kneed. Anyways, I <3 Danskos but they are rather pricey and I have a new pair from last fall? I think, winter maybe, that are clogs and good for all around everything. My last beloved pair of clogs died a tragic death after 6 good years of service. The sandals, unfortunately are blowing out at about 2-3 years and so I love them but am looking for new sandal options. 120$ for six years? good deal, for 2? not so good.
So I have SNEAKERS, cause you can wear them with out socks and they are comfy. These are no Chuck Taylor's, oh no, these ones are nice to your feet without sacrificing style. Chucks are cool for sure, but they are not nice to feet.
One pair is supremely shoe-wonderful so far. They are by Clarks and are called Privo and they have a bubble in the heal that is for cushioning and massages your foot as you walk a bit. They are also Kristi's favorite shades of Brown and pink. It is very fun to stand at work and rock back and forth on my heals making the bubble squish. This is true! And fun at work right now, is needed.
The other pair are comfy and have good insoles and the loveliest fabric on the tongue and heel and they are green, another of Kristi's favorite colors. All I need now is a pair of shoes in peacock blue and I am in a serious color rut.
Anyways new shoes for working and walking and riding bikes.

Speaking of bikes. I have been veryvery good. The whole month so far I have not driven to work, not a once,and I have outfitted my bike for cargo. And commuting. I am a very cautious biker, I have a rear view mirror and a bell now to make my journey safer. I do not trust cars, as a driver I have watched too many mean cars and crazy bikers, so I am careful. I also have a basket, which I am in the process of embroidering, or something. the basket makes me feel young and girly and not like a bicycling commuter, it feels more like I am out for a jaunt on my bike with my basket and bell, all I need are streamers... and a basket for the back so I can carry stuff like groceries. I love my bike, I have had it for about 7-8 years now longer than any car I think I have ever owned. Longer than I have lived in any one place, longer than nay of my relationships, My bike and I, we are likethis. I should ride it more. and so now I am trying to. It's cheaper and better for me but entropy is a hard force to resist!
anyways pics for you.

2007 Lables

I reused the blueberry and raspberry jam labels from last year as I haven't felt like fiddling with photoshop much lately, my free time is too precious. So I also co-opted some graphics for this years new jams, since I am not selling them, I think it's OK to use the strawberry flower fairy, although I am not sure I should be posting it here, I may take it down, but as I am not a famous blogger of any sort, I think it's OK for now, just to share. And the other is clip art that I colored.

The raspberry and blueberry jams are Delicious, the cherry is something special (thanks to Erica for the handpicked Oregon cherries) and the strawberry may not be jam, but it's a tasty topping for ice cream and such. I am afraid you should always use the right amount of pectin. I do have more strawberries and so CAN make jam with them. But why when I have Cherry vanilla?






(Flower Fairy art by CICELY MARY BARKER )

The Nerve!

I couldn't get a pic but the jay bird who lives in my yard was just stealing my blueberries. It was cute. I guess I should go pick the rest before he does.

It's not every day...

That you see a historic Carriage House in the middle of a downtown street. This is the Ladd's Carriage house, which WAS on the corner of SW Broadway and SW Columbia, it is now in a parking lot at Columbia and 10th. For most of the day is was lumbering down Columbia to it's new temporary location. Quite a sight.


In other news, tonight was jam night. No I did not join a band. I did make Strawberry vanilla jam. Yum. I also still have about 4 lbs in the fridge and 10 lbs in the freezer. The jam was about 6 lbs. =)

How do you do? Berry well, thank you!

Time flies when you are busy at work. Oh yes it does. I am adjusting to my new working schedule of doom and it's going swimmingly, more or less. My sleep schedule is a bit wonky though. Riding my bike to work when there is no traffic is downright enjoyable. That's maybe the one upside of working late. The exhibit is extraordinary. It wasn't before we opened, when I was helping to install it. It wasn't exciting the first time I saw it put together, it was nice, it's a lovely exhibit, but it wasn't especially amazing on it own. The exhibit, Body Worlds 3, is about the human body, and it must take people seeing that to really make the power of this show sink in.

Alone, the plastinates are just empty former bodies, really, more silicone polymer than human anymore, but they ARE human. But when the crowds come in, and they see this exhibit, it's really a very powerful experience, for them, and for me. Seeing school kids learn about their bodies in ways a textbook can never ever explain, and their awe and amazement it just incredible. You know, the same kids that can;t keep still for 5 minuets, joke about inappropriate things and thinks learning is boring? Awe-struck, still a little giggly( the plastinates are anatomically correct you know.) but just quiet and serious and subdued. Grownups are equally amazed,. Listening to people and reading their comments left at the end of the exhibit are what, for me, bring tears to my eyes. It's a human experience unlike anything any of us can really have outside of the medical world. How small, simple and complicated, fragile and strong a human is. Vulnerable. It's really something to see it as a shared moment. Alone, it's void of it's soul. Surrounded by people, it's something unique and breathtaking.
Pretty cool. And fairly exhausting work.

I did manage to go to Sauvie Island for the first time this year with Miss J9 today, we picked strawberries. loads of them. I picked 20 lbs in fact. At a 1$ a pound that's a sweet deal. Granted some were picked for my friend, Erica, but the the rest are bound for the freezer, jam pot and my belly. Strawberries are my most favorite fruit. And this is the time to get em.
The field at our favorite farm was just perfumed with the berries, then Janine's car was perfumed with berries and now, NOW, my apartment is flush with the scent of ripe picked berries. Ahhhh...it's heaven.
berries..

Out and About

I may be busy at work installing a large exhibit of plastinated bodies from Germany, but I have tried to get a whole lot done outside of work before the exhibit actually opens. Once it's open, my evenings are sort of gone 3 days of the week and it's going to be crazy busy AT work. I needed to sort of squeeze a lot of summer into the last couple weeks.
And I have managed a pretty good job.


The garden is in stasis, i need a second soaker hose, a little more garden soil and a bit more mulch and it's all watering and waiting and enjoying. A little pruning here, a few cuttings for the house there (roses are lovely right now! As is the cow parsnip, delphinium, columbine and the various yellow and orange daisy-like flowers from last year). Most of the seeds are up and happy and it looks like a miniature field out back right now.


The porch is shady and cool and fits two chairs nicely, sitting with coffee and a crossword in the am, a beer and a book in the pm, life is good!
I fixed up my bike in preparation for my summer of riding to work. I don't ride my bike to work much. The downtown traffic is unfriendly and stressful for biking at rush hour, which is when I am off work. And much of the year, it's also dark at that time. Going TO work is great, coming back, no fun. Since I work till 7 or 9 all week, it means I can come home when the streets are practically empty and it's nice and shady and cool. Much less stressful. Anyway, I got a street tire for the front wheel( the back wheel already has one. It's a mountain bike and the tires usually have thick tread, which slows you down on pavement and asphalt, you need little traction.) and a basket too. That way I can carry stuff! (Dur, but not on my back in the summer heat, yuk.) It rides so nice, I spiffied it up.


We've BBQed a few times. Last night a bunch of my co-workers came over and ran the Starlight Run, which is much fun and part of the June Festival of Roses events. The run begins and ends a block from my apt. They were a running science demo, it was great. They carried flasks of hot water with glo sticks and food coloring in them, and in the other hand, they carried...dry ice. Now the cool (pardon the pun) part of this demo is that as they ran, the carbon dioxide the dry ice was giving off was equivalent to the amount a car does in the 3.1 miles of the race! They had signs on their back explaining this and finishing with "One more reason to run!" It was excellent. And my co-workers were awesome, but one of our volunteers actualy ran as the Tram. That was elaborate! My favorite however was Waldo )of Where's Waldo fame)..and his sidekick, Rainbow Bright. There are always fun costumes in the Starlight Run and all I have to do is be home to watch it.


We capped the evening off with yummy BBQ, beer, potato salad and other goodies and great conversation. Much fun was had by all and it was a good way to kick off the summer and BW.


Matt and I have been...(hold your breath....) going OUT! Like, going for walks to...PLACES! We have been to both the Zoo and the Chinease Gardens in the last week or so. It was great. I am not a big big fan of zoos but it's still exciting to see a peacock, bald eagle, or mountain lion. It's sad when the bear is pacing. (Pacing is part of something that happens to animals in captivity when the go a little crazy from confinement, not enough space, and boredom.) We didn't get to see everything and the butterfly pavilion place wasn't open yet so maybe we will go back. We got a discount for taking the MAX in.


Today we went to the Chinese Gardens. It was so lovely. We had tea in the teahouse, relaxed and enjoyed the view. Nice day today.
Back to work tomorrow.

Next we may get up to the Japanese gardens or the Hoyt Arboretum.


I took pics at the zoo and of the race but the camera i used at the zoo was my little digital and I am afraid there were no good shots. And my big camera was too slow for the runners, the shutter just wouldn't snap fast enough so no good pics of that either. Maybe next time!

And Some Crafty Stuff...and chatter

Gardeny crafty: made labels for the veggies out of a "Simply Limeade" bottle, then duct taped them to bamboo sticks. Not sure the tape will hold up but didn't really have another option right now.

Knitting: the HP shawl is on the back burner, i think I will start on it again soon. I have been knitting dishcloths 'cause they are easy and mindless.

Painting: I am actually painting something. Granted it's on a canvas about 2"x2",but painting nonetheless. If I finish it, I will post a pic.

Baking: I made banana bread waffles. Which is to say, I made banana bread batter, and then cooked it in a waffle iron ( not a Belgian one.) They are tasty and good, and easy to toast. I would recommend this, it's yummy and different, not a muffin and not a loaf. However, since one waffle is about a 1/2 cup of batter, I don;t recommend them AS waffles, for, you know, breakfast. That would be like eating a stack of large muffins! ugh. Needs no butter or syrup though i think it would be really good with ice cream...


I saw Pirates of the Caribbean on Friday. If you can do it, I recommend going to their late show opening weekend. Then you get to see the movie early, but no one likes the late show so it's not crowded. I saw Shrek this way too, highly enjoyable, if you don;t mind being up late anyway, Pirates is 3 hours or close to it, I got out at 2:30 am! eek.
Anyway, I liked it, it was fun.
I also saw night in the museum last night as a rental on the advice of several people. I don;t care for Ben Stiller much anymore, same old schlock. But people would say , oh but this is different, or you work in a museum, it's funny! (from other museum people.) Well, it was ok. It's a very fancy museum to only have two staff people and one security guard...=P and Capuchin monkeys are NOT FROM AFRICA, they are from SOUTH AMERICA!! How do they DO this stuff?! And get away with it? IT"S ABOUT A MUSEUM! Good gravy, if we had an exhibit about the Serengeti, and put capuchin monkeys in it, we would lose some creditability or something. It's almost as bad as calling apes monkeys.. ARARARAR... The monkey was obviously a key player but a chimp would work as well...that's why PIRATES had parrots and monkeys, they are from the new world and all trendy and stuff.. arrrrg. OHhhhhhh god did that bother me. =P It shouldn't, its a Hollywood silly comedy movie. but it DOES.
But it was ok.

More Garden Nonsense

The yard is all tided up and ready for simple summer things like maintenance, few new plants here and there, watering, pruning, enjoying. No more big projects. The last was covering the back slope of the vegetable garden with weed blocker stuff, plastic mesh that is supposed to allow only thing things you cut holes in it to grow there...it's mulched (as are the other beds), it's got three different ground cover plants started on it and it's got a soaker hose around it to see if I can cut down on water use this summer. It might change position. Right now I figure that it's on the hill, the water will soak into the ground and trickle down to the garden. But I fear it won't soak all the way to the edge so I might weave it through the rows, if it's long enough. We shall see.



The beds are looking well. I pulled a trailing rose from the front of the fence to the back in the new bed, mulched and added some alyssium for ground cover.


The side yard got all neatend up and the hosta is looking lovely this year.


There are new additions to the bed by the porch, you can't see them here. There are 8 new little dahlia starts to go with the dahlia I planted last year which is just beginning to return. Another thing you can't see is the plant I thought wouldn't come back this year. I can't remember it's name, but it had fuzzy leaves and purple flowers and was lovely. I was going to plant a columbine there, but lo! it had little sprouts underground. Annuals may be showy, but perennials are like magic things that you don't expect and POOF there they are.













New additions to the bed: a blue geranium and something called white butterflies or something (have to find it's real name.. ) it's got spotty green and red leaves that are very cool and it will get big with little white flowers that look like butterflies, i guess. It's a cool looking plant. Both are perennial. Also some more alyssium and some ground cover left over from the hillside and chives. Two columbines as well, I love columbine. You might notice there are upside down wine bottles...they are fill of water, sort of an automatic watering system. Another thing I am trying this summer, you can use anything like that to do this, houseplants too, water bottles, soda bottles, beer bottles..just fill with water and invert quickly into soil ( like, stab it into the soil.), reusing and saving water, yay!













close ups of some flowers in Photographia.

Amended!

This shot from Saturday (which I used as a before shot, but it's actually next to the plot I worked Saturday, the other side looked as bad before I worked on it so it made a good before shot)...


is now this...Matt even helped! =D


And, at the end of the afternoon when all the gloves had been washed, they turned into "demented ikebana" according to Matt. or somthing like that.