My proverbial wall of glass…

Hawaiian architectural philosophy involved the concept of bringing the outside inside.

In truth these photos are available due to the fact that save for a touch up our living room is painted!

Green Eyed Momster has been asking about this table for a while…

In truth this is the first time this year that it’s been cleaned off enough to photograph.

So now we are independent of our redecorating for this project, happy 4th y’all!

Puppy did a great job!

He resurfaced the walls.

He resecured the shelves.

Puppy refinished them.

Then he primed the wall.

After that he painted the wall.

Then he added the extra half shelves.

And finished the trim.

I have to wait a week for the paint to cure before I put my cups up, but you know when I do…

There will be more photos.

Well heres the old parts from the washing machine…

Puppy replaced them with all round ones again!

Then there was the kitchen sink…

The pipe rotted out.

And then it snapped…

As we were taking it out of the wall.

We had to get a new part just for it…

It was big.

Puppy was excited!

He had to borrow a special tool from work just for it!

He did a good job…

Even the inspector said so…

Now he’s resurfacing the walls in the tea room…

Before he reworks the shelves…

For my teacup collection.

Till next time…

Here are some of the cards I’ve been making lately.

I did so well with this those Puppy asked for my help with some retirement cards for his work…

In case you were wondering, yes, they are large!

Laters!

This week I got confirmation that the current class I am enrolled in is indeed the last class that I need to take!

It’s a geometry and technology class and while I will not need to pass the national exam for the credential (I will have over 32 units of college level math), I will need to take it anyway to fulfill the grant that has paid for my classes. I will also take the fall calculus class that I have been offered a place in. The only other question is will I also take Latin on campus?

I had always promised myself  that if I could find Latin at night that I would take it, now a decade later I find it and I have calculus the same semester (with someone else footing that bill). I doubt I’ll have a contract come September, but if I do then I will decide based on that.

In other news, I have been packing away my tea cups and took some photos of the wondrous antique plates that were gifted me this year by the great Carrie…

First we have a pleasant pastoral scene.

The detail is great!

And now for a little Dickens.

Thank you Carrie!

Also this recently, harvested our rutabagas…

There’s about 10lbs there.

We have had some possum trouble with nibbling on the crook necked squash we may need to put up netting and get some traps.

I went over to my friend Karen’s house yesterday and learned a bit about canning (we made yummy blackberry jam from  fruit grown in her yard.

Next week I plan to make some blueberry lime jam and maybe try to pickle my beets, cross you fingers for me.

Today I’m staying close to home as the washing machine is “not well” and we may need to go get a new part.

Puppy just found out what was broken and now all we need to do is get the part and he’ll fix it!

Yay for having a handy man handy!

Next I’m going to go to a slow foods workshop over at The Road Less Traveled store in Santa Ana.

We’re planning on going to The 2009 Tree Hugger’s Ball on the 20th which looks like a blast. I wanted to go last year, but we had just moved and I think Puppy was out of town.

Anyhow, I may be rather busy with my summer school class over the next month or so, but do not fret I am thinking of you all!

Have a great summer.

The Urban Homesteaders tonight.

I think Puppy just said that we can get chickens!

Just a few to catch us all up…

I love these guys.

And these ones too.

While not the greatest photo, I think it shows the colors well.

Do gardeners have favorites?

More color.

More roses.

Couldn’t let you go without a few more herbs from the yard, 

But I promise there will be no more bad “poetry”.

(I couldn’t help myself, it just happened as I was writing the post.)

Anyway, here is some dill…

Thai basil (to go with the Kefir lime tree)…

feverfew…

Valerian…

Horehound…

Pennyroyal…

Wormwood…

And finally, courtesy of Sephi, some belladonna…

That’s it for the herbs!

Yes, I got it together to do a planter,

lets see if I can keep it together to water it.

First there was tarragon…

then there was rue…

next was some silver thyme…

and some coconut too…

Then there was the rosemary…

Some golden yarrow too…

The oregano looked happy there…

 the curry plant did too…

Alas I can’t recall the name of this quite tasty herb as it sits above the rosemary and looks quite unpeterbed…

(edit: lovage)

But on to the pot there sat a quaff that heaven only knew…

There was lemon verbena, parsley (curled) and savory to boot!

The yard has eaten our lives…

But it seems to be bringing forth new life.

About a month ago they crop circle looked like this…

Some corn,peas, tomatoes, squash and the root veggies we put in way back when, right?

Well now it looks like this…

Our root veggies are ready to be harvested.

I tried a couple of weeks ago, but it was too soon…

Not the best photo of me, but with the wonders of modern technology…

As for the squash…

I always thought squash was more vine like, but I guess not.

As for the corn and peas…

They are coming right along!

Our berries started slowly,

But the blackberries are on their way.

As are the blueberries…

This will be a challenge to leave alone.

And the pomegranate is trying to get in on the action.

Sadly we can’t let the fruit trees fruit this year as it will only harm their growth, so we will be snipping these off.

In other news something got at the pond again, we may be netting it up.

We are also thinking about a second “pond” to filter “grey water” for the garden.

Finally I think we are having someone come out to talk solar to us, at least for the hot tub at first.

I have so much more to write, but It won’t all fit in one post.

Best wishes for the day, and many thanks to those that made it so!

it’s been 30 years since I wondered if it was such a good idea for Britain to elect a “woman” Prime Minister!

May she rot in hell!

The garden continues to entertain me.

Our mango tree is trying to produce fruit.

You need to let it flower or it will just keep trying and that takes away energy for growth.

The peach tree is doing much better.

We’ll try grafting again next spring, but we won’t get any plums from the graft  till at least 2011.

We planted some beans in the ground and some Blue Inca Corn that they can grow onto if they run out of trellis.

Our tomatoes are going great guns.

The sapote got a little frazzled in the heat, yet we have it in the ground now and it has some new growth.

The passion fruit vine is moving slower than expected, but “Oh well”.

Our Keffir Lime is kicking off, don’t know if we should let it fruit yet or hold off till next year.

The apple tree is doing fine.

The veggie patch is booming.

And now for some random flowers.

I had wanted to redo our baskets this year, we inherited some old ones, but without redoing the automatic watering system, baskets are a little impractical for a short ass like me. None the less here they are in all their wild abandon.

Yes that’s right folks, just after I recommended imacs last night I got up this morning to a puter that would only wink at me when I poked it.

The answer: a new power supply!

That being said the mac store only charged me for parts, no labor, so it came in at under $100 so I shan’t complain. 

Last week was busy, we had some house guests and work sent me to an ATC workshop, see the results here…

The pharaoh was made by ironing wax paper over the stamp before sponging the ink over the top.

The leaf was supposed to work it’s way into a spiral, but by that time I was running late so I cut some corners (if you’ll pardon the pun).

For the tree we had to write a haiku on the other side (see below).

And the last was a veggie for earth day, because of it’s appearance I titled this card “World Beet”.

Here are some of the ones I got to swap for (we made duplicate cards).

Here’s a wax paper and a haiku card,

and a veggie and a spiral card. 

We also made a flashing color card that I hated my results from and a marbled paper card that was great till I stamped over it.

In other news I went to Tucson this weekend and had a great time with some friends.

Managed to come back with a teacup…

I couldn’t resist.

I was from this great breakfast house called The Hungry Fox.

They shared a strip mall with a bar called The Kon Tiki.

It had a great bar tender and a curious clientele.

The good thing is that there is someone to keep them all in line!

Remember that peach tree whose sprouts were too little to focus on a couple of weeks ago?

I’m so happy.

And those beets I planted?

Yes I know I need to weed.

Added some more herbs to the collection…

Dill, thyme, lemon verbina and tarragon at the front.

Here’s a pic of my chocolate mint.

I have fantasies about making a tea of it and then making some hot chocolate with the tea, what do you think?

The columbines are so pretty.

I may have to get some other colors.

And we have been having some visitors…

Sadly the humming bird shot was too blurry (no surprises there).

I got bored waiting for my herb seeds to take off, it’s been weeks already and I figure the seeds may no longer be good (they were a number of years old). I picked up a few at OSH last night…

and some peppers!

This is a gifted crock necked squash from Fred.

A passion fruit vine that we won in a raffle.

With everything going on in the yard our green house has had it’s landscape reworked over the last few days.

Here’s a shot of Puppy wiring up our grape vines.

And the mango made it in the ground.

Here’s an update on the first pomegranate tree, we sprinkled some poppy seeds around it and they took off.

The second tree we still need to clear space for.

Sunday night we got our first cactus blooms of the season…

(Yes I know we still need to weed, but have you ever tried weeding a cactus full of crab grass?)

This was the same day that we visited our friends Tony and Joann for her birthday party and on the way back visited with Fred and Ariel in Rainbow (yes there’s a town in California called Rainbow and best of all they grow Avocados there). As well as loading us up with Avocados we were gifted with cherimoyas (similar to sapote, but different)

and oodles of grapefruit along with passion fruit fresh off of the vine.

In our gardening news Puppy has been busy with our “crop circle”.

Remember when I planted these guys a couple of weeks ago?

In went the tomatoes too…

Note those handy dandy terra cotta hose repellent designed to not let your hose crush your plants as you water the far side of the circle.

As you can imagine we are starting peas, and in anticipation he built a frame for them…

Our blueberries are beginning to plump up…

and the ladybugs continue to delight…

Yes folks, it’s been busy here, and I’m sure it will continue for a while, get ready for lot’s of luscious postings from the yard.

Yup folks, we are just back from the manure joint!

Today we also picked up a white sapote…

A Valencia pride mango…

And an allspice tree…

Incidentally, the white sapote was named Tree of the Week by The  LA Times today.

In other news our brugmansia is looking more like it should.

The hibiscus is in bloom…

Our roses continue to delight…

As does our wandering jew…

On the fruit front our limes are going for it…

And our grape vines are spreading…

As you know I’ve been unwell, however last weekend we did manage to make it up to Pacific Palisades for the LA chapter of the CRFG meeting. It was a presentation by the owner of The Papaya Tree Nursery who had a bunch of useful information about growing what you wanted. We may be getting some products from him.

This weekend was crowded, I had a training for work all day Friday followed by a doctors appointment, an acupuncturists appointment (thank you Puppy) and a math conference in the evening. Saturday involved me going to the math conference again all day while Puppy raised our fence a little, then I came home and took a nap for Earth Hour that lasted till morning. Today I worked on my math homework with Hai, my partner at the class. Then Puppy and I went off to a workshop on water harvesting and soil replenishment by a local permaculture group. Here are some new photos…

Fencing ala Puppy!

Our peach tree has begun to sprout, but they’re so small I cant get my camera to focus on them.

We were worried about this one as we got it the same time we got our apple….

And we grafted a plum on to the peach the same time as we grafted our avocado…

I think we’ve lost the plum, but oh well, maybe next year we’ll try again.

In other garden news…

Our Ladybug pupa are beginning to ripen (sorry about the quality, I just had to share).

I planted my potted sage and it bloomed for the first time ever!

Here’s a shot of what’s happening in the green house.

Our blueberries are in bloom,

As are our “native” fuschia gooseberries.

The news on the banana front is not looking so good.

Puppy took of a pup growing out of the base and then a wind storm came through and I’m not sure we’re gonna make it.

On the good news front…

Our fish are feeling a bit more relaxed (still no sign of the big koi).

Amen!

Looks like we had a raccoon raid on our garden pond. not sure how many lost, but I think we lost at least 1 koi + other assorted little ones (gold and mosqueto fish). Plants were knocked in all directions, luckily the pump was still working or that would have been a bunch of work.

Bad raccons!

I now have a pond full of traumatized fish.

I put some food out to comfort them and also see who was left, good thing we were almost at capacity before.

The Parkway is closing.

“Notre Dame Switchboard Overwhelmed,Grads Condemn Obama Decision 

Detroit/South Bend (March 20, 2009) – As of late Friday night, hundreds of callers had overwhelmed the switchboard at Notre Dame as news began to circulate that Obama had been invited to give the commencement address at Notre Dame on May 17th. Sources at Notre Dame as well as the White House late Friday afternoon confirmed the invitation had been extended and accepted. 

ND operators said the calls simply became too much to handle. Voice mails of the University President, Vice-President, Provost, assistant-provost and PR director were all full by 10pm EST. Operators were suggesting that callers try again on Monday when university officials would be back in their offices. 

All the calls were expressing outrage. None supported the decision. 

Two Notre Dame alumni who own and operate the world’s first Catholic internet TV station www.realcatholictv.com both immediately denounced the university’s decision to award Barack Obama honors and give him a stage from which to speak. 

Marc Brammer, ND Class of ’74 and MBA’76 and Michael Voris ’83 each called the move a disgrace and a smear on the University’s reputation of being a Catholic school. 

Voris discovered the news while live on the air with Relevant Radio’s Drew Mariana while he was being interviewed about the week’s news. “While I was actually on the air with Drew”, Voris said, “I shot off an email to Fr. Jenkins (ND President) expressing my deep anger that the carnage done to the Faith by Notre Dame is continuing.” 

Voris shared the text of his email – “It is beyond sinful that a University dedicated to the Mother of God, in whose womb the salvation of the world became incarnate, would give a platform to the biggest enemy of life in the womb this country has ever seen.” 

“This is a direct slap in the face to all who venerate the Mother of God. To be honoring a man who continues to do everything in his power to destroy the fundamental essence of motherhood through abortion,” said Brammer, “shows just how far the University has lost its moral bearings.” 

RealCatholicTV.com has pledged its support to encouraging protests and condemnation of the Obama visit. “

this…

This is sad.

But I’m working on getting better!

Thought I’d post pics of my favorite Caribbean Stew.

It’s originally from the Neal’s Yard Bakery Whole Food Book but I’ve made some changes in quantities to suit my tastes.

First collect your main ingredients

Peel and dice your root veggies.

Then chop your onion, garlic, and ginger, also add some chili.

Place in a pan with some diced red pepper.

And saute with olive oil.

Next add root veggies.

Next add coconut milk, tomato paste and pineapple juice.

Then simmer for an hour or two till it looks like this.

Serve with corn bread and honey butter.

Enjoy!

Thought I’d show you what’s in the yard.

Clueless as to who this is but he’s cute!

A standard, but still gorgeous.

Finally got around to planting beets, carrots and parsnips this weekend.

And, yes the bananas have bloomed, I have the happiest pup in the world!

My friend Zuskaroo came to town for our B-Day Weekend and we beaded…

These are the prayer beads I’ve been saying I’m gonna make for about a year!

The the main beads are Checkoslavakian glass, with accents in…

turquois,

black cinnabar,

yak bone,

and shell.

I’m so happy to have finished this project!

Thank you Zuska!

Did I mention Zuska also gifted me this amazing rose pendant…

Thanks again!

First let me say thank you to Yoga Gal for this spectacular gift.

Also to Janet for the gift of paper!

And last but not least to Ms. Lupa for her fantastic gift of  this beautiful cup!

It’s a hand painted Bavarian piece.

And it totally Rocks!

You know this is not good.

heavens!

Be there or be square…

Well it is the anniversary of us getting the keys to our home this weekend.

The first thing we did was fill up the hot tub and rent a van!

In celebration of this glorious wonder this weekend will be devoted to painting with hopefully some hiking (weather permitting) and possibly a trip into Little India with gothgrrl13 of LJ fame.

Mary Quant!

well not exactly, apples to be precise…

…and a loquat, lemon, fig and peach with plum graft all in one picture.

We did a great workshop on grafting by CRFG last month.

We also went to their annual grafting scion swap where we picked up some berry plants.

Raspberries

Blackberries

and Blueberries!

Today was a pick up some poop dat from a local horse barn.

In other news it rained like no tomorrow the last few days, which was fine as we stayed in and painted, but that will be for a later post.

Next weekend I want to go on a native plant hike on Saturday, finish painting my living room and setting the brick in the orchard. Is that too much to ask for a 3 day weekend?

So Knittnkitten where have you been, why no “real” posts lately?

Well boys and girls we’ve been decorating the house a bit, but first we had to prep it…

Chim chiminey
Chim chiminey
Chim chim cher-ee!

Notice the nasty shade of pink on our ugly blue walls.

And then there was that heating register that needed an uber cleaning…

Yes you can see the before and after right there.

We noticed that some of the plaster on the walls was struggling…

So we worked on that.

About the same time we saw the ceiling in the hallway wasn’t doing too well either.

Yes folks, the return of Stitchy!

And then we actually got to the walls.

What do you mean you never knew I was a stripper!

…this!

This month I read or finished reading 3 books, next month won’t be so luxurious as I’m teaching full time.

First was Connections which I decided to read with my kids. I love Gabrielle Roth and have for over 20 years.

Gain another book to read with my students, we actually started this one this week.

Not one for my little pumpkins, but one for me, I am hoping to read The Zohar this year, but it could be next year.

‘Veggie Love’: PETA’s Banned Super Bowl Ad

The Battle of George Square.

The Park Lane squatters are at it again!

Sorry I haven’t been posting lately, but I have been having a life.

Came home from Christmas in the mountains to the news that Sean had about a week to live, he passed away peacefully on the second of January.

As I was pretty upset at the time and work was a little thin Puppy decided that a house project was in order lest I sit at home and get depressed, so we started decorating both the livingroom and kitchen, both projects are still ongoing.

Somewhere in the midst I got a wonderful surprise gift from a blogger, you’ll see it soon.

The orchard continues to develop. This weekend we picked up a peach tree, and recently we did a grafting workshop so we also have grafted a plum on to the peach and a Black Mission fig on to our fig not to mention a Reed avocado on to our generic avocado.

I’ve also been journaling like a demon. I’m using The Sacred Journey journal and it has been working real well for me. I have also been keeping a 12 Secrets written journal, but hopefully this week I will be able to post something. Sorry I haven’t been here lately, I just didn’t feel like writing in public much.

Today is Chinese New Year and I decided this would be my new years celebration given everything else that has been going on.

Today is also my first day with a new class. One of the teachers I know just went on maternity leave so I have her little darlings for a few months, but more about that later!

I fell in love with this series…

The author shows kids that they don’t need to be physically strong to beat the odds.

That friendship is important.

And sometimes compromises must be made.

I read this with the kids, it was a realistic look at teen parenting.

This one was a bit younger, and many of our kids had read it, much good it did them!

Puppy picked me this one up for my birthday (I think). It’s set in the Bay Area.

And this, well it’s really not a kids book, but it was good.

Nice look at the Hebrew letters, beautiful book.

Quick jaunt through the jewish holidays, recipes included!

A poets look at the Zohar.

Another Kushner classic.

This was a true love story.

As was this.

You see he knew we were working on the orchard, sooo…

He picked us up an old rototiller!

Yay Santa!

It has been super useful, and will soon return to Craigslist.

Then Santa dropped by Lowes…

Cause we needed to move our compost from the pile to the orchard…

We have super healthy compost…

As evidenced above by the beetle grub that is every composters totem “animal”.

Then Santa headed back to Craigslist to fill my car with goat manure.

Puppy very kindly raked over that which I spread around before another good tilling.

Thank you so much Santa, I’m really looking forward to watching my garden grow!

Wouldn’t you know it!

Isn’t she beautiful?

We will be setting her up and doing her plumbing this coming week.

I am heading into fog/low cloud on the Grapevine, wish me luck!

Here’s a December rose from our garden…

And this was from Ana in Australia.

Have a good whatever it is you celebrate!

Plates!

Found at the Starvation Army.

Yup, this is what it looks like down here!

I thought I better get a couple of posts in before I head out of the door.

Here are a couple of cups from the collection.

The first being a pre-wedding gift.

It seems to be an expresso cup if I look at it in the cold light of day, but a cup none the less.

It’s “big brother” was one I picked up at T J Maxx on a rainy day.

Similar saucers, yet different.

We can all say “thanks” to those serving away from home this holiday.

Thanks to Mom who showed me how.

back!

This goes out to everyone who is helping right now, whether it be with prayers and thoughts or  more physical support.

Now off to Canada.

Say it isn’t so!

Only in Orange County!

Thanksgiving

The Outlaws rolled into town on Tuesday.

Wednesday:- Pops showed Puppy how to organize outdoors wiring,3 “friends” RSVP’d for the following day, I shopped some more and  began to cook.

Thursday:- Cooked some more, two of the RSVP’s flaked, we ate and had a great time.

Over the next couple of days the folks puttered about and then went home and we did some gardening.

Last week I didn’t work, we looked at an investment property and I meditated on my resume while waiting to hear if work was able to get me back full time (jury’s still out). The Outlaws, sadly, had to put down their cat who was older than dirt, so there will be no Ashy at the tree this Christmas.

This weekend Puppy helped our friend move, we didn’t make the art sale in Claremont but did see Cheech and Chong in LA last night.

Today I helped a friend make a cloak and cleaned the hot tub.

Tomorrow, who knows!

This being a Tag Free Zone you may play along if you care to…

What makes you happy?

The rules are simple: list ten things you’re happy about or thankful for. 

In no particular order…

Health & Chiropractor – I value my health so I make sure to get a tune up every couple of weeks.

Home – Well you all know how I feel about this place, even the seemingly endless “projects”.

Husband – “He’s Wonderful”

Family & Friends – Happy and healthy is my favorite combination for this crew, however, I’ll work with it however it comes.

Job – Life is not complete without one.

Desert – “I’ll take two of everything!”

Garden & Spa – Need I say more?

Indian food – The sauces!

Purps – Our snuggle wonder.

Car – Who would have thunk it?

Living in California – It’s the best!

for a good sit-in.

It is time for Tea on Tuesday!

Yes that is what it looks like…

A tea pot saucer/teabag holder accompanied by an expresso cup!

It was another wedding tea gift that was great!

In other news my brother has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and I will be heading off to Toronto to visit with him next week, they need to clear the jaundice before they treat the cancer, but they are working on that.

This week I found some tea towels that are the same spicy colors I’m looking to put in my kitchen. 

Then today we went to the farmers market and picked up some supplies for the week ahead.

Picked up some persimmons and macadamia nuts to make bread with.

Some fruit for with our cheeses.

A head of lettuce for sandwiches from left overs.

The pomegranate was just because!

Some beets for roasting, I steam the tops and toss them in balsamic vinegar, olive oil and fresh garlic.

The sprouts will make a casserole, remember that yummy recipe I made earlier this year?

I almost forgot these guys.

If you haven’t already, go check out your farmers market!

It’s that day again!

Saw this and couldn’t resist.

\

Don’t you love it.

Well yes indeed!

The Air quality here is pretty rough.

I woke up this morning to ashes all over my car.

None the less we manager to dig a hole and transplant the grape vine from it’s pot.

Yes I know it needs pruning but we figured one shock at a time.

We also relocated this little guy.

I think he was too close to the compost pile before and was getting his roots singed.

Here’s a new friend from the garden Don’t now his name but he’s really cute.

He might be an orchid but who knows.

This, believe it or not, is what charlie looks like when it blooms.

As you can imagine the flowers are tiny and the purple spots are like pin points.

Did a little tidying of my corner or the garage.

Still need to do some more, but it’s a start.

Here is a close up of some of my incenses.

For those of you who don’t know I used to work at Enchantments behind the oil counter.

Speaking of oils… 

I have a few of those too.

In other news Puppy took his Obama sticker off of his bumper, he only had it on a day when someone spat all over his car a couple of weeks back, and the way things seem to be going why risk another angry idiot who might key the car next time.

Stay safe!

…coming out of the super market and smelling smoke this time of year in CA to get you blood rushing and to create an instant desire to run home and check on the internet to find the source. Of the wall of yellow smoke gave us an idea of the direction of the fire so that when we did make it back it was no surprise to see that the fire was out of Corona, about 15 miles from here. Now I just wish I could stop sneezing.

Today the sky looks a bit like this…

Me thinks I will be doing me best to stay inside today.

This was a wedding gift from Bee and it is the founding plate in my collection.

It’s title is the Wedding and it’s from the Brambly Hedge collection.

As I only have a few plates this will be a monthly event.

For those of you wondering this weeks tea cup was English and from the Selby pottery.

Swiped from Janet…

I HAVE….

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

And…

100. Ridden an elephant

Copy and paste at will, bold what you need to etc…

I’m beginning tho wonder what’s going on. 

I seem to be living in a world where these guys and these guys agree!

I wonder what has changed their tune.

Well it’s that time of the week…

While not new to me I have picked up this pretty one in the last year.

I love the way the black, gold and iridescent white look together!

Maybe later this week we can start on the plates.

I’ve seen several of my blogging friends express concern over the election of Barack Obama, it appears that in anticipation of this they have set up a website for people to share their vision of America and perhaps even make suggestions on how to solve the problems we face. So rather than keeping your great ideas to yourself and your small group of friends why not go out and share them with the folks that can do something about them!

Have a happy Sunday and thanks to Ketzirah Carly for pointing this out.

For the first time in 8 years I feel like I can breath.

For those of you who were wondering….

Yes we did decorate!

Sadly we only got a handful of Trick-or Treaters.

Oh well, more candy for my class.

We have had two days where it’s rained here!

Not common for us, but none the less seasonal.

In other news went over to a friends house last night and ended up meeting Ereshkigal and feasting on fine foods. 

Looks like I get to spend this year with Kwan Yin.

I know that I have been less than attentive to this journal since I began it last month, however I’m hoping to get it back on track now that the winter has begun to creep in. I’m hoping for Tea on Tuesdays and maybe even a new section for my would be collection of tea plates, I’m not sure about the books if you have a preference to know what’s on my book shelves speak now or forever hold your peace. Knitting may be a Monday treat, I’m thinking of returning to my Friday and Saturday internet vacation Wednesday I knit so I won’t be posting then, maybe a Sunday gardening post and a Thursday house post, who’s to say, we’ll see I suppose. 

Hope you all had a happy hallows, I’m off to a Day of The Dead celebration tonight so I will leave you with a photo of a recent memorial for two old friends I lost this year.

Mark Steel: I’m frozen with fear – could Obama

still lose the election?

The Republicans have had the worst campaign possible. It should be all over

Wednesday, 29 October 2008

I’m still cacking myself. I know all the commentators are saying Obama’s already won but I find myself scouring the internet for reassuring polls, and there’ll be an article from Nevada quoting a truck driver that’s supporting McCain, and I’m like a hypochondriac that’s discovered a lump, frozen with fear and convinced this means the Republicans will win and reintroduce slavery and make it illegal for any creature to evolve.

Because it ought to be utterly totally wrapped up, as the Republicans have had the worst campaign that could ever be possible. The candidate looked like there couldn’t possibly be anyone in the country more idiotic, but he scoured the continent, found someone who was and made her his deputy. Then a disastrous economic crisis began weeks before the election while they’re in charge, then their own side started deserting to Obama, they’ve been caught spending half the economy on dresses, but they’re STILL only a few per cent behind.

McCain could announce he’d bomb Argentina for being too near the start of the alphabet, flash at Oprah Winfrey shouting “Hey Joe the plumber, there’s ONE waterworks that doesn’t need fixing” during the national anthem, reveal he was chairman of a company that’s been selling teddy bears that turn out to be stuffed with petrol-soaked semtex, and admit he didn’t go to Vietnam at all but spent the whole war in the bath. And the following day we’d hear that a string of gaffes had caused Obama’s lead to climb to SIX per cent.

So the next day McCain and Palin could go on Russell Brand’s radio show, ring Obama’s dying grandmother and yell,”We screwed your grandson” on her answer machine, and the day after the gap would be back to five per cent again.

At his rallies McCain looks demented, and one of his most stirring closing slogans is “As President I will put America first.” Then his supporters cheer, as if they’re thinking “Thank God he got THAT right.” As if there was a chance he might have said, “As President of America I will put New Zealand first. Bollocks to America, that place got me shot down in Vietnam.”

Now the Republicans appear to be at war with themselves, blaming each other for the disasters, and there must be a chance they’ll give up altogether, with McCain saying, “Oh sod it, I never wanted to be President anyway, as I want to be a lap dancer.” Then we’ll read he’s gone SEVEN per cent behind in the polls.

Even if you had no interest in politics, one glance at the two candidates should make it obvious who was more assured and competent. And if you have a slight interest in politics then you’ll notice that one candidate supported a disastrous war and the other one didn’t.

It’s as if someone on Strictly Come Dancing one week wet themselves mid-samba, then slipped in their own puddle, drop-kicking the judges and shorting out the electrics and then Bruce Forsyth said, “Well, it’s still very close who’s come last this week so keep those votes rolling in.”

One reason why it remains closer than it should be is obvious. Before the election’s over, there’ll be at least one Republican supporter on Fox News who’ll say, “I think that one of the areas in which McCain scores heavily over his opponent is he’s proved himself far more adept and capable, over the years, at being white. And for all Senator Obama’s flair and charisma this is a skill he clearly lacks.”

In one sense it may seem ridiculous to get over-excited about Obama. Far from promising anything radical, he’s friendly with the wealthiest section of Wall Street, suggests he’d bomb Pakistan, and has no desire to challenge the greed of corporate America. But society isn’t just propelled by the policies of leaders, it’s driven by the actions of millions. And Obama has come to represent the voice of those who wish America, and the world, to be more equal, less prone to crazy wars and closer to the values of civil rights. This isn’t just because he’s black, as this wouldn’t have been possible if the candidate was Colin Powell.

If it wasn’t for the civil rights campaign and the movement against the Iraq war, Obama’s campaign couldn’t have taken off. So for Obama to win would be an inspiration to all those who supported those values, and a humiliating defeat for all those who opposed them, even if Obama himself may well betray those ideas.

But if McCain wins, imagine how that will transform electioneering. In general elections around the world each candidate will strive to come over as more incompetent and idiotic than the other, starting party political broadcasts by announcing that they don’t believe in gravity, then accidentally setting fire to themselves and choosing Rita Fairclough from Coronation Street as their deputy before saying they didn’t realise that she wasn’t real.

See, there’s a lot at stake and I’m right to be worried.

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/mark-steel/mark-steel-im-frozen-with-fear-ndash-could-obama-still-lose-the-election-976800.html

Do you think that they’re are missing the point?

Did the bouncing brick come back and undo it’s voodoo on Christopher Hitchens?

…the unlicensed plumber!

Sometimes the world is not fair!

Yes folks this could almost be me!

Remember me cleaning my garage? Well I managed to “sprain” my lower back and aggravated my sciatic nerve. I have pain coiling around my waist and heading down and around my knee. On top of that I just ache all over with the weather.

I’m off to ice, will update later.

Well I guess it’s better than Rubber Bullets!