A Silas Composition

There's something I like about this photo other than the obvious.

It's too light and it's too dark. The movement of the tail reflects the movement of the aloe plant. The rigid lines of the skeleton gazebo contrast the round tower.

And Si looks like he's thinking about something, like some memory in his head.

He's off in his own world.

Now that you mention it ...

I showed these to The Mister and predictably he said, I can't eat that. 

I said, sure you can. 

No! It's on my list.

You eat lots of stuff "on your list."

But that's really high on my list.

One bite of salmon is not going to kill you. You know, there's a difference between being allergic and just not wanting to eat something.

I don't want to eat it and consider myself allergic. Besides they're ghoulish.

They're what?

Like Hallowe'en.

They're PANDAS!

Survivor Finale Tonight!

Final days of fall

Final days of fall, originally uploaded by Judy's Notebook.

Who knew that there would be an actual flickr group for photos pointing

Up A Tree.

We will all have hairs on our stems today.

The end of a sweaty day - it's muggy here - something we don't experience much on the West Coast. And I sketched a bit in the garden. Trying to find peace. Trying to calm myself.

I seem to be having a hard week. I am not a cheery person today.

Thank goodness, my garden did its thing though all by itself this spring - which I thank to the rains. Here's a pic.

Just for today

Caution: Disturbing Blog

I had one horrible two days, and if I wrote about it yesterday, I might have been spared the dreaded morning that I had today where my mind was making my body sick. But I couldn't talk about it last night. I just couldn't.

What am I talking about here?

I found out that some nut case has been killing cats near where I work. Cutting their heads off. Slicing their bodies open. In a basement of an old house. And actually they weren't cats, they were kittens.

The house is not inhabited, and the owners don't come by often. Young males in the community know this and hang out around these buildings. These boys found a way into the basement and found the kittens alive one day and came back the next day and found them sliced up.

The boys and their mother told me what they saw because I work nearby and "I'm official" but not a cop. And I would know who to call and do the right thing. In other words, they could be anonymous if I reported it.

And report it I did. I called the owners of the building. I called the police. The owners were grateful I called them, and after the police Dismissed The Whole Thing As Nothing Important, the owners secured the area, as in nailed the boards shut so little boys and psycho cat killers could not enter the basement.  

So now it goes on record. If someone is missing their cat or if more dead cats are found, then maybe the police will deem this as Something Important.

Meanwhile, I am mad. Stinking mad. And this morning I wasn't going to go to work. I laid in bed and thought about people who leave their buildings unattended and how these places become flop houses. And then I got mad at the cops because they don't want to upset the owners. I mean they are literally chasing some dude who is breaking into cars (smashing windows to get a purse) down alleys, not realizing that this guy is probably laying low in this old basement. And then I got mad at myself.

For a couple weeks now I've been scared for some reason at work. Not knowing exactly why. Intuition. Creepy creeps. I don't know what to call it. But something was there. I even expressed this to my guy Wednesday morning. I told him I was afraid at work and I didn't know why.

Well now I do.

Silly

Still Life with Old Fashioned Rose and Scion tC

Your Life 2.0 Via Your Blog Book

At first I was cynical about this whole idea of turning your blog into a book. I'm such a snob really, but vanity press for only $14.95. Pbbt. Who cares about your blog that much.

Then I got to thinking...hey this might be a cute way to scrapbook, in a yearbook kind of way. Or what if your relatives would like week-by-week progress and photo of your new baby.

Or maybe you just like books. It's something tangible that you can hold in your hands and page through.

I heard with the invention of Kindle, Nook, and iPad that many people think it's just a matter of time that books will become extinct. So maybe this Blog2Print is a good thing...

I do think it's funny that you can add the comments you get on your blog in your book, as well as delete whatever you want, comments or blog posts.

Your life can be perfect. In print.

Happy Mother's Day!

This picture was taken by a camera salesman in a place called Fedco (which was like a precursor to Costco but for federal employees). He was trying to sell my Dad a brand new Polaroid camera.

We were a dubious threesome. Can you tell?

I remember the incident so well. We had come in from the rain, kind of raggedy, and the salesman just sprang it on us. My mom was upset with the way her hair looked. My dad was skeptical with this new technology, and I didn't want my picture taken. (My father is holding me there by my jacket. (btw, I loved that jacket!))

When I look at this photo now, I could kiss that salesman on the lips for capturing us all on film in that weird moment, especially my beautiful mother.

Look Up! It's Another Tree Blog!

Hello. Another tree. "Look up" when you're 5'2" and you'll likely see a tree.

This is an Almond Tree. The flowers are beautiful in early spring and then the fuzzy nut forms. This fuzzy nut grows all spring and summer and then the fuzzy part drops off and the corky outer part and the nut drops to the ground, or not. The Almond Tree is known for holding on to its nuts.

That said, I live in an area that is known as Almond Country. (Aside: they cut down all the almond orchards to plant wine grapes. Now they sell beautiful cured almond wood for your fireplace, the bastards. And lots of wine. burp!)

Anyways, the actual amonds that we know and eat are inside the corky outer part, and they are usually roasted and salted, the nuts, that is.

I think I could document the stages rather well as this tree sits just outside my window where I work. But I'm sure the internet has done a reasonable job. So "look" it "up."

In review, almonds have cute fuzzy nuts, amonds do not. Why?

Cause you have to shake the ell out of them to get them to the ground. (Ag humor.)

That Giddy Spring Thing

I had such a case a Spring Fever yesterday that I couldn't stay inside.

I'm suppose to stay inside when at work. That's part of the job requirements. But I just couldn't.

So I pulled a chair outside during the typically quiet morning and read a book. I can read on the job. It's not a requirement though.

After awhile I got too warm and retreated back to the cool indoors.

I'm not sure what brain chemicals are sparking when that giddy Spring thing hits, but everything seems brighter and more interesting.

Take this tree.

This tree is across the street where I park my car. For the last 12 years I have never noticed it to bloom. Sure, it has caught my attention and at one point many years ago, I went out to it when the owner was doing some yard work and asked him what kind of tree it was. He seemed amused. But told me,

"Some people call them Umbrella Trees."

So yesterday when I was leaving work, I said hello to the umbrayella tree and noticed it was covered with

PURPLE FLOWERS.

Look Up!

Happy Seis de Mayo

Gearing up for some High Voltage happenings today!

Fly Me To The Moon

The challenge is to LOOK UP this month of May at NaBloPoMo, and I have been interpreting this as "things are looking up" as in "it's not my birthday month anymore." But not today. Because today is ....

Sink-O de Mayo(nnaise). Happy Happy to All !!!

I think it was about 87 degrees when I left work today, so Sun Roof Open.

LOOK UP!

Five things I didn't accomplish on my vacation

1. The mess that is my office/craft/sewing room is still a mess.
2. The books that need to be sorted and separated were not.
3. I didn't go to the desert. I was all to set to go. I wanted to stay here for a few nights, but a little stripy kitty was not allowed, and I couldn't bear to leave him behind.
4. I didn't go to Salmon Creek Falls on my birthday as suggested by Mrs. Oz - who won my birthday contest. But it is an adventure for the future.
5. I didn't really relax. Why are vacations like that? I look forward to them with great anticipation, then in the mist of it all, the countdown to return to work begins.

Five things I've accomplished on my vacation

1. I figured out how to transfer my vinyl album music (much of it is classical) to my iPod using my new Crosley turntable. Love their retro stuff. 
2. I received Hammacher Schlemmer sound oasis for my birthday, and it's my new favorite thing. The ocean or the forest, I'm there, baby. 
3. I changed the part in my hair. I've had an always and forever over-my-right-eye side part. Well, just for kicks, I changed it to my widow's peak, which has been white since I was 25 years old. Yep I hid the "gray." Now I'm flaunting it! Sort of. I still have a dot of white in the middle of head that I hide. I've had that from birth. When hairdresser people point it out, I tell them it's where the aliens probed me as a baby. (And I believe it too.)
4. I tried (and failed miserably) to make a multi-color felt dodecahedron pincushion. I will try again.
5. Redecorated the bedroom, I did, and it looks very modern harem. I used a Moroccan-like pattern in cool blues and greens, just right for the hot weather ahead. And the bathroom had mini-makeover as well.

A is For Apron

I bought myself a couple of books from Joggles lately. Most were on sale like this one, A Is For Apron by Nathalie Mornu.

There are 25 projects and six extras. The Lemon Meringue apron is to die for. So cute! And the Josephine is really lovely too. Also there are a few smaller aprons for the little ones.

The book covers the history of the apron and a gallery of vintage, and basic sewing to get you started.

I happened by Joggles to score some felt, but they have tons of craft books. I'll probably review them all this month because they encompass my recent artsy crafty endeavours.

It's funny to think how when I was growing up, the last thing in the world a young woman wanted was to be seen in an apron. We were striking out in the working world in our manly power suits demanding equal pay and no glass ceilings.

And now young women are making piles of money developing a trend to sew and sell aprons and other handmade items. Good for them, I say.

Speaking of making money, well credit really, if you go to Joggles via the button under "Si's Buddies" and purchase something, then I get 25% credit of your total purchase (not sales tax or shipping) that will be applied to next time I need some ribbon or a fabric fix. One time deal for each person.

I've never done this kind of affiliate-type program, so we'll see how it works. Also Joggles is having a 12% off sale on everything until May 15. Enter the code MOM2010 (uppercase, no spaces). Look around. It's a neat store.

Yay! for May

April is always a tough month for me. My birthday is the last day, so I end up feeling like I'm waiting waiting waiting, then Boom! Birthday is done and gone. Also since I was born on a decade, so decade birthdays are even more anxiety driven.

So May First is the day I get to exhale!

May First feels like the beginning of the year, time to set resolutions, clean the closets, plant a tree.

So when I discovered nablopomo monthly theme for May, I said Yay! 

Things are looking up. 

30 posts in 30 days

Yes I did! I blogged every day of November in the annual National Blog Posting Month for not only this blog, but my bento box blog as well, and I enjoyed doing it most the time.

Anyone who knows me knows I can start and stop a project in mere nanoseconds. I get distracted very easily. But I try. And Wow I even succeed sometimes. So Yay Me!!!

Our Tree

O Christmas tree! Would you like to come home with us?