Monday, 14 May 2007

sometimes ...

it's just so hard for me to come up with something to say. i'm not a good story teller. at all. i can turn funny stuff into real "you had to be there" moments. some people really have a talent for making things interesting, and it has clearly skipped me. this is one reason i don't blog so often anymore; i'm a little more critical of what i have to say. also, when i'm in school and writing papers all the time, doing more writing is really the last thing i feel like doing. i used to be a lot better at writing. i had a good friend who was a great writer, and we wrote each other letters all the time. she was the tortured soul type, and after a while, when i developed a social life, she just got too jealous and we 'broke up', if you will. since then, my affinity for writing has really disappeared. i used to do a lot of journaling, too, which i have stopped. i just don't have the drive to do it anymore. why am i writing about writing? i'm not sure. i just kind of ... felt like it.
something i have had the drive to do: garden! i'm not exactly sure why. but i have turned into a real nerd about it. i'm remembering latin names and things like that. making sure all my flickr pictures are tagged with common and latin names, if i know them. doing research. when i was a kid, my grandma was an avid gardener, and i spent every moment i could with her. i always liked working in the yard and growing plants, as a kid, especially tomatoes. then, it kind of waned. i would (trans)plant and re-pot things for my mom, but i didn't think about it much when i wasn't doing it. now, i practically obsess about it. lately, i've been making plans and envisioning things every night while i lay in bed, waiting to fall asleep. and (big and!) i'm kind of trying to figure out how i could fit gardening into a career. it is one of the only things i can see myself not hating in 10, or 20 years. i'm thinking about things like landscape architecture.
i just found the most brilliant fucking gardening tip/trick EVER! i have been coveting those little peat/cardboard/biodegradable pots that you can start seeds in and then plant directly into the ground. they're a lot less stress for the plant, and they break down naturally. i was just perusing yougrowgirl and i found this! i'm saving all my toilet paper rolls from now on! this is so great. i'm practically jumping up and down right now! just in time to start my last few seeds of spring.

21:30 Posted in gardening | Permalink | Comments (3) | Email this

Tuesday, 17 April 2007

mariachi, flowers, and dye

I am in an amazing mood. One of those post-excercise endorphin-caused good moods. And I must tell you, it's great. The frozen yogurt helped, too.

 I danced at a middle school this afternoon, and that was interesting. Middle schoolers + bagpipes = quite the combination! There were quite a few more "punk" or "rocker" kids than I expected. Kids with local band shirts, albeit crappy ones. I ever saw a girl with her septum pierced. Kind of weird for middle school, don'tcha think? There was also an amazing mariachi band. They played a cover of "Livin' La Vida Loca" and the Macarena. They were great! Definitely got a better response than we did, but that's no shock. I didn't take any pictures because I suck. At life.

I'm really happy that it's finally starting to really be spring 'round these parts. I can spend endless hours in the yard gardening and not be cold! I bought some new violas, and I'm stoked about them. They're so cute! I love little, petite flowers. Pansies just aren't as cute, to me.

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Everything is blooming and growing! I've started a bunch of seeds, and there have been a few surprises. Let's just say come Halloween, I might be prepared.

I also did a little more dyeing. I found some neon and some black food coloring, and had to test them out. The black always came out brown, but the neons were perfect! Look:

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I was planning on buying some dye your own sock yarn, but knitpicks only lets you pay with a credit card. no paypal! so none for me. (unless i'm mistaken, in which case feel free to set me straight.) I am envisioning blue and green striped socks.Something like this maybe, but just the blue and green.

Kind off off-topic, but I saw the Street Dogs last month and they were amazing. I definitely reccomend them if you're into that kind of thing. I was just listening to them, and I remembered.

 

Okay, in an effort to blog more often I am going to try to not put up massive posts. So here's where this ends! (I should have some real knitting content soon!)

Tuesday, 21 November 2006

hummers ... and I don't mean blowjobs or the automobiles.

I'm so excited! Not ten minutes ago I saw the first hummingbird eating at my new feeder! I bought it over the weekend at Target for $10-ish. I have always loved hummingbirds because my grandma loved them and we had a feeder at her house that I loved. (Yes, I loved the actual feeder. And I found one exactly like it online for $10! I'm so stoked. I'm might give it to her for Christmas. Hers was lost while in the trunk of her Cadillac which was stolen from in front of a furniture store. Biggest bummer.)
In spring, I bought a peach-colored abutilon and feel in love with it because it was so pretty. I didn't really pay attention to the tag which said hummingbirds love it. Then, this summer I bought a gorgeous yellow one, and have fallen totally in love with these plants. Well, like the tag says, they attract hummingbirds and I have been seeing two hummers regularly feeding on them. My cannas and hibiscuses as well. I decided I had to have a feeder, too, for old times' sake. I already have so many plants in my yard they can feed from (nectar and bugs!) but I figured what the hell. They can sit and eat rather than having to buzz around. And I always see these amazing pictures on flickr that people have taken of hummingbirds on feeders. I doubt that I could do that because I don't have a nice enough camera or a tripod, but it was still inspiring.
Another thing I have been super excited about, my yellow abutilon has been producing seeds! The peach one has never done that, and I'm wondering if that's because it's a hybrid. I hope they grow, because I would love some more of these. Yellow is my favorite color and these plants are so gorgeous.
Yet another weird, nerdy plant thing I'm excited about: there is a coffeeshop in downtown that was closed and has re-opened in another location. They've got their plants for landscaping there, but they're not yet planted. The majority are abutilon! I'm hoping they will produce seeds, which I, in turn, will be able to steal and plant for myself! I thought about just stealing a whole plant but decided (wisely, I'm sure) against it.
Needless to say, I have spent a LOT of time gardening lately. I'm so into it. I really am an old lady, deep down. But I am a hip, rocking old lady! And I am fine with that! This has been the first time I have been really excited about blogging lately, and it is one of those subjects that I bet I am the only one excited about.
I have been knitting, and crocheting, and even cross-stitching! But more on that later. ...