i went downstairs to talk with my mom and saw something pecking away at the elderberry bush i planted a few years ago. then two somethings. then three ( Read more... )

i dreamed i followed a small band of acquaintences - i think Merlyn from the singing group Merry Mischief was one of them - into a medieval-looking hut/store. the shelves inside were crammed with knick-knacks of all flavors: picture frames (with pictures in them), toys, mugs... if it had ever been built, bought, and given to someone as a gift, it ( Read more... )

well, if you want to see what i've been fussing over for three days (around appointments and Mass and family stuff, etc), feel free to check out my new webpage and tell me what you think. obviously still under construction.

and man, once you line up all my training it looks kind of impressive.

the USDA report.the language is biased against organic methods (shocker), and the charts of releases of genes are alarming (shocker). but some hopeful news in the decrease in overall approvals since the late 1990's/early 2000's? (Figure 1). also not a shock that Monsanto is the clear leader in releases (Figure 4), that nearly a quarter of all ( Read more... )

i saw him after my walk this morning. i followed him as he ran up the driveway, under my car, along the side of the house, under the deck, and out into my garlic patch - where he stood up on his hind legs and looked at me. i was talking to him as if he was the chipmunk, but then once i saw him run from the side of the house to the deck, i realized ( Read more... )

i remember being so excited when we saw our first chipmunk in the backyard. well, now we are sure there are at least two; one that knows how to get into the bird feeder without even pausing, and one that does not. the one that does not is lighter, blonder, and has reddish patches on her butt (of course, we don't know it's a 'her', but we've taken ( Read more... )

since i dropped the first chair off at Ena's yesterday, received my fabric recommendations and a price quote (which was what i hoped it would be, $100 per chair), and have plans to fabric shop with Dave in Auburn at the $1.99/yd store this weekend, i figured it would be a good idea to record the "before" status of the chairs.

( cut for dirty chair pictures )

Ken-Ken is something of an obsession with my mom since i got her started on them a few years ago. i've bought her (and she's completed) three Will Shortz "Ken-Ken" books. however, she's gotten used to being able to peek in the back of the book if she's stuck, get a few numbers she *knows* are correct, and proceed from there. i have teased her ( ( Read more... )

"Don't cry. If you have become human enough to cry, then all the magic in the world cannot change you back."

great article on sugar addiction. while i don't exactly agree that addictions are "not your fault" (because no one else is shoveling the substance into your body), i do agree that manufacturers have created products with the express purpose of getting people addicted to them; they have a vested monetary interest in you consuming things that aren't ( Read more... )