It's spring here in the lovely Pacific Northwest, but you wouldn't know it. Sure, the plants are starting to grow... sort of. We have lettuce to eat from the garden - for our sandwiches. Not enough for a salad yet! The beans have finally sprouted (second batch of seeds), and for the most part things are looking good in the garden. In fact, today I removed some of the "anti kitty-poo" yarn fences and the overall mood of the garden is much improved. I'll be able to reach into the beds to pull out the weeds!
It's been a couple of busy weeks - finally this weekend I am free from work and other social requirements. Kind of glad for that! I need a bit of relaxation. Tomorrow is a garden day, and on Sunday we'll head off island to hit Costco, Value Village, and the best ever mexican restaurant. Wooo!
But seriously - is it ever going to get warm again? The next few days are calling for highs in the 50's... I'm getting a little tired of the cool air. And the wind! That really breaks the deal. Give me 75 and 80% humidity... for a day or two anyhow!
Did you know that the BP subsidiaries in the western US are ARCO and ampm? Stop shopping there! Don't buy their gasoline! Boycott BP now.
I don't really want to get going about the Gulf oil gusher - don't call it a spill, that's a really poor representation of the truth. It's an uncontrolled underater oil volcano...
Thanks BP. Thanks for freakin' destroying the Gulf.
Whaddya' think? Maybe it's time to rethink our addiction to oil? Look for some alternatives? Not let the corporations rule our country?
And what is up with that Rand Paul dude? It's "un-American" to criticize BP? What - it's patriotic to bow down to a foreign corporation in the name of the effing "free" market and say - oh, it's just a teensy bit of oil out there... too bad so sad for all of the people and the ecosystems that are destroyed by the greed of BP...
Jerk.
Since when do the corporations run this country? Oh, silly me... since the Supreme court granted them "personhood" without the actual responsibilities of being a person.
Okay, that's all. It's time to head off to bed now...
A few years back my brother and I visited the Experience Music Project (EMP) in Seattle. They happened to be featuring a Bob Dylan exhibit at the time - it was great! Among the various things on display was his school work ~
Lots of bits and pieces about is career - what I took away from it was the big scam he pulled on all of the people that thought he was a voice for their causes... he was just singing, because he wanted to sing. It didn't mean nearly the same things to him as it did to everyone else. It was still very good! But...
One of the film clips we saw was of him doing a spontaneous bit based on a couple of signs - it was my favorite part of the entire exhibit. Michael has found it on youtube! Enjoy...
Spring is really having a hard time getting going this year! We've had some pretty dismal weather, including a ridiculously strong windstorm last week. However, it looks like a stretch of decent weather ahead, at least for a few days.
Good thing - the garden needs some warmth to help the plants grow.
In other news, I got a new camera - a Canon SX120. It's a lovely little point and shoot that takes great photos (though the flowers above are NOT taken by that camera). I had the earlier model, and it got a dent that keeps the lens from opening. Booooo. I'm happy to have a replacement, something small to carry around with me all of the time. And I will be much more careful with it, so it doesn't get dented!
I haven't had a chance to upload too many photos taken by that camera yet, but here's one!
It also takes rather nice videos...
Hope that works!
I'm home sick today, second day in a row. Feeling a bit better, but glad for the opportunity to rest and take it easy. Yesterday I uploaded a lot of photos, today I'm hoping to get some reading done (and maybe more photos!).
Today, I planted a few tomato starts and some parsnip seeds...
The broccoli and cauliflower starts are doing all right, other than the one cauli that seems to have been eaten by some creature.
My onions and shallots are looking great!
The parsnips that wintered over have now turned to wood, so they were plucked from the ground and send to compost land...
It's all coming along, slowly but surely. I'd be happy if the weather was a bit warmer, but we'll make do with what we have! Of course, I'm glad when it rains because it means I don't have to water!
In other news, I got to walk in a parade yesterday... it was mostly fun, but more standing around and waiting than actual walking. And then once we get going, it's total chaos! People everywhere! My head whipping from side to side, looking for Michael, and any other people I might know! I missed Michael, but saw lots of library patrons along the way...
As you may know, I spend 40 hours a week working as a librarian. I am often called upon to look for books on the shelves of my library, and sometimes they are not right where they should be.
Starting tomorrow, I'll be putting into play the patented Jan Hankl Flank Pat System!
I will not lie - I'm very progressive in my beliefs. One thing that just gets my goat is Glenn Beck, and the ridiculously large number of people that take him seriously (including my parents - WTF?!!!)
Jon Stewart - who has never tried to pass himself off as anything other than satire and entertainment, does a fantastic and hilarious imitation of Beck in this clip...
Don't worry, I won't turn this into a twitter-like blog with the gory details of every move I make during the day. I just wanted to check and see if it really worked to send a picture from my phone.
This is a picture my son, Nolan, took while back country snowboarding at Mount Baker. It scares the crap out of me that he goes out into "the wild." But at the same time, I'm glad he has a passion and that he took the effort to learn the safety skills he needs for back country travel. What he needs next is a first aid/CPR class.
My boy has come a long way in the world. He is really growing into a great kid. I hear all sorts of compliments about him from the other non-parental adults in his life. Sure, he grunts like a teenager now and then, and isn't too happy I want him to shop for sweatshirts at the thrift store...
He does well in school, and has nice friends (with nice parents that stay involved in their kids' lives). I really have no complaints, and say fie on every parenting "expert" out there that says divorce ruins a kid or they need religion to learn to be moral. That is just not true. What they really need is love, and opportunities to explore the world around them, and loving adults that treat them with respect.
Here we are at the end of a long, busy weekend. I had grand plans to relax and rest a lot, but the modem drama cut into two day's worth of that. I'm happy to say, however, we are back online NORMALLY, and shouldn't have to worry about it again for another couple of years...
Let's hope.
I had hoped for a lot of time in the garden, but due to the aforementioned drama that time was cut considerably. I still managed to make some progress though! What I call "phase three" is ready for planting - all dirt clods broken down and sod removed to the compost pile. Phase one and two, however, are in need of much work!
I dug up the end of the garden where the pumpkins were last year, and planted sweet onions there. Once we're sure there will be no more freezes, I'll be planting green onions between the rows. Today I turned over the next section of the garden, to prepare for potato planting. Crikies! I can see why people use tillers to turn their soil! Of course, I don't have one (and don't want to borrow/rent one), so it's hard labor for me! The soil was so heavy and wet. I dug it up, and a lot of straw got turned under. Compost will be added the next time I dig around in it.
I kind of like it though. And I wish I could work a couple of hours like this every day - I'd be slim and trim in no time! Oh well. I'll do what I can when I can... the potato area needs more turning, so I'll do that in a couple of days. I'm already eyeing another area of the yard for sod turning and garden expansion.
I'm mad, mad I tell you!!!!
Not really. I just want to produce as much food as possible for us this year. I hope the weather cooperates again!
So far, so good... we've been having temperature WAY above normal. The plants are all going crazy, blooming early and the like. It's very weird - as is near 60 degree weather in February. That being said, I can remember it hitting 70 degrees on my birthday, in early March. But still - sunscreen?!!! In February?!!! It must be done...
Back to work tomorrow... I'd much rather dig in the dirt. But the library needs me too.
My Opera
