News and such

I’ve slacked off on posting this week, just because its been a chill and mellow week and I really haven’t done anything super fun. But a few updates are in order I guess

Cilantro Project- After looking high and low ( okay, only Home Depot and Lowes) I had to give up hopes of finding cilantro seeds in stores and just ordered some online. I also ordered a few other seeds just cuz it was standard shipping. So, basically I am going to be planting two varieties of Cilantro, Dill and Basil. I am really excited for this project. My seeds should get here by next week and I’ll get started then.

Other than that I am having a very lazy summer, I’ve been reading a lot and watching movies. J and I are currently hooked on the HBO series The Wire. We don’t have HBO but we have been getting Season 1 on DVD.  There’s also been some impromptu parties and get togethers. This weekend J and I are planning a trip to the Farmer’s market and we have semi formal dress up party on Sat night.

I’ll post more if something exciting comes up.

Talisman

 

 

Some people wear Grace, others Love, or Family, or Hope, and some nothing at all or something completely random. But most people have a word or an affirmation that they like to keep close to them, to maybe remind them what is important in their lives.

One birthday a good decade or so ago I got a tiny black bracelet with a little silver bead that said “courage on it. I don’t think it was given to me as a charm , it merely matched the necklace and earrings I also got with it. But over the years, that bracelet became not only a talisman, but sometimes even a lifeline. I didn’t start wearing it with special meaning either, it just always seemed to be the right “accessory” until I realized I always accesorized with that bracelet when I most needed courage. It has seen me through insignificant crisises like going to a party where I felt out of place, or anxious because I didn’t know anyone to a cross country move, and even transitioning from a singleton to a newlywed, that bracelet has given me exactly what it says on it- Courage.

It seems weird that I place so much importance on a few beads strung together but it is my private talisman and it reminds me what I value most in life, of how I want to live my life – I want to be fearless, I want a fearless life.

In 2007 a musician and a poet that I admire , Patti Smith was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Zach De la Rocha of Rage against the Machine introduced her with the following words -

” Patti once said, ‘I stand in front of a microphone, and I’m not afraid,’ and she remains just that, fearless. Fearless throughout her losses, fearless as a mother, fearless when she put the Bush administration up on the firing line for this illegal war and pulled her poetic trigger. Fearless in prose, and fearless in life…”

This inspired me so much and maybe thats why I cling to my little talisman because maybe I won’t be fearless in prose, but I can be fearless in life and everything it offers. Sadly my little talisman is dying, the elastic is stretched out to the limit, the bracelet barely stays on my wrist and I haven’t seen another one like it anywhere. However I did a little charm hanging from black cord (pic above) that can be worn as a necklace, so maybe its time to wear a new version of my talisman.

Heat Wave

It was weekend with weather in the triple digits. On Friday, J and I spent entirely too long out in the pool in nearly 102 degree weather and it did not prettily. J burned and I am entire race darker.  After this debacle of too much heat and sun we had to cancel our weekend plans because the weekend just kept getting hotter.

Somehow it didn’t seem like it would be a treat for anyone to hike in the middle of a humid, and hot heat wave, thus there was no camping.  I did not venture out into the heat at all this weekend, therefore no Cilantro potting, but thats in the books for tomorrow. We wrapped up the weekend by watching the NBA Final and the Lakers lost Oh well, Basketball really isn’t my thing anyway!

Weekend Project- Herb Garden in a pot

 

I have never had a green thumb, in fact other than an odd aunt here and there, no one in my family is gardening oriented at all. My mom was never a gardener and my dad didn’t even mow our lawn, we always had someone else do it! J always screams at this info in horror with “Oh my God, how UnAmerican.” Unamerican but true!

I married a non green thumber as well, J and I are just not good around plants, we really can’t even manage to keep house plants alive. This is really not an exaggeration, my mother will testify about the number of her prized potted plants that have met an early death, just because I was house sitting.

But all that is going to change, this weekend, I am going turn a new leaf ( snort* ha ha…get it) and start my own herb garden. This is something I have been meaning to do for a while and I am going to start this sunday with my very favorite herb- Cilantro and if all goes well, by the end of the summer, I might have Basil, Dill and Parsley as well…but I’m getting to ahead of myself.

I found this method here that I am going to try , so lets hope this works!

The Long Hot Summer

Unlike last year,  we have a return of a hot sweltering summer here in NC.  There is a heatwave in the region with high’s in the upper 90s and lower 100’s the rest of the week, not to mention the humidity. Yesterday was especially bad because our a/c stopped working and J , Layla and I were nearly dying from the heat, thank go for little fans. My hubby can be mightly resourceful sometimes.

Because we are completely obsessed with our dog we are planning on taking Layla camping this weekend. We will only go for one night, somewhere really close and let her dictate the trip. We’ve been feeling really bad lately because the last few times we went camping,we didn’t take her with us.  Yes, I know we are crazy.

So far the choices are Rollingview at Falls Lake, but Layla won’t be allowed on the beach there, so it defeats the purpose, or Eno River, where she can get in the water, but we go to Eno all the time. Either way, I still think it will be a good way to kick off camping season.

A Movies Weekend

This was the weekend of movies. On sat I watched Sex and the City and on Sun, J and I watched Iron Man. What can I say, we love to support our local theaters.  Other than movies, J and I have perfected our Bloody Mary recipe, well actually mostly J worked on the recipe and I worked on drinking them. Also we bought some new RAM for the computer. On to the movies:

Ironman: Pretty good Super Hero flick! Never thought I’d like Robert Downey Jr. in anything, but he was actually pretty good! Also Gywneth Paltrows black dresses and heels look uber fab!

Sex and the City: It was everything I wanted it to be- a 2 hour episode of the movie. Some parts were good, some were brilliant, some were just boring, but overall, despite the tepid reviews, I thought it was pretty good. I enjoyed the fashion eye candy- SJP out did her self and there were definitely looks that I want to steal- Argyle Knee socks and oversized graphic tees= awesome.  And of course the female bonding was at its best! I was more upset about Carrie and Miranda’s quibbles instead of Carrie and Big’s problems.

Really, As much as I love J , I wouldn’t know what to do without the women who keep me sane! Boys are good, but girls are better