The lime basil is going to seed and I can't be bothered to cut the flowers off. I didn't like the lime basil very much, I prefer regular flavored basil. Oh, well. The flowers are pretty.
Same goes for cilantro. I mean, I like the taste more than I like lime basil, but they too are going to seed, and I can't be bothered the cut the flowers off. It's just one more bloody thing that needs doing, and my current attitude towards most things right now (besides work) is "Oh, well!" As in - if it's not an emergency, oh well. We'll just have to live with it. (Or without it, as in some cases.)
SOMEONE was busy in the garden this summer! The garden plants themselves, busy growing growing growing, then my Mum, a close second, then the bees that swarmed and warranted this little mini hive stuck smack in the middle of one of the gardens. Then me, a distant fourth. Very distant.
This is a close-up of the inside of my Mum's brainchild, which is the lean-to for the Scarlet Runner beans. She designed and built it all by herself. It works marvellously. You just walk in underneath and pick the beans that are hanging down.
Now THESE I can take some credit for. I planted the seeds, then transferred the plants between pots and then into the ground. I tied them to stakes. Now I can also take the credit for eating most of them. MM HMM. Fresh tomatoes have got to be up there in my Top Five Favorite All-Time Things. Along with pajama pants and the show The Office and love.
Hey sweet pea! These are- well, you guessed it - sweet peas. Pretty little things and quite a scent to match. They come in all these great colors. Just a delight.***
Sometimes I come to the weekly blog post with nothing more than a series of random thoughts. I've got some ideas for topics that I'd like to write about, but lately it seems I don't have the time. Anyway, I always wonder to myself, "Hmm, how am I going to tie all of this together? How will I make it more than just some self-indulgent ramblings?" (Whether I actually succeed in that, reader, is up to you.)
For example...
(1) I'm not overly loving my new laptop. My old one, one that I had taken good care of for two years, was sleek and black and, when moved to any position, the lid would stay there. Then suddenly Old Laptop wouldn't start and was doing odd things when it did turn on. So I brought it to a friend who has a computer business - the only game in town, actually - and after a bit of messing around with it, he said he couldn't get the old one to work, so he was going to replace it and get me a new one. We'd cut a deal since my old one is no longer on warranty. So for $150 I got this new laptop. It's grey and somewhat clunkier than my old one and this may seem like a silly detail but when I move the lid/screen up or down, there is "play" in it. It jiggles. Also the mouse is kinda sucky. Apparently I can change the sensitivity of it, and I did try, but it didn't really seem to change. Maybe I'll try again? But sometimes even the thought of doing THAT is too much. Ai! Anyway, I'll live. But the new laptop doesn't have Microsoft Office, which my old one had for free, so I have to get used to new programs.
(I fully realize, as I'm complaining about this, that these are NOT dramas. Really, they're not. I know that. But since my computer is a tool that I use to create stuff, well, in that sense it DOES matter. It matters to my creative process. It matters to me.)
(2) My favorite blogs both inspire and depress me - because I want to be able to do the cool stuff they do, and I don't know how and right now at least, don't have the time to LEARN how. Learn things like Photoshop and other graphic design tools.
(Who are my favorite blogs? Well, daily I read Kal Barteski and Elise Blaha, both in the list on the right, and I've also been reading my cousin Maile's blog Daily Relish, and being jealous of her amazing photographic skills. As well as incredibly inspired by them. You get my drift. And lately, because of Maile's link, Tara Whitney is making it into my quick daily stops. She's kind of AWESOME. There will likely be an upcoming post on here, by me, about a subject that Tara has also blogged about and which I've been rolling around in my brain like a thought marble: TRUTH. And telling it, especially on blogs. More soon, hopefully.)
(3) Adventures in subtle and not-so-subtle sexism and racism: Sometimes, some of the clients at the marina make me go "Wha..?!?" As in, "Do we live in the same WORLD?" I just smile and nod - I'm not really sure what else to do without alienating them - but still. One guy, the other day, casually told me a story about the "nippers" - yes, with a P - in Toronto. I think he meant Mexican people. I wasn't about to ask him to clarify. And today a client - very old, admittedly, but still - told another guy who was standing there that I have a really hot arse. He said I was a "bummer's delight". I blushed and scolded him ("I'm standing RIGHT HERE"), then later on told Flossie and laughed til I thought I might cry. "Bummer's delight?" Who SAYS that? Eighty-year-old men, apparently. And now I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. It's the kind of thing I sort of just put up with. Oh my goodness.
OK, I'm spent. It's time to get back to Work2, anyway. (Library is Work2. Marina is Work1. That gives it all a Kal-Barteski-esque flair and makes me feel less like a slave.)
(I'm counting down the days to when the library is over, knowing full well I'll also be sad about it. But still - I'm so ready to have more TIME OFF. Holy balls. Working all the hours in the day is OVER-RATED.)
Enjoy yourselves and the little things - and leave a comment if that strikes your fancy. I do SO appreciate you.
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