breakingsod.com

A good use for all those pans I’ve destroyed over the years!

Gar! There must be a billion tiny black ants living in the planter on top of my fridge! And their ghostly white eggbaby thingies… Damn it. I hate it when I have to kill critters! But these guys get into things and bite and generally make a nuisance of themselves, so they have to go!

Easier said then done, though. Took plant out, moved fridge, caulked windowsill cracks(where they were emerging from, in a steady little egg-toting train) and tried to transplant the poor plant, but it’s absolutely riddled with ants. Sigh. I stabbed it up a bit and gave them a day to deport themselves, but everytime I checked it, more ants came rushing out, so I’ve dunked the whole thing in a pot of water and there it sits, ’til they’re all gone to ant heaven.

Hope my plant survives.

I shall have to catch up, now that I’m feeling alive again.

2010 hit me like a ill windstorm. Been sick for four months, not even up to working, so my wallet’s illin’ too. But starting to feel better now-yay for actually being able to sleep at night! And I did get several paintings painted and lots of illustrations and inspirations, so it wasn’t all bad.

Pomegranate magic.

Cat Feather Cloak. From a dream I had wherein a momkitty shed multi-hued feathers and they settled around me and formed a cloak.

In other, more auspicious news, Sam and I moved to an awesome new home in the top of a pretty yellow and red house near Greenlake and I’m planning my new garden.

Breaking sod again-commencing soon!

So, my computer survived the freezer(yay!) and the second load is merrily freezing as I type. My steam cleaner just arrived and just as soon as the weather turns sunny again, I shall gird my loins, charge up my battle cry and trusty White Wave in hand, go steam clean the hell(bugs) out of all my furniture and massage equipment!

My week has been a blurr of laundromats, trips to my newly rented storage unit and bagging stuff up for the freezer. Whee! Summer fun. Meh.

Pray for sun, OK? And perhaps a luckdragon-I’d appreciate an upswing on the luck front right about now.

Yes, we’re moving. This week. Yay!

OK, so it isn’t exactly a mansion, but it will be the biggest house I’ve ever lived in, so it feels like one to me!

(view from living room into dining room)

It’s a lovely old place in one of the yummiest parts of Wallingford, just three or four blocks up from Gasworks Park in a friendly neighborhood. Can’t wait to put my new garden in(yep, breaking sod again!). And I’m just drooling over the thought of cooking in the humongous kitchen and my kiddo(son Sam, age 11, expert comic artistninja) is jazzed about the great big, climbable curly willow in the yard!

There are two possible rooms available to rent. A huge top level, light-filled room with gorgeous views for $675($800 for couples) and a small, sweet, main floor room with built in loft bed for $550. Oh, and the landlord, Lee, is also renting a sweet little daylight basement two bedroom(in the same house) for $850. Lee is not into having pets live here, though I did talk him into the cat I promised Sam as a move in delight. Electric and internet are not included. House is not wheelchair-accessible(there are stairs).

(living room fireplace)

I’m looking for honest, friendly, responsible(rent and bills on time), artistic, clean, creative, playful, happy, communicative, open-minded, sane, earth-conscious people that want to be part of a magnificient artistic household as well living their own private lives. ‘Cuz I love to be social and have family style meals betimes and awesome art feasts with friendsies, but I also dig my solo time too and I’m not big on drugs or drunkeness or TV-which is not to say I don’t enjoy a good pint of Guinness or a glass of port or a snuggly movie night on occasion. I love food and cooking and gardening, painting, dancing, music, meditating, chi gong, sculpting, bodypainting… I’m all about art and the art of living a well balanced, beneficent, delicious life. Sam lives with me half the week(alternating sat-wed and sun-wed). Oh, and I’m 39.

Available Aug 1st.

Soooooooooooooo excited to move in!

Last week, I was walking on promontory point in Magnusson Park and I noticed the madronas had shed a multitude of lovely coppery curls. It cast my memory back, way back when, in summer when Seb took us on foraging hike. She’d said that you could make a dye with madrona bark… Ooooooh… Said my brain(and yes, my brain does speak in bold italics when she’s excited about something).

So, bark in hand:

I hied away home and bubbled and boiled the pretty curls in salted water(according to an onion skin recipe which was the closest I could come on the ‘nets),

adding vinegar at the end for good measure.. The result was disappointingly pale brownishness, so I added some terra cotta clay and redyed the items(including a pair of Sam’s socks ‘cuz he wanted something dyed too and the only white things he owns are sox-no whities for my boy!).

I was rather surprised that we didn’t get that gorgeous rich madrona copper color, but well content with the beautiful cafe au lait of my new pjs!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah…

More dying pics here.

Sam and I go wiggy over our new cameraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-new to us anyway. Bought it used, a Canon PowerShot A650 IS.. Great fun so far, though I’m definitely going to need to buy a new memory card-this one only takes 5 pictures at a time! Sheesh.

*happy new camera dance!*

I’m bustin’ with culinary pride tonight.. I made a turkey pie for dinner! TURKEY PIE!!!

No recipe, from scratch, woot! It’s super yummy too-even Sam likes it!

Plus, cranberry bars for ’ssert, spur of the moment, invented on the fly. Mmmmm… A very creative evening in the Circle kitchen.

Flickr’d pics.

Ever since tuesday evening, I’ve been floating on the delightful feeling of having a president who is:

1. Intelligent
2. Informed
3. Capable
4. NOT STUPID
5. Open minded
6. Celebrates diversity
7. Did I mention NOT STUPID?
8. Actually gives a shit about people and the planet.
9. Is not a war monger
10. Is not likely to humiliate us every goddamn time he opens his mouth on the world stage.

God, it’s like xmas came early this year! Woohoooooooo! Election night, Sam and I were so happy we celebrated our new president by melting chocolate chips on waffles, drinking kombucha, doin’ the presidential happy dance~

~and generally being on goofy cloud nine.