I have a notorious black thumb. My mother wanted to give me a plant for a housewarming, and I had to ask what the plant had done to her?
However, I am trying to fix this, and now that I have a patio that gets a little sun, I am growing some herbs. I bought some starts of sage, thyme, rosemary and onions, and a couple of pots and the helper potted them up for me. I have the sage and thyme in one pot and the rosemary and onions in the other.
The rosemary isn't doing well. Hubby thinks rosemary is indestructible, so I feared my black thumb was at work again! It lays there, anemic and shriveling while the onions quietly expand to block out it's light.
I brought home some live Basil from our local grocery store and decided I would try to plant it with the onions and throw out the rosemary - I'll make a fresh start with an established plant in it's own pot.
When I pulled the rosemary out, it had one pathetic little root that had extended from the original root ball. I put it down and decided to see what the onions were doing. The root ball came out in a very large clump and it looks healthy. Win!
I noticed a few bugs in the pot, which isn't surprising. And a lot of water, which also isn't surprising given our recent weather. Then I noticed something that looked like a rock nestled in the potting mix.
I dug it out and discovered a peanut.
Ummm. What? I'm no expert, but I'm almost positive peanuts are not used as filler...
I pondered the mystery of who on earth would toss a peanut into a pot filled with onions and rosemary while I re-distributed the potting mix. I planted the basil and decided to give the rosemary another chance, so I planted that too. The onion root-ball just fit in the pot I was going to put the basil in, so I'll let that stay there.
After I came back into the house and washed up, my dogs started going bananas at the door.
A fat grey squirrel was digging in the pot with the rosemary and basil, replacement peanut in his cheek...
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Running Away from Home, Part I.
There are times when I am driving and the freeway opens up and I am sorely tempted to just keep going...The freedom of the open road, the unending possibility.
What usually stops me is the limited amount of money sitting in my checking account and fuel in my gas tank. The open road doesn't seem so open when you are four days from payday and on a quarter of a tank...
We all dream of running away from home every once in awhile. Sometimes it's out of desperation, sometimes out of frustration. Sometimes, it's because of injustice.
Children are especially prone to running away from home out of perceived injustice. I don't remember the exact injustice I perceived when I decided to run away, but whatever happened, it was the last straw. I wrote a note and woke up early, made my bed, packed a suitcase and tried to sneak out to the car.
My mother is an early riser and caught me standing in the hall with my suitcase, frozen like a deer in the headlights.
She looked in my room and saw the note sitting on the bed and told me to wait in the kitchen for her.
With what I now suspect were tears of laughter, she brought the letter in to the kitchen and we sat at the table and read it aloud.
I am sure I gave my reasons, but the part that I really remember was my genius plan to get from my house in the 'burbs to my Grandmother's apartment 20 miles away. I remember I had it all worked out where I was going to move in with my grandmother for a few days and then rotate moving in with my friends for a week at a time. I'd hide in their rooms and they would sneak me food and my parents would call the house I just left and they'd say, "no she's not here" and I'd live out of my green and blue flowered suitcase forever.
In my note I said I wanted my parents not to look for me, but they should still stop at Granny's house on their morning commute and then open the trunk of the car without getting out of the driver's seat. When they heard the trunk shut, then they should drive off immediately and not look in the rearview mirror.
To Mom's credit, she didn't yell at me, but calmly explained how hurtful it was to them that I wanted to run away from home and how scared they would be for me. And, of course, how terrible my plan for getting to Granny's actually was. She crushed my hopes even farther by telling me Granny would be on their side. We cried and hugged it out and never spoke of it again.
I'm not sure my mother even remembers my attempt to run away, since my younger brother's effort was so comical. But that's a story for another day...
What usually stops me is the limited amount of money sitting in my checking account and fuel in my gas tank. The open road doesn't seem so open when you are four days from payday and on a quarter of a tank...
We all dream of running away from home every once in awhile. Sometimes it's out of desperation, sometimes out of frustration. Sometimes, it's because of injustice.
Children are especially prone to running away from home out of perceived injustice. I don't remember the exact injustice I perceived when I decided to run away, but whatever happened, it was the last straw. I wrote a note and woke up early, made my bed, packed a suitcase and tried to sneak out to the car.
My mother is an early riser and caught me standing in the hall with my suitcase, frozen like a deer in the headlights.
She looked in my room and saw the note sitting on the bed and told me to wait in the kitchen for her.
With what I now suspect were tears of laughter, she brought the letter in to the kitchen and we sat at the table and read it aloud.
I am sure I gave my reasons, but the part that I really remember was my genius plan to get from my house in the 'burbs to my Grandmother's apartment 20 miles away. I remember I had it all worked out where I was going to move in with my grandmother for a few days and then rotate moving in with my friends for a week at a time. I'd hide in their rooms and they would sneak me food and my parents would call the house I just left and they'd say, "no she's not here" and I'd live out of my green and blue flowered suitcase forever.
In my note I said I wanted my parents not to look for me, but they should still stop at Granny's house on their morning commute and then open the trunk of the car without getting out of the driver's seat. When they heard the trunk shut, then they should drive off immediately and not look in the rearview mirror.
To Mom's credit, she didn't yell at me, but calmly explained how hurtful it was to them that I wanted to run away from home and how scared they would be for me. And, of course, how terrible my plan for getting to Granny's actually was. She crushed my hopes even farther by telling me Granny would be on their side. We cried and hugged it out and never spoke of it again.
I'm not sure my mother even remembers my attempt to run away, since my younger brother's effort was so comical. But that's a story for another day...
Monday, June 14, 2010
It's the End of the World as We Know It!
After watching Life After People on the History Channel and watching I Am Legend 
I find myself wondering what I would do if I was ever the only survivor of a worldwide plague that wiped out humanity.
I have given it a lot of thought, and the answer is: it depends. Was all human life eradicated in one event that made everyone drop dead where they were standing, leaving rotting corpses littering population centers? Or was it a slower process, and people died in the privacy of their own homes?
The best-case scenario, for me, would be a massive event that happens at 3am, and turns everyone into little piles of compost, so that me and the dogs could move to the Mall, and not have to deal with rotting death.
Benefits: A food court full of industrial sized refrigerators and freezers, and (hopefully) stocked with food, a generator, a movie theater, a bookstore I could use as a personal library, a Disney Store all to myself, and all the clothes and Frangos a girl could need...although I'd probably spend the first few weeks breaking into David's Bridal so I could wear fantastic wedding gowns as I forage for shelter and learn how to disarm emergency alarms.
Downside: I'd have to learn optometry since I already wear glasses, and my prescription is getting worse. I'd end up like Burgess Meredith in The Twilight Zone
and finally have time to read everything, and not be able to see...
Any other downsides? Tell me in the comments!
I find myself wondering what I would do if I was ever the only survivor of a worldwide plague that wiped out humanity. I have given it a lot of thought, and the answer is: it depends. Was all human life eradicated in one event that made everyone drop dead where they were standing, leaving rotting corpses littering population centers? Or was it a slower process, and people died in the privacy of their own homes?
The best-case scenario, for me, would be a massive event that happens at 3am, and turns everyone into little piles of compost, so that me and the dogs could move to the Mall, and not have to deal with rotting death.
Benefits: A food court full of industrial sized refrigerators and freezers, and (hopefully) stocked with food, a generator, a movie theater, a bookstore I could use as a personal library, a Disney Store all to myself, and all the clothes and Frangos a girl could need...although I'd probably spend the first few weeks breaking into David's Bridal so I could wear fantastic wedding gowns as I forage for shelter and learn how to disarm emergency alarms.
Downside: I'd have to learn optometry since I already wear glasses, and my prescription is getting worse. I'd end up like Burgess Meredith in The Twilight Zone
and finally have time to read everything, and not be able to see...Any other downsides? Tell me in the comments!
Welcome!
The title of the blog is shamelessly stolen from Legally Blonde
and Elle Woods' plan to get into Harvard Law school, despite her seeming lack of qualifications.
I intend to explore many topics, including Harry Potter
, Zombies, and my 12 step plan to take over the universe...more to come! :)
Update: Typical of my memory, I suddenly remembered that the line was "It's a completely brilliant plan!" I'm such a genius...
and Elle Woods' plan to get into Harvard Law school, despite her seeming lack of qualifications.I intend to explore many topics, including Harry Potter
, Zombies, and my 12 step plan to take over the universe...more to come! :)Update: Typical of my memory, I suddenly remembered that the line was "It's a completely brilliant plan!" I'm such a genius...
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