Cat's World

The Return of the Dream Board!

2012-01-31T12:00:00.000-08:00

Those of you who have been around for a while know I have made dream boards before.

I had taken it down a while ago, but something felt like it was missing from my life.

So this Sunday I invited over a few girlfriends and we each made a dream board.

So, what's the idea behind these dream boards I hear my newer readers asking.

Well it's simple, it's a visual prompt to help you manifest your dreams.

You put it up somewhere you see it every day and it guides you....

to your dreams!

Yoga Girl created this beautiful board....

Then Echo created this beautiful board...

Constance Came up with this beauty...

And I came up with this...

Many thanks to Lisa Lupa for showing me her star chart many moons ago, this year I intend to pay more attention to it and the wheel in the center of the board will allow me to track the planets.

All in all a wonderful day, love crafting with my girls...

And in the yard...

2012-01-29T12:34:00.000-08:00

Things look pretty sweet!

The veggies are going wild!

The seedlings are ready to go in the ground if only the the winds would cooperate.

And the weeding continues on.

I found smokey bacon flavored tempeh at the store today so I wrapped some up in tortilla with some pb and had taquitos for lunch.

The cream of the crop...

2012-01-28T09:35:00.000-08:00

Decided to do something new this week, might do it again next week, might not.

But for now, here are my three best posts of the week in bloggyland...

Dr Akilah El offers us 9 Essential Tips To Face Fear and Live a Bold Life

The Chaos Witch asks Is Your Body a Temple?

Ivy over at Beyond the Circle wrote a great post on Balance

Once more in honor of the Year of the Dragon...

2012-01-25T11:06:00.000-08:00

A little citrus from the yard...

Here are our tanors, they are as they suggest a tangerine orange hybrid that we are looking forward to getting our teeth into for the first time this year...

Then their are our kumquats, they are Meiwa's, which are the sweeter of the varieties available here.

This was them couple of weeks ago.

But today they look juicy and sun kissed!

How could you not want some of these?

Gong Xi Fa Ca!

2012-01-22T12:10:00.000-08:00

Happy Year of the Water Dragon!

SOPA

2012-01-18T07:01:00.001-08:00

And then the phone rang!

2012-01-15T13:33:00.000-08:00

Yes indeed work arrived this week, and some for next week too!

However, this means that between work and the garden I have been more than busy. Today is a damp day not rainy, just enough to make you want to sit inside and watch the birds at the feeder. I did make it through another 5 gallons of weeding and helped dig out the wild rose from the yard. It is a pretty rose and will do well over with our friends Pam and Tony who live up in the canyon and who get a full 4 seasons. Down here we only have the warm season and the cool season so with no frost we get bugs and other stuff that would die off in the canyons.

In other news, it has been a little over a week since I planted my peas and beans, and as you know they are fast growers, so after a few days they looked like this...

You can just see their little noses sticking up, but two days later we see this...

Definitely putting some effort in, and today we see...

The beans are making a good effort too...

Of course we have some cute flowery bits going on in the yard...

This is one of our chandeliers who I think are quite splendid.

Beyond that, I am getting excited about heading up to Pantheacon to see my old friends. I need to get going on my book club reading, once it is finished I will write a full post on Triumph of The Moon, right now what I can tell you is that I do think it is a good and well researched book. Finally, I am looking forward to a visit in the next week or so from my old pal Rodney, hopefully he will have a copy of his new book that I can purchase from him.

So, when all else fails, garden...

2012-01-10T19:25:00.000-08:00

Still no work, this could get boring, except for the fact that I have a whole bunch of gardening to do.

As we know here in So-Cal it's time to plant our spring veggies, trim our bud wood, and repot our strawberries. The last of these activities being the most dangerous I will tackle it now...

"Dangerous" you may say, "but how so Cat? it's only gardening after all."

Never forget, here in So-Cal we have these spiders to live around...

And they love to best in dried plant material and are poisonous, territorial, and fast.

The days events went fairly well, as I have posted here before, strawberries need a root trim with new soil every 3 years to keep them producing. This being that time, and my pots are looking over grown and generally not so great...

First pot in this picture has been worked on.

Once your plants come out of the soil, the look raggedy around their roots...

So you trim those back...

Remove older foliage and neaten up and they are ready to replant...

Along the way I did come across a couple of the afore mentioned black widow spiders, and my general advice (taken from my fb page is this...

"...if you wish to avoid harm to all, wear a hat with your hair up inside, a high necked t-shirt with long sleeves kept long tucked into gardening gloves and some long pants tucked into socks and that should keep you safe. As for the good lady widow, the rules I follow are shoo widows when possible, get out of widows ways when possible, kill if there is no other option, however, destroy all egg sacks."

I enjoy working in my garden , but I also enjoy staying safe.

Happy gardening to you all!

It ain't over till...

2012-01-08T18:40:00.000-08:00

The little cat hits send!

So today after I posted I ran out to the yard to weed a little (ended up being about 5 gallons worth of weeds). Anyway, there I was about to start pulling and yanking and up comes the pup with the news that "it's hatched!" I was surprises as the chrysalis I spotted the other day on the banana, didn't look anywhere near ready...

However I had forgotten that a week or so ago while prepping the garden for a salad planting that we had unintentionally dislodged a chrysalis. We did what we could to save it, it still had it's little hook so we attached it to a twist-tie and left it hanging in a corner in the green house. Well today...

Yup, born in last nights wind storm, this delicate little creature spread it's wings this afternoon and took a little piece of us with it.

Safe travels my friend!

Challenge free blogging

2012-01-08T11:00:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year when we are expected to make resolutions, commitments etc.

People challenge and prompt us to "action". It appears that they have no perception that we have lives, or perhaps they don't have lives, who is it say. Either way this is the time of year when that ball gets rolling and I am here to say I do not need it!

Last night I spent some time reviewing blogs signed up for a few of the various bloggy challenges and selected a few to follow and comment on, generally they were blogs that were concise, heart felt and humorous. Some were garden or food focused aspects of the community others, just personal reflections. Over the course of the evening I looked at perhaps two hundred blogs and found maybe half a dozen, some seem new to blogging others have followings. It certainly was a a long and voyeuristic evening, however, I liked who I found and perhaps they will stop by here. Who is to say.

In other news, I had a wonderful afternoon yesterday hanging out with my reading group friends, we discussed our book, and some possible options for our next title. I think we will go with Drawing Down the Moon and then consider other texts.

I want to see if we can get things to happen regularly this year, last year was not as focused as I would have liked. I think we chose the last Saturday of the month for our get togethers.

Whirlwinds are us!

2012-01-07T19:25:00.000-08:00

Well, I was doing so well posting daily!

But I did say it was a practice and only that it would be more regular so, yeah, I missed a day, so sue me! But, honestly, if there were more than 24 hours in the day I wouldn't of! (Gosh that's a lot of exclamation points.)

Anyway, yesterday was a busy, even if I do say so myself. I began by taking the morning to read a few chapters of my book, then in the afternoon I decided to take a leaf out of one of my favorite childrens' books Miss Rumphius

It is a book about the life of a woman as she grows up, in her later years she plants lupine seeds in the hills for all the children to enjoy (and because she likes them). Well, I had always wanted to do something like this, and in our neighborhood there is an easement that belongs to Edison...

It is not the prettiest of places, and it would be nice if there was more color there, sooo...

I collected all my old wildflower seed packets from when I lived in Costa Mesa and I took a wander.

I had thought about making seed balls, but decide against it.

As I wandered I scratched into the a trough in the ground with a stick poured a few seeds in and carried on. I did this every dozen yards or so and it was a pleasant walk. Edison has done some creative things with easements locally including The Incredible Edible Park.

When I returned home it was time for me a bath and some prep before heading over to a new herbalism class with Julie James. It was an amazing class, and if you get the chance, you should really check her out. By the time I made it home it was after 10pm., and long past my bed time.

Darn

2012-01-05T21:50:00.000-08:00

Missed a call for work this morning!

Decided to read some more of Ronald Hutton's excellent Triumph of The Moon. This is our current book club title and I am really enjoying re-reading it over again.

While not an "easy read" this monograph covers the modern history of witchcraft and magic in great detail. I am just reading the first half of the book and realizing how much I missed in my first reading of this book. I am making notecards for the chapters, quotes, etc., so I will be able to use them for research.

Also I took Purps to the vet for some blood work. I had expected a full panel, but then the vet recommended the short form, so that is what I paid for. It was only later that I found out that they had found difficulty getting her to stop bleeding. Purps's last blood test had stated that she was bleeding too long which is why she has been stalled out on her dental work. If I had known that they were having a hard time with her bleeding I would have insisted on the full panel!
I guess I will see what they say tomorrow, I will not be happy if if they want me to pay for a full panel now.

An a happier note today was my first visit of the year to my chiropractor Dr. Getski. I always feel much more aligned after a visit to see him. He is not as informative as Daniel Karan, but he does a good job on my back.

And today the crickets chirped, again.

2012-01-04T18:53:00.000-08:00

Well, I have been available to work the last couple of days but, alas no morning call to order has come. That being said I have not waisted my time. Yesterday, after my morning practice of journaling and yoga, I did some paperwork for one of my jobs, called school about my grades, ordered some certificates, did some shopping, and planted some seeds. What seeds did you plant you may ask and I will tell to you happily that I planted Lincoln Peas, Snap Peas, Purple Podded Pole Beans, Leeks, and Jelly Melons. Recently we picked up a pair of pony packs of salad and spinach that are now in the ground.

Today was another busy day I registered for a class at my local junior college incase I cannot get into my Theories of History class this semester. It is showing that it is full and much as I like the professor, it was only a maybe that she could get me in so I will cover my bases. After that I sent out some business e-mails and made some calls to my community. Finally, a friend came by in the mid afternoon to have a tarot reading done. We ended up doing several readings about different stuff before she headed out. I gifted her a pair of Sexy Witch pants, and sent her on her way.

Hopefully tomorrow will be more fruitful. I am changing my morning schedule to include a quick trip to the computer to check for work before beginning my practice. Wish me good luck!

Well, I guess the year is underway!

2012-01-03T19:57:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know it's the third of the month, but it takes me a bit.

Today was the day that I ordained to set up my home altars, yes, that's right there are multiple altars in my home. I have two working altars and four more stationary altars. Why do I need two working altars you ask, well the first is my outdoor altar.

Here I burn incense and light candles at as my partner is sensitive to such things

The second is my daily altar where I journal, write poetry, read cards, dress candles, mix incense and generally goof off in good company.

Then there is my seasonal altar, which is currently decked out for winter at the beach.

My reflections altar where I keep my cards and other devices.

There's an altar of sacred things.

And finally an elemental altar, just in case I forget which way is east.

Last year I committed to cleaning my altars every full moon, which I did. However It's really not enough, the dis at my house is horrendous so I'm committing to a bi-weekly cleaning of my altars except for my daily altar which I am going to work on cleaning daily. We will see.

Mike's Garden Tour

2012-01-02T20:15:00.000-08:00

Today after our usual morning routine we headed over toPam and Tony's to say "Hi". Although Rob had visited several times last year, I had only been over once since the flood. Things looked great, different, but great. There was lots of new citrus that had been planted to replace the lost grove, however some things just can't be found again so you have to move on. The figs and dragon fruit are doing well and things seem to be on the mend. After a tour to see what was new or salvaged we headed over to their friend Mikes garden to see what he had, from the front it looked kinda normal save for the feijoas and the kumquat, however once we went in the back it was a while different story. There were mini mandarins, figs, mangoes, dragon fruit, and blueberries to die for.

Not to mention bananas

avocados

and pineapples!

As a special treat Mike served us frozen cherimoya wedges that were amazing. I am looking forward to our fruit harvest this year. Among other, things Mike mentioned that you can dry loquats, which is great news as they tend to be ripen all at once and only for a brief period.

New Year

2012-01-01T20:16:00.000-08:00

Yes indeed it is!

This morning I journaled, practiced yoga and meditation before ploughing into my vitamins and supplements with my breakfast, It felt really good to have time for me again, with the holidaze we have had our schedules all over the place, so it was nice just to luxuriate in our morning rituals.

After that, I called around to wish friends and family a Happy New Year and collect the news on all, This year we may be having at least one family visit from my end and of course family visits from Robs end too not to mention a couple of road-trips up north to visit friends in the northlands. After this we headed out across town to visit the Fullerton Arboretum for a wander.

See, they weren't joking...

Really, they weren't...

It was really hot and I began to feel a little dehydrated so we headed home and I too a two hour nap before resurfacing to eat dinner and blog, so that has been the first day of the year for me, how about you?

Practice

2011-12-31T17:04:00.000-08:00

Nearly two years ago my camera began to die. My blogging, being heavily camera dependent faded into a sad chore until it finally transitioned completely to facebook. But facebook really doesn't serve my needs and often undermines my goal of focusing my life on the important stuff. This holiday my beloved Puppy bought me a wonderful gift, a new digital camera, it is a Canon sx150is and I am loving it.

Not only does it have automatic settings (including a fisheye effect) but you can also turn it to fully manual. This all means that I may end up needing to look into taking a camera class over the summer unless I can find an online tutorial. So, now for the practice part, I am hoping to post regularly on this blog again, but, this being a practice, it may not be perfect. and along the wayI may end up making some more great friends, like Joy, Jacki, Carly, Egmont, and Tracey.

Time flies

2011-04-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

or not as the case may be.

The holidays truly sucked the life force out of me,

but I seem to be returning to normal.

Here's what has been going on in my garden...

The big news is that we have 6 new goldfish.

They are 4 years old and really big.

The raccoons would be tempted,

so we put out rat traps around the pond just for them.

The far back yard is looking wonderful.

I had planned to hold my birthday tea outside,

however the weather had other ideas on the day.

My secret garden is the most wonderful place to retreat to.

Of course it is weeding season, but that's OK.

The hanging baskets that were in the free section last year,

seem to have come with bulbs and are filling in the pond.

At some point this will look more orderly, but it is what it is for now.

Here's a shot I took this evening.

So, for the holidays may dear pal Lisa Lupa sent me a gift certificate.

And this was what I got from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

There were beans

salady bits,

herbs,

and more herbs.

Not to mention some "odd" bits and pieces.

Some even got planted already.

Of course these all arrived the day I went to Lingl's Herbs.

And now I have the herbs I need for Za'atar.

Also picked up some All Heal, Cardamom and Pineapple Mint.

One last shot of the pond and I will bid you all farewell.

So now it's nearly 2 months since my last post!

2010-12-13T09:50:00.000-08:00

Here are the standard photos...

While we yanked a bunch of stuff out it still looks pretty full.

While li looks crazy you just cant see some of the other details so here's some new stuff for you...

We tried some spinach but the secret's out!

and now everybody wants a bite!

The lettuce however...

Is doing so well we expanded...

Of course expanding involved a bit of this...

and some of this...

The other day I was about to start my yoga practice when I saw this and had to share...

I was impressed!

This time of year the Monarch Plant is doing it's thing...

And finally the pomegranate finally ripened...

They have their own way of letting us know that they are ready!

Has it really been a month since my last post?

2010-10-17T17:43:00.000-07:00

Sorry about that folks, how time flies!

Back in the yard...

The pineapple is getting greener.

A fig is taking center place while there are a few less tomatoes.

Our bananas...

Have gone bananas!

We were told these were dwarves.

Our pomegranate is ripening.

Our dragon fruit...

Are getting their wall.

Our cactus have set fruit...

Let's hope it ripens.

As for our gingers, well,

They are a delight!

However, on a sad note, we had another visit from the raccoons.

So now our pond is all covered over.

But I have a few friends left.

But we won't be able to look at another lily this year as they were all shredded.

I have a shot from a few weeks back...

In other news we went to Mothers Market's 32 Birthday Party with our friend Constance, and...

I won a folding bike!

I knitted my first pair of socks for the husband...

And I think I'm kinda caught up with y'all.

Friday Photos

2010-09-17T17:26:00.000-07:00

While things seem fairly static here in the crop circle...

They are on the move with the seasons.

The mornings here are cooling and I can see lettuce and spinach in my future.

We did have a pleasant visitor to the yard today.

Don't know what next week holds, but we will get there when we get there.

The 9 Plagues of Garden Grove

2010-09-16T17:26:00.000-07:00

As previously stated it's bug season here in So Cal, to that end here are some examples of the visitors that I have found...

Harlequin Bugs

Scale bugs

and finally, just for Lou and her pals who came and paid us a lovely visit last week...

Black Widows

Found these guys today under the handle when we went to move the trash...

Festival of Fruit Post 3

2010-09-06T10:54:00.000-07:00

Bees!

This was the topic of our study at the first Saturday morning presentation.

We were in the hands of a well experienced Bee Wrangler by the name of Doug Fieri who has some hives at Cal Poly Pomona.

We talked about hives...

He assured us the when painting hives the color of choice was "Free" but I thought this was an interesting example.

We talked about bees.

We talked about and ate honey...

We talked about Africanized Bees...

We talked about the problems facing bees.

Sad times are these.

Did I mention that we talked about dancing bees?

Enjoy!

A quick round up!

2010-09-04T10:28:00.000-07:00

I did snap some quick shots that are almost worth putting out so here goes...

It's spider/bug season here but my camera struggles with that, however I did catch a wolf at my door...

And then there was a Jerusalem cricket in the crop circle...

The first time I ever met these guys was in my bed, totally freaked me out.

Then there are the webs which are everywhere!

Some are spider mites, others just spiders.

On the up side we do have out trusty demonic feline to protect us...

Everyone loves Purps, she even gets fan mail from South America!

Friday Photos

2010-09-03T19:03:00.000-07:00

Decided this will work better bi-weekly.

That being said I have a ton of posts I want to make.

But first to this post...

And I thought the broc had bolted before, at least it's ground cover.

Can you see the apple in the middle of the shot?

We are having a second flush, so looking forward to this!

We pruned both the peach and the white sapote.

The peach is ill, Pup reckons it's not fire blight, but the leaves were crisping and had pinholes in them.

The branches themselves were oozing clear sap at the tips and then dying, don't have a clue what it could be. I'd post pictures but my camera isn't willing to take a decent close-up these days.

In other news, remember the dragon fruit that flowered a couple of weeks ago?

It should be ready within the month.

And then there was that pom wasn't there...

We are getting there, but now we know that they aren't self fertile and we have slacker bees we can make this work.

Looking forward to posting later in the week.

From A-Z With Ken Love,

2010-08-22T22:41:00.000-07:00

WARNING!!!

This is a long, but amazing post on Ken Love's Keynote presentation ay the Festival of Fruit.
Many thanks to Pup and his notes.

Ken Love was our keynote speaker and in truth he totally inspired me to visit Hawaii one day, not sure when, but it will happen. Above and beyond that Ken’s presentation to us involved his A-Z of rare fruit he would grow if only he had the time and the money. So, without further ado here they are…

Ume

Out of this wild selection we are currently growing just a hand full.

Loquats, Finger Limes, Ice Cream Bananas, Jaboticabas, and the Water Apples are what we have. Guess we have to keep digging!

Also I apologize if I have confused my Durian/Jackfruit/Soursop selection or made any other glaring mistakes.

Research

2010-08-21T23:55:00.000-07:00

Tonight was spent working on what will be tomorrows post!

G'night!

Fridays Photos...

2010-08-20T20:26:00.000-07:00

This time we have seen some changes to the yard. It having been a couple of weeks since last we visited the crop circle much has come and gone. I pulled out most of the sprouts while Pup trimmed back the sage, we yanked out our onions and garlic and picked some limes too.

Then we brought in a yard of poop to the yard some of which made it to the crop circle. There are assorted other piles throughout the yard.

Here's the other view.

One of our own dragon fruit is about to bloom. I will post pictures some time this weekend. We are so happy!

And, as I wrote this it bloomed, here’s Pup pollinating it.

We picked some dates they are tough, but sweet and fun to say we grew our own.

The cape gooseberries are coming along nicely.

Our pomegranate may fruit this year, but we are not so sure on this one. Speaking of, our apple is having a second flush this year, don’t know if they will make it either, but if they are anything like the first flush they will be yummy.

I’m going to try and see if typing this up in Word and pasting it into the blog to see if that will help with the font issues that I’ve been having. (looks like it's worked)

Festival of Fruit Post 1

2010-08-19T21:42:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday I spent the day with Ramiro Lobo at the UC

South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine

Learning about growing Dragon Fruit.

We had a great time and met folks from all over the place,

Hawaii, Taiwan, and a variety of mainland states.

We got to help them buy tasting and then describing the

tastes as we felt. Kind of like a crazy adjective

hunt I could do with the kids.

Here are all of the different varieties they grow at the

station.We got to taste 8 different varieties that I think

they are working on developing for the commercial market.

In other news, I spent today on a field trip at the

The Museum of Tolerance It was mostly cool and definitely
something that I would recommend taking your kids to.
Maybe just because to my last 4 years of teaching I felt this was a bit of a "lick and a promise" as several members of my family are want to say when doing the housework after a long day in the classroom. Some things were left unsaid, for example what happened in Palestine/Israel after the British pulled out, but for the most part it was good for the kids. Wonder what their journals will look like tonight.

Don't know why, but I'm having a devil of time with my font sizes lately.

Once, he used to give me shit...

2010-08-18T15:08:00.000-07:00

now, he keeps it all for himself!

Yes folks, thats right today we went down to Serrano Creek Ranch and picked up a cubic yard in our hillbilly wagon.

Also for those of you who care Senate Bill S 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010, you know the Bill that seems to restrict home growers from sharing their produce and small farmers from taking their product to market without having it federally tested seems to have a whopping 13% support over on Open Congress. Maybe you care to lend your voice too, given that it should never be allowed to pass in any form.

In other news I am trying to get around to posting about last weeks Festival of Fruit which was spectacular, and has given me lots to write about really soon.

Tea on Tuesday!

2010-08-17T12:06:00.000-07:00

Today I would like to say thank you to my dear friend Yoga Gal who has showered me with many gifts, the most important one of which was her friendship. Sadly friendship is hard to capture with a camera, and thus the rest of the world will have to settle for Tea on Tuesday Pics.

Recently I received a package from YG in the mail. Inside was a heartfelt note and a spoon with a wonderful story of times past and present in the life of a spoon.

So it is that this Tea on Tuesday I bring you...

The cup too was a YG gift, it came with it's own strainer and cup cover. Isn't it wonderful?

I am hoping that one day soon YG will join me for tea in my garden.

Hopefully we will celebrate my kitchen cabinets being finished.

Friday's Photo...

2010-08-06T22:47:00.000-07:00

Well not much has changed...

I need to just rip stuff out and get on with it, but it is giving me ground cover so I'm saving water.

Swampthing gave us a few more tomatoes this week.
However, more importantly we got our first fig of the year...

It was so yummy!

In other news the kitchen continues, we looked at countertops, tile and sinks this week.

Hitchens on cancer diagnosis: 'Why not me?'

2010-08-06T10:55:00.000-07:00

This is so sad....

Anniversary

2010-08-04T10:49:00.000-07:00

Yup folks, that's right!

As of yesterday it's been 8 years of marital bliss for the Pup and I.

We celebrated by taking the tandem down to the beach and riding around.

We opted to stay home and have wine and snacks in the evening rather than dine out.

And today is just another blissful day.

Friday photos

2010-07-30T22:24:00.000-07:00

Wow, has it really been a week?

We've been working on the kitchen very hard.

Lot's of painting on Pups part this week and I have been researching lighting, sinks and counter tops.

This weeks photos look similar to last weeks...

I do need to get the soil ready for some salad veggies.

Planning on planting late September.

Looks like we lost all of our peaches and the birds got out grapes.

That being said, we still have onions...

I'm looking forward to some more fruit later in the summer.

But for now, enjoy.

Friday photos

2010-07-23T19:02:00.000-07:00

While on holiday Pup and I brought along a video of the house to show to my family. We had made it for his family last cool season, and as the video played I realized just how much had changed in the six or so months since we had shot it. At that point I decided that it would be a good idea to keep a weekly track of at least The Crop Circle.

This is Quan Yin's view.

Here's the view from Midgard.

Yes that is Swamp Thing (last years tomato plant), in the corner.

Can you tell we've been on holiday?
Even by our standards it is jungle like.

Today I felt better

2010-07-22T13:00:00.000-07:00

Having come home we spent the weekend in LA in a hotel room with a moldy AC and I got sick.

I'm feeling much better now, good enough in fact that today we went to pick up our work passes for the OC fair.

Then we went to the farmers market in Costa Mesa and bought a bunch of fresh fruits and veggies, not to mention some great rye bread.

Then we registered the truck that we bought before going away.

We call it our "Hillbilly Wagon", but it's a lot happier now it has a redone head.

Now I'm going to think about what needs to happen in the kitchen.

...and now I'm off again!

2010-07-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

Yup just as I load the last of my laundry it's time to head to LA for a weekend of fun and games in the midst of a heat wave!

Let's hope the AC is working.

I still need to make a few calls before tomorrows meeting and I am just about able to do that now that the jet lag has receded.

Got my toes and nails done but will take my face masque and moisturizers with me for a quiet night in on Saturday eve.

Hopefully all will be well and no-one will loose an eye.

I'm back!

2010-07-15T18:21:00.000-07:00

And from my travels I bring you...

The Waters of Life!

Had a great time, got to see everyone and some besides.

I will tell you all about it soon.

The return of a blog!

2010-07-15T05:03:00.000-07:00

OK, so I decided that this format is easiest for all parties concerned, so I'm back!

Cat's World has moved...

2008-09-30T17:00:00.001-07:00

http://knittnkitten.wordpress.com/

2/15/10
Check out my profile right here I have a selection of new blogs!

This was sad...

2008-09-26T12:45:00.000-07:00

I really felt for her!

It must be hard to see your team let you down.

Got this in my inbox...

2008-09-24T20:35:00.000-07:00

Friends,

It's officially September 23rd and my new film, "Slacker Uprising", is now premiering live at SlackerUprising.com! It is available for free as a gift from me to all of you. And you have my permission to share it or show it in any way you see fit.

Click to watch Slacker Uprising

Watch it all:

http://slackeruprising.com/download/location.phputm_medium=download&utm_source=3166928

At that link, there are five ways you can watch it free and without advertising:

1. blip.tv is providing streaming right from slackeruprising.com, free of commercials and advertising.

2. Amazon Video on Demand will provide a higher resolution version of the above stream for people with lots of bandwidth. It will be available in a few hours.

3. iTunes will make it easy for you to download "Slacker Uprising" on your iTunes, iPod, or Apple TV, and view it there or transmit it to your television. This way, the film can be portable as well as for home viewing. This will be available soon.

4. Hypernia is providing bandwidth and servers to host MPEG4 and DivX versions of "Slacker Uprising" online, so you can burn a DVD or download the film to watch on your computer, XBOX, or PS3.

5. Lycos is providing free streaming of the film and an on-demand version.

Stream it, download it, burn it now. It's the first time a major feature-length film is being released for free on the internet. You can be part of this historic moment by logging on now!

Enjoy!!

Michael Moore

MMFlint@aol.com

MichaelMoore.com

SlackerUprising.com

P.S. Remember, we're doing something that's never been done, so I have no idea how it will all go! Don't give up if it seems to go slow (like with any streaming, give the downloading a head start before you hit play), and don't forget there are two places where you can actually download it to your hard drive and three ways to stream it. You can get to all of them at the link above.

P.P.S. If you're not yet registered to vote, here's a good link: https://www.voteforchange.com/. There's less than two weeks for you to get registered, especially if you have moved since the last time you voted.

CEO's murder sends negative signals to industry

2008-09-23T21:33:00.000-07:00

May be these guys have the right idea...

2008-09-23T19:37:00.000-07:00

I wish I had time for this when I'm in town that weekend...

Today...

2008-09-21T17:08:00.000-07:00

Sent this e-mail to Puppy about a month ago, just got a reply...

(note (n)=need to do, (l)=like to do I'm in purple, he's in green)

Cat wrote:

Hey there,

Can you send me a time table for at least the needs so that I can put

time aside to help? Also let me know if I've missed something.

Love you, L***

Spa wiring (n) (w/pops)

guttering (n) (closer to rain)

pruning (n) (soon & then chip)

Pond: Upper; clear, trim, re-pot, level, clean. Lower; trim, re-pot, clean

water main (n) (I'll call)

dishwasher (n) (I'll call)

bathroom sink (n) (I'll call)

Back door (computer room)

Remove extra door, bathroom-bedroom, fill in

Mortaring chimney and loose back wall blocks

River rock replacement of lava rock

water heater (n/l) (this year)

weeds (n/l) (wetter season)

caulking (l) (on going)

painting (l) flooring (l)

garden brick work (l) (cooler)

circle redevelopment (l)

Roto-til the circle/ mix in compost et al.

Plants trees: circle & front yard

move fan (l) (when cold out)

hang elephant (l) (when cold out)

fix and hang lamen (l)(when cold out)

hard wood floor (l)

cabinets (l)

lattice trellis (l) (soon)

water system for garden (l) (winter/spring)

How should I reply?

All things considered I'm trying to put my weekends calendar together for the rest of the year and some dates would be nice. I know that the house is a priority, but I would like to plan some ladies time too.

In other news, today we took out the bike, it was so hot I couldn't wear my leathers on the way home so I just rode back in my jeans and shirt. I stopped by the store to get some nice veggies for tomorrow night's harvest feast, I may begin cooking tonight as I have class tomorrow.

We just finished blowtorching some weeds in the yard and we picked the Dragon Fruit (for tomorrow also), I'd post some photos, but...

Have been experimenting with Wordpress and although I don't have Cat's World anymore I do have something ;-)

I will reveal more shortly.

I thought about Typepad, but the idea of paying for this service just doesn't seem right.

We're already paying for cable tv with our internet and we don't own a tv never mind watch cable. Why should I pay to journal? I just don't get it.

Over it!

2008-09-20T09:09:00.000-07:00

I've been wondering about the viability of a class action lawsuit on behalf of the tax payers against some of the CEO's of the companies that are getting bailed out. They always walk away with such nice payouts.

Anybody got a clue if it would work?

2008-09-19T21:25:00.000-07:00

I'm beginning to look at my options beyond "blogger" seriously.

The lack of personal photos that you are seeing is not a personal choice, ,however the frustration that it's creating is putting me off dropping by.

WordPress seems to be good, but I could be wrong.

It was green, white and gold...

2008-09-19T20:35:00.000-07:00

You won't believe this...

2008-09-16T21:02:00.000-07:00

This article that touched on Freeganomics looked interesting.

RIP Thubten Jigme Norbu

2008-09-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

Condolences to the Dalai Lamma.

Still busy...

2008-09-08T07:07:00.000-07:00

Had a great weekend of yoga, hand dying yarn and gardening.

Got some sad news that a dear friend broke her hip on Saturday, got the pins in yesterday (and was up and walking with no pain meds last night), do I will be visiting with her and her husband this week. I also start my credentialing program tonight and an helping look after a friends kitty.

I'll post more when I can.

This was good...

2008-09-07T17:13:00.000-07:00

Frankincense, better than Prozac?

2008-09-04T20:58:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Vibrant Glow for pointing out this article in the FASEB Journal.

Apparently scientists have found that a compound found in frankincense increases the production of a protein that lowers anxiety and lessens depression. I wonder if it works the same way for asthmatics...

Been busy

2008-09-01T18:05:00.000-07:00

Well I have been kinda stuck lately trying to figure out whether to move the blog or not, ultimately decided to leave it here until at least the end of the year.

I've been studying how to make socks, block sweaters and create "place markers", we will see if I can post some pics later. Maybe I will try a different server to upload.

Had a great vacation, went to Zion, Bryce Canyon, The Great Basin, and Yosemite National Parks, also made it by Leman's Caves, Mono Lake, and, of course, Fish Lake while visiting Puppy's uncles, aunts, cousins and of course his beloved parents (my "outlaws").

Came back and enquired about getting my math credential, inadvertently ended up on a program paid for by the county (study materials and all) to get another credential. One day I will have a contract, but not right now.

The garden continues to amuse us, we just picked up a couple of red mandevilla to climb the trunks of our now deceased palm trees (I did mention the slaughter of the palms by the electric company didn't I?) We also picked up some gold fish for the pond Puppy wanted six I wanted 12 but was willing to settle for seven (in honor of some dwarfs I knew in a past like), but when we got there the lady had about 30 bagged up for us so we didn't argue. She said some of the fish may be koi as they breed at the same time in the pond. Also we have been harvesting some of our Peruvian Apple Cactus, while waiting for our dragon fruit to ripen.

RIP Abie Nathan

2008-09-01T15:59:00.000-07:00

He of The Voice of Peace has passed.

Not cool...

2008-08-31T17:20:00.000-07:00

Couldn't they have re-deployed these waisted resources to New Orleans?

No offense, but If I was raided right now I'd have rags, bottles and wire cutters in my garage.

If New Orleans wasn't...

2008-08-30T22:40:00.000-07:00

...under orders to evacuate, I might be tempted to call on this...

Oh the joys of home ownership!

2008-08-29T20:52:00.000-07:00

Before we left the dishwasher plumbing took a leek and wrecked the lino (no great loss).

We were going to work on it when we got back, but then when we came home the hot tub began playing up ands the external plumbing to the dish washer had had cement poured in the hole under the kitchen window.

So now we must re-wire the out doors electrics (currently circa 1950's-ish) ourselves and hire a plumber to undo concrete work!

Bad day

2008-08-26T15:10:00.000-07:00

We had 3 fights at school (we only have 125 students) and at least 2 were "bleeders".

I'm back!

2008-08-25T18:02:00.000-07:00

Vacation was fab!

Still trying to work out what to do with my blog.

I will leave you with...

2008-08-08T06:53:00.001-07:00

a picture of a saucer, as the one on the cup won't load and right about now I'm seriously considering alternatives to blogger.

Sadly comments won't post till I'm home, but I get to look forward to reading them when I come home.

Pictures

2008-08-07T21:09:00.000-07:00

This is cool!

I'm leaving on a jet plane!

2008-08-06T22:43:00.000-07:00

Just booked my ticket for a weekend in the Bay Area tonight, tomorrow I will book my fight to New York I'm going to make that a 5 day trip.

Friday we leave for a week in Utah and I'm finally getting some down time this year.

I'm feeling kinda toasty from this years stress already, but I've just gotta keep moving forward.

4 Things You Should Know About Me Before You Invite Me To Your House

2008-08-04T21:07:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged By Tracy at Green Eyed Monster (Mama)

Here goes...

1) I am a vegetarian, feel free to eat as you will, but please don't ask me to pick the meat out of something.

2) I get up early, but am happy to sit quietly and read or knit till the rest of the world wakes up. (I just got back from my first visit to our library, with everything that I've been up to it took me this long to get there. All I can say is " It's super!") I also like my naps in the afternoon.

3) I do like my internet access, but if that's not an option I'm open to a "vacation".

4)I love to take tea in the afternoon, 4pm is perfect, but later will do.

As you know I don't tag but feel free to tag along!

I give up!

2008-08-03T14:32:00.000-07:00

Blogger isn't loading pics.

It's been a crazy week!

2008-07-31T21:12:00.000-07:00

This week I had a visit from the wonderful Ms. Lupa. We spent time knitting, chatting, eating and tubbing, how better could to dear friend spend their time together? Well we also went to the Getty which was a blast, albeit that I had cramps.

I also had a bit of a fibro flare which was a bit dull.

Of course in the midst of my confusion there was an earthquake. Have you ever gotten out of your car and felt a bit wobbly? I do from time to time and as it so happened the day of the earthquake I wasn't feeling so hot. So when I got out and was having a hard time fitting the key in the lock I thought at first that it might just be me, then I noticed that the car was bouncing a bit. I wondered had I hit the concrete that's there to stop the car and not noticed the impact until then? About that time the idea began to dawn on me that it wasn't all about me. I walked into Wahoo's and found Ms. Lupa and Puppy sitting beneath the swinging chandeliers and got the picture right away (kinda). Anyway that's all old news and hardly as dramatic as some tales, but worth telling none the less.

In other news, I took a stamping workshop, but the pics are giving me a hard time (see above), I'm still working on my knitting, but we don't have long to go and our cat sitter for our Utah trip in a week and a half just fell through, save me now!

Tea anyone?

2008-07-23T15:01:00.000-07:00

Here's another gifted cup and saucer...

I really like the black and blue butterflies on this set.

Last weekend...

2008-07-22T23:10:00.000-07:00

It was crazy busy, however, I did go help our pal Charlie sell glass on both Friday and Sunday.

Saturday we went to San Bernardino Museum with some friends and then off to lunch.

It's here!

2008-07-22T06:38:00.001-07:00

Yes folks...

our corpse flower finally bloomed!

Yes I know it's not like the big ones, but it sure seems like rotting flesh, and the flies...

In the news (7/21)...

2008-07-21T21:41:00.000-07:00

Things I love about Italians...

Things I hate about Italians...

It seems to be birthday season...

This is awful...

This was a giggle...

Tea!

2008-07-20T21:10:00.000-07:00

It's that time again...

enjoy!

This is beautiful!

2008-07-19T22:11:00.001-07:00

Flowers from my garden...

2008-07-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

Some days when I come home from work, Pup will announce that it's a find a flower day, here are some examples of what I found this week...

Anyone feeling the need to play...

"Identify The Flower"

please feel free!

Purps taking a nap...

2008-07-19T15:48:00.000-07:00

She's so trusting, it's pathetic!

I know I said I was going to aim higher, but all I seem to have done is aim deeper...

2008-07-17T21:43:00.000-07:00

OK, so my main image won't load on blogger, I'll leave it at that...

This months theme seems to have become creativity, between the knitting, cross stitch and bead work I plan to work on my Hebrew again (one day I will find the discipline).

Then there is all of that inner journey creativity stuff...

Lantern Moon, I love you!

2008-07-17T19:34:00.000-07:00

I confess, I love Lantern Moon needles, so when I saw them on sale at The Yarn Lady for 50% off what was I to do...

In the news (7/14)...

2008-07-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

In loving memory...

This is just rude...

I love this guy...

I'm not so sure I'd trust this guy ;-)...

I like this idea...

Talk about hung over...

Finally Happy Birthday!

I've got a lovely pair of...

2008-07-10T22:38:00.000-07:00

...hand painted cups from Japan.

I know you cant see it, but the dragons are raised on the plate (he's just waiting for a phoenix to drop by).

They were a gift from Bee last time she came by.

Thunder Perfect Mind: Wordle Style

2008-07-08T20:50:00.000-07:00

This is a new form of internet crack. I popped in the text from Thunder Perfect Mind, one of my favorite sacred texts and Wordle made this pretty word cloud with it.

In other news I just heard that one of my more talented students got deported. There are things about being a teacher here that nobody warns you about. I'm really frustrated about this.

Dreamboard in review...

2008-07-06T19:30:00.000-07:00

Well, we got the bed and the rocker fairly similar to the one above, I'm planing on taking a candle lit bath this evening and then there's that trip to the Bay Area that I'm looking forward to in September.

Given that it seems to work I should aim a little higher next month.

Recovering with a nice cup of tea...

2008-07-05T14:42:00.001-07:00

Last night was awful!

I've never seen poor Purps so twitchy, she was flinching and skittish for most of the night.

I finally got her to settle on my lap while I knitted, but she was very wary.

Today she is just recovering her composure by taking a well deserved nap...

or two.

I nearly missed this weeks tea cup...

It belonged to the mother of my friend Mordecci...

It was gifted to me by his wife Larissa on the occasion of my Ladies Tea

(I really didn't want to deal with any silly girly stuff the night before I walked down the isle).

I really like it blends it's designs.

And I do believe that it's the closest thing to a

Red White and Blue cup that you will find in my collection!

Comsat Angels

2008-07-04T16:17:00.000-07:00

Passion flowers?

2008-07-01T21:20:00.000-07:00

We think that's what these are anyway...

Current project...

2008-06-30T22:07:00.000-07:00

I went over to my knitting friends last week planing to knit a sweater, and came away with this cardigan pattern.

And the story so far...

(it kept my nerves at bay in the waiting room)

Good News!

2008-06-30T20:54:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken the Saturday before last when we hit the beach early and found some dolphins at play.

Having been called back for my second round of breast scans (for the second year in a row) I was declared healthy, with "complexed" breast tissue. There's nothing like being called to come back in for a second round and being told to schedule 2 hours for the appointment as you "will need to talk to the radiologist" to get your mind wandering.

Thought you might like this...

2008-06-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

In the news...

2008-06-29T17:07:00.000-07:00

Whatever your feelings toward them are, this seems just a little dangerous for all of us.

I thought that this was kinda sad.

Trust the Catholics to put a smile on my face.

Some good news from the Middle East.

Gotta love California!

Tango Tea

2008-06-29T10:35:00.000-07:00

What can I say...

I could have taken photos, but...

I think ...

you get...

the general idea!

Don't cry for me Argentina...

2008-06-24T20:10:00.000-07:00

Tea is coming!

This Saturday will be Tango Tea, and in honor of that I thought I would include my lone Argentinian tea cup!

Yes, that is a mirrored finish.

Sadly the other pics won't post.

In the news...

2008-06-23T20:50:00.001-07:00

OK, I know you liked the last one, so here's another....

This one is a slender loris.

She who ran with the wolves!

The Versace wants to dress up the man of the moment!

What has God got to do with it?

Will Marcinkus not lay down?

Some sad passings.

Good Morning

2008-06-21T06:59:00.000-07:00

It's 7am and 80 degrees, I'm going to the beach, and then to the mall. Depending on how long it takes to cool down there may even be a movie or two involved.

Well...

2008-06-19T20:15:00.000-07:00

... it's about time!

However, on the way to that I found this golden oldie.

What can you say?

Nature’s Avenger organic weed killer

2008-06-19T16:43:00.000-07:00

A recommendation from my pal Crunchy!

Happy Birthday to Dee!

2008-06-19T15:53:00.000-07:00

Bottoms up!

Love you, L***

Tea on Tuesday

2008-06-17T16:57:00.000-07:00

Today I am hosting a Tea Ladies soiree.

While I am waiting for my ladies to arrive I decided to post this update on my collection.

I recently picked up these three charming pieces.

The first one is a Shelley "Dainty Blue", which is a very delicate cup with a ridged sauces (sorry you cant see the ridges).

The second set I believe to be an Arabic coffee cup and saucer, but I'm not sure, there is no name on this piece.

Finally...

This set was made in Japan.

I don't have much pink in the collection, however, this appealed to me, I must be going through a pink phase.

The design in gold on the saucer reminds me of Afro-Caribbean stuff I've come across.

Anyway there they are, in all their glory.

I'm feeling tempted...

2008-06-17T15:25:00.000-07:00

But I know I don't need them.

None the less Code Pink rocks!

Case 1, Shelf 5, Row 1

2008-06-17T14:04:00.000-07:00

The Spirit Level

Al-Hallaj

The Kaballah

Selected Poems of Anne Sexton

Rupert Brooke and Wilfred Owen

The Bull of Minos

Color

Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

Fearful Symmetry

The Story of Laylah and Majnun

Rumi Poet and Mystic

The Drunken Universe

Blake: Prophet against the Empire

Blake Dictionary

A Garden Beyond Paradise

Poems of Arab Andalusia

The Action Heroines Handbook

The Divine Feminine

Blake: Poetry and Prose

The Astrologers Node Book

The Occult Power of Numbers

The Secrets of Chinese Astrology

The Philosophies of India

The Emerald Tablet

Hypatia of Alexandria

Hermetic Magic

Ancient Christian Magic

Dream Journal!

2008-06-15T19:25:00.000-07:00

OK, well here it is...

As you can see, lot's of bed and bedding imagery.

Here are the quotes from the board...

To sleep perchance to dream.

The Bard

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.

Live the life you have imagined.

Thoreau

Patience and perserverance have a magical effect before

which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.

John Quincy Adams.

Also note my rocking chairs, candle lit bath, and the Golden Gate Bridge is in there just for good measure. I'm not expecting everything to be completed in one moon cycle, but I would like to lay the foundations now.

Tea Anyone?

2008-06-15T17:06:00.000-07:00

A Fanciful Twist has declared a Tea Party of the costumed variety, and I'm along for the ride.

Does anyone care to join me on June 28th?

At, shall we say 4pm PST?

I'll be posting pics of the event.