Ugh.

I am writing this from my bed where I have been sequestered for the last gazillion hours.

I have the flu.

Chills, aches, pains, crying, sad flu.

Death would be a relief.

I cannot even remember the last time i had the flu.

Boo hoo.

My boys are taking great care of me, so not to worry.

Finnigan is especially cute as he totally mimics the way I take care of him.

(Apparently I am very sweet and helpful.)

I'll catch you in a few, y'all.

It worked!!

Sorry I missed you yesterday, but I went to Houston for the weekend so I used Monday as my Sunday.

Clear as mud, I'm sure.

(Have you seen the movie Mud yet?  Sooooo good, y'all.)

Well, first I want to say THANK YOU for all your positive thoughts and vibes because they WORKED!

They sure did!!!!  

Y'all are some powerful vibe-senders.

I told you that I used to be an actress and voice-over artist, right?

And a DJ?

Holy hell, I gotta dig up some old stuff to show you.  Soooo hilarious, those early days of all that.

Anyway, I have been thinking a lot about getting back into voice work because I love it soooo much and I really miss it.

I got my mojo going and shook up the Universe and, lo and behold, some work plopped right down in my lap!!

It was really, really crazy how it all worked out and I will tell you that story another day because I need to go walk the dog before it gets too hot.

(I've been making myself sit on the patio and drink my tea and set my daily intentions before doing anything these days.  I do really love it, but sometimes it's so nice out there that I just stay and stay and stay and before I know it it's almost niner o'clock.)

So, yea, I got an audition last Thursday, which is what I was being all cryptic about, then I got the call yesterday that I did get the job!!!!

I went in and had a great old time doing a radio ad for Piggly Wiggly!!

Who, I ask you, does not love Piggly Wiggly?

It really, really, really is true that doing what you love never feels like work.

Well, I dunno about never, but I LOVE doing voice-overs and it has never felt like work to me.

In fact, I feel like I'm getting away with something.

Getting paid to do something that I find easy to do and that I love.

A lucky-ass, is what I am.

LA for short.

So MUCHOS muchos gracias for your good thoughts, chickadees!





Here's some weekend love from the house and yard for you because I know you don't wanna see a picture of me hopped up on coffee driving to Houston and back.

See ya tomorrow!

Dog House Friday

1.  Today is  my wedding anniversary and I forgot!!!

2.  Today is my wedding anniversary and I forgot!!!

3.  Today is my wedding anniversary and I forgot!!!

Look at us.

So young.

Sniff.

I'm in the dog house so I gotta run.

Have a great weekend and don't forget important shit!!!

Somethin' Funny.

So, FinnigantheCurious and I were making zucchini bread on Monday.

If I can extract him from the computer for 14 seconds he usually enjoys cooking quite a bit.

Especially when it involves carbs and sugar.

He is not a dumbass.

Anyway, I always make my zucchini bread with mostly whole wheat flour.

This time I bought some Hodgson Mill's flour and I was reading the back of the package while he was eating stirring the stuff up.

You're gonna have to read that second paragraph before we go on or none of this is gonna make much sense.

It's not gonna make much sense anyway, but you're not doing anything important right now, so what the hell, right?




So I'm reading all about Mr. Graham and how he advised to "... get enough sleep and rest on a hard mattress, take cold baths and showers, drink pure water only when thirsty, eat 3 meals a day precisely 6 hours apart, wear loose clothing and practice cheerfulness at mealtime."

In my head I got kinda tickled because I was adding things to this statement like, oh, 

abstain from all sexual relations unless procreation is the goal thereby rendering relations unavoidable.

and

refrain from  singing, dancing or the consumption of alcohol.

and

avoid loud or forward women.


I was laughing at myself because what on earth about that little bio on Mr. Graham would conjure up such silliness in my head?
 

Still, I had a feeling, so I Wikki'd him:



Graham was also inspired by the temperance movement and preached that a vegetarian diet was a cure for alcoholism, and, more importantly, sexual urges. The main thrust of his teachings was to curb lust. While alcohol had useful medicinal qualities, it should never be abused by social drinking. For Graham, an unhealthy diet stimulated excessive sexual desire which irritated the body and caused disease. While Graham developed a significant following known as Grahamites, he was also ridiculed by the media and the public for his unwavering zealotry. According to newspaper records^[which?], many women fainted at his lectures when he aired opinions both on sexual relations and the wearing of corsets.




See there?!?

I was right, dammit!  I was.

Hoo Haw.

He died when he was only 57 so, so much for all that advice he gave out.

I do like the idea of practicing cheerfulness at mealtime and for sure I like the idea to  drink pure water only when thirsty.

I get so tired of forcing myself to drink all the water I'm supposed to drink.

8 glasses a day.

Sheesh.

I like to drink a big glass with lemon when I wake up and then just when I get thirsty.

Well, I don't like to drink that big glass in the morning, but I do it because my friend Mo said that I should because it gets everything all working and I can see now that she is right.

What I really enjoy in the morning is a giant cup of strong as hell tea with cream and lots of sugar.

That's my advice for longevity.

Drink something you look forward to!  

Every night when I go to bed I swear I think about that big cup of tea that is only some hours away.

That and a big slab of zucchini bread slathered with butter.

This plays right into Mr. Graham's advice to wear loose clothing.

I am alll about the loose clothing, y'all.

Finnigan and I fight over the crusty ends which you cannot really see here.

We each get an end and then we each get a soft middle piece too.

I even bought some decaf PG Tips so Finn could have a strong cup of tea without blowing his brain up.

That's what so nice about being and "older" mama.  

You get to be more like a grandma in a lot of ways cuz you know there's only so much you can do. 

You can give them spelt and microgreens and flax seed all day long, but when the shit hits the fan it's sweet tea and bread they're gonna run to.

Or whatever.

You know what I mean.

That was a whole lotta nothing about nothing, wasn't it?

Glad to be of service.

Oh, listen, at 1 pm today I want you to envision me being very successful and doing a great job!!!

I don't wanna elaborate too much right now, but I do want you to send me strong vibes of SUCCESS.

OK?

Don't be a slacker now, all-right?  

Set your alarm.

If I get the job, I'll make you some tea and zucchini bread.

 

Chicken Proof Raised Beds Part 2

I'm just here to tell you that gardening is hard work.

It is fun work.

It is addictive work.

It is good work, but it is hard.

You might remember my hysteria at finally finding a chikkin-proof situation for my raised beds.

You can read about all that bruhaha here:

http://www.wabi-sabihomeandgarden.com/2012/08/chicken-proof-raised-beds.html

and here:

http://www.wabi-sabihomeandgarden.com/2012/10/weekending.html

The basic jist of the sitch is that they do work very, very well except ...

It's gardening.

There must be an exception to something working on the first try.

This is a rule of nature, my pretties.

Nothing shall work on its first try because then you might get complacent and think that gardening is easy.

One major problem cropped up and one minor.

Minor:  This bed to is too tall for the zip line action.

Every time the kids wanted to use  the zip line we had to raise it up so that they're feet wouldn't scrape the top.

They lift up like this:

The zip line skims over on that far right side.

Well, left side of the photo, but why I am even talking about this?

Pretty quickly we realized that the damn thing was getting left up constantly (by all of us) and the chikkins made quick work of the herbs.

Except the sage.

Feel free to plant sage in your yard.

So, back to the proverbial drawing board which translates to back to the literal table saw.

This is a Holt Family stock photo of PVC pipe cutting.

There are millions just like this.

However ... drumroll ...  I did the cutting this time.

I really do not like electrical cutting mechanisms.

Just one of my things.

Electric saws, chain saws, metal grinders, etc.

Not for me.

But I did it this time due to necessity and it was not too bad, I have to saw.

Say.  Hahaha.  

So, I cut most of  the gazillion configurations that needed cutting.

I also added two more pieces of pipe to made the configuration stronger.

I won't bore you with that.

The cutting got done and I felt proudish.
 



The other issue that we had with these things is that I bought super cheapo netting to screen them in.

Big mistake.

BIG mistake.

That netting was like wrapping the whole thing in, crap, I don't even know, embroidery thread or something.

Worse.

Can't explain.

Have you ever tried to put socks on a really mad 18-month old?

That's what it was like.

And then it tore.

Immediately.

That's a tomato vine growing out of one of the giant tears.

This has become a favorite place for one of the chikkins to lay her eggs.

It is rather cozy and cool amongst all the tangled tomato vines.  Can't say that I blame her one wit!

The other thing is that the netting is so sticky and grabby and sharp that every little thing gets all caught in it.

Every little leaf, my hair, my clothes, the fruit of whatever is growing.

Major sucketh.

When I cleaned out the sugar snap peas I had to spend probably 30 minutes picking the pieces out.

Had I only known that I was gonna find this stuff ...

I would not have bothered.

See, right there on the package it's got a picture of an ousted chikkin.

This is the Golden Ticket, chikkin lovers.

I have no idea why I didn't see this last time!

I have a vague memory of it being the end of the month and picking out the cheapest thing.

Although, this was not really pricey at all.

I can't remember how much it was right now, but it was doable.

Oh.
MAH.
GAWD.

The best EVER.

Look at that goodness!

I got most of it on all by myself even.

That last stuff took an army.

Well, two of us, but it felt like war.

This stuff is the perfect stiffness to malleable ratio EVER.

The only thing I love as much as this stuff is books.

And my child.

Books and green plastic chikkin wire stuff and my kid.

I'm a complicated woman.

Or a simple woman, I guess.

Here is a close-up.

(Act like  you were dying to see that.)

It was a tad too tall for the newly shorted height so I just folded it over.

It was so well-behaved.

Took to the zip ties with no trouble at all.

Seriously, I'm like a proud mother with this stuff.

If you even knew how much hell it was to use that last crap!

I think you've got the idea now, right?

I gotta find a way to reuse it though as I am not putting that stuff out into the world.

I can see turtles dying as we speak.  Type.

I'm sure I can use it for something.

Or give it to Karen over at Making Shift.

She'll figure out something to do with it.




So, yea, this is the stuff that gardeners get all worked up about.

Obviously.

I got emails from several folks asking about the chikkin-proof beds, so I did wanna proved an update.

I plan to replace all of them asap.



And, for something totally different ...

Century Plant root.

AaaaaHHHHHHHHH!

Weekending

Monday.

Ah, Monday.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to live by the minute and not by the work week?

Monday would be just another morning, not Monday morning.

Every day would be a weekend and no day would ever feel like Monday.

Throw away the clocks.

I go through phases whereby I wish these things.

And while I'm wishing, wouldn't it be wonderful to live like the "old days" with everyone home all day and living off the land, but with all the modern conveniences and modern thinking?

I think this is called a trust fund.

Heeeeee.

Well, no trust funds here so, onward!

Banana/blueberry bread.  

The most perfect loaf ever.

May I also confess that I just got a cooling rack?

From my darling Emily's yard sale.

Cooling racks are good.

Spring onions are in abundance at the Farmers' Market this time of year.  

I loaded up and made piles and piles and piles of caramelized onions.

The little boy looooves them on a tortilla with Gruyere cheese.

Good boy.

I also made "therearetoomanytomatoesgoingbad" pasta sauce.

With caramelized onions, of course.

Plus garlic and basil from the yard.

Mmmmmmm.

We've been going to the newest little Farmers' Market in my hood the last few weeks.

They've got some food trailers there, but I don't like the food at either of them.

I wish they'd get a smoothie/juice trailer.

Or a salad trailer.

I have officially decided that I do not like those Vietnamese sandwiches that everyone else loves.

Bahn Mi, I think.

I do not like them, Sam I am.

I have got to do something about getting more counter space.

Grocery store run plus Farmers' Market run and I am done for.

No mas space.

No mas sanity.

I get all jittery and shit when there is no room to put anything anywhere.

I need the above mentioned trust fund.

And for some equally titillating news ... some more blueberries are coming in.

My favorite egg-gathering apparatus is a shirt.

Clever me.

Look at that cannibal, Melba, looking at me.

She wants me to crack an egg for her dining pleasure.

(Which I do!  Cackle, cackle.)

Who could resist such a face?




I went out to close the coop last night.

I was a tad late.

Found two MF opossums in my coop!!

I had to stand there and scream for Jack to come bring a light as all I had was a small solar footpath light from Target.

I was wielding it as both light and weapon.

Jack came running out with headlamps and a broom.

Great.

Not my first weapons of choice.


We cowered together in the corner yelling at one of them while it cowered in the corner hissing at us.

Opossums are so cute until they start hissing and then you're all like, Oh shit yea that thing can eat flesh and I am flesh.

Assholes.  

OK, well, opportunists is probably a kinder term.

Anyway, we flushed him out, chased the other one off the roof, and all the ladies were safe and sound.

Chikkins are easy prey once they're asleep.

They go into a kind of coma trance thing.

I'm serious, they were all just sitting there slightly dazed while two freaking opossums were stalking them.

Maybe there's a hidden chikkin bong in there somewhere.


All-righty.

Thar she blows.

Yet another riveting post from yours truly.

La, la, la.

See ya tomorrow!

This Week in My Garden: May 30

Taking my cue from Amanda with her "This Week in My Garden" series.

 My first year to get enough to make a whole plateful!

I consider eggs to be bounty from my garden, in a way.

Purchased tomato.  (I thought about lying.)

Pesto straight outta' the freezer from last year!

Mayonnaise straight outta' Compton.

(Heeeeeee.)

My hillbilly rain harvesting.

Oh, to have my dream water system in.  Oh.

These guys continue to not do well despite fixing the drainage issue.

And so it goes.

Satsumas still growing.

As usual (always) I never label my plants.

These are going well, whatever they are.

More of those same lovelies.

Honestly, I need to do more labeling.

It's a bit embarrassing.

One poor decimated herb bed.

Chikkins got in.

Havoc ensued.

(Apparently, chikkins do not eat sage.)

It's on my list for the weekend.

I just ripped out the last of the sugar snaps.

Basil goes in today.

Mmmmm, basil.

More basil.

Evil Ivy.  (Great name for a band.)

Beets!

Need to seed more beets, pronto!

Fig happiness is everywhere.

The peppers have been loving the cloudy days and rain.

I need to move them, but they are in plastic tree pots and they weigh around 45 tons so ...

Hi.

I'm a happy squash.

Hi.

I'm a cantaloupe bloom.

Hi.

I'm a watermelon bloom.

The $*%&#(#&* birds ate my blueberries.

Sob.

I had a bunch.

More are coming in though.

Huzzah!

More mystery tomatoes doing well.




And there you have it.

The straggly spring/summer garden here at The Wabi-Sabi House.

My shady yard combined with my lazy gardening in the spring/summer months makes for a so-so garden.

La, la, la.  

My garden matches me!  Shady and straggly.

Heeeeeee.