Monday, May 31, 2010

Hans&Oscar, and 17 Rooftop Friends

Last week, Hans started sleeping in my closet, behind my skirts, above my little plastic dresser. Its almost time to shave him down!

The CSA started last Thursday! Erika is on vacation, and last minute Celia went to visit her grandmother, and Elizabeth is too busy to collect her share: leaving me with 4 CSA quarter-shares to consume myself! But I made some kale chips, and have been eating a lot of mixed greens salad with strawberries, and tonight I made some zucchini casserole, so I can freeze some and give to the others.

I also made mulberry muffins, after being informed by my ex-downstairs neighbor Nicole (she moved back to Massachusetts this morning) that the trees outside our building are in fact mulberry trees, and quite edible and delicious!
I finally bought my herbs from Greensgrow, the same day I got my CSA! What herbs do I have? Left to right: dill, parsley, marjoram, mint, oregano, and tarragon; catnip, cilantro, basil, thyme, and lemongrass; sweet fennel, rosemary, St Johns wort, chamomile and lavender. Scallions are separate, but I need to drill a hole in the bottom of that spare bed riser!



I haven't used any of them yet, as I want to give them plenty of time to adjust. I am determined to learn the art of drying so I can have tea all winter! And Hannah has gotten me so excited about making wine and preserves, so I might have to do that too! Now I know I have mulberries, and the leaves make good tea too! And I think I'm going to get a goji plant, I have a hook above to the right of my window, for a hanging basket. Goji's are really big right now, and I actually have a credit to use at Greensgrow: the very helpful girls sold me a block of coconut peat moss or something like that, to mix in with the mushroom compost. But as I only had about 2 hours to plant everything, before work on Friday, chopping from the brick was awful. I only used a little bit of it, and ended up having enough potting soil to mix, and then I added more from the NKCDC nursery that evening, since they were open after work and I was able to buy a big bag from them. Ah, sometimes I think I do too much. Anyway, the folks at Greensgrow said I could bring the partially used brick back in exchange for a plant or something, so I intend to do just that.

In other news, Hans has finally met his new boyfriend Oscar: Lizzy's cat.

Their meeting was rather chill, with Oscar hissing just a little, and then them mostly ignoring each other. Hans finally showed that he is submissive in Oscar's territory and also since Oscar is two years older and several pounds heavier.
Since that day they've hung out a few more times, mostly sitting on opposite sides of the table until Hans tries to play with Oscar, something in which he has yet to succeed. Soon though Hans, soon.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Movement Makes My Heart Sing!


I have been so incredibly busy! I even have some photos to prove it! But for now, I just had to share these images by Pablo Zuleta Zahr, featured on Daily Serving today. The movement in these makes my heart sing!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Mo' Money Mo' Problems

Just Kidding.

Except that now all of a sudden I have a list of all the things I need, that I haven't needed until now, when the money keeps rolling in!

I had my first day working for the Census today, and the hardest thing should really be getting in 20 hours of work every week, and not blowing through all the work assigned to me faster than the speed of light.

I was supposed to have finished my ghost tour training last week, but I think all the other things I've been doing got together with my cold feet and I canceled my appointment. Rescheduled for tomorrow, and I will vanquish this final story and give two tours this weekend!

3 jobs, and a studio to use! I've started a doll, and I have an idea for a puppet show that will probably never come to fruition, but lets just say Leslie and her apartment and her friends are all sorts of inspiring!

My friends are really the best. And who knew they felt the same about me?! Aisha spent the night two weekends ago, the first night I was back from Baltimore. Apparently all this blogging about being productive, and mostly about growing a green thumb has been an inspiration to her! What an honor! I've just been so busy to post, but it was her birthday yesterday, so I figured I should get my shit in order. Happy birthday Aisha!

There are so many plants in my apartment now!
It is a jungle in here!
Ian left a bunch of plants that Lizzie and M.E. simply don't need in their lives right now. Of course, Hans doesn't need this palm in his mouth, but he insists. It is his current get-spray-bottled-to-the-face act of rebellion.
I bought these plates from that oh so charming place called Urban Outfitters. On sale!

Then there was the night Tsuyoshi called a full staff meeting last week so that we could clean out the storage space in the ceiling. It was epic.
Alyssa
Garvin
Eli
The Gallery
Garvin again. We all felt like that. But it was good.
And then Tsuyoshi took us all out for drinks. Not everyone, but a many (courtesy of Eli):

Rachel
me
Jacob
Grisha
Eli
Dave
Anne
Garvin
Tsuyoshi


This post is getting awfully long. Maybe I should stop doing so much, and stop having photographs to show. Hah, but then I don't post at all!

Last Friday was the Weekly Revue, my second time attending, mostly on Leslie's behalf as she was an act, wearing her naked man suit answering questions about a mouth-puppets video I had seen in December at the Puppet Uprisings show. Lots of good people were there from Eastern State, Basho, everywhere. Some good acts too!




Avocado!
Hans was so sad when I went to Celia's after work on Sunday: I just had to watch the series finale of Lost on a real live television. It was great!


And then today I bought some bowls at Circle Thrift (I think I have somehow lost one of my ceramic cappuccino mugs, which are so universally utilitarian!) And if I haven't posted them yet, in the back, yes, those are the cocks that Kayla bought me. She is convinced that I should decorate my kitchen with cocks. Tons of 'em. I think two is good. For now.

Friday, May 21, 2010

We Love You So Kayla and Ellen!

Soon, hopefully tonight, I'll post some photos of Aisha's brief but extremely appreciated visit, but I couldn't wait to post these awesome congratulations!

One) Congrats Kayla, official graduate of Rutgers University with a degree in evolutionary anthropology! Not only that, but she is leaving tomorrow for a three-week trip through Albania, Greece, and Romania! Best yet, she just got a hot promotion at the Liberty Science Center, so she'll now be workshopping experiments with children!! I am so jealous (well, about everything but the children...) and so proud!

Two) Ellen Kling was featured on We Love You So, a blog with which I am sorry to say, I was not aware. But any friend of Ellen is a friend of mine!



How can one person have so many awesome friends?

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

"Parting is all we know of heaven and all we need to know of hell."

-Emily Dickenson

A year ago today, I graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art. I didn't cry that day. I tried not to cry that summer, because I knew that if I started to cry, I might not ever stop. But time does soothe all sorrows.


My visit to Baltimore was grand. I got a ride there for free, since Nick was driving through Baltimore on his way to North Carolina. I even got a ride back because Sarah was driving back to Atlantic City from Towson! I have such good friends!

I stayed with my friend Victoria, but so many MICAns were finishing up commencement show stuff, and etc, that I ended up spending more time with friends who graduated MICA but stayed in Baltimore.

The Commencement Show was awesome, and ArtWalk was great, but looking at that much art really is exhausting!

Claire Clayton
Becca Stadtlandter*

Yelena Brynksenkova*
Shannon May

Dominique Hellgeth was front and center on the first floor of the Brown Center!

Peter Eide got two walls!

Caroline Evans

Ashleigh Wilkinson and Heather Donahue; apologies for slightly misrepresenting the piece: it actually reads (from the eye-level of a person of normal height) "We Have Nothing To Hide"

Austin Rocket

Ajay Leister

"Validation"

"Virgin and Slut"

Jamie Freedman

This is actually my friend Riff, with whom Bobby and I enjoyed some of Fishtown's First Friday a few weeks ago. He got photographed by some MICA kids, and was there in the show!

And I must have accidentally deleted the photograph of this artist's name, so if anyone knows who did this awesome piece, please enlighten me!

Other good times were had, including two nights of celebration of the 25th anniversary of the birth of Mike Hanes.


"And when your sorrow is comforted (time soothes all sorrows) you will be content that you have known me. You will always be my friend. You will want to laugh with me. And you will sometimes open your window, so, for that pleasure . . . And your friends will be properly astonished to see you laughing as you look up at the sky! Then you will say to them, 'Yes, the stars always make me laugh!' And they will think you are crazy. It will be a very shabby trick that I shall have played on you..."
-Antoine de Saint Exupery, The Little Prince


*denotes photographs stolen from Claire Clayton on account of I didn't catch the artist beside their work myself.