Apple Miner Colony.

When I said that I hadn't been to a rock show in a long time, I wasn't kidding. The last real rock show I attended was on September 25, 2007 when I went to see Lowlights at the Lauchpad in Albuquerque. That's a mighty long time for someone who used to go to rock shows all the time. And I have to say, it was quite refreshing to be at one last night. It was like old times, but not, if that makes sense.

Okay, so I ended up leaving before AMC was done, but I was exhausted. My feet hurt, my back hurt and my eyes were so dry that every time I blinked, I thought one of my contacts was going to pop out. But cut me a little slack as we did spend a good part of the day walking around in the heat of the sun at Gay Pride Fest. We also ate crap all day. (Best. Corndog. Ever.) And had a couple of beers in the late afternoon. All of which contributed to my exhaustion. I really would have loved to see AMC's whole set, but with two opening bands, I was shot. That's what happens with old age, at least my old age, it gets harder and harder to sit through the opening acts. Both bands were terrific, but they wore me out. But let me tell you, Apple Miner Colony is absolutely captivating. I wish that I had gone out to see them before their Last Show Ever.





They are a big band. A HUGE band. 25 members. As such, I had no idea what to expect. Well, no, I sort of expected chaos and not a good kind of chaos. But there was not a single bit of bad chaos. Everyone pretty much follows Cole's lead and he's good at leading. He has quite a presence, that one. When he sat down at the keyboards to begin the set, the entire room went dead silent and all eyes were on him. It was kind of mind blowing. And he kept it going the entire night.



I was really impressed with the whole group. And it was an emotional night for them and much of the audience. I was mesmerized by their performance, but since I don't have much of history with them, it wasn't exactly emotional for me. But I could totally relate to the emotions. I could imagine that it would be like being at the Last Show Ever of the Johnsons Big Band. (Which I don't think I was at, actually. Totally blanking on that.) I could feel the intensity around me. And it made me happy. It reminded me of all the good times I had at shows and the love felt for the people in the bands and the music they created. Good vibes. Good times. I was a little sad that my first time seeing AMC would also be my last, but you know, it's okay. I think knowing Cole now made a difference in my reaction to the show. With such a long history of having friends in bands, I think I automatically like bands that I know people in better. At least on a local level. Anyway, I am glad that I got to see them before they all go their separate ways. It really was a memorable evening.



And with AMC, I really only know Cole and a few others. Like Dave, the guy up there playing the accordian. He had the honor of seeing me at one of my more drunk moments. Ah yes, I so know how to make a good impression.



And while Cole isn't T. Glitter, he definitely has his own style and charisma and he's quite easy on the eyes. So of course most of my photos are of him.





Will, who is also easy on the eyes, worked the whole evening, recording all the bands. I swear, he works nonstop, even when he is having fun.

It was a great day and a fantastic evening. We dragged my niece and her friends to the show as well and while they didn't like all the bands, they did like AMC.

If you want to check out the music, you can find Apple Miner Colony here. Will recorded their latest album and it is truly awesome.

The Santa Fe Gay Pride

celebration is today. This year it is being held at the Railyard Park instead of the Plaza which means a lot more space. They are even going to have a Beer Garden! I can't wait to check it all out.

Caroline, my middle niece, and three of her friends are coming down from Albuquerque to join the festivities and they plan to spend the night at our place. Housing four teenagers, three of whom we don't know, should be interesting.

Later today at Warehouse 21, Apple Miner Colony is playing their last show ever. They're freshly back from tour with a brand new album that my dear husband recorded for them. I grew quite familiar with their music during the month or so that they were working here at the house, but I have never seen them live so I am looking forward to it. Not to mention that I haven't seen a rock show in almost two years. Nuts.

So the main decision of the day is what cameras should I lug around with me?!

flickr faves

1. Untitled, 2. magnolia leaves, 3. Mari Day 9, 4. My eyes are for seeing, 5. Untitled, 6. Bar, 7. Burning, 8. rococo, 9. A shout out to Lou., 10. the purple one, 11. A Wolf at the Door, 12. Lonely but together

Created with fds flickr toys.

Sad.

Just found out via dangerousmeta that Farrah Fawcett passed away.

She wasn't my favorite angel, but still, that show was and remains one of my all-time faves. And I remember my brother having that famous Farrah poster on his wall.

Okay, so there are some days that I don't love my garden.

I know I said I love my garden oh so much, and I do.

Most of the time.

But some days, like yesterday, it makes me want to cry. All the weeds, everywhere. Taking over. Spreading like carpet across my garden beds. Pushing up from underneath the flagstone. Mixing in with the cosmos like wolves in sheep costumes. Strangling the dahlias that are still trying to push up through the soil. Mingling with the gravel in the driveway.

Weeds. Everywhere.

I hate it.

I guess there are days that pulling weeds is somewhat meditative. But other days, not so much. I just get frustrated with the endless nature of the task. Pull today, back tomorrow.

And the chive-like things continue to torture me. I worked for so many hours in the early spring, digging and digging, trying to get all the roots out. I even sprained my damn wrist doing it. And guess what? They're all coming back. Slowly but surely. I'd like to strangle the tenant who planted those damn things.

The ants make me want to cry too. Little black ants. Big black ants. Red ants. Black and red ants. All over. Swarming my greens. Chewing holes in all the leaves of all the plants.

Damn ants.

I'm starting to see baby grasshoppers everywhere too which makes me think the grasshopper infestation is going to be back later this summer.

And the fact that when I don't water for 2 days, everything just about falls flat. All my sunflowers fall over. Some of my seeds croaked. The pansies plaster themselves to the dirt. Even the heat and drought tolerant plants get all sad looking. But in Santa Fe, one is only supposed to water 3 days a week and I try to be good about keeping to it. So I water Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Which makes the wait until the following Tuesday tough on the garden. Especially now that the heat is back.

June was unseasonably cool and the garden delighted in it. But now we are back to our regularly scheduled heat.

And the damn herbs that require "full sun" don't actually like full sun because they are not so perky anymore either.

So yeah, I get frustrated. I feel like I do all this work so the garden can look good for two weeks and then it all just goes to hell with the heat. And the weeds.

But let's face it, I would probably be really sad if I didn't plant a garden at all. And I'll probably be really happy in late August and September when we have lovely tomatoes and peppers and all the zinnias that made it are growing tall and blooming. Then it's all worth it.

But I still don't like weeds. Or ants. Or grasshoppers.

Pretty as a

peony. Awhile back, I spent a little time playing with the close-up kit for my Polaroid Automatic 250. This shot was the only one that came out exactly as I intended. I thought I had it all figured out, but when I used the same method for another shot, I ended up with something totally different from what I was trying to frame. Go figure. But it's fun playing!


Happy Summer Solstice!!

flickr faves

1. Untitled, 2. Dried Bones, 3. Prima della devastazione totale, 4. do you have a carrot?, 5. teen angst, 6. birdy kitty, 7. Untitled, 8. hummingbird, sakura, 9. seussian cherry, 10. Old Field Tree, 11. boat house, 12. di' piuttosto che un bello spirito ha incontrato un somaro

Created with fds flickr toys.

You should check out

The Uniform Project.

This would be next to impossible for me to do. Not so much the wearing of one thing, but the creative ways of jazzing it up. Very inspiring.

Dorks.

We passed the downtown Hilton on the way home from the post office a few hours ago. Two enormous tour buses were parked in front of the hotel and we saw a guy wearing a t-shirt that said "Wilco Tour Crew 2009".

Our eyes lit up. Wilco? In Santa Fe? No way. No place big enough here. A secret show? Maybe just spending the night between shows? That makes no sense. Santa Fe isn't exactly a convenient stop off between big cities.

Then we started wondering where Wilco would go in Santa Fe. Margaritas at the Cowgirl? And dinner? There are so many good restaurants in Santa Fe. Where do indie rock bands go?

Of course Wilco is not in town. We looked up the tour dates and they are in El Paso tonight. But someone is in town with two big tour buses. Checked the Santa Fe Brewing Company calendar. Open mic night. Nope. Checked the Santa Fe Reporter which has worthless online listings for live music. The Lensic? There we go. David Byrne is playing a sold out show tonight. Wish we had known, maybe we would have gone. (Though probably not since ticket prices started at $42.)

At any rate, it was kind of exciting to spend a few minutes thinking about Wilco being in Santa Fe and where they might go.

I love my garden. Oh yes I do.

Everything is growing quite nicely this year, it's very exciting. All the starter plants and flowers are getting bigger and bigger and the seeds are coming up. I can't wait to have tall sunflowers all along the fence. Granted I am not a big fan of pulling weeds and sometimes I am not in the mood to water, but it's all worth it in the end.


Have I mentioned that I love zinnias? I think so.


Cabbage! And lettuce! Makes me think about Peter Rabbit.

Today we've been inside painting. Fun! Not really. I don't like to paint. At all. And even the smallest bits take me forever to finish. But I am doing it anyway. Thankfully my husband is an expert painter and willingly did the ceiling and the trim for me. So all I have are the easy parts.

So far the new color is a bit shocking to me. I was going to go with the bluer "Reflecting Pool" and then at the last minute decided that the lighter "Spa" would be better. And I am glad I did because the light color suddenly looks so much darker than the sample area that I did. But I think when it's all done, it'll look good.

Oh and our new couch is in! It's being delivered tomorrow afternoon. We are so excited. Of course it means we need to find a new area rug and throw pillows, but that's okay. We'll work it out. I'm just happy that all the house stuff we've talked about is slowly but surely coming together.

Makes me laugh, everytime.

Pittsburgh, The City of Champions!

Seriously! First the SuperBowl, now the Stanley Cup. It's totally awesome and I love it. I bet there are lots of happy folks in Pittsburgh today.

And I have to say, I really enjoyed watching all the games. Granted hockey gives me high blood pressure and sometimes I feel like I am going blind because I can't quite see where the fast moving puck is, but still, it was fun. And so many great players! Simon can't decide if he wants to change his name to Sidney, Maxime or Malkin.

Congratulations to all the Pens fans out there. What a great win!!

Also, I was wondering about stats for winning a SuperBowl and Stanley Cup in the same year and I just found it via Rich Eisen:

Pitts becomes 1st city 2 win Super Bowl/Stanley Cup in same yr. In fact, never happened in history of NFL, which began in 1920.

flickr faves

1. Untitled, 2. buds, 3. Untitled, 4. cherry blossoms & sky, 5. manhatan bridge, 6. Untitled, 7. into_deep, 8. spring in hiding, 9. Untitled, 10. Interruptance., 11. Untitled, 12. neurons

Created with fds flickr toys.

Very pleased that

I get my husband back today. It's too quiet around here without him.

While he was gone, I watched a lot of movies. A lot of "girly" movies as he calls them. (He'll watch just about anything with me, but I figure I shouldn't torture him too much with some of the crap I like to watch.) And some not so girly.

New in Town

He's Just Not That Into You

Revolutionary Road

Bride Wars

Doubt (but I didn't finish it)

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

The worst of them? Bride Wars. Not that I expected it to be intellectually stimulating, but it was hardly worth watching.

Revolutionary Road was heavy and not as good as I expected it to be.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona was entertaining and made me dream about going back to Spain. Big time. (But good grief, does Scarlett Johansson have to be in almost every movie I watch? That's what it seems like lately.)

And I know I don't have stellar taste in movies. This week I was watching mostly to be entertained.

Anyway, tonight it's back to hockey. Game 7. Do or die. I have the feeling it is going to be nerve racking. Let's bring that Stanley Cup back to Pittsburgh! GO PENS!

Primping.

This is Alexandra, my 20-year old niece, putting on make up before Caroline's high school graduation party. Caroline was in the bathroom - their mom's bathroom - putting on make up as well and I just kind of wandered in there with my camera. They kept doing what they were doing and I snapped a few shots. Then Alexandra said something that I didn't understand followed by "Auntie Juli is kind of creeping me out by taking photos."

I thought it was hilarious.

Alexandra does not mince her words. At all.

She also changed her dress before the party. She borrowed one from Cassidy, the 15-year old.

Those girls.

They're the best.

A good morning.

On my morning travels, I found some good tunes, important reminders and a picture that made me smile.

These Days podcast from Susie Ghahremiani. I like it.

This post from Myla Kent.

And this photo from Burn the Industry.

Not a flower!

All's well that ends well.

We had a stressful morning, but Rocky is okay. We had to sit at the vet for about 45 minutes before we even got called into an examining room. That was not fun. I was in anxiety mode and Rocky was in pain. The vet couldn't tell anything from examining him so I had to leave him there for x-rays. (I suspected this would be the case.) I came home and fretted for over an hour before I finally got the call.

They couldn't find anything wrong with him. Excellent news! No fractures, no hip out of socket and no puncture wounds. (I need to keep an eye on him though because his fur could be hiding a puncture, but I don't think he has one. He usually bleeds when he does.) The vet said he must just be really bruised and sore. So he is on pain meds once again and has to stay in for at least a few days if not longer. Once I got him home, he already seemed better. He wasn't favoring his right hind leg so much and just wanted to eat. Who knows, maybe he has a thing for pain meds! Heh.

So all is fine, it was just a stressful morning and sort of changed the course of the day. Hopefully tomorrow I am a bit more productive. I'm just happy to have my boy back at home.

Not exactly how I wanted to start the week.

Rocky came in limping this morning so it's off to the vet for us. I can't find any blood on him so I have no idea if it's another puncture wound or if he sprained his leg or what. Perhaps it's nothing, but I need the vet to take a look at him. I'll update you with a vet report later.

flickr faves

1. Lacrime di cocconiglio @ Tagliamento - an dreij, 2. Summer, please return, 3. Cry Wolf, 4. rooftops and raindrops, 5. Dom Magdeburg, 6. Untitled, 7. Untitled, 8. Untitled, 9. Tiny Fingers, 10. Polaroid TZ Artistic pansy, 11. longing..., 12. |||||||, 13. Untitled, 14. Untitled, 15. Untitled, 16. Untitled

Created with fds flickr toys.

The Bus.

I will miss seeing Bettis on Sunday nights during football season, although I have to say I am not shocked that NBC is not renewing his contract.

Tony Dungy is going to be a great addition to the show, but Rodney Harrison? Never been a fan. Not to mention there's already enough bias toward the Patriots. Now there will be even more. Ugh.

On the hockey bandwagon.

Yeah, I know, we mocked some of the folks who jumped on the Arizona Cardinals bandwagon when they made it to the SuperBowl and now we're essentially doing the same thing by jumping on the Pittsburgh Penguins bandwagon. It's just too hard to resist. We are compelled to support any Pittsburgh team that makes it all the way.

And I do like watching hockey. We just never got into it because we are so devoted to football, we decided that we would get nothing else done in our lives if we became so fanatical about another sport. And out here, I don't think they air all that many Pens games anyway so we'd be looking at spending god knows how much more money on another sports ticket. No can do.

But the Stanley Cup is on national television. Yes! (Or at least it was Saturday and Sunday. I panicked last night when I didn't see the game listed on a local channel. Lucky for us it was on one of the other sports channels that DirectTV provides us.) And what a game! I was hoping that playing at home would give the Pens that extra kick they needed to win a game and it definitely did. We are anxiously awaiting tomorrow night's game.

Watching hockey is stressful though. Way more stressful than football. It all happens so quickly. Back and forth, back and forth. Cheering and groaning and cussing and cheering. It definitely brings out the sports fan in me. And, um, I have to say, I really like the fights. More fights!

Last night the game made me homesick for Pittsburgh. They showed a brilliant night shot of downtown Pittsburgh and it made me want to be there again. Plus a lot of our friends back there are huge hockey fans and watching the games makes me think of them too.

GO PENS!!!

The latest

baby hats. I think this is my favorite design so far.

I'd love to have Rocky model one for you, but since I do sell them, I figure it's not so good to get them covered in cat hair. Don't want to make any babies sneeze!

*

A lovely interview with one of my favorite photographers, Armando Bellmas.

I can't remember when I started following Armando, but it's been a long time and via his photo/web blog, I've watched him grow into the photographer that he is today. I find his work, his life philosophy and his approach to work very inspiring. So go check him out.

Yes.

POLAROID, THE PICTURES ARE INSTANT!

[via polaroidgirl]

flickr faves, the backyard and what not.

1. descending, 2. Salem., 3. Untitled, 4. 5, 5. 23, 6. 20, 7. nina's silhouette - coney, 8. raincoat, 9. appreciation, 10. ranunculuses on blue, 11. Orchid, 12. Libero a metà, 13. Untitled, 14. Untitled, 15. survey, 16. Untitled

(Created with fds flickr toys.)

I've been slacking on the Friday Flickr Faves. It's just been so hard to spend any length of time at my computer lately. I seem to be on my computer a lot in five minute intervals, but anything longer than that, well, the weather's just too nice to be shut up in my office. We've done so much work on the yard, I have to say it's looking quite wonderful, and so I want to be outside. Enjoying the yard.

Which I am doing right now because I asked Will if I could try his laptop out here. And lo and behold, I think the internet connection is actually better out here than it is in the back of the house. It's quite lovely to be sitting in the shade, a strong breeze blowing, Simon at my feet and my husband alternately manning the grill and playing the guitar. Can't get much better. (Rocky's manning the grill as well. He likes to eat the ashes that fall out. Oh so tasty.)

This week was one of those weeks that requires running errands every single day. If I don't have to drive out to some store on Cerrillos Road for the next week or so, I'll be a happy woman. But shit has to get done and sometimes that involves constant errands. I finally got decent curtains for my office and the utility room. And we got a table and chairs for the new patio area. Wood for the bookshelves that Will is building. Lunch at Osaka one day. (It wasn't half bad and it turned out that we knew the waiter through some other friends of ours.)

I also finally got all the seeds in the ground. If they all take, we are going to have a bazillion zinnias which is going to be awesome. I don't know what's going to come up though. For some reason I fee like I did a shoddy job of planting. Planted some sunflower, poppy and cosmo seeds as well. I'm feeling so pleased about the yard. Oh and the lettuce is growing like mad. Who knew? So excited about having greens from the garden later this summer.

So, happy about the yard. Not so happy about some other aspects of my life, but you know, right now, it just couldn't be much better. Sitting in the backyard with my husband and the cats is the best thing ever.

P.S. You should check out the Polaroid Gallery over at the New York Times. There's some incredible stuff up there.

Cooking with Quattrone

If you don't check in over at Brah from time to time, you probably should. Leah (aka Bloody Powers) has some great posts related mostly to Pittsburgh and/or rock. I heard about "Cooking with Quattrone" a few months ago and, well, here it is. Check out the Brah blog for Leah's post about it. And you should really look for all her posts, they're super entertaining. I'd link to some of my faves, but the Brah blog doesn't allow for such things. So click through the past posts and see what you can see!

Flowers, inside.

Anniversary Dinner.

At long last, I am getting to our anniversary dinner. Of course now that almost 20 days have passed, the old memories are getting rusty and I don't remember some of the fabulous details. But I'll give it my best shot.

First of all, the whole evening was incredibly dreamy. We went out to Encantado last summer for the ribbon cutting and I fell in love with the place. It's so gorgeous out there. We didn't end up spending a night there, although in retrospect, we really wish that we had. Maybe next year. (It is rather pricey.) But we did make to dinner, as I had so hoped we would that lovely August summer evening last year.

So we got gussied up and naturally I had to take numerous photos.



Including one with our Game Day faces. (Our thoughts are never too far from football.)



And then off to Terra we went. It wasn't crowded when we arrived so we had our choice of tables. It was such a lovely evening, we decided to sit out on the patio. That ended up being rather hot with the sun shining directly on us, but in the end, once it cooled off and we watched the sunset, it was the perfect choice.



I love having leisurely dinners, particularly at higher end restaurants. And Terra pretty much let us set the pace which was wonderful. The service was absolutely impeccable. Our waitress was patient with all our questions and desire for chit chat and provided stellar recommendations. We started off with a nice, crisp Chardonnay and if I'd written about this immediately, I'd remember the brand. We decided to start out with salads. I ordered the Arugula and Hydro-Cress Salad (w/ beets, prickly-pear dressing, Cabrales blue and piñon-nut clusters) which was so incredibly good. Will had the Grilled Hearts of Romaine Caesar (w/ masa croutons, white anchovies and shaved Spanish Manchego), also excellent, and the masa croutons were to die for. Yum. And before they brought out the salads, they gave us a lovely complimentary treat of salmon and caviar.



I don't remember exactly what the waitress called it, but it was tasty. For our second course we had the Oxtail Ravioli (w/ tomato marmalade, Parmesan broth and parsley oil) because I can never resist anything with oxtails. It was not disappointing. At all.

We decided not to get a bottle of red wine as we thought that would be too much for us. Instead, we went for a half bottle which limited our choices a great deal. We ended up with a Merlot, and again, I don't remember the brand, but I didn't love it. But no matter, these things happen. It didn't take away from the enjoyment of the meal.

Moving on, for our entrees, Will had the Three Little Pigs which is grilled tenderloin in adobo, crispy belly with edamame purée and braised jowl mole-style.



I sampled the crispy belly and dear lord, it's one of the richest things I have ever tasted. Intense. He loved it, a perfect choice for him.

I have a tendency to order duck when we go out and that's what I chose that evening. Roasted Duck Breast served with wild nettles and oyster mushrooms in a cassis sauce.



Delicious. Although if I remember correctly, my greens were fiddlehead ferns, not the wild nettles.

After our entrees, the Executive Chef came out and introduced himself. We were feeling quite heady at that point and the fact that we met the chef made it all the more dreamy. I figured he said hello to everyone, but no, he did not visit all the tables. I guess these fancy resort places definitely know how to make a couple feel special.

We studied the dessert and after dinner drinks menu for quite some time. I'm not so good with straight alcohol so really can't do single malt scotch or anything like that. I considered getting an amaretto but thought it might be too sweet. The waitress recommended Lillet which I've never had. She offered to bring out a small sample and I accepted. In the meantime, we also ordered dessert and Will ordered a single malt scotch of some sort. Before she made it back with our order, the maitre d came out with two glasses of complimentary champagne.

Uh-oh.

So sweet of them, but I was so conflicted. If you know me at all, you probably know that I generally cannot drink champagne unless it is the very first drink that I have. If I mix it in later, it usually leads to bad hangovers the following day. But how could I refuse their anniversary treat? Not to mention that it was quite good champagne. And we had other drinks on the way. This is when we really started wishing we had reserved a room!

I ended up drinking the champagne and fortunately it did not kill me the next day. I also sampled the Lillet which was almost too much for me, but sipping on it seemed to work. I may try it again sometime.

As for dessert, Will partook of their homemade ice creams.



Rocky Road, Guinness and Hazelnut Mocha. He was in ice cream heaven.

I chose the flan which was served with Mexican chocolate ice cream. I don't recall the other details.



It was fantastic and again, so sweet of them to acknowledge our anniversary celebration. The cookie was some sort of amaretto cookie and quite good.

We were so pleased with our whole experience there. Excellent food and service and amazing atmosphere. Loved it. I am dying to go back to eat at the bar and watch the sunset. (The bar menu is more affordable.) Our experience there also prompted us to recommended Terra as a choice for my mom's 70th birthday party and it looks like that's going to happen. Yum.

Oh, and last of all, on our way out, I had to make a stop in the ladies room and couldn't get out before snapping some "mirror in the bathroom" photos.



It was a helluva nice bathroom.

Today...

I ran 4 miles.

I planted zinnia seeds in the sandbox
and sunflower seeds near the fence.

I counted all my indoor plants and found that I have 46 of them.

I took some Polaroid pictures and got stressed out because
both my SX-70 cameras caused me to lose about 5 shots.
One camera eats film sometimes,
the other has a mirror that locks up.
My film supply is not endless.

I brought home cut peonies from mom and dad's garden. I love peonies.

I went downtown with Will to see my mom in the fashion show at the new museum, but we missed it because the line to get in was so long.

I did laundry.

I finished knitting a small shawl for myself, made with the beautiful hand spun yarn that Sheryl gave me awhile back.

I knocked my bicycle over in the utility room and cursed a lot.

I organized the rocks in the back yard around the new paving stones. And I have to say, I did quite a nice job. It looks good back there.

I made guacamole for the first time in forever.

I spent $80 at Whole Foods. I'm so good at guessing what our groceries will cost these days just by eyeballing what we have on the conveyor belt. Today I said, "uggghhh, it's going to be eighty dollars." It was $80.95. Yes, we spend all our money on food.

Garden update.

Last week I worked in the yard for a few days and then between the lack of sleep and my overall foul mood, I had to take a break. I spent a few days knitting baby hats and watching movies. It was nice. Much as I love to garden, I seem to get burnt out more quickly these days.

Anyway, this week I had to get back to it. So I spent most of the afternoon planting vegetables. (Yeah, I know, it's really smart to work outside during the hottest part of the day.) I planted two tomato plants in the side yard again as they seem to do best there. We wanted a cherry tomato plant as well, but no more room in the side yard. And we didn't have much luck with vegetables in the back yard last year. So we decided to try a container cherry tomato plant. Hopefully it works out.

I planted pepper plants today too. There wasn't a great selection at Home Depot or the local nursery which was kind of disappointing. I like different types of sweet peppers, but they mostly had green bell peppers which I did not want at all. We had way too many of them last year after planting pepper plants that had been mislabeled. We did find one sweet yellow pepper plant, but alas, when I got it home, I discovered that it was actually a yellow banana pepper plant. I also ended up with some cubanello peppers and jalapeños. It's funny, in Pittsburgh, my jalapeños grew like crazy, but the past two years here in Santa Fe, no luck at all with them. Hoping that this year will be the year. I make a tasty guacamole with fresh jalapeños. Oh and of course I put in eggplant again. That's one of my faves from the garden. I would love to plant more, but we just don't have the space. As it is, I know I have everything planted too close together, but whatever, we'll see what happens. I may have to try to squeeze in a sweet pepper plant somewhere.

Last week I planted some greens for the first time. Romaine lettuce, some other lettuce and collards. No idea if they'll take or not. On the flower front, I transplanted my echinacea to a different spot and added a few more plants. Echinacea is one of my faves and does well in this climate. Filled the two front beds with zinnias. Put in some dahlias near the coyote fence, more echinacea in the back yard bed that nothing does well in, and a nice little herb garden outside the back door. I also transplanted one of my lilac bushes and yarrow. Both are looking a little sad, but I think they'll make it.

All I really have left to do is get the seeds planted and hopefully that will happen tomorrow. Although now that I think about it, if it actually rains tomorrow, all the seeds might get washed away. Perhaps I should wait. Any thoughts? I think the yard is going to look fantastic this year, it's just so much work.

My tiredness is taking over now and I can't focus on this big screen anymore. Plus I still have to water. Looking forward to the two hour finale of Criminal Minds.

How's your garden coming along?

Looking good at 33.

The birthday boy photo from last week. Yes, I am behind on everything. That's what happens when insomnia strikes. My productivity levels drop pretty drastically. I have decided to blame the lack of sleep and all the other recent frustrations on Mercury being in retrograde.

And the saga continues.

I know some of you are waiting to hear about our anniversary dinner and I swear I will get to it, but I just don't have the energy right now.

Sleep? Not my friend lately. Totally avoiding me.

Actually last night, out of desperation, I took a sleeping pill. A whole one, not half like last time. Slept from 9:30 until 4:00am when Simon threw the gate opener on the floor and woke me up. I felt totally woozy but managed to get up and let the cats out. Fell back asleep until 6:00am when my alarm went off. I could barely peel my eyes open. My legs felt like rubber and I could not think straight. I thought maybe it would wear off after awhile, but nope, I felt like crap. I felt just as bad if not worse than when I don't sleep at all. Tired, dizzy, nauseous. Awful. I basically had an emotional meltdown and have been surly all day.

So sleeping pills? Not my friends either. I didn't really want to be friends with them anyway, but I thought maybe I could use them as needed.

I think sleeping pills are bunk. What's the point of getting eight hours of sleep if you still feel like crap? I don't get it.

Here's hoping I sleep tonight.

On the Encantado front, we went out there with my dad for a meeting with a party planner. We're going to have my mom's 70th birthday party there in August. I just love it out there so much. The party is going to be fabulous. I also can't wait to go back and eat in the bar which is along the lines of the Rio Chama bar prices but has much better views.

We grabbed lunch at Tune Up before running some other errands and it was excellent. We shared a BLT and their steak sandwich special. Both were amazing and way better than Flying Star. And I see that they are open for dinner now. Excellent!

Right now I can barely keep my eyes open. I'm awaiting Will to arrive home with the dry mustard that I need for the cole slaw. We're having hot dogs and cole slaw for dinner. And then sleep for dessert. And more sleep. Please.

The cats are skating on thin ice.

And it's getting thinner every night. Rocky cried from 1:00 AM until about 4:00 AM when I finally gave in and let both cats out.

I just about lost it. Seriously.

I just need some goddamn sleep.

Wrapping it all up.

The cats are going to be shipped off to reform school. Seriously. Simon just came in here and scratched the hell out of my arm because he wants to eat breakfast NOW. They are so bad.

Here are the rest of my fave submissions to Spring 'Roid Week.


[Allium on Artistic TZ]


[Ranunculus is one of my favorite flowers. And I can spell it now!]


[My sweet husband on our anniversary. And mom's lilacs which are in full bloom right now and so beautiful. I love lilacs too.]


[Fifth anniversary.]


[Sunset while having our anniversary dinner at Terra Restaurant.]

I have to work again today, but hopefully I'll find some time to tell you about our dinner.

Happy Monday!

My 'Roid Week

Hi hi hello. I'm totally behind on posting because I've been working at the shop and it doesn't leave me much time for the other stuff. 'Roid Week was great and I was quite pleased with most of my submissions to the pool. Here are a few of my faves from the first day or two.


[Me and my boy Rocky. And my awesome bicycle.]


[Finally the Artistic TZ films works for me!]


[Double exposures are always fun and I think this one turned out quite well.]


[Super pleased that my new SX-70 Alpha works so well without the ND filter.]

A few more tomorrow and then I still want to tell you about our magical anniversary dinner!

spring 'roid week, day five!

1. nothing on, 2. Trixie and Coco, 3. and finally..., 4. Where once was a wedding..., 5. Untitled, 6. A week in Polaroid, 7. Untitled, 8. our lady of the forsythia, 9. Untitled, 10. tree on friday, 11. catblur, 12. Through the Looking Glass, 13. Untitled, 14. Untitled, 15. Untitled, 16. Strawberry Shortcake, 17. mailboxes. las cruces, nm., 18. Untitled, 19. new-108, 20. heart flower star, 21. Untitled, 22. Hi there., 23. On The Last Day (No. 11), 24. Untitled, 25. Untitled

and



1. Untitled, 2. grass is greener, 3. ., 4. Liquorice pizza, 5. It's 'Roid Week!, 6. allineed, 7. red plus white, 8. i saved a seat for you, 9. violets, 10. For Roid Week 2009, No.14, 11. Polaroid Has It's Own Special Kind of Lightning, 12. hello........., 13. Untitled, 14. me, 15. Hens and Chickens, 16. Looking for an exit, 17. x2FruRubRe3T, 18. kaleidoscope, 19. camelia path, 20. Untitled, 21. **, 22. For Roid Week 2009, No.15 and out

Created with fds flickr toys.

The final count: 1,248 members and 3,635 Polaroid photos in the pool. I think that's pretty damn impressive. Last year's Spring 'Roid Week had 2,084 photos. This year brought over a thousand more photos in spite of the discontinuation and rising prices of Polaroid film. It blows my mind.

Now go take some more Polaroid pictures!

spring 'roid week, day four!

1. self on thursday, 2. Niente di personale, 3. 029., 4. For Roid Week 2009, No.10, 5. Winter Trees, 6. rain lullaby III, 7. Life in Super8 & Polaroid. , 8. Untitled, 9. Untitled, 10. sea foam, 11. Sun-Drenched California Poppies, 12. Rosemary, 13. polamess, 14. clique, 15. Almost Zoe, 16. Untitled, 17. Untitled, 18. A garden party, 19. From here to eternity (Polaroid week - 4), 20. Can an afternoon revert?

and



1. fence and trees, 2. Just another day in the neighborhood, 3. 122 - Twin Mountains, 4. for leah, 5. together, 6. Untitled, 7. Warm love, 8. As Simple as a Flower, 9. hills at sunrise, 10. big barn little barn, 11. {171/365} polallium, 12. Let Me Out, 13. ceiling, 14. more gooder, 15. another iteration of a poem, 16. Violeta, 17. spring3, 18. Untitled, 19. 09.03.06, 20. dance till the morning sun

Created with fds flickr toys.

spring 'roid week, day three!

Lots and lots and lots of favorites!



1. wrapped in the blanket, 2. 'roid week : road trip., 3. Waiting for the time to come, 4. Last of the light, 5. T, 6. Untitled, 7. 'Roid Week 2009 // Vroom!, 8. abc, 9. "Always watch were you are going otherwise, you may step on a piece of the forest that was left outside by mistake", 10. Second Hand Love, 11. Untitled, 12. Untitled, 13. Untitled, 14. cleaning, 15. Untitled, 16. Untitled, 17. in the backyard, 18. ., 19. kinda paradise, 20. Untitled, 21. Untitled, 22. ???//365 : white dogwood, 23. may is for roses, 24. flatiron, 25. The best supporting evidence yet for the beast's existence, 26. Untitled, 27. Magic wands, 28. disappear, 29. Untitled, 30. RAINY MORNING, 31. For Roid Week 2009, No.9, 32. .., 33. Untitled, 34. 'roid week 3, 35. pink , 36. braid wednesday

and



1. Untitled, 2. ranunculus, 3. garnish., 4. the cutest, 5. Untitled, 6. Untitled, 7. Untitled, 8. lifeguard station, vacant., 9. IMG_0005, 10. Untitled, 11. Untitled, 12. Just Me & The Kids

Created with fds flickr toys.

spring 'roid week, day two!

1. Untitled, 2. Untitled, 3. Burned Joshua Trees, 4. Untitled, 5. Untitled, 6. only from the heart can you touch the sky, 7. allium, 8. Picket Fences and Normal Shit, 9. altar, 10. if monet had a polaroid, 11. dogwood, 12. Untitled, 13. ohlone walk, 14. Untitled, 15. tuesday, 16. ., 17. Untitled, 18. Untitled, 19. Untitled, 20. SallyCat, 21. *, 22. ., 23. Pier Shadows, 24. Happy, 25. Roadside, 26. Through the rain, 27. 'roid week day 2, 28. Untitled, 29. grand-a-roid, 30. Untitled

and



1. suck it rain, 2. Untitled, 3. East Cliff, Hastings, 4. 'roid week 09 - day 2, 5. Pour 512, 6. Untitled, 7. bunches of blossoms, 8. religious4, 9. The Cross of Lorraine, 10. Untitled, 11. 'Roid Week!, 12. Untitled, 13. apple tree

Created with fds flickr toys.

Dear Brett Favre,

I like you Brett, I really do. You've got a great arm and your antics are pretty damn hilarious sometimes. But you know what, you need to stay retired. You've retired twice now, let's make this one stick. Please oh please don't come out of retirement and play for the Minnesota Vikings. I mean, really, the fact that you are even considering coming out of retirement is ridiculous. You're done. Sit back and enjoy it. Hang out with the family. Start writing your induction into the Hall of Fame speech. Make some more commercials. Whatever.

No more football Brett.

spring 'roid week, day one!

1. 'roid week 1, 2. Saline Range, 3. Untitled, 4. Tori, in the garden, 5. Kirsty., 6. almost done, 7. Untitled, 8. My neighbour is sunbathing topless again..., 9. Bodie Trailer, 10. , 11. Untitled, 12. a good day to die, 13. Balloons, 14. Untitled, 15. second skin, 16. Small and sweet, 17. , 18. Untitled, 19. cloudy, overcast, colorful, 20. Untitled, 21. 46 / 365, 22. Untitled, 23. In the Sky, 24. Untitled, 25. A mystery that deepens, 26. Chimayó, 27. _, 28. purple posey, 29. -, 30. Thick Skin Cracks Too, 31. cherry branches & sky, 32. Bottles on My Windowsill, 33. furry leaves

Created with fds flickr toys.

Check out the 'Roid Week pool too! There are already 1,071 members and almost 900 photos. Absolutely amazing.

Also interesting, this post about the Polaroid House.

Starting the week

with a hangover is not such a good idea.

Well, in fact, it was never an idea that I had. It just happened.

I'm doing my best to push through it because I have a lot to do today.

Water outside.
Water inside.
Finish laundry.
Knit another bag for felting.
Take some Polaroid pictures.
Scan some Polaroid pictures.

It's not a particularly daunting list, but I'm moving slowly and not particularly focused.

Oh and I'm also going to be looking at pictures over here all day.

Happy 'Roid Week!

Who knew bookmarks could be so fun?

I don't normally buy bookmarks, but I just couldn't resist the kittens on this one. They run forward and back when you move the bookmark. With the waving flowers in the background, it's kinda psychedelic. And totally mesmerizing. I love it.

I also love my instant love button that I am sporting on my new blue hoodie. My love for it is twofold. One, I love Polaroid and instant pictures (duh), and two, it reminds me of my friend Jami's first published book of short stories.

Get your own awesome buttons at lolabot!

flickr faves

1. Untitled, 2. Untitled, 3. gatekeeper, 4. Ominous..., 5. Untitled, 6. shoulders., 7. Untitled, 8. Untitled, 9. asleep in the driver's seat, 10. #8, 11. yellow flowers in utah, 12. Untitled

Created with fds flickr toys.

Good morning.