Friday, March 27, 2009

On a Roll...

Or, just not having any luck getting my toddler, Little Round Top, to sleep. It is after midnight, and he is still happily chattering at my feet. No crib for me, mama! Poor guy is going to be exhausted tomorrow.

So, no access to projects pics at the moment, so I though that I would give you a glimpse into my tortured artist psyche. OK, into my library account. Better? I absolutely adore my local library- as it supplies me with some of the most wonderful resources imaginable, and at absolutely no cost. Well, until I rack up the fines when I can't bear to give up one of my favorites! My favorite part- if I get a clunker (which happens more that you might think!), I can just return it- no money wasted. Better still, I have a network to request from, and they are delivered right to my local branch - quickly if I am lucky. Can't beat that.

Anyway, here is what I have checked out at the moment. No "War and Peace" for me- at least not with two little mongrels keeping me busy during every waking hour.

The Greatest Hits [sound recording] : Why Try Harder / Fatboy Slim.

We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things [sound recording] / Jason Mraz.

P.S. I Love You [sound recording] : music from the motion picture.

Garden State [sound recording] : music from the motion picture.


Last Night [sound recording] / Moby.

Born-Again Vintage : 25 ways to deconstruct, reinvent + recycle your wardrobe / Bridgett Artise, Jen Karetnick

The New Terrarium : Creating Beautiful Displays for Plants and Nature / Tovah Martin and Kindra Clin

Cottage Retreats Decorating Ideas for Every Mood / Lisa Jill Schlang.

The First 30 days : Your Guide to Any Change (and Loving Your Life More) / Ariane de Bonvoisin.

The Closer. The Complete First Season [videorecording] / Warner Bros. Television ; directed by Michael M. Robin ... [et al.]

(The Nest) Home Design Handbook : Simple Ways to Decorate, Organize, and Personalize your Place / Carley Roney and the editors of TheNest.com ; photographs by Ellen Silverman.

Yankee Magazine's Panty hose, Hot peppers, Tea bags, and More--for the Garden : 1,001 ingenious ways to use common household items to control weeds, beat pests, cook compost, solve problems, make tricky jobs easy, and save time / [book editor, Veronica Lorson Fowler].

Easy Compost : the Secret to Great Soil and Spectacular Plants / Beth Hanson, editor.

Shoestring Chic : Extraordinary Style for Less / Gail Abbott ; with special photography by Mark Scott

Where Women Create : Inspiring Work Spaces of Extraordinary Women / Jo Packham.

Katie Brown Decorates : 5 styles, 10 rooms, 105 projects / Katie Brown ; photographs
by Paul Wichelo

You might say that I am on a decorating kick, but there are a few interesting garden tomes that I picked up today. Now that I know that it will actually be warm tomorrow (woo hoo!), I am going to try to get out into the garden and do some clean up. And, since I lost the eBay auction (woo hoo times two!), I am hoping to set up my "home made" worm composter in the basement, as well. I am debating the bag vs. the storage container- we will take a vote tomorrow.

Happy Living...

And one more, since I forgot!

Speaking of Freecycle, when I am not doing the "Shady Lady*" porch pick up (the safest way, sometimes- and best when I am feeling antisocial), I meet the nicest people. One of them is my junk buddy, who gamely digs through fun discards at the local reclamation/salvage shop (Construction Junction- what's your function?). Another is a wacky gal that lives in a house under a huge oak tree that Washington planted. She has one of the most amazing English Style cottage gardens that I have ever seen. I owe a large chunk of my tiny garden to her.

I met another one this week, too- met a fellow artist (though admittedly one more committed than I) and got some pretty metal lanterns for my porch. She even sent me her blog to peruse. Though I am not into scrapbooking myself (the one that I started for my wedding and honeymoon is still woefully unfinished after 6 years), she has some wonderful eye candy to look at. By happy coincidence, she had a free giveaway, too! Kismet, I say. Since I do most of my surfing late night, I haven't had a chance to take in much more than a few pages, but I have added her to my growing list of "Idea sites that I fully intend to take advantage of once my life settles down and I have time to breathe". The more the merrier!


Happy living to you.

*Shady Lady porch pick up is when I pick up things that people leave for me on their porch. I generally pick up during the day since I am home (both for safety reasons and to minimize the chances of me getting hopeless lost, which happens frequently), but when most people are at work. I sometimes get suspicious looks from unsuspecting neighbors, hence the name, but if they are anything like my own neighbors, they will get used to having strange people slinking around with odd objects. All part of the fun!

Just because I can.

So, I love free stuff. I am a passionate and active Freecycle user, as well as a late night Craigslist "comber". I love to give things away to people that feel the same way- kind of like Christmas without all the emotional angst. When it works, it works, folks, and we all need that kind of love sometimes.

So, when I see a giveaway on one of my favorite new sites (The Pioneer Woman), I jump on it. Given the fact that she has thousands of entries already, I don't stand a Peep's chance in my Easter Basket in winning. It was fun, though, to contemplate a simple question like "What do you plan to do this weekend"?

So, here is my answer. Wish I could say that I was doing something wildly creative, but, unfortunately, my mojo is a bit slow at the moment, and I am feeling sort of self indulgent and soft. So, I will try to find some creative energy and do SOMETHING (as Dot at Dabbled.com is wont to say). We all need it sometimes.

So, here is the entry- wish me luck!

I am going to have a birthday this weekend. Not a major one, but enough of a milestone towards midlife that it gives me pause. I am going to cry in my soup for a minute, then look at my beautiful sons and feel blessed.

Then I am going to head out to a favorite haunt from my old life and get the biggest boba tea (with monster tapioca pearls- hubby calls them "turd" teas), and then off to my favorite bakery (yes, I have one, hence a few more tears in the soup) for a massive cupcake with more frosting than sense.

I wish that I could get into my tiny garden, but, alas, we are getting some sleet and snow tomorrow. Instead, I fully intend to blow my entire nonexistent income on pretty garden things that I can get online. Like the worm composter that I started bidding on before I realized I could make it myself? C'mom folks! Wake up! I need the money- bid up!

The Internet shopping world is like one big window- and I intend to make some serious nose smudges this weekend. I might even add this as a new post on my god forsaken blog- one that I haven't touched in 2 months. There, one birthday resolution done already. Thanks for the nudge.

Happy living to you.