Category Archives: everyday
Resurfacing
Blows away the dust*
Hello! Maybe some of you are still here, I hope so.
It sure has been a while. I’ve been busy making my way through grad school. Who knew that the first year of a PhD program would snatch me away from most things except textbooks. I did manage to do some reading and crafting and traveling outside of school and over the next few weeks I will make an attempt to catch up on that, posting a series of mini views on the books I’ve read and the things I’ve stitched.
Summertime has been great so far (or..I think it’s really still spring but it feels like summer here). I’ve moved house (now E and I are together all the time), we’ve planted our garden, put all of my books on the shelves, become NC tourists, and I’ve started going to knit night at the local yarn shop again.
I love this time of year!
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Views
The view this week from the desk is of a beautiful and fragrant rose from the garden. Refreshing when my nose is buried in textbooks. My reading has slowed down a bit since the start of the school year but I’ve found that I’ve been more inspired lately to create. Knitting crocheting and baking give me quick bursts of relaxation-I do them in the between times when I don’t have hours to spend cuddled with a book.
It’s cooling off some and the garden is a nice place to be. The tomatoes are just about finished for the year but the jalapenos and bell pepper are still going. It’s amazing the amount of dishes I can prepare that include jalapeno. They give such a wonderful flavor even in pasta sauce. We’ve planted cabbage and collard greens which I’m very excited for. We had to pull up our onion as they never came up. The verdict is that I’m to blame for planting them too deep.
Here in photos are all the non-bookish things that are getting me through the semester.
Happy New Year!
I’m back from Savannah and a little late but wishing everyone wonderful reads and warm wishes in 2010!
Heading South…
It’s vacation time again and I’m heading south to Savannah, GA to ring in the New Year. Maybe it will be a bit warmer there, this 30 degree business is for the birds. I’ve brought along The Group by Mary McCarthy and Someone At A Distance by Dorothy Whipple. I have no idea how much reading I will be able to do while exploring this charming Southern town so just in case I’ve also taken along my very first audio book, Her Fearful Symmertry by Audrey Niffenegger for the long drive. I love historical sightseeing, museums, old houses, squares, and the like and it seems that Savannah is filled with those things. Of course I wlll do my best to raid the bookshops.
**photos from Hyatt Regency Savannah**
Container garden update: The balcony plants have been inside nesting for some time now. I’ve dumped all of my flowering annuals and cleaned and stored the pots for next year. I’m already dreaming of the colors and wonders of spring.
Holiday Cheer
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Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
My Persephone Secret Santa and Virago Secret Santa gifts are making the journey to their giftees. I’ve taken Saplings, The Ante-Room, and Say You’re one of Them with me while I’m away for the holidays.
Philly Finds
The City of Brotherly Love was full of great food, great friends, great sites, and great books (of course). The presentation and poster session went well, I caught up with a great group of girls, got a year’s supply of pens and trinkets, had wonderful food, climbed the ‘Rocky’ steps to the art museum, and heard an excellent big band.
At the Book Corner I pulled a great haul, 5 VMCs. And who can’t feel good about buying from a place that supports local libraries and community programs.
The Living is Easy by Dorothy West
One Fine Day by Mollie Panter-Downes
A Sea-Grape Tree by Rosamond Lehmann
Two Days in Aragon by Molly Keane
Romping through the bins
The local bookshop had a used book sale (!!) this weekend to benefit a program called Books for kids. Not that that I need to buy anymore books, I’m drowning under those that I have and bookshelf space is hard to come by or really is non-existent. But this is for charity… 🙂 It seemed like the sale went well. I got there early and it was already crowded.
Here’s what I came away with:
All in super condition. Now if I only had another set of eyes to read them all.
Aller-geez!
Today I went to see an allergist in an attempt to sort out stomach issues, food allergies, and environmental allergies. Of course I have all 3. After 2 rounds of very itchy skin tests and a blood draw I’m sent away with a packet of information, an epi-pen, and a standing appointment for allergy shots! Simply allergic to just about everything in the environment from cockroaches to trichophyton. The food allergies were another story: Some were slightly reactive-peach, watermelon, hazelnut. Others were suspect. That’s where the blood tests come in. (I am currently googling life size bubbles) Oh, I’m also IBS girl, but that’s another post entirely.
I’d been ignoring the food and allergy issues for a while and finally decided to have them officially checked after a couple of random events (read: swelling face, mad tummy, avoiding social gatherings with food at work). I suppose it’s good to know what your allergies are so that you can avoid them and maintain a comfortable life. The next step is learning how to live with them and live, work, and play among folks who don’t have them. Luckily I don’t have any sort of violent or deadly allergy but it’s sometimes a bit awkward to refuse food and then mumble something about a sensitive stomach and food allergies or to have to request the vegetarian option for work functions.
I’m learning 🙂
Leaning Towards the Sun 