My only faith’s in the broken bones and bruises I display

[Library Loot]

An idea taken from here…. these are the items we have checked out from the library right now. Too bad the CD titles don’t photograph well and I’m too lazy to list them all.

Media Whore Sampling. Thanks to the library for supporting my addiction

[Backyard]

Tigerlily

[Garden]

The first beans, "Royal Burgundy" . they turn green when you cook them. My kids love these.

[blog title from "The Wrestler" by Bruce Springsteen]

DIY: Recycled Vinyl Record Planters

DISCLAIMER: No valuable vinyl was harmed in the making of this craft. I swear on a stack of 1963 Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan LPs.

The space we garden in currently is small. I joke that it’s the size of a postage stamp . In reality, it is a bit larger than that and we are rather fortunate that we have the yard that we do have, living in the center of town. Still…the point is, my garden space is small and about half of it is driveway, that is unused for the things that driveways are supposed to be used for. We’ve been car-free for 6 years now and a car in our driveway instead of bicycles,scooters & potted plants is an idea as foreign to me as eating peanut butter on hotdogs.

Most of my plants are in containers,including the veggies. Earlier this Spring,I found I lacked enough containers ( well, duh…who in their right mind has enough containers for 70 pepper plants? ) so I decided to make some.

Using the standard method of making a bowl from a vinyl record, I heated the record upside down in the oven on a metal bowl until it was droopy but instead of leaving the edges wavy & fluted, I squeezed the folds together to make more of a solid pot form.

I used my bare hands (because I’m either a badass or a dumbass…you choose) but it probably would be recommended to use workgloves or even gardening gloves to protect your hands from scorching hot vinyl.

I found that it worked well with some of the areas that didn’t seal as tight on first molding to just simply reheat those areas with a lighter and press to get the desired effect. It also worked to stick the “pot’ back into the oven ,upside down over a mason jar and let the oven meld the creases even tighter. Reheating w/ a lighter and hand molding left a pot looking like it’s former incarnation, complete w/ grooves. reheating in the oven made a completely solid black vinyl pot, with some very nice whirly doo-dads & nice design elements around the brim.

More pots

Labeled

Hello My name is

JuJu Bee

I am

ALWAYS!, active, activist, admirer, ambisexual, amorous, anarchist, animal lover, aromantic, artsy, BDSM, bi-romantic, bimbo, biogirl, birl, bisensual, bisexual, bitch, blessed, bondage, caring, cat lover, creative, cute, dairy queen, dreamer, eclectic, fag hag, family-closeted, fangirl, feline, female, feminist, femme-ish, fetishist, flirt, free, friendly, full of love, Green, gay-friendly, geek, gender normative, gender warrior, goddess, grrl, happy, hippie, hippychick, homoerotic, human, intelligent, kinky, left-brained, libertarian, lover, Ms., mama, minx, mommy, muff muncher, nerd, non-trans person, omnisexual, open, pan-romantic, pansexual, passionate, polyamorous, polysexual, pomosexual, pro-choice, pro-gay, pro-sex feminist, queer-minded, quirky, redhead, royal, sacred whore, sapphist, sassy, sex positive, shaman, she-geek, slut, socialist, spiritual, submissive, survivor, treehugger, understanding, versatile, who cares, whore, witch, wolf, woman, womyn, womyn-loving, YES!

Who are you?

A dollar for anything here on this quilt A price tag for hands from which all things are built

[Weekend Thrift Whore Scores]

$1/each- CDs…Michael Franti,Kings of Leon,Cake,White Stripes,Blind Melon….I’m forgetting someone.*EDIT* WEEN. That’s who I forgot.

$2- Made for Trade game. Complete,like new. Looks like a good educational game.

$7.50 – A cardboard box full of K’nex, including pieces that probably came from sets, like little vehicles & other cool things.

Other nice scores included glass bottles for herbs,books…some clothes. Oh..and I can’t forget the boy’s new favorite toy, Trucky Robot (one whole quarter)

Add ice cream to the end of our yard sale excursion and I’d call that a damn good day.

[Start to Finish]

[blog title from "Yard Sale" by The Avett Brothers]

“It is a happy talent to know how to play” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Time for Thursday Tea .

Page Beginning of "Tamara Drewe" by Posy Simmonds. The Littlest One in the background, in his element.

I’m reading “Tamara Drewe” by Posy Simmonds, a graphic novel ,which, as the synopsis explains, is “loosely inspired by Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd, Tamara Drewe follows a year at Stonefield, a bucolic writer’s retreat run by Beth and Nicholas Hardiman, where Dr. Glen Larson, an American professor and struggling novelist, is staying. The ambitious young Tamara Drewe, mourning the loss of her mother, has returned to her family home nearby. A bookish girl not so long ago, Tamara is now a gossipy columnist at a London paper and undeniably sexy. She quickly has every man in the vicinity—Glen, Nicholas, and the handyman, Andy—falling at her feet, while teenage best friends Casey and Jody become infatuated with Tamara and her ex-rock-star fiancé, Ben. Meanwhile, long-suffering Beth sees to the needs of the writers while managing the farm, the household, and the many affairs of her husband, a best-selling detective novelist.”

So far,Im enjoying this. Beth is just learning about her husband’s affair. Their marriage is defined as a more or less , “an open marriage”, yet she was blindsided and in the dark about his current affair. As anyone who has had an open-marriage can ytell you, when there is no reason to lie….but someone still is lying, there’s a reason and it usually leads to no good!

You can  read the entire graphic novel here,too.

My current tea is an Earl Grey , totally NOT intentional but as it so happens, the cliched English tea does seem to be the perfect companion to a book set in the English countryside. I’m drinking mine iced and  this particular brand of tea is Wegman’s store brand.

Now about that kid of mine, playing in the dirt. This kid is a testament to the practical parenting practice of buying second-hand clothing only. There is no way those pajama pants will ever be anythng other than dirt color now …and that’s ok. We could buy every cool & excitng outdoor toy on the market and this kid would still choose to play in this patch of dirt in the backyard. This 5 small patch of dirt is a biome supporting construction vehicles,dinosaurs, spaceships, robots,cars & trucks, jungle & farm animals and superheroes. It’s a good time for a 4 year old.

That paintbrush seems to be very important

Wordless Wednesday

I felt as though I was being watched...and indeed,I was.

clearly nonplussed by the paparazzi

Wordless Wednesday

When she’s on her best behavior Don’t be tempted by her favors

[Listening To] Coverville has become part of my morning routine, at least on the mornings that there’s a brand spanking new podcast up. I’ve always loved cover songs and hearing an artists interpretation of what another artist created so no brainer – I love Coverville. The latest is a listener request edition, started off with “Never  Turn Your Back On Mother Earth”, both the original & Neko Case’s cover. In  other words, it’s started off great.

[Read] Les is 10 and his Mother has died from cancer.As the local gas-station owner/damaged & broken ex-NHL star Jimmy says, “That’s fucked up”, and it is. Les is fatherless so he now lives w/ his Uncle on a farm in Southwestern Ontario. Les wears a superhero cape & a mask, spends most of his time alone in his room creating his own comics or reading comics or acting out fantasies that involve alien invasions & Lester features as The Hero. Jimmy feeds into the fantasies,becoming his only friend and his relationship with his custodial Uncle goes through awkward & strained development. Black & white illustrations are  emotionally charged & evocative. This received a thumbs up from both me & my 12 year old, who can’t wait to read the next one.

[Watched] Shine a Light

Ok, truthfully – I did not watch the whole thing. I appreciate that it’s Martin Scorcese AND The Rolling Stones but for me, it was all about Jack White.

[Backyard] Along w/ the lilacs,the hostas are full-fledged now.

Why do I have an urge to replicate these using paper? I'm such a Craft Geek

[blog title from "Never Turn Your back On Mother Earth", originally by Sparks]

“You stay right here at the fire,Bear,and sleep in the warm”

It’s Tuesday…where are you?

I’m in a cottage in the woods, being groomed by 2 little girls and their mother. It’s all very odd…one minute I was running through the village in my bear suit, scaring children and the next,I was in the snow, making my way toward the door of this cottage. Starnger still, I seem to no longer be a man but a bear.

tender morsels by margo lanagan

This morning, in reality and not book form, it is very chilly in upstate NY. I was huddled under a comforter reading this morning. Hopeful last night was the last very cold night and Spring is finally here. The temp dipped down to low 30’s last night.  I’m so over the cold.

[blog title from pg 125 of tender morsels by Margo Lanagan]

So… that’s why they call you One-Eyed Willie… One-Eyed Willie.

Today’s Highlights

[FREE] Spearmint,peppermint,lemon balm & chocolate mint plants. I asked on Freecycle. I received.  I missed havng mint. You know, mint is an excellent deterrant to mosquitos and other pests. Everyone should have a potted mint plant in their patio area ( for easier access to mint leaves for making mojitos).

[BOOK]

Power and Glory by Emily Rodda

A fun read-aloud. A kid playing a new video game is continually interrupted by family members (represented by characters/monsters in the game) whle tryng to reach new levels. We noticed that no one n ths storybook family ever says please and they’re kind of rude…..sometimes a little bit like at our house.  Noted and will be worked on. Vibrant and kinetic illustrations by Geoff Kelly. Author Emily Rodda is most definitely a mother, probably of boys. I can tell wthout even reading her bio.

[Food] Curried Cauliflower & Chickpea Stew .Except I added broccoli,too.

[Family Movie]

[blog title from The Goonies]

I made wine from the lilac tree Put my heart in its recipe

What a difference one week makes.

Lilacs, Last Sunday

Lilacs, Today Sunday

If only blogs came with a scratch-n-sniff option

[blog title from "Lilac Wine" by Jeff Buckley]