Wednesday, March 30

The Angry Birds..they come........

Ha ha ha ha ha ...so good. I had to share with all of you.
 I still can not make it past level 12 dammit.

http://www.wsbt.com/sns-rooster-teeth-angry-birds-trailer-20110330,0,1208483.htmlstory

Day 7- pic of the person I do the most f*cked up things with...

Hmmmmm I have had several days to think about this and it has different faces for different parts of my life,  as I am sure it is for you as you reflect on some of the more ummmmm wacky antics in your pasts.

The one constant who, without fail, I find myself in the strangest situations with time and time again is my partner, David.


We can't leave the house together without something happening.
Perhaps a lost dog jumps in the open window of the car at a stop light, or  a woman runs from a dangerous situation straight into Daiv,  or we find a rodeo/carnival in the middle of Navajo Nation where such a thing really does not belong and bang, in comes a tornado ( see above pic ).

Whatever strangeness it involves, you can be sure, Daiv and I are in the thick of it.
I assure you we do not go looking for it, but somehow it finds us anyway *giggle*.

Do you have a good memory of the two of us I have not mentioned?
 Write me and tell me all about it in the comments.

Everyone has someone in their lives like this...who is yours?

Monday, March 28

The Lotus.....step one- germination

Can I grow my own water lotus and water lilies from seed?
Good freakin question. I know that the cost of these already potted at the nursery is astronomical, so I am endeavoring to try.

I researched and ordered some seeds through a reputable seller on ebay.

My seeds came with a handful of instructions that seem.......well......straight forward enough?

I am going to blog about these growing adventure in the hopes it could help others, that others can comment and help me, and that perhaps we can stick it to the man a bit over the cost of pond plants :)

The water lotus seeds came in these packages...

I am choosing two of each colour to start for a total of 12 plants. These seeds have a very long shelf life, so am hopeful for more in the future.

First it says  you must  scarify or cut into the hard outer shell of the pod.

Hmmm I tried a couple of things....
-exacto knife is recommended to nick the top, ummmm cut the seed in half  'oooops, sorry little lotus' 
( notice the little white bit in front of the knife in pic )....

- a pair of small needle nose pliers and my fairy cheese grater ( so named as it was part of a teeny set of teeny baking utensils given to us by Bruno and Bruce for our Faery Wedding ) finally did the job.

Important to note that I needed to put the seed pod in the round wire cutter part, the needle nosed end simply worked as a great slingshot for the pod *rolls eyes*..

Once each little pod showed a sliver of white, like the inside of a coconut, I placed them in a see through container cleaned with just water ( no soap ) and added warm water to it.



Hmmmm a few are sinking, a few are floating...I have no idea what that means....
I need to change the water twice a day, or as it gets cloudy and keep it about 21 degrees celcius ( 70 for you American peeps )
I hope in 1-4 days, I will see the sprout of a little green stem...

meanwhile the red night flowering water lily tubers simply required being placed in a container of warm water....


Okay everyone.....GROW!!!!!

Day 6- pic of someone/thing who makes you laugh

This question asked..."who/what makes you laugh?"  makes one go tromping through memory lane.
Oh man...the memories....


I am blessed with a lot of wonderful people in my life. I know this and appreciate everyone so much for all the gifts they possess.


It is not hard however to pick the one person above all others who consistently makes me laugh messy giggles, hysterical guffaws, tears down face have to pee, kind of laughter that hurts your face, and that person is Kirstie.

She is simply one of the most shameless gigglers of all time with an infectious, mischevious spirit and the fun we have together is unlike any other. 'Trouble', is one way we have been described together.

Sadly, we can only get together every couple of years, from our far off worlds, and release some of the giggle steam that has been building. I would love to have a little of that every day.

This pic is Kirstie and I, moments after she convinced me to look in the fountain in Gijon and look for the invisible fish..
umm *SPLASH* is what I got instead.

In our current state of turmoil in the world...laugher could well prove to be our best ally.

Love you Kirstie...

Sunday, March 27

DAy 5 - pic of something you love...

I love crows.

 From the classroom crow named Toby who hung out on a  window ledge beside me in grade 6 begging lunch scraps, to the crow we rescued as a baby and hand fed with an eye dropper for three months
( every 90 minutes -yeesh) and who became our ' Indigo'  staying with us for 8 years, to the mystical and magical stories of crows through the ages.

I love crows.

Wednesday, March 23

Day 4- pic of something you'd like to do again

Again please?
Put me on a train anywhere in Europe and I am happy, happy, happy.
 This pic was taken on a nightrain from Cologne to Prague.
I whiled away the hours catching up on postcards, listening to music and plotting my next adventure.

Earlier I had met some wonderful peeps who I shared a picnic with at the train station while waiting for our train as it was late - story about that  in "Cueing Up" from 2009 http://sweetgrass-sweetgrass.blogspot.com/2009/11/cueing-up-orwill-this-line-ever-end.html
Every moment made a little sweeter by the smells, sounds, people, etc that you meet at train stations.

There is  Simply no better way to travel, in my humble opinion, than on a train in Europe.
Again Please!

Tuesday, March 22

Day 3- pic of cast of favourite tv show

Well this one is easy.
'Tiga Talk' of course.
I am including the cast and crew photo and yes it does include me :)
Not sure if this is breaking the rules of this 30 day thingy, but well...don't care. * giggle*


I have never been much of a rule follower :)
Click on pic to make bigger.

Curious about this television show? Check them out at http://tigatalk.com/

Monday, March 21

Day 2, pic of myself and Someone I have been closest to the longest

Cindy and I have been BFF since Grade 4 at Willows Elementary.
Many funny, dramatic and hand holding times through the years.

 This pic is from a New Years Eve Party sometime in the early 90s at Daiv and my's old house.
I can hear her saying, as she looks upon this pic." Oh man, it hurts"

Love ya Miss Cindy Loo Hoo.

Sunday, March 20

Day 1- 30 days


15 facts about me..hmmmmmm....in no particular order

1-  I like to sing really loudly and badly when I am alone
2-  rain is not my friend and I do not wear gray well at all.
3-  Diana Gabaldon is my guilty reading pleasure
4-  I was walking at 7 months old, to the chagrin of my poor Mumzie
5-  neither of my hyphened last names are my original last name
6-  I am a gypsy that craves an anchor. A challenging contradiction
7-  I do not fear death or dying, but bats????? Yup, I fear them
8-  I have had to dress up in a bear costume over 30 times in my life and not all for the same job
9-  Lemurs are my favourite animal in the world
10-This is me..I was Russian in a past life, painted by Daiv

11-I do not sing in the shower, but I hum when I brush my teeth
12-I am really very shy. I am just noisy to cover it up
13-wanted to be a vet and would 'borrow' neighborhood animals to practice bandage wraps in my room when I was little. I returned them :)
14-the first song I remember memorizing all the lyrics to was 'Hotel California' I think I was 6.
15-I often want to drop everything and simply travel the world taking photographs

30 days

I am going to attempt to do this everyday for thirty days :) I encourage you to try it as well. A lovely way to capture memories through images.

day one . A picture of yourself with fifteen facts
day two . A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest
day three. A picture of the cast from your favorite show
day four. A picture of something you'd like to do again
day five. A picture of something you love
day six . A picture that makes you laugh
day seven . A picture of the person you do the most fucked up things with
day eight . A picture of your night
day nine . A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most
day ten . A picture of your most treasured item
day eleven . A picture of something you hate
day twelve . A picture of your favorite memory
day thirteen . A picture of your favorite band or artist
day fourteen. A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without
day fifteen . A picture of something you want to do before you die
day sixteen . A picture of someone who inspires you
day seventeen . A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently
day eighteen . A picture of your biggest insecurity
day nineteen . A picture and a letter
day twenty . A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel
day twenty one . A picture of something you wish you could forget
day twenty two . A picture of something you wish you were better at
day twenty three . A picture of your favorite book
day twenty four . A picture of something you wish you could change
day twenty five . A picture of your day
day twenty six . A picture of something that means a lot to you
day twenty seven . A picture of yourself and a family member
day twenty eight . A picture of something you're afraid of
day twenty nine . A picture that can always make you smile
day thirty . A picture of someone you miss

Wednesday, March 16

OHM?

Kim attempts to meditate!

Chetna Tracy Boyd of Dancing Lotus Yoga http://www.dancinglotusyoga.com/ was giving a yoga workshop for Tumbleweeds Theatre last week and demystified what meditation is for me a little bit.

'Start with the breath, bring awareness back to the breath'  she told us.

 I could do that. I am a vocal coach for heavens sake, I teach people how to connect with their breath all the time, I can do that.

During this class I found that I was able to  really achieve a place of stillness. The whole group aged 6-20 achieved this stillness. It was magic. Chetna is magic.
 I wanted to bring it home really badly. I wanted to give meditation a shot.

I made my first real attempt to meditate this evening.
With all the upheaval in the wake of the quake in Japan and the Tsunami, the worries about the impact on each person's life there and its far reaching effects, and now the reactors...... I needed to find a way to still my energy,   to get some sleep and some balance.

I made a conscience decision to sit and meditate.

I gathered up a couple of  big comfy pillows and sat, fingers in the "ok" position on my knees and started to concentrate on my breath.

It went a little something like this;

Breathe in, Breathe out
Okay that is good, I am breathing

......my nose itches

*scratch*

ooops, breathe in, breath out

Breathe in, Breathe.....
why am I am holding my jaw so tight?
*Relax jaw...relax.....*

Breathe in, Breathe out
Breathe in, Breathe out.....

there is a hair on my eyelashes.....
* remove cat hair , scratch nose, shift sitting position*

Oh yeah  breathing, wow it is easy to forget to concentrate on breathing. I wonder if everyone gets distracted like this when they meditate? Is this something that should simply happen? Am I doing it right, my foot is going to sleep....

holy crap....oops again

Breathe in, Breathe out.
Breathe in, Breathe out.
Breathe in, Breathe out. Cool I have rhythm....
Breathe....

What was that? Is the cat  on the counter?
* listen*
'Nessa get down'

Okay, back to breathing- how long have I been at this anyway?

*exhale*
Breathe in, Breathe out.

I like this, it is a very peaceful feeling.

Breathing.....just breathing.

Who knew, so is this meditating?

I feel relaxed....
Daiv should try this, maybe mumzie would like this.
Is this what dogs do when they are sleeping with their eyes open and then they have those doggy dreams where they woof and snort and wiggle their paws like they are running in a field?.....

Crap, right....
Breathe in, Breathe out.

Why is it so hard to simply concentrate on breathing? This is ridiculous. Okay Kim, get with this, it is BREATHING for chritsake......
BREATHE IN, BREATHE OUT DAMMIT!

Holding my jaw again...ugh...
* relax the jaw...
make a conscience choice to breathe a little deeper and try to send relaxing energy through my limbs.....
through my fingers....*

my hands are dry, I should put more moisturizer on them, maybe the creamsicle lotion, no smells too sweet for bedtime, keri lotion better...

OMG there I go again. This is crazy. I just want 30 seconds of nothing but breathing.

Brea....
Okay now I am just irritated.....not peaceful at all......
 ugh.....
*open eyes and see big wet dog nose looking at me on the floor*

'What? You've never seen someone meditating Niko?'

He pokes me with his nose...
Sigh...seems a belly rub takes precedence over my meditation time for the moment.

Thursday, March 10

Social Media, is it simply old fashioned correspondence?

I recently began a wonderful book " The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society".
It has me musing over the past.

We often hear talk about the onslaught of social media- the texting, the private messages on FB , our status updates, group invites et al, as if this is somehow new and bad.
The degeneration of human to human contact, the faceless intimacies. " He broke up with me in a text"

The book I am currently reading....
 (  I still can NOT get on the reading books online, bandwagon. I like  to smell  the paper and feel the book in my hands. Books are friends to be revisited over and over not transiently fleeting across a screen to disappear into the air - but I digress ... :) )

The book I am currently reading has rekindled a nostalgia in me.
It occurs to me  we have been here before.

I shift my thoughts back in time to elegant monogrammed calling cards being delivered to its intended by black and white clad butlers with white linens hanging off one arm.

Daily notes exchanged between BFF in stark white envelopes atop silver plates and crisp folds holding  little snippets of a life.

 Gentlemen  declaring their undying love for their betrothed with delicately structured prose dancing across parchment.

Appointment cards marking the social status of a life, dance cards filled with potential partners.

A time when we spoke  through the written word more eloquently and with more candor than society allowed face to face.

I think on these things and I wonder if we have come a sort of full circle.

Is texting the new calling card?

Do our status updates compare to those  letters between friends we find so fascinating from Jane Austen's world?

Will the telephone be replaced by the texted/twittered/FB word and if so, what does that mean for our language in the future?

Will smilies take over from 'cordially yours' ?

Will texting become the new dance of the prose of intimacy?

I do not profess to understand all this and I can not even begin to imagine what comes next.
I do however think I will start paying closer attention to my texts and, iphone spelling allowing, re adopt the 'cordially yours' of yesteryear.

Cordially Yours;
Kimmee