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June 30, 2005

creative postcard exchange

i was thinking yesterday how sad it is that i don't get any "real" mail any more. just virtual mail and junk mail.

so i was thinking i could set up a creative postcard exchange. a little thing where each participant would receive the snail mail address of another participant, and they'd send a postcard with some original artwork on it to their recipient.

MORE...

Posted by lisa at 10:16 PM

tiresome

MORE...

Posted by lisa at 01:01 PM

June 29, 2005

BPAL - DUBLIN! Egg Nog, Hearth, Pink Moon

the friggin motherlode arrived today! i reek. i'm happy :)

on the wrists: Dublin.

"The scent of misty forests, damp alder leaf, and the gentlest touch of white rose."

The first scent that really grabbed me when I read through the BPAL site was Dublin, and when the imp didn't show last week, I was very disappointed. But crazily, today, it did! And it really smells delicious. So feminine, but not overly sweet. I keep smelling my wrists and saying, "mmmmmmm."

update: many hours later, i mowed grass then showered. there's a lingering "aftertaste" of dublin that's still quite yummy.

left arm: Hearth

"Sweet pipe tobacco, cherry wood, the warm, worn leather of an easy chair and a pleasant, subtle waft of fireplace smoke."

This was a Yule Limited Edition. My first stepfather smoked cherry pipe tobacco which is one of the reasons I wanted to smell this. That, and it sounded delicious! Whoo! It's potent. And it really does smell just like tobacco. I can't really see wearing this as perfume except for fun every once in a while, but it could make a really nice room scent in the fall and winter and it's just yummy and fun to smell.

right arm: Egg Nog

"Sweet brandy, dark rum, heavy cream, sugar, and a dash of nutmeg."

Another Yule Limited Edition. Delicious, sweet, creamy vanilla and brandy. It fades fast and again, I can't see wearing it as perfume very often, but sometimes, and it could also be a nice room scent. In the bottle it has that too-strong Yankee Candle scent, but as soon as it's less concentrated it becomes quite delicious.

Pink Moon can come later :)

Posted by lisa at 06:51 PM

June 28, 2005

BPAL - Graveyard Dirt

"A tribute to a somehat nefarious and truly notorious ingredient in New Orleans spellcrafting. It is employed in hoodoo rootwork for various reasons, primarily in spells of protection, “tricking” your enemies, binding, and even love magick. The graves are chosen based on the type of working, and are determined by the type of spirit that lies there and the manner of their demise. Payment is always required in the form of offerings to the deceased. This is the scent of pure graveyard dust, spattered with grave loam and dusted lightly with tombstone moss."

oh yes. this smells like dirt. fresh, moist potting soil. the finest loam, just after a rain. it so took me aback that after i sniffed the bottle, i laughed and said out loud, "ohmygod! that's amazing!"

on my skin, it quickly turns to cedar, like fresh cedar shavings. i love the scent of cedar so i don't have a problem with that. however, it disappears without a trace within mere minutes. i finally put some on my hair where it seems to be holding up better.

Posted by lisa at 06:11 PM

...and now we are fifteen.

if memory serves, moses was born at the end of June 1991, which means that he turns fifteen this week.

this seems to be the age where things start to go awry for cats, but moseman appears to be a pretty healthy kitty. he went to the vet this morning for his yearly checkup, and has lost another pound in the last six months! he is now down to 16.8-- the last time he was below 17 lbs was 1998. the cosequin (feline glucosamine) is keeping him active.

i'm waiting now for his blood panel to come back-- if there are kidney problems, we'll know about it today. but i'm pretty hopeful that he's just as healthy as he appears to be.

happy birthday moseman!

Posted by lisa at 11:23 AM

it could be the jackhammers

in an effort to sleep later, i purchased one of those sleep masks yesterday, those things that block the light. i was suspicious that the dawn was awakening me early.

this morning i woke up before my alarm but not as early as dawn. the mask was not on my face although i'd fallen asleep with it on.

it appears that i ripped the mask off in my sleep and threw it on the floor behind my bed (where it will be a pain to retrieve).

the lampshade on the opposite side of the bed was askew. i think i'm normally a pretty still sleeper so i'm not sure what happened last night.

however, it might be the sound of my neighbor's driveway being jackhammered that is waking me up, because that was the sound i was hearing this morning at 7am before my alarm went off. isn't there a noise ordinance around here?

Posted by lisa at 08:12 AM

June 27, 2005

BPAL - Jabberwocky

"And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Come whiffing through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

An earthy yet buoyant scent: pine, eucalyptus and orange."

This was a free gift with the purchase of a single imp from someone on LJ, which I have to say is an exceedingly cool thing for someone to do. From what I gather, Beth (the woman behind BPAL) often includes free gifts of imps or other goodies with BPAL orders. I saw a note she posted where she said that all orders of an LE scent were upgraded from 5ml to 10ml "Just... because". I think a lot of the forum and LJ people like to keep up this tradition.

i put this on shortly before meeting xdu folk at federale tonight, and asked jason if i reeked when i arrived. "no," he said, "i can't smell anything." i proffered my wrists for all to sniff and either people are polite or it was well-received. the orange remains with me longer than the pine, and is somewhat sweet, though light and pleasant.

i do like this one. i'm not anxious to get a larger bottle, i'll be content with this imp for a while, but it'll get worn from time to time.

sadly, it doesn't last-- by the time dinner was over, so was the scent.

Posted by lisa at 10:21 PM

on the air tuesday, june 27, 8-10pm et

link to live playlist will be here.

88.7fm if you are durham, nc, local; wxdu.org/listen if you're not.

Posted by lisa at 10:16 PM

quit changing the rules!

MORE...

Posted by lisa at 06:57 PM

June 25, 2005

BPAL - Black Annis

"Vast talons, foul with human flesh, there grew
In place of hands, and features livid blue
Glar'd in her visage; while the obscene waist
Warm skins of human victims close embraced.

The blue faced hag of the British Hills. She lives in the Dane Hills, Leicestershire, in a cave called Black Annis' Bower Close, which she dug out of rock with her own iron-strong claws. Dozens of huge cats prowl the Bower with her, and it is guarded by a great pollarded oak in which she hides so that she may catch lambs and small children to eat. She carries her victims back to her cave, where she flays them alive before devouring them. She drapes their skins on her guardian oak to dry. Her skirt is fashioned from the skins of her prey, and her bed is a high-piled bed of their bones. Black Annis' perfume is a mixture of damp cave lichen and oak leaf with a hint of vetiver, civet and anise."

ok, i didn't really try this one today, because i'm a little afraid of it. but a tiny bit got on my finger when i opened the imp for a sniff, and later moses was very interested in that finger.

civet, for those not in the know, is normally excreted from a gland of the civet cat, but BPAL uses a vegan imitation of it. many people find it reacts badly with their body chemistry-- or they just plain don't like it.

more on this one later. when i'm feeling brave.

Posted by lisa at 11:41 PM

BPAL - Ultraviolet

"Electrifying, mechanized and chilly -- the scent of crushed blooms strewn on cold metal. Lush violet and neroli spiked hard with eucalyptus and a sliver of mint."

in the bottle: violet and something sharp and cold, almost like ozone.

on me: violet, mint, eucalyptus.. this seems to be very stable on me and just as advertised. not a trace of the dreaded baby powder. it's not something i'd reach for every day, but the cool eucalyptus scent is nice for a hot day. interestingly, i get more violet on my wrists; more mint and eucalyptus on my chest.

this won't go on my wishlist for a larger bottle, but i'll probably keep this imp.

Posted by lisa at 01:48 PM

it was a very odd morning

woke up just before seven, fully awake. had a slow breakfast then around 9, felt all heavy and sleepy, so moses and i took a nap.

while i napped, i dreamed that i was on a vacation with my family. we were visiting my grandparents' house in maryland, and this was at a time when grandpa was still alive, and grandma was mostly still there but kinda loopy. i had brought moses with me. we were packing up to leave for the next part of our trip, and i realized that i had not brought a litterbox for moses and didn't know where he'd been doing his kitty business. so in the midst of the chaos of packing, and explaining this to my mother, i started searching around for his artifacts.

artifacts of one nature located, i started cleaning up the mess, then realised that one of his hindlegs was badly injured and he could barely get up on to the bed. so i didn't know what to do... and thinking i should stay behind so i could take him to a vet, cursing the fact that i'd not driven my own car, and wondering how the hell there was no litterbox when the three master planners-- me, mom, and grandma-- particularly in matters of travel and pet and child care-- were on the job. oh, and i wondered what posessed me to go on vacaion with my family for an entire week.

and then i woke up, relieved that moses was sleeping happily next to me, not injured and quite healthy as far as i can tell.

i then checked the mail and there was not one but two BPAL packages, containing ultraviolet (which i am wearing now), black annis (smells intriguing), somnus, and a special bonus present of jabberwocky with the somnus. and a letter from dsw saying that my credit card was stolen from them.

Posted by lisa at 12:22 PM

June 24, 2005

goodbye to Untidy Museum and Ooh La Latte

I just got word that the Untidy Museum has been closed for a while now, and they are trying to find a buyer for Ooh La Latte.

world of suck.

Posted by lisa at 10:15 PM

BPAL - Pink Moon

"Pink Moon is only available for purchase on 25 March 2005. The name of this moon refers to the color of wild ground phlox, a primary component of this Lunacy Blend, which is one of the most widespread floral signposts of springtime in North America. This Lunar blend is soft with phlox, tulip, daffodil, dogwood and muscari, dusted with pink sugar and honey, and a touch of the first strawberries of the season."

this was a decanted imp that sarah originally bought from someone on LJ. i could tell from sarah's review that it wasn't her favorite, but that my friend stephanie would probably really like it-- and since the Nick Drake song "Pink Moon" holds special meaning to a lot of VW owners, it seemed to be particularly appropriate for stephanie, since she and i met through beetle stuff.

i did try a tiny dab before i wrapped it up to send to Stephanie, mainly because i wanted to know what i was sending her. i didn't think it would be my thing, either. i've been holding off on reviewing it until Stephanie got it, because i wanted it to be a surprise for her.

at first it was so super sweet that i thought, "oh no... she won't like it." stephanie does wear florals, but always really nice, gentle ones that are very easy on the nose. definitely nothing cloying, which this was.

but then it mellowed out very quickly, and i realized that the more it mellowed, the more i liked it. i fell asleep with my wrist near my face that night because i wanted to keep smelling it, and there was something very comforting about it.

i slept very soundly that night-- much, much more soundly than i usually sleep. i actually do think that the scent of pink moon made me relax on some deeper level and helped me to sleep.

anyway, Stephanie received it last night and she says she loves it. before i sent it, i decorated it a little. because this was a decant, not an imp from the lab, it didn't have a nice printed sticker. i cut a little crescent moon out of a pink azalea blossom and glued it to the imp with spray adhesive. the spray adhesive made the bottle sticky, so i wrapped it in a little pink cling wrap, and sealed the top with first aid tape, which i think makes a really nice, neat, waterproof seal.

so, i'm hoping i can score a full bottle from someone who has decided they don't want it, because i really liked it.

Posted by lisa at 08:36 PM

BPAL - Old Glasgow

"The rich scent of wild blackberry breezing over gentle rosy heather."

now this one, i like.

it dries down fairly quickly. it's quite faint; jason couldn't smell it when i was sitting in the mcr with him, and i had just re-applied before going to the station. he did give my wrists a sniff and said, "that is nice!"

it's so faint that i am not getting very many different notes, just a very gentle, non-cloying floral scent. it's been oh about fourteen years since i actually smelled heather? so i can't recall what it smells like, although there is something hauntingly familiar about this scent.

at times it smells like soap, but really nice, clean, high quality soap-- not a bad soapy scent. if i could find soap that smelled this nice, i'd use it all the time.

i'll probably try really slathering it on sometime this weekend to see if i can work more interesting stuff out of it. this is definitely a keeper, and i plan to put at least a 5ml if not a 10ml on my wish list, because i can see wearing this quite often.

this is actually Old Glasgow, a limited edition version of a scent that was later added to the regular catalog under the name of Glasgow. The two should be fairly indistinguishable, however.

Posted by lisa at 08:25 PM

June 23, 2005

check!

well, van van may not have worked out as a fragrance, but i have to admit that i've gotten a heck of a lot done today, so perhaps it did help me a little.

the junk that rick! and jason b. helped me haul out of the basement got picked up earlier this week. yay!

the exterminator came this morning.

i recently became unable to send instant messages from my IM client at work. it looks like the messages send-- but they are never received. this caused at least one person to think i was mad at them because i didn't appear to be answering their messages. anyway, i did some troubleshooting today and nothing worked; joe tried and he couldn't figure it either. i checked the message boards for the client i was using (Trillian). turns out this is an issue they've had for three years, and there's a seventeen-page forum thread about it! They have no fix for it and don't appear to be very responsive, even when a paid tech support issue is opened.

so, i have switched to Gaim. screw you, Trillian!

another form of communications blackout occured last week-- i became unable to send mail from my earthlink account to my account at the radio station. the company i work for doesn't allow employees to use a webmail client to check their non-work email on the company network; earthlink doesn't provide a way for me to see my mail other than with a webmail or pop client. so what i've been doing for the last few years is setting my mail client on my mac at home to forward my mail to my radio station account during the day. it's a little awkward, but basically just works. or did.

anyway, i mailed earthlink tech support and never heard back, despite their guarantee of a reply in 24 hours. so tonight i got them on chat. they say it's not a problem on their end, and to contact duke. happily, i have a friend who is an employee of duke oit. he may be annoyed with me, but hopefully he can help me track this problem down :) even though it probably is earthlink's fault... sigh.

check! check, check, check!

no new BPAL today, but hopefully tomorrow. now i am going to go swab my wrists with alcohol and figure out what to do with my evening...

Posted by lisa at 07:19 PM

BPAL - Van Van

"A venerable voodoo blend, used for purification of the spirit and to amplify positive personal power."

on me... smells like baby powder. check me out, i'm a baby powder makin' machine. great.

i'll take a chance, keep wearing it as i go into work now... and we'll see if it maybe at least helps my attitude.

if i sniff my wrist very closely, i can smell other things, but in general, this smells like baby powder, which is one of the many things i don't really want to smell like.

really really hoping whatever comes next (maybe today!) will be sharply different from all these things that turn to baby powder and pine sol on me. i am hopeful that either somnus will arrive (to help me sleep-- i am really having sleep problems lately), or that ultraviolet and black annis will arrive-- they should both be very different from the things i got yesterday.

also hoping that as this wears down, other notes will emerge.

:|:

alas, it is many hours later and i have been in baby powder hell all day. i've scrubbed my wrists many times in the bathroom to no avail. other people mostly don't smell it unless i make hand gestures in their general vicinity-- thank goodness.

when i get home i'll see if rubbing my wrists with alcohol will get it off.

Posted by lisa at 11:02 AM

June 22, 2005

BPAL - Arachne

"A gossamer scent, as light as a spider's footfall, touched with sighing mists: pallid flowers, dusty woods and soft herbs."

not inaccurate after drydown, although this is very much a "perfume" scent to me... not entirely pleasant, and i really don't think it's me. there's a general "baby powder" ness to it that i dislike. it's light, yet somehow... cloying, as well. the more it fades, the more i like it, however. there's that "grandma's perfume" note to it as well, again... except this time, it's not really pine. sigh.

my nose is very untrained.

i just love these descriptions of dark woods, moss, dust, earth... and i don't know what i expected them to smell like, but it wasn't this.

well. lots more are on the way. i am sure i'll find things i like... it's just a slightly disappointing beginning.

oh i just remembered-- in the bottle it reminded me of a medicine i took when i was a child. i can't remember which one.

the more it fades, the more i like it.

Posted by lisa at 09:36 PM

wanna go? c'mon, let's go. i dare ya.

i've been getting into a lot of arguments this week. they've all been at work, but that's probably because i have been eschewing the company of man outside of work.

or maybe it's not that i'm getting into more arguments, but that i let contentious discussions and disagreements escalate in a way i don't normally. this week, i'm less willing to placate, flatter, softpedal or otherwise cushion my thoughts.

i have various theories as to why, ranging from sleep issues to insufficient or excess caffiene, or, most disturbingly, the idea that isolating myself socially makes me a much bigger bitch than i am normally. why be nicer than i want to be if i don't care if someone is my friend or not? i mean, i don't want to do anything to jeopardize my job and i don't think i've even come close. in fact, i think my unwillingness to back down is similar to the arguing style of the men i work with. why should i back down if they don't? why should i worry about bruising someone's ego if i think they're being completely stupid?

and why do programmers always have strongly held opinions on design? geah.

Posted by lisa at 07:52 PM

BPAL - Nocnista

"Also known as Krisky, Plaksy and Gorska Makua, she is a nightmare spirit, the Night Hag of the Woods, who haunts Polish, Russian, Bulgarian and Slovak children during the darkest hours. The only protection against her torments is a circle drawn around a child’s cradle with a knife, or an axe or protective poppet hidden under the floorboards beneath where a child sleeps. Her scent is that of a lightless fir wood, nighttime air, wet forest mosses and upturned earth."

since i've pretty much been a raging bitch this week, this seemed like a good thing to try, of the three that arrived today (!!!!)

in the bottle: this smells like my grandmother's sunday morning perfume.

wet: this still pretty much smells like my grandmother's sunday morning perfume. obviously, there's a strong note in this blend that her perfume also contained. exasperatingly, i have no idea what it is, and the description doesn't list any specific notes, so i'm still mystified.

as it dries, i am starting to get a little bit of "forest". we'll see how it develops over time.

:|:

after an hour and a half, it settled into a piney sort of thing. fairly faint. i gave up after taking a walk and showered since i was all sweaty anyway. scrubbed it off my wrists a couple of times to make sure it was really gone, so i could try something else.

i can see hanging on to it and trying it again in the fall or at christmas. or sooner, after i get used to the idea of perfume anyway. several people report falling in love with a scent only after a second attempt.

Posted by lisa at 06:28 PM

the other nose candy

today is the first day that any BPAL could possibly arrive in my mailbox. i'm full of anticipation!

it's the full moon today (and yesterday was the solstice, a fact noted by badger but no other blogger i read), and that means that BPAL has released some limited edition scents. happily, none of them sound compelling to me. although the idea of "love in the asylum" is so appealing that i rather wish it were more my thing. or what i think my thing might be. i think it's quite appropriate, anyway, to release a scent inspired by insanity on a day that is excessively well-lit, followed by a night that is also excessively well-lit. that would be enough to drive anyone crazy.

i think i may be suffering from solstice-induced agoraphobia, but i need to get over it asap and go to work.

Posted by lisa at 09:12 AM

June 20, 2005

mmmmm

so i went over to sarah & georg's today to study up on my lawn watering techniques, and sarah let me take embalming fluid for a test drive. at first i thought my nose was broken because i couldn't smell it on me, while sarah was saying, "wow, i can really smell it!" (i only used one small dab-- promise!) then later i could smell it. it's very appealing. it does smell like perfume (to me), albeit fairly unconventional perfume.

there was something in it that seemed hauntingly familiar to me; we decided it was probably the white musk.

i don't think this scent is quite me, but i like it and i could certainly see wanting to wear it sometimes, so i am glad a have an imp coming my way in a couple of months. in the meantime, i eagerly look forward to the other scents which should hopefully start arriving later this week!

now today i am tempted to add one more imp to the ever-growing pile... someone is selling some "graveyard dirt", and the description sounds just fascinating... apparently, it smells like dirt.

told you i had odd ideas about scents :)

Posted by lisa at 08:49 PM

June 19, 2005

undue access

moses has figured out how to come in through the plastic at the bottom of the screen door. which means he may soon figure out how to go out that way. oops. accidental kitty door.

i spotted a young man moving across my back yard at a high rate of speed. he came from the woods! there's a spot where the fence at the back of my property was crushed by falling trees in the ice storm. the downed trees are gone, but i never fixed the fence. maybe i should.

:|:

more thoughts on the low cost of entry to BPAL. actually, there's a fairly high cost that i failed to factor in yesterday-- the time and energy it takes to read up on the stuff and understand it well enough to make some selections. also, making the initial set of selections takes a lot of work! and then, if you're like me and sarah (and lots of other BPAL fans), you have to track all the little details somehow. like, in a database or a spreadsheet.

i created my spreadsheet last night. it's tracking 18 different scents, and so far has seven distinct pieces of information about each one. that number will increase when i actually receive something and start to make notes on how i like it, how i'd prefer to use it (on me, as a room scent, linen spray, purely for practical use (such as the one that helps you sleep)... etc) and what kind of mood it evokes. if i were going to be completely insane (ok, i am already) i'd track the dominant notes, so i can see if any trends emerge-- ie, i always hate lemon, or i always love tea.

seriously, i need to get a life or something. although, when you consider that my other options are either cleaning moldy stuff out of my basement, or sanding the van, can you blame me?

Posted by lisa at 01:50 PM

June 18, 2005

sensory overload

i spent a lot of the day researching and ordering BPAL scents. well, and sleeping, and cleaning the kitchen, and watching the R2k webcam.

each imp is so inexpensive that it's possible to try many, many scents... especially knowing that if it doesn't work, you can always swap it or sell it. which, if you'll forgive me for being a bit of a capitalist for a moment, is an absolutely brilliant marketing strategy as compared to good quality commercial perfumes. for instance, a bottle of chanel no. 5 on sephora.com runs about $95. the only way to try before you buy is to go to a department store and use a tester, or maybe try one of the less expensive, more diluted versions (eau de toilette - $42 for 1.2 oz). i'd have to be pretty devoted to go to a department store over and over again to find a commercial scent i liked on me, and then the investment once i had decided would be significant. and then i'd only have one scent... not a huge variety to fit different moods, occasions, times of year... etc.

no, i think creating hundreds of unusual scents, making the cost of entry and the risk involved really low, and playing nice with the thriving online community that supports you is a much better business model.

anyway. so what did i get?

orders from LJ, that should come very quickly:

from BPAL, so i won't see these for a couple of months:

i'm realizing that, although i am not as adventurous as i think i should be about food, i feel perfectly adventuresome when it comes to scent. i look forward to smelling these things the way i think foodies must look forward to a new and unusual taste.

:|:

in other sensory news, i took a spur of the moment trip out to the farmer's market in raleigh. given sarah and georg's devotion to the place, i thought it might be a good source for more herb plants. indeed! in fact, it's incredible. i could have spent a lot more if i'd wanted to, on things other than herbs that i know my yard needs. maybe next month.

so i bought basil, garlic chives, and an incredibly fragrant rosemary plant, and got them into the ground. during the last week i had also gotten new sprayers to go with a new hose i'd gotten, and what i like to call a "hose house"... a hose reel that is inside a little plastic box. the house house is kind of a pain, mainly because it's a cheap piece of crap, but it's probably still an improvement over not having a reel at all. when i want to move the hose to the front of the house to wash the car, it'll be great.

my thyme, lavender, and mint all seem to be thriving although i'm realizing that soil is a little clay-ey and heavy. were i to be ambitious, i suppose i would dig out that whole bed and work something into the soil to condition it. this year, i am most certainly not ambitious with the garden. i already have a van and a basement to be ambitious with. perhaps in some future year.

the basement, btw, is almost completely dry. must make self either work there or with the van or both tomorrow. must not be completely slack....

Posted by lisa at 09:40 PM

GIANT. INFLATABLE. SPACESHIP!

a view inside the conference center in roswell.

Posted by lisa at 11:33 AM

June 17, 2005

in the yummy goodness department

sarah's writing about BPAL scents has piqued my curiosity... i'm in the process of digging through their site and the forums to see if there might be something i would like.

i think i definitely have weird ideas about scent. unfortunately, i like masculine scents, but it's really that i like masculine scents on men. well, occasionally. certain scents. i do like some feminine scents, but, like sarah, often find them overpowering or too perfume-ey. and there's one particular scent that men often wear that i absolutely hate. i can't quite pin down what it is, but it's cheap and awful.

for myself, i can only guess at what i might like. the one i'm most intrigued with right now is called "Dublin", and it is described thusly:

"The scent of misty forests, damp alder leaf, and the gentlest touch of white rose."

anyway. we shall see. it sounds as if buying imps (small sample bottles) from people on the forums is the fastest and cheapest way to try out something new, and i've already found someone with dublin for sale.

:|:

one luxury that i continue to allow myself (in these days of financial responsibility) is fancy tea from southern season. a while back i bought some peach and ginger tea that has been too delicate for me to enjoy in the mornings, when i want something strong. today i decided to try making iced tea out of it, with a hint of sweetness added. i have to say, it's some of the best iced tea i've ever had. it has many subtle flavors which are much more apparent when it's cold than when it's hot.

iced tea, as it is practiced in the south, often seems to hit one over the head with flavor. both the tea flavor, and of course, the infamous diabetes-inducing sweetness. i think iced tea is more refreshing and pleasant to drink if it's not too bitter and strong and sweetned only lightly. this tea definitely fits that bill. now that i write this, i think iced green tea might be interesting to try, since green tea never gets very strong.

i can definitely forsee more interesting iced tea adventures this summer. also, now that i have mint growing in my garden (thanks to georg and sarah!), i will have to recall the mint julep lessons taught to me by the master oh so long ago. you know-- the master of mint growing and mint flavored alcoholic beverages and ice creams. you know who i mean. i once sat in his little terraced garden in chapel hill, where he grew many exotic varieties of mint, and he taught me how to make a mint julep. i think i still have a bottle of bitters somewhere that i bought after that lesson.

Posted by lisa at 10:59 PM

CARAVAN SIGHTING!!

just got a call from a co-worker who happens to be vacationing in rural texas-- she just spotted the caravan! she said she saw three blue bugs pull out of a diner together, then join more bugs at a gas station, and she thought, "that must be them!! i have to call lisa!!"

i'm totally hyper now. i suddenly appreciate the point of view of the person stuck at home watching for any little posting of anything online, and i know exactly what i'd do differently if i ever do it again.

Posted by lisa at 01:57 PM

caravaneers

the roswell caravan is looking really small-- only four or five cars so far, and they're only one day out from roswell. hopefully they will run into the houston group at the dairy queen and get to travel with a larger group as they head into town.

for perspective, the first year, i think the final car count coming into roswell together was something like 56? and we had a good 35 cars after dallas. in subsequent years the number has dwindled, but even last year we had at least a dozen going into roswell, i think.

it's a little sad, but it does offer advantages. the logistics of a 35 car caravan are tricky.

anyway, someone is posting pictures, but i need to get to bed i suppose... i'll see them tomorrow.

here they are at the motel in sweetwater, tx.

sweetwater is a tiny little town in the desert, about half a day out from roswell. the first year, we stopped there for lunch, and caused a huge commotion. they trotted out the mayor and the newspapers. spacepod was even on the tv news one year after they interviewed a bunch of us on our stop in sweetwater (i think-- i never saw it). in later years, the caravan pushed the schedule ahead and got there in time to spend the night on thursday night. the motel where we all stay is an old style route 66 kinda motel that has probably never known a major renovation, but is nevertheless well-maintained.

i have happy memories of sitting out by the pool, uploading photos and updating the web site, while stephanie worked on beading a skate costume or just kept me company.

Posted by lisa at 12:37 AM

June 16, 2005

addendum

Posted by lisa at 12:54 PM

summer cleaning is way more hardcore than spring cleaning

if only because you have to do it in 95 degree heat and eleven thousand percent humidity.

so yesterday i ran home from work and immediately began hauling crap out of the basement. i was ready for long hours of heavy labor, sweat, filth, and exhaustion. rick! showed up after a little while, and then jb came. and then poof! in no time at all, the three of us had knocked it all out. the crawlspace is cleaned out and the big crap is out on the curb.

having gone through what was in the crawlspace, it's abundantly clear that the previous owner of my house simply used it as a trash dump. it wasn't just scrap lumber which she may have had good intentions of saving; there was a big piece of filthy foam rubber, aluminum siding, and various other bits and bobs that i can't imagine having much use for.

so anyway, i got to go to pizza palace after all. which was awesome. after anticipating an evening of total un-fun, i actually wound up having a pretty good time.

and rick and jb are super awesome for helping, too. wow.

Posted by lisa at 09:20 AM

June 15, 2005

they're in nashville

i guess the eastern caravan made it to nashville last night and are headed out to texarkana this morning.

this is gonna make me sad....

Posted by lisa at 08:43 AM

sleeping with the lights on

so last night i braved my bed, but kept a light on and had the cat come sleep with me. and kept the a/c a lot cooler than usual. the thinking being that cockroaches don't like light, cold, or predatory animals that will eat them.

as i was drifting off, i thought i felt one on my neck and freaked out, but never saw the thing and fell asleep a short while later. moseman woke me up at 5 to be fed (which is why i don't normally let him sleep on the bed with me at night), and then again at 7:30, but otherwise the night passed peacefully enough.

i filled the birdfeeder on the back patio and this is now a source of great entertainment for Certain People living in this household. he's out on the porch right now, in fact, enjoying the show.

tonight i'm going to get all the crap out of the basement, and it sounds as if i may have a few helping hands, which is exciting. i'm so very ready to make real progress on this project.

i hate my kitchen more and more. as my mom put it, now that i've decided to hate it, i really hate it. i know i don't have the smallest kitchen in durham, in fact i know at least two households who have smaller kitchens and believe me, i have no idea how they turn out the amazing food they make in those teeny little counter space deprived kitchens. that doesn't make me hate my kitchen any less. after the basement, it is next on the list, baby.

Posted by lisa at 08:27 AM

June 14, 2005

items of absolutely no interest.

MORE...

Posted by lisa at 02:15 AM

June 13, 2005

we're really not going.

so i was driving home from work and this silver beetle passes me, and it's got one of those cute jetsons spoilers and a vanity plate, and i start to fantasize about the caravan passing me or something, and about going out to meet them in knoxville as a surprise, and then i realize...

knoxville is tomorrow. if i were going, i'd be leaving tomorrow.

this realization so startled me that i did something i never do, i pulled out my cell phone and called someone to talk about it. of course, the person i called was the one person who would be experiencing the exact same thing. that would be stephanie. we talked my entire way home.

ah well. i sent my webcams off to a friend who is going, so i'm hopeful that i'll get to watch at least the saturday morning activities (he won't be doing an in-car cam, sadly).

Posted by lisa at 07:13 PM

war.

i walked down into the basement last week and it was worse than i'd ever seen it. stagnant, dank, damp, disgusting.

this weekend, i scrubbed the floor down again, actually it was more like half the entire floor, not just the laundry area. i moved a lot of stuff around and got at some floor space i'd never gotten at before.

when it was all said and done, it seemed like an exercise in futility. nearly a gallon of oxi-clean barely did anything... and with the constant influx of water, it'll just happen all over again.

so just now i called a waterproofing company to come out and give me an estimate. i think i've paid down enough of my debt that i can go forward with this project.

and i called durham one call. much of the problem down there is the large amount of crap left by the previous owner (and, ok, some crap of my own). they are going to schedule a bulky item curbside pickup for me. i just have to get it out to the curb.

i know this is a long shot-- but if anyone is willing to help me carry stuff to the curb, i would be eternally in your debt. i will only get 24 hours notice of when the pickup will happen, but i think i should go ahead and start piling things on the curb right away. i've got some big items, like leftover wood from the building of the screened porch, that is gonna be hard for me to carry alone.

Posted by lisa at 11:41 AM

June 10, 2005

always be sure to have adequate storage for all new acquisitions.

kittens.

kitten storage.

nawwwww.....

Posted by lisa at 02:55 PM

June 08, 2005

happyhappyjoyjoy

sanding = joy

decent progress; informed landlady that i'd like to continue renting and she seemed pretty happy about that. so 9westy won't be losing her home while she's all nekkid and stuff.

thumb felt a little sore during and after, but now it feels good. my test is lifting a full glass; it causes me no pain right now. i worked only with the sander and not the drill. the areas i'm uncovering will need cleanup with drill tools, but i have to say that the 40 grit sandpaper i'm using now really tears the paint off, much better than anything else. it even blew right through the racing stripe.

nice thing about it is coming home, showering, and feeling very justified in sitting down with a bowl of ice cream to watch back episodes of 'alias', my current guilty pleasure.

exceptional style in vans in 'alias' continues with a really hott old school vw bus that looked like it could be bare metal.

Posted by lisa at 11:53 PM

bio-willie!

willie nelson opens biodiesel truckstop in greer, sc.

Posted by lisa at 12:11 PM

June 07, 2005

xta's not the only one being watched...

even though i try to keep firmly in mind the fact that anyone can and will read what i write here, it's still a little startling to find oneself on the news and observer blogwatch page.

Posted by lisa at 11:42 AM

June 06, 2005

small ruminant educational unit

when the back entrance to my company opened recently, everyone suddenly had occasion to pass the SMALL RUMINANT EDUCATIONAL UNIT which happens to be located very close to said back entrance. not surprisingly, it was the topic of some discussion, because apparently employees at my company are not particularly well educated about what a RUMINANT is, and what qualifies as a SMALL RUMINANT versus say a LARGE RUMINANT.

further, the sign to this facility is worded such that one wonders if the SMALL RUMINANTS are being educated, although one knows in the heart of one's heart that in fact, NCSU Veterinary School students are mostly likely the ones being educated.

the presence of goats inside the SMALL RUMINANT EDUCATIONAL UNIT fence eventually gave everyone the clue as to what a SMALL RUMINANT might be, but i have to admit that i at first imagined large broods of cuddly hedgehogs.

anyway, none of this is my point.

i pass this place on my way to char-grill, and that is my point.

over the weekend, i developed a strong case of sleepyHungryCrabbiness that was in full effect this morning. yesterday it was merely a case of sleepiness, which i fully expected to be gone today. while still at the beach house, i napped between breakfast and lunch, then could have easily napped again after lunch, but knowing that i needed to be alert for my drive home, i took a fairly misreable walk along the beach (it was hot and sunny, and the moron redneck beach people were in full effect) in an effort to wake up and be more energetic, a tactic which largely failed and i'm probably lucky to have made it home alive.

so by around lunctime today i was immensely crabby, sleepy, and very very hungry. so i went to char-grill.

i spent most of the rest of the afternoon not hungry, only mildly crabby, but wondering when the hell i was going to wake up, what the heck is wrong with me, what the hell i did to myself over the weekend to cause such exhaustion (is it really that bad to eat a piece of birthday cake and drink a couple of mojitoes-- made with splenda?) and then magically around 4pm, i felt totally normal again.

go figure.

update: i forgot the best part. jason! has dubbed this "monday morning mono".

Posted by lisa at 06:56 PM

wicker

i was looking at photos of this year's big houston art car parade, mostly looking for ideas. i have some vague ideas of what i'd like to do with the top of 9westy-- a sort of openwork sculpture along the lines of these incredible wrought-iron beetles, but wrought iron isn't a practical material for me to work in for about a million reasons. so i had this thought last night that maybe i could use wicker. i could collect old junked wicker furniture pieces, extract the bits i like, and coat them with epoxy or fiberglass resin to make them sturdy and weatherproof, then construct a shape out of them.

anyway, i wanted to write that down so i don't forget.

Posted by lisa at 09:07 AM

June 05, 2005

the kitchen at night

the kitchen at night. this is where family occurs. you travel to emerald isle/ithaca ny/bundick va. various aunts uncles grandmas grandpas cousins etc are there. the configurations change but they are always your family. maybe it is just you and one other. mom or grandma. a glass of wine or these days a mojito. the ticking of a clock. the conversation. "well i always thought this [surprising thing about you or someone else in the family]." "wow, really? that's interesting."

i remember once on the porch at bundick