Today I, by M

feel like a small yarn headed doll with button eyes and a small flower powder blue print dress with lace trim that has been stuck in a crook of a tree over night.

warm weather, a list

Good

greenery

garden

less layers for children, less time to get out the door

flip-flops

popsicles

outdoor play, lots of it

 

Bad

shorts

sun block (one more layer for children, more time to get out the door)

soon-to-be-oppressive heat

need a/c

bugs

snakes

water bill

Ugly

car becomes an oven

bug bites

inevitable rash from flip-flops

power bill

Today I, by M

feel like that good luck cat with one paw up, painted red with yellow flowers and swirls.

Today I, by M

feel like a prickly black ball that is stuck on the side of the garage. There is a leaf in one of my spikes and some glitter. It's getting late but I can't quite fling myself off.

Today I, by M

as i approach the last of the month and the end of my regular todays I still love the visual curios that come as a result. I'm sure there's a pattern of me in there somewhere.

Today I feel like I am, at this moment, a burning flower, not consumed by the flames. But all the other flowers I see right now are on fire and I feel despair for them, because I have a hope they do not know.

Today I, by M

as i recall from tomorrow, i was on a rescue mission, facing elation, the job well done, the surge of life, then fatigue then susceptibility of illness due to exhaustion.

The strange dream i had about a white house and black trim and the rhinoceros on my chest might have been an indication of such, followed by a stranger monday.

Today I, by M

feel like I'm an oriental rug watching an intricate drama unfold. She may criticize some of the direction and acting but the words are what she loves best.

Today I…

Caved to certain demands, such as cranking up the a/c (boooo. but necessary in this new sticky heat.) and purchasing crab legs for dinner. Also, I planted a garden. Per EHJ’s suggestion, we went the drip hose and timer watering system this year, and I think it will work out super-well, soaking the soil with more consistency and efficiency. J.Lo constructed another garden bed while I went away last week to Smartini Land, and so we’ll have 2-3x as many vegetables this year. I planted two tomato plants and a pepper plant provided by my mom, as well as a bunch of brand spanking new seeds that I never even got to open last year: cucumbers, beans, squash, and okra. It’s my first time trying okra. Also, there are the scraggly chives that I discovered growing so well from last year, under the weeds. They look like they ate their vitamins during the winter. We bought one drip hose and had plenty to snake through the two beds, with a tiny bit of “wasted” hose in-between, so I arranged some of my potted plants in that area. No water wasted, and fewer plants to think about watering. In those pots, there are basil, rosemary, thyme, sunflowers, strawberries, and some seeds I hope take off: delphinium, sage, cinnamon basil, and cilantro. Overall, I must confess that I am super-satisfied with the outcome of this project, and hope and dream of veggies a-plenty in the coming months.

   

Today I, by M

feel like that awesome cocktail fruit trapped in a red jello mass shaped like a ball. There is nothing but iceberg lettuce in sight.

Today I, by M

feel like a pair of beige pants with hunter green loafers.

Today I, by M

feel like i've just sat thru 5 hours of wagner's die walkerie, where brunnheilde whoapparently makes wotan (her father/main god) so mad (bcs she tries to protect his 1/2 son sigmund from death) that he has to curse her just as a matter of ruling- so he makes her mortal and that she'll sleep eternally until some man comes to wake her up and she begs her father to make it someoneworthy of her, not a coward- so after much debate he wakes up the fire god loge and tells him to put a ring of fire around her high up on this rock/mountaintop where she sleeps. and wotan goes off to vallahala really bummed out.

best last act ever!

necklace

I can’t resist a good hippie purchase when in a hippie town. While in Boone this weekend, I picked up a necklace stone from this jeweler. I had a hard time making the selection, as I tend to gravitate toward what I already have and love, and in this case could not stray away from stones that looked a lot like amber. Finally, I settle on the pink. Rhodacrosite. With swirls.

 

Today I, by M

feel like I am a dragon whose wings have caught fire. It doesn't seem serious but I'm in desperate need of a large pool of water.

Today I, by M

feel like dripping wax down the side of the candle. It's a long way down to the floor but there I go.

So far down and running that I won't even drive home, for my own safety of course. And Joanna's roommates bed is way better than mine. Did I mention feather pillows?

haircut: the back

This is for you, Sarah. Was looking through some Easter pics from my Dad’s camera, and thought hey… that’s a pretty good shot! Zoomed and cropped. Just for you. :)

Business in the back, party up front? Gulp. I hope not!

Today I, by M

feel like i was once a straight stiff bit of purple taffy and then as the day progressed i flopped over on the table and laid there, delicious tasting but helpless in my sticky melty condition.

Randomness, by M

Doing my best to not be daunted by cataloging and knowing I really need to write as well... but one must avoid one to do the other at this moment. Danica looks judginly at me from the photo as if to say, no, no, I don't think so. That or she's like, panorama, shanorama. But if you're ever on woodley avenue in van nuys, and you're thinking hey, i've always wanted to see a water reclamation plant disguised as a japanese garden then you must go!This is the Sesnon Canyon hike, with one of my oldest childhood friends Brigid. Fresh from the fires, we were treated with really spectacular blooms and yes, some dead trees but what are you going to do- it was a steep challenging hike and hot as near blazes as they say, but it was narrow which was nice and the scenery lovely. You cannot beat blushes of purple and yellow swathed on a mountainside. You really can't.

Today I, by M

feel like a carpenter bee gnawing into a fresh piece of wood.

Linn Cove

Yesterday, most of us Smartini gals (save for Tempe, who was home cooking us dinner) went for a little hike in the woods. We drove down the Blue Ridge Parkway, intending to make to Linville Falls, but it turned out to be a little too far. We picked a random hike instead, which would be about 3 miles round. On the way there, searching for the little waterfall and just not knowing when it would appear, how much longer it would be, it felt like it took for.ev.er. We wondered, could this be it?

 

Turned out, it was a little small.

But we soldiered on, snapping a few group photos along the way:

Then…we finally made it! Zoom in for loveliness, and see if you can spy Niki in one or two of these pictures from a long, long way up.

 

And then somehow, the way back was a lot quicker. It’s funny how that works. We made it! Huzzah!