it's been a long time since i've been out to the park to walk. it was even more obvious to my body, which tired out, was sore the next day, and i got a fat blister on the back of my heel! i'm glad i took my camera along, as having it gave me the perfect excuse to stop (rest) and enjoy my surroundings.





i don't know what kind of tree that is with the flowers, but i do know the fern is called the maidenhair fern. it's my favorite fern, and grows in one big patch in the park. i haven't seen it anywhere else around here growing naturally outside. its stem is smooth and brownish black, and spirals around with fine leaves.



i think this bark is from the loblolly pine, but i'm too lazy to look it up.



on my way back from the park, i stopped by work to visit and there was a prize there waiting for me! the ladies where i work always open my delivers. i often have books shipped to there from amazon. it's the kind of business where deliveries are common, so no one really reads the address labels and just cuts the package open. so, i know to never have anything personal shipped there! narnia! i was surprised how much i loved this movie when i first saw it. thanks mom!





tabouli ... ummm ummmm good! i started to make this last night for dinner, but of course had not read the recipe completely before beginning this. things had to cool down, and marinate, and chill ! so, it's for lunch today ... i will be making this again. it was so easy. i like easy.

full steam ahead!

i think crazy aunt purl has my number this month! ....

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 - Jan. 19)
Summer is the season of freckles, sand, sun and blazing hot romantic romps. Well, that’s what Cosmo says, anyway. I read the summer edition of Cosmopolitan magazine every summer, cover to cover, and I think to myself, “Who do they write this stuff for?” But then I was drawing up your stars for May...and June... and even July (!!!) and all those “Shocking Sexy Summer Stories” are about you! You’re a regular little love machine. When you walk, are you accompanied by the faint sound of “Foxy Lady” playing in the background? Do you find folks ready to fling off their clothes at a moment's notice? No? Not yet? Well, as we get through the first week of May, and through to the full-moon at mid-month, your House Of Super Studly heats up and you are like a one-girl pheromone pit this summer. All I can say is… woohoo! And if you haven’t discovered your power already, well, now you know. Care to share? Perhaps over lunch? And cake? Because that's where I'm off to! Bon apetit!

i like the sound of that!

a new addition to the family

i don't know the offical name of this type of goldfish, but i remember seeing calico in there somewhere. i think my other goldfish was bored living in the tank solo, and it was kind of depressing to look at one lonely goldfish. they seem to be getting along just fine together.

postsecret

click on the image, and go to the website postsecret.

i found this website some time ago, and it just fascinates me. i check back every week to see what new confessions are posted. i also like looking into people's windows, especially at night. i like to see what colors they paint their walls and what kind of stuff they have. maybe i should construct my own postcard and mail it in? hmmm .....

the animal fair

i went to the animal fair, the birds and the beasts were there ....



this past tuesday, i went to the riverbanks zoo in columbia, sc. i was with my mom, niece, and nephews. we never made it to the side that has the gardens, but i hope i get over there next time. i wasn't feeling well, and the slow ambling wore me out. but, i did muster up enough energy to knit my sock.

can anyone explain this?



these butterflies feasted on some fresh doggie poo. before i walked over to take the picture, the poo was completely hidden by the butterfly mass. as i squatted to take the picture, one of the dogs ran up behind me and scared all of the butterflies away. this picture was taken just as the dog ran up behind me.

when i got back into town on thursday, i found my little fantail dead in the bottom of the tank .

making & growing

i made some earrings yesterday, with some supplies from ornamentea and michael's. i had a 30% off your entire purchase coupon for michael's on saturday. see the earrings on the left? see the gray fuzzy thing? it's a seed from some plant from hawaii. the bead above is a freshwater pearl. i couldn't find a really good place to take these pictures, so i just dangled them from the little basil pot.


the basil is just one of four of the little chia herb plants i planted just days ago! like a goober, i actually packed up all my herbs and brought them home with me. i didn't want to bother my neighbor with a request to water, and they are small enough that they only used two smallish boxes.

urban gardener

ch chhh chhhh chhhhia! this kit was a christmas gift, and i finally took the 5 minutes required to plant the seeds. these will stay indoors, even once they start leafing out. i'm also going to have to do something about my outside herbs. i don't think they're getting enough direct sun, and when it's hot, they're getting baked! nothing has suffered too much, but i think they would be happier in an eastward window under cooler conditions.

i took a class on saturday ... beading boot camp 101. it was an all day affair of a series of three separate classes. i attended this camp because i do like working with beads, and making jewelry w/o the need of a torch, but really didn't have a foundation of the techniques and methods. the class experience was a good value, as i saved money taking the classes together vs. separately, all the materials were included, and they threw in a t-shirt and a nifty book.




i did not have much of a choice for the colors of beads i worked with, as they were already kitted up in ziplock baggies ... and i was seated at the far end of the table, far from reach of the selection, and the greedy classmates. so, yes mom! take your pick (except for the earrings in the top right ... i actually do like those).


that cute chicken is a new addition to the kitchen. it's an egg slicer, if you can believe it! i had a 20% off coupon for bed bath & beyond. it seems silly to apply a coupon to a $3 item, but i didn't need anything else. i also got a shower curtain ... reg. price $39.99, marked down to $9.99 and then an additional 10% off because it was the display. gotta love bed bath & beyond!


and yesterday, i finally punched all the statehood quarters i have into my big map. has anyone seen nebraska? has it been released yet?!

choices

a friend sent an email to me today, saying that this quote was on the bottom of their email, and it made this person think of me ...

“I suddenly realized that unless something changed soon, I was going to live a life where my major relationship was with a bottle of wine and I'd finally die fat and alone and be found three weeks later, half-eaten by wild dogs. -Bridget Jones's Diary-”

my reply was, "gee, thanks!"

since we're on the topic of alcohol, please read this too!

i actually enjoyed the first bridget jones movie, but walked out on the second. the email pissed me off. maybe that was the sender's intention? maybe the sender thought it was funny and cute? maybe the sender is put off because i might choose a sultry meritage over him?