do yourself a favor

and listen to this.

(amanda palmer covering regina spektor= all shades of awesome)

mini-conversation (with laundry, with geraniums)

photo by Mr. Bones

Fall is good. Cold weather is good. Ants are bad. They are in my kitchen, coming in from unseen corners, vexing me, causing me to curse and spray kitchen friendly bug spray. My building was built in like 1910. Points of entry for teeny tiny things are endless. Whelms.

But also good? Pumpkin spice soy lattes. I'm back to Fall is good.

I have been doing pilates, stretching tiny corners of my abs, of my ribs (who knew there are mini-muscles there?). I make more space for pumpkin. Pilates is fun, is like dancing and then crying as you lift your legs just one more time (body shakes).

Olga, my Russian neighbor is back from St. Petersburg. When she is here, our shared garden on the back porch thrives. The plants--- they receive more attention and love and I think they know we enjoy sharing them. The flowers and vines may also bask in the company of the multi-colored laundry Olga hangs on the line. I look out my kitchen window, between the geranium and the aeonium to a view of undergarments and jeans and sweaters hanging, swaying. She likes to modify her clothes with ribbon -- a red sweater this morning had pink ribboned stripes woven in. The clothes feel like friends, or at least their presence. The mums need little encouragement now though--- their flowered heads begin to bow with new growth coming from underneath...

I'm still not sure what to do about the ants.

Summer in SF

Another Cloud Reel... from Delrious on Vimeo.

"Our Nerd President"

Finally, equal representation. See y'all at the next Comic con. Entry fee? Tax deductible.

Reminding of awe

(NASA photo / September 9, 2009)

(Lori photo/ August 2009)

**><**

from http://prick.blogg.se/

Mythical Creatures

Mythical Creatures
Originally uploaded by preshaa

Flashback Friday: my Buddy.

When I was a young teen, early morning always began as such: I'd hear my parents moving around the house, and at around 630, my mother would say "Buddy. Buddy, go get Leslie up." In my somewhat creaky home, I would hear four paws carry their owner up the stairs, an off rhythm beat. Dog sniffing and a headbutt at my door would swing it open, and in would come Buddy, my Airedale, round side of my bed, where he would promptly stick his face in mine. Mostly, I would be somewhat awake already for this and greet him affectionately. Occasionally, I would pull the covers over my head and the dog-nosed-nudging would become more and more insistent. The best? When I scooted over towards the wall and patted the bed. Buddy would jump on up, turn in a circle (likely stepping on me -- it was a twin bed) and snuggle on in.

He was such a silly dog. We taught him to shake his paw, but he was overzealous, and it got to the point where I could sit with my back to him and he would scratch it by continuously "shaking." When I was in 8th Grade, I came out of math class to see him sitting outside. Once, I was driving home from my friend's house in a bad storm, and my mother said he sat by the window until I pulled into the driveway.

Best friend. I still miss you.

Hey there, SF! Be rad!

photo: Darryl Bush / AP

"With its winding brick road and manicured gardens, the famous curvy stretch of Lombard Street looks like something ripped from the pages of a storybook. On Wednesday, it received a makeover that transformed it into the world's largest version of the Candy Land board game."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/19/BAEB19AQRI.DTL#ixzz0OlYn3PTj

quagmire of admire

she is just so epic. multi-leveled epicness. (photo from here)