some scores

This weekend was good because
1) the threat of summer school was vanquished, officially
2) I ate almost every meal outdoors, near a river (we have two here), with perfect weather
3) I went to a regular, so-so flea market, a rummage sale, and then my favorite flea market (Golden Nugget, in New Hope)

I forgot how rummage sales are the best kind of any kind of sale, because everything is like a quarter, and pre-sorted for you, and it's usually supporting some cool thing like a four hundred year old church or a community center or something.

Some dumb things happened this weekend too (and some plant things), but maybe more on those later.  For now, just iPod pictures of things I got for 25c.

re-avocado

Some people may remember a couple years ago, when I had this big plan about growing an avocado tree.  (Or, more likely, an avocado plant).  It's pretty fun to do, and was (after many months) growing successful leaves and roots and everything, UNTIL RATS CAME AND AT THE WHOLE THING (c. Oxford, 2010).  I wish I could find some pictures of the sad, gnawed up mess that was, but it's just as well that I can't.

Now that I'm in a new (ratless) spot, I've decided to try again (although I will be battling a perhaps equal problem of limited sunlight).  Saved one pit from this week long guacamole fest, and am going to try it out again.  Blanc is helping me keep an eye on it.

Coastal

Someone (Dan K, then Lulu) just recommended this website, and their "first pair free" scene.  So I did it - how could free glasses be wrong, right?

Their motto? "Buying glasses from Coastal.com is awesome".

What I did wrong though, is order a pair from the very first page of the site, without spending any time paging through and seeing other glasses they have.  I think I could have found something really good, but at least what I got is funny:

Do you see that?  IT'S DIVISION AND MULTIPLICATION SIGNS.  These are the math teacher-est glasses you could ever imagine (and no I didn't notice when I ordered them).  I think they're funny enough for tons of at-home Kindle reading, and maybe even out someday*.  Maybe.

Anyway, in general, I'd like to recommend Coastal as a pretty good source for cheap-y (I think mine were $8 or 9, total) regular glasses.  Mine came with the right script in less than a week.  Maybe just be a little more vigilant than me, double check everything, including weird symbols in the corners.




*the only time I need to wear glasses "out" is at work, which is not "out" or like, if I go to the park to read.  I don't want you guys to get the wrong idea about me. And glasses.

jungle

I'm trying (again) to have large, healthy plants.  I think I did it right this time, too - received and considered actual recommendations, planted them so they won't drown in their own gross water, and am trying to open the curtains and get them any tiny amount of sun they can suck up.

So, there's one big guy, one medium guy, and a whole bunch of tiny guys on the window sill, hoping to not get MLB'd.  The tiny succulents fit perfectly in all these tiny pots I made lately, which finally pushed the pots into the realm of Usable Objects, which is great.

One step closer to the Rosseau Jungle bathroom of my dreams (which is really just an effort to disguise Litter Box Nook).   Maybe one good hanging plant to complete the ensemble - I could probably work out (keep a live) a spider plant, right?

supplied

Yesterday was one of those days where the universe just threw a bunch of stuff I needed into my lap.  Here's a bad picture of HUNDREDS of babyfood jars, with lids, that someone dropped off at my house.

Next to that? A bag of more wine corks than I could ever ask for, from a newly discovered unending font of corks.  A cork-font.
Maybe this seems like a pile of trash and recycling to you, not to me.  This is the find of the month.  Both of these?  Going to make such good projects (someday), keep your eyes peeled.

Oh, and that handsome model with the corks up there just got his summer haircut.  He also had his first SEPTA ride.  Very Exciting Day (for a cat).

(Here's a picture of him standing on the toilet.  Nice, right?  Notice there's tons of room on his neck for his new fancy gentleman's collar that should arrive any day now.)

cups

So, I've been making all these little wobbly ceramic cups lately.

It's weird, I don't feel especially connected to or good at the process of making things (especially vessels I guess) from clay.  I don't look forward to it, and I get easily frustrated when I'm trying to do a thing.
BUT, I love going to pick something up (after building it, firing it, glazing it, re-firing it).  Seeing what color it turned, how much it shrank, all that.  I love it.

So now I have all these little guys around, and I like them.  End.

butter lamb 2012

I almost forgot to show you this guy:

He had a rough trip from Buffalo/it's hard to be a butter lamb.