new meaning for deadlines

I don't have anything brilliant to report. We have a cute little Roma tomato--it's about the size of a fingernail. We've had a few big arugula salads from the "row" on the deck. It's been cooler here at night than it is in Minnesota. We even had a little sleet the other day. Sorry if my blog is a little dull--that's what I mean by "dead" lines!

GA-GA

Georgia is one of the only states that will "celebrate" Confederate Memorial Day. Remember when Gov Perdue held the Pray for Rain rally on the capitol steps? Southern culture is difficult to process...I'm just going to focus on my plants and my paints.

Monday blaahhg

Tom and I had a busy weekend. We just worked around the house and took a couple of nice long walks. He grilled some delicious mahi-mahi (with shitakes and asparagus) for dinner! I'm reading an interesting book by Gail Collins who was the NYT Op-Ed columnist. It's called When Everything Changed: The amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to The Present. Does anyone know if "effortful" is a legit word? She uses it to describe labor-intensive meals. Sounds funny to me...

subconscious is a strange place, part 2

I had a dream that I was cleaning up a river on Earth Day. Mick Jagger was there helping. I told him that when I was a teenager, I had a dream that we were cleaning up a lake on Earth Day, and he was there then, too, and he asked me for a trash bag! How's that for weird? I think I better stop drinking those Korean energy drinks I got at the Farmer's Market.

power of blogs

Having the opportunity to publish a web log is powerful. God gave Adam (of course not Eve, the dummy) the chance to name all the creatures. Now each one of us can label and edit our own posts. Yeah, whatever we write hovers in the eternal ether, but power and responsibility have always gone hand in hand.

subconcious is a strange place

The destruction of the Polish elite in the crash near Katyn is difficult to process, but this morning I woke up with every Polish phrase/noun I learned while I was an expat. They are simple phrases relating to daily activities (eating, shopping, answering the phone/door), but it must be my way of honoring the Polish people. I looked through the small Italian dictionary I bought...the Italians must think phrases like "I have a passion for sailing!" are more useful than "What time is it?" I couldn't help noticing that the Polish president's wife looked a lot like my friend/neighbor in Szczecin, Teresa...

Tom worked hard helping a couple of neighbors plant hydrangeas et al yesterday. I re-potted houseplants and herbs. The pollen count seems to be decreasing. Sydney isn't a weird color when she comes back in (she has her own "kitty-door" AKA a screenless window overlooking the deck). She talks when I pick her up, and her fur turned yellow from the pollen, so I dubbed her Old Yeller!

quick list

Has to be quick today, so here's an update on what's going on around here today:
1. Arugula: healthy, yummy looking microgreens growing well
2. Minnesota: raining. Perfect conditions for planting corn in a couple weeks. Cross fingers.
2. Roma tomato: over a foot tall!
3. Sweet potato wine: gonna be potent. It's like a volcano, the way it's fermenting.

Still can't believe they cast Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love movie. I say Anne Heche or forget it....

holding down the fort

The pollen is REALLY bad today, but I was able to clean and coat the bricks on the front steps and most of the side wall on the deck. That sealer doesn't seem to be very good--weird and watery. I'm spraying it on, so at least it's quick. I miss my family!

Alice in Wonderland/Mom at Home

I'm vicariously living in Italy through Alice as she attends the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners. We've lived in the Pollen Belt for 20 years and are battling the green plague in Georgia, waiting for rain. It's nice to have wheels! I've been without a car for the four years Alice attended Johnson and Wales---had to say good-bye to Alice, but hello, Focus!