Bedside Play Along!

I came across Whosies Play Along last night while reading some journals and thought I'd play along. I never keep much on my bedside table except books and jewelry/bobby pins/hairbands, so mine might not be as interesting as others. Sometimes it gets out of hand (for me) and I have to clean it off. It's funny, though. I'm one of those people that usually has multiple books going at one time - so a couple of books have been sitting on there since last summer/fall.

This is the general shot of my bedside table with the light on. I love those little Ikea lights - perfect for a bedside.



These items are what you will usually find on my bedside tabletop - stack of books; my gift bowl that I use for earrings/jewelry that have been forgotten when I go to bed and hairbands and barrettes; and remotes. The highlighter has been there since last semester ended (study sessions in bed). I've just been too lazy to place it in the small drawer right IN the nightstand.



This is the underneath of the table which holds my bag full of my foot lotions/exfoliators/etc. and a couple of other boxes full of more random lotions and candle holders. The drawer below holds random stuff for storage like old cameras that I collect and stuff like that. The top drawer is a typical bedside drawer - lotion, nail clippers, snore strips (yes, I snore), pens, highlighters, lip balm, etc.



And now for the books, themselves. I always accumulate a stack of books beside my bed - as most avid readers do. Right at this moment I'm reading The Happy Hooker by Xaviera Hollander. This is an autobiography about a one of New York's notorious madams. It's a very interesting read, but a very graphic one - not for the faint of heart. I started Jefferson Bass's Flesh and Bone in August of '08. It's a murder mystery/forensic story based at University of Tennessee at Knoxville's Body Farm. William Bass, who started the Body Farm at UTK is one of the authors. A very good read, but I'm not quite done with it. It's one of those I pick up every now and then. Since I go to University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and am getting my BS in Anthropology - I tend to be interested in all things Anthro., especially forensic details. The other book is Knitting for Good by Betsy Greer. A very good read as well and I was planning to reread it. The bottom book is a journal my brother gave to me.

So there. My bedside. Now, I must go get ready for a day of work.

My Aching Legs

060409 Garden 009, originally uploaded by themissiah.

For some reason, my lower back and legs have decided to ache, non-stop, all day. I really wish they'd let up, already.

In other news, our waterlily (above) has decided to send up leaves/pads, which makes me unbelievably happy. We'll see how it does.

The last few weeks have been nice, not being in school and having A LOT of calm time to myself. I've been seeing more friends, as well - another plus. Our garden is doing great. We will have tomatoes, blackberries, beans, and peppers very soon. Looks like it will be an early harvest this year for the garden.

I haven't been doing much in the way of creating, lately, which should change. I'd like to get my sewing machine working properly (Damn bobbin!) and begin sewing some stuff. I also need to get practicing on my uke. My reading list is a mile long as well and I would like to get finished with at least two books before I begin my class this summer.

Now, I must go and check the grill and see if I'm burning down the neighborhood. Roasted corn and veggie burgers for us, tonight!

My Aching Legs

060409 Garden 009, originally uploaded by themissiah.

For some reason, my lower back and legs have decided to ache, non-stop, all day. I really wish they'd let up, already.

In other news, our waterlily (above) has decided to send up leaves/pads, which makes me unbelievably happy. We'll see how it does.

The last few weeks have been nice, not being in school and having A LOT of calm time to myself. I've been seeing more friends, as well - another plus.Our garden is doing great. We will have tomatoes, blackberries, beans, and peppers very soon. Looks like it will be an early harvest this year for the garden.

I haven't been doing much in the way of creating, lately, which should change. I'd like to get my sewing machine working properly (Damn bobbin!) and begin sewing some stuff. I also need to get practicing on my uke. My reading list is a mile long as well and I would like to get finished with at least two books before I begin my class this summer.

Now, I must go and check the grill and see if I'm burning downt the neighborhood. Roasted corn and veggie burgers for us, tonight!

The Calm

042809 Garden 003, originally uploaded by themissiah.

Well, school is over for the semester and I could not be happier. I've spent the last week *attempting* to get things done around the house - to my loss. However, things are coming along slowly, but surely. The gardening is finished, except for some marigold seeds that need to be sown. We've put in tomatoes (Cherokee Purple and Brandywine), bell peppers (golden), onions, bush beans, cuces, and squash. Now we need to keep the bugs away and keep the thing watered.

We've also weeded the herb/kitchen garden and added in some annual herbs. Also, the flowers have been added as well. I went with Dahlias this year, rather than Petunias. I needed a change and I love Dahlias. Some of the wildflowers seeds I added last year have sprouted as you can see from the picture above.

Here are more shots of the garden(s).

Today, I've been trying to find the motivation to clean part of this house. I did manage to get the mosquito dunks out in the garden "pond" that just sits there breeding mosquitoes every year. I found some environmentally safe dunks that can be used in any standing water (including rain barrels). Maybe we can be outside this year without getting eaten alive.



Today, I had to go get some eggs and came back to find a broad-head skink sunning in our *skink* spot. All of the skinks love this spot. Everyday, I find one or two sitting up here. Some let me get pretty close, but this one was really skiddish. It had a bright orange head, which means that it's a male. He kept running over the side and peeking back up at me as if to check to see if I was gone. He did this several times. So cute.



Here's another shot in a larger format. You can see his coloring a bit better.

Play, Shows, and Tornadoes. Oh my!

The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. First of all, I've been working on schoolwork almost everyday, all day... with the exception of a couple of days where I went out of town or out in general. I've been going going going, with very little downtime.

Last week, I was at the UTC library after class for a few nights. I'm am so sick of that place. The tornadoes and storms hit on Friday and popped a hole in our shed.





Here are some more pictures from the damage.

On Saturday, I went down to Tullahoma, my hometown, and my mom and I went to see Enchanted April at the Center for the Arts in Murfreesboro. It was such a great show. The actors were fantastic. I think it's running until the end of April, so catch it if you are able and interested.

Sunday was Easter/Ostara, and we had lunch at my grandparents' house. The kids did some egg hunting. It was fun to watch. My niece and nephew are such giving kids. My cousin's little girl was hunting as well and Audrey and Garrett kept giving her their eggs. She is 2 1/2 and so funny and precious. It was fun to watch her waddle around looking for eggs.



On Monday, my partner and I had our presentation for our research project. It went well, but for a present to myself, I had purchased tickets about a month ago to see Dinosaur Jr. at Rhythm & Brews here in Chattanooga - for that night. It was a great show. I've missed seeing J. Mascis a couple of times in the last few years. The opportunity to see Dinosaur was too much to pass up. Plus, I didn't have to drive 2 hours north or south to see them.

More videos are here and more pictures here.

Tuesday, I volunteered to give my presentation on the first day, in another class. I regretted it, but am now glad that I did. One less thing to worry about.

Now, I am going to go take a shower and head out. Only a few more days of class left and only one final to take. I can finally see the end.

What's been up and a TUTORIAL! I do still create.

Uggghhhh. I'm tired. I think it's from the never-ending dreariness and rain outside.

The above picture is of Tripp's hammock that I bought him a couple of Christmases ago. He finally got a stand for it and now there is a hammock in our carport. It is soooo comfortable. I might have to take it over when he's not using it.

In other news, I found this post
with a tutorial on how to make a clothespin bag out of a recycled dress. Last Spring, I was looking for something to tote around my clothespins in and didn't like the idea of purchasing something new, so I made my own out of some old jeans I had lying around (for some reason, I always have old jeans lying around). It is very easy. If you know how to make a basic stitch and use scissors, you can make it. It's nothing innovative, by any means.





First, I took a leg of the jeans and cut a piece (about a foot long, give or take a few inches) perpendicular to the leg. Basically, I did a cross-section cut. I took my piece and turned it inside out. I stitched up both sides using really sturdy thread. Then, and here is where it gets as difficult as it's going to get, I cut a triangle (the top edge being about 3-4 inches in width) from the top of the seamed edge. I made the point a little above the middle line of the whole piece. I then turned it right-side out through the triangle. The triangle has to be big enough to get the piece through. I then was dumbfounded about what I would hang it up with. I found a pants hanger from department store with the metal clips and attached it to the top of the holder.

The hanger (nor the holder) is not the prettiest in the world, but I like it because the hanger hook swivels. This way when I turn my umbrella clothesline, I can swivel the clothespin holder to face me. It does the trick and it's easy. It's also been very sturdy - with my jerking the holder around and throwing it into the laundry bags/bins.

Such a strange day.

Transitions, originally uploaded by themissiah.

Today, I had to go into school early because one of my group partners and I had to watch a movie for a class presentation we are giving in just over a week. I went in and we watched most of the movie, which is sufficient. I then went to class and proceeded to watch the rest of America and the Holocaust (which is really interesting). So I pretty much watched movies for most of the day. It was strange because the BIG UTC game was today and our professor let us out early to watch the game, if we wanted to go. What is so strange about that is that we had been watching a film for the last hour about incidents in the Holocaust and discussing it - and then he said he was letting us out to "go watch the UTC game." Everyone, including him, kind of chuckled because a game just seemed non-important next to "the mass annihilation of Jews."

I then went to get my clothes at the alteration shop and a VERY large man in front of me insisted on arguing with the lady behind the counter. I don't know if he was just trying to give her a hard time or if he meant it, but I think he was actually getting on her nerves. As he left, she yelled "NUT!" and then turned to me very sweetly.

Now I'm home and the cats have been yelling and hissing at each other non-stop. There have also been a couple of physical altercations as well, which is strange for them because they usually just hiss at each other.

All around, it's been strange. Maybe it's the weather. I think it is supposed to rain in a bit. That explains the cats, anyway.