happy halloween

happy halloween!

not so sure if oto's "li'l stinker" costume was such a good idea: maybe once around the block!

today's problem: sleeping

one of the problems of living in an urban area is being able to sleep through sirens, trash trucks, barking dogs, howling cats, school buses...i dunno: what else? so for years i have armed myself with a sound machine to mask all noises evil.
i prefer 'ocean waves' to lull me into a deep slumber. then i sleep like a baby and awake refreshed! the mister has grown used to the masking machine: other people think its a bit weird. i once took the sound device with me to a workshop in tennessee. my lawyer/potter roommate said "fine" to it, but i really didn't want to impose, so i set it to wake us at an agreed upon hour...then i left for an all-nighter in the metal shop. when i returned around 4:30am, my roommate was asleep, but awoke as i got into bed, mumbling about a rooster crowing repeatedly. i thought she was talking in her sleep, so i ignored her. she suddenly sat up and said: "the f-ing rooster in your sound machine has been crowing all night!". i must have accidentally turned one of auxiliary sounds on and she couldn't turn it off!

lesson learned: farm noises are not soothing.

(uhm...that's the miami sound machine above: also not soothing)

new work

earlier this year i started a new line of work featuring vintage plastic charms cast in sterling silver combined with gemstones and some of my herban elements findings. i recently had them photographed by my friend sandra of cole rodger photographics, and i couldnt be happier with the results! here is the first piece which combines a little bird with a large blue topaz on a ring shank fabricated from a tulip poplar stamen.

legal graffiti

speaking of graffiti, this is legit: 

take note!

today's problem: fruit flies

wtf?

i thought fruit flies were a summer phenom, but this past week i have been over run by them! they are on my fruit, my vegetables, the kitchen cabinets, the stove...they are even in the fridge! i vacuum them up: they seem to multiply! i tried cider vinegar to attract them away from the fruit, but that just attracted a million more. 

bethesda row art festival

shop local and support the arts saturday and sunday at the bethesda row art festival.

winnie the pooh

i have a specific memory of me turning six years old: we were not rich, so my gifts were only a few but very carefully selected, special gifts from my parents. on my sixth birthday in addition to several coloring books and crayons,  i received a collection of pooh books, including "now we are six".

i was six: how weird!

i read these poems over and over and still cherish them to this day!

happy 85th birthday, pooh bear!

rainy day movie

how to score points with your laundry

start with this gaming machine and your dirty laundry...dont forget the coin and bring your game because this washer wont spin if you suck!

via hungeree

today's problem: columbus day

we never got the day off when i was in school, so i never celebrated columbus day when i was growing up. but now as an adult, it's a three day weekend: score!

so today i celebrate the discovery of india by a murderous rapist who loved a good slave now and again: salut!

graffiti umbrella

with most of the month of september stormy and rainy and the farmer's almanac predicting more of the same for the next few weeks, it is time for me to break down and replace my old wind blown umbrella! the on line search began and this multi-function number is what i came up with.

via weburbanist