Thursday, August 30, 2007

Would that be the Bryan kind?




You're Siddhartha!

by Hermann Hesse

You simply don't know what to believe, but you're willing to try anything once. Western values, Eastern values, hedonism and minimalism, you've spent some time in every camp. But you still don't have any idea what camp you belong in. This makes you an individualist of the highest order, but also really lonely. It's time to chill out under a tree. And realize that at least you believe in
ferries. ***CV



Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Quakes and stuff

You know you are in California when, at the tail end of a meeting as one team member is earnestly explaining the end of the day routine, the room begins to shake and the most anyone does is mutter earthquake and then continues to listen to the explanation in progress.
**
There is so much stuff in the class room. So. Much. Stuff. I thought I tossed a lot in preparation for moving state. Deja vu. In fact I'm thinking of emptying out some rooms that seem to have materials in them only because they can be there, and changing the rooms into physical movement areas (yoga, dance etc) and reading areas.
***
Two new yoga books:

Shadow Yoga, Shandor Remete
Yoga: It's History,Philosophy and Tradition, Georg Fueurstein

***CV

Sunday, August 26, 2007

love

Today was the last public class I will be able to take with the person who is leading the teacher training. It is not that I cannot take his public classes only the studio where he had been holding them is no longer aailable and he is relocating to a place that is (for me) financially unamanageable.

He's an interesting person and this training will prove challenging on many levels. One is that in current society (though this may be true for other societal times as well) it is very hard to accept genuine caring and consideration. People who approach life with goodness always seem a little suspect (or is that just me?) It's not that I don't want to believe and to also view others and interact with others in such a nonromantic loving manner only there is always that fear of being hurt, either emotionally, physically or socially.

This particular instructor is not perfect. Yet he genuinely is open and caring and interested in everyone (and not in that RY* way).
**
I saw the golden pair again today. I think that those of you who thought that they were goldfiches were right. The pictures I have seen of warblers are too round for this slim pair. While reading in the garden today (Myth and Meaning, Claude Levi-Strauss) a humming bird decided to hover in front of me for a while. Literally. Before zooming off to join his mate.

I started Anne of the Island tonight. And Jerry Spinelli has a sequal to Stargirl out called Love***CV

Saturday, August 25, 2007

A brief interruption

I have been tagged in the scattegories meme: Little does the tagger suspect that I have many names Ahahahahah! Ahem. 'Scuse me while I decide which name (s) I will use.....

Here are the rules:

1. Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the questions.They must be real places, names, things ... nothing made up! If you can't think of anything, skip it.

2. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

3. If your name happens to start with the same letter as mine, sorry, but you can't use my answers!

My name: (That would be telling. I have intelligent readers. You can figure it out :)


1. Famous Singer: Nancy Sinatra
2. Four letter word: Ahah
3. Street: Northrup
4. Color: Cream
5. Gifts/Presents: Yes! (see number 13)
6. Vehicle: Norfolk wherry
7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: Adverts
8. Boy Name: Neil
9. Girl Name: Candice
10. Movie Title: yellow submarine
11. Drink: Nuclear Rainbow (one can only imagine...)
12. Occupation: Adjunct
13. Celebrity: Neil Gaiman (see number 5)
14. Magazine: Cosmopolitan
15. U.S. City: Yreka
16. Pro Sports: Nope
17. Fruit: Avacado/alligator pear
18. Reason for Being Late for Work: (I need a reason?)
19. Something You Throw Away: Nasty stuff
20. Things You Shout: Cool!
21. Cartoon Character: Yogi Bear
I find that last slightly ironic****CV

Friday, August 24, 2007

Faith for the future.....

I'm realising that I won't be able to practie here as I did in Portland. No local studios offer early morning classes and I am not at a point where I can do late in the day practices. Thus I find myself facing the (very) early morning choice of "Just five more minutes listening to NPR" or rolling out of bed and hitting the mat. So far the mat has been winning and It feels great.

I must remember that feeling.
**
Late night tonight. This is the first day we have actually had to work in our classrooms. Most of the week has been in procedural or workshop situations; which is all good but it leaves little room to check, clean and get the lesson planning done. I have four other team members and I'm used to working pretty much on my own. So anyway I left late with one of my team mates and caught a bus thinking "Hmmm ,maybe I'll actually get a seat on the second train" Yes it takes a bus and two trains to get back home. Yesterday, as usual, no seat was available on the second train and standing room was at a premium, and I wanted to knit. I did a surf and knit. Y'know, where you're satnding in the aisle, not holding on, and just going with the motion of the train? Pretty fun; until I snapped a needle.

Not good. I mean I only have so many 5inch #2s and I have no idea where to get them around here or even if they are available. Still, I did get a seat today so I got to continue my electric green socks.

A point: so far I have seen only one other woman knitting on my commute. And I've ony seen her once and she kinda looked like she'd just come back from visiting with the grandkids but I have had several people make comments (yesterday it was the BART clean up patrol who actually made a point of coming over twice to ask if the socks were for them). Anyway tonight it was a woman who was really impressed by the stitich (Why yes it is stockingnette) and started a conversation with another passenger about it.

I have hopes for more yarn sightings soon :)***CV

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Dizzy Bee

There are things we all dislike doing. Tasks which we will invemt other things to do rather than face, but ultimately we realise that avoidance must be stopped and we do whatever it is that must be done. For me this often ends up with a "Well that really wasn't all that bad and look at all the freedom I have now it's done! Wheeee!"

So I wonder if the former teacher has that whee feeling right now? I suspect not. Aaaargh. Record keeping is not a choice . It is a task that Must. Be. Done.

*sigh* I hope the children don't mind getting the same lessons all over again as I won't know if they have had them before or not.
**
So another afternoon out in the garden reading and knitting. I saw a pair of birds that were absolutely gorgeous. Both had yellow bodies with brown/black/white speckled wings and black rimmed eyes. The male was a deep lemon yellow and the female was a pale dusty yellow. They made the prettiest purring chirrups.

There are two kinds of humming birds here as well. I only recognised the ruby throated one. As I was reading (Arsene Lupin, LeBlanc) one of the flowers from a tree fell onto my blanket. It was a very pretty flame orange colored blossom popular among the unidentified hummingbird species. I was about to pick it up but it started squirming.

Who should come out but a honeybee. The bee spun around on its legs and continued spinning until it dizzily fell off my blanket and then flew away. So funny. ***CV

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Sabado

I would not recommend doing salabasana when feeling nauseous. Not a pleasant sensation regardless of the success at only feeling the senastion.
**
I meant to work on student records, really I did. But the bookstore was calling and then the garden was calling and I had a sock whose heel was begging to be turned so....

I spent a lovely two hours ouside watching the hummingbirds, listening to the jay, reading my yoga magazine and my cupcake book (Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, Isa Moskowitz) and turning that heel.

I still have the files for tomorrow. I suppose it is a good thing that they are not up to date or even filled in at all for some children. Now I can really know* what they have been presented***CV

*know in the sense, Well, the weekly sheet says it was given to them on that day so I guess it was. Which just means lots of assessing the first week or two.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Don't You Knock?!

One should be careful of what one speaks. I mentioned more frequent animal visitors and who should I surprise in the house staring at Chai but Lola*. To say Chai was chagrinned would be a bit of an understatement. Ah well.
**
My plans for the park did not occur but I was good and did student study at a cafe and I am now up to date with those children I have records for. This would not be the 11 new ones but 18 is better than none.
***
Last night I printed out some sock patterns. I'm looking forward to starting them :) They were all from MagKnits, which seems to be having fewer and fewer patterns lately. I copied Snicket, Snowflake lace ... and, oops, sorry only two; the other was from a sockalong. Pardon me. ****CV

* Lola is a tuxedo kitty like Chai only slimmer and with more black. I didn't realise thatuntil tonight.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

A Bit of a Sticky Thicket

I was thinking about the bin situation and it occurred to me that maybe the housemates are so used to debris in the driveway (there is a beautiful purple flowering tree that sheds more than a persian cat during a heatwave) and so they simply didn't realise that the debris in this case was a carefully made pile.

It's possible.

Tonight I smell like an herbal grill: all lemon and rosemary. Comes from pruning the snakelike lemon balm and gathering apples while immersed in the rosemary. There are worse scents I suppose.

I think the animals in the neighborhood are becoming more frequent visitors. At least the squirrels. I saw one hopping around the central garden area this afternoon. It started towards a black bucket I've been filling with windfall apples but then it saw me and decided not to go there and instead shimmied up the lemon tree. While weeding yeserday I found two small pears. I don't know where they came from. The only new tree I discovered was a holly tree (beware the holly leaf it bears mighty points), and possibly a quince. But we do have jasmine and so. many. fushias. oy! (I loooooove fushias by the way)

If anyone knows how to train fushias to be a tree I'd love your input.

And there are roses everywhere through out the space. I may just count them to know how many. A guess would be 15 to 20 individuals. Some are slender stemmed and some have inch to inch and a half diameter stalks. Everything is virtually braided together so it is only when I reach to pull a weed that I realise, Ouch! another rose! Some appear sick though. Leaves are either dirty lace covered, or eaten, or yellow. Not all but enough that I really wish I knew someone who knew plants could come and look at them with me.
***
I purchased the rest of the Anne series today. At two bucks each I figured it was a deal. I started volume two tonight. I may go to a nearby park tomorrow afternoon to read***CV

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Whose pile up is it?

Last night was a late night catching up with blogs and searching the net for Going Out ideas and so it was that when Chai started doing the cat thing, looking at nothing very alertly and carefully sneaking up on invisibles, and then I heard scratching and scraping at the side of the house then the back of the house followed by snuffling at the other side of the house, combined with scuttling and urgent digging of said invisibles, well, I beame a tad unnerved.

Clearly we survived but I can't speak to this night.
***
I decided to do some work on the side garden this afternoon. I really wonder how much of the garden's condition is due to inaccurate pruning and how much to just plain neglect. It seems to me that even with consistant weeding and deadheading the garden ahould be in much better shape than it is. I filled one waste bin with my ivy that I pulled a couple of weeks ago. I made another huge pile with the stuff I pulled from the side garden today. And so I face a dilemma.

After I weeded the picket area on Sunday I put as much as I possibly could squeeze into the waste bins then made small piles of what was left and swept the area. Now the bins have been emptied (by the collectors) and parked (by the housemates) on top of said piles. I am confused. If they didn't want to pick up the piles okay but why park the containers on the piles so no one else can do so?

The side garden is contractually the housemate's area. I weeded just cause I couldn't stand not too. I cleared and made a huge pile to the side of the back deck out of the way of stairs and such (instead of leaving the trimmings scattered where they might fall as did the landlords). So do I pack up the waste refuse or do I leave a note stating what I did and let the housemates take care of it?

The pile is positioned so I don't have to look at it. It might be an interesting experiment to see (if I do not write a note) how long it takes the housemates - if at all - to become aware of it.

All this is reminding me why I do not do the roommate thing.
***
I finshed Anne of Green Gables today and picked up a copy of Anne of Avonlea yesterday. Anne reminds me very much of one of my former students.

One of the reasons I picked up the series was that there was supposed to be a fair amount of textile work in it. There was mention of knitting cotton quilts, a fancy crochet stitch and sewing a diamond patchwork. I expected more. Perhaps later in the series?***CV

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Scones rule

I made my scones tonight! Yummy. They're the basic scone recipe from Vegan With a Vengeance by Isa Moskowitz. I didn't follow the recipe exactly. I don't have soy cream so I just upped the soy milk, and I have corn oil not vegetable oil. Too, I don't have a cookie sheet so I used a cupcake pan and made two more then the recipe called for. These would be fabulous shortcake cakes. Maybe I'll make that for the kirtan.

She has another book out, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, (or something to that effect). And she has another book coming out in October called, Veganomicon. I am so very tempted to just preorder it from Powell's now.
**
So after practice this morning I was feeling crabby. I still don't know why. I didn't snap at anyone but just felt generally discontent. So after sitting in a cafe and reading Anne of GreenGables I went to Pendragon and browsed. Still crabby and I really wanted to say something to the woman who put her soda can on one pile of books as she looked at another: But I didn't (I just didn't get out of her way when she wanted to go by me for a really long time: passive aggressive much?)

I thought about picking up a CD holder. The estate place has unfinished book cases and CD holders, but I didn't. Instead, after grocery shopping I came home and decided to attack the weeds around the white picket fence up front. So it was that I got to actually spend some time talking with the main house tenants. Apparently one of them wants to throw a garden work party (dude? You could just pull weeds without the party, but I see how it could be fun......) and another one said if I told him what to do he would. (Y'know that sounds a bit risque doesn't it? oh boy take these clippers and...never mind. It's just me).

There is another kitty living here. Her name is Lola and she is a very petite black kitty with a tiny white bib. ***CV

Saturday, August 11, 2007

olive or onion

The roof got sealed, or I should say screened, today. There was quite a bit of action on the squirrel highway as son #2 drilled and hammered and hung precariously from the roof. So far there has been none of the gnawing I usually associate with this time of day. We shall see.
**
I read Carmen, the first in the collected works of Merimee (see I looked up his name). It is nothing like the Carmen of Bizet except that Carmencita plays the field. Makes sense though. Apparently the opera is based upon the short story and goodness knows there is enough evidence out there for what based upon the work of - means for one not to be surpised when the original is nothing like the film, opera, play, what have you.
***
There is a shop in the neighborhood that sells refiished furniture picked up from estate sales. Mostly 1920's to 40's stuff. They have the most wonderful painted cabinets and China boards, the kind you see in '20's pictures with swirling dragons, lotus flowers and such. *sigh* I would so have a 1920's tiffanyed home if I could. Oh F. Scott ? Mr Charles put down that manuscript/police memo for a moment hon' and help me with this martini shaker.
****
I just found out my favorite teacher is doing a workshop in the city next month and I cannot go because I am in the teacher training, Argh. She will be holdiong a kirtan though and so long as I don't mind not sleeping that weekend (which is the first weekend of the first week of school) and training is 8-6 Saturday and Sunday, I should be fine.

All together now:


We are living in a fantasy world
Are living
in a fantasy world.....***CV

Friday, August 10, 2007

Br'er rabbit meets Bambi

I have the cutest landlords (though I suspect they could be real tough cookies when they had to). This morning I was at practice when my phone rang (It NEVER rings. No one EVER calls. I NEVER have to turn on the silencer. *sigh*) Anyway, it turned out to be one of the sons checking on what son #2 had done yesterday and letting me know that he, son#1, might be stopping by today but not to worry it was outside stuff so I didn't have to be there unless I wanted to be. So then I called in to work checking whether ot not today would be a good day to come in. Turned out Monday would be better: Ooo Friday off :)

Five minutes later my landlady calls to tell me she and her husband were coming this afternoon to do some gardening and since I had expressed an interest in learning how to prune, if I wanted, she would show me then. Yay!

So I wandered two bookstores in search of Anne. I found Anne, and Emily too. Then, after picking up a bagel to go I went back home to read and await my gardening lesson. I waited and waited. Finished Julie and Julia, surfed the net, made a shopping list for baking scones, watched a mourning dove eat the finch seed remains I had tossed yesterday, watched a squirrel head towards a dish of fresh picked apples and thought I heard him crunching them. Turns out it was my landlady seriously clipping the roses. Apparently she and her husband had been present for the past hour or so *sigh* Turns out the front garden needed so much work (and it's true it does still) that they will come back next weekend to work in the center area.

Anyway as Mrs. Landlady and I are chatting I hear my doorbell and it turns out to be Mr. Landlord who I practically have to pull inside with a rope he is so respectful of my property. Even then he wouldn't move past the laundry area. Then I hear Mrs. Landlady calling me because while her husband and I were chatting she had gone up front to fetch him to answer my question about watering the garden. So I say "Come on in! We're both inside!" and she doesn't and he won't come in any farther....It was hilarious.

So after they were gone I whacked the rosemary, de Repunzeled the Chinese Jade, found the prettiest pink rose hiding behind the jade and listened to my back fence as it was homerunned by the little league next door. Then I cleaned up and went shopping for dinner and scone stuff (Okay the organic prices have got to be seriously over done and that is all I will say about it. C and H? Mortons? Here I come)

As I returned home I met one more bit of wildlife: Flower, who was a little worried when I said hello so he arched his back and tail at me...ummm Flower? You are a skunk. Like I'm going to mess with you? I think ever so not***CV

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Something must have died....

Turns out the flies are not house flies as I had thought. I did notice that they seemed rather large but when the handy person came by to look at some stuff around the house and saw them he asked if anything had died recently. Apparently these black buzzing things are from larva which... well let's just say I was real happy to hear they will all die very soon.

Oh and it turns out that the handy person is actually a son of the landlords. He found it funny that I had no idea. This is what comes of casual first name usage and the modern lack of proper introductions.
**
I'm on a real cook boook jag now. Today I picked up a copy of The Tassajara Recipe Book. I was alos going to get a copy of Anne of Green Gables, which I have never read, but the store was sold out. The counter person offered to order a copy but I said no 'cause it was more fun to wander stores looking and maybe finding***CV

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Mr. Squirrel

The squirrel is back. So I guess he comes only at certain times and I have been missing his visits. The flies have apparently moved to the laundry room, which is near the front door so let's all hope that they are on their way out said door very very soon. The handy person is suppose to come by tomorow to look at some other things and I'll show him the Fly zone then.
**
Fingerprinting today and it was done the inkless way. Very nice. One of the workers asked if I did a lot of work with my hands and I replied that I knit, and practice yoga (all those many downward dogs in which one is reminded to press the fingertips down). Then I thought to ask why she wanted to know. She said it was because many of the lines that they try to record were very faint which was because my hand work was wearing the whorls away. Wow. I wonder if Lupin would like a confederate *g*
***
Picked up a copy of Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (630pp) yesterday and finished it today. No comments as many who read it may still be doing so and I wouldn't want to be a spoiler. I will say though that I found this one an improvement over the last installment. The concluding book is supposed to be just that, a conclusion, which will be good. I really prefer a series that stops with the want for more than the question: when will it end?
****
Today I purchased a copy of Julie and Julia by Julie Powell and yesterday I bought a collection of short stories by the author of Carmen. I'm too lazy to go get it out of my bag right now to add the author's name. I think it begins with an M. Speaking of the bag. After class I went to a local bakery for breakfast and as all the tables were full I found a convenient bench, set up and began to eat and reaad. Two ladies walking by asked where I got my bag from. They are not the only ones to ask. It's the symbol on teh bagwhich raises the curiousity. Many, many years ago (before the Gap bought them out) Banana Republic was a small operation that sold stuff found in Banana Republics, and surplus gear. My bag is a surplus Israeli paratroopers bag: dude, 20 years old. It's great for lugging stuff in. Not what BR sells now at all. So far I've had a desert soldier, various public transit riders and now thes ladies inquire. And they all have that "You know what the symbol means?" look.
*****
Got my acceptance for the teacher training. Now I need to find out if public tranis toperates at 7am Sunday mornings.****CV

Monday, August 06, 2007

Neighbor mine

My new place is a studio cottage which means there is a kitchen, a bathroom a mainroom and in this instance a breezeway. I have made the main room my sleeping area. There are three window in each of the exterior walls of this main roomand right now I can see a black kitty that is in the neighbors yard being heckled by a scrubjay. Earlier this afternoon there was a hummingbird outside another window. My third window is the one from which I used to see Jay and squirrel but as I mentioned earlier I think squirrel is pissed at me for tearing down the ivy road.

The black kitty and I had quite the one sided conversation last night. Mostly me talking and him?her? looking appalled that someone could actually see him? her? but then the kitty was out ther when i got up so maybe kitty is okay with a new neighbor.
**
I went on to the shool today. It seems that the other guide may not be here until January so the person I thought would be my assistant will instead be filling in until the new guide arrives. Ah school. I don't think any of us as students really knew how loosely held together the whole daily routine was.***CV

Sunday, August 05, 2007

buzzing along

I so feel like I'm on the set of the Exorcist. Instead of locusts it's black flies. Guess that makes me what?Lady of the Flies? I have no idea where they are coming from: none. I do not leave food out. I clean the kitty box regularly (like Chai barely has time to finish, y'know). I do not leave doors open. Bah. I got some of that horrid yellow glue tape and this morning: no flies. This evening: population explosion. Ick.
**
Found a third bookstore on College: Mrs. Dalloways and so I picked up a new cookbook. Vegan with a Vengance. Yesterday while I was in SF I got a copy of Coyote Road, an anthology of Trickster tales.
***
So I do not have enough to do what with a new school, new children etc. I applied for a yoga teacher training (100 hours in five weekends). Well it's only an aplication. Not like I've been accepted.***CV

Friday, August 03, 2007

Tidings

The two bookstores I found are Pendragon books and Diesel. Pendragon is primarily used books but they do have new releases and magazines, too.
**
The new place is lovely, lots of sunshine. I feel like I am in a small boat when I shut the door. I couldn't exactly say why. Perhaps it is the compactness after living in a one bedroom. It might also be the fact that I am surrounded by greenery. There is a red tail squirrel and a (possibly two) scrubjay(s) that appear to be regulars. This may change now that I've hacked most of the ivy down. The squirrel used the ivy road as a means of accessing a huge plum tree in the garden. Unfortuntaely the ivy which twines that giant already killed a smaller version of the same tree. (In fact it completely hollowed out the poor thing).

My wish for a commute may have been granted. It looks like it will take anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour to get to my new position from home. I make my first attempt next week.
***
Last night I finally got around to unpacking all 26 boxes of books. Well, actually I only unpacked 12 of them. I desperately need to get some more bookcases.***CV

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Made It!

And it only took four days to get a landline installed so that I could actually get on the internet again. Goodness.
**
Well the English ivy that once ruled this garden has met the new sherriff in town.Got me some clippers today.Too bad I already filled up both garden waste cans that other day or the ivy would be filling it now.
***
I managed to find both local bookstores the first day here and yes I already have six new books. but one is a cook book so......Oh and I managed to injure my shoulder in a yoga class the other day. Oy. When it happened all I could think was Noooooo I will not give up my practice for this. I refuse to be injured. *sigh* ***CV