"Green thumb," she said admiringly, rolling down her window, "I do so envy you master gardeners!" My neighbor Rick choked on his coffee, trying not to laugh. Just as I'd leaned down to pluck a weed--I THINK it was a weed--this stranger drove up to compliment my gardening prowess. I could see where she'd get that impression: I was standing [...]
Wax ain't just for candles. Surgeons pack bone with it, medievalists seal letters with it, it coats cheeses and shines your car (or your shoes), makes edible Halloween lips and honeycombs and mascara and photocopies and lava lamps and soap and art. It's pretty wonderful stuff and, much as I dislike using it, invaluable in glass casting. HOWEVER...it's daunting, potentially dangerous, and very, very [...]
Holy cow! The bluejays lost! Even holier cow! There are baby birds on the porch light! Every year the Steller* and Scrub jays duke it out to determine ownership of my back porch light. Their battles are fierce, blue bullets cartwheeling all over the deck, feathers flying. They're disputing porch light ownership, and usually the Stellers win. I have no [...]
I saw my officer this morning, bronzed and burly as he scolded an errant driver on the side of the road. I don’t know his name, and I’m sure he wouldn’t know me. But we made a brief connection a few years ago and so he will always be my officer. […]
Ah, spring! That's when a young ant's fancy turns to love.. and to exploring my kitchen counters, dad-blastit. Came downstairs this morning, and found several young Romeos (or possibly Juliets) skittering across the kitchen counter.* I fretted a bit and danced the Windex Waltz all over their crunchy little bodies. (I'm not at all charitable where ants are concerned). Yet [...]
Several of y’all have asked me to explain how to use stainless steel rod to create custom dripping platforms for potmelts and such, so I thought I’d oblige…let me know if you have any questions. Glassists are also scavengers–our favorite stores are Harbor Freight and Goodwill–because we’re always looking for cool stuff to use in a kiln. And the most [...]
[dropcap]I[/dropcap]phigenia the iPhone holds a boatload (or maybe a phoneload) of apps, those intriguing little chunks of software that do...stuff. I've a bit more than 100 of the little critters stuffed in there right now. I regularly use 10 or 12 of them, though (if you don't count games). The rest I keep around for rarer tasks, like checking with [...]
"You and about five million other people, Cynthia," said the lady on the phone, "Right now I'd like to get a call from someone who WASN'T having an ant problem." The Antmind, anticipating spring by a couple of months, has settled into my home. As houseguests, they leave a lot to be desired. Which is why there was a whip [...]
Restaurant website Location: Beaverton (Bethany area) Price to brunch 2: About $30 It’s kind of a truism in Portland that the best eats are downtown, in the Pearl, or over on the east side. Or maybe, in a pinch, out in Lake Oswego. My friends call the western suburbs “foodie hell,” and I’m not sure I’d disagree; you’re more apt [...]
“Sorry,” I mumbled, trying to look downtrodden, “I, uhm, have the flu?” “Still!?!” exclaimed my neighbor, backing up a step, and I realized I’d used that one a month ago. “Again,” I said, solemnly, and she gave me the look reserved for rabid raccoons and Typhoid Mary. OK, so I was embroidering a bit (i.e., lying), but how else do [...]
