On a limb with Claudia

“Ask yourself :
If I didn’t worry about anyone else’s approval or
ask anyone else’s opinion,
what would I do now?”
–MJ Ryan

In celebration of 56 brave men, who launched this mad experiment we call the United States of America, I’m going to take my personal freedom.? Without regard for other’s opinion or approval, I will follow my own inner wisdom.

Will you join me?

“”Yes, we must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
–John Hancock

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Hurray for word prompts! Hurray for Unconscious Mutterings! (The word prompts are created by Luna Nina.) I do love these – my responses – and particularly your responses. I love to see everyone’s together. Now, how cool is that?

So make a girl happy – leave your mutterings in the comments!

1. Loneliness ::
2. Traffic ::
3. Chaos ::
4. Burp ::
5. 500 ::
6. Movie ::
7. Coma ::
8. Bark ::
9. Stare ::
10. Angelina ::

Here are my responses:

1. Loneliness :: kills
2. Traffic :: road construction
3. Chaos :: pandemonium
4. Burp :: ee
5. 500 :: gum balls!
6. Movie :: Netflix
7. Coma :: brain trauma
8. Bark :: perpetual barking dog
9. Stare :: angriest dog in the world
10. Angelina :: is an amazing person.

Happy Sunday!

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Sheez, not that Squirrelly! This one:

These guys are no help. No help at all.

Why must Squirrelly die? Because he’s farming, then eating my lettuce! As soon as it’s four inches high – wham, squirrelly eats everything – then waits until it grows again.

The devastation:

See what I mean. He ate just enough.
He is now letting it grow to torture me into thinking
I’m going to have a salad,
then WHAM he eats the lettuce.

Of course, shooting, maiming, poisoning, torturing or hurting a squirrel is illegal by law in the City and County of Denver. I wonder why they had to pass that law….

Anyway, on to updates. We last looked at the urban farm on May 23.

May 23 : Bed 1

June 24 : Bed 1

May 23 : Bed 2

June 24 : Bed 2

May 23 : Bed 3

June 23 : Bed 3

(The blue things are called “walls of water”. They are like portable terrariums.
I use them around tomatoes early in the season.
I’m using them here for watermelon – it’s just not quite warm at night yet.)

Here’s a few extra cool things. We decided to grow asparagus from seed:

Babies…. ahhhh…..

And even a baby blackberry!

(You can check out how we built these beds in this post. Remember, there’s two feet of loose, nutritious soil under each bed.)

Because someone, who will remain named Claudia, saw a buy 3 raspberry plants get 3 free deal meant that you type “3″ in the quantity box, we wound up with 18 raspberry plants. That’s right 18.

So the NEW raspberry bed:

You’ll notice that the soaker goes under the fence.
The neighbors “had to” take some raspberry plants off our hands.
Oh and some basil and some Red Zinnias.

On to our bees.? We have four stable hives.? They seem very healthy and happy.? In fact, they are better than I’ve seen them in a long time.? Two hives already have honey supers on them (what we collect honey from).? I expect to add supers to the others next week.? Keep your fingers crossed!

Thank you for all your prayers and concerns. This is quite an undertaking and so very fun!

Happy Friday!

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This year, I have undergone a fairly major transformation. While most people wouldn’t notice the difference, everything, from what I eat to how I think about myself, has changed. In this process, I’ve had to evaluate what works for me. I’ve let go of a lot of situations, people and possession that simply don’t work for me.

In turn, I’ve drawn a lot of new situations, people and possessions into my life. (I swear that this is not an advert. I am getting no kick back for any of this.) Since I’m in the process of setting up another business, I am fascinated to see what businesses I like and how they make it happen for me.

Thursday Thirteen #34 – Things that work for me.

I wanted to share some of the things that work really well in my life. And hopefully, learn what works well in your life.

1. I love Pandora radio. I listen to everything from my beloved Breaking Benjamin to Rihanna and even a little Spanish jazz. You have to monitor the feed, because it can go wonky. Otherwise, it’s perfect – free and fabulous!

2. Did you know that you can subscribe to Consumer Reports online? I’ve been a subscriber for a long time. It’s $24 a year and is so very worth it.

3. I love Firefox web browser. I’ve also used this for a long time. It’s fast, easy to use, and has great plug ins. For example, I have a web developer tool that allows me to check out things on web pages that I wouldn’t be able to (ever) on Internet Explorer. Did I mention it’s FAST??

4. Gmail is very awesome. I started a Gmail account a few years ago so that I could IM with my husband while he’s a work. This year, after a decade of deleting spam, I forwarded my main personal email to my Gmail account. Ahhhh! I get approximately 1 spam a month, down from about 100 a day. Amazing.

5. Mediation made feasible – Holosync. I started using Holosync at the beginning of May and it’s changed my life. It’s a mediation CD that puts your brain in a meditative place. I’m so hyper that I always struggled with static meditation. This program has been so very awesome. But don’t believe me. They have a free demo CD – try it.

6. I’m in love with Dax Moy and his Elimination Diet. We (D and I) did the Elimination Diet at the beginning of this year. I think it launched us into a healthy year. We returned to this diet about a week ago when D was having some allergy problems. We hope to maintain the diet for an entire 30 days. What is it? No wheat, not much dairy, no alcohol, no caffeine, no sugar.

~~~~~~~Gratuitous naked guy in case you’re bored of reading~~~~~~~
This is Luke O’Donnell. He’s a footballer from Australia.
Unlike the steroid jockeys on the cover of romance books,
I’m pretty sure he… um … works.
(BTW, he’s married to a woman called “Tania”.)

~~~~~~~Back to what works for me ~~~~~~~

7. A blender that works! We bought this blender (on the recommendation of Consumer Reports). It’s amazing. No screaming siren. The blades are attached to a cone so there aren’t stuck places. It makes a creamy wonderful smootie. I never would have bought this kind of thing because it’s expensive (for a blender). It’s worth is – absolutely worth every penny.

8. I love this sourdough starter and this sourdough website. Since I’ve already blathered on about it here, I’ll just say – YAY! I’m making rye bread tonight!

9. Have you used Google Reader? It’s really great. I can easily find the blogs I like. I know when people post so I don’t have to go to… let’s not name names… to find out there’s not a new post! I can read information blogs in one place. It saves me so much time. You can get an account with your blogger log-in.

10. I’m a WordPress girl. I’ve been blogging since… well a long time. I’ve used other services and find Word Press to be easy to use. The spam filters are virtually flawless. They have great widgets and plug-ins that make blogging easy.

11. I am surprised to say this but…. Road Runner Sports works for me. I’ve been a VIP member there for a long time. Before D got sick, he used to run half marathons for fun – like 4 or 5 a summer. We blew through shoes. In the last few years, I haven’t used them much… until this year. Why do I like them? They are nice on the phone. As a VIP member, you get free shipping and 10% off. They send emails with sales – even their super secret ‘get rid of inventory’ sale.

12. Monthly goals with my hubby. This isn’t a business. My husband and I started to do monthly goals. At the first of the month, we sit down and discuss how the month went and what we want to accomplish in the next month. Goals range from specific – I want to lose 10 pounds – to general (from my list this month) – Make decision. It’s a wonderful way to connect. More than anything, I know what he’s working on and/or struggling with. I can support him where he is rather than where I think he should be or might be.

13. Ok, you know how we do this. What works for you? Put your answers in the comments and I’ll post them.

What works for:

• Jenny is “working with people that I like to be with and all working together for a common goal, patient care.”
• Allison says, “I love wordpress. I?ve been dying to make a sourdough starter, so I?ll have to try that one if it?s working so well for you! And yes, consumer reports is worth every penny. We check it before we buy, well, anything! It?s great!”
• Nicholas says, “I?ve been using Firefox for about a year and have no regrets. I haven?t checked out the plugins though. Likewise, I have been a happy Gmail user for some time.”
• Jill is “KLove.com. Its like a modern worship service in my car or at the office. Christian rock that resembles regular alternative rock with great messages. It keeps me centered and thinking positively. Pajama pants. Straight after work. All weekend long. Why wear anything less comfy. One half hour of extreme snuggling with J in the mornings. We actually set our alarm a half hour before we really need to get up to do this. Its that good and it sets the tone for the day.”
• Shaunesay “just got a new phone that I love, but I couldn?t begin to tell you what it is, I?m that clueless, but it does e-mail and internet and pocket pc stuff, so i guess I would say that, because I can check on all that stuff if I want to without being stuck at a desk!”
• Sandy Carson is, “gmail and google reader. In fact, I think Google has replaced Zeus as king of the hill.”
• Jehara is, “preparing lunches for work everyday is working for me. i never have to go out to lunch, which i hate to do because i really don?t like any of the places to eat near my job. working out right after work is working too. that?s a lot of working in one sentence haha. glad so many things are working out for you, my dear.”
• Susan Helen Gottfried is, “love a quiet house and time to write.”
• Julia is, “YouTube! Let?s me find snippets of impossible-to-find British television – and very often whole miniseries posted in 10-minute bits. I love those people who post things that are impossible to find! *kiss, kiss*”
• Miss Holly says, “I love my iPhone even though I am a bit tech-challenged (OK, more then a bit?I was just trying to be nice to myself like you have suggested) it works great for me. I can use dead moments to check my email or listen to something. I can look addresses up on the internet, etc. I have 1000s of family photos in it too. Love it.”
• Grace at Sandier Pastures is, “Bloglines works for me – no particular reason it was just downloaded it first before thinking about Google reader!? WordPress works for me too – I?ve been blogging in Blogdrive, Xanga, Blogspot but WP is the best!? Also, online map games works for me, when I am dead bored at work!”
• Forgetful One is, ” Bloglines. Blogger. Google (images, maps, etc.). Yahoo mail and calendar. The local YMCA for workouts.”
• Clarence, who is Australian but doesn’t have Luke O’Donnell’s number, is, “Scribbling down little stories in my spare time. My Aunt got me onto the creative writing thing. I don?t know if I?m any good at it, but I enjoy it so much that I think that in itself makes it worthwhile.”
• Cajun Vegan is, “1) Reading, 2) Writing with pen and paper first, 3) And, snarkiness, that works in a pinch to.”
• TWMark is, “caffeine and nicotine center me, my old lady helps me focus, experimental poetry makes me think, never going into china shops preserves my wealth, music in whatever form it takes carries me into different minds, getting and receiving forgiveness ensures my spiritual health, directness in my writing lets others know me, whether they would or not, visiting 30 or so blogs every night makes the it pass, no fear?leads to interesting situations, faith that the day holds all it can is good enough for me, being alone and silent is not bad because my mind is always noisy, still not gray atop the mountain makes my siblings know they were always right?I am not like them, Bob Marley said it best ?Everything is going to be all right? and that works for me”
• Angie is, “I am also a WordPress girl. I?ve been reading WordPress for Dummies these past couple weeks as I prepare to go live with my own site.”
• Nicole Austin says, “Being a night person works for me. I?ve found that I get my best creative work done between midnight and six a.m.”
• Janeywan is, “a constant power supply.? Oh.. one more thing, rain works for me once in awhile. Thanks to MN for our down pour last night.”
• Kelly is, “What?s working for me lately is my new Palm Z22! WOAH!!! It is one of my new favorite things in my world atm. I used to keep everything in my phone, and then when I switched phones I didn?t like the callender/schedule it had, so I got an old fashioned day planner. I hated it. I need something to beep at me and tell me when there is something I have scheduled. Anyway? got the Z22 (because it was one of the top PDAs on the consumer report site) and I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE it! It?s perfect, and I don?t have to carry an overnight bag so my planner fits in my purse. haha “
• Ivanhoe is, “The day shift (could not do nights), almost daily walks (cannot do the gym excercise thing), and Google.com (hate that Ask.com thingy).”
• Colleen is, “Having days on end with nothing scheduled so that I can fall out of bed and start writing. When I need a break I sit on the porch and listen to the birds and breeze or work in the garden.”
• Journeywoman is, “Goodreads.com.? I read?A LOT. Sometimes I even buy a book twice forgetting that I read it or I own it. Embarrassing. Goodreads has helped me organize my TBR (to be read) pile and turned me on to new authors.”
• Darla at Nichtszusagen is, “Right now, exercise, reading, and humor are what?s working for me. Being in the middle of moving is really throwing me off balance, but those things keep me somewhat sane.”
• Tommie is, “In all of our traveling this last month, I started taking those hangable stackers?.the ones with seven openings for clothes, ten openings for shoes. I can easily organize the kids? outfits?..(shirt, shorts, shoes, undies, and bows) all in one spot. So much easier than digging around in drawers or open suitcases.”
• She is, “Bookmooch keeps me ?in books? and ?in budget?!! For $2.75 media mail shipping, I get a book I want to read off my wishlist. What could be better than that? I can keep the book or trade it to someone else.”
• Lori at Not So Superwoman is, “What works for me? Blog surfing, I find it relaxing. A good cup of coffee. Laughter. A hug from one of my children. Dark chocolate. “

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No blinky – sorry. If you leave a convincing argument, send me an email or leave a comment. I’ll think about adding back Mr. Linky. I’m not resentful, just resistant to a non-reciprocal relationship.

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I have lusted in silence.? I have lusted in lusty lust.

Saturday, my lust was full filled.

Here’s what happened…..

We were on our way to attend an Earth Expo (another story).

“Do you mind if we stop off at Meinenger’s?? I need to get some more ink,” I said.

“Where right here,” D. said.

He pulled over to the curb.

“This will just take a second.? You can stay here if you want to,” I said.

“No, I need to pick up something myself,” he said.

I went to the back of the store where the ink is stored.? I went through the ink selection? until I found the make and color that I like.? When I reached the counter, D was putting something in his pocket.

“What did you get?” I asked.

“You don’t wear jewelry, so I got you something you will enjoy,” he said.? “Happy Anniversary.”

What did he get????? What is the object of my long lusting???

I’ve lusted for this compact Cross Fountain tip pen.? This is what it looks like with the cap on.

This is what it looks like with the “cap off.”

Here it is!? Ready to write!

Have you ever seen anything so lust worthy!?! It’s so gorgeous and works so well and I love it. But not more than my other fountain pens. This pen has it’s own compact love.

I guess, my lusting wasn’t so secret.

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“Our birthright is to fail and to fail often,
but to fail in search of something bigger than we can imagine.
To do anything else is to waste it all.”
– Seth Godin

Happy Monday!

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Happy Sunday! That means it’s time to tap into our individual (and collective) unconscious with my favorite unconscious mutterings! Here are the word prompts (created by Luna Nina). I love seeing your answers – please leave them in the comments!

1. Goodbye :
2. Cage ::
3. Buddy ::
4. Magic words ::
5. Library ::
6. Fall in love ::
7. Tense ::
8. Work! ::
9. Empty ::
10. Heat wave ::

Here are my answers this week!

1. Goodbye :: for now.
2. Cage ::d lion.
3. Buddy :: boy
4. Magic words :: ‘I’m sorry I hurt you.’
5. Library :: card
6. Fall in love :: is fun
7. Tense :: present
8. Work! :: Creative!
9. Empty :: Heart
10. Heat wave :: at Denver Cereal

Please – make a girl happy by leaving your answers!

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CHAPTER TWO
At the Seawell Ballroom

Letting out a breath, Jill waited for security to notice her. When the man turned, she smiled. It was her brother Steve?s best friend David.

?God damn, you look good,? David said. ?You should see the prunes inside.?

She smiled then looked at the crowded room. She had never been in a room where she knew no one. As she watched, her sister?s best friend floated by with a tray of hors d? oeuvres. Well, almost no one.

?Go find Candy,? David said. ?She?s waiting for you behind the main bar.?

Crossing the room, Jill felt every eye ball evaluate her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw men stare while women shifted away. She smiled. I sure brought them to attention. A hand brushed her arm and another friend walked by with a tray of hors d? oeuvres.

[...]

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United States Special Operations is running a “drill” in Denver this week. Of course, it has “not one thing” to do with the Democratic Convention coming in two months. I mean really, you think Special Operations cares about the Democratic Convention. Pfft.

They start flying in the afternoon and fly until 11 p.m.

(I stole the photos from the Rocky Mountain News – shh don’t tell…)

Thursday Thirteen #33 – I love helicopters buzzing my house.

1. Cute guys. They are so friendly that they buzzed our bar-be-que last night…. four times. Finally we started waving to them. I actually think they waved back.

2. When five helicopters raced ten feet off the street, they did a better job clearing the street of debris than the street sweepers.

3. It’s been hot, so the wind from the helicopters cools the house a little bit.

4. Finally people are talking about something other than gasoline prices.

Yeah, like that’s gonna work.

5. I can finally cash in on the cracks in my plaster!!

6. Well, Hello!

7. When they fly really low, they shake the dust off the unreachable places. Thanks US Army!!

8. After years of hearing about the “black helicopters” that spray (fill in the blank – mind control drugs, experimental viruses, blah, blah, blah), there’s finally PROOF of their existence.

9. I get another chance to practice my 2008 goal of being more flexible. Thanks US ARMY!!

OK here’s the positiive side:

10. They have been very polite to the press and the city government. Yes, the US Army is trying to steal a bunch of land in Southeastern Colorado. So they kind of have to be nice. Still.

11. In most of the world, Black Hawks fly every single night. I can tolerate a few days.

12. It’s pretty freakin’ cool. Check out this video of them flying around. Wow.

13. Now it’s your turn. What positive or light side can you make of some incredibly annoying thing that’s happened?

• Shaunesay says, “I?m being laid off at the end of September from my job, so that REALLY annoying, BUT I may finally get that extended vacation that I?ve wanted for a long time!”
• Susan Helen Gottfried says, “Trevor?s not in print yet, right? Yet the longer it takes, as annoying as it is, the closer I?ll be to having the next one done.”
• Adelle Lauden says, ” I?d take out my hearing aids and grab my camera”
• Journeywoman says, “Well we sat in traffic for 4 and a half hours after sitting in the rain for one and a half hours?I made the best of it by singing Muppet songs.”
• Grace at Sandier Pastures reminds me, “at least you know your ears are fully functional (to hear all the buzz) !”
• Kay says, “We have a military base in our area?BIG helicopter training facility, so we have the birds in the air every day and night, but they don?t seem to fly low or bother us much. I stay positive by remembering how much economic development that base brings to our area.”
• Celtic Librarian says, “Well, as a result of people parking their truck/car/van to dump their trash very slowly, and thus blocking my parking space. I have discovered that I am better at maneuvering my car than my husband is. At leat when it comes to parking and backing out in such a situation. So there.”
• Heart in San Francisco says, “In keeping with your airborne theme, it?s almost time for the Blue Angels to do their show here again. They fly over our neighborhood by the Bay for hours every day for about two weeks, and the noise is deafening as they break the sound barrier four million times a minute.? But on the positive side, they are amazing flyers and despite my not being blazingly jingoistic, they make me proud.”
• Dr.? John reminded me that “You have to admit it gave you something to blog about.”

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I’m still annoyed with Mr. Linky. Until I figure out a way to make it work for everyone (and not just Mr. Linky), I’ll add them again!

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I was tagged by the unflappable Grace at Sandier Pastures. (She got it from Are We There Yet Mom .)If you haven’t read her blog, it’s worth a look see. She’s living in Dubai and has a first hand view of the Middle East. Fascinating.

Now back to ME!

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn on page 18 and find line 4.
From ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture by AI and ER Root ( 1917)

“inability to be of any further use to the community”

Prophetic don’t you think?

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can.

Yep I can stretch my arm out – both arms in fact! Do I get a prize??
I mean WTF does this question mean.

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?

Um…. We had a TV…. Six or seven years ago…. It was in the basement. Then it got water damage from some plumb-tastrophy. The last time I SAW the TV it was in the dumpster behind our house.

4. Without looking, guess what time it is?

1:20 p.m. I know this because I looked just prior to this question… ooh psychic.

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
1:20 p.m.

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?

Lo-Pro “Not Me” on Pandora Radio

“So I’m not everything you wanted,
Need to be,
Sorry I’m ever disappointing,
I am not me.”

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?

This morning, I went to the garden to put some soil on my potato plants. I spent about an hour in the front yard dead heading my rose bushes.

8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at?

My navel. Icons for Denver Cereal.

9. What are you wearing?

Baggy blue shorts, gray tank undershirt. Sexy sexy, eh?

10. Did you dream last night?

I don’t have dreams.

11. When did you last laugh?

The vet called to tell me about Rose’s arthritis. We laughed at what a goof she is. (Rose now believes that she is ‘injured’ so she won’t go down the stairs. With encouragement, you can see her face flash a kind of, ‘oh, that was easy.’ What a goof.)

12. What is on the walls of the room you are in?

We have this huge assessed wood self unit that surrounds the computer. It has a lot of different books – references for the novels, some books on writing, a magic 8 ball (of course), a tour of blank CDs, a roll of Open Grove Stickers. Hanging on the shelf is the Tarot card “the Star” and an “evil eye” protector. (Very long story)

13. Seen anything weird lately?

I am kind of weird. So things don’t usually strike me as weird.

14. What do you think of this quiz?

I don’t really get it, see #13.

15. What is the last film you saw?

Iron Man in the movie theaters. Just a second…. I have to check my Netflix account. Movies never really leave any impression on me…..

Oh….

Ladron Que Roba a Ladron – This movie is hilarious – really. Cute guys… mmmm…. and very funny. If you haven’t seen it (which I’m certain you haven’t), check it out! (The trailer.)

16. If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what would you buy?

An apartment overlooking the Seine… Ah hell, I’d probably join some venture capital group and start companies (one of my favorite things to do!).

17. Tell me something about you that few people dunno.

I had this amazing bunny – American Fuzzy Lop – named Willie. We found him on Seventeenth Street after someone had abused him then thrown him out. He was so bad, the vet didn’t think he would make a year. He lived with us for four years. He never got over four and a half pounds, but man, he changed my life. After he died, a friend saw him in a vision quest. Willie was a guru in some Himalayan country. He was just that cool.

18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?

I would rid the world of “us” vs. “them” thinking.

19. Do you like to dance?

I do like to dance – all kinds. I’m not very good, but I bring the boys to attention, if you know what I mean.

20. George Bush.

(blank stare) I have nothing to add to that conversation.

21. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?

My first girl character is called “Alexandra”.

22. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?

My first boy character is called “Maxwell”.

23. Would you ever consider living abroad?

Sure – Paris, Spain, London, Majorca….

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Grace tagged: Melba, Stephen, ME!, Susan, Kelsey, Jenny and anyone who would like to play!

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