September 18, 2021
insurrection weekend planning
posted by soe 1:12 am
So, there are more right-wing nutjobs coming to D.C. this weekend. Expert analysts of the dark web suggest, unlike Jan. 6th, this time the rumors are more likely to be bigger than the turnout. But, they also warn that nutjobs be nutjobs, and there’s just no predicting what some of them will do.
Most of us who are staying put are planning to take precautions. I’ll probably save taking Metro across town until Sunday. And if I go out to Virginia to return my overdue library book, I’ll try to plan the ride out there for when delusional people will already be in the city to avoid interacting with them, rather than when they’re returning to their “safe” suburban hotels. If I go over to the H Street Festival, I’ll bike or take the bus. (Again, while insurrectionists may charter buses to bring them to the city, I have my doubts they’re going to hop on a Metrobus. Okay, maybe a Circulator.)
If I want to stay in the neighborhood, there’s a craft sale by Latinx makers, and I can walk to the library. And I can spend time in the garden.
If they institute a curfew, I’ve already got plans to video chat with friends. I had to postpone our usual call because I was headed to a ballgame, and they suggested this weekend as a replacement so we could hear about the first couple weeks of kindergarten. There are also National Book Festival talks online I could watch, but the problem is that I already spend too much time in front of a screen. Luckily, I don’t have to listen to talks about books — I can read them! And I can knit. And I can paint my nails (although not while I’m knitting).
Sunday is the farmers market. Paw paws are in season, and Rudi would probably be grateful if I got up early and went and bought him some. We’ll see. If there are some available at whatever time I get to the market, I’ll buy him some, but I’m not going to get up early to buy something I don’t eat. (It’s surprising how many fruits taste like bananas.) He is a grown adult and can plan to be around to buy paw paws if that’s a priority.
What’s on your to-do list for this.final weekend of summer?
September 17, 2021
in bloom, star power, and day game
posted by soe 1:23 am
Three beautiful things from my past week:
1. Orange and yellow daisy-type flowers continue to sprout along the verge alongside the escalator at Dupont Circle. They should be installing the glass over that escalator this fall, so this may be the last summer we get to enjoy them, the results of a guerilla gardener several years back.
2. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was an enjoyable addition to the Marvel franchise. I will tune in for almost anything that includes Awkwafina in the cast, and she did not disappoint. And we got to check out a new-to-us movie theater in D.C. at the same time.
3. I take the day off Wednesday and Rudi and I head to the ballpark for a rare weekday game. The game includes walking in two runs, at least one extremely well executed catch of a foul pop by a fan, and a loss for the home team, but who can argue with watching baseball instead of working?
How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?
September 16, 2021
mid-september unraveling
posted by soe 1:44 am
I finally made it out of the ribbing section of my shawl. I’ve got two and a half mosaic sections left before the final ribbing section and the bindoff. At this rate, I may finish it right around the time it gets cool enough to wear it.
I’ve got four books going (these three plus an audiobook, Happily Ever After by Elise Bryant). The graphic novel is middle-grade, and the other three are YA, and none of them has wholly grabbed me yet. I’m hoping one does soon.
September 15, 2021
local pollinators
posted by soe 1:53 am
This weekend, I saw at least three types of pollinators in my garden while I was there. Because the onion flowers are blooming, they’re really happy to spend time in my plot.
I missed a shot of the bumblebee, but did catch the honeybees:
I also saw a couple of blue-winged wasps:
Pretty cool, right?
September 14, 2021
top ten books with numbers in the titles
posted by soe 1:47 am
This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic from That Artsy Reader Girl invites us to share favorite books with numbers in their title:
- Crazy ’08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History by Cait Murphy
- The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
- The 13 Clocks by James Thurber
- Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott
- Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
- For Every One by Jason Reynolds
- 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
- The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde
- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
- Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
Apparently I enjoy books with numbers in the titles; I easily could have kept going with this topic. How about you?
September 13, 2021
notes from the garden: mid-september 2021
posted by soe 1:55 am
Today was one of the biggest harvest days I’ve had in a while: a cucumber, a bunch of large tomatoes, several cherry tomatoes, a handful of chili peppers, about three tomatillos, basil and sage, a sharp stalk of lemongrass, and two yardlong beans.
You can see from that shot that the bunching onions are abloom, bringing all sorts of pollinators to my garden.
But although most prolific, those aren’t the only flowers I have at the moment:
Vinca
Double petunia
Million Bells
Dahlia
Unphotographed: a snapdragon and candy cane-striped impatiens and my small white dahlias.
I also have veggies growing, including chard, other peppers, sorrel, a couple kale plants, and some zucchini that the squash bugs have infiltrated (as well as the cucumbers and one tomato plant).
What’s growing in your garden or yard these days?