Thanks for the blogiversary wishes.  The banner isn’t new (Norma’s right).  It is the one I used for most of the first year or so.  I dragged it out of my archives and sized it up for Typepad, then waited for, hmmm.. I’ll just sound like I’m a whiner if I tell you how long.. (okay 45min.) to load.  There it is, I’ve always liked it. The background is my barn door, the garlic heads were at there best, they haven’t been that prolific since.   I like changing my banner around, when I see something I like, I just make up a new one and share my new picture thought.

Cathy tagged me.  Thanks, Cathy.. I know I said I’d try. The meme:

What was I doing….ten years ago?  5 years ago? 1 year ago? Yesterday?
As I’ve said, this time of year is pretty much the same.  Most of the time is divided up between garden care and putting up the veggies and fruits fot the year.  The difference in these years was mostly defined by the installation of electricity. No gasps here.  It was not hard to live off the grid, as I never was completely without. I installed a 36”x48” solar array on the back of the house and a small battery bank.  When I wired the house, I wired some outlets 12v (like you have in your car) and others 110v (normal house current) and I bought a generator to pump the water.  I couldn’t run a refrigerator or freezer, but lights, a small TV, CD player, and until laptops got to be huge energy drains, my computer.  The fridge, water heater, and most of the lighting were propane.  I begged and borrowed freezer space.  I had spent enough time living in third world places that I was fairly proficient in the skills needed to set things up. The one thing I miss when I use Typepad, is the archiving ability.  It’s not the Frontpage was easier, but everything was stored on your home computer, and if I want to have a copy of something I wrote or a picture I published, I go back into files.

Today?:  Leafing up the brussel sprouts, planting some more salad stuff, and spinning.  And I really think it’s time to bake a pie, I love pie. I’ll probably supervise the construction of a new holding area in the field for the potted up hostas.  If I have time, I’ll head over to the Merlin Tree to cut and bring back pieces of my HitcHiker for sanding and finishing.  I went by last night and saw the spalded maple that we had milled up and taken over.  David had it planed and cut into part size pieces.  It was beautiful, like small pen and ink drawings covering the maple wood.

Tomorrow?:  Do I have to say it…? 

5 snacks I enjoy:  toasted almonds, olives of almost any sort as long as they are not from a can, chocolate, cheese (I’ve been low carb for nearly two years, my snacks are limited)

5 bands and singers for which I know most of their stuff:  my collection is huge, and eclectic, I like almost everything.  Clapton.. everything, Rippingtons.. everything, Van Morrison.. same, tons of blues, jazz, and most of Wagner’s operas.  Get the picture?
What would I do with $100,000,000?.  Build myself a BIG studio, build C a BIG garage/ studio.  Distribute some around.

5 locations I’d run away to: Peru, Equador, almost anywhere in the Andes, always Mexico,New Zealand, Guatemala, Four Corners, NW coast of this continent, do I have to stop? I may have gypsy blood.
5 bad habits: pick my thumb nail, bite my tongue when I concentrate on something, collect more than I can store, cycle through reclusive stages (is that a habit?) start more projects than I finish, I’m tired of this list, I could go on.
Things I like doing: if you read the blog, you already know this stuff

5 things I would never wear: anything uncomfortable

5 TV shows I like: I watch Alias when it’s on. I don’t like much TV.

5 famous people I’d like to meet: You never know about people, everyone has a story, something to teach, something to learn, their 10 minutes of fame,right?  Most famous / infamous people I know or have met are just like everyone else, maybe a few more problems, or just different ones, but all have the same ingrown toe nails, so to speak. 

5 biggest joys at the moment: the five senses… all around me, all the time. 

5 favorite toys: wow!  Stereo stuff, computer(z), my spinning wheels (can I lump them all together??), the latte machine, and the HP officejet all in one.  I like toys.

Had enough?  Thought so, me too.  I will take pics of Spider Boy Sam today (aka peeyoo meoow(make em rhyme), Spike, and C just can’t stop with the ‘she’).

It’s ‘smatterings’ second birthday.  I checked the other night, and although I actually started writing and testing mid July, my first post was August 1 2003.   There weren’t many knitting blogs then.  Wendy was (and is) queen of the knitting blogs.  Cindy and I read her everyday.  It (blogging) seemed like such a fantastic way to keep in touch.  I never dreamed that I’d actually ‘meet’ friends.  Since then I’ve blogged from the road, the cell phone, internet cafes, foreign countries and friends computers.  I’ve emailed posts and had Cindy insert and post them when I couldn’t do it myself.  If Typepad was available then, I didn’t know about it.  I learned to publish with ‘Frontpage’ and Trellix.   
What was I doing in August of 2003?

The felted green flap bag

And Nancy Bush’s Unst socks from Knitting on the Road.

  then there was Birgit, form the Knita long by the same name.  She sits (still) in her own bag next to my chair.

I had planned a long post, but not this morning.  The gardens need attention and it is starting to look like rain.   Beans and berries… not to complain, but all this picking kind of wears me out (bores me to tears).  AND… C brought a new addition to our family with him when he returned last evening; a kitten.  By my best guess, he’s about three months old, a rescue, found needing food and water.. long legged, sort of cross eyed,  all black and very sweet.  He’s the spider boy Sam.  Zak and Bu are feigning indifference, scared to death (as is spider boy) and not willing to come into the house on their own.  C also brought with him a 15yr. old nephew who the cats find absolutely terrifying.  Who could guess.  My hands are full.  Cathy tagged me and for the moment my answers are brewing boring. The days and the years of the summers blend together and very (scary isn’t it) much the same.  The gardens come in this time of year, and hopefully every year.  Such is life.  Is it me (dial up) or is Typepad unbelievably slow today??

inspired by all the beautiful lillies that are circulating the blogs, I have put up a new album with some of my own… enjoy