a little this, a little that

like many of you,
summer
is a busy time
for me.
especially since
it is my last
field season
for my phd
(both a relief
& very scary).

in between
daytime
caterpillar collecting,
intern-managing,
&
nighttime
moth collecting
i have had
a little time
to do
this and that.


drop-spinning classes.
more on sew green...


birthday
cupcake tasting
around town...


sight-seeing
with my sister
(she was in town
for my birthday)...


taking my siblings
moth collecting...


beautiful birthday
cut-out installation
by my brother
(inspired by
fruitless fall).


4th of july
summer roll making...


and
pie-making.

happy belated 4th!

what have you
been up to?

more soon,
xo

the price of food

i grew up in LA.
we were not
the
farmers market
shopping,
canvas bag
toting,
family biking
type of family.
it surprises me
when i think
back on it...
my mom was
from germany
and gravitated
towards
those things.
she always
stopped at
the roadside
stands on the coast
for strawberries
& green beans
wrapped neatly
in
white butcher paper.
she bought
pasta and cheese
at the italian grocer
who flirted
with
my soft-spoken,
red-headed mother
who always had
at least
2 kids in tow.



i care
an awful lot
about what
i eat.
although
i am not
the chef
of the house,
grub and i
are always
trying
to buy (& grow)
all organic,
local produce.



grub and i
had
a long discussion
(which
i continued
the next day
with
my knitting group)
about
a blog that
he read
which has
received a lot
of press
called
$5 dinners.



we couldn't get
over how
much praise
she was getting
for making
cheap dinners
with little regard
(nutrition is mentioned)
to the
quality of food
she was
feeding
her children.



now,
i totally understand
that many families
need to
cut costs
during these
tough economic times.
but there is
a cost/benefit
depending on
where you decide to cut.
i couldn't find
on $5 dinners
where she usually
buys her food
but if she is
buying
most things
on sale
or
with a coupon
at prices,
such as
chicken breasts, sliced ($1.66)
is this really
the meat
you want
to feed
your kid?
certainly
you pay a price
for buying cheap.
how can feeding
the cheapest
quality food
to kids
(or yourself)
be the best way
to cut cost?
yet americans
will
cut food costs
before
they cut cable
(also here).
my point
is not
to criticize
this woman
for trying
to keep
costs down
but
rather
to question
why cost
is the most
important
consideration.
i would
argue
for
cutting
cable,
your second car,
unlimited texting
on your mobile
but
not
sacrificing
the
quality
of food.

or
as grub
put it,
the sacrifice
on $5dinners talks about
is only temporary...
real sacrifice
is sustainable...
it has to be
or we (or our children)
will wind up
here again.

xo

plight of the honey bee

thursday
was my
first
full
day working
in
the bee yard.

i love
that
it's called
a "bee yard."
it
amuses me.




i am working
on study
examining
sub-lethal
effects
of pesticides
(imidacloprid)
on honey bees.
it's one
of the potential
contributors
to
colony collapse disorder.

bees are
wonderful
in so many
ways.
i am
even saying
this as
my index
fingers
are still
swollen
from
stings
in my fingers.



i love

...the hum
that
they make
after you open
the hive
and smoke
them.
letting you
know
that
you better
quit
with the
smoke.

...when
they stick
their heads
super
far into
the comb.
all you
see is
their
butts
sticking
out.

...their
fuzzy bodies
move like
one beast
across
a frame
of honey.

i hope
if you
get a chance
you watch one
this summer.
you can
even see
pollen on their fuzzy legs.

if you can,
plant a bee garden.
they really
could use all
the help
that
they can get.

. . . . .

i was
a may guest
on
habit.
only
a few more days
to go...
i am sad
to leave
but
i am excited
about
the new guests
for june.

enjoy
the weekend.
xo

transition

when
light slinks
away
with
the warmth
of the afternoon.
before
night
silently
returns.

the purgatory
before
the night.

between
becoming
and
done.

dusk.

my favorite time
yet
there is
a
certain
sadness
to it.
the
inevitability
of its
passing.



in
n. carolina
this weekend
for a
friend's
baby shower...
her
little one
is due
in
2
short weeks.



i have
a special
love
for
n. carolina.
i went
through
a great
many changes
during
my
years
there.
a wonderful
time,
a painful
time,
but
a time
of great
friendships.



friends
becoming
mothers
is both
amazing
and
frightening.
a transition
between
a world
you know
and
a world
you
only
perceive.

on
the drive
home
i found out
that
another
friend
was
going
to be
a mother.

will i
always
be
waiting
here
at dusk
or have i
passed
through
to night?

xo

h a p p y

mother's day
to all
of you moms...
especially
new mommies
out there.

. . . . .

my mother
lives
far away
in seattle
and
i miss her.
i hope
those
of you
that could
had
a
wonderful day
with your
mom.

xo

roid week

{monday}

this week
was
roid week 2009.
i was feeling
very uninspired
with all
the rain
and clouds
but
i took
one polaroid
a day.

my favorite
was tuesday.
i took it
right before
i got
a bee sting
to the head
(roid week injury).


{tuesday}


{wednesday}


{thursday}


{friday}

special
thanks to
anniebee
who
mailed me
film!

have
a lovely weekend!
xo

a great disappointment

there are
few things
that can be
either
so wonderful
or
so painful
then developing
a roll of film.

. . .

i remember
my first
camera.
i received
it on
my birthday-
when
i was in 4th grade.
a polaroid 600.
instant love.
my brother,
who has
the most
beautiful
handwriting,
wrote
in careful
b l o c k
letters
my name
down the
back side
{when you
are from
a big family
you always
write your name
on things
that you love}.
he used
one of those
highlighter pens
that
were really
popular in
the 80s-
they
wrote in
silver
with a tiny outline
of color
and
they soaked
through
the page
a bit or
would leave
a little
silver puddle
if you
held them
pressed against
the page.

when i was
18
i graduated
to
the SLR camera.
the canon AE-I.
my boyfriend
bought it
for me before
i left to europe.

this is when
i learned
about
the great joy
of dropping
film off
and
the excitement
of picking it up
to see your
travels
all over again.
moments
that
you had forgotten.



after college,
i moved
back to seattle
and
took
my first
photo class.
this is when
i learned
about the
great disappointment
of
photography.
when you
try
so very
hard
to take
those photos
you see in
your head
and
then
after
picking
them up
and opening
the flap
of the
envelope
you see
crappy photo
after
crappy photo.
that feeling
at the
pit
of your stomach.
a great
disappointment.

today
afer picking
up
my last 2 rolls
of 120 film
i took
in nyc
this weekend,
i waited until
i was on the metro
to open
the envelope.

i was
crushed.



these
were
the only
three
that
i could salvage
that
were
okay.

sigh.
xo