A Reprise

This is what I just purchased -- so I will remember, and also where I plan to put them: The herb garden - possibly on the side of the shed to give it some relief from the sun (plants that require full sun don't want the kind of full sun that Fort Worth can offer them, I have learned) Achillea millefolium cv. (White Yarrow) Angelica archangelica (Angelica) Artemisia absinthium cv. (Wormwood) Pogostemon heyneanus (Patchouli) Mentha cv. (Moroccan Mint) - in a pot Pelargonium cv. (Attar of Rose Geranium) - in a pot Polygonum odoratum (Vietnamese Cilantro) - kitchen garden, replacing a dead pepper. Rosa cv. (Cinderella Miniature Rose) Rosa rugosa rubra (Tomato Rose) The roses will go in a row with my other two roses, which have survived ice storms and paint being dumped all over them, since it is obviously a good area, also very airy. Thymus pulegioides cv. (Pennsylvania Dutch Tea Thyme) - kitchen garden, replacing a dead pepper. Additionally I would like to separate

Creek bed junk Originally uploaded by ladyhildegarde

The chives are coming back after winter. Each day they are taller. It makes me so happy, as my plants are so limited in number at the moment. In addition the tulips and daffodils are sprouting up. I was amazed to see a tall, sturdy shoot unfurling right where I planted it at the end of December. It must not have known it was in the hands of a completely novice gardener. We have six or seven eggs now. No more cake without eggs. I am thinking of making a gold cake to celebrate the comeback, and of course also a quiche.

A man of leisure Originally uploaded by ladyhildegarde He has not left his armchair all weekend. We took the opportunity to put Revolution on him today. He was annoyed but couldn't be bothered to leave.

A tired poodle Originally uploaded by ladyhildegarde And a dirty one. After a romp in the creek bed.

In one hour I will be playing in the grass with my teddy bear. Location: Hell

Capitalist society, you are asking too much of me, and then I realize-- This is a test. But of course, it is only a test. Can we make her do it? Can we make her say yes to more? She hasn't backed down yet. Let's see how much more we can get out of her. Then I unlock the door on them. On the characters whose names I can no longer keep straight. I see life and want to reach for it. What's stopping me? I am awake at 1:30 a.m. I am wide awake. So I get up and finish the vignette that I was working on before I went to bed, the first vignette, the first creative words, that I have written in at least three months, and then I write in my journal. It is at that point I realize that I am teeming with rage, so I write in my journal trying to figure out why I am so angry. What do I do? Tell me, what do I do? I am mostly aware of the problem. I don't know what to do. But this week, I am locking the door on the other. It was three months before I even copied my old stories and notes

I like that idea! I wish I were a chemist in Azhkendir.

Originally uploaded by ladyhildegarde Chevre and I enjoyed the almost-normal temperatures while appreciating the remains of snow and ice.

They made it! Originally uploaded by ladyhildegarde I didn't know if they were going to live. I wasn't really sure how to deal with an extreme freeze like this one. I thought if it came down to it I would bring their half-frozen little forms into the house and confine them somehow. Nathan and I took turns replacing their frozen water with liquid water. At some points I saw them eating snow. But on the whole they acted just like they always do. And they continued to provide one egg a day. During the day they would step down and peck in the grass. At night they roosted. And it was ten degrees for three days straight. It looks as though now that they are protected from predators they will be with me for a long time. Prince Charming attacks our arms when we feed or water them.

Winter morning Originally uploaded by ladyhildegarde This morning when I stepped out to walk Chevre, the light was golden and almost warm. It seemed our icy world would finally thaw.

Gwenhwyfar earrings Originally uploaded by ladyhildegarde Work was delayed today, however the snow is coming down hard, so I don't know if I will go in. This was my first attempt making spirals. I love the smoke green of the stones. They are immensely flattering to green eyes. If these stand up to a week's use I will make more of them for my Etsy. I like to think they look a little Celtic, medieval?

I added a new goal to my sidebar ... ! I have pretty much mastered the others. Not to use curse words. Drink only one beverage a day that has calories. Go to bed on time every night. I have occasional slips but for the most part they have become second nature. So I decided I am ready to make this a "real" goal. What is "merry?" Merry is different from happy, merry is different from joyful. I think of happy as transitory and externally-motivated. I think of joyful as God and choirs of angels and other things that make me twitchy.  I think of merry as kind of heathen. Merry is internally-movitated. Merry is something you can be even when you are doing something bad. Merry is not dependent on large or serious things. I don't need to wait for something wonderful to happen in order to be merry. I don't need to be filled with faith (twitch, twitch) to be merry.  All I have to do, is remember.  I remember why I am here. I remember my past lives. I th

I have come more to believe that all write a letter to the world. Our own individual letter. Maybe not everyone is driven by the need for personal expression, and the need to perfect that expression, but many are. In the quiet snowed-in days I have experienced I have been alone with my own need often. Given these days, and my mind's rested state allowing me to work through my need, I have been able to think through my expressions and where I am. I have a need to create. It is as strong as it ever has been, but because I have not had a specific vision, I have not created anything. I have been waiting and listening, every hour of every day, for a clue to my inner self. Since I reconnected with that self a year ago, I have written very little. I am growing to realize more recently that this is because previously I was writing from my surface. I was writing reactively. My characters and stories were rising like dreamscape parades of the trials and torments of daily life, and of m