mutant cherry

Behold the cherry. It has one stem, but two cherries growing from it with two pits. I have a bag full of them.  Weird.

tags shmags

I'm not really getting this tags thing. The majority of all my posts get tagged as "blather." Sometimes there is a really obvious theme, but usually it's just blather. My creativity has not extended in this direction.

Lots of people I know have cool tags on their blogs. J the square has "my life in threadless shirts" as a tag. I think that's pretty cool. I think all her tags are cool, actually.

Maybe this is a sign that most of what I write is blather. There must be subcategories to blather, however. I have yet to think of these subclasses. Take this post for example. What should it be tagged, if not blather?

On my lesser known blog that I never write on (keeping with the nothing theme), I have a much better tagging system. It's simple. It works. It is a simple hierarchy where I rate how lame the post is. I have four rankings, increasing in lameness.

1. non-lame
2. lamish
3. lame
4. super-lame

Though subjective, it is a great way to classify posts. There is no tricky thinking about overlapping tag categories. It can't be tagged both lame and super-lame (except for the post where I delve into the depths of meaning behind lamish, lame, and super-lame, which was a pre- "non-lame" post, meaning--that tag didn't exist yet).

Some of my posts on the lesser blog are code for what was going on in my dating life at the time. Perfect for a nothing blog.

things around my house

1. a flying saucer

My newly purchased steamer. Recently dubbed, "flying saucer."
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2. gaping holes in the street

They could be coffins though. See the flowers?
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3. our love fern

Once upon a time DH bought me a beautiful Fuchsia plant (about two years ago). I lived at Melville then, and hung it on the porch. (Actually, he only bought them as replacement flowers because he killed the mums he was babysitting for me while I was on vacation. The same mums that my lovely roommates had given me the night DH and I patched up our bumpy relationship.) I adore hanging plants. I called it our love fern. After I left Melville in August '07 (while sick with Mono), I had no place to hang it outside, so hung it in the kitchen of my new apartment. Right over the garbage (which was necessary, since the flowers were constantly falling off). Eventually I had to give up because it had died from lack of light. I told DH that our love could last though. Then after we were married he bought me a new flowering plant, which I planted in the dirt. It died very quickly and sadly. I told DH not to worry, that our love could last. Then, one month ago, the flowers came back!!! My neighbor transplanted them into the pot in the above photo (so he could plant something in its place--it's his house afterall!), and it is now on my front steps. I forget what flower it is. Mom? The love fern will live on. And so will our love.

As an aside, DH and I went to a county fair 1 or 2 years ago and there was an area that had fuchsias everywhere--the biggest and most beautiful ever. It turns out there is such thing as the American Fuchsia Society. They had set it up for the fair. Someday I'll have a porch where I can hang a fuchsia again. Hurray!

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4. cilantro

My father-in-law gave me an herb kit for Christmas. I planted cilantro, basil, chives, and parsley. I started them in tiny pots that came in the kit, and eventually moved them outside. But then they all died (mostly). So I transplanted them to my pink pot and added more dirt. Amazingly enough, the cilantro had lived. And recently, a tiny bit of parsley has peeked out. I'm pretty sure the basil and chives are totally dead.

In case you ever try to make an Indian dish that calls for fresh coriander, don't wander around the store looking for it (as I did)! It is the same thing as cilantro. I adore cilantro. Too bad DH isn't as fanatical as I am.

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5. really long sausage dog

What is that weird yellow pipe thing blocking the driveway?

follow up on Schrödinger's cat t-shirt

I was wearing it  yesterday when I went to vote in the special election. The first volunteer who saw me had a big bushy beard and glasses. 

He looked at my shirt and said, "how can you be so sure?"

I replied, "I'm not." And turned around so he could see the back. 

See shirt post. 

twinko de mayo

Six weeks before DH and I were married, I found out how he celebrates Cinco de Mayo. The few people I've already told about this said something like, "And you still married him?" Haha. Well, yes. Obviously. That is, we were married with an addendum that I would never have to participate in Twinko de Mayo, as DH calls it. 

The day is May 5, 2009. That's DH. Eating a twinkie. With mayo.  YUCK.

the story of a burnt pot

Don't faint. I'm actually writing a blog post. This might have something to do with the fact that I finished my spring semester coursework last wednesday! Hooray. Time for a break.

One time 10 years ago I put chili in a pot on heat and then forgot about it. I had been running on the treadmill in the basement...oblivious. Oblivious that is, until my mom woke up from her nap from the smell of smoke and came and found me. That was the worst burnt pot ever. It never recovered.

So earlier this week DH made rice. And it burned onto the bottom of the pan. Even after soaking and scrubbing, some of the charred remains were still there. I thought--no matter! And reused it the next day to steam broccoli. Except I forgot about the broccoli. Now the pot was twice burnt, with broccoli bits for decoration. Right after that DH got home and witnessed me trying to pick out the broccoli that wasn't totally ruined. I said, "my mom always said that if you put baking soda into a pot with water and let it boil, then the burnt layer will float to the top." So, I thought I'd try it. But then, I forgot about it. Now the pot had 3 layers of char! The baking soda made this lovely brown crispy layer...

At this point DH could not stop laughing. But I'd already had my laugh. I thought..no more dangerous heat! Obviously I am not to be trusted. So I let it soak, and then miraculously the charred remains came off extremely easily, no scrubbing required. Maybe the baking soda worked after all?

This post would be much funnier with pictures, but how was I to know I'd forget about the pot so many times?