The Mimosa Tree

Part of my series to learning to identify local flora and fauna.

A.K.A The Silk Tree - I've always wanted to know the name of this particular tree. There was a large specimen of this species growing behind the fence of the parking lot of my apartment building in Kearny when I was a little kid.

The flowers are incredibly fragrant and every time I see or smell one, it reminds me of those years.

This tree grows up to 40ft and blossoms in late spring and all summer. Its blooms are usually hot pink, and wispy. The leaves themselves are fern-like. In the fall, it drops pods. The tree is very hardy, resist even to drought. Some gardeners feel negatively towards the Mimosa tree because it is hard to control and spreads quickly.

But they're all jerks. This tree is awesome.

No habla espaniol

But I'm working on it... Actually, I haven't yet made a very serious effort to learn spanish, but I'm picking up a few things here and there that I happen to catch.

Dan's iPhone has a free app with common spanish word and phrases with the pronunciations.

so here are some things I've committed to memory, really, no cheating. This is out of my head now.

lunes
martez
miercoles
jueves
verdes
sabado
domingo

erenes (I think that's wrong)
februar
marzo
abril
mayo
(june was skipped in the app somehow)
julio
augusto
septiembre
octubre
novembre
diciembre

(Don't judge me on spelling for these I've never seen them written, only spoken)
Ala de recha (to the right)
Ala y scerda (to the left)

Learning about plants, the hard way

Poison Ivy.


Mother fucker. After an entire lifetime of not being allergic to poison ivy, my body has finally changed, and I now contract annoying lumps all over my body when I come in contact with this crap.

So there you have it. Local plant number 1. I've spent some time getting to know it.

Poison ivy has three leaves. They are generally three times as long as they are wide, but come in any size. The new leaves have a reddish sheen in the spring, turn green throughout the summer and start to yellow a bit at the end of summer and fall. Its edges are sometimes smooth and sometimes serrated but rarely lobed. The veining on the leaves is pinnate. (One prominent vein and small veins stemming off of it)

The easiest way to distinguish poison ivy from other three-leaf plants is that the middle of the three leaves has its own extended stem.

asshole plant.

Brine Shrimp of DOOM

I am now the proud owner of a 4" diameter globe of self-sustaining, entirely self sufficient Eco Sphere. Where the algae and bacteria colonies live out an never ending cycle of massacre by the hands of tiny brine shrimp who prey upon their existence for their very survival.

Pics coming soon!

Finally, RPing!!

Actually, I'm working on two campaigns. One of them is being headed up by my friend Kevin in Chicago, and as far as I know, the players all live in different states. So it won't really be face to face. Though, unlike the other RPs I've had with them, these will have dice rolling. Not just literate RP.

But to make this one really count, there is a face to face RP happening. Dan and I are getting together with Cool J (my best friend's fiance) and a couple of his RP friends to start a World of Darkness mixed campaign. So far I'm going to run a Mage, dan will be Changeling, and we anticipate one other Mage and a Vampire. Our characters are in various stages of development right now, and we've got the first session planned for a week from now to iron out all the details and get started!

Secret Diary

Well I'm not gonna give you a link to it or anything. Its actually just my regular LJ, but the entries I make that are private I mark with the custom setting to give access only to myself and my best girl.

But there you have it. I have officially made my first post, private, just for my eyes. (And Katie if she feels like it)

All the right ingredients

I've figured out recently that having a fully stocked kitchen really helps me feel more at home in it.

Currently I'm at odds with the kitchen in this apartment. Its tiny, and modeled irregularly. Its also prone to bugs and mice because its an old building, plus who knows what sort of inviting things the other residents do. Also, the oven is old and was never cleaned before we moved in and I'll be damned if I go in and try now. Forget it.

To compensate, I have a small toaster oven that'll bake up to 450 degrees (as much as the recipes I use calls for) and I keep try to keep it clean, and ALL food hermetically sealed. The mice and bugs stay away that way.

Though naturally, it wasn't a very inviting place.

It also doesn't help that there's only me and Dan. Its hard to justify buying even a pint of egg beaters for a recipe, because 75% of it will go bad. That happens with a number of things in the fridge we can't or won't eat fast enough. I'd make more food in advance and freeze left overs for later. but the freezer is tiny.

So what I've started doing, slowly but surely, is collecting small obscure ingredients that don't spoil. Ponzu sauce, curry powder, uncommonly used spices, different flavor vinegars, Marsala style cooking wine, broth, powders, yeast, extracts, and... when the hell do you use corriander? Oh well, I've got some.

As for the stuff that does go bad, I'm starting to plan out meals I want to make during the week, and pick up only what I need. That way, stuff doesn't go bad because I know I'll use it. Keeping a few zip lock bags of single portion veggies in the freezer doesn't hurt either. So, I feel a little better about cooking. But honestly, when we move (in the next couple months) The state of the kitchen will definitely be a big factor for me when deciding where to go.

Orchids are taking over!

I told my mom recently about my love of orchids and asked her if she knew where I could find some orchid food for the ones I was currently nursing. The wouldn't keep their flowers for very long and I couldn't figure out why.

Turns out I was over watering them. I thought they lived in wet climates, but it turns out, they just prefer high humidity, not moist soil.

Also, she showed up one day with two new orchids, as well as a half bottle of orchid food (which I suspect she donated to me from her own stash) Thanks mom! I love you!

Stained Glass

I've always loved the look of stained glass, and I've always promised myself that when I had a place of my own I'd have lots of it to make my rooms glint with all the colors I put up on my shelves and in my windows.

I was in Chester this past weekend and I picked up a handful of tiny blow glass animals, as well as a stained glass/pressed flower piece to hang in my window.

Pics coming soon!

Strangers with neat stuff

This week I complimented a waitress at the tic-tock diner who was wearing a really nifty looking futuristic watch. I thought I was rather obvious about it, but she almost seemed to ignore the comment.

Just in case that doesn't count, I also happened to compliment a man in the park near me and dan's apartment. He was walking this gorgeous all white blue eyed husky. A little bit like Flurry, the dog I sponsored! I told him his dog was beautiful and well behaved.

The Movie for July

I know its early in the month, but I already headed to the theater once, and if I don't see any other movies this month, I'll be satisfied. Because the one I did see, was Wall E.

Like the fuckin' cutest movie I've ever seen. I'm not nuts about computer animated films, but this is a whole new ball game. Yeah, sure, you can bring kids to see it, but its not really for kids. This was the kind of laugh-out-loud, make you want to cry, fall in love kind of movie that I could watch again and again.

There's absolutely no speaking for the first 40 minutes of the movie, and you don't even realize it. The characters are so emotive and the ideas are so basic, you get it right away. Just... I loved it. I'm gonna go see it like a billion more times.

The Movie for June

In June I saw Get Smart with Monty, Ginny, and of course, Dan. <3

It was totally funny in the way that Steve Carell is.

Bright Smile

I bought white strips last night and started treatments.

I've finished the second application of 20, and already my teeth hurt. This isn't going to be so fun. But pain is beauty.

Total Strangers

So, the first week I tried this it was actually harder than I thought. I just don't spend enough time in the same space as strangers.

The first week, it was actually because an older gentleman selling pashminas complimented my looks, and not even in the creepy way. I told him he was sweet.

And last week, I actually initiated the compliment. I was sitting at dunkin donuts with dan and I saw a girl on her way out wearing really flashy earrings, and I told them they were lovely, complimenting her on her taste.