Monthly Archives: March 2009

The second annual request for $20

In just about one month, I’ll be walking 20 miles for Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger. What I’m doing is asking you for a donation. It’s easy, click right here here here. I’m trying to raise $1,000, but I think $20 is a reasonable amount for someone to consider. In a year, what’s $20?

5 miles!

So, you can read my reasons to donate here, last year’s attempt at bribery here, the straight-up begging here, and the pictures from last year, if seeing soggy superheroes is what you need for inspiration.

Will I be sending out cookies and making a zine this year? No. No, no I won’t. That didn’t go very well. As it turns out, baking cookies hearty enough to stand travel is hard. So is making zines (as it turns out, I’m more of a zine reader than creator).

So, I’m going to think long and hard about what I can provide as motivation, that doesn’t require so much … work. I’ll take suggestions, even. Let’s do some brainstorming here:
* Auction off Stella Physics VonBarf’s next additional name
* A print of one of a photograph I’ve taken (I’ll do some sorting, and come up with some good choices)
* To anyone who I can hand-deliver, a delicious crusty loaf of bread, or granola
* I have a mix I’ve been working on, of personal favorite songs – it could be yours!
* Let’s keep it clean, here. If you’re looking for vintage Sonya cheesecake photos, email me directly.

Surprise grains



Surprise grains, originally uploaded by sundaykofax.

My friends don’t know it yet, but I’m surprising them with fresh bread
and granola tonight. "If you’re gonna make one, you might as well make
six.", that’s what I say.

Does this make you want to join my commune?

Geeking out on liquids

I’ve been pining for a good liquid holster for a while. My brother has a great one – very thermos-like, with a screw-top lid and tiny cup that screws on over it. After seeing E in Seattle, and asking her a million questions about her container, I made an over-educated decision. Here’s E’s own words about it.

JoEMOs!

The JoeMo XL holds 16 oz. and best of all – it has a tea strainer built in. Since I don’t drink a lot of coffee (not that I don’t want to – it’s just that I hallucinate), but I do drink a lot of tea, this is PERFECT. Coincidentally, my eternal-life-mate Jason is also a tea drinker, so I bought two.

We made lapsang souchong in our JoeMos last night and watched a movie. This morning we both made tea before going off to our respective jobs (Jason off to the train, me off to the desk).

Me and Joe Emo

So far, so good. The only downside I read about is the complicated top – but the instructions that came with the little guy said that you can pop the top apart to clean, which is true. I’ll also try not to add sugary or milky substances (like sugar or milk) so its less likely to get funky.

Notes:
1. I don’t know what to call this specific object. It’s not a mug. It’s not a ThermosTM. It’s not a cup or a jug or a bullet. I don’t want to call it a JoeMoe.
2. I prefer to think of it as JoEMO, because it enables me to drink lapsang souchong and listen to Jimmy Eat World.
3. I can’t talk about the brand and not help thinking about Joe Mohan, whom I refer to as JoMo in my head (and occasionally in a blog post).

Date night



Date night, originally uploaded by sundaykofax.

That’s local milk, served with our coconut cake, at Hungry Mother in
Cambridge.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sonya

on Flickr”>Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sonya

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sonya, originally uploaded by sundaykofax.

I just got my copy of P&P&Z! The really sad part is that I’d never read Pride and Prejudice, so I’m going to read that, and then P&P&Z back to back.

Luckily, P&P is available for free on the Kindle, so I can inhale it and be on to P&P&Z by the weekend.

I do know enough about Pride and Prejudice to put on some Holst. I saw the movie with my sister when we were teens, and Jupiter made both of us cry (from the beauty of it). We later both played the piece, and I’ll never be able to forget my sister’s trumpet performing the melody (and I could always pick her sound out from the others – it was brighter without being obscene, and richer sounding too.)

Huh, this post just went from being about zombies to the sound of my sister’s trumpet playing. I didn’t expect that. Maybe you did.

The botanical equivalent of a pill box hat.

I have the equivalent of Jackie O’s pill box hat. I’m the community garden organizer for my local (organic) community garden, here in East Boston.

Now Michelle Obama is putting in an organic garden – the first since Eleanor Roosevelt’s.

I’m so excited. I mean, my own garden is exciting enough, but this is incredible. I had watched this video about the history of White House gardens which urged the Obamas to bring gardens back, but I didn’t realize it was something that would actually happen. I can’t tell you how much pleasure I got out of ordering seeds and getting ready for the spring (seriously, I think it’s the major factor in my cheerfulness during winter). Now my smug

Now, to give you just a hint of my late-winter fervor, I’ll list for you the plants I’ll be growing (and blogging about) this summer:

Bean Tiger’s Eye
Cabbage Premium Late Flat Dutch
Cucumber Double Yield
Eggplant Thai Green
Flower Coreopsis Tinctura
Herbs Basil, Globe
Herbs Dill Grandma Einck’s
Herbs Lavendar, True
Herbs Spearmint
Herbs Thai Basil
Lettuce Seed Savers Lettuce Mixture
Melon Tigger
Onion Australian Brown
Pepper Aurora
Pepper King of the North
Pepper Bull Nose Large Bell
Pepper Joe’s Long Cayenne
Pepper Orange Thai
Potato Carola
Potato La Ratte
Potato Purple Peruvian
Soybean Shirofumi
Sunflower Arikara
Swiss Chard Fordhook Giant
Swiss Chard Rhubarb
Tomato Brandywine
Tomato Cherry Roma
Tomato Hungarian Heart
Tomato Italian Heirloom
Tomato Wapsi Peach

Oh yes, I keep a spreadsheet.

They’re all being grown from seed, and they’re all heirlooms from Seed Savers. I have a technogarden to start the seeds indoors – it’s hydroponic, and has grow lights. (I bought it refurbished at a Marshall’s for $50.)

Now who’s ready to come visit and eat their weight in tomatoes? Beware, canker sores come from too much acidity.

Tee and A+



Spoooooons!, originally uploaded by sundaykofax.

In order of littlest spoon to biggest spoon, Angela’s 10.1" Netbook,
Elizabeth’s 13" MacBook, and my 17" Macbook Pro.

You can be sure that bigger doesn’t mean more productivity, just
calories burned by hauling computers up hills.

My favorite teeshirt maker is having a sale – as low as $5 per shirt.

You naturally want to visit Threadless here,
which gives me referral credits to buy more shirts.

You want me to buy more shirts, right?

cranberries.JPG

Spoooooons!



Spoooooons!, originally uploaded by sundaykofax.

In order of littlest spoon to biggest spoon, Angela’s 10.1" Netbook,
Elizabeth’s 13" MacBook, and my 17" Macbook Pro.

You can be sure that bigger doesn’t mean more productivity, just
calories burned by hauling computers up hills.

Technoflight



Technoflight, originally uploaded by sundaykofax.

Sure, travel’s completely different now that I’m not lugging the book
I’m finishing, plus two more (in case I don’t want to read the one, I
have the other). In addition to my paperless books, I also experienced
for the first time the completely paperless ticket. I flew
Continental, and they gave me the option of checking in 24 hours
before, and instead of printing a ticket at home, I could just pull up
a URL on my iPhone, and show the QR code to the security and gate
attendants.

Crazy. Futureworld means not losing tickets, and not lugging 15 lbs of
books.