Thursday's post

I've been listening to a lot of Terence McKenna lately, through the Psychedelic Salon podcast. He's an enchanting bard, with great charm and style and vocabulary. Good stuff.
So I found out with a little research today that the Asheville City Buses will not be running on Earth Day. That's right. Asheville will not have public transportation available on Earth Day! What is that about?
I finished the fence. Whoah. I finished the fence. Hey now! It looks awesome, the dogs love it, everybody's happy. It took a long, long time, but I reached my goal, and that feels good. :)
I'll finish this with an original joke:

What do you call an unemployed rastafarian?


















Jah-bless

Octopus

I was taking pictures of some pottery today, so I took a picture of an octopus I made in high school pottery class, probably 1996 or 1997. It was a really nice day, upper 70's and sunny. Other than the amatuer photography, I bought some lumber from Lowe's and mostly assembled the upper gate. More pics to come of the entire fence project.

I worked on the fence this weekend (weekends are Sunday/Monday in my reality). The weather was gorgeous, perfect for outdoor work. Maybe 65 or 70 degrees, mostly sunny, slight breeze; then the wind picked up about 3 pm Monday and thunder announced a storm, with plenty of rain. I managed to reach a big goal, the cross bracing (or stringers) is completely done. Woot! Now I just need to put up the deck boards on 140 feet of fence and make two gates. The end is in sight! Also this weekend I made Shannon a birthday cake, using the german chocolate recipe with chocolate cream cheese frosting. It turned out real nice. She appreciated it.

Wooden Fence

So I've been working on a particular project for many, many months. It's taken much longer than I expected, and was slightly over budget, but it's starting to come together and I'm getting excited. It's a fence for the backyard, made of 8 foot long pressure-treated deck panels that are placed at a 40 degree angle. It's about 6.75 feet tall, dog-proof and private. I still have a fair amount of work to do, including the two gates, but I'd peg the project at 67% done. As Shannon said the other day, (paraphrasing) "If you finish this, it will be the coolest thing you've ever done." It's probably about 230 feet long, with 31 4x4 posts buried 3.5 feet with 80 lb Quikrete per hole. And it's going to be so functional! I imagine beautiful spring evenings, gardening while the dogs run around the yard. I'd like a picnic table and small firepit, too. Those will be added to the list of smaller projects that can finally be worked on once this fence is tackled...

Lascivious Lager

Last night I bottled a brew. It went well, thanks to my lovely assistant. It was a kit beer from Cooper's that I had bought at least a couple years ago. The malt extract was actually a month past due, but it all seemed to go according to plan. I have only done this a couple times, so I'm still a novice. But it's when things go this smoothly that I get the confidence to create a more complex beer. It's a very satisfying hobby with lots of opportunity for education and experimentation. So nice!

Too hungry to take picture of finished product...

Last night I made a curry of sorts. I started with olive oil and a white onion over medium high heat. Once that was soft (4 or 5 min) I threw in a couple apples, which I had peeled and diced. This then cooked at a medium heat for 4 or 5 more minutes, softening the apples. Then in goes a couple cans of coconut milk, a few tablespoons of some tomato-based curry paste, and the tofu. Speaking of which, the tofu was cut into pieces and drizzled with olive oil, to be roasted in the oven at 375 for about 40 minutes. This gives them a certain chewy texture on the outside while the inside is free to soak up the curry flavors. I let the whole thing simmer for maybe 30 minutes, then threw in some frozen peas for color and flavor. Served over Jasmine rice, it is super delicious! And there's plenty for leftovers.
p.s. New band name: Nauseous Sausage
p.p.s. Get Well Murph! <3

Verbiage

"Power meets itself halfway..."

This phrase came to me last month in a dream, or at least in the remembering of a dream. I have been looking at it from a perspective of manifesting reality. Take charge and tell the universe what you want and it will respond, just be careful what you wish for. Of course, one must always be careful, or at least respectful, when dealing with power. One's potential is equally tempered by courage and cunning. So be impeccable in your actions and thoughts, and open up to the power that is cycling in and around you all the time.