I just realized/re-discovered how much I’ve always really liked fantasy of the magical kind!  so weird how you forget stuff about yourself

Stuff that I’ve liked:

Magic in the Park, by Ruth Chew
What the Witch Left, by Ruth Chew
Alex Mack
Ella Enchanted
Magic Shop books by Bruce Coville
Anywhere Ring by Louise Ladd
narrowing down my list of magic powers i would want to 3 or 1
Ghostwriter (wait, this is more mystery)
Early Edition
Charmed
Sabrina the Teenage Witch
   Subcategory:actionadventure
Relic Hunter
Warehouse 13

oh, reliving childhood memories…..

hit the snooze button.. the topic of this post is politics, hahah.  (or you can humor me.)

Romney chooses Paul Ryan currently serving in House of Rep from Wisconsin to be his running mate

thoughts:

Ryan’s well-thought out and well-articulated policies are currently overshadowing Romney, this is a way to “shake things up” and redefine the election but sometimes when the ticket’s VP overshadows the president it’s not good
even right now i am more clear on ryan’s POV than Romney, whom i find says one thing and then another, depending on his audience
i’m not going to say republicans or democrats, i think that there are parts of their political agenda that i can align myself with.. though i do find that i side with the democratic party because i don’t relate as well to someone who is $$$ over my .10
i once heard it said republicans and democrats alike care about quality of life, but republicans care about it at the beginning (conception) and end of life, and democrats care about it in-between those two points.
if i were to apply it to fiscal policy… republicans are saying it’s about individual responsibility, you know – cut government spending.  i would say democrats and repubs alike care about individual responsibility but democrats believe in helping the low-performing ones perform better and repubs believe in incentives to help the high-performing ones perform better
the thing is, i rather like paul ryan because he’s a sharp guy.  ”nice” “humble” are some of the words used to describe him… and i saw a segment on charlie rose, i would not disagree.  if i were to sit down at the table with him in one chair and hillary clinton in another, boy i hope i’d have something to say because what a conversation to be had!
and this is not to mention that he resembles will schuester (matthew morrison), so it almost feels like i know him already. blah.
i would say he is very, very committed to the best interests of those he represents… unfortunately, this is the republican party.  he doesn’t understand life outside of easing restrictions, tax cuts favoring the wealthy, though i like his responsible governmental spending i am likely to disagree where he cuts the budget, and in general his philosophy can be intriguing (not only does it make sense on a broader scale, the guy really does have ideas on how to implement it) but i don’t agree with it !
ok, bipartisanship he is not for.  he is too committed to the cause for that, no matter how humble or well-spoken or nice he is.  regarding the inner motivation of a person, that i understand.  it’s a refreshing change to see someone work from a position that is a deep-seated belief, personal convictions borne out of discussion and rumination and honed through the years, not just helping out whoever lines their pockets or whatever benefits their campaign.
oh and their major weakness – foreign policy.
i don’t really care if ryan is a “beancounter”… or that he used his dad’s social security benefits to pay his college tuition..
but maybe i don’t know anything about politics! any thoughts?
(i like clarity of purpose, but even someone with clarity of purpose can be steered wrong.. but it’s a difficult choice to make when the alternative seems only a placeholder)
i think i should start reading ayn rand.

Here is something that someone posted on Facebook:

“Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won’t either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart. You are here to be swallowed up. And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near, let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness. Tell yourself you tasted as many as you could.” 
― Louise Erdrich, The Painted Drum LP 

 I stayed away from Facebook (completely) for almost 5 consecutive days… and when I came back, I was floored to find out how interesting, witty, funny, capable, and amazing people are..

This week I’ve been really swallowed up by boredom and a sense of futility.  All that spells out i-n-g-r-a-t-e … it’s not that there aren’t things to do, but I often flail with despair at the not knowing of it all, letting my ignorance of the big picture paralyze me so that I forget to assign meaning to my present moment.

Missing the trees for the forest.  I guess it’s possible when it comes to me.

But there ARE things to do.  Today I read (well, re-read) a Sabrina book that I’d first read such a long time ago.  I love STTW because her problems, however extraordinary or magical, actually always apply or dovetail with how I feel.  And you’d think the solutions don’t apply since it’s just a TV show or book, but they do, for me!  She is just independent enough as a character, getting in trouble with firm but loving aunts, to remind me to be more grown up.

I learned from reading today’s story that there is, that there still can be, good in this world.  And that I can be a part of it, if I want to.  That’s another thing — I’ve been down on myself, feeling like I no longer have the goodness I had as a child, bogged down by fear (and whatever is induced by fear).. finding it hard to believe that who I think I’ve become is not who I am. But doesn’t it say in James 4:6?  ..But he gives us more grace.

I think I haven’t felt the need to post on Xanga because I’ve been channeling my creative energy writing something (that I might share here when I finish) =P

Here is the update on my plants:

It seems to be doing well in-ground :]  Gardening has its pests; I’ve had to deal with a grasshopper, whiteflies, and tiny spiders that like to hang out between the leaves.

Another, albeit small, bloom.

This past week has had its ups and downs.  Sometimes it’s easy to revert back to old habits of thinking, and frustrate my efforts at being patient, thankful or  whatever else  .  The good news is that it will eventually sink in, it’s the process.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.  Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.  Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  Proverbs 3:3-6
^I never knew how much I liked verse 3 
To me (because of jeremiah 17:9), it cannot underscore enough the qualities of love and faithfulness.

Gratefulness is a focus on the gift instead of worrying about what to do in case of absence of the gift ~

My hydrangea, which never bloomed after losing its initial ones, is blooming again.  I repotted late last August!

So exciting.  Will it be blue, or pink?  

One month after transplanting — goji berry plant
 

This is my garlic harvest (I’m re-using the bag its parent cloves came in).  Garlic is supposed to be really easy to grow, but it still took many months of waiting.  A patient harvest..

I harvested all my remaining garlic and they’re hanging up, curing for future consumption!  I did eat one of them to get an idea of how they’d taste and it was very pungent, I think they’ll do =)  It was amazing to me to see how garlic actually grows; each leaf is a layer of skin around the garlic, the lower leaves are the outermost layers on the bulb.

I used some of the fresh garlic in pizza for a Mother’s Day/send-off dinner,

No tomato sauce necessary!  Nothing beats the smell of fresh basil.  I nearly swooned in the supermarket aisle.

My tastebuds were pleased with how these all came out.

I used pitas instead of dough and the result was a crisp crust in a cute serving size.

Recipe Sources:  Allrecipes’ Four Cheese Margherita Pizza, Tastefoodblog’s Potato, Rosemary, and Garlic, & Tastefoodblog’s Asparagus and Prosciutto

The title of the post refers to goji plants!  When transplanting, I found that the cuttings had barely any roots, or even root, to speak of (), but they seem to be doing okay in their latest (and final) home.  Since their roots need to go deep, I chose containers that were more deep than wide.

Now a break from Home & Gardens for …three random favs!

1) Living vicariously through Geek and Sundry.  Felicia Day’s newly launched premium YouTube channel has multiple “shows.”  I haven’t finished poking around, but I started with TableTop & an episode featuring Settlers of Catan and it’s sparked an unquenchable thirst to play game night.  If anyone’s hosting, please invite me!

2) An article by A.A. Gill, I think, in preparation for the London 2012 Olympics.  Ever been to London?  Neither have I, but it adds nuance to my perception of the city .

3) It’s been out for a while, but The Civil Wars’ (free!) Live at Eddie’s Attic is acting as a lullaby right now… 2 AM’s plenty past a good time for me to go to bed  Maybe I will.. fall… asleep…right here.

/edit

The new growth came up fast, now a month later, it’s not as noticeable.  I imagine it might be time to transplant into separate containers… 5-gallon buckets with holes drilled in the bottom ??

I harvested one of the garlic whose scape (central stalk) seemed mature.  The other plants are still growing, so I’m leaving them be for now.  Photo taken: right after harvest (left); 3 days after (center); 3 days later (right).

p.s. On another note, 10 more days!  This past week at work has been like one of those you know you’re-close-to-the-end Tetris games, where the blocks keep coming down while the perfect piece eludes you and you’re left to make do in a frenetic scramble.  Fun stuff.