I found shoes today. I tried them on, they are terrifically comfortable and since they didn’t have the color I liked, I am ordering them online. They will be here next week. On to the next item… jeans. It is probably too much to ask that I am able to find jeans as quickly and easily as I found shoes.

It is really starting to get down to the wire and there are still a few things I have to do for vacation, not the least of which is find a pair of comfy walking shoes. I am pretty sure that you are not going to hear much from me in the next two weeks. I hope to be posting pictures while we are away, but that is still up in the air.

It is really starting to get down to the wire and there are still a few things I have to do for vacation, not the least of which is find a pair of comfy walking shoes. I am pretty sure that you are not going to hear much from me in the next two weeks. I hope to be posting pictures while we are away, but that is still up in the air.

This past weekend I went around the Chelsea studio tours with a friend. It was really interesting to see not only the works of art but also the studios people have to work. We both we very jealous of the space that people had to create since we are both artists working out of our apartments. Working in your apartment has it’s pro and cons. You are able to work whenever the mood strikes you without having to worry about travel time, but because of our small spaces, clean up is a must. Sometimes the thought of cleaning up is enough to make me not start. I guess that is just one more reason to get that property upstate in some state of livability.

So apparently cold season has started despite, or maybe because of, the ridiculously warm weather. Knock on wood, M&I haven’t gotten sick. I had a tiny cold a few weeks ago, but I am hoping that was it. On Apartment Therapy I was reading about an alternative to hot tea, which is a popular drink when you aren’t feeling well unless it is as warm as it is now. It is for Ginger Syrup to mix in with seltzer. Frankly, this sounds delicious even if you aren’t sick.

Ginger Syrup Soda
1/2 pound fresh ginger root – about 1 1/2 cups peeled and chopped
2 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon whole cloves (optional)
1 cinnamon stick (optional)
Sparkling water
Lime wedges

Peel and chop the ginger root into thin matchsticks. Cover with the water in a small saucepan and stir in the sugar over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a low boil and simmer until reduced by at least half – about 40 minutes. Remove from the heat and chill in the refrigerator.

When ready to use, strain through a sieve. Pour about 1/2 cup of syrup into a 12 ounce glass and top off with sparkling water. Add a lime and enjoy.

I have been thinking about landscaping and how it will apply to our Upstate get away. There is one area in particular that has a tendency to get over run with poison ivy if we aren’t careful. You are probably wondering why with 18 acres we care about a few hundred square feet of poison ivy. Location, location, location. It happens to be in the perfect spot for a lot of things we would like to do on this property, namely have friends and family over to hang out. A few weeks ago my grandfather mentioned he recently saw someone using rubber tire mulch. M&I both were wondering why anyone would want black mulch. Well it turns out, rubber mulch isn’t black. They color it to look like regular mulch or give it primary colors for playgrounds. While we aren’t quite ready to get a few yards of it for the property, it is nice to know that a recycled product like this exists. I wonder if they want all the tires on the property to turn them into mulch!

Today we welcome Lucy Renee into our family. My cousin Sarah and her husband Alan are the proud parents. Lucy and I are both libras so I expect we will get along just fine. Happy Birthday Lucy! I can’t wait to meet you.

I went to visit my sister at her college this past weekend. I had promised her a trip to IKEA to buy a few things once she had moved into her dorm. It was great to see her and fun to shop for her. We bought a duvet cover for a bit of color on the very white walls, a few magnetic strips for photos, a few hooks for towels and sweatshirt and a chair for late night studying. We even taught her how to use a power drill… how she got this far in life without knowing is beyond me. Because she is such a sweetheart, she bought me some tea for my birthday. It was really cool to see where she is spending all her time and find out a little more about what she is up to these days.

I am a Nine Inch Nails fan from way back. I actually have one of the original release Pretty Hate Machine CDs, which you can only get as an import now. I am listening to Year Zero comes right on the heels of With Teeth. M&I got to see him in concert and both thought it was one of the best shows we have seen. One of the the things I love is that a few tracks from the album are released as multi track files which you can download into Garageband and make your own. How many artists do you know are comfortable enough with their music that they are willing to release it, for free, for others to interpret? That is what keeps me buying his music. Trent, if you are reading this, you rock!

I saw this quiz via swissmiss. Do you blog? What kind of blogger are you?