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Showing posts from April, 2012

Effects of global warming include...snapdragons?

We all know the dark side of global warming: drowning polar bears and island countries swallowed by rising seas. But what about closer to home? Well... This picture is not from last year. The plant is. And yes, it's blooming...in April. Hello? This is zone 5, people! This thing should be brown twigs with some seed heads on top. And the seeds in those seed heads should be sending up tiny little sprouts in, I don't know, in a couple of weeks? And my friend's rosemary plant that stayed outside all winter? Doin' just fine, thank you. Don't get me wrong. I love snapdragons. One of my favorite things is watching a big ol' bumblebee try to climb inside one of them. But there's something really wrong with this. Our climate is definitely changing...and we're at least partly to blame, no matter what some people think... Check out this picture I found on planetsave.com Good one, huh? It's also good that when it comes to helping our planet, there&

How to write Haiku—simply!

We have so many little birds in our garden. Here's one of them in the lilac tree. I like listening to them and watching them, and even sometimes writing poems about them. I especially like haiku because it's so quick and simple. For example: head cocked, intent... OK! listening time is over ee-ep ee-ep chek chek chek chek chek chek chek chek chek I know a lot of people wouldn't consider that proper haiku because it doesn't follow a lot of complicated and arcane rules. I don't really care. I have The Haiku Handbook by William J. Higginson and it certainly goes over traditional forms and the background of haiku. I never even read that part of the book. I skipped straight to the simplified lesson plan. In that part, here's what it tells you to ask yourself about your haiku: Is it brief? Does it present one or two clear images, with no metaphors or similes? Does the image, or do the images together, create an emotion in the reader without telling

Knapsack Tutorial

Materials: Two pieces of fabric, each about 15 1/2" x 24 1/2" Pocket, approximately 8" x 8" Cording, 2 pieces, each 72" long (About 1/4" wide — purchased or sewn from 1" fabric strips) Two 1" Grommets Make and attach the Pocket: I upcycled a pocket off an old pair of shorts. You can also make a pocket. Stitch it to the front of the knapsack, centered about six inches from the bottom. Sew the bottom and side seams: With right sides together, stitch the bottom edge of the knapsack with a 1/2" seam allowance. Then, on both the front and back pieces, mark the side edges 3 1/4" from the top. Fold the edge over 3/16", stopping at your mark. Press. Fold over 3/16" again. Press. Stitch these folds down and then, with a 1/2" seam allowance, stitch the sides of the bag, stopping about where the folds start. Make bottom pleat in bag: Turn bag right side out. Bring the bottom of the bag in 2 1/2" to create

Good times

When my dad died , my mom asked me if there was anything I wanted of his. I wandered around their apartment, looking at things. Yes, it would be nice to have some little memento, but what? Everything just seemed like empty objects, like I would get it home and it would simply add to the clutter. But this weekend, as I slid a pan of banana bread batter into the over, I realized I already have something to remember him by: this 1950's darkroom timer. My dad and I started developing photos together when I was in high school. He and my mom had done it quite a bit, years earlier. So, he had all the equipment and he taught me how to do it. Our photography, and therefore our printmaking, covered a range of subjects. For example, we had quite a few pets, who were always up for having their pictures taken. Or I sometimes went around town and staged wacky photo shoots with my friends. And there was always the option of choosing from the boxes and boxes of negatives taken before I was