more chocolate

I've got some Endangered Species brand vegan chocolate called Dark Chocolate with Deep Forest Mint. It's 72%. At first I thought the mint flavor was too strong. It wasn't quite what I expected. I expected pure peppermint, but I found something more complex, bold, and arresting. Now I think it's just perfect.

chocolate experiment

This evening I tried vegan cherry-flavored chocolate made by Endangered Species brand--it's got a picture of a koala on the front. It's so delicious. I also tired vegan dark chocolate Sunspire brand with puffed wild rice in it, and that was great too, but maybe too subtle for me--I mean, the puffed wild rice was few and far between. Still, interesting.

There's a bar of mint-flavored chocolate in the freezer waiting to be eaten. After this I want to try pomegranate-flavored and the kind with hot chilies in it.

Holy, Holy, Holy Moses

It's also possible to hear his new song Holy, Holy, Holy Moses here.

http://stereogum.com/archives/mp3/new-alec-ounsworth-holy-holy-holy-moses-song-for-new-orleans-stereogum-premiere_085851.html

Clay Your Hands Say Yeah guy

The guy of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah sent me an email. He told me he has a new band called Flashy Python and it's possible to hear the entire album Skin and Bones online. I think that's awesome. Right now we're listening to Blind by the Sundays, and I will take a listen a little later.

pink pearl

At the co-op the other day I got an heirloom apple called Pink Pearl. It was on a whim, a small apple. So the next day I washed it and took a bite and was shocked to see it was red inside. The color was distracting yet a treat, and the taste was delicious, tart. The flesh was firm. I suggest this type of apple.

Truckface

Ordered Truckface #12 and #13 from Stranger Danger today. I mean, I got my order all ready to put in the mail tomorrow. I'm including functionally ill #5 for their reading pleasure.

http://www.strangerdangerdistro.com/catalog.php?display=105&

chili and chocolate

Today I made chili. I used some pink beans that I picked up at a regular grocery store maybe half a year ago, last time I was at a regular grocery store--the chili is very good, but it took me a while to "get" it--the flavor of the pink beans really comes through, and I had never had them before. (I bought them because they were the cheapest.)

This morning we went to the co-op. We bought various types of vegan chocolate. I told Erik I'm making up for lost time. I wanted some rose-flavored, but they didn't have any. I got some mint and some cherry and some rice crispy, all dark. Oh, and we got something like a Mounds bar but vegan. We ate that on the way to McKinley Park where Erik ran and I walked. Then I read the two zines John Isaacson gave me. They're funny and fun. Something my zines could use is a little more fun.

carrot salad

Good lookin' recipe for carrot salad here, using juicer pulp. We don't actually have a juicer yet....

http://stemartaen.com/2009/08/carrot-salad/

arrival

Erik's new mechanical pencils came in the mail today. He likes them very much.

I asked him to show me all of his pencils, and we enjoyed looking at them, talking about which he likes best, comparing grips, how the nibs retract, etc.

Then he wanted to see my pens, and I showed him all the main characters. I told him about marker tipped ones and roller ball ones and gel ink and the one I accidentally bought metallic and haven't written with. I showed him all my ultra fine tipped Sharpies too, and explained how some pens I use to write letters with but would never use to address envelopes with. I use the ultra fine tipped Sharpies to write postcards too. Anyway, these are very personal things to share, and it was fun.

Today I made no-bake chocolate haystacks that turned out lovely. Some of them I added slivered almonds, and those are great. I also made roasted cauliflower, and it's delicious too, but next time I'll add garlic. (There are almost always cauliflowers or broccoflowers at the dollar store, so pretty cheap too.)

green being

, originally uploaded by ELund.

We had this visitor outside today.

Bay Area Free Book Exchange

Lucky for us, the Bay Area Free Book Exchange had good signs up, so we were able to find the place having forgotten to write down the address. I enjoyed looking through all the books. They were unsorted, though there were category words taped to the shelves. There was no poetry section, unfortunately. Oh, well, there was a little sorting--there was an area with a few maps. I almost snagged one to use for envelope making but thought it would be better if someone wanted them as maps.

I got Virginia Woolf's The Years and Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge to give away--I have and loved both. I got Writing a Woman's Life by Carolyn Heilbrun and Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri for me. Carolyn Heilbrun is a writer I like--she wrote some mysteries under the name of Amanda Cross. And Interpreter of Maladies is a book I tried listening to on Playaway during my long trip--I found it boring. But maybe it would read better on paper, so I was tickled to find that.

Erik got Lolita, which I spotted for him, and something I can't remember as well as Blue Highways which he picked up for his best friend T.

I need to think of who to give the Hardy and the Woolf to. Anyone reading want either? Just let me know.

at 10

Erik's at the fair.
I chatted, ate, washed dishes.
Fireworks tonight.

chocolates

At the zine fest I fell in love with stationery by Motormouth Press. Here are some cards I like.

http://motormouthpress.com/wp/shop/chocolates/

report on SF Zine Fest

Yesterday Erik and I went to San Francisco Zine Fest. We went a few years ago and had a mixed experience, but this year was super fun.

We looked at all the tables, and I bought some zines from The Icarus Project, which was money well-spent. I also bought some postcards, some birthday cards, some other postcards.... I also got two comix zines from my school chum John Isaacson who I hadn't seen in more than 10 years. What a trip!

I went to a free bookbinding workshop, where I made some templates for mini-books made from one piece of paper as well as a cute little plain journal with white paper, a gray cover, and bound with red waxed thread. While I was bookbinding, Erik walked around at the arboretum. This was at Golden Gate Park.

To get there, we drove in to Berkeley and from there took the BART and then took the MUNI light rail into the city. I was worried to take the MUNI light rail, but we did great. It was pretty easy.

On the way home there was some construction and a traffic jam, but we got home okay. I had a hard time falling asleep thinking how such wonderful things are in the world.

visit

Yesterday my friend A came to town. When she arrived, I made her a fake meat sandwich and we ate red grapes. Then we went to Howe Park and sat on a bench and talked a lot. Then we went to World Market and looked at everything there. We bought some chocolate--I bought a bar of dark chocolate with salt crystals in it, which we later shared, and it was different. We sat on the floor in my living room, and I did her hair--I put it into two braids.

Central Library

Today we went to Central Library. I asked about Andy, who is the person on We Make Zines asking for zine submissions for the new zine library there. The worker I spoke with said he hadn't seen Andy today. I had in my bag two zines to donate--Culture Slut #11 and Fight Boredom #1. I'm quoted in the latter--I give my strategies for fighting boredom. It's from two years ago. Of course I'll donate my zines too, ones that are still in print.

I like Central Library, but the security guards everywhere make me nervous. I like its size, and I like browsing the for sale books, the classics section in particular. There are a lot of old crap books there, though--they need a clearance sale, start over.

Today I wrote a letter to a friend in upstate New York and read the two above-mentioned zines.

Erik's making broccoli with garlic and ginger for lunch. My friend A is coming to see me today. I had some insomnia last night but slept in, which may have made up for it.

Tomorrow Erik and I are attending day two of the San Francisco Zine Fest, and I feel happy about it, a little nervous too. The bookbinding workshop I want to attend is from 4-5, so I don't want to get there until about 3:30. I wonder if there's a sign up sheet. I hope it's not already full by the time I get there.

I also want to go to the bay area free book exchange in the morning, and Indian-Pak food at lunchtime, and maybe some fun in San Francisco, like the Ferry Building.

sick

I've got a sore throat--hope I can still do the things I want to do this weekend, like seeing A on Saturday and going to San Francisco Zine Fest on Sunday. Sad face.

meanwhile

Meanwhile, the house phone's not working--there's no dial tone. We're wondering if that has anything to do with our connectivity problems.

yeah

Yeah, someone tried to steal the starter, but they didn't know what they were doing--they didn't know how difficult it would be. So they took the two long bolts with them. We had to pay $25 for parts and $100 for labor. So that's unfortunate. We should have taken it to our regular mechanic, who probably would have charged us less labor, but it would have cost more to tow it there (AAA will only tow 10 miles--beyond that, you have to pay $10 a mile or something like that), and he's really hard to get on the phone. We thought we'd try Car Care Center, and they were all right, but it was an incredibly easy hundred bucks for them.

the truck: a mystery

We have an '85 Chevy Blazer we refer to as the truck. It's more like an early SUV. Yesterday we went to drive it somewhere, but it wouldn't start. We thought it was the battery and we would jump it this morning.

But this morning, it seemed not to be the battery: the radio came on just fine, and Dad (who I called on the phone) had us check that the headlights came on and didn't dim when we turned the key in the ignition. So it didn't seem to be the battery.

We decided to try jumping it anyway, but we couldn't get the hood open. It has a problem where it was closed off-center and something bent askew. It's really hard to close or open the hood.

So we called to have someone from AAA come and give us a jump. We figured he would be able to open the hood. While we waited, my dad called, and he told us to push down on the hood while pulling the release. That worked. So we had it open by the time the battery guy showed up.

The battery guy looked under the hood and saw that the starter was partially disconnected. He called a tow truck.

So a tow truck came, and that guy tried to reattach the starter, but two long bolts were missing. One short bolt was on the ground under the truck. He had to disconnect the battery to get at the starter.

So it's kind of confusing what happened here. Was someone trying to steal our starter? Why was one bolt on the ground and not others? Where are the other long bolts? If someone was trying to steal the starter, then why? And why was the battery not disconnected? The short bolt that was on the ground was not lying on its side but rather was on end.

We had the truck towed to a place called Car Care Center that's pretty nearby. That's the place Erik's friend T takes his car. It's our first time dealing with them. They were very nice and professional on the phone and in person. So we're waiting for a call.

connectivity

Today our connectivity is poor. Erik wonders if it's the phone company. Or is it the modem? It's probably not the router--the router has its own problems.

The internet fails, fixes, fails. Right now four lights on the modem are green, and the light on the right flashes green. When it's broken, the dsl light is red, and other lights are off entirely.

"I might need to reset the modem," Erik says, but then it fixes again, and he doesn't. Maybe tomorrow our connectivity will be better.

the story of my day

I've got me some strong decaf iced Earl Gray tea with soymilk. And I'm ready to tell you the story of my day.

This morning Erik and I went to McKinley Park. I walked, but not for my complete half hour because my left calf had a problem it's been having lately, a crampiness, but it seems to be in a tendon.

So I only walked about 20 min. Then I sat at a bench to write a letter to my loved friend J in Australia. But there was a mower, a huge tractor-like machine mowing the grass quickly in large swaths. So I had to move. Then I sat at a bench near the duck pond.

But then about 50 kids showed up. So I moved again.

Then a bunch of adults showed up. But they were okay. Then they left.

Then Erik got done with his run, and we moved back over to the duck pond, but the kids were singing "I said a boom chicka boom" which is a charming song, especially when they sing it at top volume all screamy.

I said a boom chicka boom.
I said a boom chicka boom.
I said a boom chicka boom.
I said a boom chicka boom.
I said a boom chicka rocka chicka rocka chicka boom.
I said a boom chicka rocka chicka rocka chicka boom.
Oh yeah?
Oh yeah.
All right?
All right.
etc

So we moved to the other side of the duck pond, and the bench we found was half in shade, half in sun. I took the shade, and Erik sat on the ground.

But then the mower came by. We moved again, this time near the big wooden play structure. There we stayed until blah blah blah.

We came home, and I made mung dal. It turned out delicious.

Yesterday we decided to go to Trader Joe's for tortillas and cherries (Erik wanted tacos, and I wanted cherries), and I said we should take the truck because it needs to be driven every once in a while. Erik agreed. But when he tried to start it, it wouldn't start. The radio tried to come on, but the battery seems to be dead.

So we need to decide what to do. I think tomorrow morning we'll jump it and see if it starts. Then we'll drive it around to charge the battery. Then we'll try to drive it every other day to keep the battery charging. I know it's not time for a new battery already. We got a new one just a couple years ago. How long should a battery last?

spine of piano hinge book

 

piano hinge book

 

bad behavoir in library books

Lately Erik has observed some bad behavior in library books. He has a guidebook out, Sierra Nevada Natural History, and someone cut out one of the pictures in the moth/butterfly section--it was done expertly, as if with an exacto knife. This was premeditated! Then today he has an art book out, a book of Rubens, and someone's cut out whole pages from it. What kind of person would be so selfish?

aspen

 

chokecherry

 

me near the botanic garden in Berkeley

 

income inequality in the US is at an all-time high

A friend posted a link to this article on facebook, and I found it important.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/14/income-inequality-is-at-a_n_259516.html

happy birthday, Krishna

Yesterday we went to Berkeley, and it was so fun. We ate Indian-Pak food, shopped at stationary stores and Global Exchange, sat at a picnic table in Tilden park to write, and looked at native plants at Tilden park's botanic garden. We saw animals: ravens, raccoons, feral cats.

Today I went to Vedanta in the morning to make flower garlands for Krishna--I made the three head garlands and one for his ankle. It was fun to be among friends, and it made my hands smell like marigolds. Then in the evening was the puja. Everything came off without a hitch. It was a full house, and our singing sounded good.

Today I got a jury duty notice in the mail. I need to start calling in the weekend of my birthday. Luckily it's a good time (not during work).

Putting together ideas for a CD for my friend J in Chicago. So far I've got Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Joanna Newsom, Of Montreal, and Bright Eyes.

cranky

Yesterday: more Krishna decorating in the morning--helping with bulletins in the afternoon. Writer's group in the evening at Naked Lounge: it's no longer women's writers group because someone's boyfriend joined us. I wrote something about an ex-best friend that I sort of like--it's pretty vivid, but I don't care for the subject matter. I'd rather not remember.

Today we're off to Berkeley. We haven't been there in a long time. I'm looking forward to the Indian-Pakistani food and Tilden park. However, I've been cranky for a couple days. Hopefully this day trip will ease me out of that.

Yesterday I got a call from my ex-caseworker L. "Do you remember who I am?" she asked. She was checking up on me as she closed my file. I have some feelings about that. The questions were empty: she asked if I had medication and if I'm working. I felt she was trying to make me feel cared for, but I was never cared for there.

decorating, talking, listening

Yesterday in the morning I got a call from P saying I was needed at the temple--she forgot to ask me beforehand, but could I come right away to help set up for Krishna? I said yes and hopped in the shower and drove over there. I pinned garlands of fake flowers to the railings of the bridge that goes to the island where Krishna's statue is. The sun was hot. I'm going back this morning to do more work. Then Saturday morning I'll help make garlands of real flowers for adorning the Krishna statue during that evening's celebration of Krishna's birthday.

Then in the evening we went to the other P's place to drop off a proofread manuscript. His best friend J showed up on her bike, and we all talked for a while. She told us the translation of the characters on her hat, and P showed us a page of a book J made that was hanging on the wall of his living room. It felt really good to spend a little while. We share a sense of humor and goodwill.

Then Erik and I went to the Marxist talk I had been looking forward to for a long time, a talk by Martha E. Gimenez--she spoke on race and class in Obama's political discourse. It was really good, and my mind was stimulated by her thoughts and the thoughts of the other talk-goers during the discussion period.

Heather Lake

Heather Lake, originally uploaded by ELund.

Here's possibly Erik's best photo ever, taken on yesterday's hike. You should click on it to view it on flickr because the way it's displaying in firefox, at least, the right side's cut off a little.

Of Montreal

I've been listening to a little Of Montreal lately. Yesterday I danced to Hissing Fauna, Are you the Destroyer? for half an hour, which felt really good.

White Stripes

Listening to White Stripes for the first time right now--not sure, but I think it sounds too rock 'n roll for me.

dance version

Today I got the manuscript--P didn't come over yesterday after all. I called P at 9:30 this morning to ask when he was going to show up. "I'm not sure," he said. "We need to think carefully about this. We need to weigh the pros and cons. I'm not sure what to do--let's talk about it in person," he said, and immediately there was a knock at the door--it was him. It was really odd for him to come over without calling. But I had a good laugh. He was just on a backpacking trip, so we talked about that.

Then Erik and I did some grocery shopping. That seemed to fill the whole day, somehow. So I haven't started the proofreading. Oh, I've been working on a writing project I like. I've got a poem going too.

Last night I didn't get to see my friend A. She had that headache, her husband was cranky, and her eldest daughter was sleep-deprived. So they just went home. I was sad, but it's totally understandable.

Lately I've been obsessed with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Joanna Newsom. CYHSY soothes and stimulates me. Joanna Newsom delights me and makes me feel whole and awakened. I've also been obsessed with a Yoko Ono song "Kiss Kiss Kiss" off her album Yes, I'm a Witch that came out in 2007. I guess there are other versions of the song, but this is a dance version.

hot

Today Erik is hiking, and I'm not sure where, but he said something about Desolation Wilderness yesterday and showed me a map of a trail, something 14 miles, but if their friend S comes with, they'll do something much easier.

Today it's supposed to hit 101 here in Sacramento. I went over to my friend P's place to read a letter to her out loud. It's mostly without punctuation, and I think I did a good job making sense of it. It was sent to the Vedanta society by a prisoner. Then we watched a Hindu play on DVD.

This afternoon my friend P (the oral historian P) is dropping off a manuscript for me to proofread. Tonight my friend A will be in town, and there's a chance I'll get to see her after she has dinner with her parents, but I talked to her a little while ago, and she has a really bad headache. Maybe she won't call.

Buddhist

This morning I had choir practice and hung out with P for a little while. We sang Krishna songs. Erik went to the Japanese cultural bazaar with T. This evening we're going to Sacramento Buddhist Meditation Group for a talk by someone Erik likes. The sit there is 40 minutes, which is a long time for me. But for some reason, being there is the best way for me to meditate. I asked Erik if a person can be Buddhist if they only meditate once a week, and he said yes. So maybe I'll become a Buddhist.

yoga, bookbinding workshop

This morning I had yoga. It was with my same Dharma yoga teacher Beth, but it was at a different place, a martial arts place, the place Erik and I did some cleaning a couple months ago. This was yoga but also chi gong and some meditation. I liked it a lot. There were only three students. One of the walls is mirrored, so I got to see myself doing yoga, which was a new experience for me. I think I like my imagined body more than I like my reflected body. But maybe my reflected body is something I could get used to and enjoy more in the future.

This afternoon I had bookbinding workshop at the Central library. It was great. I made a piano hinge book. I don't know what to do with it, though. It's got green covers and tan paper inside. I didn't put the beads on it, so it's simple. Being in a classroom environment was hard for me. Luckily I got a good seat, pretty near the teacher. She was nice. She was really prepared and generous. I hope they paid her super well.

Unfortunately, I don't think I learned anything from this bookbinding workshop that I can carry into my zine binding. In November the same teacher is doing a workshop on making a journal--I hope to sign up for that.

parking lots

Last night we went to dinner at the Kasbah. Their happy hour food is incredibly inexpensive. We got tasty falafel and these wondrous, perfect fries with a delicious sauce. These dishes were three dollars each, with free pita bread, so our total with tax was $13.05.

Then I had women's writers group. I felt like I hadn't seen the other two women in a long time. So it was great to be in a group with them again. I wrote a couple poems that I didn't read out loud.

This morning we went to county pharmacy. Going there stresses me out, but they had my medication this time, and it was easy. We went for a walk at Morse park. I've been reading a book about Finland, a guide book, though I don't intend to go. Today I was reading stats about how many reindeer and elk are killed on roads every year, and by trains. I was giving Erik advice on how to avoid hitting them.

Tonight I have my women's religious group. There's some sort of road repair being done in the neighboring apartment complex's parking lot. Also, the Dairy Queen parking lot is all blocked off with rental fence--don't know what's going to happen there, but it's been a couple days and no work yet. We thought maybe the Dairy Queen was closing, but it's still open....

Gorecki

Today we went to a fabulous Music at Noon concert, a string quartet playing Górecki.

sendsomething.net

Today I spent hours fooling around on this site.

http://www.sendsomething.net/hello

It's a lot like postcardx. It's a fun way to give and get mail from strangers who are mail art people. Well, I haven't gotten any mail yet (I just joined today). But I've sent some mail already, and since it's like postcardx, I feel sure that mail will be coming my way soon.

Today we went to the thrift store so Erik could get a USB keyboard--he found one! And I got a cute orange-brown teeshirt with a square neckline.

This evening we went to McKinley park to talk. We spoke of poetry, volunteer work, to do lists, self publishing, and friends. Erik wants to look at a lot of my poems and select some to make a chapbook. I need to get a bunch of Erik and Laura-Marie Magazines together so he can do that.

the Shaggs

Erik was telling me about The Shaggs. Do you know about them? If not, you should hear for yourself. The Wikipedia article calls them outsider art. I love outsider art, and I love "Foot Foot."

thrownness

Just now I was talking to Erik about thrownness. "He didn't need to make up a word for that," said Erik after I read the Wikipedia definition.

"But he did," I said. "We have that word. We can make jokes about it."

Wow, guess how many hits there are for thrownness. More than 40,000. Heidegger's a popular guy.

everyday life

Yesterday we went to Central library (we like to go on Sundays because parking's free and because it's one of the only two libraries open on Sundays). Erik got some classical music CDs and art books. I got two novels I was looking for: Stone Butch Blues and Madame Bovary. I need to research translators for the latter to see if I picked up a good one.

After that we went to McKinley park and sat on a bench in the shade and just talked. Erik talked a long time about the past. It was gorgeous out, very comfortable 80s with a pleasant breeze.

I've been reading a long interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono called All We Are Saying. It's kind of a funny title because John Lennon was shot not long after the interview. Yoko Ono still has a lot to say, though.

I had terrible dreams last night of Erik being trapped in a cult and trying to get him out. I woke Erik up and made him promise to be skeptical, which he really is.

Today we went to the big county medical building to drop off a prescription. It was from June 30th, so I was worried they wouldn't accept it, but they did, no problem. Then we went to Howe park so I could walk, but my left calf has been cramping up. I didn't last long. Then we went to the thrift store so Erik could look for a USB keyboard. He wants one for the laptop. They didn't have one (which is not a big surprise--they're newer), so I asked for one on freecycle.

lunch

Lately we've been in love with Trader Joe's canned vegetarian chili. We put nutritional yeast on it, and it's so yummy. We have the time, so I should be making my own chili, actually.

I bought three pounds of organic heirloom tomatoes. They're so beautiful. They taste pretty good too.

I also bought three pounds of organic cherries. I prefer rainiers, but regular red cherries (I don't know the type) are delicious also.

another printer

I found a printer offer post on freecycle and replied. I guess I was one of only two respondents who gave a phone number as the instructions asked. The other phone number giver didn't show up this morning, so it went to me. This is an Epson Stylus Photo R220, which only costs about $50 new, but the ink's about $70. When the ink's low, it doesn't let you print. So we got it hooked up--it's missing a power cable, so Erik took the laptop's power cable just for a bit. But the ink light's on. We tried taking out the color ink cartridges to see if it would sense the black ink only and sense that the black ink level was fine, but this didn't work. So I want to try buying a black ink cartridge. Erik's still sick and doesn't want to go anywhere. He says when he's finished reading the intro to the Icelandic saga he's into right now, he'll try fixing the old one.

printer

My printer seems to have given up the ghost. It got a jam--it's had many jams before. I pulled the paper out. Then it jammed again. I pulled the paper out again. Then it refused to feed. The light is blinking. I looked to see if there was a piece of paper jammed in there that I didn't see, and there is none. We tried different things to no avail. I will have to ask for one on freecycle.