somebody's gotta do it

Nobody's blogging, so I guess I will. I'm cheating and will include some excerpts from a letter I just wrote to my friend Rachel.

The more we moved forward on our plans to go to Chicago, the more expenses added up (flights, $200 hotel rooms, rental car) and ended up being much more than we had anticipated. Factoring in my current dismal income situation, it got to the point where we decided we just couldn't swing it at this time. I think the final blow (or should I say, insult) was the $40 tix for the HOB, classic bait-and-switch, which really tweaked me. I'm not fond of the HOB anyway, standing room only is not my preferred way to see The Church. The real bummer is I was really looking forward to seeing my friends Rachel and Andrew, and Vic.

So... we're driving down to Solana Beach instead. We saw them there last time and loved it. We got (relatively) cheap digs at a Holiday Inn Express (aren't we smart - ha ha!) which is walking distance from the venue. Its on a Wed night, so after that we'll visit friends and family in the area then meander home over the weekend. MUCH less stress, and cheaper too. Not having acquired any of the new material, it will be a new and interesting experience hearing them play songs I haven't heard yet. I'll pick up what I can at the show, then fill in the blanks later.

I was wrong about nobody blogging. Holly wrote a great post on her upcoming vacation including six Church shows. Holly you are brave! Not to mention a truly devoted fan. I'm resigned to seeing just the one show this year, I'm sure it will be wonderful. I haven't totally ruled out the Roxy but I don't think its gonna work. We're already spread thin trying to fit in visits with multiple friends and family members. Unless we can talk someone into going with us... hmmm... The Roxy is a pretty cool venue as I remember. I haven't been there in over 20 years. Memorable shows I saw there were Souxie and the Banshees, Suburban Lawns, Tom Verlain, Roxy Music and many more I can't think of right now. Also saw a stage production there called Women Behind Bars which was a total hoot.

We are sweltering here the last few days, it was 98 on my patio yesterday! At 8pm it was just starting to cool down. Meanwhile it felt like a sauna in the house. This might last another day or two, then they're calling for rain on Friday. Crazy weather ~

I had to work on my drip system yesterday, one whole line had stopped dripping due to a clogged connector. After half a day of sleuthing and futzing around, I finally got it working again. But I'm also realizing drip is not the most thorough method of watering hanging plants. It kind of just drips through the center, leaving the outer area to dry out which happens pretty fast in hot weather. So I took the plants down - all nine of them - and soaked them overnight in drip pans, and re-hung them this morning. I'll probably need to do that from time to time to be on the safe side. Meanwhile the yard looks kind of nice, for the moment. As far as veggies go, I've planted one tomato so far, and have three squash plants to go in this weekend, but that's about it besides a few herbs. I planted a whole seed pack of basil last week, hoping for a big enough crop to make and freeze lots of pesto, as I use a lot of it during the year and I can't tolerate the jarred stuff. We've just about finished all the goodies I canned last year too, so will look forward to doing that again in the fall.

Nothing too noteworthy birdwise going on in the yard. No nests that I know of, which is a good thing. My cat has been all over the gophers, catching six in about a three week period (good kitty!) But now that the lizards are emerging he's hot on their trail and managed to kill one already (bad kitty!) .

I'm just about finished with my web design class. I'm only beginning to get a glimpse of the possibilities, and the various tools available. We are learning the basics, which is building web pages using HTML, so no program is required. This week we're supposed to launch our practice websites. I still haven't applied for a domain name so I don't know what I'll end up with. Naturally, it will have something to do with quilts. And it will be VERY hokey. I'm realizing the hardest part of web design is knowing what you want, and coming up with a unique design. The other thing is, its a tremendous time sucker-upper, esp. when you work at a snails pace like I do.

So there it is, more than you ever wanted to know about my boring life.