adventure time!

Last weekend was fun in that I got to do something I've wanted to do for ages.  On Saturday,  Blair, Matt, ATM & I drove a couple of hours over to Murfreesboro, Arkansas to try our luck at Crater of Diamonds State Park.  I was SO excited about this adventure that I went ahead & purchased some boots that I've had my eye on for some time.

It was a mild & sunny day, perfect for soaking up vitamin D.  The park is not really much to look at:

So, here's the deal: you can walk about to see if you can spot a diamond on the surface or you can put some of that good earth in a bucket and sift it through water in a trough.  What you should have left in your sieve, if done properly, is gravel.  You sort through that gravel for diamonds and other goodies like amethyst & quartz crystal, and pretty rocks.

ATM:

We'd gone right after a heavy rain.  Apparently, dirt does not stick to diamonds and the rain puts them to surface, so I tried looking for diamonds just laying about.  No luck.

Here's Matt, doing all the hard, dirty work.  Blair & I supervised and talked to this real nice fella named John from Minnesota.  He came all the way down to Arkansas to find his gal a diamond, which is really sweet of him, if you're into that sort of thing.

Blair + ATM going through the gravel:

Boot rinse area:

So, even though we didn't find anything, I bagged some of the gravel (you can take up to a 5 gallon bucket home to sort through at your leisure) to use for my succulent plants back home.  Before I threw them in the pots, I decided to go ahead and go through it:

I can't be sure that I found a diamond, but I found something.  It is so sparkly + shiny, especially when compared to a bit of crystal:

I'm pretty happy about this find, even if it turns out to be nothing.  Might even be a piece of glass!  I suppose if I ever return to the park, I can have someone there identify it for me.  Unless one of y'all know.

I've never been to Murfreesboro, but I'd like to go back to try to dig for gems once more (it takes a good hour to sort out exactly what you're doing and what you're looking for, but I can get right to it next time) and check out the thrift stores of that small town.  I have a feeling that there may be some big scores there.

We rounded out the afternoon by getting supper at Rattler's Den.  We totally picked that restaurant because of it's name & because we'd heard about their chicken fried steak.  It was shockingly good.  Here is my brown & white dinner, in all it's splendor:

Three-day weekend!

Here's how our recent maxi-weekend went:

On Friday, I got a text from my beloved Alannah who was in town for work.   She wondered if we were available to jailbreak her for the evening.  Yeah, obviously!  We went to Mt. Fuji for supper and then to a party afterward.  Then we went back to my place and did stretches on the living room floor and drank peppermint tea like it wasn't weird. (ATM did not participate in this activity because he was busy being our personal DJ, hey!)  It was so much fun and it really made me look forward to her and Stella's visit in the coming weeks.  I'm going to narc on myself here:  I had one beer because the party was held in honor of an old friend who moved back from New Orleans.  I'd bought some Abita Ambers because I thought it'd be majorly rude if I didn't share one with him, BUT it turns out that he gave up alcohol for Lent, so there you go.  I also ate two candied pecans, but no one in their right mind would turn that down.

Bonito flakes doing their dance:

Alannah, friend of all felines:

On Saturday, I had to seriously dig deep to do anything because of the late hours I kept on Friday night.  I did manage to get some food with KMHD & Blair.  Our waitress told us that our parents should be proud of us for having such good manners, which is hella awesome to hear from a grown up.  :3  Later that night, we had our inaugural movie nacht at the Victory St. space.  We watched An American Werewolf in London.   I personally enjoyed the movie & had a lovely time. We could probably stand to have a better projector, but maybe we'll come across that in time?  Keep a lookout for future showings!  It's fun, free, and usually involves snacks.

Sunday, I had brunch with KMHD, Britt, and Blair at Taqueria Karina. Somehow, I managed to get around the Mexicoma and completed a lot of projects, all whilst watching hockey.  Made bread starter, got the heater repaired, repotted succulents:

Made Shibori style curtains:

I'm extremely pleased with the results, especially since I had no experience and it was my first go:

I had some extra cloth, so I got experimental.  There's room for improvement, but I'm really into cloth dyeing.  Blair + I spoke of taking a weekend to try all kinds of methods:

For Monday, Presidents' Day, ATM + I planned a 'enjoy your city' day instead of jetting off somewhere.  We got coffee, went thrift store shopping, had lunch at Big Orange, went to Fresh Market for clams, took a rainy day nap, baked bread, made pasta. 

 

After Big Orange, we waddled around a bit and discovered a new olive oil + balsamic vinegar shop in the Promenade called Strippaggio.  Got to taste so many of each!  It's so hard to beat a quality extra virgin oil.  We had to ask the owner how much a bottle of oil was no less than 5 times because we heard $16, but kept thinking he meant $60.  We ended up buying a bottle of each, as we were in the market, with minimum damage to the pocketbook.   I'm going to have to round up my gals and go for another tasting some time soon. 

We got the Hojiblanca Medium:

The aged strawberry vinegar is ACE:

A word of advice.  If you anticipate having a homemade pasta dinner, do not eat hamburgers for lunch followed up by an olive oil tasting.  It is total misery for your body.  The clam linguine was scrumptious and I truly regret that I wasn't even hungry for it.  I managed to at least taste it and a slice of bread that I baked, but it only made me feel more terrible.  An entire wasted meal.  SMH

We usually do so much over the weekend, that I'm exhausted by the time I return to work.

40 days

I'm not religious, but I'm going to loosely participate in Lent this year.  I like that there's an expiration date to that madness, you're not just going about it willy nilly.  In an effort to really hit where it hurts,  I'm giving up desserts and alcoholic beverages.  So far, it's been easy because I've managed to find loopholes (yogurt is not dessert, it's PART of my meal) and it's Day One.  I can totally see myself laying on the floor in fetal position in the near future, though.  Crying, wailing, gnashing my teeth, begging for mercy.  Should be fun.

Go Dougie! Go Dougie!

Heureux de mardi gras! + Chúc mừng năm mới!

Saturday:

Coveted Zulu beads:

Desi, our Mardi Gras King 2013:

Sunday:

tooth and nail

I had been feeling gloomy for about a month.  I figured the toxic mix of being sick, my Aunt's illness & subsequent passing, plus winter -- despite fighting SAD tooth and nail -- got the best of me.  Yesterday was the first day in awhile that I felt good.  I feel it all changed for the better when I started making plans with my family & friends.  Perhaps there is some correlation between my keeping busy & my cheerfulness contentment.  I don't know if that's healthy, but there it is.

I love everything about this video:

Here comes the weekend.  I've got grand ideas to make some curtains for the bedroom.  I've yet to find any that I like for purchase, so I'm going to give it an earnest DIY go by trying Shibori.  It's so visually appealing and gentle, perfect for sleeping chambers.

Photo credit: honestlywtf.com

Since we can't be in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, I suppose the next best thing is to attend the SoMa Mardi Gras Parade.  

Photo: SoMa Mardi Gras Parade

I can't resist a marching band!  Maybe we can get some oysters on the half shell and poboys for supper? We missed the Randazzo's Kingcake deadline, so I will have to make my own.  The one I made last year was complete garbage, so this year, I'm just going to make my amazing cinnamon rolls, hide a trinket in it, and sprinkle the colored sugars on top.  Sorted.

On Sunday, we're headed to Bauxite for Tết celebrations.  It'll be the first time that I've seen my mum in a minute and I've got some hella meditating I'd like to try out.  Also, food.  Lots and lots of Vietnamese food.  Chúc mừng năm mới indeed.

In case it got lost in my last post, I highly recommend this blog called APRES SKI INSTRUCTOR.  I almost cannot stand how good it is.   

Today, I wondered if I carry too much stuff with me everywhere I go.

Photo by Brittany

#1 Gal

The phones don't always work in the canyon, the signal is either weak or non-existent.  Transmissions are spotty, as is the information that reaches us.

We know that Aunt Pati was put in or fell into a coma, but that she could still hear.  Her sister Marcie was on her way to the airport to pick up other relatives.  She called from the road and advised that we call the ranch and say some words to Pati, that they'd hold the receiver up to her ear.  

It's a difficult phone call to make, but I did not waver.  What I wanted to say was brief, not flowery or ridiculous.  There was plenty of time where I said nothing and just listened to her breathing apparatus.

It was my precious uncle, his voice so quiet and tinny, who eked out a 'thank you for calling,' that has sent me into this numb dream state that I'm in now.  I just don't know what to do for anybody and I feel completely useless to anyone.

I'm at work, I can't work.  So, I started reading this blog.  It has been a wonderful distraction and it's lovely.  I adore the way it's written and the subject matter is great.  It has helped me to be able to sit here all day.  I need my family so bad right now.

Later...  I just learned that my Aunt passed away yesterday, at sunset.  I'm told it was peaceful.  She was at home surrounded by family & friends.  

What a loss.  I'm so distraught, which I'm certain Pati would not approved of, but there it is.  Later days, Aunt Pati.

arrest myself

I'm really frustrated with my job.  It's not just the day-to-day annoyances; I would like to make more money so I can get more traveling in and work on our little house.  I have one of those weird state positions that is constantly being threatened with furloughs (but, not flat out eliminated -YET) and we haven't had a COLA raise in ages, so there's really no moving up.  There are future plans (not related to my job) in the works, but that is a slow-moving beast.  

In the meantime, as usual, I'll make do with what I've got, but my wanderlust is intense and eternal.  Making the house into a base of operations becomes more important.

We still don't have curtains in our bedroom.  We've lived in this house for three years, so it's time.

Anyway.  February is here.  We've got Lunar New Year, Mardi Gras, a visiting cousin, and a three -day weekend in view.  We were going to go see Tame Impala in OKC, but scrapped that in favor of possibly going to Chicago (again) to see Django Django (again) in March.  My love for them is REAL.