Oscarina: digital + social

Twitter Magnets: like poetry magnets, but for twitter

I’m not super happy about the piano music, but the interaction is pleasant.

http://twittermagnets.com/

Playing for Change: Stand By Me

Playing For Change | Song Around The World "Stand By Me" from Concord Music Group on Vimeo.

Growing tomatoes in Seattle: an experiment

I keep trying to grow tomatoes in my little garden patch—relegated to the only true sunny spot in our yard sits a patch of rocky soil between the driveway and the neighbor’s lawn. Two summers ago I dug out mountains of old iris bulbs, sad bearded ladies who popped up every spring…so over-mingled that they all were a faded lilac color, even in height and size.

Then last summer I pulled out the remaining bulbs, a few errant hedges, and decayed railroad ties. I planted tomatoes, peppers, squash, zuchinni, sunflowers, lavender, and a lone peony along with a few dahlias. Oh, and a group of Walla Walla onions that weren’t separated at planting so we ended up with smaller onions—a nice bonus.

For all of our efforts to keep on top of fertilizing, pruning, watering, and harvesting we didn’t end up with a real crop of edible tomatoes until early September. We planted the damn things in late May. Almost four months of baby-sitting for tomatoes that still required off-vine ripening in the window sill.

This year I’m turning to a new resource—the boob tube. I’ve purchased two Topsy Turvy Tomato Planters. Let the summer fun begin!

Blue Post: Death in America

The last two weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions--elation, sadness, excitement, and grief. Only six short weeks ago my uncle called to tell me that my aunt had been diagnosed with liver cancer. She had three to six months to live. Ten years ago she fought off breast cancer, however, it returned a few years ago. And despite her valiant attempts to fight it...it didn't work this time. She fought the good fight.

I planned to travel to Colorado to see her later this month, but she was ready and at peace with her fate. Extremely at peace and prepared for death. This wasn't to say that she was pleased about what was going to happen, but she was prepared for it. She said her good-byes and she spent time with her children and grandchildren. She was ready to go.

She passed away on April 2, 2009 at 11:43 PM MST.

As I mentioned her passing to my friends, colleagues, and family I was surprised at how limited our vocabulary is for death. We're confined to a few select phases and with those we're supposed to convery an overwhelming gamut of emotions--I'm sorry, my deepest sympathies, my condolences...when what we're really trying to say is this sucks. It's not fair. That blows.

After the funeral mass we drove to the cemetery--and I took this photo.