| House Sitting |
[Jun. 20th, 2006|10:00 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  content | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | non | ] |
I am in Oakland now. I have a LOT of House sitting going on this summer. I am practically booked all summer! Most of it is not far from home- I will be bouncing between Oakland and Hayward mostly. In August I will be up in Calaveras County to a place I have not been too- I am looking forward to it!
Starr is now on a special Rx diet for allergies. It is very hard to keep her from eating things she finds though and it is critical or I am paying for expensive dog food for nothing. So I will be getting a wire muzzle for her soon so she can sniff all she wants and can't eat anything she finds.
This year is going so fast! So far no news on the pending move to Berkeley. I did find a good potential place yesterday and sent it to Jason. If we don't find something soon though we will have to wait until next year. But if we do that, I want to start looking in Jan/Feb instead of waiting so long to start looking.
I have been sewing a lot! I am teaching a friend to sew and so I have been very focused on sewing. I need to still go through my closet and get rid of a bunch of stuff to make room for stuff I am making. :) |
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| Icky News |
[Jun. 14th, 2006|06:10 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  sick | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | none | ] |
Not feeling so well today so I stayed home. At least I can get on the computer and do some work. Trying to work on my site today. I need to set up a regular schedule for working on my site! I have so much to put up there!
Sunday night I was walking Starr at night and her right eye caught the light and I just knew she had cataracts. I checked her out later that same night and sure enough, I saw cataracts in her right eye. I could not find any in her left eye. I will have to get her into the vet soon again. She is on new food now for her allergies. The vet suggested I try the Hills Rx diet z/d. Not sure yet if it is really working but my sister had said she thought Starr was scratching a bit less when she was here- so maybe it is.
I do have some good news! I got my Husqvarna Rose sewing machine! I am also teaching a friend to sew and I am really excited about that because I have wanted a sewing buddy for a long time- so now I am training one!
Now that I have my new machine I am now saving up for Embird Software. The basic package with the digitizing tools, cross-stitch and font package cost $500 which is less than the Husqvarna software and also I get a LOT more for that price. |
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| Free Yarn!!! |
[Dec. 6th, 2005|12:07 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | sick | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Various Christmas! | ] |
Quite some time ago I had filled out a form to get a free ball of Bernat Disco. It came today! They sent a nice brown color. For those that don't know- Bernat Disco is a fuzzy yarn with a bit of sparkle added. I am working on a boa scarf in purple right now using Disco Purple and ChaCha Disco (I know that sounds strange but the ChaCha color is called Disco too). It is turning out very nice! I will need to get another ball of the brown they sent me a sample of but I can't wait to make something with it.
I am sick- still coughing. The coughing is driving me nuts now. I didn't sleep too well because of it last night. The coughing is worse at night. During the day, I hardly cough at all.
But I was very productive today and I am very happy about that. I always have too much to do this time of year! Now, I should be off to knit. :) |
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| Scale Problems |
[Aug. 26th, 2005|11:32 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  determined | ] |
I recently discovered Scale all over my plants outside. It seems everything except the succulants have been affected. Scale looks like this:
http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/entomology/ornamentals/scaleinsects.html
I found a recipe online for insecticidal soap- with alcohol to break down the waxy shell of the scale insect. The recipe is:
Mix 3 Tbs 70% isopropyl alcohol and 1 tsp dishwashing soap in a Quart spray bottle. Mix with warm water and spray on plants.
Hopefully this will work. The scale insects secrete a sweet sticky substance that ants like- so ants will tend them just as they would aphids. I suspect that the scale problem is one that I will be fighting as long as we live here as I am sure that all the trees are infested. I think the 'sticky residue' that is all over my car within a day of washing it- is scale insect secretions. Ick. |
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| X-files errors! |
[Aug. 24th, 2005|03:42 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  disappointed | ] |
I am watching X-Files reruns again.... In F. emasculata there is an incorrect definition given for a parasitoid. I am so disappointed since they usually do better. I caught the error a long time ago but could not remember which episode the error was made. Well now I know. It is F. Emasculata there are TWO scientific errors- the first is the title- F. Emasculata. That is a referance to scientific nomenclature, particularly the taxonomic system created by Carolus Linnaeus and it is the GENUS that is capitalized. The first initial in the X-files title is F. and the second word should correctly be lower case. Now the worst error- the incorrect definition of parasitoid! In the show, a parasitoid is defined as an organism that carries a parasite. This is NOT correct! A parasitoid is an insect whose larval form is parasitic, and eventually they (the larva) kill the host organism. The adult form of a parasitoid is NOT parasitic nor do they carry parasites.
Although many people are really squicked by insects, and parasites- and probably parasitoids, parasitoids actually are quite useful! They are as a 'control' of pest insect species.
If you have an insane fascination of insects like me, you might be interested in the following links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasitoid
http://www.deathonline.net/decomposition/corpse_fauna/parasitic_wasps.htm
Warning- don't follow the links if you are squeamish! :) |
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| my car on the Simpsons! |
[Aug. 1st, 2005|11:33 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  busy | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | New NIN: With Teeth | ] |
Ok- more TV trivia. Some more X-files/SG-1 connections. Of course the biggest one is Don S. Davis. He plays Gen. Hammond on SG-1 and in the X-files he plays Scully's father! And I was watching some SG-1 reruns while I was in Placerville housesitting at my mother's and I KNOW I saw Bruce Harwood,who plays Byers, one of the Lone Gunmen, in one episode and can't remember the episode.
Now- My CAR is on the Simpson's! Sort of. In the Episode "My Mother the Carjacker" Homer is looking at newspaper clippings trying to find typos... and he reads "For Sale Ford Festiva '02 FF 1150 RT Silver, Mint Cond. $14.5K" This is hilarious especially since the Festivas were not made after 93. I have a '93 Ford Festiva (red). I have no idea what FF 1500 RT is supposed to mean. :)
Well I love my car! I don't really want a new one, oddly enough. |
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| Sci-fi TV |
[Jul. 17th, 2005|09:42 am] |
Ok it has been over a year since I have posted. Was not sure if I was going to keep this or not- I guess for now I will.
I have been following the Stargate TV shows and anyone who knows me knows that I am a MAJOR x-files fan. So the season premire showed this last week and one of the characters: Colonel Steven Caldwell is played by Mitch Pileggi!!!! I am so excited about having a SG/X-Files connection! For those that don't know, Mitch played Asst. Director Skinner in the X-Files.
I also watch Battlestar Galactica. I have a firm favorite character there too- Madame President Laura Roslin played by Mary McDonnell. I love her because she is so real- she was obviously terrified to find herself President when she was sworn in last season- a scene that was excellently played by Mary. You could FEEL her apprehension at taking on the position. But she has risen to the job- despite having a diagnosis of cancer, a secret she has kept from all but a few people. Madame President is a very strong lady charcter and I love her for it!
Well I have way too much to do to day- I could go on all day about my Sci-Fi TV shows- but I must run off. |
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| I'm Alive! |
[Feb. 12th, 2004|10:35 pm] |
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Well I am still alive! I got hit with a major migraine this week- It started on Monday and by Tuesday, it had really kicked my butt. I was on the couch all day on Tues and Wed- and could not eat anything. I am still weak and sore all over but better than I was- at least I can be on the computer now. I missed the second half of the Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday. I turned it on but was so out of it- I totally missed the cockers! Luckily the Doberman was on Monday and I did see the Dobie. |
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| Halloween! |
[Oct. 31st, 2003|06:59 pm] |
Not as many kids coming around as I had hoped. Darn it. Maybe next year I will go over to a friends place- he lives in a house so I think they might get more kids there. It would be fun to dress up and pass out candy.
So I am planning some of my baking and making my shopping lists while waiting for kids to come to the door. |
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| school |
[Jul. 17th, 2003|01:24 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | content | ] |
I am registered for school. A bit worried about that because the school is about an hour away. I will be going to Diablo Valley College. I had heard they had the best Japanese program around. And the class they offer in Japanese is MW rather than MWF and I really prefer to go one or two days only. I am signed up for the beginning Japanese class and the Kanji class so I will be learning Kanji too!
I am also getting a freezer! I am really excited about this but not sure when I will get it yet. Still working on that.
The next few weeks are going to be crazy! |
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