I started working last weekend at the Sunny Pointe Cafe's organic garden in West Asheville, via a reference from a friend I used to work with at Mela (who also works in the garden). It is so enjoyable. In three and a half days there I have already learned so much, I can only imagine how I'll feel after the whole season!
The garden manager is an excellent person to be working with, she is very knowledgeable and, for a lack of a better word, real. My first day working, one of the restaurant staff asked her if he would be able to pull a sucker off of a Dogwood tree in the garden and get it to grow at his house. Her response was, "First, don't call them suckers, it hurts their feelings! And yes, you can get a start off of the tree..." and proceeded to tell him how. She actually told me...or, more like gave me permission, to work slower yesterday. I have never had a job where I've been told to work less efficiently! She said something like, "When you're moving too fast, it stresses the plants out. They can feel your energy. You may think I'm crazy, but they can. Make sure you're grounded." I love it!!!
This month has been crazy, good, busy wonderful and full of constant changes and transitions. In all truth, my whole last year fits under this description, but this month is more than the normal. I think it may be something about the time of year, many of the people I know are having a busy-yet very fulfilling-month. It is incredible how much can happen in even one afternoon somedays. I am also doing a fair amount of reflecting on 1 year ago and how different my life looked then. It's crazy. I am so grateful for it all though!
My parents will be visiting in 10 days and Robin and I are greatly anticipating their visit. They will spend a few days here in Asheville with us, then the four of us are heading to Charleston, SC for a family beach vacation! Then Robin and I will come back on the 2nd or 3rd of June and pack up our house and move to West Asheville...and then summer is here somehow.
I have realized that this post has an inordinate amount of exclamation marks! I guess that is me trying to pass along the momentum life is carrying for me right now. At this moment, I sort of feel like I'm on top of a wave and have really no choice but to ride it into shore and hope it gets me all the way there. Exciting.
Well, that is all my fingers seem to want to type out right now. So ta-ta!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Buddy and Pickle: The Dynamic Duo
I have resisted creating a post dedicated primarily to the two felines that share our house, although I am not entirely sure why because they are a constant source of entertainment, love, and discussion for me and my sister. You may have to be a cat person to appreciate any of this, or you may have to know our cats personally, or you may decide this entire post is not worth your time. So be it.
Suspect #1: Buddy (aka the King of the Condominium Complex or Big Baby)
Without providing a long history and personality profile for Buddy (and trust me, I could-there is SO much personality in both cats, which is part of what makes them fun!), but, without doing so, let's just preface this with the explanation that Buddy is an extremely picky and particular cat who acts like a spoiled prince half the time (he will literally only eat one kind of cat food and currently refuses to use the litter box because he has to share with Pickle). The other half the time he is acting like a wild king of the jungle animal, prowling outside, moving stealthily and always looking oh-so cool.
I recently sold the bed and bedroom set that Noah and I had bought when we first moved out. The bed was a super soft, HUGE, king size bed that Buddy had claimed as his own. He would sprawl out across the whole thing like he owned it. I now have a double bed that is much smaller and not quite as soft. Buddy has decidedly boycotted it. He took one look at it, turned his kingly nose up and started sleeping in the chair in my sister's bedroom (instead of the couches) almost just to prove a point ("If that is what you are going to give me to sleep on, then I am disowning you as my den mother. Your sister is now who I answer to.") So, for the last week or so, my sister and I have swapped cats. Her cat, Pickle, has been sleeping in my room, while Buddy sleeps in hers.
However, a few days ago Robin emptied out her dresser and left for work, leaving the clothes piled on her chair and bed. Buddy came in from a night out ready to curl up and sleep. He sat with me for a few minutes on the couch, then hopped down and walked towards the bedrooms. He caught himself mid-stride heading towards my room, remembered what was awaiting him, and turned to the right towards Robin's room instead. A few minutes later he walked out of her room with a distressed "meee-ooouuuww" and looked up at me, then back at Robin's room, then at my door, then back at me and meowed again. At this point, I remembered that the chair was not available for him to sleep on and had a hard time not laughing at him, although he was in a very real and apparent state of distress. He even went so far as to walk up to the edge of my room, stare into it as if debating the importance of his boycott, then change his mind. He eventually ended up next to me on the couch. Robin's chair remained covered for a few days and last night he finally broke down and slept on my bed. I think he feels like he made his point.
Suspect #2: Pickle (aka Pretty, Pretty, Princess or Sexy Mama)
Pickle is a total sweetheart and is still growing into cathood. When she first moved in, she would only sleep on the floor in some tucked away corner, heaven forbid your lap! Nowadays though, she is queen of the lap sitting and will follow Robin around in the morning until she sits down for breakfast, then will dutifully hop up on Robin's lap with this look of pure pleasure on her face.
Pickle has this habit of opening doors by standing on her hind legs and pushing on the middle of the door--this works great going into rooms, but when she does it going out of rooms, it simply closes the door more. She has this game she plays with the door when trying to get out of a room though. After "opening" it and having it still be closed she'll coyly sit down next to the door, drop to the floor and start rolling around in this seductive "look at me" fashion; 50% of the time, as she's rolling around, her paws will sort of pull the bottom of the door towards her, thereby opening the door.
So now, 100% of the time, with any closed door that she wants opened (that doesn't easily push open) she puts on this show, hoping her cuteness will open the door for her. The best is when she does it at the pantry door where her food is kept (which is a sliding closet type door). Starting at 3:30 or 4 in the afternoon, she'll walk over and try her "trick" on the door every so often hoping that maybe THIS time it will work. It is absolutely adorable and sometimes, it does sort of work because, by being so darned cute, she'll get Robin or I to feed her a few minutes early.
Anyway, that's a little about our two cats who totally keep our life interesting. They are such a wonderful lesson in unconditional love (both giving and receiving) in part because they can drive us crazy as often as they make our hearts melt. Without them though, the house would feel empty!
Without providing a long history and personality profile for Buddy (and trust me, I could-there is SO much personality in both cats, which is part of what makes them fun!), but, without doing so, let's just preface this with the explanation that Buddy is an extremely picky and particular cat who acts like a spoiled prince half the time (he will literally only eat one kind of cat food and currently refuses to use the litter box because he has to share with Pickle). The other half the time he is acting like a wild king of the jungle animal, prowling outside, moving stealthily and always looking oh-so cool.
I recently sold the bed and bedroom set that Noah and I had bought when we first moved out. The bed was a super soft, HUGE, king size bed that Buddy had claimed as his own. He would sprawl out across the whole thing like he owned it. I now have a double bed that is much smaller and not quite as soft. Buddy has decidedly boycotted it. He took one look at it, turned his kingly nose up and started sleeping in the chair in my sister's bedroom (instead of the couches) almost just to prove a point ("If that is what you are going to give me to sleep on, then I am disowning you as my den mother. Your sister is now who I answer to.") So, for the last week or so, my sister and I have swapped cats. Her cat, Pickle, has been sleeping in my room, while Buddy sleeps in hers.
However, a few days ago Robin emptied out her dresser and left for work, leaving the clothes piled on her chair and bed. Buddy came in from a night out ready to curl up and sleep. He sat with me for a few minutes on the couch, then hopped down and walked towards the bedrooms. He caught himself mid-stride heading towards my room, remembered what was awaiting him, and turned to the right towards Robin's room instead. A few minutes later he walked out of her room with a distressed "meee-ooouuuww" and looked up at me, then back at Robin's room, then at my door, then back at me and meowed again. At this point, I remembered that the chair was not available for him to sleep on and had a hard time not laughing at him, although he was in a very real and apparent state of distress. He even went so far as to walk up to the edge of my room, stare into it as if debating the importance of his boycott, then change his mind. He eventually ended up next to me on the couch. Robin's chair remained covered for a few days and last night he finally broke down and slept on my bed. I think he feels like he made his point.
Pickle is a total sweetheart and is still growing into cathood. When she first moved in, she would only sleep on the floor in some tucked away corner, heaven forbid your lap! Nowadays though, she is queen of the lap sitting and will follow Robin around in the morning until she sits down for breakfast, then will dutifully hop up on Robin's lap with this look of pure pleasure on her face.
Pickle has this habit of opening doors by standing on her hind legs and pushing on the middle of the door--this works great going into rooms, but when she does it going out of rooms, it simply closes the door more. She has this game she plays with the door when trying to get out of a room though. After "opening" it and having it still be closed she'll coyly sit down next to the door, drop to the floor and start rolling around in this seductive "look at me" fashion; 50% of the time, as she's rolling around, her paws will sort of pull the bottom of the door towards her, thereby opening the door.
So now, 100% of the time, with any closed door that she wants opened (that doesn't easily push open) she puts on this show, hoping her cuteness will open the door for her. The best is when she does it at the pantry door where her food is kept (which is a sliding closet type door). Starting at 3:30 or 4 in the afternoon, she'll walk over and try her "trick" on the door every so often hoping that maybe THIS time it will work. It is absolutely adorable and sometimes, it does sort of work because, by being so darned cute, she'll get Robin or I to feed her a few minutes early.
Anyway, that's a little about our two cats who totally keep our life interesting. They are such a wonderful lesson in unconditional love (both giving and receiving) in part because they can drive us crazy as often as they make our hearts melt. Without them though, the house would feel empty!
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