in which there are garden pics!
in which there is talk about semicolon tattoos
don’t believe the headlines: “see someone with a semicolon tattoo? here’s what it means.”
i KNEW when i got my semicolon tattoo that there was a movement among self-harmers and depression sufferers to tattoo the punctuation on their bodies (most often over their scars). i KNEW this. and i still got my semicolon tattoo because i love love love me a semicolon; who doesn’t love a semicolon? plus i’m a grammar nazi, so it made sense to put my love of words and word rules on my bod somewhere.
however, there has been a lot of attention given to project semicolon recently, and i’ve seen a large push of articles. and what annoys me most about these is that the writers assume that ALL people who tattoo semicolons are doing it because of overcoming their mental health problems.
now, i’m not anti-project-semicolon. i think it’s fine and a lovely way to commemorate starting afresh.
however, i am anti-assume-everyone’s-tattoo-means-the-same-thing.
people can get a semicolon for many, many reasons: mine means punctuation is awesome and word rules rule; perhaps that person had part of his colon removed; maybe she’s a programmer, where semicolons are a huge necessity; could be a reward for getting a ph.d. in english; or, maybe that person did overcome mental health issues and came out better on the other side.
the truth is, everyone’s tattoo means something different to each person who decides to get inked. a better headline would be: “see someone with a semicolon tattoo? start a conversation and ask what it means.”
in which i pontificate on my garden
oh, weedy garden. somehow i’ve gotten you back from the brink and you’re producing vegetables!
yesterday, i pulled a ripe cherry tomato from my plants! it was delicious. there are green beans ready to be picked, and my kohlrabi are sprouting up! my squash selections are going nuts, and i’ll have to thin them out eventually.
it’s raining today, which we needed, so tomorrow if it’s not too muddy, i’ll try to get out and take some photos of the vegs.
in which i am considered a real photographer
the OTHER fun thing i did lately was take some cosplay pics! liz’s friend caitlin’s friend rikki had a photographer bail on her, so caitlin recommended me to take the pics! SO MUCH FUN. these girls dressed up in comicbook, videogame, and movie characters.
If you have facebook, we are currently voting on which good stock photos should be in the calendar here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.852822341470957.1073741830.152183304868201&type=3
here’s my fave pic
in which i make a thing
SO a few things have happened since i last blogged! but first things first: i made an entryway bench.
i’ve been using an ottoman for the last year and a half, and i didn’t want to dish out the $100+ for a pre-fab particle board number. so i decided to make one from scratch!
i based my plans on this blog post from ana white, and just adjusted some of the measurements since i wanted it a little bit deeper and a little bit taller. (i’m tall and got a big butt, yo.)
went to menard’s and spent $35 on mid-grade construction lumber and went to town.
all my cut boards. i hate working with a circular saw. a table saw would have been so much better for the project.
in all seriousness, i wasn’t very careful with squaring things up. if my dad had been watching me do this, he would have made me take it apart and do it right. good thing he doesn’t have to look at it!
the first time i thought i was finished, i didn’t put a lip on the front, and i’m so glad i went back and redid it. it looks TONS better than when i first left it and thought it was good enough. i also have to go back to menard’s and get another 1×4 to finish off the bottom edges, and i’m glad i did that, too.
sitting on my unfinished bench! you can see the bruise where i beat myself up in my sleep, too. (in reality, it’s from hauling that bench off and on my workstation.)
finished product! i have to stain the very bottom yet, but otherwise it’s good to go. now all i’ve got to do is make the cushion, and it’ll be ready for the entry!
buying and tools list:
Shopping List for the Bench (20″ deep, 4′ wide, and 19″ tall)
3: 1×10 @ 12 feet long
2: 1×4 @ 8 feet long
piece of plywood 4’x2′ for back
3: 1×10 @ 12 feet long
2: 1×4 @ 8 feet long
piece of plywood 4’x2′ for back
Tools:
measuring tape
pencil
square
Drill
brads
screws
hammer
sander (or if you want to punish yourself, sandpaper and a strong will)
stain/paint of your choice and brush
stain/paint of your choice and brush
garden update
my tomatoes are exploding! the beans are climbing! the gourds and melons are spreading! the weeds are outta control!
huh!
on friday evening while i was trying to nap, i got a text message from caitlin asking if i wanted to do a photoshoot the next day. i was like, uh, maybe? she got me in touch with the person who wanted it, and on saturday, charlie and i went to mankato to do a photoshoot with a bunch of ladies who are a part of a cosplay calendar!
i was worried since studio photos aren’t my forte, but the music studio where it was being held actually had a huge green screen we used as well as a couple floodlights. WHEW. i actually went out to amazon yesterday and ordered a continuous lighting kit so i can make it look a little better next week.
so, we were there for about 3-1/2 hours and got about 6 ladies done. i haven’t done any of the photo touchups yet, but i’m pretty pleased with the overall look of them. plus, photoshop can solve all problems. i know some photographers who are like “get it right in the camera, and you don’t have to use photoshop,” but i am not one of those photographers.
i’m going back next week to do the rest of the calendar photos, and i’m looking forward to it! it’s pretty fun!
writer's block
my mom suggested writing something for my dad for father’s day, but i’m coming up blank. everything i’ve wanted to write about my dad i’ve already written. hmmmm.
final thoughts on SD
while the old standbys are fun and tradition, sometimes it’s nice to branch out and try something new. i did a few new things this time around in the black hills. nate and i went to see a cave, skipped rushmore, stopped at mt. coolidge lookout, and actually spent time in custer and sturgis (as opposed to driving through).
next time i really want to get in on the missile tour, check out the 1880 town, and see the other cave that’s a national monument. i’d also like to venture off the main roads – there is a lot of hills to the west of the main roads. i was talking to my dad a couple days after i came back, and he had a good point: while we do a lot in the hills, there is still more that we haven’t done.
it might be a matter of making sure that we get out there on a more regular basis. i would be ok with that.
so long, SD
on friday, nate and i got up early and left sturgis a little after 8 a.m. for a long trip home – we drove through and made it back at home base by 6:30. on the way we stopped at al’s oasis for lunch, where i had my chocolate shake.
but once we crossed the missouri, the west was gone 🙁
i was feeling melancholy about leaving south dakota and watching the hills recede my the rearview mirror. it’s always so short.
but as we headed east toward home, and the grass got a little greener, the trees got a little (ok, a LOT) more prevalent, i began to see why people come to minnesota to vacation. (in fact, after i unpacked the car, i was ready to go to the derry reunion because i felt it was definitely time for a lake.)
we rolled up our driveway, and i was so happy to be home. vacation is awesome, but there’s something about coming home, especially after a week of different landscapes, and seeing the regular with fresh eyes.