mini-interview

I was mini-interviewed by Sweet Candy.

http://sweetcandydistro.weebly.com/1/post/2012/05/friday-five-with-laura-marie.html

list

There are so many things I could tell you about.

--eating Cherry Garcia icecream at the garden with chopsticks
--eating ube icecream at Thai Basil after sharing some red curry (the ube icecream a vibrant purple)
--getting maps of Sacramento and Berkeley at AAA from a free map vending machine
--visiting Great Escape Games to pick up SacGeeks playing cards and seeing the amazing gaming space there and daydreaming about having a zine workshop there or an Icarus meeting there
--admiring M's awesome navigational skills
--paying a huge cashiers check for my new apartment which I will be moving into in just more than a week--yikes!
--cleaning / sorting / packing / gathering stuff for Goodwill / throwing stuff away (which is all emotional work in addition to other kinds of work)
--writing two new zines
--a fun lunch with friends at Loving Hut
--so many sweet emails and phonecalls
--not being online much
--the cats and dogs where I'm couchsurfing
--couchsurfing
--cornmeal pancakes with loquat sauce as imagined
--the metal horse outside Safeway
--being aware of time
--grieving
--daydreaming about my new neighborhood
--visiting the co-op
--the pain in my upper back
--using other people's computers
--blueberries from Insight Coffee
--romance, conflict, adventure

lime and lemon

Here are trip pics!

sculpture

before I die...

details

sky

me in Reno

Reno roadtrip

M and I went on a roadtrip to Reno over the weekend.  We also camped near Nevada City.  Other than during the Peace Walk, I hadn't camped in years.  Anyway, I'm making a zine about the trip, so I won't say too much about it here.

my advice

When a cop is pulled over by the side of the road on the freeway, don't stay in the right lane--move over one lane.  M and I got a ticket for not doing this when we were on our trip in Nevada.  $225!

special delivery

Today we planted potatoes in a box.  It's a milk crate.  And we watered.

We went to a cafe to see if we could see our friend S.  I was so excited she was there!  We got hugs.  We talked and made yoga plans.

Also we went to a small farmers market that was closing up.  We bought non-sprayed strawberries. 

Also we delivered some fresh herbs.  And no, that's not a euphemism for selling marijuana!

echinacea

garden news

Did I already tell you we looked at the nursery for a pasilla or poblano chile plant?  They didn't have any.  But yesterday we were at a grocery store, and I asked if M wanted to make chiles rellenos again, and he said yes because we had all the ingredients other than chiles, and so we bought two.  It was 76 cents.  Then we realized we could plant the seeds from one of the chiles, but if we roasted the chiles while the seeds were still inside, we might damage the seeds, so we went back into the grocery store for one more chile.  It was 42 cents.

Then we went to the garden and planted the seeds!  I hope some germinate and grow for us. We planted them on a mound.

I realize that this blog is quickly becoming All About M's Garden.  I hope you're enjoying it, reader.  Maybe you like plants as much as I do.

first poppy

This is the first poppy I've seen bloom in M's garden.

okay

Yesterday we did various stuffs.  What I wanted to talk about here is how we went to the garden and watered and checked up on the plants we planted the day before.  They are all okay! 

new basil

new basil with yerba buena

strawberries

Here you can see where I planted the strawberries where we hacked the lavender last week.

beloved

green pepper

fuck heteronormativity

purple pepper

This morning was a workday at Fremont Community Garden.  We got there early and started working on the compost.  It's necessary to move it from bin to bin, and it's passed through a screen before going into the final bin.  So M shoveled and I passed the compost through the screen.  It was fun.

We did other stuff too, like someone was giving away strawberry plants and I planted some in M's plot.  I planted them around the area where we hacked at the lavender last week.  We made space for something good.

Then we went to a nursery and bought some basil and two kinds of bell peppers.  I'm feeling very fond of the plant that will produce purple ones.  I looked for pasilla or poblano plants, but there were none.

Then we went to Insight Coffee for a Second Saturday event.  I tabled with functionally ill 13 and Demonstrators on Roadway, 25 MPH.  We talked to people we know.

Then we went back to the garden to plant the two peppers and six basils.  We tried to figure out good planting places.  I asked if it was bad form to plant a pepper where the My Plant tomato plant was planted but ended up in the belly of a slug.  M said it was not bad form, so we planted it there, and I hope it thrives.

Pink Death interview

Please read this interview Rachel Radical did with me for Pink Death!

http://pinkdeathzine.blogspot.com/

I don't like artichokes

Today M and I went to a farm near Rio Linda and worked with artichokes.  First we picked some, using knives.  Then we cut off low leaves to use as mulch.  Then we processed some artichokes, washing them and getting the earwigs out.  Then we prepped some for confit.  I peeled two heads of garlic.  M cut strips of lemon zest and chopped herbs.  It was hot but not too hot.

Now M and I have eaten homemade yogurt with cranberry sauce.  We're drinking tea from drinking glasses. 

south yuba river trail

Today we hiked.  Here's M and Erik consulting a field guide!

me at the beginning of the hike

Indian pink

I took so many flower pictures on today's hike, and I was so disgusted with my camera's ability to focus up close that I decided not to post any of them.  But then I changed my mind, and here's a few.

mountain misery

It looks like a berry flower, but the leaves don't look like berry leaves.  Is it super poisonous, and that's the misery?  But I heard a rumor that it's related to the rose.

bluedicks possibly

sweet dudleya

Did you know my favorite plant is the dudleya?  Here is a sweet little one.

inflorescence of the amazing dudleya

Can you handle its excellence?

amazing dudleya

Erik took this.

river does funny

I hear this is the Yuba River.

yarn bomb

This was near Phono Select and Rick's Dessert Diner.

the subconscious art of graffiti removal

This is near the intake for Sacramento's water supply and the confluence of two good rivers.

sage

M made this bundle of sage and I wrapped it in cotton thread.

me

Today we made chiles rellenos at M's house (along with yummy rice as well as beans from a can).  They turned out so delicious I was embarrassed by my own excellence.  Ha ha.  Just kidding.

us

Here's me and Erik with chiles rellenos. 

lavender lack

Here's the lavender now.  It was a huge bush and now it's way smaller.  The garden feels roomier.

plans

Today we were invited to hack at M's lavender by the light of the supermoon, but we had to go home.  We intend to hack at the lavender tomorrow.

what Erik said

Facebook is not the venue for reality.

Berkeley

We went to Berkeley and Oakland on Sunday.  It was me and Erik and M.  M drove.

Some highlights...

*  While I photocopied zines, M taught Erik how to tie knots using shoelaces M found in his backpack.
*  Seeing somewhat tame black-crowned night herons near Lake Merritt.  We saw a miserable pacing chukar too.
*  Going to two cemeteries to visit M's relatives and take pictures.
*  Meeting M's ex-wife and giving their son a ride somewhere.
*  A strange cat that jumped on Erik from the top of a fridge.
*  Indian-Pakistani food and discussing it while eating it.
*  Brief phonecall with R and thanking them for not killing themself, which made us laugh.

implicar

Spanish word of the day is implicar.  The first example sentence cracked me up.

Que se abrazan no implica que sean amigos.

Just because they hug doesn't mean they are friends.

Phono Select

Today M and I went to Phono Select where we looked at zines.  We also went to Sugar Plum Vegan for taco Tuesday.  We got potato tacos and liked them.  We went to Rick's Dessert Diner too.  It was my first time.

Also we went to a Mexican market near city college for pasilla chiles to make chiles rellenos with.  When we were in Las Vegas and went to Mexican markets together, I was so happy, and I can't describe to you how happy I was to be in a Mexican market with M again.  Someone came up to us and explained in Spanish how M couldn't be there with his backpack on.  So he went to the front.  We bought the chiles rellenos ingredients (not vegan). 

Things I told M today: I like walnuts in my cereal.  My ex-husband had a tie dyed teeshirt that said "love" all over it, and I would go up to him singing "All you need is love" and point to the loves when the song goes, "Love, love, love."  I google myself.  Yes, I got stressed out when he got angry near the trashcans.

Tonight I wanted to go to a reading by my acquaintance Melanie Thorne at the nearby mall--she has a new book out.  But Erik didn't want to go, and instead of driving myself there, I went to sleep.  I guess I needed it.  Erik woke me up to fold the laundry, and I resisted.   

Now Erik's doing yoga and I'm blogging.  My main distro is asking for more of my zines but I am running out of functionally ill 9 and should have done inventory before our Berkeley trip--oops.

functionally ill 13

In functionally ill 13 I interview four friends with various types of crazy.  They talk about mind control, BDSM, automatic behavior, activism, the Icarus Project, queerness, mental health zines, PTSD, psychiatry, and more.  It's new! and available for trade or $2.50.

Demonstrators on Roadway, 25 MPH

My new zine Demonstrators on Roadway, 25 MPH is about my time in Nevada for Sacred Peace Walk 2012.  It's about the desert, Las Vegas excess, friendship, pain, transformation, and getting arrested for peace.  It's available for trade!

potato / onion

Someone on freecycle is giving away a potato / onion cabinet.

bison

Just wanted to mention that bison are my favorite megafauna.  However, according to some definitions, I am a megafauna!

cow

Today M and I saw this great cow wheatpasted to a utility box.  There used to be three, but now there's only one, which I could tell from faint outlines.  I discussed with my bestie how strange it was that only one of three cows remained.  She suggested that it was the result of someone's aesthetic sense, which made me laugh.  Isn't it a beautiful cow?

M and I talked quietly at central library.  I showed him where the zines are.

Then we went to the train museum.  It was my first time.  He's a member, so he got us in for free! I love the brass toy trains.  I love the old box labels.  I enjoyed looking at the dishes, an old sewing machine, a paper of old buttons.  I was claustrophobic in the sleeper car, but it was okay.

Then M and I had lunch.  We shared a meal, which felt comfy.  We talked about how to make chile rellenos--I made them long ago, in college.  I like roasting the chiles on the stove.  We talked about chips being a substrate.  We discussed whether alcohol thins the blood and the definition of "viscous."

Then we walked from Old Town to M's house after considering light rail.  I have never ridden it!  But I said there will be other chances.

In the evening, Erik and I went to Fair Oaks for dinner at Sunflower and some time by the river.  I walked, talked on the phone, and enjoyed the beauty of the vetch which is blooming all over the place.  Erik was running, and he tripped and fell during his run.  Luckily he survived with only a few scrapes. 

Then at home Erik finished proofreading the new functionally ill, and I can lay it out now.  Night, friends!

Sufie

LM:  How dare you speak ill of the trombones!

Erik:  When they do the elephant trumpeting thing.  Can't handle that.

near Southside Park

La Virgen and wishing well.

midtown

Here is some midtown window graffiti and a beautiful brick.

not

I
"It's all good," Erik said, in reference to the neighbors playing music so loudly that our windows are rattling.

"No, it's not all good!" I said.

II
"What are you listening to?" I asked Erik, who is listening to music on headphones. 

"I don't want to tell you.  Stupid pop song," he said.

"Tell me!"

"No!  I can't!"

III
"Have you seen my twisty time Allen wrench?" Erik asked.

"You mean the one the neighbor kids have?" I said.

"I really walked into that one.  You give a kid a tool that's perfect for tightening and untightening the bolts of his skateboard, you think he's going to want to part with that?"

IV
"If you saw what music I was listening to, you could never ever blog it."

dharma seed

Yesterday I scored Texas, washed dishes, and walked to the nearest office supply store for ink.  I was waiting for a phonecall from M, and finally we spoke in the afternoon.  I came over, bringing olive bread, and we ate that with delicious tomato soup that smelled like Spaghetti-Os

We worked, rested, walked to Doughbot for vegan donuts but they were closed, finished up the interview for functionally ill 13, worked, rested, and finally went to dinner with Erik at Andy Nguyen's.  Erik and M spoke of Erik's favorite things, like matcha, theanine, and nature recordings.  I mostly just listened and ate my dharma seed.