Break Bread for Brad

Break Bread for Brad
Originally uploaded by jessajune

I'm not in Austin for SXSW Interactive this year. My budget and other commitments won't allow for it. I'm sorry to miss all the great people that I usually only see once a year, but my only real regret is that I am going to miss Break Bread for Brad.

I was in Spain when I got the news via Twitter that Brad had passed away. I think more than anything I can say, the best measure of Brad is the huge number of friends he has left behind. Many of them are gathering tonight in Austin, where instead of a party hosted by Brad, it is a party for Brad and for those who remember him fondly.

So many people have written wonderful eulogies for Brad. I will only say that he had a generous spirit, a quick mind, and a wicked wit. He will be much missed.

I wish I could be with you all tonight, to celebrate Brad. But know that I am lifting my Bradlands mug in solidarity.

I'll finish by sharing Brad's words from the back of the mug, which make me smile every time I read them, which is almost every day.

My favorite animal at the zoo is the lesser kudu. You have to admire an animal with a name like that, laboring as he must in the shadow of the greater kudu. It must be like having an older brother who excelled at sports and academics in school, to whom you have always been compared and found lacking.

A few months ago, I was visiting the zoo at lunch with a friend and discovered the area where the lesser kudu is ordinarily found was empty.

I hope he made a break for it. I hope he made his way out into the world, free of expectations, shedding labels, determined only to be the best damn kudu he could be.

-- Brad L. Graham, July 28, 2001

New Leaves

New Leaves
Originally uploaded by jessajune

In California, spring comes early. We've had acacia and mustard and plum blossoms since February, of course. But in early March, more and more plants are braving the rain and putting out new leaves. I took advantage of this morning's sun to snap a few photos.

In other news, I also finished my second pair of socks that are intended for me - it feels like the first pair are ALWAYS in the laundry, as I put them on the moment they are dry enough to wear. So now I'll have a rotation of 2... and work will start soon on pair number 3. People told me that sock knitting was an addictive process, but I didn't believe them until I put on that first pair. There's really nothing quite like them.

How did it get to be spring already?

Plum Blossoms III
Originally uploaded by jessajune

But it has. E's street is filled with ornamental plum trees, and they are all in bloom. Every time you step out the door, there is a sweetness to the air.

But it is that time - we're starting to talk about what to do with the garden. (Mom says if it's all left to Dad and I, the entire yard will be planted with hot peppers and squash. This may be true.) I planted some cilantro just yesterday, and it felt good to have my hands in the soil again. There is some serious weeding to be done, as well, both in the vegetable planters and around my front door. It's supposed to rain this weekend, so I should get out there and work on it.

On the knitting front, things are moving quickly as well... I've joined a Ravelry group where we're put into teams and given assignments and earn points - it sounds silly, but I have finished many more projects since I joined. I've never had problem starting things, but finishing is another story, so this has been a great development for me.

Since finishing the Spain socks a few posts below, I made yet another black hat for E (I am done for a while - that's 3 black hats in the course of a year. Black yarn is BORING, y'all.), a red hat for me, some yoga socks (no heels or toes) and a pair of red/pink/orange socks for Mom's birthday. I told you I'd been busy!

And the photography has been progressing along, as promised. I'm pretty sure that I'll turn this photo-a-day thing into a yearlong project. I'm having too much fun to stop!

Behind the Cypress Tree

Behind the Cypress Tree
Originally uploaded by jessajune

Picture per day photos are behind schedule - I'm mostly taking them, but I wanted to get all my vacation photos up on Flickr before uploading any subsequent pictures. I finally have finished that - and made a set for the Spain pictures. The ones from London are currently on the front page. I'll be filling in past IPPD photos soon.

This particular picture was taken from the top of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, on the Nativity side of the church. That cypress tree you see there is at the top of the front facade on that side of the church. I do not particularly like heights (note: this may be a huge understatement) but it was absolutely worth it for the gorgeous views, and the close up look at the higher portions of the structure.

I finished my socks

These are not my first pair of socks, but they're the first pair that was made for me. They fit perfectly, since, you know, I made them exactly for my feet. They feel great.

That is all.

Happy New Year

Hello hello! I hope you all had a good holiday, and that you are not so buried in January's return-to-business that you've forgotten all about it already. I spent my New Year in Spain this year - I have to say, I am not generally a big fan of New Year's Eve festivities, but I had a great time out of the country. Even if I DID have some trouble with the Spanish tradition of eating a grape on each stroke of midnight. (I am a small person, with a small mouth, and those grapes had SEEDS.)

If you want to hear more about our vacation shenanigans, E and I created a joint travel blog over at bbtwo.wordpress.com, so feel free to check it out.

On a photograph front, I am working on getting all my many many many photographs up on Flickr, and I will post a link to the set when I do. I think I'm also going to put together a short version set for those who just want the highlights version.

And yes, I'm still taking daily photographs - I think I'm going to extend that project at least through the end of March, and I may make a full year out of it. The new camera I got for Christmas is so much more fun and responsive than my old camera, I feel like there is new ground still to cover.

Today's photo, however, came from my webcam - yes, that is both cats sitting in my lap (my legs are crossed, which is how Freya is seeming to float in midair - she's perched on my knee). We are keeping each other warm. And yes, I did take that picture by holding my laptop over my head. I couldn't very well get up to fetch my real camera without disrupting the cat pile.

Anyway, so I am back and not dead, and things are going well. I hope to resume posting about some knitting stuff soon - I am very close to finishing my first pair of knit socks for myself, and they have been a bit of a revelation. Which is almost a pity. Socks are pretty tedious to knit but I will undoubtedly be making a lot more of them because they are so comfortable. But more on that another day!

A Happy Holiday

Bubble IPPD 12/25/09
Originally uploaded by jessajune

I hope you all had a great holiday. I had a lovely Christmas with my family.

However, my holiday has just begun. E and I are on our way to Spain. I am packing as we speak, and we fly out tonight! We've been looking forward to this trip for a while now. Both of us have been to Spain before, but we're hitting some places that neither or only one of us have been before. I'm not one of those people who figure if you've been to a country once, you've seen everything needful and should move on - I prefer to soak in the feeling of a place. I think we'll have a chance to do that on this trip.

So we're off, and we'll be back the 2nd week in January! I'll continue taking photos, but I don't know that I'll post any of them before we return.

Longest Night

Happy Solstice
Originally uploaded by jessajune

Happy winter solstice. I am looking forward to the return of the light and all it symbolizes.

It's been a rough year for a lot of people. Here is hoping that the lengthening days will bring an increase of good fortune with them. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to spending some quiet time with my family before heading off to adventure overseas. Maybe by the time I come back, things will look different, lighter.

In other news, I love my new camera. It's still a point and shoot, fits in your pocket, low fuss machine, but it is a hundred times faster/smarter/better than my old one. I would never have gotten this photo with my last camera.

Winter Weather

Winter? Lemon tree doesn't care.
Originally uploaded by jessajune

The clouds are getting darker as the afternoon goes on. I checked the weather and rain isn't forecast until tomorrow, but apparently we have a freeze warning for tonight.

Don't tell the lemon tree. Took this photo just last week - as you can see, it's actually blossoming.

I'm wondering if I should try to cover the citrus trees. May go find some blankets and do that. Good thing I am under the weather and haven't planted my seedling kale yet.

December Already!

Bay Wreath 1PPD 12/2/09
Originally uploaded by jessajune

Last year, all December I said I was going to make a wreath, and I never got around to it. Sunday, I did it in less than 15 minutes, while Dad was cutting tiles that I needed to finish up the day's roofing.

We have a few bay laurel trees on the west side of the property; I've always rather liked the spicy scent (and appreciate the fact that they don't throw acorns everywhere like the oaks do). This being California Bay, the smell might be a bit powerful for inside, but it's perfect on my front door. 15 minutes to holiday cheer! I'm glad I built my wreath at last.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving
Originally uploaded by jessajune

Spent the holiday first with E's fabulous sister & brother-in-law, then with my grandparents. Dad bbq'd the Thanksgiving turkey, as he does every year. It is always delicious.

However, at the moment I'm not sure I'm ever going to eat again.

All my trip pictures have been uploaded to my Flickr page.

Avoiding the New Moon

I was thinking of letting go of my anti-Twilight stance and going to see New Moon, but then this article brought me back to my senses: Top 20 Unfortunate Lessons Girls Learn from Twilight

It is worth noting that I didn't even GET to the text of the article before re-making my Twilight avoidance vow - watching the RiffTrax video of clips from the film was enough to do it.

One of those days

Okay, y'all, it is one of those days.

Wake up, shower, dry hair. Review script for tonight's California Legacy performance. Get dressed, realize that I can't find my boots. Put on another pair of boots, realize they look wrong with slacks. Go to car to see if heeled boots are there. They aren't. Go back to house, put on pair of heeled oxfords, realize the comfy stripey socks I put on when my ankles were going to be covered clash horribly. Take off shoes, switch socks, put on shoes again. Gather up script, change of shirt, shawl. Get in car. Drive out of driveway. Realize have forgotten lunch. Pull back into driveway, scurry to house, look down and realize undergarments are visible under sweater. Go inside, take off sweater, put on tank top, put sweater back on. Almost forget soup, but remember before heading down driveway. Get back in car. Drive down through town, in left turn lane when look down and realize am missing my purse. Turn around, go back, get purse. Leave again.

Arrive at office, later than hoped. Walk to building, realize soup is still in car. Keep walking, go to desk, struggle a good 45 seconds to get laptop seated in docking station for booting. Go to kitchen, since coffee obviously needed; coffeepot empty. Sigh and walk back to car to retrieve lunch.

And that's as far as I've gotten today. But I am seriously worried how the rest of it will go, especially the driving to Monterey and performing part. Wish me luck?

Still taking pictures

Maple Flame III 1PPD 11/17/09
Originally uploaded by jessajune

I know I haven't been blogging much, but I've still been taking pictures... if not quite every day, than most days. (There have been a few forgotten camera incident and a dead battery incident, alas. My battery isn't holding a charge like it used to.)

You can see all the latest (including for today!), as always, in the 1PPD Flickr set.

Sick & Frustrated

Sick for the 3rd time this month, such that I'm not sure if I'm sick again or still.

But I'm up helping Dad on the roof, because it's been raining and we're getting into rainy season and the roof is covered in tar paper but the tile still isn't up to protect the paper. And Dad's been doing this mostly by himself because I've been away and whatnot, and everyone else has been busy too. And roofing is not a one person job.

But I swear, between the drugs and the stuffed head, I am DUMB today. He's had to explain each task at least 3 times before I could make sense of it, and I just spent over an hour doing a section and it turns out I've been leaving out one tile on each row which pretty much means I have to pull them all out and do them over.

(The tiles overlap like fish scales - not only one side over the next but also they have to fit the right place over the rows above and below. So to remove one tile 7 rows down and 3 tiles in, I have to pull out everything from the top down to that row, plus all the sides. So to fix one tile, I have to pull out around 25 tiles [it would be more, but the piece is on an angle, so there are different #s of tiles in each row.])

This is all complicated by the fact that the tiles are all original and handmade which means 1) they're irreplaceable, so we're trying not to break any as we pull them out and nail them back in and 2) they are not all shaped the same - each one is slightly unique, so while it should be easy to lay them down, they usually don't fit neatly and you have to swap tiles around like puzzle pieces to make them lay in a straight line.

Next time we do the roof - hopefully not for another 20 years - I don't care about aesthetics. We're either using new, uniform, store-bought tiles or skipping the tiles altogether for something much much easier.

And hiring someone to do it.

Preparing this morning for a performance of "Dash and Daring" with the California Legacy Project * for the California Council for the Promotion of History conference in Monterey.

We're focusing on California's boom and bust cycles. It's a really good script, I think.

The photo at right was taken at China Camp State Park - a place which definitely does its share of promoting California History.


* warning - the site seems to be playing music on load now. This is new. (And not a good idea, IMO. I mean, it's nice music, but people should be free to browse sites wherever they are without fear of disturbing their neighbors.)

Fall in Grafton, IL

View @ Lookout Point 1PPD 10/16/09
Originally uploaded by jessajune

Last week, I went to Grafton, IL to see some friends get married. It rained for the early part of our stay, but by the end the weather was chilly but gorgeous. We don't get too much of the fall colors out here in California - it was a bit early for them in Grafton, but things were quite lovely. I've posted a bunch of pictures to my Flickr.

We spent a lot of time in Pere Marquette State Park, which is small but quite lovely - and the location that this picture was taken.

Rain

Rain 1PPD 10/13/09
Originally uploaded by jessajune

We had our first storm of the season this week! It was exciting. The chimney grate blew off my parents' roof and Dad and I climbed up in the rain and wind to put it back.

That may have been a large part of the excitement.

But I love fall and winter - looking forward to more storms of this sort. But for now I'm glad they've stopped, as I'm getting on a plane tomorrow.

More Pictures

Flame 1PPD 9/23/09
Originally uploaded by jessajune

This one is from my garden. The reason for the strange coloration is the setting sun, which was hitting just the flowers, causing them to glow. (They are usually a bright but otherwise unremarkable red.)

I missed my first 1PPD last week (9/25) - it took me a month, but it did eventually happen. My schedule got shaken up, and it was a really busy day, most of it away from home. I thought about swapping in a picture and calling it 9/25, but decided that wasn't the point of the exercise. I'll do my best to snap something every day, but if I don't make it, I'll just try to pick up where I left off and keep going.

Shadow 1PPD 9/14/09

Shadow 1PPD 9/14/09
Originally uploaded by jessajune

This project really is making me look at things differently - who would have thought I would have fun taking pictures in a parking lot? And yet I snapped photos there 2 days in a row.

As always, feel free to check out the photo set for the whole project.