First Foray into Papercuts

Our Back Garden

This was our back garden two months ago. I've been so sick in bed that I was unable to post. Spring is really my favorite time of year when I've lived in a places where the winter is barren.

Untitled Poem

Swish,

     Swish

Long strands of ginger

like the pennant

of a

knight 

on the rise

of battle

Bright, round eye

intent on 

          pigeon

Crouching -- blinds for cover

Glass insuperable

"Curses!"

I found a letter I wrote to myself some while ago. Its words have been helpful to me, and though I'm too self-conscious to show share all of it with you, perhaps a portion will help you too.

You need to be kinder to yourself. It's okay to rest. It's okay to stop. You're still that special you when you're standing still.

You're not to call yourself stupid when you make a mistake or say that you hate yourself. 

I want you to add fun things on your list of things to do and not just chores.


I give you permission to say 'I've reached my limit,' and stop for a rest.


I want you to forget the bad things that have happened in the past, and I give you permission to enjoy the moment, right now. 


I give you permission to take things slowly and do things on your own time schedule and not what schedule someone else things things should be done.

Majestic Iceland

Hi, all! Look what I found. Sometimes I have to spend two or three days in bed and I surf around or watch movies or read on my little netbook.

This is Iceland! Isn't it cool?

These photos are from that site. It says that this is the Skogafoss Waterfall, South Iceland.

And this beautiful spot is Sydri Fjanear Landmannalaugar.

The city of Reykjvik looks really neat too. Apparently they use geothermal energy so the air is much cleaner there. The site has lots of pictures and movies to browse if you have the time. Enjoy! 

New Growth

 One of the things I'm loving about this time of year is the way I see the hibernating plants awaken and grow even stronger and bigger than they were the year before.

We have a fairly small back garden that was planted last summer. It may not look like much at the moment and this isn't the best picture of it, but this is the desert and spring has only just begun.

 This is an olive tree. It's blooms are beautiful.

And just recently we're seeing new growth on it's branches. I can't wait to show you the masses of beautiful white blooms it will surely get if all goes well.

On one side our neighbor's tree bloomed pink and on the other side a different neighbor's tree bloomed yellow.

The girls seem to be enjoying the increase of birds and insects and new smells that they get from the window.

Pampered Kitties

The girls are loving these Catty Stacks from Cathousesystems. It's basically a cat tree made of cardboard boxes that you can configure in lots of different ways. 

Both Yum-Yum and Pitti-Sing were in on the building.

My brother and I put the boxes together. There's a video on their website that shows you how to do it.

You can see Pitti-Sing in the green one just as soon as we put it together.

At first it was exciting for them. Then the day after they weren't so keen on it, but after a few days it became a part of their environment and now they use it all the time. I used food treats to get them to go up and down through the boxes and through the tunnel. Pitti-Sing (the orange and white) is particularly fond of tunnels so once she got the hang of it she kept going back and forth.