Posts under ‘Genie’

I will admit that though I completely expected to have to drill holes in the wine barrels, the thought of installing casters is not one that particularly occurred to me in the initial planning stages of the whole patio garden deal. But as I stood on the BART platform in San Francisco one night with [...]

Here is what the instructions say on my new drill: “If the tool speed drops abnormally low, begins to make abnormal noise, vibrations, or if the motor housing produces smoke or burning odor – turn the tool off immediately and do not operate, until repaired.” So it should come as no surprise to anyone reading [...]

Though I realize it’s probably a bit disingenuous, at this point, to act like I know absolutely nothing about gardening. But five things? That means I’ve learned more than one thing per year. Or something like that. Regardless, today I’d like to invite you to step over to Heather Mak’s Five Takeaways blog, where I [...]

Before I could plant anything, I had to accomplish two wine-barrel-related tasks: Drill holes in the bottom, and install casters. It should be noted for the record that, going into this? I had no idea how to do either. And I definitely didn’t own any of the proper equipment. Related to this issue: I hate [...]

While we were in the midst of sorting out the HOA problems, I received a cheery email from my coworker, Pilar, who was in the midst of nurturing tomato seedlings on my behalf. They were just about ready for delivery, she said, and she’d bring them in after the weekend. This presented a dilemma. Tell? [...]

Every year, it arrives before I know it. My Mom celebrates her birthday on May 4, usually Mother’s Day comes a few days or even a week after that, and somewhere right in the middle, my blog celebrates another anniversary. Today, this blog turns four. And I’m not going to lie to you…it makes me [...]

I’ve been quiet ‘round these parts about my latest blog project: 5×52. This project, inspired by a Flickr group that focuses on a similar concept, struck me as an interesting way to both take a new look at my back catalog of photographs and shoot in a slightly different way this year. Each weekly post [...]

There is no question that I should, by now, have dirt in my wine barrels. I should have them fully prepped, and I should be ready for Pilar’s seedlings to show up, since she swears they’re almost big enough to send home with me. In fact, I should probably already be growing lettuce. Or herbs. [...]

My weekends usually involve fun in at least six variations. I cannot help myself with the overscheduling and the racing from one Thing That I Like To Do to another to another and, well, it’s all very exhausting. Often these activities are the kind that leave my more staid and settled friends shaking their heads. [...]

On a blustery Thanksgiving morning, six months after I moved to Oakland, I took my parents to celebrate Mass. They were visiting me for the first time in this new city I called home, and I wanted to show them the newly-dedicated Cathedral of Christ the Light, which I’d been attending since its dedication Mass [...]