Jubilation is...

[greenstorm]

...realising that I've survived the last couple of weeks and I'm in one piece, perhaps even ahead.

My balcony is growing absolutely like mad. I just stopped in the middle of this post to go out and take pictures, everything has exploded since even just before the weekend. It's really growing season. I'm very pleased. Very little makes me as happy as my balcony can, or perhaps that's not true. I have a lot of things to be happy about right now, and I'm definitely feeling it.

The rat viewing went well. All the babies should be placed pretty easily, and there might be two or three more for the September show, which would be awesome-- we timed them poorly for this show, that's for sure. The people who want the babies all seem very cool, absolutely in love with the babies they've chosen and well-researched on ratties. Lizzy, Angus, and I have decided who we're keeping 'in the family' so to speak. I loved being in a room with people who loved my babies as much as I do. Everything's going up at www.ratanist.com in the 'we've got babies' link, go look!

The masquerade was fun, though a little nervous because I spent a bunch of time watching out for/being nervous for a friend of mine who was having a rough night. That friend came through very well, though. I got to see lots of fantastic people I rarely see, met another Chris, a boy of Eva's (she seemed happy and that is always good) and the socialising was good for me. I didn't drink at all, and that was good too. Since I've really got into wine and gin I find that fewer events go by where I don't drink, and it tones down the quality of interaction if I get more than a tiny bit tipsy, so I need to remember to pass on drinks more often. I also need to figure out very very tasty non alcoholic drinks so I don't miss out on the tasty stuff. Any ideas? I'm finding the whole taro bubble tea powder + banana + coconut milk + ice thing terribly tasty. Also, tapioca pearls go in everything!

The roommate search seems to be turning up some very nice people on craigslist, plus there's the possibility that Gabe will be around.

My non-baby rats are lovely lovely lovely. Odin and Quartz are particularly my favourite things in the whole world right now-- well, Odin, Quartz, Angus (I would not have made it through the weekend without his help. I'm my own rock at the center of the universe, but he's certainly my tower of unrelenting strength and support), Lizzy (without whom I could not breed babies, I am so glad she can deal with the people end), my lovely lovely home, oh, it's all good.

I threw some money at my hairstylist Saturday morning, and as a consequence I have a truly awesome haircut. I've been with her since before she was charging anything, and now I have to seriously budget to go to her and give her the tip she deserves, but... she remembers me, and I love being able to go in, say, "I'm bored! Do something fun!" and end up with a grown-out asymmetrical undercut (a "disconnection" she calls it) that totally shows off my blue halo, looks punked-up when I wear it up, and can be worn down quite conservatively depending on how I shove it around.

I got to bleach and dye Angus' hair GREEN. MY LIFE IS COMPLETE. GREENSTORM IS A VIRAL ENTITY.

I also have a truly awesome dress, and a stupendously girly pair of white heels that I can surprisingly walk in alright, but that I can't imagine wearing anywhere due to a simple lack of occasion. I also (gasp) got my legs waxed, so I was running on full-on girl mode during the masquerade. It's funny how taking all the hair off and putting on the heels gave me body image issues for awhile-- playing too close to the Barbie box certainly points out the fact that you're not in it, however pretty you may actually be. And, you know, sometimes the box is just too brightly embedded to see the pretty beside it.

Some good sex, snuggling, and food fixed that pretty quick. Cause, damn, my body is a supremely functional entity and I joy in having it.

I should have put a chicken in the oven an hour ago. I'll do that now. Love you guys. I'll have time after the roommate viewing this week to kick back and show off baby rats and share some drinks on my patio with you, I think. Mission Folk Music Festival is coming up, too. Life is joy.

And that entry jumped around like crazy. Just you wait till I have time to write about my garden- ginger mint, chocolate mint, peppermint, apple mint, greek oregano, garden oregano, golden oregano, marjoram, sage, lavender, so many kinds of tomato, begonias that burn your eyes with brightness, flowery things (geraniums! Heliotrope! Nicotiana! Maybe jasmine!), roses doing well, cucumbers starting to climb, my clematis firmy ensconced in my bamboo (and I have no idea what colour it'll be but it'll bloom soon) and my clematis armandii cuttings maybe having taken, okra up and running, basil doing wlel, baby lettuce more-or-less harvestable, arugula, watercress, the whirligig osteospermum on the coffee table, native vacciniums doing well, sorrel seeding, I swear there's nowhere to start but pictures. Where is that camera cable...?

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_greenwitch_/]

Glad the viewing went well :) Adrian and I wanted to see bouncing babies, but a 'noonish' picking-up-of-the-vaccum-cleaner became a multiple-hour yard cleanup help and dinner with the inlaws. When someone offers to haul gravel and dig weeds out of the yard, who are we to refuse? The garden is popping - though the tomatoes are relatively unmotivated....

Hugs!

[dunfalach.livejournal.com]

Saw a picture of your dress from the Masquerade, though somewhat cropped. It's gorgeous, and seemed to suit you well. Is it a qi pao, or a different design? The keyhole has me somewhat uncertain as to its qi pao-ness, and I dearly hope I'm remembering the proper spelling of that without looking it up.