Karma Laundrette

I follow a lot of design blogs. That's primarily what I follow on Tumblr and have on my Reader. (I don't do much fannish stuff on Tumblr, because it makes my head explode from all the spoilers and wank.) But back to gardening. A lot of architects think they know how to be landscape designers. A lot of landscape designers think they know about plants.

They don't. (typically) They know how to mix textures (types of leaf structures) and color to look like a Monet, but so what? In a month, your landscape will be dead. Or you'll have to have extensive work done on a regular basis by a mow and blow (that's what I call those cheesy lawn services that also don't know anything about plants except to cut things and blow them into bags.)

I have seen no less than four times THIS MORNING different design blogs show how wonderfully stark bamboo looks in someone's modernist side yard. Yep, it does. For about three weeks. Then that side yard will become a bamboo forest. Want to know why so many things are made from bamboo? Can you guess? Because it grows like a frickin' weed and you can't get rid of it. Yay for whoever figured out all of the uses for bamboo! (And oh, do I love my bamboo bed sheets. And stir fried bamboo. And my bamboo-fiber sweater. And my bamboo CUTTING BOARDS. Hey, I wonder if that's a sturdy grass... (bamboo is a grass! [rainbow: the more you know!])

( some common sense info so you can stop buying things that die. )

It makes me sad when I see things die and frustrated wannabe gardeners throwing in the towel after wasting a LOT of money. So here you go.
If I can think of anything else, I'll add it here. ( some more info for you. )

This is a sticky post on my livejournal, so feel free to comment with any questions. I'll do my best to answer you in a timely manner, and then this can be a catch-all for anyone strolling by. :)

I am in the depths of the teen years now. I don't know how I'm going to make it until they are out of my house and safely in college/military school/prison. Any are options at this point. I'm constantly on the lookout for eyeballs on the floor because SURELY that level of eye rolling can't be helping those ligaments keep them in the sockets. The Mr. has no clue how to deal with this rash of OH MY GOD YOU ARE SO MEEEEAAAAAN/Get out get out GET OUT! because he grew up in a sterile lab where no one spoke. "Pick your battles" has been a steady conversation in the quiet of our bedroom. That and "is that the hill you want to die on? Put the silverware away? REALLY?"

The biggest issue is that my son has learned to express anger. Which means loads of shouting and "Damn it! I'm sorry I said damn it, but damn it, mom!" and that's usually directed at his little sister, Emily. Emily is entering those horrible girl years, the 8 - 10 year old sneaky snotty stage. Every girl goes through it. Every one of us, even if you think you didn't, you did. It's filled with "I am so wounded by what you're saying to me!" horror-face and then causing people to continue to say those wounding things to you by your sneaky/snotty behavior. When you're the youngest in the house, it's typically the most amplified in you as well.

So. I have come upon what I think is a brilliant solution. When the two of them fight, say they hate each other, try and get the other in trouble, any sort of negative behavior, the opposite child will go into the offender's room, select one precious item to be brought to me. I will then keep said item in a box in my closet until they do something kind for one another. It is going to drive them CRAZY to have their personal space invaded, which will just lead me to saying, "Well, I guess you shouldn't have blah blah, then, huh?"

Or I could ignore them all and drink the next four- five years away, it's pretty iffy most days.

Now for kimono-making pics! Warning: I used a shiny patterned fabric, so it might be difficult to see the detail, but the beautiful thing about kimonos is how straight forward they are. After all, everyone from peasants to the gentry made and wore them for thousands of years, that stuff has been pared down to the most efficient method. On with the show!

( Loads of pictures from a white girl co-opting another culture )

Sure they do. Or at least complete strangers feel the need to tell me a) what's wrong with me b) where I can go [to hell] or c) what I can do to myself.

For the past, oh, three or four years on my LJ I've had a phenomenon that I've not really seen happen on other people's journals. It started off with me making a post about something I loved, and I'd get multiple comments from people I'm not really close to (not even internet close) telling me how gross that something is, etc. And it's not that people can't have opinions that differ from mine, it's this: why do you think I give a shit about your differing opinion? and why do you feel compelled to make a stranger aware of your position on said topic, especially when that stranger is clearly happy about said topic?

I'm not talking about a post on race where it's possible that I would want to hear someone's thoughts on yaoi. I'm talking about me posting about a TV character. Or food that I like. Or something I didn't like because it's my JOURNAL. That's where you record your thoughts, yes? Now, I want you to imagine a post you've made in the past where you're really excited about something and you note it on your LJ. Now, picture a group of strangers coming over and pissing on that, calling you names, or generally trying to put you down. I get that a lot. Every month, for sure, sometimes more often. (12 times this past week, incidentally. RUDE comments, not "Eh, that wasn't my cup of tea.")

I've tried to figure out why there's such a breach in manners in my LJ, and I think I've figured it out: because we're really loosey goosey over here (we = me and my dudes) and it's a very chatty blog (people strike up convos in the comments, which I'm totally cool with, by the way) I think there's an idea that this is a community LJ. Guess what? It's not. It's my personal journal. Shocking, I know. I also think there's a lot of folks that pop up that don't really have a lot of understanding of the nuances of human interaction. As the mother of a child with a social disorder, allow me to put some more bullet points out there for your (not you, you, but for you. you know who you are*) edification. [Previous posts of Dos and Don't s]

( How to Win Friends And Influence People On The Innertubes )

I think my all time fave was from this weekend, where someone linked me to a drug and alcohol rehab clinic on a post where I thanked a friend for sending me a gift. Bless. Final thought: if you are an asshat in my journal, you have given me the right to say what I think about YOU. Do you really want to give me that power?

And for those of you who pop up and have commentary, this doesn't apply to you lovelies. I always welcome lurkers, commenters, conversations. I'm talking about capslocked "UR SUCH A BITCA THEY ARE IN LUUUURVE ZOMG I WILL KILL YER BABY" comments. Or "Gross, how can you like Connor on Angel: The Series? He's gross." F you, and take that crap to your own place, thank you.

~The Management

Such a great day today. Cold, blowy, icy... Turned into sunny and cold and hot chocolate wanting. Always of the good. Got many things squared away for Christmas, got my tree up and purdy (I'm not a believer, but I love the decorations of Christmas), and best of all:

HAPPY MAIL DAY!! Got a postcard from dovil with a wistful and at peace Kiwi holding his lover, er, sheep around the neck. Such girly and clear handwriting you have, my dear!

Got a CD of music from anelith with lovely Celtic and Bluegrass selections! I have to reboot my PC, then it is going straight in! (Apparently you are supposed to reboot more often than once a month. Huh.)

I got silly earlier (no, me? Shocking, isn't it.) and wrote a pamphlet for broaching taboo topics with family and friends. To avoid bitch slapping, don't you know. And thanks to sdwolfpup, I cannot get "Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring Banana Phone!" out of my head, but Emily is tickled by it, so it has been on a constant loop for most of the afternoon.

CDs going out tonight! I'll post the playlists later!

( How to Talk Taboo, By Stoney )