Friday, August 23, 2002 :::
 

The Victorian Women Writers Project has some amazing materials online. I particularly enjoyed reading a pamphlet from 1868 on The Education and Employment of Women a very fine sociological look at the reality of women's economic situation. I can confidently say we've come a long way in achieving economic parity, but it makes the Bush administration's "Marriage Initiative" all the more ludicrous. It wasn't working in 1868, Mr. Bush, why would it work now?

::: posted by Evie at 10:03 AM

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Thursday, August 22, 2002 :::
 

In The Garden

When I arrived home this evening, there was a box on my front porch. It was only slightly larger than a shoebox, and I had no idea what it could possibly be. I had obviously forgotten about the order I had placed late last week, at nicholsgardennursery.com. So imagine my excitement when I realized it was in fact my tea bush!

I have been searching for a tea plant for months now. I'd googled and searched the web, high and low. I'd checked with the garden list I'm on, and no one had any suggestions. I joined some tea lists, because I'm interested in tea, and bingo! Within a day I received a digest with a question from a man looking for a tea plant, and an answer from a woman who knew where to get one. My fingers couldn't hit the keys fast enough to get me there, and I found the tea bush - Camellia Sinensis - and ordered it. And here it is. My tea plant, my very own. And I will love it, and pet it, and call it George...

But I digress.

Tea, which is a member of the Camellia family, does grow in temperate climates like mine (zone 7/8). It prefers mountainous environment, which I don't quite have, so I think it will be quite interesting to see how the plant does here. Different teas get their distinctive flavor from two things: the area in which they are grown, and the way the leaves are processed. I think I'll keep the plant in a large pot until next year, at which point I need to identify the sunniest part of the yard, and that's where it will live.

Happy-dance!

::: posted by Evie at 10:54 PM

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Wednesday, August 21, 2002 :::
 

Thank you, Bill.


---------------------------
Rex Wockner's Quote/Unquote
---------------------------
"America now spends probably $800 million a year ... on
fighting the AIDS epidemic worldwide. Our fair share would
be $2.5 billion, maybe a little more. So the difference of
where we are and where we need to be is less than two months
of the war in Afghanistan. We should be able to come up with
the money like this."

-- Bill Clinton speaking at the 14th International AIDS
Conference July 11 in Barcelona.

news from www.planetout.com

And some thoughtful insight on inter-generational relations: The Gay Generation Gap

::: posted by Evie at 8:46 AM

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Tuesday, August 20, 2002 :::
 

The end of summer is here. Blackberries are struggling to finish their ripening before autumn sets in permanently.

Yesterday morning was grey and foggy, cool and damp. The quintessential Northwest morning. It was lovely. I walked along the river at lunchtime, and it was cold enough I was grateful for my sweater. Last night it rained, for the first time in nearly two weeks. It was also lovely.

I am so tired of the sun, I am grateful to see it go.

::: posted by Evie at 9:57 AM

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Sunday, August 18, 2002 :::
 

This morning, I had a hair-by-cuisinart moment. Something about a new haircut simply tempts fate, leading to moments of terror when I confront my image in the mirror first thing in the morning. I should have known better. I should have avoided looking in the mirror when I entered the bathroom (closing my eyes seems an invitation to disaster). I did not, however, disgrace myself completely. I didn't scream. Well, not too loudly.

As I type this evening, my hair is purple. Black Cherry is actually what the box says I should call it. My son says it's purple. I told him I thought it was dark red with purplish highlights, though it could also be called dark purple with redish highlights. Any way you slice it, the color may be a bit much for my somewhat conservative work environment. Oh well. I do have to push the limits, don't I?

Tomorrow morning, I will avert my eyes from the mirror. The thought of purple hair looking like it was styled in a blender is just too much to face at 6 am.

Still considering what do do about previous journal. Being a big fan of the single-source concept, the idea of keeping multiple journals doesn't appeal to me at all. On the other hand, the community aspect of places like Livejournal is very appealing. That's part of the point of keeping a journal there, isn't it?

::: posted by Evie at 8:51 PM

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