one of the apparently unadvertised perks about southern california is the region's black ant problem. ants have invaded my living space, freaking me out and amusing my cat as well as hunting down his cat food. a quick web search for natural ant removal methods (i've got a cat living here) turned up several interesting suggestions and lots of southern californian ant complaints (i guess i'm not alone).
so far i've got the cat food stored in air-tight ziploc bags and plastic tupperware containers, i created a little water moat around the dry cat food dish to drown any plucky hungry ants, and have sprinkled cinnamon and whole cloves on their highway. if that doesn't work i'm going to try whole bay leaves and peppermint essential oil. an added bonus is the wonderful aromatherapy which goes a long way towards soothing my irritation at these annoying pests.
as soon as i halt the ant traffic i'll be calking up the cracks of my baseboards like a mad woman. of course, i will be getting some high-grade ant poison to spray the outside of the house - the likely cause of the infestation. environmental ethics only go so far with @#*% ants!
12/30/2004 01:51:00 AM
is it just me or are stockings practically the best part about christmas gifts? i love all the little surprises, trinkets, cheap toys, candy and goodies stuffed inside. i always open mine slowly, savoring each little gift.
12/28/2004 05:04:00 PM
"Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings,not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory unannounced, stray dogs that amble in, sniff around a bit and simply never leave. Our lives are measured by these"- SUSAN B ANTHONY (1820-1906)
i sent this quote to a friend in his birthday card but it applies to me as well considering i just celebrated my 29th birthday and was feeling the weight of that milestone. i really, really don't feel almost-30.
i hope everyone is enjoying the chaotic blessings of family this season.
12/22/2004 01:16:00 AMi heart geeks. while browsing the used cd collection at penny lane, a local indie music and dvd store (you can even rent from their impressive cult film collection) i overheard two boys (one of the cashiers and a regular customer) discussing the merits of bond films at great lengths. geeks so are cool.
12/13/2004 10:04:00 PMthings that i like about living in CA: super-fresh veggies for decent prices at the local market, sunsets, wide streets and fresh organic oranges (several different kinds) available by the bunch in my own backyard.
things that i think are less-fun about CA: higher than normal price for gas, shorter daylight hours (as compared to WA), oddly warm weather in december (today it reached a high of 80 degrees, what happened to seasons?), how spread apart LA is.
12/11/2004 10:13:00 PMi consider the fact that i didn't even apply sunscreen once in hawaii and didn't get a sunburn a huge accomplishment for my fair-skinned self. of course, the fact that i avoided the beach like the plague during sunlight hours probably helped.
12/04/2004 08:05:00 PM