WSLA Garden Corps

Today, the WASHINGTON STREET LIBERATION ARMY GARDEN CORPS was treated to a SEED-STARTING WORKSHOP conducted by master gardener, Melissa Link, at the WSLA COMMUNITY GARDEN. But let me back up a bit for the non-locals - the WASHINGTON STREET LIBERATION ARMY is a loose collective of Athenians who strive to help those in our community in need and to get people interested in community activism and involvement - and to generally have fun while doing so. The WSLA Garden Corps is the arm of the WSLA that takes care of the WSLA Community Garden, which is in Kimberly OHH, BOY's backyard. Now, I know you are probably thinking, "a community garden in someone's private backyard?"...well, yes. You see, while the community-at-large doesn't have direct access to the garden, the food grown in the garden is meant to benefit those in our community who are in need. The idea is that the food we grow can be donated to local charities, food banks, or organizations like FOOD NOT BOMBS. Or, produce can be sold at the local farmer's market and the proceeds can go towards doing good in the community (for more info info on the WSLA, go HERE or HERE)







Melissa showed us how to prepare REGULAR PLANTING SOIL by mixing in BLOOD MEAL and GREEN SAND and then binding it all together with a little bit of WATER. After the soil was mixed, we packed our seed containers which ranged anywhere from store-bought seedling pots to recycled egg cartons, tin cans, and even empty egg shells.

The idea was to have everyone "FOSTER PARENT" seeds culled from the WSLA seed collection and grow them at home, until they grew into healthy little seedlings. After 4 or 5 weeks, the seedlings would be transplanted into the garden beds at the community garden. Wish us luck! Missy and I planted different varieties of tomato, pepper, eggplant, and herbs...we also brought our own loofah and gourd seeds and planted those too...









We packed our finished seed beds into our big plastic bin and headed home...and then worked in our own garden for the rest of the afternoon...

Hello, Deer!

White plush deer I sewed from my Japanese craft book., originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

I love Japanese craft books. I love the cute patterns and the way the photographs are styled. I made this white deer from one of my pattern books.


This photo she looks like she is ready to leap into the sky!


I just love her eyes!

Weekend Wind-Down #92

We stopped at the EUROPEAN DELI the other day and stocked up on some European delicacies, like this Russian BLACK CURRANT JAM that came in this cool little jar shaped like a bear. We want to get a bunch of these and use them as terrariums...



...got this big bottle of SWEDISH MUSTARD. I like how totally unappealing that HOT DOG looks on the label...



...we got a bag of SPAETZLE, thinking that we'd use it to make mock-chicken noodle soup. We ended up "winging it" and made a different kind of noodle soup...



...I got this bag of MONSTER MUNCH "potato snack". They had KETCHUP-FLAVORED munch, but I totally chickened out. Next time, I promise...



FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Finally having a nice weekend and working on the yard...
RAOUL - Finally getting the front yard cleaned up.

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Trying to get insurance information...
RAOUL - Terrible head cold.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Watching K.D. Lang on T.V. at the health center!
RAOUL - Discussing K.D. Lang's sexual identity with the receptionist at the Travel Clinic

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "Tatties!"
RAOUL - "Tatties"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Waffles!
RAOUL - Noodle soup...

THREE THINGS ON YOUR TO-DO LIST FOR NEXT WEEK?
MISSY - Draw my comic, mail my orders, check the PO box.
RAOUL - Dub a bunch of tapes, buy some apples, clean out the vaccuum.

FAVORITE WINTER OLYMPIC SPORT EVENT?
MISSY - Ice skating.
RAOUL - Curling!

LEAST FAVORITE WINTER OLYMPIC SPORT EVENT?
MISSY - The skeleton because it makes me nervous...
RAOUL - The one where you ski and shoot rifles.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Alessi's Ark, Antenna.
RAOUL - The Smiths, Yo La Tengo, Luna, Grandaddy, Surfer Blood, Mad Decent podcast, "Riot Goin' On" boy/girl revolutionary mix cd.

Sketchbook Sunday

Tap dance girl patch , originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

Back in October my good pal Chris asked me to make a special handmade birthday gift for his girlfriend, Marie. I love Chris and Marie, so I worked on what Chris had in mind...


Marie has been taking tap dancing lessons, so Chris asked me to sew a bag for her tap shoes. She was just carrying them in her bag! We all know it is more fun to have a cute little bag or pouch to carry around your goodies in, huh?


So I drew a girl tap dancing for the bag. I made it into a little patch that I sewed on the bag. I used a cute heart print fabric and made a draw string bag for Marie's tap shoes! Ta da!

Popgun Recordings x Jigsaw Records

Things are still moving at a snail's pace over here at POPGUN HQ and it's taking me forever to get the POPGUN RECORDINGS BLOG/WEBSITE up and running. But maybe things really will be picking up soon - I just sent off a handful of tapes to JIGSAW RECORDS, a brand new little "record shop" owned and operated by CHRIS MAC of INDIEPAGES fame. The store is set to open on March 13th this year, and I'm hoping to send even more tapes before that happens. They'll also have an on-line presence, so you can order awesome indie pop from anywhere in the world, if you're unable to visit the shop in person. I've pulled out the Popgun copy masters and revved up the ol' dual-cassette player...for more info on Jigsaw Records check HERE.

Waffle Jam!

Missy has been wanting to get a WAFFLE IRON for the longest time, so I finally got her one for Valentine's Day! It's maybe not the most romantic gift I've given her, but I knew it was something she'd be super psyched about. She's been a waffle-making fiend ever since, experimenting with different recipes, flours, and toppings. The other day we stopped at THE EUROPEAN DELI here in town, and got this cute little bear-shaped jar of BLACK CURRANT JAM, from Russia (with love!). We used it as a topping on yesterday's waffles, and it came out looking something like fine CAVIAR...

Occupational Hazards 6 - Preparing For A Trip To China

The other day, Missy and I visited the TRAVEL CLINIC at the UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, ATHENS (UGA) to get vaccinations for our impending work trip to CHINA next month. I had already been to China twice , and Missy once, so there wasn't much that we needed except for the H1N1 "SWINE FLU" VACCINATION and a refill of CIPRO, in case we got a serious case of "MONTEZUMA'S REVENGE" - a.k.a., TRAVELLER'S DIARRHEA...





Every time we go to the Travel Clinic they give us this handout describing, in cringe-inducing detail, the worst-case-scenario version of how one might unluckily get Traveller's Diarrhea. It's pretty gross, but also pretty hilarious in the totally-over-the-top way they tell the story. Parts of the handout strike me as sort of racist, like this one line about the locals - "If they have diarrhea, as is frequently the case..." ...AS IS FREQUENTLY THE CASE? WTF? Haha! Is this scientifically proven? Like, Americans don't frequently get diarrhea, what with all our greasy fast food and terrible eating habits? C'mon, now. Like, our shit don't stink? I guarantee that you are more likely to "make an offering at the porcelain altar" after dinner at TACO BELL, than after having dinner at a nice hotel somewhere in the middle of China. Anyways, it's not like we're gonna be eating a buncha crazy stuff like ANDREW ZIMMERN.



The doctor administered Missy's Swine Flu vaccine via a painless nasal spray, which was great because Missy is terrified of syringes. I, with my head cold and stuffy nose, had to have the vaccine administered intravenously...

Nilla Eighty-One

Nilla climbed into the bookcase!, originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

Weekend Wind-Down #91

FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Building the snowman!
RAOUL - The snow was pretty cool (no pun intended).

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Getting chocolate all over my sweater.
RAOUL - Picking up a head cold from some germy kid.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Getting chocolate all over my sweater.
RAOUL - Trying to figure out how you got chocolate smeared all over your pillowcase.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "I'm not complainin', jus' explainin'!"
RAOUL - "I'm not complainin', jus' explainin'!"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - My homemade waffles!
RAOUL - Mock beef stew at The Grit.

FAVORITE CHARACTER ON "SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER"?
MISSY - Ashley the little sister - because she's borderline goth.
RAOUL - The kid with Down's Syndrome who hired the internet whore.

LEAST FAVORITE CHARACTER ON "SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER"?
MISSY - Ricky!
RAOUL - The new guidance counselor - she too wacky.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Alessi's Ark, Basia Bulat, Laura Marling.
RAOUL - Abe Vigoda, Best Coast, Chok Rock, Adam And The Ants, The Smiths, Vampire Weekend, Luna, Grandaddy, Grandmaster Flash & Furious Five.

Oreo's Adoption Anniversary - Year One

Oreo., originally uploaded by sugar-cookie.

Today it is one year ago since we found our favorite bunny, Oreo. It also happens to be Valentine's Day. You might want to go back and see how we found that bunny last year.


I love Oreo's look on this picture. It was nice last weekend, so she went out to play on our patio. She was so happy to jump and play that she did not want to come back inside when it was dark outside.


I love watching Oreo play. She does these jumps and wiggles in the air that are adorable. Sometimes she gets so excited, she runs really fast.

We are happy to say that Oreo is doing good after being with us for a year now! Happy Adoption Day, Oreo! We love you, bun! Now off to have some celebration carrot cake...!