While we were away, our arugula plant really went to town. Good thing that after ten days of vacation eating we’re ready for a salad only diet for awhile.

And this little friend was waiting to say welcome home as well.

Hard to believe its already September. Not sure I’m ready to say goodbye to summer, but the thought of cozy sweaters and scarves is a bit appealing (although not in this hot weather). A new soundtrack is posted for you for this month in the right column (all legal, free mp3 downloads). Super excited about new Black Mountain and Black Angels!

RICHARD SWIFT AND DAMIEN JURARDO – crazy like a fox
THE BLACK ANGELS – telephone blues
BLACK MOUNTAIN – the hair song
OF MONTREAL – coquette coquette
LAETITIA SADIER – one million year tri
ARAB STRAP – the first big weekend
AUTOLUX – supertoys
MARISSA NADLER – daisy where did you go?
CHAYENNE MARIE MIZE – best
THE EXTRA LENS – only existing footage

We got this little fig tree as a gift back in the spring. Although some naughty squirrels have pulled off the fruit since this photo was taken, it’s growing like gangbusters and I’m hopeful that we’ll get to harvest something from it one day. I think fresh figs from our own tree would be so fun! Must. Defeat. Squirrels. Maybe some chicken wire?

We just got back from some travels over the long weekend we had in Canada. I can’t believe the summer is already half over! But since it’s unavoidable to acknowledge that it is now August, there’s a new craft soundtrack (of legal, free mp3s) in the right column. Enjoy!

BLACK MOUNTAIN – old fangs
DEERHUNTER – revival
THE CLIENTELLE – gerry
LOWER DENS – tealights
SHARON VAN ETTEN – consolation prize
SONNY AND THE SUNSETS – hypnotist
TOM ZE – sincope jaobim
DEAN & BRITTA – not a young man anymore
THE VASELINES – i hate the 1980s
BEST COAST – boyfriend

Hope you’re having a lovely weekend – whether you’re celebrating Canada Day, 4th of July, or just the start of summer! We’ve got a new soundtrack to get your weekend off to a good start, with these legal mp3 download links in the right hand column.

SPOON – mountain to sound
THE THERMALS – i don’t believe you
WOLF PARADE – ghost pressure
GUIDED BY VOICES – i’ll replace you with machines
WILD NOTHING – summer holiday
HERE WE GO MAGIC – casual
WOODS – i’m not gone
HARVEY GIRLS – smile like gwynplaine
APOLLO GHOSTS – coka cola admen
LIZ PHAIR – f–k and run

And some obligatory summer green tomato photos. Can’t wait until they’re ready to pick off and eat!

Some of our wee tomato crop. We stuck with cherry tomatoes and romas this year – less chance for the squirrels to get them before they ripen. Keeping our fingers crossed.

This month’s soundtrack now posted, check it out in the right hand column! (all legal, free mp3s!)
THE STROKES – last night
AIR WAVES – sweetness
WOLF PARADE – what did my lover say
NINA NASTASIA – this is how it is
BONNIE PRINCE BILLY – love in the hot afternoon
DAMIEN JURARDO – cloudy shoes
DAMON AND NAIOMI – in the sun
DESTROYER – its gonna take an airplane
DEAN AND BRITTA – making me smile
MOUNTAIN GOATS – papagallo

New craft soundtrack to listen to this month is up in the right-side column (legal, mp3 downloads for you to enjoy!). I’m pretty much in love with this new Beach House song, and I’m also finding the Sonny and the Sunsets single to be pretty fun.

Songs for May:

HARLEM – gay human bones
DAMIEN JURARDO – arkansas
THE DUM DUM GIRLS – jail la la
SONNY AND THE SUNSETS – too young to burn
PERNICE BROTHERS – jaqueline susann
SPOON – that’s the way we get by
THE BOOKS – beautiful people
COCOROSIE – lemonade
BEACH HOUSE – zebra
THE NATIONAL – afraid of everyone

With all this unusually warm weather we’ve been having, things are really starting to pop up in the garden. It still seems a bit wrong to me that it’s this warm in the first week of April (climate change anyone?) but I have to admit I’m enjoying it!

I thought that my arch nemesis, the squirrel that lives in our tree, had dug up and eaten all the bulbs I planted last fall, but it seems that he missed a few which is a nice surprise.

In honour of April, I’ve put up a new craft soundtrack for you to listen to (all legal mp3 downloads) in the right column. It took me a while to warm up to the She & Him thing, but now I’m totally into it just in time for the release of Volume 2 and a Toronto tour stop!

The other songs this month are:
SHE AND HIM – thieves
NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL – holland 1945
APOLLO GHOSTS – things you go through
BELLE AND SEBASTIAN – funny little frog
DAMON AND NAOMI – eta
THE NATIONAL – bloodbuzz ohio
THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART – come saturday
MICHAEL YONKERS – lovely gold
SONNY AND THE SUNSETS – death cream
M WARD – rave on

I am not usually into travel souvenirs in the traditional sense – no trinkets or postcards because they just end up collecting dust somewhere. I like to think of photos as the best way to memorialize a trip. But we were on the beach and kept picking up cool shells and pieces of coral that washed up at low tide. At first I just picked them up to look and tossed them back, but then I thought keeping a few couldn’t hurt and soon I had a whole pocketful. I think they’ll look nice in a jar on my desk, and they also make good objects to fiddle with because of all the textures.

I’ve uploaded the new craft soundtrack for March – there’s some cool new stuff this month and all legal mp3 downloads for your listening enjoyment!

A very nice friend of mine brought me this pot of daffodils – just what’s needed to bring a bit of spring time into the house, even if it is a bit premature. I had read elsewhere that forced bulbs won’t bloom again because they’re so confused, but my friend said if you plant them in the garden they might come up again in the fall. Thoughts?

Also, Ian’s made us a new craft soundtrack which I’ve just put up (all legal mp3 downloads). There’s some good stuff there  to keep you rockin out through the February blahs.

I used to think February was the worst month, but since my new policy is to take a trip somewhere warm every February, January has really taken its place as the longest, hardest month to get through. And let me tell you, January is really working hard to live up to its new reputation this year with nasty cold weather and wicked wind chill. One day last week the weather forecast said ‘snow grains’. What the heck is snow grains? Whatever it is, it’s cold, and seems like a good reason to stay curled up on the couch for at least six weeks….. but at least we can listen to nice music while we’re hiding indoors, I’ve put a new soundtrack up in the right column (all legal mp3 downloads, as usual).

Ian was kind enough to make us a new craft soundtrack to listen to this month, all legal and free mp3s, as always. No christmas songs though, I figured you’d get enough of those already. But something nice to listen to while you do your holiday baking or crafting, which I am starting to do now. For awhile I was in denial that it was even getting close to December, but then I realized that just because I was in denial didn’t mean it wasn’t still happening and I’d better get myself organized. So now I’m playing catch up, with too many christmas cards to write, cookies to bake, gifts to sew and too little time left (same as every year!)