free massage and tea...

Free massage at the tea shop. I stopped into the tea shop to talk to Sarah, the proprietor, about providing free chair massage at her tea shop for Green Streets (It's the last Friday of every month when people are encouraged to wear green and travel green and get free stuff. Check out portlandgreenstreets.org). She liked the idea, and I will be there on Friday from 3-4pm at the very least. Probably a little earlier, and a little later too. As I was leaving she said, "Nice to meet you...I haven't met you before, have I?" I think she asked that because I sort of acted like I knew her. I have a way of doing that - acting like I know things that I don't. It's sometimes confusing to people when they don't know me well. Especially if they are teaching me how to do something, or telling me about something new. I nod and say, "Yeah", and, "Un hunh," as if I know all about it, but really I just mean, "Yeah, uh hunh, I get what you're talking about".

I think I probably got it from my mom. She says that she is a know-it-all too. The funny thing is that when you get right down to it, there's not much I know-it-all about. I don't really consider myself an expert on anything. Yet somehow, I seem to think I should. Know it all, that is. This morning I said to Ben that it was my first time doing something, and I should at least be able to do it right...it being my first time. After I said it I realized that didn't make any sense, really. If it's my first time, it should be OK to make a mistake. I guess I must have gotten programmed wrong. For me, first times are the place to make a good impression, not to mess things up. The most ironical thing is the actual place I was trying to make a good impression: an online spiritual inquiry group. I'm pretty sure God doesn't care if I send in my responses in the proper form or not. In fact, God would probably prefer I screw it all up and get humble instead. And then figure out why the hell I'm so attached to being right and knowing-it-all.

I gave two great massages today, and then I almost cooked my mesculin seeds. They are planted in a styrofoam cooler and I had put a piece of clear plastic over them last night to protect them from frost. In the morning I thought, "Hmm, might as well give them a little boost." I left the plastic on and when I came back a couple of hours later, there was steam coming out of the soil! OOPS. Maybe a little too much of a boost. Hopefully they survived their steaming, and they will be poking their heads up soon.

I have some cucumber plants in pots, now. I feel like I can call them plants cause they have little crinkly leaves starting - the first set of REAL leaves. And I have some arugula and basil seedlings too! I'm heeding my gardening book's advice and am only focusing on planting things that I really love to eat. Arugula, basil, cukes. Peas soon, too. I have recently been on a green kick. I've started wearing this color green, wait, I think it may even be chartreuse...is that possible?? Anyway, I've got three different green coats and a green hat, and today I used green chalk, and last night I made a green sauce for the pasta, and a green salad.

"It's not that easy being green;
Having to spend each day the color of the leaves.
When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold...
or something much more colorful like that.

It's not easy being green.
It seems you blend in with so many other ord'nary things.
And people tend to pass you over 'cause you're
not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water or stars in the sky.

But green's the color of Spring.
And green can be cool and friendly-like.
And green can be big like an ocean, or important like a mountain,or tall like a tree.

When green is all there is to be
It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why?
Wonder, I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful!
And I think it's what I want to be."
-Kermit the Frog