Kat Johnston

Category: dandelions

  • EaHH: And the Australia Day Concert draws to a close.

    My god the last couple of days has just been incredible. 48 hours straight of musicians and performers from around the globe coming together at B&B’s to help raise money for the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal as part of EaHH!

    I was just blown away. At one point, the sim was packed out with 54 avatars (though I couldn’t be there for the whole thing – it might have been more!). I wish I could have been there for the whole thing. Stupid computers have a way of blowing up at the most inconvenient of times, don’t they?

    A very special and heartfelt thanks to Bundy Xue, who organized this incredible concert. Without her organizational skills, music connections, incredible hosting ability and passion for the cause, the Australia Day Concert could not have happened. A big thank-you also to the whole B&B’s crew – they were there the whole time, making sure that everyone was enjoying themselves and encouraging people to donate. Last of all, thank you to the musicians and performers who dedicated their time and their talent to raising money for the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal too.

    Thank you so much!

  • EaHH: Australia Day Concert is Underway!

    [image title=”EaHH: Australia Day Benefit Concert in Full Swing.” size=”large” id=”2498″ align=”center” linkto=”default” ]

    EaHH: Australia Day Benefit Concert in Full Swing.

    The Australia Day Flood Relief Benefit is in full swing, and I am happy beyond words… but I’m going to write a few words anyway. As I sit writing this, 54 people are on the sim, the donation booth is getting donations left, right and centre, and the act that just finished (Marky Helstein, Doug Lind in the real world) just blew my mind… my lord everyone, thank-you. Just thank-you.

    Make sure you pop by to the Australia Day Concert when you have a chance – you certainly won’t regret it!

  • Woof? Ahh, woof!

    Kat Johnston sketch – woof… umm… yeah, woof!

    So about a week ago, I tried roasted dandelion tea. I have rather a fondness for teas of most kinds, though I do tend to swerve away from the black teas. I prefer herbal, or green, though I am not adverse to an iced black fruit tea… does that even technically count as tea?

    Anyhow, I like dandelions… and I like tea. The two don’t mix. I don’t know if it was the roasting that was the issue, but I have never, ever tasted a worse tasting tea. I’ve tried a fair amount of tea.

    I’m not entirely sure whether to be disappointed, or glad. On the one hand, if dandelions don’t taste all that nice, I’m not sure that all that many people will be swooping onto my lawn to poach my dandelions, roast them and turn them into tea. On the other hand… well… I almost wish that it tasted as wonderful as they look and smell. I guess it just goes to show that some things are far more enjoyable alive and gorgeous than dead, shredded and shoved into a teensie tiny bag to be boiled in water.

    Now that I think about it, a lot of things are better off that way!

  • Lazy. That is what it is.

    Kat Johnston Sketch – little quickie dandelion-inspired ramblings on a piece of lined paper.

    This, my dears, is laziness. Pure laziness. This is ‘I don’t feel like drawing anything really today’ at its finest.

    I picked up a pen, and this is what we’ve got: dandelion-inspired type flowers, because I still have dandelions on the mind. In fact, I even went and plucked one of my childhood books off of the shelves to read one little story again since I was talking about dandelions on here yesterday. Its one that has stuck with me since I was a little kiddley-wink.

    I still have most of my childhood books – you can’t believe how fantastic it was to be able to collect them from my parent’s house a couple of years back and bring them to rest in my own little library, where they should be. I love them to utter bits. But, I’ve digressed… let me tell you a little about the story.

    It is called ‘Thirteen O’Clock’, by Enid Blyton and it tells the story of a little boy called Sandy who blows at a marvellous dandelion clock – puff, puff, puff! He counts the hours, as we all should do, and reaches the magical fae hour of thirteen o’clock (no, not military time, a magical little hour that lies between twelve and one – happens only once in a blue moon, you know). With that, his adventure begins – the regular sort of stuff of Enid Blyton fairy tale… you know, witches and pixies and magic brooms and morals which aren’t so subtle when you look at it twice.

    I loved those stories as a child: I still do. I go back and actually read the books I read as a kid. Although the language is more simple than what I might read on a day to day basis, my lord, they are still great stories. The incredible visions that can be bought to mind with just a few words, their ability to spark the imagination, to make you remember that despite the fact that you still have to find a way to pay the bills next week there is still wonder in the world… I just love it.

    Now, this is not the only reason that I like dandelions… but it is one of them. Ever since first reading that story, I have picked dandelion clocks and puffed, puffed, puffed, counting off the hours, hoping that just that once… I might reach thirteen.

  • Vivid yellow dandelions… mmm, a dandelion daydream.

    Vivid yellow dandelions, a pure, pleasurable treat to the senses. A pox upon those who see this precious flower as a weed.

    So… the hubby reads the post of yesterday and disappears from the house for a few minutes. I wondered where he had gotten to. He really is a rather nice ogre, after all, all things considered. I peeked my head outside the front door to see what he was doing, only to find him pottering around on the lawn, snipping up the dandelions to make a little bouquet for me. He had to mow the lawn soon anyway, so he thought he might as well save them and give them to me to enjoy for a few days more instead of pulverizing them with the mower. Isn’t that sweet?

    So, rather than putting up a drawing today, I present to you a photo of some of the wonderful dandelions that adorned my front yard, scattered amongst the green. Still fresh, vivid in their pure, wonderful yellowness – a weed to some, visual and imaginative bliss to me. Van Gogh had his sunflowers, I have my dandelions. I love ’em to bits. I can probably tell you why, too, but perhaps that is a story for another day. Thank you for the dandelions, sweetie.

    I might go through the photos in a little bit and pick out the best, to put up on flickr. I’ll let you know if I do! Oh, and I’m adding a dandelions category too… its about time, really.

    Edit: No James, I really don’t want all your ogre babies. Pfft!