Kristi Wachter.com

San Francisco has a composting program, but I could never tell the criteria for getting a compost bin set up in apartment buildings.

As of this week, to my utter delight, there's a compost collection bin in the garbage room and a fabulous little breadbox-sized box in the apartment.

The garbage company thoughtfully provided a starter box of biodegradable plastic bags to line it.

Having a few days off around the 4th has really been a treat.

Yesterday, feeling like I had a bit of spare time to spend on something I'd enjoy, I sat down to restring my acoustic guitar.

Karen's Weekend Assignment this week asks about something beautiful.

Karen's Weekend Assignment this week asks about favorite types of books. My favorite genre at the moment is extremely specific:

John McPhee books.

Ink runs from the corners of my mouth.
There is no happiness like mine.
I have been eating poetry.

- Mark Strand

There are a lot of great book recommendation threads on Ask Metafilter, and I have a long list of books highlighted there that sounded interesting. The Control of Nature came up in two or three threads, so I requested it from the library.

Late last night, I got to see the Dog Star.

There was this bright, twinkly object in the sky. It's hard to see the stars sometimes; the fog and the city lights hide them.

But this light was clear - and lovely.

I got my binoculars and stood watching it for a while. I was amazed that such a rainbow could appear in a tiny point.

Thanks to Stellarium, I was able to learn that it was Sirius. (Venus and Regulus were visible, too, a bit further east.)

It was lovely - a moment I want to hang on to, a beauty I want to keep.