@avclub-b6e5391be8277308d0801a0be95ac706:disqus I couldn't agree more.  Lawns piss me off.  My front yard has gradually been turned into a farm in the seven years I've been in my house.  First we put in a raised-bed veggie garden, then 18 fruit trees, then a bank of raspberry canes.  What little grass is left is…

2013 is my Official Year of Doing, and because of all you fitness freaks around here I finally decided to add "getting into better shape" to my list of Things I'm Doing.  I've been fat, lazy, and out-of-shape literally my entire life, so starting Couch to 5K counts as one of the most out-of-character things I think…

I'm going to see Tomahawk twice next month.  Then in July I've got tickets to see Bonnie Prince Billy and then The Melvins.  Having never really been to a concert until last September, I'm trying to make up for lost time.

@LJo1:disqus Oooh, lilacs are so wonderful!  I got one for my mother a few Mothers Days ago, and while it's not dead, per se, it's also not really fully alive.  There's some optimism at Casa n Dick that it might get a flower this year, but we're not waiting hanging from ropes around our necks.

I know.  It's a little unnerving, actually.

Katamari Damacy is TIMELESS.

The first year I was in my house, we ended up with an enormous volunteer pumpkin patch by the front door, courtesy of the previous owner's Halloween decorations.  It's become tradition now for us to plant our pumpkins there, in the foundation plantings.  It actually works pretty well because the pumpkins end up…

I'd never had mezcal until going to Topolobampo on my Chicago vacation in March.  My sister and I were on a "drink our way through the entire city" cocktail tear, and the mezcal margaritas were the ones that jumped out at us from the menu.  We ordered a couple and our waiter all dubiously asked, "Uhh… do you like…

Yeah, the only one I knew both options for was Orville and Col. Sanders.  (Gotta go Orville on that one.  That bow tie!  RAWR!)

Yeah, the only one I knew both options for was Orville and Col. Sanders.  (Gotta go Orville on that one.  That bow tie!  RAWR!)

SQUEEEEE!  Those were my favorite, favorite, favorite books when I was 12-14.  I must have read them 10,000 times.  At least.  And that's my story.

@avclub-a452630477eb936fd36fc9a9542d4598:disqus , I'm hungry but really don't want to get up and walk all the way to the break room to microwave my lunch.  Could you take care of it for me?  Thanks.

You can't kill catmint!  Even if you wanted to, it would continue to live — nay, thrive.  Sounds like a perfect choice for experimenting with dividing, actually…

What a fantastic silver lining!

That chickpea stew sounds incredibly delish!

@LurkyMcLurkerson:disqus Ask, and ye shall receive!  This is another one of those things in life where the deliciousness seems completely out of proportion to the level of effort involved.  How can it be so easy and so crazy, crazy good??

I'll see your hipster and raise you the "hipster trends trickling down to the dudebro frat boys" guy I saw at a Melvins Lite concert last fall.  He was about 6'4", well built, looked like he could be an Ambercrombie & Fitch model, but had a handlebar mustache and was wearing a trucker hat with a handlebar mustache on…

I made a cocktail last week of smoked grapefruit, mint, cascabel-infused simple syrup, and mezcal.  It was insanely good, but completely knocked me on my ass.  Going forward, this is a weekend-only cocktail, not a "random Thursday night" one.

Your cactus flowers are gorgeous!  That's the one thing I miss about living in Arizona; I loved when the saguaros all looked like they were wearing old-lady swim caps.

Quitting Diet Coke was nearly impossible for me for years and years.  Then one day early last year I just woke up and thought, "I don't want to drink any more Diet Coke."  And now I've been Diet Coke sober for 15 months.  (I haven't quit caffeine, though — there's a moderate amount of tea drinking in my life.  It was…