The scene from about 15 minutes ago

[cupcake_goth]

Picture, if you will, me. Clad in black boots, pink & white striped tights, knee-length black bloomers trimmed with white eyelet lace, and a black MCR fitted t-shirt. And pink and black gardening gloves. Oh, and clutching a giant pair of hedge clippers.

You see, Audrey*, our giant shambling climbing rose bush that crouches in front of the house, had been enthusiastically reaching for the front stairs, the power lines, and anything else she could find. After nearly being entangled in her clutches coming home last night**, I decided Enough Was Enough, and stomped outside to trim her back.

In the pouring rain.

Have I mentioned gardening is not a skill of mine? Anyway, Audrey has now been trimmed, and I can now dink around the interwebs with a glow of having done a chore I dislike.

---

Last night I attended the White Wolf Club Succubus party at Heaven. Which, Back In The Day, was the Catwalk, one of THE goth/industrial clubs of Seattle. The party was a huge amount of fun! I was able to catch up with people I hadn't seen in AGES, dance a bit, and watch people twirl fire. Also, there was an open bar. With absinthe. I am one of those odd people who doesn't just drink absinthe for the Goth Cliché Points, but because I genuinely like the taste of it. Unless it's that dreadful Czech brand Hills, which tastes like gasoline mixed with NyQuil. Ew.



*Yes, this is a Little Shop Of Horrors reference. You aren't surprised by that, are you?

**The nearly being entangled in Audrey's grasping tendrils had nothing to do with the absinthe. Absolutely nothing.

Comments

[donnaricci.livejournal.com]

So... just some advice, take it or leave it. Cut the hell outta Audrey on Presidents Day. Every year. Whack her back to about 2-3' from the ground. Just straight across the top, just like that. She'll come back bigger and more beautiful every year if you do.

[woadwarrior.livejournal.com]

Rose bushes really do like to be treated this way.

[stroppy-baggage.livejournal.com]

Thing is we don't need her to get bigger. She grows at an astonishing rate.

[donnaricci.livejournal.com]

It won't make her bigger, just more "bouquet" like. Meaning instead of scraggly tendrils, she'll grow into more of a bush.

Roses can be quite fast growing and that's a great sign you have good soil. Just make sure to chop her back once yearly in Feb to ensure she stays disease free and NOT get too big.

[stroppy-baggage.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Okay, weather allowing we'll give it a shot.

[erischild.livejournal.com]

well, and the thing to remember is that roses only bloom on new growth. If you hack it back each year (straight hacks will work, there is a bit of a trick to it if you're ever interested) then you're giving the plant the opportunity to start from the ground up and bloom along the way, instead of having to reach farther and farther out into unstable territory with the scraggly branches.

If it's a climbing rose, it'll climb, if it's a bushy rose, it'll go bushy, but all of them should be pruned after they've gone completely dormant for the winter and before they start their spring growth. They are surprisingly sturdy, though you probably don't want to do any more pruning this year so they can form hips after blooming, which is what tells them to go to sleep. but really, I've had roses bloom all winter long here and I've ignored them diligently. They seem to like it here.

[shinotenshi02.livejournal.com]

Hello!

I'm a reader of Gothic Charm School! Have been for years, and am actually tickled that you have an LJ. I enjoy reading your entries too, as your writing style, as always, is very personable and informative while easy to read and FUN!

I also just finished the book, and as usual, I adore your work. Just wanted to say thank you, say hello, and let you know who this crazy person is. ^_^

Yay for chores done, also. I'm not a gardener either, but I have some lovely gargoyles I want to base a garden around...

[staxxy.livejournal.com]

Audrey tried to eat me both of the last times I was by, both in and out of the house. So no, it really wasn't the absinthe.

also... PICS DAMMIT.

[aka-paloma.livejournal.com]

*Yes, this is a Little Shop Of Horrors reference. You aren't surprised by that, are you?

LOL! Actually, I thought it might be an Audrey Rose reference.

[ouranophobe.livejournal.com]

The nearly being entangled in Audrey's grasping tendrils had nothing to do with the absinthe. Absolutely nothing.

mmhmm. The Reverend is smirking about the absinthe, btw. Remind me, at some point, to tell you about the absinthe that gets passed round the bonfires after our local rituals. Straight out of the bottle. -shudder-

On second thought, that's really about all there is to tell, beyond the fact that the bloke wot brings it every time calls it "AB-santh". -twitch-

Meanwhile, what donnaricci said. Chop Audrey almost completely down. I'd go even shorter than 3', more like 18"-2', but ymmv.

Oh, and give Audrey your coffee grounds. She'll thank you for it. -sagenod-

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

"AB-santh"? Oh dear.

[sarameg.livejournal.com]

I haven't come up with a name for the medusa of a bush I'm working on murdering out front. It tried to grab me, so I set upon it with a vengeance. But subtract the rain and the nice clothes, add in 90+ heat and humidity and holey shorts and purple gloves, and that was me not long ago.

And even so, I envy you Audrey. Thinking about asking my stoop neighbor if I can plant a climbing rose between our steps.

[sarameg.livejournal.com]

Hey, it doesn't have the same cachet as absinthe, but since I ran into in Prague alongside the green stuff, have you ever had becherovka?

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

I have! There's a restaurant in town that stocks it, so I was adventuresome one night and tried it. I really liked it, and it's on my list of Tasty Alcohol To Purchase once I am gainfully employed again.

[sarameg.livejournal.com]

It's ...herby! And cinnamony! Whenever we were sickly, the little old czech ladies told us to drink copious amounts. It's good with a tonic chaser. There was another weird herby liquor that was lovely, but I'm forgetting what it was called...

[zimon66]

*recent joiner of your journal*

I got a Audrey (lilac bush) too. With only so much room in the trash can, it's going to take me forever to tame the triffid.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

I have to forfeit any absinthe-related goth points, because, sadly, the stuff is ANISE flavored. Which, to my tastebuds, makes it undrinkable.

I suppose that leaves more for you!

[nightmrstallion.livejournal.com]

And you didn't take pictures of tackling the monstrous rose bush for our amusement?

I am aghast. Appaulled even.

[lilith925.livejournal.com]

Don't forget butt hurt too!

[duchess-webb.livejournal.com]

I named a mint plant of mine in the back yard "Audrey" as well for a similar situation. It was planted in a very large pot that had drain holes in the bottom. Well apparently the holes were far too large and the mint plant was attempting to make an escape under the pot into the dirt below. I learned of it's tendrils when I was rearranging the layout of my garden. It was soon transplanted to another pot with nearly non existent drain holes this time. ;)

[lilmartini.livejournal.com]

So is Heaven back to being a goth bar or was it just a special event? it's always good to have options when I decide to actually leave the house.

[ladymandrake.livejournal.com]

I sooooo wish my area had any kind of goth/industrial night life. The closest one to us is 3/4 hour-hour away depending on which direction we'd go.

I'm glad you conquered the amok rose bush and got rewarded.

mmm absinthe

[domestinatrix.livejournal.com]

As part of my Perfect Friday, marc17 served me a glass of absinthe mixed with actual ice water in an actual glass that was not only clean, but even the proper shape for absinthe. I'll never turn down absinthe under pretty much any circumstances -- I love the way it tastes and the way it affects me -- but this was especially good at the end of a week when licorice was one of the few things I consistently wanted to put in my mouth, very few things were cool and refreshing enough, and I was already feeling entirely loved and supported.