New Years

I like transitions. For some reason new years and birthdays fill me with the same type of hope and wonder. I believe that all things are remade. For a couple days I believe in omens. Two years ago I posted about how the moon would be strange that new year. I joked about omens. Now I'm more of a believer. Two days later I broke my ankle, an injury that will continue to impact me for the rest of my life. Tomorrow I'll look for omens that will signal how the new year will go. Today was a beautiful way to end a year.

I had amazing day with the love of my life. Jeff and I relived the old days by waking up and suddenly deciding to go out of town. We used to take spur of the moment trips all the time. The plan was that we would hit the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge to do some birding and hiking (for me). Then take the back roads to Tanger Outlet Mall and to Iowa City for dinner (for him). Before we could get out towards Neal Smith, Jeff said that we had to take a detour. He wouldn't tell me where. I had to wait to find out. I didn't have long.

Every bird you see here is an eagle (some juvenile, some mature)

There is a lake between Des Moines and Ankeny where we had seen a ton of American Coots a couple summers ago. We headed out there, not for the coots this time, but for eagles. There were hundreds of bald eagles spread throughout the trees around the lake. We had the camera and tripod and were able to take some pictures. I hadn't seen this many bald eagles since our trip out to Rock Island. And the weather was perfect for viewing. If I was looking for an omen of a good year ahead, this was it. That many eagles in one place, and right along the road, was incredible.

After some time (and way too many pictures) we hopped into the car to go out to Neal Smith. We're blessed to have this fantastic refuge so close. Neal Smith has been working for years to bring back the prairie to Iowa, something that had been nearly eradicated by development. Jeff and I hiked the long trail at the refuge because it takes us right down next to the enclosure where the buffalo roam. We were rewarded with a huge herd. And some good position for pictures. With the tripod I could take some nice close-ups.

After Neal Smith, there were back roads drives, tons of shopping (I picked up some books and a really nice new robe). Then we headed to Steak N Shake for dinner. Neither Jeff nor I had eaten today so this hit the spot. Steak N Shake is a guilty pleasure. We don't have one in Des Moines so it seems more like a treat. Then we headed home talking the whole way. It was a fantastic day. And a nice way to end 2011. I had a ugly piece of mail (a rejection letter) but I'm trying not to let that damper the day. Now to see what 2012 has to offer. Hopefully plenty of days like this. Happy New Year all.

Words Create Worlds

I've mentioned before that I love book art, art based on books. This stunning creation is one of the best examples I've ever seen. This was created as part of an ad series for Anagram Bookshop in Prague, called Words Create Worlds. The image was created by Kaspan Company. I'm not sure how much of this is digitally created and how much of it is paper sculpture. Either way, the idea behind it makes me giddy.

Edit: Shortly after putting this up I thought to link to Anagram Bookshop only to find that it closed at the end of last year. :-(

My Own Starry Night

I think I've found my writers retreat. I found this picture on Lovely Listing and fell in love with the set up. I imagine that there is a desk across from the sink. I imagine myself spending the evening writing or reading at that desk, with a cup of tea or coffee. And when I got tired, I would climb up the ladder into my own personal starry night. My own private retreat. And everyone needs a room of their own.

Holiday Rush Winding Down

I hope everyone is having a fantastic holiday season. I hope you have spent time with family, relaxed, eaten too much, played lots, and enjoyed all the little beauties of the season. I'm enjoying that the holiday rush is over and this week is really all about relaxing. I have three more days of work this week but it's been quiet and I'm using the time to do some catch-up. Nothing seems rushed at work. Heck, what am I talking about, no one seems to be at work. 

The weather is downright glorious. We are seeing forty degree days. New Years Eve they are predicting mid-fifties. We had a sprinkling of rain yesterday. I can walk outside in a sweatshirt and haven't had to wear my extra-warm wool socks in weeks. Normally this time of year we have a couple inches of snow on the ground and we consider ourselves lucky if the temperatures rise above freezing. I know a ton of people that bemoaned the lack of a white Christmas. I practically danced through the brown grass with my sack of presents on my back. I don't need icicles to feel the holiday spirit. 

I generally dislike the rush leading up to the holidays but this week might have to be one of my favorite times of the year. The week between Christmas and New Years is like an extended holiday, even with a bit of work thrown in. The frantic shopping, wrapping, baking, addressing... is done. Now it is time to just sit back and enjoy a slow relaxed week. I've been reading like crazy. I've finished three books on the last couple days. I'm starting my fourth as soon as this is done. I'll stay up a little later than my standard 10:30 bedtime. I might be a tad more tired at work tomorrow but I probably won't have too much to stress me out. Did I mention I love this week? I hope you are having a good one as well. 

Repost for Christmas

I published this on December 24th, 2008. It still sums up my feelings about the holidays. Merry Christmas all! Happy Hanukkah! Sensational Saturnalia! and all the other holidays out there. May you be surrounded by friends, family, love, warmth, and light.

Any of my friends will tell you, because I've said it often myself, that I'm a recovering Catholic. I was raised Catholic, attending Catholic schools, and went to mass every week. (during school twice a week) At 16 I decided I wasn't going to church anymore. I just no longer believed. My mother persuaded me to continue until I was 18 and then she would never mention it again. I went until 18 and she has never said a word about it again. I love her for that.

So Christmas is an odd time for me. I love the festivities and the cheer of Christmas. I'm not huge on the commercial side of it but I do love wrapped gifts. I'm not a shopper but I actually like buying gifts for people. But the religous part of the whole holiday kind of escapes me. Over the years I've paid it less and less attention. I just love getting together with family and spending time.

So this year I'm focusing on what I do love about the season. Strangely it's the same thing that the pagans used to love about this time of year, the lengthening of days. Jeff and I joke that we are phototropic. We love the sun. And particularly love the warmth (Yes I still have no idea why I'm in the midwest in winter. Makes no sense to me). So the sun's return is a reason to celebrate. The ancient pagan religions of early Rome celebrated Saturnalia to honor Saturn, the god of sowing. The holiday was to bring about the return of the sun and the return of agriculture. A statue of Saturn, which was bound throughout the year was untied. It was a seven day festival (Dec 17-23) that included visiting family, gift-giving (particularly gifts of candles), and decorating. In Rome it was a week of sheer debauchery: feasting, drinking, dancing, gifts, and merry-making.

Over the decades the worship of Saturnalia changed to Sol Invictus (meaning Unconquered Sun) which was celebrated on December 25th, which is the first day the lengthening of days can be noticed. Many of the traditions of Saturnalia moved to this new holiday including gift giving, decorating the greenery, and candles. When Christians began to rise in power they wanted to find a day to celebrate Jesus's birth. Since no one knew exactly when that was, the early Christian leaders set it for December 25th. They figured that since people were already celebrating, then it would be simpler to add new (more Christian) traditions in. This worked, slowing ending Saturnalia and Sol Invictus, and bringing about the modern ideas of Christmas.

So this Christmas, as I celebrate with family and friends, it will be the return of the sun (son, hmmm) that I am thinking of. My idea is that we are either moving away from summer or towards it. Tomorrow I celebrate that we are visibly moving towards it. Merry Christmas all. And Happy Saturnalia.

Special Olympics Scarf

For the last couple years, Jeff and I (along with others in my knitting group) have been making scarves for the Special Olympics. The idea is that the scarves will be handed out to all the athletes at the opening ceremonies of the games and then they can take them home. When the program was conceived in four years ago, the call went out for 5,000 scarves. Knitters all over the US and world responded and donated over 60,000 scarves. A huge effort. The Special Olympics says what colors the scarves will be but the pattern is left up to the knitter. I've seen some really cool things done. One of the girls in the group did a double knit scarf with the alternating colors making blocks. Jeff is making one that will have the date imprinted into the scarf (I will have to post a picture, It's incredible).

And here is my scarf for the year. I like the red and blue far better than last year's blue and turquoise. I knit it lengthwise to create the stripes. I'm a slow knitter so I started it back at Thanksgiving and just finished it now. But I figured I'd share. I hope that it makes some child very happy. I need to do more knitting related charity. The ARL is always looking for knitted things for the animals. Soldiers are always in need of hats and gloves. Babies are always in need of caps. And the poor worldwide are always in need of warm woolen things (like mittens...these are a few of my favorite things). So I'm going to try to be more active in 2012 as a knitter for charity. I don't need everything I make and although I give away most of my knitting as gifts, more of that should be for those less fortunate.

Awesome Opera

Each year the Austrian town of Bregenz holds Bregenzer Festspiele, an opera festival. There are two stages for the event, an indoor theater that showcases lesser known works and a grand outdoor amphitheater on the lake for popular titles. While I haven't had the chance to see how amazing they performance is, I have had the opportunity to be stunned by the festival. The fantastic thing about Bregenzer Festspiele is the sets. Each year it seems that the festival attempts to outdo itself with another awesome set.

Designs like the one above, used for Tosca, have won international fame by appearing in the James Bond film "Quantum of Solace". I remember being awed by the scene in the film but to find out that this was a real theater was incredible. And then I saw the rest of the sets.

Above is one that was used for A Masked Ball by Verdi.

The above one, for Bizet's Carmen gives an idea of the setting for the stage and the huge audience. I can't imagine how incredible it has to be to see opera outdoors, on the lake.

The last one is from one of my favorite operas, Pucci's La Boheme. It was the first opera I ever saw, decades ago on TV. I loved the starving artist motif and the sad sweet tale of love. It was my introduction to opera and has lead to a lifelong love. I don't see the local operas every year but I try to go at least every other. And now I want to see the ones in Bregenz. I love good set work and it doesn't get any more dramatic or awe inspiring than this. For the history of the festival and the rest of the sets, click here.

Bears and Seals and Deer, Oh My

I need a cleansing post after my last one on Keystone. As you know I'm an animal lover and I love heartwarming animal stories. So many of the stories we normally hear in the news are bad for animals but these last couple weeks have been fantastic. There have been a ton of sweet wildlife stories in the news recently. From the bear that took a ride on the garbage truck in Vancouver. To the bear found in a New Jersey basement. Both were captured and released without any harm.

There was the recent story of a New Zealand woman who came home to find a baby fur seal napping in her living room. The seal had apparently crawled out of the sea, crossed a busy highway, into the yard, through a cat door, and up some stairs to find the living room. There it had made itself comfortable on one of the sofas for a little nap. The woman was obviously shocked but quickly fell in love with the seal. The NZ Department of Conservation was called and the seal was captured and released into the sea without harm.

But my favorite story from the week was the Alaska Quest Charters captain who found himself in an interested position when four deer swam to his boat in the middle of Taku Inlet and wanted to board. He was in the middle of a chartered cruise but still pulled each of the deer onto the vessel. He turned the boat back to the shore and when he landed the deer got up and wandered off the dock and into the woods. The youngest deer had some issues getting back up after the exhausting swim and was helped off the boat in a wheelbarrow. After a period of time it too ran off into the woods. The event actually happened in October of last year but it has just started making the internet rounds. My sister posted it to Facebook yesterday and I immediately had to steal it. I love those kind of stories. Like the story last year of a firefighter giving a koala water after an Australian blaze, these stories reaffirm my faith in humanity. I hope 2012 is filled with them.

Keystone

I don't normally get political. But I spent part of the day today listening to a politician talk about why we should build the Keystone Pipeline. They threw out all the classic reasons: jobs, income for companies and people, national security. When asked about why the president would put of the decision on the gigantic pipeline, he said something about how the environmentalists has lobbied him into waiting. Normally I would ignore it. But I hear the same arguments day in and day out. How creating jobs is far more important than worrying about the environment. How income seems to trump wilderness. It's one of the reasons that I hand over a small piece of my soul every day. My job helps bring these projects to life.

I don't believe that money trumps environment. I don't believe that the short term benefit we get now, outweighs the long-term damage we do. Thankfully there are others who feel the same. The Sierra Club posted these pictures from Garth Lenz, an award winning Canadian conservationist and photographer, who took them in Canada right around the area where the tar sand will be mined.

Above is the area where the mining would take place.

Above is the nearby area where tar sand mining is already taking place.

That is my reason. No amount of money is worth that. No local source of oil is worth that. I respect our president for waiting. I'm sad that we're even having the discussion.

Disney History

When it comes to childhoods, I know that mine was spoiled. I had amazing Christmases with piles of presents. I had a small children's books library that I only had to share with my brothers and sisters. I had two amazing parents who adored us and spent time with us. But when it comes to vacations, we were well past spoiled. We dragged my poor parents to 6 Flags, Busch Gardens, any amusement park we could find really. We spent time out West and down South. But our favorite (or at least mine) was going to Walt Disney World in Florida.

I think I've been to Disney World 6 or 7 times in my lifetime, most of them as part of family trips. One year Jeff and I went by ourselves but a majority of them were during my childhood. Even now I get the urge to go every three years or so. I am a Disney World fanatic. And it doesn't stop with just visiting. I read books about the design and engineering that went into the parks. I read about the history of the Disney Corporation, Disneyland, Disney World, and about Walt Disney himself. 

Recently I went through a bag of stuff that my parents had found in their house and packed up for me. Much of it was old school papers and things but I found a couple of books that I thought were fun. I found my Birnbaum's Guide to Disney World for both 1985 and 1993. I found some vacation guides I had picked up while in the parks back on the 1994 trip. It included information about the new MGM Studios. The 1985 book covered the newly opened EPCOT center. I found both of these hilarious. So much has changed for the parks since then. So much has been added or changed. 

But my favorite find was an old souvenir map that I had brought home from one of the trips. It shows the resort area, as it was at the time with some of the popular characters of the day. The funny part is that many of the character featured were 80s and 90s TV characters that were big then. The characters from DuckTales, Gummi Bears, TaleSpin, and Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers make an appearance along with Figment, the long defunct (but still beloved) character from Journey into Imagination. Many of the hotels and recreation areas picture above don't exist anymore. But the big change is the expansion. The park has spread and changed. New things have popped up all over. So even though I know the map is outdated I love it. I know the book I bought in 2007 will soon be outdated in the same way. At Disney World things change constantly. But it was nice to find this bit of history to remember the parks of my youth. And look forward to going back. 

Best Intentions

I made a list on Friday of things I was going to get done this weekend. I came home energized that night with the idea that I would be sitting on Sunday with every single task crossed off my list. I had the best intentions.

But not a single task was finished. Not a single chore was done. Heck I didn't even keep up with my online reading or blogs. Instead I've spent my weekend curled up knitting with Jeff or reading. I curled up in the house and read like books were disappearing tomorrow. I read three books this weekend. And I couldn't be happier. It has been a blissful weekend.

On Friday I started The City of Ember, a young adult novel about a town surrounded by darkness. For a long time the town had been supplied by endless storehouses and lit by gigantic floodlights on top of the buildings. But the storehouses are being exhausted and the lights are starting to flicker. Two brave young adults decide that they have to find a way to save their city and find a way to save the light. I put this book on par with The Hunger Games, which is pretty high praise. Those two books have kept me gripped from beginning to end. They both have strong characters and odd plots that I really got into. A good read.

I just finished the third installment of The Penderwick series. I don't normally read series. I generally have rules against doing so. I have boxes and bookcases filled with books waiting to be read. So I tend to avoid reading authors over and over. Particularly when they are talking about the same characters as before. The same way I hate sequels I hate series. But the Penderwicks are different. I read the first book years ago and feel completely in love with the sisters and their family. It is like reading Little Women over and over but with modern characters. And wonderful dialogue and plots. Jeannie Birdsall even throws in some fun Latin phrases to keep me entertained. I am completely in love with these books. They are stand alone books but I just can't pass up a new installment of the sister's adventures.

The last book I'll be doing a full review of later. I'm not ready to talk about it. Needless to say I read it straight through, only stopping for showers and dinner (and even sometimes not the latter). I grew up reading at the table and in the bathroom and stretched out on the floor and before bed. This weekend I've read in the morning and most of the evenings. I've gotten nothing done but I wouldn't trade these days for anything. What a wonderful time.

Poetry Friday

I've had picture books on the brain a lot recently, for a number of different reasons. Partly because I'm driving out tonight to pick up my favorite picture book of all time (The Library by Sarah Stewart and David Small) that I ordered from my local bookstore. Second because of my children's book blog. The third reason I hope to tell you about soon but I'm trying hard not to write or think about at the moment.

We also had our first real taste of snow yesterday and today I just want to hibernate. I was reminded last night how much I hate winter. When the snow starts to fly I just want to stay indoors, curl up under a blanket, read, sip cocoa, and hibernate. What better way to do that than with a poem about both picture books and winter.

Picture-Books in Winter
by Robert Louis Stevenson

Summer fading, winter comes—
Frosty mornings, tingling thumbs
Window robins, winter rooks,
And the picture story-books.

Water now is turned to stone
Nurse and I can walk upon;
Still we find the flowing brooks
In the picture story-books.

All the pretty things put by,
Wait upon the children's eye,
Sheep and shepherds, trees and crooks,
In the picture story-books.

We may see how all things are,
Seas and cities, near and far,
And the flying fairies' looks,
In the picture story-books.

How am I to sing your praise,
Happy chimney-corner days,
Sitting safe in nursery nooks,
Reading picture story-books?

Oasis Home

I found this image by Harrison Cady on Illustration Art, a blog I recently subscribed to. I love the image of the house as oasis in the middle of the city. As a hopeful gardener, the jungle surrounding the house is my idea of landscaping. The image is unlike a lot of Cady's work but I had to save it. And now share it.

Book image

I'm not really feeling like writing this week so instead I'll be posting images I like. That way you still get something new but I can take a bit of a break from writing. I found this one years ago and have had it sitting up on my desktop waiting to be posted. I like most of Cindy Grundsten's work but I love this image.

Talent

This morning a friend sent me a recording of himself playing and singing one of my favorite songs. It's "Delicate" by Damien Rice. He does a fantastic job. The guitar work is nearly perfect. And surprisingly he has a really great voice (only surprising because I've never heard him sing before). It brought a huge smile to my face and put the song in my head all morning. I've listened to it several times already and marveled at all the hidden talent I didn't know this friend had.

This same morning Jeff showed me the finished fingerless glove that he's been working on for a while now. He finished it late last night and it's a beautiful thing. He designed the pattern, worked in the tiniest softest yarn I could imagine. He managed to repair it when he dropped several critical stitches on his last round. He's recreated it several time, always persistent, and has come away with something that's really wonderful.

With both of these things I'm reminded how incredible a thing it is to share talents. I've smiled all day because of two people who were willing to share their talents with me. I tend to be a private, hidden person. I'm generally guarded with my passions and interests. But today I'm seeing how much joy I could offer by sharing more. By offering my services and talents. And maybe I could bring a smile to someone's face.

Needs list

I'm in an odd mood. It's not a particularly good one. So I have to post this image that I stole from a friend on facebook. Today it would be "peace". I might have to create one of these and post them up around me. A good reminder. And it brought me a bit of a smile.

Window Clings

I know that Halloween is long gone. In all honesty I can't really believe that November is almost over. Where did the fall go? I'm not yet ready for Christmas, despite the continual reminders that have been up in every store since the day after Halloween.

I've been saving the picture above to post on the blog. I found it on Lovely Listing the day after Halloween or so and just had to keep it. I don't normally put up window clings or do any major decorating for holidays. But these made me laugh. I would put up these clings. They're so whimsical and cute and odd. All the things I like.

It's images like this that make me think that I need to start a Pinterest account. A place that I could keep all the pictures that I want to save. Then I remember that's what the blog is for.

Home Again, Home Again

If you're wondering why I've been so quiet it's because I've been gone. Jeff and I left on Wednesday for St. Louis and just got back this evening. When we're out of town we only bring Jeff's computer, so I don't spend a lot of time online. Plus we were somewhat busy. You know...spending time with family. So no posts for most of the week. I was showing my blog to my mother-in-law and realized that I've only posted 100 times this year. Way too few. So I'll try to up the quantity. Quality...well...we'll see.

We drove down on Wednesday to spend the evening with Jeff's brother and his family. I spent a good chunk of the evening playing Hide and Seek with my nephew, and drinking wine and talking with my sister-in-law. It was a wonderful quiet night. The next day we spent most of the day with Jeff's younger brother's family and my in-laws watching the Lions again lose at football and playing with my new nephew. Then at dinnertime we headed over to Jeff's aunt's house for a rather spectacular feast. There were several cousins and their families and plenty of food and laughs. It was a wonderful evening. I was really full and Jeff was stuffed to bursting. We finished the night with more football and a glass of baileys to end the evening.

The next day was much quieter. I never go out for Black Friday and this year I had even less interest. The fact that shops are opening on Thursday now just makes me wonder about our values as a society. I wonder how long it will be before all stores are open on Thanksgiving. So needless to say, I was not heading out shopping on Friday. Instead we hung out with my in-laws for a very nice relaxing afternoon. I knit (I'm working on my scarf for the Special Olympics), helped cook (I have new recipe to share), and was generally lazy. That evening we headed back to the older brother's house for a dinner of appetizers, more wine than I care to admit, and board games. We played Apples to Apples and Discombobulation. I'm pretty sure everyone had a great time. At least there was a lot of laughing.

This morning we headed to a local restaurant for breakfast and then Jeff and I headed out on the road. It rained the whole way through Missouri. A cold continuous rain. But Jeff and I had some great conversations (as we always do in the car) and by the time we were home I was feeling energized. It was a fantastic weekend with family and fun. I only wish I had brought the camera. And now I'm excited to have some time at home. I'm ready to slow down.

Enslaved by Ducks

Years ago, when I bought my first bird-feeder, Jeff had argued against it. I had been hinting around that I wanted to buy one for quite a while. But each time I brought it up, Jeff would just say no. He didn't have anything particularly against birds or the feeding of them, but he was a little concerned that like my mother I would go a bit overboard in the care and feeding of them. My mother doesn't just feed the birds, she prepares grand buffets for them. But I finally bought my feeder and now Jeff can recognize many of the unique birds that visit our yard. I consider it a success.

Currently I'm happy with my one feeder and its constant visitors. But I could see myself tipping over into overfeeding, overcare. Similar to Bob Tarte's hilarious memoir Enslaved by Ducks, I could easily see animals taking over my life. I'd read Enslaved by Ducks years ago on a whim and had fallen in love with Bob's household. With parrots, doves, rabbits, cats, ducks, turkeys, geese... all running around his house, I found myself laughing at the chaos and energy that I had grown up with. We often had cats, dogs, rabbits, mice, and some poor injured bird in the house. Bob's story takes that to an extreme. These creatures were not just in his life, they had taken over his life.

This past weekend I sat down with Bob's next book Fowl Weather. I was again transported into that wonderful menagerie where animals of any kind find a home. But this is a book that offers equal parts poignancy and humor. Bob mixes stories of his father's death and mother's growing forgetfulness with the antics of his household animals. He talks about his fights with his Muscovy ducks in the same story as the death of his beloved parrot. The story of how one of his parrots bit the bunny's tail off is intermixed with stories of his mother's constantly mislaid/hidden purse, a growing sign of her Alzheimer's. And it's a very personal set of stories. Through all of them, the animals seem to provide a balm for the chaos of Bob's life, even when they contribute to them. The stories show off the craziness of keeping forty animals, some of which hate each other. But it also shows how animals can be more than just pets. They can be saviors. I love to read stories of animals lovers. I can't imagine a more wonderful house for animals to end up at. Read Enslaved by Ducks for humor, read Fowl Weather for compassion.

My Muse is Dead

Every afternoon, I arrive at my writing desk to find a headless Jane Austen waiting for me. You'd think that would shock me but I'm so used to it now that I just reunite Jane with her head and sit down to write. It's becoming something of a ritual. Reattach head, write. Kind of like a muse.

But I think I should explain. I'm a bit of an Austenite. I've read Pride and Prejudice more times than I can count, although I don't have shrine to Darcy the way some women do. I'm not saying he's not an incredible character, I'm just saying that he's FICTIONAL. But back to Austen. I've read all her books, including the ones that no one else seems to have read. Persuasion is one of my favorite books of all times. I own two copies of Sense and Sensibility. I love this woman's work.

So two Christmases ago, my Dad bought me a Jane Austen potbelly figurine (this was the best picture I could find and I'm too lazy to get the camera tonight). Potbellies are little figures that open up to show a small holder for treasures. It's a really tiny place so those treasures better be tiny. But Jane Austen doesn't hold anything. She just sits on my desk and reminds me how great writing, particularly witty writing, can be. Now Jane opens at the neck to reveal her secret treasure space (wow that sounds bad). Basically her head pops off. And every day the cat jumps up onto the window sill knocking poor Jane's head off. At least I hope that's what happens. It's either that or Jane is attempting to kill herself daily and I'm stopping her.

But every afternoon I walk up the stairs after work, settle into my chair, put the head back on Miss Austen, and pretend to write. I wonder what would happen if I didn't have to reattach her head. Would I not be able to write that day? Would I have to knock off the head to get the creative juices flowing? Does this little ritual make me odd? I'm betting the answer is yes. But ritual it has become. So my poor muse is dead. Every single day.

Creepy Cardinal

I have my computer set up so that my desktop photo changes every five minutes or so. The computer shuffles through all the pictures in my iPhoto library and displays them. It's actually a lot of fun to find old photos that I haven't seen in quite a while. Last week there was a dark image that popped up on the screen. I minimized and I have to admit that this photo of a cardinal kind of freaked me out. It must be the glowing eyes. Or the fact that it all looks fake. Not sure what it was, but I knew I wanted to share the image. I just find it creepy.

Optimism and Stupidity

I turned 35 today. Generally birthdays aren't a huge deal for me but for some reason this one is special. Turning 30 wasn't a big deal, but 25 and 29 were really hard. All of the birthdays between here and 30 haven't been anything special. But this birthday has been something different. I'm excited about this birthday. I've noticed that each year seems to get better. I'm at the age I always wanted to be. And now at 35 I really feel like things are going to begin for me. I'm stubbornly optimistic.

My day has been blissfully ordinary and I'm content with that. I had the day off as part of my odd work schedule so I slept in a little late. Jeff wished me Happy Birthday as he left to go to class. I stayed curled up under two blankets taking in the warmth. But I got up shortly after to make it to my dentist appointment. I don't normally schedule appointments like the dentist on my birthday but this was when he could get me in. And it feels like a new beginning. My mouth is clean and fresh and healthy (cavity-free!!) and I'm planning to make this year all about health. I plan to be lighter and healthier by my 36th birthday than I was this year.

I also plan to write more, and actually publish something during this year. As you can see I have high hopes for this year. 35 seems like a turning point, a crossroads if you will. And I'm determined that things will start going the right way. I set up my studio last night so all I have to do is show up each day and start writing. This afternoon as Jeff heads back to class I plan to head upstairs to write. I'm ready to have a little discipline in my life and hopefully the success will follow. Writing and walking will be my focus for the year. Did I mention I'm stupidly optimistic today?

I did though find some additional humility today. Jeff met me over at my favorite noodle place for a birthday lunch. We talked and ate our noodles and had a nice time. As we were leaving I reached in my pocket for my keys. They weren't there. I checked my coat pockets. I checked my purse. I checked everywhere again. No keys. As we got closer to the car I could hear it. It was still running. I had managed to leave my car in the parking lot, running and unlocked while I had lunch. I said a quick silent prayer to the gods of parking lots and thanked them for my car still being there. It could easily have been stolen. I should be kicking myself for my stupidity. Instead, today it just reaffirms my faith in humanity. Optimistic, I tell you. I'm just hoping that this wasn't a senior moment. I'm too young for those.

Harlech House

These are the gates of a private residence in Dublin, Ireland. If the inside of the house is as fantastic as these gates are, I want a tour. Or let's be honest, I just want to move in. I want to be guarded by dragons. I think the house is currently for sale but I don't have the $2.5 million or so that is the asking price. Still a girl can dream.

Daytripper

Last week at the library I picked up a graphic novel that had been mentioned as one of the best graphic stories for last year. I'm a huge fan of graphic novels but I tend to focus on the more unique stories. I seek out those novels that touch on unusual topics. Alison Bechdel's Fun Home and Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis were two that I've read in the last year and found fascinating. I had read a review of Daytripper by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba and knew I had to pick it up. If the review hadn't caught me, the cover would have (yes I judge books by their covers, also by their titles). Daytripper might be one of the most unique and interesting stories I've read in a while. It's an existential graphic novel with a twist.

Daytripper is all about death. In each chapter, the main character Bras is killed. In a each chapter there is a brief obituary about his life and each section of the book is at a different age. Normally he is killed at a particularly tragic moment, one of the great moments of his life. We see how his death affects others based on where he is in his life. The 11 year old boy receives a very different send-off than the 48 year old man. And through these obituaries (Bras himself is an obituary writer and an author), we get a further peek into his life. In each chapter he loses his life at a particularly poignant moment: after meeting the women of his dreams, traveling on a book tour, after the birth of his first son. But in each story we see the character progress as he accepts life and starts to live more fully.

I noticed that each death, at a later stage of his life, started to impact me more. The first story is all about how he can't write, how he's trying to live up to his very successful author father, how his life is falling apart. Although tragic, his death didn't impact me. Perhaps because they tried to show that Bras wasn't really living. With each story, I felt more and more for the character. His deaths seemed more tragic. A particularly heart-wrenching death was when his son was six and idealized his father. Bras is traveling and the story is of the tender moments between him and his family. And at the end, I cried. Not because he died, but because he lived. The story reminded me of all the living we have to do and we better get to it. I saw how the obituaries changed. In these chapters I got to watch an entire life, and multiple deaths. And each seemed worse. A great character, an inventive way to tell the story, and some incredible emotions. This one has to be one of the best graphic novels I've read. It will find a place on my bookshelf.

Library Longing

I went to an author's reading last night at one of the newly remodeled local libraries in town. I went early so I could wander at my leisure and check out the new structure of the library. I walked in and instantly started for the nonfiction section. It's become my favorite section lately. And I did what I always do. I wandered down each of the rows touching the spines and seeing what caught my eye. I picked up a couple of books that interested me. I know they have a card catalog on the computer but I prefer a serendipitous way of finding books.

During all of this time, I hardly saw another person. I wandered alone looking at books. And I was struck by how happy I was. I was at peace and contented. I couldn't think of a single place I would rather be or a single thing that I should be doing. And this morning I realized what that means. I was in my element. I was exactly where I should be. It doesn't have to be that library, or even one in this city. But I'm fated to be in a library. It is where I am the happiest. And that was a beautiful thing.

Musical Interlude

Like everything in my life, my musical tastes are made up of obsessions. I listen to everything I can by a particular artist for months on end until I find a new artist. For months I listened to nothing but Bishop Allen. I bought song after song and listened. Then I discovered Andrew Bird. I spent weeks finding new songs and reading Andrew's amazing lyrics. That oddly lead to a Great Big Sea phase along with The Pogues. Not sure how I got from Andrew Bird to celtic except to say that my mind works in mysterious ways. For the last couple of months it's been Joe Purdy and Damien Rice. And now I'm moving on.

When Jeff and I were up in Minneapolis this last time I got started talking to a friend of ours and he mentioned that I should listen to Lisa Hannigan. I thank him for that. I'd already heard Lisa's amazing voice on Damien Rice's albums. She started her career providing vocals for him. But I've been listening to her solo works and have fallen in love. The song I Don't Know has to be one of my favorite songs right now. I listen to it nonstop. I've picked up at least six of her songs now. I'm also enjoying Lisa's videos. Knots is a great song and a very interesting video. I think I like the video for Lille more than I like the song, although anything with a pop-up book is bound to have my attention.

But Lisa is really just starting out her solo career. With only two albums under her belt I actually ran through her music faster than most. So I'm sharing this time with Ray LaMontagne. I've been listening to Ray's work on and off for several years now. Only in the last month has it become a full blown obsession. Jeff recently caught me rocking out to You Are The Best Thing and was a tad worried about me. I guess I was breathing heavy and making some interesting faces. It's hard not to breath a little faster with Ray's voice in my ears. Gone Away From Me makes me sad and happy at the same time. I've only been through a quarter of his work so far but I'm sure I'll listen to most of the songs. I'll listen to both Lisa and Ray until I know most of their songs by heart. And then of course I'll move on. And my music collections just keeps growing. Thank god for iTunes points.

Ghosts of Halloween Past

I've been going through some of my old pictures recently. Be warned. I'll probably post some of the older ones here. I'm a photo junkie, although I don't end up taking a ton of them myself. But I love when people send me old family photos. One of the ones I had in my album was the one below. Believe it or not, that's me, ready to head out for a fun night of trick-or-treating (although I looked stoned on candy already or maybe it was the wallpaper). I can't imagine how old I was. I'm terrible at guessing.

When I was younger, I went out dressed up a lot as cowboys or pirates or monsters. I was almost drawn to those type of action oriented characters. I also went out as an animal frequently. I remember an owl costume, a lion costume, and cat ears. I was never (to my knowledge) a princess, a fairy, or rockstar. I didn't do a lot of traditionally female costumes.

 I've been having a discussion with a friend of mine about how difficult it is to find women's Halloween costumes that aren't a bit slutty. It seems like every costume is for sexy nurses, sexy cops, sexy ladybugs, sexy librarians (which I pull off in my daily life ;-) ), sexy witches... everything sexy. A witch becomes a sexy witch. So now if I were to dress up, I would probably go in a man's costume. No one wants to be thrust that deeply into my cleavage.

But I have gone out in more traditionally female costumes as these pictures prove. These were Halloween parties that my sister threw back when Jeff and I were first married. The first year is me in the flapper dress, one of my favorite costumes. Jeff went as Jacob Marley (I love a man in a literary reference costume). The second year I was lazy and went in a Renaissance costume we had. My friend Josh is with us as Dracula, looking rather dashing for the undead. So I guess there are some costumes out there that don't stop at the crotch or show off "huge tracts of land". Maybe there is help for next year's Halloween.

More Portents of Winter

They are predicting our first snowfall tonight. The beginning of November! This is way too early for a first snowfall. Our furnace hasn't even been turned on yet. I'm pretending that it will stay rain in the hope that this isn't actually the beginning of winter (In my mind, it is officially winter after the first snowfall). But even if it doesn't snow tonight, in my heart I know it's coming. I'm suddenly cold.

My second omen that winter is right around the corner is that I cracked open my first pomegranate this evening. Those shiny red fruit are my winter addiction. I tasted a couple of the seeds and they had an acidic aftertaste that wasn't great. I'm guessing it is still too early in the season. It was heavy but not really heavy enough to be fully ripe. But another reminder that the dread season is coming. Bleh!

Winter Omen

Just like Red-Wing Blackbirds signal the beginning of spring, Slate Colored Juncos are my first bird of winter. These migratory birds mean that winter is right around the corner. They have also been called "snow-birds". They normally arrive right before the snow arrives and don't leave until April.  Today I saw my first junco at my feeder. It is a portent of things to come. I'm not happy. I'm not ready for winter.

All Work and No Play...

Makes Cat bitter.

This week is the week from hell. I've had a month's worth of work dumped on me in the last two weeks. I have three days to get most of it done. And I have something (meetings, social events) every night of the week. I'm stressed and frazzled and have been working almost non-stop since 7 a.m. this morning. That was fourteen hours ago.

So I'm stepping back. Taking a moment to breathe. And growl into the blog. I don't mean to growl at you but somedays you just have to stand on the rooftops and curse. I hope you don't mind too much. I'll return to my regular insanity on the weekend.

Until then, here is a very young male deer that walked in front of our house last week at 3 o'clock in the afternoon along with his sister. It's rare to see them out during the day but even rarer to see them walk down the street like that. I found the encounter magical, although now I just hope that they found their way back to the woods okay.

Then I'm Happy and Sad For You

It's been an odd weekend. A really odd weekend. It's been a weekend of both extreme happiness and extreme sadness. I've laughed heartily and I've cried miserably, within hours of each other. I've had warm bear hugs that warmed my heart and I've had consolation hugs that offered comfort.

My weekend started on Friday much like so many of them do. I had taken a half-day so we could drive up to Minneapolis for a friend's birthday party. The half-day was more fortunate that I realized. At 11:30 my department was called into a meeting to say that our boss had been let go. Now this was not just a boss the way I've had bosses before. This was a friend. We were all in shock. Some of the department was going out for lunch, just to get out of the office. I called Jeff to see if he could pick me up a bit early. I sent my now former boss an email to see if he needed anything. Jeff came right at the perfect moment, just in time for me to start crying. The office won't be the same without him around.

The drive up was okay but I was still pretty upset. Once we got up there though I was distracted. There was dinner at a sub place with a good friend of ours before heading over to the birthday party. We saw a ton of  people that we only see twice or three times a year. So it was an evening of hugs, good conversation, plenty of food and friends, with some Rock Band thrown in. Jeff and I stayed late into the morning, finally leaving the party around 3, which is only about six hours after my bedtime. It was a great time.

The next morning my body woke me up at 8 a.m.. Stupid internal alarm clock. We had plans to take the birthday boy out for lunch. Partly to celebrate his big round number birthday (which will remain unnamed) but partly because the party had also been a going away party. He's moving south. I figured that this would be the last time I'd see him for quite a while so I wanted to squeeze as much time as I could out of the weekend. Lunch was filled with great conversation. When we walked out to the parking lot I was sad again. I gave him a long hug and a Take Care but there was so much more I would have like to say. While I know we'll keep in touch via emails and phone calls, it will be a while before we get to spend time in person. And I'll miss him.

My sadness was short lived though as we headed up to watch the Huskers destroy Minnesota. I'm not really a Huskers fan but we were actually surrounded by them as we watched the game. It's odd to be in a house in Minnesota rooting for them to be crushed. But root we did. And crush they did. We had a wonderful dinner with friends, talked about sports and babies and knitting, then we headed back to our friends house to watch the Cardinals game and talk. We talked about some tough subjects but they were amazing. Jeff and I slept in the kids rooms that night, so I can now say I've slept on Dora the Explorer sheets.

They woke us for breakfast of homemade french toast and the chance to go see a trapeze school do some flying. On Friday at the party we had met one of their friends who trapezes as a hobby. He invited us out. Jeff and I had planned to leave on Saturday but watching trapeze outdoors was too much to pass up. We stayed. But our times were off. We arrived after they had taken down the net for the season. No trapeze for us. Instead we gave hugs and headed home. It took us two extra hours. The poor kitty had licked her food bowl clean by the time we had gotten home. We had only expected to be gone 24 hours. I hadn't been home in almost 72. And it was a weekend filled with highs and lows. It went from one extreme to the other. And sometimes that's okay. I know that this will work out. It's just odd right now.

Stranger Than Fiction

I watched Stranger Than Fiction again tonight. I'm not a huge Will Ferrell fan but I love him in this movie. I've seen it several dozen times now and every time I love it more. It's witty, funny, sweet, sad, and intelligent. It's the kind of movie I wish I had written. It not only breaks the fourth wall, it's all about the fourth wall.

What draws me to this movie is the characters and the characterizations. Jeff turned it on because he loves Maggie Gyllenhaal in this film. I can't blame him. She's beautiful in this movie. For me, I just want to be her character. I love the eclectic baker who fights the man and bakes goodies that make everyone drool. I love the kind-hearted character who gives away both her treats and her heart while still staying strong. I want to be her.

I also want to be Dustin Hoffman's character. I love the idea of the English professor who is enthralled with literature. His office is my dream office, filled with books, literature, discussion, and sunlight. I would love to have the time and intensity to read constantly and discuss books on a daily basis. I want to teach a class on "little did he know".

And I want to be Emma Thompson's character. I'm not sure I'd like the chain-smoking and ER stalking but I want that passion to write. To create. I have a card on my writing table that says "Passion is a form of madness." I've always craved that passion to write. Thompson plays the kind of eccentric writer I always wished I had become. Just more balanced.

I love this movie. I laugh, I cry, I dream. And in the end I finish the movie wanting to read and write and bake. But more than anything I want to live more fully. And that makes this movie special.

Momentary Maternal Mood

This is my nephew Callen. I just spent the weekend in St. Louis with him, his parents, and my in-laws. We had a fantastic weekend filled with visiting, playing, and watching the Cardinals win (Go Cards!). But most of the weekend was spent holding, playing, adoring, and helping out as best I could with my 5 month old nephew. 

Now nothing against my other nieces, nephews, and friends children, but this little guy has to be one of the most well behaved, quiet, and smiley children I've ever met. This is a little guy who laughed when he got his first shots. He smiles at everything. He almost never cries. He was sleeping four or five hours at a a stretch within days of birth. In other words, he's the kind of child every parent wished they had. 

And I was suckered in. He was so smiley, so happy, so easy to snuggle with and help with. I actually found myself thinking about motherhood. I thought to myself that if I could guarantee that this is what my child would be like I would sign up without a thought. I guess Jeff echoed the same feelings when asked by Callen's mother Jen. I watched her feed him, I read to him and snuggled with him, I watched his first bath in the big tub (he'll be very angry with me one day for posting this picture). I was fascinated. And for a moment I thought about being a mother. 

Then we decided to spell Jen and take care of the little one for an hour or two while she did some grocery shopping alone. He slept for a little while and woke up a bit fussy. This was odd. We had heard him fuss once the entire time we had been there. And it hadn't even been real fussing. Just a single whine or two. But now he was a tad fussy. So we changed him and I walked him around and he settled down. He relaxed enough to go back to sleep. 

And when he woke up, he was a totally different baby. He was hungry. And we were unprepared. He cried. He screamed. We hadn't heard more than a little whimper all weekend and here he was crying so hard he was coughing. I held him while Jeff started getting food ready. I tried to soothe him. I walked around, I sang, I rocked. But nothing helped. I came very close to handing him to Jeff and hiding in the bathroom. Here was the perfect child, screaming because of something I'd done, or failed to do. He cried while we fed him. It was only when we skipped the cereal and gave him his bottle that he settled. Then the smiles were back. But by then I had been reminded. I'm not cut out for parenthood. I'm just not. I sighed a sweet smile when mom came home and I could unload groceries instead. I love my new nephew, just like I love all my nieces and nephews and godchildren and friend's children. I love taking care of them for a while and then handing them back. No offense Jen. He is an amazing child. 

More Wise Words

In the same quote document I pulled the quote in the previous post, I found this gem from Salman Rushdie. I need to memorize this quote. And practice it.

I’ll tell you a secret about fear: it’s an absolutist. With fear, it’s all or nothing. Either, like any bullying tyrant, it rules your life with a stupid blinding omnipotence, or else you overthrow it, and its power vanishes in a puff of smoke. And another secret: the revolution against fear, the engendering of that tawdry despot’s fall, has more or less nothing to do with ‘courage.’ It is driven by something much more straightforward: the simple need to get on with your life. I stopped being afraid because, if my time on earth was limited, I didn’t have seconds to spare for funk—Salman Rushdie (The Moor’s Last Sigh)

Blocked

I've been dealing with some writers block recently and it has started affecting the blog. Normally I can still blog while I struggle to put things on paper in all the other areas of my life. These last couple weeks it's been different. I've even struggled to read. I pick up books and put them down minutes later. I don't remember the last time I had this much trouble doing the things I love.

I've also been thinking too much about all the things I've had to do. Work has been crazy and stressful and I feel like I need to be constantly productive in order to keep up. I was telling a friend just tonight about how when I feel overwhelmed I tend to become paralyzed. I think that's what's been happening. I think about the four billion things that I feel I should be doing, including blogging, and I can't seem to start anything. Once I do start something, I get through it and can move on. But I need those wake up calls to remind me of how to be productive.

This past weekend was one of those wake-up calls. We had a good friend come into town who I've known for almost 15 years now. We packed the weekend full but still had a lot of time to talk. It was amazing to just relax. I've forgotten how much I need it. Last night I sat down and finished the book I had been struggling on for weeks. I'll talk about it soon but I was just happy to dedicate a couple hours to reading. And I was happy to want to read. Now I'm happily moving on to a new book...or two...or three.

Tonight I'm writing a post. This isn't much of a post but it is at least something. My spell is hopefully broken. And I'll get back to regular blogging. But this is just my way of breaking that block. Get something out. I have a quote at work from a writer who talks about how she writes. She talks about those days where the writing flows and she feels good. When asked about the days when it doesn't flow, she responded that she scribbles nonsense until things start to make sense. That's what I feel like this post is, the nonsense I need to get through, for the rest of the words to flow. Here's hoping it works.

Here's the actual quote from the interview rather than my poor paraphrase:
From Marsha Diane Arnold:
Do you have any rituals in your work habits? If so describe them.

I prepare a cup of hot tea or herbs. I sit in my chair. I turn on my computer. I light a candle. I call to my muse. I stare at the screen or the last words I wrote. I sit. I sit some more. If I’m lucky, wondrous words come. If wondrous words don’t come, I scribble nonsense until they do.

Geek Crafts

As you all know I knit pretty regularly lately. Currently I'm working on a Sackboy from Little Big Planet. Other than some issues with the tiny fingers he's been a joy to knit. I've had so much fun with this project that I'm tempted to do another one. Now I just need to stitch him up and we are good. My sister-in-law had knit one last year and I always thought that it looked cool. But the idea sat in the back of my mind and then got lost (like many things do). I didn't remember it until I was looking for patterns for a Cthulhu hat. And that's when I discovered Geek Crafts.

I'm a geek. Not a full blooded geek but I know enough to be dangerous. And in comparison to most of the people I work with, I'm a "super crazy geek". I was once called that by a coworker. I took it as a compliment, which is how he meant it...I think. So Geek Crafts is right up my alley. This combines two of my favorite things, geek topics and amazing crafts. The website is filled with projects that include sewing, knitting, baking, carpentry, model-making...and many more. People submit their projects along with the occasional pattern/instructions.

Every geek topic is covered: Doctor Who, Star Wars, Star Trek, Firefly, Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland, video games, and so much more. The site posts on a consistent basis and almost daily I find myself looking at a new craft I want to make. Some of them are way beyond my talent. Like these Doctor Who nesting dolls below. All 11 doctors and they fit in a tardis (it's bigger on the inside).

Things like this Yoda Keychain make me want to geek myself out a bit more. I tend to downplay my geekiness, particularly at work and I think that needs to change. I could be carrying my keys along with the greatest Jedi ever (and no I don't care that the new films had him fighting. Yoda was cool even before I saw a lightsaber in his hand).

And some things just inspire me. I've been wanting to learn to sew. I think the totoro pillow below would help with that. I would be more than happy to make him as one of my first projects. Like Sackboy, when I'm excited about a project, I don't mind putting in extra hours to get it right.

Lastly, I have to stop by this crafters Etsy store. I need some Alice in Wonderland beads. Isn't this amazingly lovely? I would gladly dress myself in Tea Party garb...if it's this tea party. Geek Crafts, for the geek in all of us.

Love of my Life

Years ago, Jeff broke into my phone and changed his name from the rather boring "Jeff" that I had listed it as, to "Love of My Life". He did it as a joke and it certainly worked when I tried to find him in my contacts the next time. But it's been rather long lived for a joke. Five years later, he's still listed as Love of My Life in my phone. I still address him that way when he calls. And he still is the love of my life.

My dear husband has a birthday today. I won't tell you how old he's turning this year (I'm pretty sure he'd be mad at me for that). It's been a year of changes. The next one will have even more. Jeff has shown me incredible courage and poise this year. As one of our good friends told me recently "he's really grown up a lot". He's so different now from the man I married but I love him just as much, if not more. We've lived through some incredible times together. I just hope he knows how special he is to me. Happy Birthday to the Love of My Life.

New Favorite

I went out for a three hour dinner tonight which included two beautiful glasses of merlot, a mushroom lasagna that made me drool, a tasty tiramisu, and some absolutely incredible dinner conversation. My friend and I met at 6 and were still talking as we walked out the door at nine. The only reason we called dinner over was that she had somewhere to be at 9:15. Otherwise we'd still be there. Thanks Christina, for an amazing dinner!

So I have no real time for an actual post. That doesn't really matter though because I've been wanting to share this image from Joey Remmers that I found last week. I want a print of this. This might have to be my birthday present this year. He's selling them as part of a show he's doing at the Corey Helford Gallery. This print is called A Sheep Amongst Wolves. I really like the rest of Joey's work but it was this image that made me instantly take notice. I just love the colors and the lines. It's just gorgeous. Joey has a rather nice website filled with his painting and the tattoos he's inked. I love both. His ink work is a bit out of my price range but I bet you it is worth it. Perhaps when I finally have the money to get my ink done, I'll fly out to him. But until then, I think this print will tide me over.

Rainy Day Reading

I had so much that I was going to get done today. I had been so productive last night and I was looking forward to really making progress on a couple of projects today. I have a letter for our homeowners association that I need to draft in the next day or so. That hung over my head all day. I have a house that severely needs to be cleaned out. We have reached that extremely cluttered stage that drives me crazy. I had some writing I was going to get done. But I woke up late this morning with a headache (stupid wine) so instead I drank endless pots of coffee, ate most of a loaf of beer bread, and spent the entire day reading.

I'm currently reading Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky which is a rather fascinating history of how the salt trade and production has shaped our world. I got interested in the book after reading At Home by Bill Bryson last week. Bryson had done a small section on salt and pepper for his dining room section. He didn't list where the salt information came from but when I found the book at the bookstore, I figured I'd found a definitive history. I love seeing how one product has impacted us so immensely. I would rank Salt right up there with A History of the World in Six Glasses as one of the more incredible food based histories I've read.

I read some of Salt, but the rainy day called for a little lighter fare today. So it was off to the library to return my stack of books and pick up more pictures books for my 1001 Children's Book Challenge. I picked up a brand new stack. I can't seem to leave the library without at least a dozen books. I brought them home and lay on the floor reading, like I was 10 again. I even started craving hot chocolate. I laughed and I marveled. So many of the books were just great. Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French made me laugh so hard I snorted. Even Jeff was surprised at how hard I was laughing. Joyful Noise, Poems in Two Voices has such interesting insect poems that I found myself rereading the poems over and over. A Van Allsburg made me gasp at the beauty of the illustrations. It wasn't the most productive day but it was a good one. A perfect rainy day.

Wine and Beer

Jeff and I spent the night last night in Omaha. He had a cricket match early this morning and rather than drive in at 5 this morning, we headed there last night. We stayed in my favorite hotel. An old Embassy Suites that has become a Doubletree. The rooms are huge and beautiful. The hotel was quiet. And breakfast was free. Even the pool and the hot tub (which we took advantage of) were warm.

The match was not warm. It was freezing. Drizzling and about 50, I spent most of the time huddled in my sweatshirt or watching from the car. It was not the best weather for a match. Jeff's team lost but they put up a great struggle. It could have gone either way.

But the weekend trip was invigorating. Jeff and I had some incredible talks this weekend. It was nice to just get away from everything together. I came home ready to do things. I've cleaned the kitchen, gone through some paperwork, started a box of things to get rid of, and finished putting away dishes. Right now I'm working my way through a bottle of Barefoot Pinot Grigio, one of my new favorite wines. It's a bit too dry for Jeff but I'm not complaining on having the bottle to myself. The other thing I'm doing is baking. After last week's banana bread I decided that I need to make more quick breads. This week it's beer bread.

I'm using the Super Secret Bierling Recipe for beer bread. It is:

3 cups Self-Rising Flour
4 1/2 Tbsp Sugar
12 oz Beer

Mix together until moist. 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Make sure to flour your loaf pan before baking.

Yep, that's it, that's the list. It's such an incredibly simple recipe and it's so tasty. Both Jeff and I prefer this yeasty bread a little undercooked. I love the soft interior and the slightly crisp crust. It has a unique flavor. I'm sure you can vary that depending on what beer is used. Most of the time I just use whatever is in the fridge, tonight Bud Light. So it's a wine and beer night. Following an incredible day. I'm so lucky.