Capital I

What is this song if not inspiring?
What do you think?
The tune itself is cool, but the whole story of that I just seals the deal.
We like it around here and it has, again, been playing in my head on repeat.

autumn

Today I resolved to take on our second bookcase.

It's small, and broken, and let's face it, this apartment isn't big enough for much of the stuff we own. Some of our books must move on. So in the spirit of new adventures, I resolved to take on our second bookcase.

I scanned the titles to find a place to start. There's Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Chaim Potok's The Promise, Great Expectations, Jane Austen, George Orwell, and the Bible in Spanish among others. Where to begin? Crime and Punishment was the first book I can say I really relished, The Promise was that book I took off the shelves at home of my own choice and loved without anyone telling me to, Jane Austen helped me during the summer I slogged through trying not to have feelings (which was not successful. I've heard it never is), and Great Expectations accompanied a moment of true self discovery. I flipped through it's pages and found that I'd underlined a few sentences. This one in red:

"But that, in shutting out the light of day, she had shut out infinitely more; that, in seclusion, she had secluded herself from a thousand natural and healing influences..."

Which instantly got me thinking how many of these thousands of "natural and healing influences" have I been the beneficiary. And how many more might I discover in the years to come?

As you may have guessed, my resolved quickly evaporated. And there the bookcase still sits. Small, breaking, and full to the brim.

word snobbery welcome

So, here's the deal.

I love words.

Do you ever find a word you didn't know before and then try and add it to the ol' repertoire?

I do, and I've got a few up my sleeve. Not many.

But language is incredible, as you know, and I've got so much more to learn. Something I lament daily.

And so, my fellow lover of words, I've got your next podcast. I listen to it on the radio during my drive to church (it's kind of a long drive) when I get the chance. And it kept me company during the long periods of cleaning I've been doing to prepare for the move.

You should check out A Way With Words.



It's got everything. "Witty" banter, word puzzles, crazy callers, lovable hosts, a bit of cheesiness, and especially, words. All sorts. Those you may be familiar with and some you may not.

So give a listen. And let yourself enjoy it come cheesy joke, or terrible pun. You may just go back for more.

playing in my head on repeat...

Down By the Water
The Decemberists

best purchase for the month of June

Is there a reason you haven't purchased yourself a package of these Bandaid brand adhesive bandages? Because you should. They should make more of these. Totally makes having a paper slice wound somewhat fun (because we all know those are never fun).

one day, I'll finish Bleak House

Mrs. Toothsome recently posted about the BBC list of top 100 books to read. She's one of those people who always has a book in hand. An avid reader. She's a library of book reviews. Something I admire. And just because I was curious, I checked to see how many I've read, and I've got a lot to go. I've only read 29 of the 100, and I double checked and I've started but never finished four more (I'm looking at you Bleak House [insert fist pump of rage]).

I was surprised to see the first four of the Harry Potter series, and delighted to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, and The BFG. and The Twits. How awesome. It was last updated in 2004 so there may be a few I'd add to the list today.

What about you? How many have you read? What surprised you? What would you add?

we really need to hang out this summer

I wish you all could come visit my small town. I admit, I was skeptical at first. Ok, very skeptical. The icy ghost town I visited so long ago seemed daunting, even a little crazy. I remember thinking, "What are we doing here? What do we do here?"

But I'm here to tell you, folks, there is so much about this place that we're going to miss.

We began our story here. I can't believe that was just three short years ago. The shoes are long gone, and I've turned in my photos of street signs to take photos of something a little more near and dear to my heart.



Much about us has changed. But this little town hasn't, thank goodness.

There will always be a little fraction of my heart devoted to this little town: how I can see the stars at night, feel like everything is still after 10PM, share a run with a cow or two, and that just by driving down the county road among the green with all the windows down, I can forget that I just spent seven months hibernating in my home. I think I even said just last weekend, "Why would you ever move from this place?"

Oh, right... because life does go on. Go figure. (That and we did just spend seven months indoors... lest we forget).

And with that, my yearbook entry for our town:

Dear Small Little Town, don't you every change. I mean that. You rock.

among the things that are worth your time...

Folks, I'm recommending a movie.

Gasps and jokes aside (I know I'm not much of a movie buff... and I tend to mock and joke my way through most movies) I'm recommending this movie.

Which is really quite out of character for me knowing that I don't like most movies and this movie isn't perfect. There is some cheese, a few over-acted teenage angst moments (we all went through it, there is no need to embellish it, we get it), a not-so-subtle overarching theme, and a predictable plot.

But... with all that said. I really liked it. The way the story is told, the color pallet of the film (not that I know anything about film or their color pallets), and it left me happy and inspired. Ding! A recipe for success. At the end I even thought, "My future teenagers need to see this movie." (I may have been a little overenthusiastic in that comment).

It's not a new release, I realize, but well worth a moment or two. I hope you like it too.

RadioLab's most recent episode

If you haven't caught RadioLab's most recent episode, I think it's worth a bit of your time.

I was most interested in the section about mirror images, what we see in the mirror vs. what the world sees.

Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought, "Who is that person? Oh right, it's me" only to have to really sit there and convince yourself that it is indeed you in the mirror? I have. It only lasts for a moment or two and then fades. And I've actually thought quite a bit about this and how our perceptions of ourselves differ from those of others just because what we see in the mirror is just that, a mirror image. How can a mirror image be so different? It's crazy. You'll have to listen to the show.

Anyway, I think you'd like this show on symmetry. I know I've enjoyed the first half (still listening to the second).

what if you lose

This is what I've been dealing with for the past few months.

Constant condensation. Constant.

Being a desert dweller, I'm out of my element here. Where I come from, things dry out over time. Apparently, that isn't true everywhere. Especially not here on my windows... every single beloved, sunshine-bringing one.

And I'm told this is normal so I'm cool.

But I reserve the right to not like it.

resolution

Here is the tail end of my resolution list speaking for itself. That's right folks, once science thing a week.

You've been in that situation before. I know you have. You know the one where you think to yourself, "Oh, right... I keep making this mistake. Next time, I'll remember not to."

I do this all the time. But recently I've realized I keep making the one particular mistake over and over again more "over again" than the others. And that mistake is:

thinking that if a recipe asks for 1 or 2 teaspoons of "fresh lemon juice" then the whole lemon will do.

Folks, it's simply not true. There is way more juice in one lemon than 1 or 2 teaspoons. I know this. You probably know this. But each time I find myself saying to myself, "How am I ever going to use half a lemon before it spoils? What they hey, juicing the full lemon won't hurt anyone," only to be reminded moments later that yes, it does hurt the dish. Bleh.

Are there any mistakes that seem to be set on repeat for you? Coming back to jackie smaz not included.

three musts for this Valentine's Day season

I love Valentine's day.

And pun most definitely intended. I've always loved this holiday and I almost wish it was a season we celebrated all month. Reds, pinks, friends, family, loves, everything about it.

This year there are three staples for my Valentine's season. I can't wait for February one.

Ginger ale

Poppies

(blogger conveniently has a poppy pattern!)

Chocolate Covered Cinnamon Bears

What are you doing to celebrate this year? Or in other words, what foods will you be dying pink?

some things should never change

Watched this clip with my nephew over the Christmas break. Not sure who enjoyed it more, him or me.