Bay: Pantone PMS 300
Staghorn sumac berries against the water: Pantone PMS 186
Rugged, determined stubs of apple tree twigs make me think of penguins huddled together in winter, or the lone horse standing still in a bleak field peering out only through eyelashes of tight-pressed lids: "I will get through this."
Bright sun.
A cloud of government-check-cigarette smoke from the chain smoker in the wheelchair at the edge of the beach. Baked beans. Diesel fuel, plowing the last edges of the trail. A bufflehead dips into the blue paint.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
resolutions
1. To play more games. People keep snickering when I say this. Games bring joy into my life, why should I not want to play more? Cribbage, backgammon, euchre, Shanghai rummy--all good times. Played scrabble on Jan. 3. Need some stiff competition, if anyone wants to lend themselves.
2. To learn to bake homemade bread very well. I got a good start on Jan. 2 making homemade sunflower bagels. They were very good, chewy on the inside, crunchy outside, if a bit on the thin side. Oh, and dropping them in the oven onto the hot coils kinda blew.
3. To get new baking pans that I don't drop.
4. To organize my craft area and use up most of the old stuff.
5. To overcome my songwriting block. The first step is recording what I've already written!
2. To learn to bake homemade bread very well. I got a good start on Jan. 2 making homemade sunflower bagels. They were very good, chewy on the inside, crunchy outside, if a bit on the thin side. Oh, and dropping them in the oven onto the hot coils kinda blew.
3. To get new baking pans that I don't drop.
4. To organize my craft area and use up most of the old stuff.
5. To overcome my songwriting block. The first step is recording what I've already written!
Monday, December 1, 2008
Southerners vs. Yanks, cont'd
Things I will never understand about northerners:
8. Restaurant service. I will not go on a rant here, but maybe, once, you should go out to eat in the south and you will weep to return to a restaurant in Yankee world.
9. They don't realize that putting spaghetti noodles in chili is perfectly normal.
Things I love about them:
5. There's a certain independence or DIY-ness here. It's quite charming and very useful. I am not sure that I have ever met a Mainer, for example, whose parents don't "put up" food for the winter in loads of canning jars.
6. I like about Maine that the world does not stop in the event of a snowstorm. In Louisville, they predict a few inches, and the Kroger's is literally cleaned out of milk, meat, and bread (apparently the essentials.) The city shuts down. In Maine, you get a foot, most people still have to go to work. Oh, well that part sucks, but the rest I like.
8. Restaurant service. I will not go on a rant here, but maybe, once, you should go out to eat in the south and you will weep to return to a restaurant in Yankee world.
9. They don't realize that putting spaghetti noodles in chili is perfectly normal.
Things I love about them:
5. There's a certain independence or DIY-ness here. It's quite charming and very useful. I am not sure that I have ever met a Mainer, for example, whose parents don't "put up" food for the winter in loads of canning jars.
6. I like about Maine that the world does not stop in the event of a snowstorm. In Louisville, they predict a few inches, and the Kroger's is literally cleaned out of milk, meat, and bread (apparently the essentials.) The city shuts down. In Maine, you get a foot, most people still have to go to work. Oh, well that part sucks, but the rest I like.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
A thrill of hope
I have been practicing singing and playing "Oh Holy Night" for Christmas carols. Jon remarked that he preferred the less religious carols. While I do not consider myself a religious person, I do love the beautiful songs and do not want to shy away from them because they are religious. After all, I am a bluegrass musician, we like the old-timey gospel stuff.
Then I listened to the words:
"A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices-for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!"
What a gorgeous thought. A friend remarked that it reminded her of Obama. Listening to only those words--not the rest about the Saviour, etc--there is a nice bit of truth to that.
We certainly live in a weary world. How beautiful the idea that for this weary world, there might possibly be a thrill of hope. Whatever that hope is, it is lovely.
Then I listened to the words:
"A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices-for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!"
What a gorgeous thought. A friend remarked that it reminded her of Obama. Listening to only those words--not the rest about the Saviour, etc--there is a nice bit of truth to that.
We certainly live in a weary world. How beautiful the idea that for this weary world, there might possibly be a thrill of hope. Whatever that hope is, it is lovely.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Southerners vs. Yanks
...part one of many, I am sure.
There are several things I will never understand about Mainahs:
1. Why they insist on complaining about the weather unless it is 76 degrees. Otherwise, it's either too cold, too hot, too cold in the shade, too hot in the sun, etc. Um, you live in MAINE.
2. Why they insist on eating fruit that is not remotely close to being ripe, and then they insist that it's really good. Peaches, nectarines, and pears should absolutely never crunch. And no, they are not good that way.
3. Why they insist on eating huge holiday dinners at 2 PM. Why not at a regular meal time, so your body is actually hungry when you eat? And so you don't get a weird hunger pang at 9 PM?
4. Why they really don't say much ever. Believe it or not, in the south, we actually do care how the people in the coffee shop line are doing. We actually do call lots of people, "Honey," and we actually bond over things like the grocery store being out of pecans.
5. Why they say they don't like grits. Most of the time, they have never had grits. (Once they try some cheese grits with garlic, like any smart person, they realize their folly.)
6. Why they don't pay attention to basketball. I understand that they don't have great college teams to rally around like we do in Louisville (go Cards!), but UMass is good, and being from Boston has not stopped the Red Sox from being the object of many a Mainer's affection. I ask this in true astonishment: how can anyone watch the thrilling action on the NCAA courts and not get totally wrapped up in March Madness?
7. Allen's Coffee Brandy.
8. Why they don't see the importance of serving bread warm as opposed to at room temperature.
OK, on the flip side, here are some things I love about Mainahs:
1. They tend, and I do say tend (ahem), to mind their own business when it comes to whom you worship, to whom you are attracted, and the color of your skin. At least they tend more than the south.
2. They know how to make some good chowder.
3. They like their beer strong and flavorful. Mmmmmmmmmm Geary's. Southerners are pretty darn attached to their cans of Bud Light.
4. They are not afraid to eat their own lobster.
There are several things I will never understand about Mainahs:
1. Why they insist on complaining about the weather unless it is 76 degrees. Otherwise, it's either too cold, too hot, too cold in the shade, too hot in the sun, etc. Um, you live in MAINE.
2. Why they insist on eating fruit that is not remotely close to being ripe, and then they insist that it's really good. Peaches, nectarines, and pears should absolutely never crunch. And no, they are not good that way.
3. Why they insist on eating huge holiday dinners at 2 PM. Why not at a regular meal time, so your body is actually hungry when you eat? And so you don't get a weird hunger pang at 9 PM?
4. Why they really don't say much ever. Believe it or not, in the south, we actually do care how the people in the coffee shop line are doing. We actually do call lots of people, "Honey," and we actually bond over things like the grocery store being out of pecans.
5. Why they say they don't like grits. Most of the time, they have never had grits. (Once they try some cheese grits with garlic, like any smart person, they realize their folly.)
6. Why they don't pay attention to basketball. I understand that they don't have great college teams to rally around like we do in Louisville (go Cards!), but UMass is good, and being from Boston has not stopped the Red Sox from being the object of many a Mainer's affection. I ask this in true astonishment: how can anyone watch the thrilling action on the NCAA courts and not get totally wrapped up in March Madness?
7. Allen's Coffee Brandy.
8. Why they don't see the importance of serving bread warm as opposed to at room temperature.
OK, on the flip side, here are some things I love about Mainahs:
1. They tend, and I do say tend (ahem), to mind their own business when it comes to whom you worship, to whom you are attracted, and the color of your skin. At least they tend more than the south.
2. They know how to make some good chowder.
3. They like their beer strong and flavorful. Mmmmmmmmmm Geary's. Southerners are pretty darn attached to their cans of Bud Light.
4. They are not afraid to eat their own lobster.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
A wish list...
..that has nothing to do with gifts, and yet is still completely self-centered.
1. I wish that predictive text weren't so prudish as to not have in its dictionary words like, "pissed" and "damnit."
2. I wish that Veggie Sausage weren't so expensive.
3. I wish that there were a faucet in my apt. that would pour bourbon.
4. I wish that I had planted butternut squash and a few more beets this summer.
5. I wish that people from my past did not think it is OK to scan pictures of me from age 15 and post them to facebook.
6. I wish that we could claim Thanksgiving as a "friend" holiday without insulting our families.
7. I wish that one could choose a few default dreams to re-dream at night upon demand, especially when one is dreaming about fending off child murderers.
8. I wish that Mabel were not a "sinker".
9. I wish that I had a job whose contribution to society were greater than the ability to make a good latte.
10. I wish that there were a radio station that played music that might challenge the masses.
1. I wish that predictive text weren't so prudish as to not have in its dictionary words like, "pissed" and "damnit."
2. I wish that Veggie Sausage weren't so expensive.
3. I wish that there were a faucet in my apt. that would pour bourbon.
4. I wish that I had planted butternut squash and a few more beets this summer.
5. I wish that people from my past did not think it is OK to scan pictures of me from age 15 and post them to facebook.
6. I wish that we could claim Thanksgiving as a "friend" holiday without insulting our families.
7. I wish that one could choose a few default dreams to re-dream at night upon demand, especially when one is dreaming about fending off child murderers.
8. I wish that Mabel were not a "sinker".
9. I wish that I had a job whose contribution to society were greater than the ability to make a good latte.
10. I wish that there were a radio station that played music that might challenge the masses.
Friday, November 21, 2008
my xmas list
1. Still looking for that air-brushed t-shirt that says "Tooken" on it.
2. A second earring to match the one I lost, made by the very talented local artist Alicia Allen
3. A jar of Smith's Family Farm yogurt.
Considering no one we know has any money right now, I guess that'll just about do it. Although there are plenty of free things I would love for Xmas:
-rock and roll band of my very own
-a question
-a gift card for a one on one day with some very busy friends
-jobs for the several people I know who really need them
-Upping the amount of funny stories, smiling eyes, occasional southern accents, and bone-crushing hugs that help me get through my days.
2. A second earring to match the one I lost, made by the very talented local artist Alicia Allen
3. A jar of Smith's Family Farm yogurt.
Considering no one we know has any money right now, I guess that'll just about do it. Although there are plenty of free things I would love for Xmas:
-rock and roll band of my very own
-a question
-a gift card for a one on one day with some very busy friends
-jobs for the several people I know who really need them
-Upping the amount of funny stories, smiling eyes, occasional southern accents, and bone-crushing hugs that help me get through my days.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
