FOUR LETTER ( PRESENT PARTICIPLE ) WORD

Can anyone guess who might be the happy recipient of this delightfully sardonic Valentine?  Because she and I share blood.  That should narrow it down.

Oh, I'm having so much fun this year!  HOW STRANGE.
Okay, back to the whiskey.


~crm

FEBRUARY'S FLIRTATION

It's getting pretty flippin' beautiful 'round these parts.

But I know better, Lady Washington,

I have fallen prey to your winter strip-tease before.

I know winter has not finished his snail-speed course.

But that doesn't mean I cannot take advantage of you,

tempt you with my skirts,

hide from you my sultry stare with a tip of purple velvet,

and flirt right back.

ONE LIFE GOAL....CHECK

Goodness me!  Is it really already Friday afternoon?  What a  blur of a week.  As you may have noticed, I've been concentrating most of my bloggular energies over at mine and Kelly's baby, Pretty, Please...trying to get that off the ground and into the already inundated world of design/professional blogs.  There's nothing like hoping, right?! ;)  (Feel free to add us to your following list anytime!)

I've also had the immense pleasure of helping Umber with her show this week in promotion as well as the ever-important task of holding little paintings while she hammers in nails. From my perspective, it looked something like this:

And in between these delightful responsibilities, I still had my own life to keep up with...which includes breakfast with Brad and Kelly, lunch with Devon, phone calls with Niki, Jackie, and my sister, drinks with the Gomes, Brian, and Scott, emails with  my favorite Plume and favorite Raven,  IMing Julie, stroking the belly of my sis Jenn, INCLUDING all of my household chores!  PHEW.  I am one busy socialite.  

It's a damn good life is what it is.

Let there be no mistake about that.

Today, I've spent the majority of this sunny weather outside in my wood shed.  Unfortunately for my out-of-shape arms, I was not chopping wood.  I was instead staging a photo shoot assigned to me by my brother-in-law (who is DAYS away from meeting his new little girl!  we are all on edge waiting for the call!!).  I am so happy with some of these sassy pictures and can't wait to share them.

BUT ON TO THE REAL BUSINESS AT HAND!

Joel and I have a new friend and we've been hanging out quite a bit the last few months.  He's also our neighbor, so we often have him over for dinner and he shares his tasty scotch with us!  Well, I had mentioned that Joel was NOT a U2 fan, and how I was so bummed because they are coming to Seattle this summer, and I've not as yet had the pridvlege of seeing them live.

TOTAL SIDE NOTE HERE:

All music taste aside...I'm in the habit of honoring the nostalgic loves of my musical history, and U2 can still make me cry with songs like "Sunday, Bloody Sunday," and "All I want is you," (and about six million other songs), and though I don't listen to them very much anymore, I will always love them deeply.  Therefore, they are on my LIFE GOAL list of live performances to attend...

along with Madonna and Radiohead.

Judge me.

It's really okay.

I can handle it.

MJ was on that list too.

Moment of silence.

There. Thanks for hopping down that rabbit trail with me!

ANYWAY...I was moaning about not being able to go because the saint CANNOT STOMACH Bono...and do you know what my new friend Scott did?  He upped and purchased us KICK ASS SEATS for their June concert...which is right around my 32nd bday!  I am rather elated!!!! He JUST told me last night at the art show, and I've been giddy ever since.  Positively light as air.

Speaking of the art show!

And even more

HERE!

I am so proud of this gal...as if you couldn't tell.

There is such liberty in being one of her cheerleaders (the real kind, not the pretend to be kind), 

such deeply rooted admiration...

because there is something in it that means if she can do it...maybe I can too.

Be an artist, that is.

And live like it.

Happiest of weekends, darlings.  I'm cooking up a yummy dinner tonight and also headed out to the city tomorrow night for drinks with the gang.  I hope this weekend, be it busy or quiet, is exactly what the doctor ordered for you. 

~CRM

WRAPPING UP JANUARY; FEBRUARY'S FRUGALITY

Good Monday morning to you.  I hope you've found a cup of something tasty (hey, it's 5pm somewhere) and settled into your desk, chair, studio.  I've got a few items to cover here today.

First, I have to give major accolades to the group who participated in my January photo challenge.  When I started this whole 12-month business, I didn't realize how much having participants to join me along the way would make some months so much better than others.  The month of mail was a blast and the Daily Bread photo group not only gave me another excuse to get behind the lens, but to get to know a group of amazing people even better. I really want to thank you all for doing these things with me!

To wrap up The Daily Bread Group, here are a few from our last week:

1. time for dessert, 2. 01.31.10, 3. Everyday Cake, 4. afternoon tea, 5. finished product, 6. Right on., 7. veggies, 
8. To beat the afternoon heat, 9. Over a pitcher of Moose Drool, 10. a little bit crunchy, 
11. DINNA!, 12. Mexican Wedding Cookies, 13. A breakfast classic

And here are a few of my personal favorites:

(Guten Tag)

(Lunch Break)


(A Bobbin Full of Breakfast)


(My daily bread)


(Cafe Nico)


(Manicotti)


(lovely yammy biscuits)


(veggie lentil soup)


(veggies)


(37-year old whiskey)

So, since today marks the first day of February (I'm going to be an aunt again this month!), I am gearing up for a month of savings.  I find it interesting how one part of our life can so richly inform another, but yesterday I finished reading my first book for the Slow Reader's book club.  It was a fast and entertaining read, and the one idea it has left with me is the concept of discontent...which just happens to be a soul theme these last few weeks.  

It seems that everywhere I turn, I see something that needs fixing, sprucing, or doing.  I haven't quite settled into my new home here in the country, and my eyes are starting to resent this house.  I also realize it's probably just a matter of perspective (I will not talk about Haiti here because I do not believe it's good for me to shame myself into contentment based upon comparison) about the materials of my life.  I think one good remedy would be for me to get outdoors more often...what is there to fix about the ocean or the trees?  

SOOO anyway.  This book I finished was all about this amazingly frugal woman, this "can do" woman.  It has made me realize that I would like to spend some time teaching myself how to trim the fat around Booklings Manor.  The saint and I are spenders, not savers, and while we may be homeless at the end of our lives, we can at least say we had a few amazing meals! ;)  I would like to learn to save better.  Therefore, February will be the month of frugality.  And here's what I hope to stick to:

1. Every time I have the inclination to buy something, I will take its amount and transfer it into savings (within reason.  I can't transfer the $1200 for the Michael Kors camel trench I've been lusting over).
2. If we go out with friends or on a date, we have to have an amount set beforehand.  Once we get home, 50% of whatever we spent will be transferred into savings.
3. If we want to go out, but decide to stay home for a meal, we will estimate what we would have spent and transfer it into savings.
4. I will not buy anything we don't absolutely need.
5. I will not buy anything at full price, but will scour for coupons and sales.
6. I will not purchase anything new (other than groceries), but will instead find it thrifted or make it.
7. And the ultimate goal through all of these?  I hope to save between 15% and 20% of our month's income.  
8. At the end of the month, I will reward myself with a massage or facial.

So there ya go.  Anyone have any other ideas they want to share about how they trim the fat?

I am hoping to rub the scales of discontent from my eyeballs.  I'm DETERMINED to find a bit of gratitude in the grubby walls of this two-bit trailer, damn it.

What are you looking for in February?

Happy Monday.

crm

MMMMM.

This was tasty.

Read about it here in...yes...another blog of mine.

~crm

p.s. you can see all the pictures HERE.

PRETTY, PLEASE?

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but I would love your support over here:

Just Click Follow and we'll be BFFS.

Off to make homemade pizza (yes, including the crust),
crm

Daily Bread: Installment Two

We eat our greens...

1. 01.13.10, 2. crunchy green stuff, 3. Braising New Beginings,

4. lunch with the neighbor, 5. Eaten raw, 6. the humble pickle

We eat our international cuisines:


1. Veggie Gyozas, 2. it's all the way live, 3. 01.19.01, 4. the greatest chimichanga in the world, 5. japanese for lunch, 6. German Tidbits

We love to bake:

1. Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pecans, 2. Mr Macaroon, 3. cooookieeeees, 4. A hasty breakfast

And we still love our cocktails:


1. wine, mmm, 2. Post work libation, 3. Key Lime Holiday Shot, 4. The Elusive Shower Beer

It's the last week of our Daily Bread photo project, I am sure there's more amazing food to be seen and eaten.

~crm

Pumpkin Risotto

One of the reasons I love following certain blogs is for the amazing ideas for food and drink.  More specifically, I've made two different recipes from Design Sponge and both have been fabulous!  The first recipe was a holiday wassail that my friends and I gobbled up.

The second was just after I returned home from vacation this past weekend, and I had a strong inclination to cook.  I decided to make up this Pumpkin Risotto because I am CUCKOO for risotto anyway (it's like the fancy man's version of mac-n-cheese) and because we have had these pumpkins sitting around since Thanksgiving.  Well, the saint helped me out on this one as I felt pretty noviced about extracting pumpkin from an actual pumpkin...

It wasn't too hard, but there were quite a bit of steps and the recipe was written in paragraphs (i hate that!) instead of bullet points.

 

So, before we did anything, the saint made us rosemary gin and tonics so we could keep up our strength.

Well it turned out just delicously!

I highly recommend it.

~crm

Florida, 2010

From Florida Jan 2010

From Florida Jan 2010

From Florida Jan 2010

From Florida Jan 2010

From Florida Jan 2010

From Florida Jan 2010

From Florida Jan 2010

From Florida Jan 2010

From Florida Jan 2010

From Florida Jan 2010

From Florida Jan 2010

From Florida Jan 2010

From Florida Jan 2010

See it all here:

Florida Jan 2010

~CRM

EN IMAGES: HOLIDAY

Much more to come...
But since there is no plug by the pool here, my laptop is about to crash. 
I am taking this a sign from the gods that I should probably take another dip and let the computer DIE.


SMOOCH.

crm

POCKETS

Well, happy Friday night.  I hope your weekend plans look delightful from this vantage point.  If not, do something out of the ordinary to spark some creative juices!  I smell the rice cooking for dinner, soon to be topped by green curry.  Leftovers, but so tasty.

The saint and I took a little walk today (actually to recover my lost lens cap from a walk last week.  we actually found it!).  As I waited for him to finish up work so he could take his lunch break, I reached into the pocket of a coat I often forget to wear (I have a delicious habit of collecting coats!) and found the happiest little present.  I went right back inside and grabbed my camera.

For some reason, it felt like hidden treasure.  It was magic and I refuse to interpret it as anything other.

So then I was joined by the saint for our little walk.





This guys seriously has a THING about having a walking stick.

(I would also like to mention that something I love about Joel's style is the versatility.  He can be totally city-ready in his wool blazer and fedora or totally country-boy in his sorels and trucker hats.  I have never met a man that can pull off both so effortlessly.)

We paused here to capture the moment.  We rarely go on walks together, so it was a bit of a special occasion.  This is not because we do not enjoy each others company whilst walking, but this is because our moods often rarely coincide when it comes to exercise.

But not today...today we were in sync.
Well, up until he took me on a new path that was so steep I almost puked.
Not really.
But kinda.

And then we had a great lunch with our friend and neighbor Scott.

It's the least we could do since he's hanging out with Missy Octavia next week.

We leave for Florida in T-Minus one day.
Guess I better go work on my tan next door (friends have a tanning bed we can use).
Not really.
But kinda.

Happy Friday!

CRM

CATCHING UP WITH A FEW ITEMS

Wow.  Where DOES the week go?  I cannot wrap my head around it today.  This may be due to the fact that I've been in bed with a cold all day.  I really MUST get rid of it before Sunday because

Brace Yourself!

JOEL AND I ARE GOING TO FLORIDA!

(lidda, send me an email about getting together!)

Okay, it's just Florida, but it is exciting nonetheless.  I'm tagging along with Joel on a business trip of his as we celebrate a belated anniversary.  Miami is boasting 75+ temps, so I'll be sure to get some much needed sun and sea.  Oh, and also...Cuban food!  Aye, aye, aye!!!  I take off on Sunday, and am rather excited not only for the trip, but also to continue in my January photo challenge with a new cuisine and much more color.

Additionally, I wanted to take a few minutes to boast about my friends over in the Daily Bread flickr pool.  DUDE...these people eat well!  You should pop over and take in the inspiration, but I must fairly warn you...do NOT go look if you are in any possible way hungry.  It's just painful.   Here are a few collections:

MMM.  Dessert.

{ 1. The Pav, 2. lovely yammy biscuits, 3. Eatin' up the Antioxies, 4. rum cake glaziness }

MMM.  Drinks.

{ 1. My Taste of Late, 2. medium, dark, light, 3. I like my tonic with gin and lime, 4. 01.08.10, 5. Nourishment, 6. some love it, 7. Wine in a Jack Daniel's glass, 8. Drink your greens, 9. His and Hers: Cocktail Hour }

It's never too late to join.  Just snap a pic of what you're eating and upload it to your flickr account...then send it to our group.   Email me for more information.

 

MMM. Hot.
Also, we certainly love our mugs.  It's kinda of an inside thing with us.
{ 1. Strange Brew?, 2. a proper tea, 3. Cafe Nico, 4. just a light conversation over lattes, 5. 01.06.10, 6. hot pink hot chocolat, 7. 01.02.10, 8. January 2: Happiness comes from contentment, 9. Breakfast of Champs, 10. Devoured, 11. Hello Lover, 12. clovesgingercardamomblackpepper, 13. Breaking the Fast }




MMM. Color.
 { 1. did you know, 2. Lunch Break, 3. Custard tart, 4. suppah jan 4, 2010 }


GO HERE TO SEE ALL THE PHOTOS!

Also, I forgot to mention a rather important thing the saint and I decided to do this month.    In an effort to break our winter habit of watching too much 30 Rock and movies, we decided that after dinner, we were going to turn off our computers and television and really unplug for the night.  Instead, we sit by the fire and read, or play a game, or split a bottle of wine and talk, or go out with friends, or go to bed early.  It's amazing how setting aside time to get bored can really nourish the soul and squelch anxiety, though I admit that it's still terribly difficult.  I am breaking the rules tonight because I just feel lousy, so we gave ourselves a night off.  Joelio is sitting here watching a Japanese movie and I am bundled up with my sniffles.  So far, it's been such a wonderful month.  I really don't want to become one of those couples who simply do not know how to hang out with each other.  It's also been quite amazing what you find to talk about when there's actually empty space to nurse your thoughts aloud.  I highly recommend some sort of unplugging.

And one last thing.  You really MUST head over to catholicbeer.com and watch the video my brother made of the latest catholicbeer event.  Hilarious.

Good night loves.
~crm

DEATH BEGETS WINE BEGETS POETRY BEGETS WRITING

One fateful night.

I stumbled into their tragedy.
The loss of three, the life of one.
In acute, charcoal emotion, I lost her.
For real. She slipped through my fingers like
sand or time
or flour.

Grasp as I may,
I've failed.

It's probably the malbec.
Or the bastard who takes life.

Or the bastard who gives poetry.

Either way.
I no longer pretend to be unaffected.

How to plead with the powers that be
for a 47-year old loss?

And what's worse?

My
highball
has
never
been
more
empty.


~crm

AS I WALK

This last week, I had some thought that simply would not stop harassing me.  They were just the kind of thoughts that annoy most, you know, the ones you thought were totally done with you.  All through my morning coffee, poached eggs, and prepping my menu for the week, I couldn't shake it.

So I did something about it.

I listened to these thoughts.

Some nagging news precipitated these musings which sent me reeling into a past that I had distanced myself from.  A past which carried the old familiar news of me being a shitty friend and distant female.  The news was nothing really shocking or surprising in and of itself...but it sent the stinging reminder to my soul that I no longer had a friend that I once had.

It's been a while since the first thing that came to mind when I screwed up or disliked my actions was a message of self-loathing.  Half of the pain from the week was the realization that mizz nasty still lurks somewhere down in those murky places my soul has yet to reveal to the light.  I hated myself with vehemence for a past version of me that I couldn't control.

So I sat at my desk.  Lighted a candle to help me find something sacred there and I wrote.  I threw down page after page of all the things you are never supposed to say.  It felt good, but wasn't enough.  I looked up and saw the road beckoning me.  I stashed Ariel into my pocket, hastily donned my hat and scarf, and tromped outside.

 

The messy rot of the forest floor mirrored the fragrant detritus that is friendship...this mucking about in other people's issues, in their decay, in their deity.  It's a complex business, a lifetime work at paradox whilst holding hate and love in a single hand.  Humans are the most lovely creations; humans are the most horrific creations.

For some reason, this toying with paradox really helped give me some rest.  We cannot help what has been done, but I do believe we can do it justice by wrestling with it until it screams uncle.  I had to go into the forest because I had to honor that an old friendship with its old issues and old blood was not done with me, nor I with it.  So I jumped right back into the murk of it (one does not easily forget) and though I found absolutely no answers, I saw myself more clearly.

I saw myself more kindly.

I was home.

~CRM

THIS COUNTRY LIFE

On Monday morning, perhaps the most commonly dreaded morning in human history, I was awakened at some unnoticed hour by the most gentle rain on my roof, the most fragrant coffee dripping into my carafe, and my husband gently encouraging me to awaken.  As I stumbled out into the living room to sit upon my chair and read my book, I heard that the saint had also turned on NPR for me and poured me my coffee.

I really am reveling in this time, fear not, oh jealous ones.  I am most certainly not used to people envying my life, hell...I even envy my life...this is quite surreal.  However, I must assure you all that I am doing all that I can to absorb it, to live it, to make it everything it could possibly be.  Well, at least I am for today.  Tomorrow, I'll probably get antsy, have an existential crisis, feel lazy, and complain...but that's what the gin's for...

This weekend, the saint and I made it into the city to shop and dine...my life is such a paradox of headed to the mailbox in my pjs and headed to the city in my knee socks. 

Also, look at our most revered visitors last week!! The saint snapped these shots while I was out gallivanting at the illustrious Costco.

Happy Tuesday,

crm

2009 IN PHOTOGRAPHS

 

I think the most remarkable thing in 2009 (other than so many new little people) is the realization that for the first time since I can remember, my soul was at rest...in euphoric bliss sometimes, and in still quietude others.  For 2010, I've decided to keep the resolutions rather simple and paired down:

• Write MORE letters.
• Only buy things I absolutely love.
• Take walks.
• Have faith in myself, despite what I do or do not produce.
• Write.  Write.  Write.

Thanks for sharing your year with me,
~CRM

PSSSSSS.
TODAY IS THE KICK OFF FOR OUR JANUARY PHOTO PROJECT, "DAILY BREAD."  JOIN HERE IF YOU WANT, AND  BOY I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THOSE PICTURES.

PLANS?

So what's everyone up to tonight?  Sitting at home with a book and a bottle?  Fancing yourself in some sexy shoes and sparkles?  Well, I'm spending the majority of the day cooking up some yummy desserts for a small dinner party tonight...I hope this eve treats you well.

This is a bit of the chocolate cayenne cake I'm preparing....

~CRM

TOO MANY PRONGS ON THE UTENSILS OF LIFE

I've been kind of waiting for it to go away but since it's lingering, I suppose I shall extract it thus.  This aforementioned it is this gnawing, annoyingly cold-sore-like discontent that keeps distracting me from enjoying my life.  The little bits, the big bits, they both seem to be growing and swirling in the balloon-sized wine glass of my psyche...and the sulfites are giving me a headache.  Ensue rant:

1. I miss being busy.  Though everyone seems to be quite jealous of this in me, I must admit that I enjoy  being busy and thriving upon tasks.  However, if these tasks are meaningless and invented solely to keep me busy, I rebel and cannot complete them.  I've said it before, but I've quite married myself to the idea that I might be addicted to meaning and have an overdose in my life.
   
   
2. I am quite discontent at the adjustment in lifestyle.  How I miss the bustling energy of Capitol Hill - the subconscious knowledge that SOMETHING was going on somewhere, SOMEONE was having the time of their life, and if not...were at least in existential crisis over it and hardly complacently adapted to their less than ideal jobs, etc, etc.  When you live with the young, you live with mercenaries.  When you  live with no one, you've only yourself to glean inspiration from.  I feel uninspiring to me this ordinary night in late December.
   
   
3. I feel bored with the things I usually love...writing, photography, art, fashion, cooking, etc.
   
   
4. I've absolutely NOTHING to wear, ever.
   
   
5. Due to No. 2, I do not walk anymore.  I've therefore espoused a new weighty 5 lbs that I cannot seem to divorce from my nether regions.  On top of this, I need a hair cut, eye-brow attention, and mani/pedi.  These things may seem trivial to some, but they are truly integral to me feeling like me...put together, taken care of, lovely.
   
   
6. I've gotten to thinking about my goals for 2010...the goals aside from the financial and fitness.  I've wondered if I should go back to work to find some sort of structure to my day; I've seriously pondered going back to school online; perhaps this is the year I start marketing myself and producing myself as a professional blogger/writer.  I stand at this many-pronged fork (YOU KNOW, LIKE THE ONES THEY SERVE WITH A 20-COURSE MEAL THAT YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHEN TO USE), and I feel nothing.  I feel no passion or inclination towards anything.  

In my soul, I feel big and blue.
I'VE BECOME THE BLOB.

I think the only remedy is lots and lots of dancing.
Know any hot clubs in Hobart, Wa?

Blerg.
It must be the Monday after Christmas.

Herein lies the question for you, tell me.  What do you do for inspiration?

~Back to the tequila,
crm

ON TO THE NEW...An Invitation to January's Photo Assignment

Happiest of evenings to you, fellow survivors of the yule-log cheer:

I write to you fireside this quiet eventide.  The saint and I both recline with hot tea and our feet sharing a stool, laptopping to our heart's gluttonous content.  I feel a snack inclination and I imagine we'll head into the media room to continue 30-Rocking here soon, but I wanted to share my greetings.  I truly must have the most blessed life, for my advent seasons are not very stressful (I'm gathering it's because we are very much still the children in our family and don't do a whole lot of work to pull of Christmas).  Joel and I always do our own thing on some random day, and it's full of tradition all our own.   I feel proud to have our family firmly established in these joys before we actually procreate.  

By the way, there is no procreating on the agenda for 2010, I must regret to inform all of those nosy enough to ask and all those polite enough not to.  

Ah, I digress.

Let's move on, shall we?

So, January is just around the corner, and after my post-champagne coma to come, I would like to propose  January's 12-month challenge, which is to say, I will be hosting another photo community gathering on Flickr!  So get ready.

For the entire month of January, I would like to invite you to participate with me as I take photographs and share them.  The theme will be "Daily Bread"...that which brings us nourishment...be it bread, beer, or bologna...I want you to take a picture of any meal or food or drink or snack with the intention of honoring that which nourishes your physical body throughout the day.  This group shall be silly and serious, meaningful and light-hearted, professional and casual.  

Please go HERE if you would like to join...

Rules for "DAILY BREAD"

1. YOU MAKE YOUR OWN RULES (but if you need external rules (like MEeeeeE), here are a few suggestions:)
2. Take 1 photograph per day - No need to set up photo shoots, the goal here is to get a glimpse into our everyday lives, our everyday souls, even if it's plain grilled cheese every single day.
   
3. Upload it to your Flickr account.
4. Add the photo to the group pool here.
   
5. Comment on the other pictures as you see fit.
   

And that's pretty much it!
So, WHOSE IN?

Also, in case you are curious, the blog community I follow

has been doing these photo gatherings for quite some time...

you can see them HERE, HERE, and HERE.

JOIN ME!
crm

A VERY MERRY

 Hey you bumpy ol' yule logs,
Have a fine fine holiday.

I shall be sipping and tipping and putting together puzzles between naps and sacks of toys, all the while gazing at wonderfully tacky christmas decor.

I guess nothing much really changes.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS,
crm

OVER THE YEARS...

we've managed to scrape some pennies together and afford a few more branches.

Happy Christmas, buggers.

HAPPY FOUR WEEKS, BABY CLARA

From Clara Blake Goodrich

Four weeks ago today, my niece made me love her.

From Clara Blake Goodrich

Those damn robot-made babies are addicting.

~CRM

p.s. in 8 weeks, joel's sister will have a baby.  it's like niece-explosion around these parts.

i'm just glad it's not my parts.

ewwww.

CONTINUED...

• Clove-stuck oranges
• LifeSaver Books (esp. the buttered rum)
• Bumbles
• Dishes of antique glass holding M&Ms
• Steak and Stolen at midnight
• Mickey's "A Christmas Carol"
• New pajamas

~crm

THE THINGS THAT MAKE IT XMAS TO ME

• peppermint ice cream
• eggnog
  
• crappy plastic wreaths with candles set in the middle
• handmade red towels that adorn surfaces
• pandora's jazzy christmas station
• a crock pot full of cider or mulled wine, accompanied by corny mugs all around
• ornaments found at the dollar store
• this horrible fake garland i always put up
• the smell of the tree all throughout the house
  
• watching:
• white christmas
• rudolph the red-nosed reindeer (claymation)
• christmas vacation
• the nightmare before christmas
• miracle on 34th street (always watched with joel's dad)
• it's a wonderful life

to be continued...
~crm

THE KIND OF CHRISTMAS I'M HAVIN...

 

This year, our sense of humor is driving the sleigh.  I feel kitchy, a bit irrevrant, and festive as hell.  So festive that I might just blow off my annual Christmas Card entirely...because breaking my own rules feels so right.


Merry Friggen Christ-Birth.
crm

CUTE

Clara, my new niece


Delaney, my favorite 9month old


My sister and my sister's dog


Mekenzie and Gavin, my bff's kids



In case you needed a cute fix today.

~CRM

SNOW plus MAIL equals MAAAGGGIIICCC

I spent yesterday catching up on my life and one way I did that was reading all the final posts that came in from November's Month of Mail!  It was soo vastly satisfying to hold the entire month's mail in my hands and fondle it greedily.  It was wonderful to see people responding with such appreciation for not only the mail, but also for the idea itself. I cannot say enough about what a wonderful month it was. 

If mail isn't enough magic to bask in (can one bask in magic?), the heavens opened up and poured down its glorious white love upon my country home.

 

And snow reminds me...

(Warning: long-winded diatribe to follow)

I don't think we have enough magic in our lives as adults.  I've encounterd countless people who feel that getting into Christmas (ie, buying a tree!!!) is unecessary if there are no children around to enjoy it.  I know everyone loves watching children's faces as they marvel at the magic of lights and mangers of Jesus, but I can't help but feel a small loss when adults cannot register a similar magic.  Joelio and I become children around this time of year, putting on music all the time, opening squares in advent calendars, ooohing and aaahing over our tacky Christmas decorations.  We have no small children in this household, but we have plenty of magic.

Fall of 2008 brought with it a deep depression, and one of the major symptoms of this depression was the loss of magic in life.  Nothing interested me...trees were just trees, not living souls.  Stars were just burning things in the sky, not a map of ancient perspectives.  Christmas was obligation and debt, not candlelight and conversation.  For whatever reason, the magic has returned and I couldn't feel more grateful for it.

This season, I truly hope the advent brings you magic, and if not, at least HOPE for magic to come.   I hope this magic is for YOU and not just the little souls in your life...

~crm

A DAY ALL FOR ME

Well, I've returned to snowy  Maple Valley after a 3 week hiatus wherein I gallivanted all along the West Coast.  After spending two glorious weeks with my niece Clara (and her parents, they're pretty great too, I guess), the saint flew down to join me in driving our new car back to Seattle from San Diego.   We expected horrible snow showers and icy conditions, but the weather couldn't have been better.  A peaceful trip indeed.

Thankfully we have friends and family all along the way so we didn't have to make the 23-hour drive in one straight shot.  We had such enjoyable times visiting people; I'm counting right now and we visited 7 homes and 30 people (12 of them kids) 6 dogs, and 4 cats.

So you can imagine that this introverted lady is soaking up the quiet familiarity of her home like the solitude-sponge she is.

After the 10-hour stint from Redding to Seattle yesterday, I arrived home sleepy and thankful.  I rested in the hottest of scalding baths, lighted a candle, and ate a tortilla with butter (I often eat while in the tub, it's so luxurious!).  I noticed that I was indeed spent in word count and thought-process, full well knowing that when required to extrovert myself, the fatigue manifests itself both in cerebral function and physical fatigue.  It feels like I've just ran a 10-mile race.

Now I've returned and am eager to catch up with those here in my home; also knowing that I will need some time to recapture my social stamina and here's the great part about all of this that hit me while I was in the bath...

I was hit with my limits and let down into rest, knowing that I could not call or see a single soul for a few days and two good feelings took over where before those feelings would have been self-deprecating and full of toxic bile.  I used to berate myself for my own limits, but in the last few years of care and growth, I noticed that I liked myself not only in spite of these frustrating limitations, but even because of them.  No one can be Candace like I can.  The other wonderful feeling is receiving words from friends that remind me to take my time settling in, to call only when I am ready, to reemerge on my own time.  So, I shall. 

And the magic keeps coming in the form of flurrying snow falling upon my country home.  What perfect timing.

Perhaps tonight I shall decorate the house with my Christmas baubles...

~crm

A WALK

To celebrate the simple, ordinary, every-day beauty of the sunset, my sister and I took the baby to walk around the lake.

It was simple.
Ordinary.
Every-day.
Beautiful.

~crm

DECEMBER, I WELCOME THEE INTO MY BOSOM

Well, in the 12-month challenge, November was BY FAR my favorite month - perhaps because people joined me in it.  And yet again, I am humbly reminded that I am not an island; community is an integral part to inspiration and self-care.   It was cool not only to form new friendships, but to both give and receive written mail.  All of the challenges represented in the 12-month challenge are selected because I want to increase these things in my daily life...so I do hope that I'll be able to continue writing mail two or three times per week.

It's fun to be in a house where my mail has been received...it's like MAGIC!

So far, the months have gone a little something like this:

• August: Stick to a budget
  
• September: Claim the space for my new country home
  
• October: 25 photographs per day
  
• November: The month of mail - write a piece of mail each day.
  

So now the question remains, what to do with December?  We are already TWO WHOLE days into it, and I think perhaps this month will continue the writing theme.  Last December, I hosted a photography collaboration on Flickr called A Shot in the Dark: December Evenings...it was so fun.  I miss those collaborations, and in the name of that, might do one in January.

So December, you busy little month, you...how about this.  Every day for December I shall commit to journaling.  Journaling is something I do regularly, though not regularly enough for my taste, and since most of what I read are other artists' journals, I am inspired to do the same.  Shall you join me?

I did not bring my journal on my trip, and I won't return to it until December 11, so I think I might just have to type it...bah humbug.  I like pens and scratchy sounds on paper.

Maybe my saint will bring it with him when he joins me this weekend for our trek home.

Or maybe this month should be a commitment to finish my now WAY TOO LONG read of The Brothers Karamazov.  I am losing quite a bit of continuity prolonging the read over so many months.  Russians do not like to be put on hold like this, and I can feel myself loosing grip on Fyodor's message.  Perhaps I shall drink vodka, eat caviar, and read every night?  Hmmm.

As you can see, I am still a bit undecided.  Perhaps then December should be the month of indecision.  That should be fun.

Wishing you lots of hot coffee and chocolate cupcakes, trust me, it makes a grand breakfast,

THANK YOU

Dear Universe, Cosmo, God, Divinity, Other,

To you I say: Thank you for deep breaths, wordless communion with Clara's soul, clear night skys, cleansing tears, and 1200 miles of fresh perspective.

Oh, and chocolate cupcakes.

ANNIVERSARY SEVEN

I was driving in the dark late last week thinking of my upcoming anniversary and was quite suddenly taken with Orion in the night sky.  This is an appropriate correlation, for it was the saint who introduced me to the stars.  When we attended college in Redding (for all its faults, it has a fabulous night sky because of no city lights nearby), Joel and I used to stand in the parking lot of my apartment complex trying to tear ourselves away from each others' embrace to say goodnight, and he would teach me about the universe.

A while back, I asked my family to answer a question.  I asked them to say one thing they would not have otherwise been interested in or knowledgeable about had they married someone else.  At the time I said beer and science, but I think more specifically, I would never have thought to look up without my dearest friend lifting my sad chin towards the hope of vast possibility, of all that has been and could be, of the universal perspective.

I have been loved by good men in my life.  I always chose wisely with men (save a small year of lapsed judgment in college where I worried the holy jesus out of my best friend, jackie), and have been thinking of them lately.  I had one first love, he loved me from 6th grade to 11th grade, and was my first kiss and first intimate connection.  He taught me to see myself as worthy of love.  I can see his dark almond eyes wet with admiration for me, and I realize that I've had an amazing and enviable romantic journey.

I think of the few others and find love and admiration for them inside of me still.  "Love does not with the remover remove," after all.  Although they were all with their desperation and heartache at some point, and I do not pretend that I would have done several things differently, but I realized driving home under the stars with an eagerness to get home and show Joel how brightly Orion was beaming, that I am the only person in existence to travel this specific path...a path either destined or chosen, or both.  Either way, I realized that I am unique, lovable, and incredibly happily married.

My first love...I believe he would be proud of me if he knew me now.  I believe joel has picked up a mantel of great honor, to love a woman better than she's ever been loved AND to be loved in return.

Which is, after all, "the greatest thing you'll ever learn."

Happy Anniversary, Saint.

~your weeping willow

MY BLOOD

Didn't I just get through telling you all that we Whitney's don't like waking up?

She's so my blood...

Welcome (9 days early!!!) Clara Blake Goodrich.

5lbs, 11 oz.

Born 11/22/09 at 7:49am.

I'm headed to San Diego tomorrow for what was supposed to be a week getting ready for Clara with my sister...but alas, I guess I have to kiss her cheeks instead.

See here for more pics from Daddy's phone...

And let me just take this opportunity to apologize in advance for the inevitable picture fest that shall ensue for, well...the rest of my life.

~crm

WHOOOOT.

Is it really approaching 2 AM?  Sheesh.  This week has been a blur for me here at Booklings Manor...and my normal blogging has fallen to the wayside for more pressing projects.  I'm working on a Christmas project that was sent to the printer TODAY finally.  I'm looking forward to having it in my hands and then perhaps putting it into yours!

I'm preparing for a trip to San Diego for 2 or so weeks to meet my new (as yet, unborn) niece.  I'll be kicking it with my prego sister for Thanksgiving, helping her get ready for the baby, and soaking up some sunshine.  I'll also be purchasing her VW Golf and taking a road trip from San Diego to Seattle!  I'm excited about that because I surely do love road trips, but I'll also be stopping all along the way to visit friends and family. 

This Monday is the saint and mine 7-year wedding anniversary, and though we are hoping to take a trip to Florida in January or February, we'll still be doing something fun this weekend.  We are toying with going to the Major League Soccer championship game and eating hot dogs and drinking beer!  I know it doesn't sound like our typical posh-like outings, but I seriously love soccer (futbol) and the saint loves anything European (including the beer!). 

Okay, I have to go get sleepy now.

I'm guessing that joining joel while he watches old Dr. Who* episodes will do the trick.

Joel's addicted to BBC.

I hope you have a deliciously naughty weekend.
Except for Sunday, of course...it being the LORD's day and all.  Sheesh.

~CRM

*The Tom Baker ones, he says with his cute elitist brow turned down.

SMATTERING OF SNOW

I hate getting up.  I might be a bit notorious among my friends for waking up cranky...but I tell you my whole family is like this.  I am not sure what kind of happy annoying family you were raised in, but we Whitney's, we are late sleeping, non morning people S.O.B's.

Well, I married one of those happy annoying people, and he wakes up with a grin every.SINGLE.morning.  He has accommodated to my morning ritual of "please don't talk to me unless you have a cup of coffee in your hand for me," so he usually doesn't bother me.

You can therefore imagine my surprise when I awoke today to the saint pulling back our curtain window to shine the sun directly in my face.  Now, I have been getting up later than usual (which is already way later than the average person anyway), so I thought this was his sneaky way of waking me up to make him breakfast.  Alas!  It was not the case.

The goodly saint was waking his bride to reveal to her the season's first SNOW! I did not pop right out of bed, but I did snuggle back in with thoughts of snow and warm fuzzies.  After about 15 minutes, I got up, threw on my boots and toque, and headed outside for a few shots.

This is not a serious snow, but it certainly counts as snow and by god...I'll honor it because it got me out of bed before 10 a.m.  This is no small feat.

PS: Totally random and disgusting confession.  I made  a pot of coffee yesterday and didn't finish it.  So today I noticed it still sitting there.  Don't tell the saintly coffee and beverage snob, but I totally microwaved it and am now sipping on it.  It's gross, in a really good diner way.  Happy Wednesday!

PUBLISHED.

I am rather flushed with excitement.  Find me here...

It feels so much better than I thought it would.
Though it's a simple book review and by no means my best work,
No small thing shall go uncelebrated.
Corking a Malbec now.

Here's to a dream just beginning to unfold.
crm

ROCK THE VOTE

Go HERE to vote on this very serious matter.

~crm

MY BACKYARD

Directions:

Turn left out of driveway,

 Follow the road forever.

My husband said, "Grab your camera and boots.  Let's go explore."
I had no idea he meant explore my very own backyard.

Talk about space to stretch your wings...

A BEAUTIFUL PROBLEM TO HAVE

I've been spending my week doing a lot of writing, and not all for myself!  I can't say anything about it, but I hope to have an article published in Antler Magazine come November 15th.

It's also the MONTH OF MAIL - and even if you didn't join in to write a snail mail post every day, you can take advantage of the reminder to write your mother, daughter, friend, husband (post it?!) or cat and let their mailbox get a break from bills and junk.  I wrote my grandpa a small postcard, and he left a voicemail gushing about how it was so meaningful to him.  Seriously, mail can be profound. 

So all of this writing! Sheesh...

Not a bad problem to have.

GET TO IT.

SHORTY.

The leaves are my new foot-traffic.
I watch them make utter fools of themselves, dancing about at every whim of the wind.
They smell better than cigarettes.

Waves of tranquility wash over me,
A tumbled-jumbled spin cycle.






~crm

Parched?

Does your soul garden need watering?

sigh.
~crm

A TRUE NURSE MAID

For a belated Mother's Day present, I took the saint's mother to Molbak's a few days ago.  It was the perfect brisk, sunny Autumn day.

Molbak's is the most amazing nursery/home and garden store.  It's not only MASSIVE, but it has a garden cafe in the center that breaks up the day of shopping quite nicely with a great sandwich and glass of Sav Blanc...and is pretty much guaranteed that if you come to visit, we'll be headed to Woodinville for a day there.

In the four hours we spent wandering around looking at indoor and outdoor plants, I felt the most immensely euphoric peace.  Save the peak of tall mountains (which I can only imagine, since I am not a hiker), I do not think it's possible to breath so deeply than while at Molbak's.  Truly, I feel as though my soul escaped my bod so it could go dancing in the azaleas, climbing the Japanese maples, hiding in the bamboo, staring at the bonsai, drinking in the color of the wandering jews...

And that's just the INDOOR section!

Then we headed out...

Post It!

I've so been enjoying this month of mail so far.  A few lovely ladies have joined our collective to write mail, and I am so glad for the company.  I cannot encourage snail mail enough.  The intentionality of it, the intimacy of it, the pleasure of writing and receiving...there is really nothing like it.

Grab a postcard,

Jot a thought.

Seal it with a kiss

(After you apply red lipstick, bien sur)

grab your scarf.

Walk out to your post box

and SEND.

AROUND THESE HERE PARTS

I woke one morning this week and rather suddenly felt adjusted to this country life.  I no longer pine daily for Seattle or the pitter-patter of smoking pedestrians in skinny jeans.  I miss my old life, but graduatlly, I feel my colors changing.

Though my feet are cold and wet, my leaved face is brilliant from the nostalgic heat of summer.

It's rather a fascinating sight to behold.
If I do say so myself.

You may be curious...what DOES Candace do all day?  Well, around here, we are reading, shooting photographs, cooking EVERY.SINGLE.MEAL (hell, I'm even making my own coffee...how bumpkin is that?! ), sleeping more, listeing to our thoughts, taking country drives, falling into occasional existential crisis, taking hot baths, playing games, seeing friends more, and stopping each other in the kitchen to steal a smooch.  I am writing, scouring craigslist, writing letters, planting succulents, seeing my family more,  and getting damn good at building my own fires.  It's not a bad life, not a bad life at all.

During the saint's lunch breaks, we've been trying to get out and stretch our legs.    Sadly, Missy Octavia cannot accompany us on these walks....

I do have to warn those of you who do not get to experience Autumn,

these pictures just might break your heart.

(just to add insult to injury, this trail is exactly 20 steps from our front door).

{I got a new lipstick, and I thought that instead of being disappointed that no one would actually see how fabulous it was, I would show it off to the trees instead.  They swooned.}

After so much country, this gal is taking her man into the city for a proper meal (and to buy more coffee!  Just because I don't live by a Vivace doesn't mean I have to drink non-vivace beans.  I shudder at the thought!!!) of Spanish tapas and sangria.


Want me to pick something up for ya?
That's what we country-folk do for our neighbors, pick up stuff in the city.

Countrily Yours,

HAPPY NOVEMBER

Oh my, it's a glorious Sunday here at Booklings Manor.  The saint is making all kinds of man-sounds out in the yard with various heavy machinery and I am peaking at him through the window above my writing desk.

How was your Halloween?

We got an extra hour of sleep (which we needed in order to recover from our bourbon pumpkin pie eating, (with homemade crust by yours truly!!) pumpkin stein making, and late night viewing of Hitchcock's The Birds (what did YOU do?)) and decided to saunter into town for a breakfast bite.  Coffee, tea, two griddle cakes, bacon, and eggs later, we returned home just in time to catch the most brilliant sunshine.  Truly, I am wasting this remarkable light and should be outside with my camera capturing this fall set aflame...but there is more day to be had.  I think I'll ask the saint to take a fall drive with me on our way to his parent's house for our regular Sunday relaxationation.  Wanna come?!

Today marks the beginning of November's 12 month challenge, the month of mail.  I am happy to say that I have just finished writing my first postcard and will be placing it in the mail on my morning walk tomorrow.   There is still time to join up if you think you'd like to participate in the challenge.  Shoot me an email!

Well I am off to busy myself about the day with a glad heart.  I will be detailing my car, enjoying my family, paying my rent, making the menu for the week, and playing with my camera.  Happy Sunday!

WALKER IN THE WOODS AND 12-MONTH CHALLENGE: A MONTH OF MAIL

Yesterday, I took myself out for a walk whilst HOME ALONE!  This was a new experience for me because I went exploring without joel working here from home to make sure I was safe.  This may sound cowardly to you, but to be fair, we do live in a heavily forested region and not only am I unfamiliar with the woods, but it would be unwise for anyone to go traipsing off alone.   Right across the street is a city watershed, so the area is really unpopulated.   I decided I needed to get my blood flowing (my newly found "DUH" way of trying to lighten the mood), so I threw on my lime green rubber boots, packed a handful of candy corns, grabbed my pocket-journal and went.

Though it was a successful trip (my legs are sore and it helped my bleak outlook considerably), I was disappointed that I was still distracted by the 4 humans I encountered as they drove by.  One guy in a Chevy was lurking around a gate to enter a trail (though I didn't know it at the time and was rather creeped out) and I may have dodged into a wooded canopy in order to become unseen.  This is comical to me today...wasn't so yesterday.  Also, I sat on a log and got my bum very wet.  But I was very proud of myself for facing my fears and gathered a twig to commemorate the event.  By the time I leave this place, I will have a slew of twigs by which to remember these walks...which will be important because I have a wee hunch that the candace who leaves this place will be a different candace than entered it.  I do not foresee me being more comfortable in the woods than in the city, but I do hope that I can be in the forest and really see it instead of only seeing me in it.  Did that make any sense?! :)

What's on your agenda for Friday?  I am feeling so much better than yesterday...as I was in such a funk (read: I attempted a carrot soup that came out looking and tasting like baby food.  It boiled over at one point and splattered onto my eyelid, promptly burning the flesh. The only thing that helped was a dairy queen blizzard and four hours of LOST).  Today I am moseying through craigslist to find that perfect chair, perhaps headed to Ikea to buy new plants, and taking a lunch-time walk with the saint.   It's a granola bar, green tea, and a hopeful outlook for me today.

HERE'S AN EXCITING NEW PROSPECT FOR YOUR NOVEMBER!!!

READ ON....

November's 12-month challenge will be the month of mail here at Booklings Manor.  I will send out a piece of correspondence every single day for the entire month.  Dear friends, for this challenge, I was hoping you might join me!  The easiest way to do this is in a postcard exchange.  Stock up on postcards, jot out a paragraph, and send it off!  It doesn't have to be sent every day, you could write one per day and then send them all out on Saturday.

I am hoping to orchestrate the participants so that those writing posts will also be receiving posts.  Do tell me below or email me at candacemorris at gmail dot com if you are interested in doing this with me!  Then, pop on out and stock up on postcards.  If you need ideas, I love the postcards for sale here, or make your own!  We'll begin November 1st!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

MUSINGS OF A COUNTRY-OLIC

I've had a few thoughts on my mind lately...my usual sprinkling of questions to do with existence, relationship, and art.    Spurred by the intelligent lyrics of Neko Case, Dostoevsky, and a young Plath, I've come to realize how my routine here includes less writing than I am used to.  I suppose this could have a lot to do with settling in and all the creativity and soul required to listen to where the objects of your life want to be placed.

But it is also something that I suspected would happen out here...without people.  I did roughly 60% of my letter writing in cafes and restaurants, whereas here...I have yet to find a place.  I am sure this requires actually LOOKING for a place, but I am still in the needing towel-racks and "what the hell am i going to do with these window treatments" phase of life.  This, up until now, has been a justification for me ignoring my own soul.

I think I realized that I pursue this writing life, this artistic soul-journey, only when I really have time.  This does not an artist make (in my definition, which each must do for herself).  Rather, an artist will be consumed by his work and allow life to  be what falls to the wayside, not the expression and very necessity of her soul.

Consequently, I've felt a wee bit emotionally stunted... out of touch with myself...the good and the bad.  I also stopped attending therapy for a some time, and I am gagging on the the words stuck in my throat - backing up the flow of ideas and fire of thought I usually possess.

Add guilt.  In order to make this time worth it, I feel as though I must find a use, a purpose, and true meaning.  Without this directed (read 8am to 5pm) purpose, I feel bathed in guilt.  There is some sort of firebrand scathing my ass to be thankful for all I have right now.  So many people are looking at my life with puppy-dog eyes...as they should!  I mean, it's really amazing right now.  I must admit the temptation to downplay it or justify it somehow...as if me struggling with it would make it easier for them to swallow or wanting to sometimes scream that I've had enough pain to last a lifetime so I somehow deserve it.  Both of these excuses would be a gross oversimplification of all the nuances and adjustments happening right now.   My husband is working his ass off to provide this life for me, and I do not take this for granted.  But I also somehow feel the need to explain to people that I am also working my ass off.  Like Plath, I am "forging a soul amidst great birth pangs" and how this takes a non-American, non-commercial, non-paying kind of work.  So I guess there is something inside me that thinks if I just feel guilty or downplay how wonderful my surroundings are or how well I take care of myself that will make it easier for other people to swallow.  I believe I can handle both the good feelings and the bad feelings of those I love, but I also know that god gives, god takes away.  What makes my life rich is comprised of my internal work, not my external circumstances.   How privileged I am to have the pleasure of that thought, a bliss reserved for a person whose basic needs are met.  This is an admonition to myself as well as to those of you finding envy and pity riding on your backs.

And oh, my surroundings!  Yesterday, while driving into town to do a Costco/Trader Joe's run, I spied a momma cow and a baby cow (going to google to look up the appropriate word) ahem CALF.  The calf was feeding and tucked just so into the mother's underbelly.  I almost died from the distraction (these country roads are curvy and unpredictable, like the best kind of woman), and I almost cried from sentiment and beauty.    I find myself gradually getting living in the city out of my system, finding new routines and activities that replace and heal the severing.  For instance, I've been a cooking machine!  In the city, it's far cheaper and easier to eat take-out 2 or 3 times/week.  Here, there is absolutely nothing convenient about it.

But what is convenient it a life of quiet study, endless reflection, a new-found enjoyment of social activities, the building of fires, the company of my saint, the planning and execution of meals, and the saunters through the wet forest floor.  I knew these things were far more necessary than take-out.

As well as my online community, I've been the happy recipient of your happy thoughts towards me and this new life.  This amazes me.  I dream of a time where you are around my hearth, sharing my tea, and knitting (because you all knit in my mind, of course).

Thankfully,

crm

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS

One day a lifetime spans.

Conception and gestation by moonlight.

Life and birth upon

waking.  Tears bequeath teeth brings

baby words of complaint. Feed

me.  Hold

me! Love me?

Mid-morning brings the terrible-twos.

A childhood found too late and

Too early lost.

Read me a nap-time story, Fyodor.  Of a god I

just have met.  Tell this child

of a brotherly saint. Of the faith

birthed through death.

Afternoon, adolescence.

Just learned to stop cringing when Dad

makes the coffee too strong.

The rays break through

the rains and the biting chill of autumn

Air as it whooshes past bicycling feet

Too big for her awkward, unbalanced body.

Wobbling, relearning.

The sun sets as a walk

through womanhood dawns.

Yet the blood flows like never before

Productivity in pinks and projects.

The young voice forgotten.

To the florist and grocer to take care

of home.

To dinner, to middle ages.

Moon's breath and cardamom knives

through the immaturity and brings laughter and ease

into the wine bottle.

Midnight drive into convalescence.

Slumber eases the soul into afterlife.

One life, one day

A lifetime spans.

{mme}

written as a continual reminder to myself that often days carry within their skin multitudes of moods, to neither trust or distrust them, and to remember that a walk through the forest can change anything.

The lap of luxury

Oh to perform these audacious acts of security and demand...and know that my owner will love me all the better for it.

~crm

The weekend of gluttenous food consumption

If I could write a big sighhhhhhhh, I would.  But imagine with me a weekend of flurry and cooking and cleaning and playing and drinking and socializing and laughing and building fire and karaoking and a wee bit of slumber, and you've had a glimpse into my weekend...which was a good time for sure, but wow...I am exhausted!

 

For Niki's birthday, we gals flew her and her Tice out from NYC to be here.  The boys went on their "food orgy," and the girls came here.  I tell you what, if there is nothing else...these people know how to friggggen cook and friggen eat.  I cannot even recount all the men tasted (frog's legs, escargot, etc), I can vouch for the beauty of food amongst the women and my new home.  Seriously, if you EVER need a party planning/catering service, we're your group!

And I tell you, there is nothing like cooking for and with those you love to make this double-wide feel like a home.

How was your weekend?  There is nothing like Monday to sober a gal up...and never-ending dishes. :)

~crm

p.s. Though she looks cracked out, isn't she cute?!!!

From Oct 25 Weekend (Niki Visit)