Where does a meme go to die?

Anyone else wonder whatever happened to “she’s a flight risk”?

Today’s Cliche

I’m sure there is a scientific explanation for this, but it seems that snow brings a certain quality of silence with it.  This silence is compounded by power outages.  What’s left (assuming no one in the neighborhood has a snow blower) is a massive aural space between the organic sounds that humans make.  Your own breathing.  The rhythmic scrape of a shovel on pavement.  Neighbors who haven’t spoken since the last “snow event” saying hello.

I walked the dog through our power-free neighborhood two nights ago.  The snow had almost finished.  There was a fairytale quality to it – not like prince charming was lurking somewhere around the corner, but in the way that anything is possible in a fairytale.  The silence made room for the magic.  Somehow all of our mechanical whirring and clicking and buzzing and ticking doesn’t leave any room for fairies.

Named before its born

2011 is officially The Year of Squeezing the Salty Peach.

Other nominations include The Year of the Fine Line, The Year of Bright Lights, and The Year of Taking Notice and Being Noticed.  In my own personal lore on this subject, the discarded names have their pull on the year as well.

Explanation for the name?  Once upon a time, GLP’s grandmother insisted upon buying fresh peaches when the family drove to the ocean.  This tradition was repeated on one of the few group vacations we took, except in our version, salt was added to the peaches instead of sugar.  Somehow the salt, though not ideal, has become a happy memory.  So squeezing the salty peach is about finding joy where you are and making the most of what you’ve got.   Being present to yourself (and for the girls, their families) instead of fretting about the future or the past.

Happy already-here New Year to the Eastern Hemisphere, and happy anticipated New Year to the Western Hemisphere.  Personally, I wonder if those dopes from the Subaru commercials really do make it out to the eastern-most point in the US to be the first to welcome the New Year to North America….

One of those lingering questions I’ll never get an answer to, I suppose.

And Who Wouldn’t Want to be Here Instead of Here?

God Bless UK Trains

Am home again.  Am sick. Am quite possibly much better for having bounced all over the UK over the last week.  Am certainly much poorer for it.  Now, to make something of what I learned.

a pretty good life

Memorial Day 2009.  Met up at the Waterfront with $50 of food and wine from Trader Joe’s, crawled onto the boat and meandered along the Potomac all day. 

I was the only one in the water, which probably means I’m the only one that will get some rare infection from swimming with the bodies that get dumped in the water.  Oh well.  It wasn’t too sunny, I got good pictures of everyone and everything (will post some later, I suppose), and I got my heron, though no photograph of him.  I didn’t leap to my camera either.  It seemed to be enough that he was there. 

It occured to me that the lion would have enjoyed the afternoon.  Under other circumstances, I would have enjoyed the lion’s company.  So it goes.  Up next?  Perhaps a weekend of wandering the water.  Maybe a whole week.

if you are looking

you better get your binoculars.  I’m getting my backside over an ocean and a continent and I might not come back.

St. Louis Blues

I’m here with a much better group this time.  Though I had a salad, a glass of wine, and an entree for around $60.  

But…  I don’t know.  I like the girls.  No issue with that.  I just look around me and (with the exception of people I already know and like) the people I see disgust me.  Theoretically handsome boys at the bar, some with cigarettes in their hands, and I am repulsed.

Though, to be fair, they might have been repulsed by my wonky hair, flip flops, and fundamentally boho look.  I was much happier sitting in the plane, off in my own little world, working on a pet project.  

Somehow, I think this just isn’t going to work out for me.  Which is ok.  Me and the dog are getting along just fine.

ash wednesday

what sins have you confessed and repented?

Homework for AM

please go to the real live brick and glass version of this place www.stitchlounge.com and tell me what you think.