Everything's gone green

Back to the grind.

Sneezeweed sunday

Sometimes a picture is all you need.

Sit and stay awhile. It gets better.

Life is sweet

Don't be bitter. Happy Friday.

1 september 2011

It's the Labor Day weekend here and without kids and back to school obligations, it just becomes another farewell to summer weekend. We have been pretty lucky - most weekends we have had nothing to do.

Nothing.

And. It. Was. Awesome.

We spent a lot of weekends with our friends at their house on Orcas Island. The house reminds me of the house I grew up in and the house my brother now owns - Northwest classic with soaring windows and lots of wood beams. The house also has a garden - one that had been neglected for so long but called out for a little love and reorganization. Clearly someone once had loved this garden as it was full of perennials and beautiful - oh so beautiful. Beds made with river rock, a bit crooked, a bit rustic, but with good bones. The garden is away from the house, in an area that gets lots of sun and wisely enclosed with a deer fence.



We spent a few weekends making plans, pulling weeds, moving plants, mulching and spreading wood chips and made a garden for our friends. The weather here has not been so cooperative, so things are not as big or magnificent as we had expected, but we have an idea of what is to come.



And now we rest- we take lots of naps, walk dogs, cook good food and walk on the beach. Other than weeding and picking peas, lettuce and kale, we can sit back and enjoy a garden that will once again, be loved and tended.

Maybe the same will happen with my blogging.

31.o eight. Eleven

Well that was a wrap. September awaits.

Thirty. Eight. Twenty eleven

Or maybe I'll just go back to Barcelona. The world is replete with possibilities.

29.08.2011

Dreaming of an October weekend in Paris. You?

Last Sunday in august

The summer is slipping away. Embrace it, as much as you can.

Moving on

At some point, you have to stop waiting for something to happen and start making plans.

Towards the end of the month

First of 3 20 milers done, sangria drunk, dinner catch up with a dear friend and the smell of ripe blackberries hitting the warm trail...

25 august

Clarity - gaining it is a murky process.

One day next year

We'll be able to look at today and wonder what the fuss was all about. Until then, life is just shit.

23 of august

Red!

21.08.2011

Seriously. With. One. Month. Left.
Debbie. Downer.

19 august

Cookies bake while I roast. That, friends is a deep thought.

17 august 2011

We lose 3 minutes of daylight each day - those 7 am starts are soon going to be dark. I hate that.

Eight times two. Eight.

Boom.

15th of august

I think one should celebrate a marathon by traveling to Helsinki. What say you?

14 augosto

Why do we not celebrate like the Italians?

13 of august

This is one I haven't seen yet.

8.10.11

More like watch your back. I call a do over.

9 of august

If I could only tell you.

8.08.11

Remembering those who are no longer with us.

8.07.2011

13 pounds of pie cherries in the freezer. Let's make pie.

08.05.2011

Life is just like this at times. Get over it.

August the fourth/forth

Honestly, it is just time to stop. Regroup. Think outside the box you put yourself in - for once.

The third in a series

At least we are seeing progress on one of many fronts we're fighting.

August the second

Let Armageddon begin.

August first

Oh, let it be a drama free month.

Life and Death 2.0

This evening, I briefly saw a friend of mine at a food blogger event.
She is one of the most ebullient people I know. Tonight she was very distant and standoffish, and definitely not her cheerful self. She excused herself and left early.

Soon after, I sat down at a table with friends and checked my "streams" It was then that I saw a Facebook post mentioning the passing of Kim Ricketts, literary event promoter and genuinely amazing person. I was shocked, not just by the devastating news, but also in the delivery. RIP via Social Media? Do we no longer send black edged cards announcing the passing of family or friends? That is too slow and requires postage. We now do things quickly, instantaneously, and sometimes without thought. Like it or not, life does happen in 140 characters or less - but is it always appropriate?

My memory is filled with the exact place, time and delivery of the news of the death of loved ones. When I was little, I grew to dread the middle of night telephone calls that usually meant that someone back home had died. Later, we would receive telegrams and letters expressing sorrow. It seemed to prolong, yet at the same time soften the blow of loss - 6000 miles and staticky phone lines help, along with a touch of youthful innocence.

Making phone calls to family and friends after the death is also something I have grown accustomed to. After the death of TH's father, I remember sitting with the phone book in my lap making call after call. I hoped that the phone would ring and no one would answer so that I could hang up. I was relieved when I heard a friendly voice would pick up on the other end. The first words are the hardest, and I dread silence on other end - wanting to fill the gaps of comprehension.

I cannot say enough about the grace of my friend who while consuming her own grief and shock, did not announce to the world her mourning and loss. She is a class act.

We all have our ways of processing loss and expressing grief. I did post on my Facebook wall about my shock of her death and my sadness. She was an amazing person that had the knack and gift of building a community of food lovers, chefs and writers. I read others' twitter streams and realize that having an one to many conversation about loss is how they deal with grief. This is something I cannot do well in 140 characters or less, I need more bandwidth.

I will honor Kim by continuing to cherish books and the written word. TH and I will toast her with hot cocoa and wish you all had had the good fortune to have crossed paths with her.

Oops

Travel got in the way.

Enough

My brain is about to explode.

I am in on the Gulf coast of Mississippi today. We passed through many towns flattened by Katrina. It was the furthest East on the coast I have been since the hurricane. I wish I could say that there is a lot of coastal resilience here. It is hard to rebuild when insurance companies deny you claims. It is hard to rebuild when your livelihood is gone. It is hard to see so many vacant lots where grand summer houses once stood. It is a lot different from New Orleans, it is homey (apart from the casinos) and life is slower here.

Rebuilding takes time, community, money, faith, compassion, patience and hope. Things will never be the same here, the sea and the wind are powerful forces and we should forget that.

I still can't talk about Japan, this time it cut too close to home.

Haiku for Sunday

My upgrade to Dallas hasn't cleared. It won't, hipsters are thronging to Austin for sxsw. Have at it.

Clunky boots
Musky patchouli
Twitter haikus in short
bursts

My evening will be spent in a casino in Bay St.Louis, MS. Don't feel sorry for me, because hopefully on Saturday, I'll be spending my lunch time on the Ile st. Louis in Paris.

I still can't write about Japan.

Sorry.

Countdown to new years

Rice cookies

No words

It has been a long day.

Quince

Really much better in color, but stunning nonetheless.

Plummy

This day is over, thank the gods.

Tuesday

Baby bassets, crocii, catching up with new/old friends, pancakes, beagles, did I mention baby bassets?

Meet the Lone Ranger

In love

Ernest and Phracey turned five today. Geez, where has the time gone? I have had this blog longer than we have had Ernest. Everyday with him is different. Maybe we treat our animals as children, sainted objects of our affection and dote on them too much. Honestly, this dog is the love of my life. Everyday with Ernest is a new day - things to do, smells to smell and people to meet. His life becomes our life and this is not a bad thing.

I never intended to fall in love with a fifty pound basset hound with buns of steel. Nor, did I ever think we would be blessed to have built up a friendship with his breeder and her husband. Having them in our lives has also been a joy.

Ernest, may your curiosity, stubbornness, good nature and boyish good humor bring us all joy for the next year.
love,
nmom

Saturday

A day that made me glad that I was not hurtling through the air @ 500 mph. We need more of those.

Friday

Ernest has it right. I am over the week. Time to move on.

Is it spring yet?

New Year's prep is already here! Yeeps.

Are you there god?

It's me, Ernest.

in a word

Where I have been? In a word, everywhere. I have been stuck in a snowstorm in London, lounged in Rome, shopped for salt in Paris, ate pinxtos in Barcelona along with other comings and goings.

Never fear, my family still remembers what I look like and so does my dog.

I am participating in NaBloPoMo this month, partially to get myself back on track, but mostly because I need the outlet.

Bear with me.