At the inlaws
Navigating the bizarre, delightful terrain of family. The humidity is something. Bean rides his bike in gleeful circles on the drive. His grandad lets him steer the lawn tractor. His smile is impossibly wide. We eat outside, toasting with bubbly wine and watching the fireflies come out. There is so much about this family that is complicated, but so much that I adore. I have a stack of end-of-year reports to finish, and more fiction to write. Right now I am in desperate need of coffee. And shorts. I don’t own any–except garden work worthy ones. I don’t know how that happened really, except for the fact that I find it impossibly hard to find shorts that fit well. Do you have any favorites?
Happy weekend everyone!
Goods, The way I operate | Comments (8)A little help, please
What might one give a guy this holiday season? I need some ideas…both for big gifts and tiny ones (Dh & I are uber cheesy; we exchange little treasures every day of advent–a tradition left over from my childhood). I always hate myself when it’s December 23 and I haven’t thought of anything and end up opting for sweaters. What are you contemplating for the men in your lives?
List obsession, Goods, Daily Photo | Comments (19)10 random things
1) This reminded me how much fun it is to write an utterly random list.
2) Things I am into this month: pomegranates, this soap, making homemade granola, Scrubs on tivo, hearing my son giggle, and remembering to make time for the stack of books on my nightstand.
2) Sitting down and beginning anything—a manuscript, a book, my to do list—is the hardest part.
3) When we ripped out a wall in the bathroom upstairs, we found a Dr. Pepper bottle from 1976. It sits on the windowsill in my studio now.
5) I am procrastinating about working on a manuscript right now.
6) I love Tahitian vanilla ice cream.
7) I’m adore this orange infused dark chocolate. Dark chocolate can do no wrong anyway–but with a hint of orange? Reminds me of driving through southern California as a kid and smelling the heady scent of orange blossoms on the breeze.
I almost always choose wine by the label.
9) Violence towards women is something I have become deeply angry about, and I want to do more to affect change.
10) Even in winter, I like having bare feet. Radiant heat makes me happy, and so do my clogs.
Your turn. Write 10 random facts about you, right now—here or on your blog. If you post on your blog, leave your link here so I can check ‘em out.
List obsession, Goods, Daily Photo | Comments (25)From a family of writers
You know how it is when you get an email from someone and it’s so good you can’t bear to just click ‘save’? I got one like that from my older sister last night, and I have to share. She’s a sales rep for the uber-cool new woman-specific clothing company Lole (“Live Outloud Every Day), and she’s traveling through a whole bunch of Western states showing their new fall line. 9 days on the road.
Dear Family,
Miles and miles under the belt, streaming across the lands of the Nez Perce. Cheyenne and Shoshone, the engine laboring under the cruise control as rolling hill and pass grind under the tires. It’s amazing and not surprising that they call this the land of the big sky. It’s breathtakingly beautiful. I can imagine those native faces crossing the waist high grass on horse back, moving swiftly and efficiently from summer to winter camps, leaving nothing in their passing but the slight traces of a camp fire pit. It’s amazing what we’ve done to this country, and by we I mean us white folks. The mine tailing piles high, filling entire valleys in some places; toxic streams trickle from the fetid flanks and poison entire communities. It’s so hard to take, this mix of breathtaking beauty and life-taking toxicity, Montana yet another state of juxtaposition, the awe-inspiring amazing with the equally deadly amazing.
I passed a forest fire today. Burning bright against the hills, smoke searing lungs of all in range no matter the air setting on the car air conditioner, fire fighters huddled against the shade of a helicopter watching the flames move ever closer no matter the effort of the air tanker above. This land is so wild it steals your heart; just like that kitten found behind a dumpster so weak and starving you have no choice but to take it in.
I am exhausted today. The odometer measures nearly 1500 miles so far. Tomorrow I drive north to Flathead Lake and Kalispell. To the cool of the mountains, a welcome break from the heat of the valleys, I will turn and twist, following the flanks of the hills and peaks that make this part of the world so famous. I have had only about four hours I can call my own so far this trip. I am a maniac for stretching my personal limits of endurance. Let’s see, Kalispell is three hours drive from Missoula that means I can show three accounts, tour the town, stop at the local dive for lunch and then race for the hills, arriving in a blur to do it all over again. But something about this job inspires me to be my best and that is all I can ask of a job.
I miss my husband I miss my animals and most of all I miss the green, color so achingly hummingly green it hurts my teeth to look at. Out here, it’s all brown: beautiful but brown indeed, interspersed with irrigated farms….
Good, huh? So are their clothes. I’m in love with several hoodies, and some of their pants make you look like you have the perfect ass, regardless of your actual ass. Check ‘em out.
Writing, Goods, Overheard | Comments (4)I’m not saying
Either this gorgeous handbag is the real deal & an exquisite gift from my mother-in-law. Or, it is a knock-off that she bought on Canal street, after following a man who didn’t speak any English up seven flights of stairs to a back room in the garment district where she was locked into a room overflowing with bags, where she selected this beautiful specimen for a mere fistful of smallish bills. I’m not telling.
But I love it because it does far more than simply schlep all my stuff around: it makes my painfully boring black t-shirt and khakis fashionable, simply by being tossed over my shoulder nonchalantly. For this reason alone, I will now commence carrying it everywhere.
Didn’t think I was the type to tote Prada bag? I didn’t think so either. But then I though this might be just the thing I need to rectify my flagrantly pathetic approach to style.
I’m all about effortless fashion, people. And what could be more effortless than carrying a bag that can hold everything from diapers to lip gloss and still look divine?
Goods | Comments (20)A list of beautiful things
…that have caught my eye or gave me reason to pause:
This necklace.
This photo.
The chai tea from this place. (I also love the fact that on the wall by the counter hangs a hammer. Below it is a note that reads, In case of emergency, smash anything.)
This found art.
This church.
This t-shirt.
These classes.
These sheets.
This project.
…and this online zine.
Back to normal operations, or: sleep is for the weak
I got it here, when we were there. Could there be a more perfect T? If you look reeeealy closely, you can see his first little tooth poking through. And yes, the other one’s coming in so we’re not getting much sleep around here. Still.
Goods, Mommy?! | Comments (13)Small good things
I accomplished something nearly impossible today: I found a pair of jeans that fit my silly long legs!
I bought my first pomegranate of the season, and type with bright red juice staining my cuticles.
I went for a run in the cold for the first time all week. I’ve missed it. My body thrives on the rhythm of running and breathing.
I got an extra hour of sleep this morning—while DH read the newspaper and watched Bean.
I taught Bean how to sign *milk* this week—he caught on faster than I ever imagined he would—and it’s made things so much simpler. We’ve avoided several typical meltdowns because he can convey what he wants.
I got a cup of Old World hot chocolate walking back from dinner out tonight. It’s thick and rich and dark and unbelievably good, especially on a cold evening.
I decided to trust that the house thing will work out. And didn’t think about it again all day.
List obsession, Goods, The way I operate, Mommy?! | Comments (16)Plout eater
As far as I can gather, plouts are a funky plum+apricot hybrid, and for some reason they are available in my local market–grown locally and organic. Bean loves them, and spends a delightful twenty minutes at a time sucking at the sweet, firm golden flesh.
CORRECTION: Plu-ot. See above post.
Goods, Daily Photo | Comments (18)Something to make it all better
Oh this is so good. It made everything slightly more right. Not to mention, Bean sat in front of the stereo just listening and grinning for more than a minute. Ahhh.
Goods | Comments (2)