*lindsey {a former mississippian makes a home in new york}

::coffee-stained saturday::

"the visible exhausts me.  i am dissolved in shadow." ~ theodore roethke

 

*we almost bought the clock house.  it's supposed to keep perfect time.  but the new owner is not very consistent with keeping it wound.

so yesterday was pie day in my little village.  i don't have any use for the man selling the pies (he is nothing like the pie maker in pushing daisies).  so no pie for me.  outdoor christmas decorations are starting to pop up everywhere.  i hate that no one waits until after thanksgiving to start decorating.  thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays.  my mom would always put the turkey on early in the morning and by the time everyone got up the smell had permeated the whole house.  i can still picture her wearing her favorite apron.  i remember one thanksgiving when she decided to cook the turkey in a brown paper bag.  she didn't write down the recipe, so she faked it.  it came out a beautiful golden brown on the outside but to say it was underdone on the inside was a monumental understatement.  nobody died but we never let her live it down!

my weekend is full of suffocating to-do lists a mile long, but also multiple concerts, a production of urinetown, catching up on mad men and dexter, deciphering my daughter's russian as she finds herself in tutu hell, and possibly fondue and white russians for dinner. 

what does your weekend look like?

::i kinda wish::

"you get a little moody sometimes but i think that's because you like to read.  people that like to read are always a little fucked up." ~ pat conroy

 

*i so want to go see finian's rainbow on broadway with the yummy cheyenne jackson.

*i wish i had enough willpower to wake up very very early every morning to catch the sunrise over the lake.  my daughter and i watched it as i drove her back to the bus station monday morning after too short a weekend.  naturally, i managed to leave the camera at home.  but just for a moment it made EVERYTHING seem possible.

*i kinda wish i lived on a houseboat.  or in a lighthouse.

*i wish the floorboards upstairs were painted white.  but i love how creaky they've been lately.

*i kinda wish i was having a good hair day!

*i wish i had a vat full of salt and vinegar potato chips.

*i wish i could wear red lipstick.  i'm more of a pink and orange kinda person.

*i kinda wish i had my own vegetable and herb garden.  it would be chock full of tomatoes, banana peppers, chile peppers, broccoli, zucchini, cilantro, mint, rosemary, basil, lavender...

*i wish the cats would stop walking across the kitchen counters leaving behind wet pawprints!

*i kinda wish i lived in stars hollow - i do believe i'm the last female on earth to start watching gilmore girls! 

::wicked, good!::

 "the body apologizes to the soul for its errors, and the soul asks forgiveness for squatting in the body without invitation." ~ gregory maguire

  

    
i pass by this lake every time i head off for my dunkin donuts coffee fix.  which is often since there is no starbucks within close proximity.  

 i signed up to be a book fairy AND cannot wait until it's my turn!

i'm practicing random acts of kindness.  i paid for the person's order behind me in line at dunkin donuts this morning.  i think i freaked everyone out!  cannot wait to do it again!

my new mantra:  not waiting till everything's perfect!!!

p.s. - is anyone else suffering from glee withdrawals?

::pieces of my november::

 

definitely not enough coffee today.  i shared my breakfast with all the animals.  multiple errands.  it's cruel that all the store shelves are now stocked with christmas stuff.  too many bills and too much laundry.  and i'm out of dryer sheets which means my underwear feels stiff and scratchy.  staying up way past my bedtime (4 am).  hating this time change.  trying to take in all the extra afternoon light i possibly can.  turquoise flecks in my sky before it started sleeting or snowing or whatever it's doing.  a blanket of white frost covering the yard earlier.  my eyebrows need plucking.  and i've got thank you notes to write.  falling in love with this quote by diane keaton - "you know, even as a kid, i always went for the wrong women.  i think that's my problem.  when my mother took me to see snow white, everyone fell in love with snow white.  i immediately fell for the wicked queen."  this describes my daughter to a tee!  and just like my camera, i'm feeling a wee bit out of focus.  such is my messy not so perfect tuesday. 

happy election day!

::finding my rhythm::

"listen--are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?" ~ mary oliver

 

i need to be on a cleaning binge.  instead too many distractions.  like trying to get my daughter home before she runs off with the moscow ballet for two months (doing wardrobe/costumes).  i am looking for inspiration.  but leftover halloween makeup stains my face and i am desperately craving leftover candy.  tonight is french onion soup and greek salad and bad tv.  when i am really wanting to plan my escape.

happy sunday wishes!!!

::mischief, mirth, and magic::

 

*best dressed house on the block!

happy halloween!!!

 first - cocktails.  then, off to do the time warp!  a jump to the left...yes, dressed in costume!  have a great and spooky weekend!  complete with a sugar high.

 

::there are::

  

{photo by lynn brennan and the evening tribune}

simply no words adequate enough for today.  i heard multiple sirens whizzing past the house early early this morning but didn't give it a second thought.  this is pretty much a daily occurrence when you live on main street.  until i heard what happened.  thirteen college students lost everything.  and several of our village storefronts were completely destroyed in this horrific blaze.  all this literally right down the street from me.  before anyone could catch their breath - gone in an instant.  my favorite alfred blogger wrote about it here and has several amazing photos.  thank god no one was hurt.  my heart goes out to everyone affected and to the brave firefighters who came from five different towns to help.  i'm not sure alfred will ever be the same.

::vicki::

 

*sending sweet recovery wishes to my beautiful mother-in-law.  she's home recuperating from back surgery. 

*this is on my must see wish list!

::shades::

"if the color yellow runs out, with what will we make bread?" ~ pablo neruda

  

the colors and leaves are almost gone.  soon daylight savings.  and winter.  oatmeal with cranberries for breakfast.  soups and pastas and stews for dinner.  and frozen grapes for dessert!  yum.  i am wanting to catch up on my reading.  she has a new book out!  and my daughter wants an apron!  i wish i had all of my mom's vintage ones to give her.  aprons are very "hip" again.  instead, i am busy rewriting old recipes for her.  all of them stored in my mother's aged and slightly worn green recipe box.  

 

 

p.s. - why is it whenever you have no money you run out of everything at once?  coffee, cat food, make-up, hair color, toilet paper!!!  i am seriously considering taking a sharpie marker to my roots.

::everything i cannot see::

 

i am missing my granddaughters.  their mom sent school photos last week.  for some strange reason i am also missing my hydrangea bush from mississippi.  it was in a very weird out of the way place, but it survived hurricane katrina and i loved its bluish green flowers. 

i have been craving figs and jalapenos.  can you see my diet is all messed up?  yesterday - food from my favorite greek taverna. 

i am over the moon excited my dear friend announced she is going to open her etsy shop.  *soon, i hope because i've already got my eye on a couple of her treasures.

i've been falling in love with charlotte gainsbourg's music.  but i've also been listening to them.   

while on the prowl for some new reading material, i came across meg's perfect description of what my daughter does:   she sells water (very expensive water) in broadway houses across the city. talent water.  imported water.  this week she's been working oleanna.  with bill pullman and julia stiles.  have i mentioned i have a schoolgirl crush on bill pullman?  and here is where she's doing costumes!  i cannot wait to see the plays.  

meanwhile i've got a lady bug invasion going on.  i'm going on the premise they bring good luck.  because the universe has kinda been kicking my butt!