130: the move, birds, gourmet

here is a photo of our outdoor chimney. t is looking forward to making homebrew back here while i'm eagerly anticipating roasting marshmallows on a star filled autumn night!

we've successfully moved every last bit of our stuff from the old place. today, while t is at the farm, i will go back and meticulously clean each room just to ensure that we receive our security deposit back. the end is really in sight now! even the piles of boxes in our new place are getting smaller as we shift and move them to the attic, the woodshop, the garage.

one thing that i'm noticing about our new place is that it is home to many birds. just now, we witnessed a male cardinal feeding a baby cardinal right outside of our bedroom window. on friday, we saw a hummingbird perched on a tree limb in our front yard. i have never seen a hummingbird sit still for so long! there are also birds that i need to look up and i'm glad to report that we have adopted another carolina wren family that likes to fly around our porch and sit on the railing.

much of our luck, i'm sure, is due to the fact that we have a wonderful older swedish couple living next door who have amazing gardens in their front and back yards. we are so lucky to have bits of hydrangea and gardenia trailing over their fence and spilling into our yard.

if you don't normally read gourmet magazine, you should really check out the current issue. it comes with an amazing little supplement full of writing and art. i'm saving it for later this afternoon but am looking forward to reading maira kalman's "sunny side-up on the love of breakfast" and ann patchett's "do not disturb". in addition, i learned about laura letinsky whose still life work is just brilliant.

thank you to everyone who has written to inquire about the compound word project. unfortunately, the project is now closed. please stay tuned to view the results in late august. i hope to be doing more collaborative photo projects in the future as well.

happy monday one and all!
xo
shari

in the mix

our new house is full of charming little quirks like the one above. our fridge has what is referred to as a "handi-bin". therefore, you can open the small door if you want a cold beverage without opening the entire fridge. as you can see, we really need to make a trip to the grocery store!

another funny quirk is our doorbell. it has around 20 different tunes for us to choose from. right now we have it set to frere jacques. it's pretty tacky if you ask me but the silly thing isn't capable of doing just a standard bell. it will be pretty funny though come christmas when we set it to jingle bells. :)

yesterday as i was unpacking boxes, i came across an old box of mix tapes that i have lugged from winston-salem to boulder to denver and back again. because we have a boombox with a tape deck, i can't find it within me to get rid of these cassettes. while unpacking and trying to organize (nearly impossible with the amount of boxes surrounding me), i popped in a tape curious as to what i might hear. on side a was the band madder rose--a band i listened to my sophmore year in college and actually saw in nyc during the cmj music conference. on the flip side, though, was one instrumental song surrounded by white noise.

immediately, i began racking my brain trying to remember what this song was and why i had felt the need to record it on cassette tape. the song was lovely but i really have no recollection of it. no memories rushed to the surface. in fact, i was simply stumped. however, i really want to keep this song. i like the mystery and i am thinking that perhaps something will jog my memory if i listen to it time and again.

these tapes got me thinking. i wish i could attach a song file to each of my posts. i often write posts and read other blogs while listening to my iTunes library. right now, it's "song for myla goldberg" by the decemberists. i think it would be so amazing to have my life documented through song as well as words and pictures. a musical diary of sorts. a history of my listening habits. a daily soundtrack.

i continued digging through the tape box and found other gems such as a mix tape called SSV1, created for me by t way back in phase one. i even have a tape entitled "happy 12th birthday from your aussie penpal". her name was joanne and we had the brilliant idea of recording and sending birthday greetings to each other. i'm glad i still have it. 12 seems like centuries ago.

(by the way, the song on now is "south of the south" by david dondero)

have a super weekend.
xo
s

starting fresh

here is a photo of t's old remington typewriter. we both had forgotten about it as it was stored in our basement. when i pulled it out the other day, i nearly jumped for joy and asked if i could display it and use it in my study. it was one of the first things i set up in our house. i love it so. attached is a good luck penny that has been with the typewriter case as long as t can remember! the typewriter belonged to his dad and he inherited the penny along with it!

after taking one huge load to the new house yesterday, i rewarded myself with some ben and jerry's american pie ice cream and sat for a spell in the study, looking out the windows. the new view seems to give me a whole new perspective on life. it's pretty amazing what a change of scenery can do for you. i think i'm going to like it here.

t worked until 7:30 last night and then had to run to the old place to bottle up his new brew--- superpale summer ale with a hint of fresh ginger. i stayed at the new place and made myself a grilled cheese dinner. i decided to eat in the study sitting quietly on the couch in the dark, listening to a podcast (craftsanity with gayla trail!) and watching the fireflies dance in the dark around the windows. it was peaceful and quite lovely.

this morning i decided to join t on his csa delivery route. because the veggies need to stay cool, the ac is cranked and i had to wear jeans, a sweater and fingerless gloves to stay warm. it was kind of fun...pretending it was already fall.

i have taken more photos of our new place but left my camera at our new place which doesn't have internet connection yet so they will have to wait for another time.

cheers to all!
shari

base camp + links

since we spent our first night in our new house last night, i thought i would share a picture with you. our plants are lined up and looking right at home, i think. i am even feeling more excited about our new place too.

so for today, i will just post a few links that have been filling me with inspiration. hope you enjoy them!

ma roulette's paper jewelry. just beautiful!

amy's adult bonnets. the perfect fall accessory i think. if only i could sew!

rena's double double necklace. i am in love!

coe & waito's bird bowls. i would eat cereal every morning if i had one of these beauties!

wren handmade. such loveliness. i particularly like the elephants and the lace pillows.

happy wednesday! look for a mind map soon!
xo
shari

junk drawer tuesday

hi friends!

welcome again to another edition of junk drawer tuesday. full of random thoughts that i feel the need to jot down. yes, we are still busy moving. we must have more instruments than anyone else i know (and only a few are pictured here). from left to right there is my acoustic guitar, t's electric peavey, t's travel acoustic, and t's hagstrom (a gift from me). we've already moved a violin, stand up bass, electric bass, accordion, cello, and several amps and microphones. all we have left to go is t's new drum kit.

compound word project update: we have 30 participants and the project is now closed!

the participants include:

lisa of lisa's musings
alicia of mayfly
ashb of sly fox A
julie of handmaid
gracia of high up in the trees
kristen of in a little house by the lake
paula of simple me
tiffany of musings from mount vernon street
louise of elsewhere
risa of muerto de risa
jerusha of windowsill
briana of idea du jour
alyssa of moving garden
blair of wisecraft
jen of simply photo
wendy of girlingreen
brandi of branycbur
gwen of bugheart
maditi of micasa
alison of 6.5 stitches
leslie of lesophie
karen of little bitty girl
abigail of abigail a. percy
marieke of treats and treasures
jill of jill's living room
nicole of craftapalooza
hayley of alaska, long beach
daphne of mezereem
my mom (hi mom!) who will be partnering with me!

what a wonderful group! i'm really looking forward to the all of the compound word diptychs. feel free to send your photos as soon as you are ready and perhaps i'll post the results a little sooner than august 28th. have fun everyone!

longing to visit:
seattle! maybe it's because i heard the splendid table this weekend or the fact that ash talks about sipping lavender lattes in seattle cafes or kristen's gorgeous photos or the fact that i love orangette's recipes but whatever it is, i've been bitten by the seattle bug! i've only been once and it was for a wedding so i didn't get to explore at all. i'm thinking i need to take a road trip. :)

music i'm planning to purchase:
camera obscura
norfolk & western
m. ward

things that make me feel better even though i'm tired of the moving process:
cake
hulahooping
singing
chats with my granny
a good book to relax with at night
the pinkest of sunsets
driving with the windows down, listening to reigning sound
cooler weather
watching rilke and miles run and skid on moving boxes in the empty rooms of our old place

to clutch or to tote:
i'm thinking of making the switch. what kind of bag do you carry?

in supercool:
maps of pretend places. sarah is awesome!

hope everyone has a super day!
shari

moving tastes better with cake

hello everyone!

it's monday already?! we are in the midst of moving and it is really taking its toll on me. right now about 1/3 of our things are in our new place and 2/3 are still here. because we are moving only one street over, we are doing this move slowly. too slowly for my liking. moving just makes me irritable and i haven't felt like taking photos or working on collages or even writing blog posts!

this morning, i transfered our water service and then decided that what i need is a good piece of cake. right now baking in the oven is the blueberry buckwheat cake, one of orangette's fabulous recipes...also highly recommended by briana. it gives me something to savor in the middle of this tiresome move. i can't wait to eat a warm slice with my coffee in a mere 20 minutes!

i'm also excited to report that we have 28 participants for the compound word project. i have decided that in order for this project to seem manageable for me, i will limit the number of participants to 30. therefore, i have 2 more available slots before the project is closed. please email me if you'd like to join in! we have some amazing photogs in the bunch and i will post a list of participants and their blogs tomorrow. i'm also conjuring up a contest of sorts to go along with the project that will be for participants only.

**update! only 1 spot left. email now for your chance to particpate in a fun photo project.****************

so we move onward today. we'll continue to pack up loads in the 240 dl and we have a bit of painting to do to freshen up the kitchen and the table and benches that fit into the breakfast nook like a booth. i have to keep telling myself that we are moving ever closer to being finished. and we will finally have power in the new place today which will make the move, the painting, and the cleaning a bit easier.

cheers!
shari

la mail

look what arrived yesterday on my front steps. a lovely package (and mailing label) from the superlovely briana. this package traveled a long way from the city of angels to the city of medicine.

let's look inside shall we? there was such an attention to detail in the packaging, which i loved!


one of my favorite things is the mind map cd mix. briana has fabulous taste in music!





ignore the sleepy girl and the blurry photo and focus on the cute as a button pin.

inside, there was another package wrapped in california/la map paper, which i saved for collage work.



i can't wait to try this tea! sounds marvelous.

this a lovely little portable journal pocket. absolutely adorable, isn't it? briana, who is ever so thoughtful and creative, made me a fabric pocket to hold a journal for writing down info, mind maps, observations a la harriet the spy.



inside, she attached a tiny pair of scissors for me to use to collect paper pieces for collage if i see something on my walk that i'd like to save for later use. is this girl brilliant or what?


there's also a place to hold a pen.

briana, i'm working on a mind map just for you! thank you for making my weekend my dear. i'm a lucky girl and you are a very sweet friend!

the compound word project

*****UPDATE*******
THIS PROJECT IS NOW CLOSED. PLEASE CHECK BACK TO VIEW THE RESULTS IN LATE AUGUST! THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST!

hi friends,

so i'm feeling excited and inspired after the little mushroom collaboration and actually have a new idea in the works. read on for more info!!


name:
the compound word photography project!

participants:
you, i hope

details:

each participant will be given one word...for example water. each word given can be combined with another word to form a compound word. therefore, another participant may have the word melon. each participant will take a photo to represent the word and then email me the photo. i will create a dipytch for each compound word. see watermelon above! you won't know who you are "partnering" with until the results are posted. it will be fun to try and guess the compound words as well as to see your collaborative diptychs.

i will be creating side by side diptychs so i prefer the aspect ratio to be 4 to 3, height to width.

when:

photos need to be taken and emailed by august 15th. please include your word and compound word project in the subject line. results will begin to be posted on august 28th. currently, i am thinking of posting 2 a day.

how to sign up:

i hope you are excited by this idea. if you would like to participate, please email me directly and i will randomly assign you a word. remember, you are only responsible for taking 1 photo and emailing the photo to me. that's all. i want this to be low stress and high fun. sign up by august 1st...photos due on august 15th.

happy snapping!
xo
shari

ps: i'm posting a bit early as i will be in a rush tomorrow morning before my last day of tutor training. :)

happiness in 21 lines

shadows

black bean and rice burritos with salsa, sour cream, monterrey jack and cilantro

fresh pineapple

new magazines

playing with paint

new friendships

seeing a child read a word for the first time

sweeping

the excitement of arranging our furniture and items in a new space

browsing through fall fashion images

3

as if

untitled

clean laundry

making dinner with t

waking up earlier so i can wake up slowly

fresh from the farm cherry tomatoes

avalon organics lavender hand soap

prussian blue (watercolor)

ceiling fans

new projects

yes, tomorrow i will be announcing a fun new project. hope you all will join in!

have a great thursday friends!
xo
shari

mosquitoes in the afternoon

the mosquitoes and i made a deal with each other. basically it goes like this. they will let me go outside in my own backyard only if i let them bite me a gazillion times. otherwise, it's solitary confinement inside for me. they post guards at my door to remind me each time i step outside of the deal we've made.

my afternoon in photos as i had to get something in return for so many bites:








oh mosquitoes why do you torture me so when you leave t alone?

to end last night: dinner at the federal, singing songs with the guitar, reading.

hope you enjoy the day!
xo
shari

junk drawer tuesday

welcome to another edition of junk drawer tuesday. hopefully, as you sift through the junk drawer today you'll find something exciting. have fun!

inspiration:
i have been loving p2p's inspiration month as it has me stopping and thinking about what truly inspires me on a daily basis... like this photograph in the current issue of gourmet magazine. i continue to think about this image (photograph by coral van zumwalt) and often open the magazine just for a quick glance during the day. finally, i knew i must tear it out. it also reminds me of these lovely cards, of course.


fortunes:
at the bottom of this scanned image are the two most recent (ten cents a piece) fortunes pulled from the cookie jar at banh's vietnamese cuisine.

(mine) you have the uncommon gift of common sense.

(t) your enthusiasm towards work will soon pay off.



loving:
gosh darn it, brooklyn! i still have a crush on you. i would love to do something similar for durham's independent weekly. i'm a sucker for stories and photographs. (link via jillypickle).

i want to read icelander.

doing:

making sunflower "feeders" for our backyard birds


flickr photo swap:
i'm thinking of participating. are you?

eating and drinking:
homemade hummus with cucumber slices and whole wheat pita bread, iced mint tea, homemade pesto pasta with roma tomatoes.

self-portrait in black and white:


random:
i sweep when i'm nervous.

i quit my teaching job for the fall yesterday. after 11 years of teaching preschoolers, i need a change.

i have no idea what to do next.

hope you have a lovely tuesday!
s
ps: thank you for all of the sweet comments about our collaboration! we (3) really appreciate it!

secret sunday collaboration

recently, i asked gracia and louise, two of my favorite artists and bloggers, if they were interested in doing a little collaboration with me. you see, i had taken a photograph that seemed to beg for a g & l creature to accompany it. lucky for me the girls were very enthusiastic about this joint little venture.


here is the original photo that inspired the collaboration. a tiny mushroom growing in my backyard.


here is one of the responses--a blushing sugar glider behind a mushroom cap.



pop the little shy sugar glider into mushroom world and voila! this is exactly what i had envisioned when i took the photo.

that's not all! visit high up in the trees and elsewhere to see four different responses! this little project is a bit like g & l's same but different project that first drew me to their blogs.

a huge thank you to gh and lj as their portion of the project took much longer than mine. you two are the best and so fun to work with!

i am such a fan of blogger collaborations. if anyone else has a fun project in mind, please let me know!


til next time!
shari

mail call

hi friends,
it seems like saturday has become mail day here at the glass doorknob.

over the past week, i received two wonderful packages in the mail. the first package arrived from seattle complete with a cheery hummingbird sticker. it reminded me of how much i love hummingbirds. you know, i can't even remember when i last saw one. note to self: hang hummingbird feeder soon. :)

i was so thrilled to open up this package and find a beautifully crafted apron made for me by one of my newest blogging friends, kristen. if you haven't visited kristen's blog, you should really take a peek. she takes fab photographs, writes beautiful music, creates whimsical, colorful art, and writes about her days with her husband and her dog and their adventures together. she celebrates the simple, beautiful aspects of life that i so enjoy reading about.



kristen, i cannot express to you how grateful i am. i am in LOVE with my new apron. it is very special to me knowing that you made it with me in mind.



i adore the pocket with my initial!


days later i received an envelope filled to the brim with found papers from portugal. paula knows how much i love found papers and generously sent me some for my collage work. i'm so inspired and excited to explore these papers perhaps even later today. thank you for your kindness and generosity paula!!



then, t surprised me with a belated birthday gift that he was considering saving for a housewarming present. it is my favorite lilly piri print cuscus 2. i love it!! it is already beautifully framed. to see it in more detail click here.




it has been a busy week for me. i am in the middle of an orton gillingham tutor training program. orton gillingham is a multi-sensory method for teaching children how to read. it is very much in tune with my montessori training and is supposed to work wonders with kids who have dyslexia. i like this training because it is very hands-on and i have already worked with the same little boy twice. i have four more tutoring sessions with him for practice and then this fall, i will be placed with a child who needs extra help in durham at a school that will be within walking or biking distance. after i complete 60 sessions as a volunteer tutor, then i receive my training certificate. it is a great program but i am very tired after getting up early and studying and listening to lectures all day. i have been on summer vacation remember??

hope you have a fabulous saturday.
xo
shari

grits are good for you

hi everyone!

today's post is short and sweet for friday!

so it looks like i'm becoming the southern grits ambassador of the world. i've reached two continents so far. eat up girls! i will tell you that all of this grits talk has me preparing "breakfast for dinner" tonight. cheese grits and buttermilk biscuits will both be on the menu! anyone care to join me? do you ever crave breakfast for dinner? it's fun to have your world topsy turvy for just a bit.

i've decided to join mav in flickr friday favorites today just because!

the clay joy
royal chair
me with purple scarf
exterior X
looking in the same direction


coming this weekend:

delightful mail
a secret collaboration revealed

stay tuned and tgif!
xo
shari

tales of a college radio disc jockey

subtitle: for lisa's inquiring mind! :)

yesterday, i wowed you with junk drawer tuesday..ha ha and now i'm all set to tell you the tale of my radio station days and the junk drawer radio show.

during my sophmore year in college, after a summer of considering a transfer to unc chapel hill, i decided to join the radio station. the procedure is quite simple. basically you sign up, attend a meeting and learn about the station, intern (i was lucky to have my dear friend jen as my mentor), and take a test.

i passed my broadcasting test with flying colors, as i was dating the examiner who happened to be the music director at the station, but in all reality, i knew what i was doing. it was simple back then. cue up records, play cds and carts, play some public service announcements, talk a bit about what you played etc.

anyway, i was superpsyched about having my own show but at the same time, i was a big chicken. i also knew that the senior staffers got first pick at time slots and the new djs got the leftovers. so my good friend johannah and i decided to sign up for a time together and guess what we were left with? tuesday morning from 4 to 6. AM!!! yes we had to be up and at 'em at 3 am downing coffee in order to be ready or else we just had to stay up until our show. i do remember that i had an 8 am class but always had time to have coffee with johannah and study for my tests.

i have such fond memories of our show, the junk drawer. we played all kinds of music from the poppinjays to superchunk to tom waits to team dresch to songs from disney's jungle book soundtrack. and like clockwork, we'd receive one call during our entire 2 hr. stint from some guy working the early shift at the 7 Eleven who wanted to make a request. even if we didn't like the song, we'd play it anyway because hey, he was our only loyal listener.

so we were good little djs and always showed up to do our show and then the next semester we got great time slots and did our own shows. i won an award that year for best new dj. it was a little homemade trophy made by my friend paul (aka the boy in blue). he glued plastic dinosaurs on a piece of wood and spraypainted it gold.

being a member of the radio station is why i loved college so much. i fell in love with music there and met some amazing people who became some of my dearest friends...including t.

t was also a dj when i worked at the station. you won't believe this but he had long curly hair and wore chuck taylors and played dinosaur jr and i can remember saying hi to him and that he was really quiet.

he still wears chuck taylors and is still really quiet but now we sing dinosaur jr. songs together and dj for each other. it's a wonderful life!

xo
shari

junk drawer tuesday

hi friends,

today's post is going to be like opening a junk drawer full of all sorts of odds and ends that i've been wanting to post about but haven't had time or energy to talk about. when i was a college radio dj i had a show called the junk drawer as i tended to play a wide variety of music, hence the name of this post. anyway, today's post may be a bit scattered so consider yourself warned.

shen wei dance arts:
t and i went to our second and last performance at the american dance festival recently to see shen wei dance arts. the first piece was entitled "map" which is why i wanted to go in the first place and it was amazing. imagine many dancers isolating a movement and then working together as a well-oiled machine. then imagine one of those dancers leaving the group and dancing out front while the machine continues to run. the choreography was great and the dancers were so precise and synchronized. in the photographs, you can see the background which is a blown up version of the choreographer's original notes while creating the dance. i'm not doing the dance justice with my poor description but it was so wonderful to watch and even sort of meditative.

books:




bookmarks showing the endpapers in my new persephone books. i love the greenery street postcard, too.

right now, i'm reading a year in japan. it's full of beautiful watercolor illustrations and celebrates the small details. i'm limiting myself to a few pages a night because i want to make it last!

postcards:



people should send postcards more often. they're the perfect little hello. here are two i've received lately from t's sister and hayley. i used to love to pick out folio postcards with old black and white photos and send them to t when we had a long distance romance and lived three hours away from each other. i sometimes want to send him a postcard now but i settle for an email.

creating:



i made a paper manhole cover based on this one for fun since i love the patterns so. yes, this finally proves it. i'm a total urban pattern nerd. it looked cooler in my mind's eye but i couldn't quite execute my idea.

fashion:
i hope to incorporate these looks in my fall wardrobe somehow. i'm really loving the headbands and scarves worn on the head and tied to the side. vena cava looks 4, 12, 18 and eventide fall 06 looks 1 and 2 are my faves. thanks to mav and k. cooper for these links.

bits of beauty:
the top photograph is a little display i made to see if t would notice when he came home from work. it was on the top of the stairs leading up to our house. really, it was a little gift for him. when i went out to check the mail later, i also checked on my little display and this is what i found.



it seems that the postman does NOT notice the little things in life. this has me thinking about awareness. i keep wondering if t would have stepped on it or if i would have noticed it? now i'm inspired and am thinking about doing some guerilla art around town that will make people notice what's around them. hmm.

here's hoping you see and appreciate one small yet beautiful detail in your day!

xo
s

ps: reading back over this post i am fully aware that it is a complete mess but i'm too tired to change it. :)

bikes, black cats and a french film

on saturday, in addition to all of the deliciousness of the weekend, the idea of superstitions continued to surface around every bend. it started when we were riding our bikes over to whole foods to pick up some groceries. i like to take the back streets and avoid traffic so we headed in the direction of iredell street.

iredell street is tree-lined and shady with the cutest bungalows. it is not a through street and therefore when pedaling down this street we rarely meet a car. however, i soon realized that what iredell has is an abundance of jet black felines. not one but two (maybe even three) black cats crossed our path. for a split second i thought perhaps i'm pressing my luck to travel down this street. maybe, i should take well traveled ninth or broad instead.



later, in the evening, t and i sat down to watch agnes varda's cleo from 5 to 7 which is such a great movie. it was filmed in paris in the early sixties and is in black and white except for the opening sequence which is in color. the movie unfolds in real time on the first day of summer! the idea of superstitions is everywhere in this film. what a coincidence after our jaunt down iredell earlier. to cleo the following equals an enormous dose of bad luck:

wearing something new on a tuesday
breaking a mirror
putting a hat on a bed
knowing how a story ends before reading it
mistaking a birthday

i began to think about the superstitions that i carry around with me and who told me about them. for instance, i never take the salt directly from someone's hand. i wait until the salt is placed back on the table before picking it up. also, i hate when someone puts a hat on a bed. it immediately makes me nervous. t happens to do this a good deal, and i'm always swooping down behind him to snatch the hat and place it somewhere more ....uh.....safe. both of these superstitions were passed on to me by my granny. sometimes i even knock on wood thanks to my mom.

on occasion, i create my own little superstitions too. sounds silly and it is i guess so i don't know why i do it. for example, before we left to go on our trip, i said to t " if my persephone books arrive before we go, then the flight will be fine." lucky for me at least one of the three books i ordered arrived before the trip!

why do we hold onto these old superstitions? is it about control? do we want to feel like we can avoid bad things in our lives just by avoiding, say for instance, black cats? for me, refusing to take the salt from someone's hand when it is passed and removing hats from beds are quirky actions yes but make for excellent conversation. superstitions are almost like pieces of family furniture being passed down. we've avoided putting hats on beds for YEARS in this family, starting with your great grandmother henrietta!

how about you? reveal your superstitions here if you aren't worried that it's bad luck!

xo
shari

the definition of saturday

playing soccer in the park

singing songs with t until i've almost lost my voice

working on a collage

learning a new duet: "summer makes a lover out of me" by watermelon road

taking a trip to the farmer's market and bringing home jalapeno cheese bread, roma tomatoes,a sunflower and statice bouquet, and grass fed beef for a cookout

seeing a cute couple from wild scallion farm at the farmer's market-feeling inspired thinking it could be t and me

taking several bike rides in one day

carrying groceries home in my metal bike baskets

making homemade pesto base pizzas with tomato, garlic, and onions

chopping up the wooden spoon in the blender while making pesto cause i'm a disaster in the kitchen

watching a french film from the sixties

drinking good coffee and having the time to savor it

watching the world cup consolation game

having a simple lunch of bread and butter, apple slices, and cherry tomatoes

making lists

buying gourmet magazine because it's the produce issue

ending the night with a small bowl of ciao bella hazelnut gelato

mail!

i was so thrilled to return home from our trip to find packages from wendy and risa.

risa sent me some real treasures from ecuador.


the most adorable monkey finger puppet that now rests on my favorite writing pen.


one of her wonderful collages. i ADORE this one with the chair and the blue/green background and of course the pig "painting."

art by an artist risa knows from the market in otaualo. the bird is the beautiful blue and yellow tanager.

a traditional bracelet worn by the women of the ecuadorian highlands. i am in love with it and immediately put this on! the coral represents fertility and the gold represents prosperity.

risa, i cannot tell you how much each of these little gifts means to me. they are so special. thank you for your thoughtfulness. i am all smiles.



wendy and i decided to do a trade. i have always loved her softies. they are just so unique and super cute! meet akers. he is #15 in the limited edition batch of penguins.


akers loved climbing my favorite maple tree in my front yard. he's so brave!


here he is meeting miles for the first time. miles was delighted to say hello. (akers has great manners).



finally, here he is sitting by my heart shaped rock collection. he's a rock collector too...you know, in his spare time!


wendy also very generously included three prints of her wonderful paintings and a print of a photograph of her softies exploring the city! i adore wendy's art. robots, birds, superheroes!! i can't get enough and always hurry to her blog on friday as she usually shares a new painting.

wendy, this was an awesome trade. thank you so much! akers is loving his new home in durham and i already have frames for the prints. oh and wendy has a new etsy shop full of her lovely softies and prints! i'm sure you will find something special there for you. yay!

ok, it's official. bloggers get the best mail!

i have other things i want to talk about like fall fashion and more dance performances but i'll wait until next time.

have the happiest of weekends and here's hoping you receive some great mail too!
xo
shari

flying update

part one: raleigh to philly to new haven



arrived at the raleigh/durham airport at 5:45 AM. traveling lightly... just me and my orla kiely bag.



early morning shot while waiting for take off.




beautiful, thick cotton ball clouds from the window of the 737. the medication worked like a charm. the entire flight all i did was slowly flip through an anthropologie catalog i had saved for the trip.



take off in the dash 8. i increased my dosage a wee bit and then slept for most of the flight.


t and me. i look a little loopy huh?

part two: new haven to philly to raleigh



i love sitting next to the landing gear so i can see it come down. i also love the propeller shadow.






bird's eye view of the landscape which i loved!



while waiting for our connecting flight in philly, we saw about five mice zipping all about, many planes take off, beautiful pink skies at sunset, and were informed via loudspeaker and louder alarm to evacuate the airport TWICE. yes, we were sitting having quesadillas and salad at a little airport restaurant when the sirens went off. "there is an emergency. please evacuate the building. do not use the elevators." we left our table and proceeded to walk to the exit only to turn around after other travelers told us they were informed to go back inside. back at our table, the sirens went off again. the bartender looked at us and said, "this happens all the time!".

it was a great trip--low anxiety. i was glad to be with t and we enjoyed seeing his extended family. thank you once again for all of your good wishes. they helped immensely.

and best of all, i returned home to find my persephone books and two more packages. i'll tell you all about them this weekend.

cheers!
shari

five senses on the fourth

"hey baby, it's the fourth of july." ---X

hear:
t is currently playing dj with all of our fourth of july favorites on vinyl. our tradition of listening to these songs on the fourth began way back in phase one about ten years ago. here is the lineup we've listened to so far today:

"the fourth of july" by x from the album see how we are

"america" from the west side story soundtrack

"fourth of july" by galaxie 500 from the album this is our music

"justice and independence '85" by john cougar mellencamp from the album scarecrow

"born in the usa" by the boss/bruce springsteen from the album of the same name



see:

red, white, blue
stars
stripes
flags from many states and countries
red american flyer wagons
dogs with tails wagging
friendly neighbors




in this photo above, you can see my neighbor bill who makes the most fabulous frozen lemonade. t asked him today if the recipe was a secret and he said "yep! you can get the recipe when it's on my casket." he's such a sweet guy. it took him all day and one nap (in his basement reclinder) to make enough lemonade for the parade attendees.

also, you can see my hometown state flag of sc. navy blue with white palmetto and crescent moon.



i love that our neighborhood association hangs flags representing our diverse neighborhood. some of these flags are very old.

feel:


cold water from the firetruck in a nice misty spray
warm sunshine
icy cold lemonade sliding down my throat

smell:
gardenias
coffee brewing
citrus




taste:
cold slushy lemonade that is slightly tart and plenty sweet
i'm anticipating here but on deck for later today we will be having:
grilled veggies marinated in olive oil and tabasco
grilled burgers (veggie + organic beef)
lays natural potato chips
cold beer

t told our friend owen, "this is right out of norman rockwell". i do think we've got the best neighborhood celebration in town.


ok then..i'm all set for the plane trip i think. i really appreciate your warm wishes and positive thoughts. i am planning on rereading the comments tomorrow in the early am for a bit more moral support. i will be documenting the trip on the dash 8 especially.

until friday friends,
shari

fear of flying

i have a fear of flying. a true phobia. this year i haven't flown once. remember my train trip to nyc? i hold so much anxiety about flights that the day before i fly i am a total basketcase. i can't sleep and i am awfully teary.

yet, this wednesday, i will fly from raleigh/durham to new haven ct for tom's grandmother's funeral. it is obviously not a direct flight and to make matters worse, two legs of the trip are on a dash 8. multiply my anxiety by 10 at least. i have only flown on prop planes 3 times in my entire life. each time i vowed never to do it again...unless i was going somewhere fabulous like australia or africa.

what worries me most is the fear of having an out and out panic attack because then i am forced to sit with it until the plane lands. i sweat. my heart beats too quickly. i breathe too shallowly and can't take a satisfying deep breath. i worry about passing out, and while panic attacks are psychosomatic, the symptoms are real.


the last couple of times i flew, i took a xanax and this helped me immensely but i was not on a tiny plane. i will take it again on wednesday and hope that this tiny pill coupled with the beautiful sky and my iPod will be enough to get me through two days of flying.

wish me luck. i'll report back to you on friday.

xo
shari

ps: i'm hoping to do a five senses july 4th post tomorrow. :)