Spring Stew

I had hoped to write a longer post sooner than this one, but life has been a fast-paced blend of flavors and activities the past week, so quickly:

I went rowing (twice) and learned the first day (sculling) that I am in better shape than I thought and the second day (five days later and sweep rowing) that I am in far worse shape than I thought. And we joined the Y this week, too, but I have yet to go back, primarily because Monday's rowing session left me nearly unable to move.

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I'm working on a new art project that excites me to no end. I'm not ready to share details just yet but it might be the most fun thing I've worked on yet. Not original exactly, but unique in its own way, and packed with adventure and fun!

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We've adopted a new member of the family - a sleek gray cat two months younger and half the size of Gus. Our hope was that Gus would have a new playmate. And he does. I think. At first he was viciously unwelcoming toward the gray cat, but slowly they started making each other's acquaintance. Now, I can't always tell if they're playing or fighting. But it's only been a week, so I'm watching and waiting and only breaking up the fights when it looks like blood might be spilled or one of them is in extreme pain. And sometimes, they do look like the best of friends.

Now the trick is to figure out how to feed them so that the smaller, scrawny one gains weight and Gus slims down a bit.

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Yesterday we went to Unfinished Furniture Mart to finally order a corner desk and hutch I set my eye months ago (I wanted to wait for our tax refund, and the waiting was very difficult), to find that they were on sale for almost 40 percent off. For no reason. No clearance, or holiday, or anything. Just because. Not only that, but they're expecting one to come today and we should get it by the beginning of next week (orders usually take three to four weeks, we were told back when we first found it). So we're buying a solid wood desk set for about the same as the particle board equivalent would be in most stores. Sometimes you get the good cards.

(Now maybe we can go back and get more of the same set but we've got to see how the desk and hutch fit in this tiny room, first.)

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And finally, the stew I mentioned? Al and I made a Mexican chicken-black-bean-vegetable naked burrito style dinner the other night that was so delicious I can't stop thinking about it. And that is a feat, considering that the only food that usually won't let go of my brain is chocolate mousse cheesecake. I wouldn't say it's my favorite food, because I have many of those, but it's the only one I really obsess about on a regular basis. What's yours?

And practically in my own backyard, too.

Sketchpad in hand (or in backpack, really), I went Tuesday morning to the prettiest place I've seen yet in Virginia (brought to my attention by my drawing instructor*) and purchased a membership just so I can go back and back and back again. How can I not go back to a place that has an Enchanted Forest?

I present the Norfolk Botanical Garden. You won't see any pictures of the Enchanted Forest here, because my battery died once again, somewhere in the middle, but you might see why I want to keep going back.

Because it's like blinking just to find out you've jumped across the Atlantic and back a few hundred years.

Seems like a good place for a coronation, doesn't it? As a matter of fact, I believe they did hold just that here just a few weeks ago.

This romantic little hidden path was not so hidden, but it was a sweet surprise.

This lovely path was blocked off to shelter the baby bald eagles that are nesting in a pine tree (in an 800-pound nest, no less) in the center of the garden. The lovely thing is that there's just one more place for me to explore when I go back. I actually walked through quite a bit of the gardens (settling in the Enchanted Forest to sketch) but there are 12 miles of paved paths -- and countless unpaved paths -- and so there is plenty, plenty, plenty still to be seen.

* She took us to the sculpture garden to draw one Saturday a month or so ago. While living in Europe, I used to see artists sketching or painting in parks all the time, and I always thought they looked so cool. So, well, artiste-ic. And oOn this gorgeous Saturday, as we sat there in the garden, drawing away, a group of Russian tourists came by and very enthusiastically took our picture. And my inner traveler/expatriate is tickled pink to have been a tourist attraction, to have been one of those artists! Now, where'd I put my beret and that absinthe?

The Music Issue

In order to get a free music download, I was forced* to sign up for a Napster free trial a week ago**, and I am so excited that I have been able to hunt down all these songs that I’ve craved for ages – songs that old friends once put on mixed tapes that are rotting away in boxes somewhere, songs I grew up with, obscure songs I’ve heard once or twice and thought I’d never find again – that I am actually going to keep the membership for a while. It’s so wonderful to be able to download songs freely and without guilt for the price of just one CD a month.

Okay, now I’m starting to sound like an advertisement and I’m not that devoted yet.

But I did have a wonderful time yesterday, when, infected with a certain glee, I went on a mad search for songs with the word “radio” in them. I’ve collected songs like that for a while, but this time I was inspired by a set of radio-themed songs I heard on WXPN (the greatest radio station ever) on the way back from Philadelphia, particularly one called “Radio Girl.” How could I not hunt that one down? And instead of just one, I found eight songs called “Radio Girl.” Fabulous. And dozens more with the word “radio.” That doesn’t even begin to include songs that are about the radio but don’t have the word in the title.

So I assembled a playlist with all of the new radio songs and the ones I already had, and I’ve been listening to it for two days now. Here are my favorites so far:

“Radio Girl” by John Hiatt (the song I heard on XPN)
“On the Radio” by Regina Spektor
“You Turn Me On I’m a Radio” by Joni Mitchell
“On the Radio” by Donna Summer
“Radio Girl” by the Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash
“Radio Ga Ga” by Queen

And now I’ve just done a search for “Alison,” which feels quite vain, but is so much fun. There are so many, and not all of them are remakes of Elvis Costello’s (which I certainly like but which so many people feel compelled to sing to me). There’s even a version of “Happy Birthday to You” in French (“Joyeux Anniversaire Alison”) . There’s a song by Chris Porro called “Pink Floyd and Alison,” although it doesn’t seem Alison is a source of joy in that one. There’s a punk song by the Huntingtons -- “Alison’s the Bomb” -- which I’ll definitely play when I need a self-esteem boost. There’s even a song called “Alison Waits (A Ghost Story),” the lyrics for which are deliciously spine-tingling. This is what it says on the band’s (Advent) web site:

An Edgar Allan Poe-inspired lyric ("Annabel Lee," according to Arthur Hoffman) served as the springboard for this tale of lovers separated by death and the obsession (or hauntings?) that follow. An atmospheric sea chantey, "Alison Waits" takes on the dimensions of a tone poem, with a lengthy instrumental development section that seems to have made the song an early favorite among those already familiar with Advent's repertoire.

Mmmmm. Fun. Good listening for the rest of the day.

It’s a strange sort of self-indulgence, but it makes me happy and keeps my ears warm.
And lest you think I am totally self-obsessed, I am happy to point out that I also downloaded vast amounts of music by Correo Aereo, whose “La Mariquita” is one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs I know; albums’ worth of songs by Linda Ronstadt (did you know her grandfather invented the flexible ice cube tray, an early toaster and the electric stove, according to Wikipedia?); and multiple versions of “Iko Iko” (I’m a fan of the Cyndi Lauper version but I like the Dixie Cups’ version nearly as much). And I’m slowly hunting down all those songs on my mixed tapes.

Which song would you download first?

* Okay, yeah, so no one was twisting my arm, I know.

** And now that reminds me that after all the hoops I had to jump through to get signed up, I never did go back and download that free song.

Set Back Time

I wish I could.

Nothing I can write will be of much use to the people who are close to this tragedy, but they and the loved ones they lost are in my thoughts. It seems such a cliche to say my heart aches for them, but it is true.

Self-Portrait

From my last drawing lesson. Our instructor had us cover a paper with graphite, and then draw by erasing and using a pencil (9B) to add only the darkest shadows back in. I think it's a pretty good likeness of me. Better than any other self-portrait I've done.

If only...

...it were true. I love burritos.

And then maybe they could send me some El Pollo Loco, too. Although, now that there's one open in Connecticut, I have great hope for the future of East Coast fast food.

Self-Portrait

From my last drawing lesson. Our instructor had us cover a paper with graphite, and then draw by erasing and using a pencil (9B) to add only the darkest shadows back in. I think it's a pretty good likeness of me. Better than any other self-portrait I've done.