late summer thoughts

Today there is just a little chill in the air, enough to need a jacket in the morning. My toes are cold and I wonder if I should have worn closed up shoes. Not yet, not yet! The grass in the cemetery across the street has been freshly mowed, its scent mixing in with the odd salt of the sea, blowing from the east. The bright sky reminds me to hurry, hurry, there are things to do before school starts--which this year, has a whole new meaning.

There are many other things I need to catch up blogging on--the craziness of last week & the weekend, the new Martha Speaks show, the girls whose knitting club got booted out of the library because it wasn't literary--but listening to Neil Finn on my way into work, and the hint of fall that comes in late August, before the humidity & return to summer that happens in September, really struck me, the way it always does at the end of summer.

Austen-ized

It's almost embarrassing to admit that I got my BA in English without taking Brit Lit. In my own defense, I did take a lot of poetry classes and Development of Western Civilization, but I'd never read any Jane Austen. After watching Becoming Jane and part of the latest Pride and Prejudice, in addition to reading Shannon Hale's Austenland, I figured it was time to catch up.

I got 1/3rd of the way through Pride and Prejudice when I cheated and Netflixed the BBC/Colin Firth version. I finally finished the book, and was surprised how much more I enjoyed it for watching the movie. Also having seen Emma, Mansfield Park and Persuasion, but don't feel the same urge to read the books.

Bride and Prejudice, is the most fun (and takes the most liberties) of all the adaptations. (Thanks for the rec, D!)

Soon, I'll be on to Jane Eyre, after seeing the lovely Charlotte Gainsbourg/William Hurt version on cable. Charlotte Bronte was not a fan of Jane Austen. Why am I not surprised?

Kick for Nick in the news

In today's Globe, to be specific: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/07/31/iraqi_kids_will_get_a_kick_out_of_his_good_deed/

One of my Yelper friends, Allix T., works a lot with Kick for Nick. Her brothers were very good friends of Nick Madras, for whom the foundation is named.

Dark Knight: awesome

Wow. still digesting. Theater: sold out. Running time: long, but it doesn't feel that way. Story, characters, and themes tie well together and don't smash you over your head the whole time. I'm not surprised at all that people are going back to watch it again, it's that good.

Heath steals the show (as well he should). His voice and mannerisms are just wicked. Weird overtones of Brandon Lee/The Crow, but it can't be helped.

What's up with the "I need a lozenge" for Christian Bale's Batman voice? And the awful jawline on the mask? (Christian, if you're reading this, I totally agree: Bobblehead. Nicely put!)

Very different flavor from Iron Man, which was also excellent, but lighter and more entertaining (I mean that in a good way). Friends keep telling us about the quick crossover references, so I'll watch for that when it comes out on video.

We did not get to see the Watchmen trailer (I'll do that in the next couple days). Part of me almost doesn't want to know, the other part is morbidly curious to see how bad Alan Moore's work is going to be mistreated yet again. To be fair, V for Vendetta was good, but the rest were not taken care of very well.

boy stuff (sorta)

Yesterday I was in Target, and while I was looking around the toy department, a mom behind me is looking at the Dark Knight/Batman toys with her daughter. What I overhear is, "You want the crazy guy (Joker)? You're the only girl I know who plays with both Barbies and this stuff." I had to silently laugh, because I was that girl too, only it was Barbies and Star Wars action figures.

Last week Owen came home from my parents' house with a what I think was a MacDonald's toy of Bumblebee; and if it wasn't, then it was a great knock-off. Even though he says he doesn't like Transformers, he likes the toys.

The big yay is that he's finally gotten into the Muppets. He runs around singing "Manamana," "Crocodile Rock" and "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road." (oh, and the pink polyester pants Elton wears on the show? so wrong.) Of course, I think of Anne, who always said the cure for getting a song out of your head was to sing the opening song to the Muppets. It might even be worth it to hook up the VCR and dig out my Muppets' 30th anniversary show that I taped from TV. It's like a "best of."

Saturday was also his first visit to a comic book shop, New England Comics @ Coolidge. He's also into reading Tiny Titans and Superman Adventures, based on the animated series by Mark Millar (thanks Pete!)

We're seeing Dark Knight tomorrow; Tak's already seen it, but I'm really looking forward to it.

totoro forest project

Tak sent me the link to the Totoro Forest Project and I was totally blown away. The aim of the project is to protect and preserve the Sayama Forest near Tokyo, which inspired Hayao Miyazaki to create his most iconic film, My Neighbor Totoro. The project's benefit event is an auction of many artists' work, including Charles Vess, James Jean, Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese), Scott Campbell, Scott Morse, and a number of artists whose names & styles look vaguely familiar to me. Awesome.

Just when I thought Owen wouldn't be able to see a Miyazaki film on the big screen, Tak also sent me the trailer for the new Miyazaki & Studio Ghibili Film Ponyo on the Cliff (Gake no ue no Ponyo). It opens in Japan this weekend, which probably means it'll be another year before it hits the states. Just that he keep making movies is wonderful!

forever young

Even more fun and without the angst of my high school prom, the Yelp prom was loads of fun, even if Whiskey Park didn't have a dance floor. People were dressed in the range of late 80s-early 90s, from casual grunge to over-the-top 80s to a full-on light blue tux. I didn't take enough good photos, but other people (Shannon, Trish, Roni) took better ones.
Here's me & Nate:

But of course, the best photos are from the afterparty in Russ & Shannon's room at the Park Plaza hotel (as good a place as any prom afterparty should be).

internet diet

With the beginning of my new job, my internet use has come to an almost complete halt during the daytime. As a result, I spend my late nights catching up on my 'net surfing, which leaves even less time for blogging. And sleep. Sorry.

We had friends come in for the 4th, which meant a thorough house-cleaning. I had to stash most of the contents of my old cube under the dining table. Owen had a "brilliant" time at the annual birthday barbecue we go to, mostly because of the fireworks we got to see. There were also a bunch of other kids about his age there, and he had a ton of fun playing with them. Especially once they realized the Nerf rocket launcher could also be used as a water gun.

Even though it opened last weekend, we finally got around to checking out WALL-E. I really liked it. Owen, being the sensitive boy, got very upset about where the people were. (Later, I explained the storytelling convention of looking in the background movies about what's already happened in the movie). Then, he sobbed at the end of the movie. He did laugh at the right places, and he really did like the movie, using old cellphones in the places of WALL-E and EVE.

Tip of the day: An old pizza box makes a good surface on which to shuck corn. A bonus: since you're not supposed to recycle pizza boxes anyway, you can then close it and throw the whole thing out; the mess is contained. Presto!

future posts: Avon Calling, 80s clothing-redux rant & Prom, Iron Man, Zeer.com

if the dress fits...

Yes, the formal dress from 1993 does fit... if I totally sandwich myself into it like a corset.

Now the big decision: to go fancy, or casual, with my Esprit baggy button-down shirt, leggings & socks. Also, figuring out hair & makeup.

yard sales will never be the same

For the last few years, my mother has been saying, "When we have our yard sale..." My sister finally called her on it and we made the date. Over weekend we finally all pitched in and had a it at my parents' house. It was a total dud. Not that many people came, ad while we did sell a few things, the most productive part about it was taking several truckloads to Salvation Army. The biggest thing about it is that my mother didn't even protest us donating so much of the junk; she is a major packrat. Maybe it was just bad timing, but now we all know that we can't hold out for another one to be a success.

One of the biggest successes of the day is that I found the dress I wore to my senior formal in 1993--just in time for someone to wear to a big '80s/'90s prom.

NYC highlights

Lately I feel like I couldn't post anything until I'd put up a summary of the trip Memorial day weekend. The weather was perfect! We got to hang out with Tak's family, our NYC pals, and I got to see Karen & meet Zoe (she's so sweet)!

-Food/Coffee: We introduced Owen to the ritual of eating a New York hot dog from a cart on a rock in Central Park after going to the Natural History Museum; La Columbe Torrefaction in the Toyo's neighborhood won for best coffee (even if the interiors did get the Soho treatment--that's not a bad thing); the big coffee loser was City Girl cafe (too expensive and poorly laid out), and their Red Velvet cupcakes were not great and small to boot. The new Kinokuniya is gorgeous, and the cafe is really small, and sleek and modern (of course).
-Knitting: Visited the new location of Seaport Yarns (cool new straightforward layout, although somehow it seemed smaller than their old shop). Really wanted to get something at The Point Cafe but didn't--nothing really moved me. The owner at Stitch Therapy was very cool (especially about exchanging unused yarn from Christmas without a receipt), and it's a nice small place and I did get a nice skein plus a little camouflage Know Knits bag that I've had a little crush on for awhile. Lorie & Sarah were very patient with me while I futzed around.
-Friends & Family: Explored Hoboken a little bit to meet up with Karen & Zoe. Hoboken's a neat area and so close to Manahttan, plus it's got a bunch of kid-friendly parks along the water (yes, Frank Sinatra drive). We did some good hanging out with Lorie & Pete, Sarah & Dan: seeing Indiana Jones 4 at the Ziegfield, going out for dinner (Spice, yummy) & a Harvard Sailing Club sketch show at the P.I.T.; picnic at Prospect Park. Owen (and Tak & I) got some good hanging out time with Baba & Jiji.

A fine time!

almost 5 years ago to the minute

Owen was born!

Today is not only Owen's birthday, but also his graduation from Preschool (although he'll be attending over the summer since it's also a daycare center.. It's going to be a big change next year!

i heart procrastinating

Instead of packing, I'm blogging. SMART. We leave for a few days in NYC tomorrow and I haven't really begun to get my stuff together. Knitting? Do I bring the sweater for Owen, the baby gifts to finish... ? It might be 80 degrees over the weekend. Oh, and cleaning: must remember to hide things from the parents who are coming to check on the cat. I could color my hair (again; the Manic Panic washed out in less than 2 weeks), except that now it's really time to pack.

I was going to finish this post with some recent cooking exploits, but again, I'll put it off (or see my flickr page). Spike is showing 1000 Ways to Die (it's horrible but I can't resist the Bernie Wrightson-esque comic panels). Very Distracting.

The Apple has Landed

Today the new store opens in the Back Bay, and it's coooool. Thanks to the excellent Digsters, I was able to check it out before the masses sully its pristine glass. But I was cheated out of a first to review (oh well) on Yelp. There will be tons of photos swarming the Internets--it's the biggest store in the states and #2 worldwide. The stairs are the one of the coolest parts. Looking up...
...and looking down.

2nd blog aniversary

So I missed my own blogiversary on May 6. I'd been meaning to update the layout anyway, and needed an excuse. While I'm not exactly a fan of how much room is over on the side, the new & improved functionality of laying out in Blogger was pretty cool. There might be some more tweaking as I go along.

taking the rest of the day off

Friday I took the day off to write, knit, and explore a couple of neighborhoods. Happily, I managed to do everything!
First stop, Adams Village, to Greenhills Bakery--one of the best sources for Irish brown bread in Boston. While I didn't actually have the brown bread, I'll definietly go back. I was totally overwhelmed and hungry, to I went with the cinnamon roll. I walked around, although there's really not a lot to see. We considered living over there, and it's really quaint.
On a whim, I walked down to Lower Mills--both not too bad and no mean feat, either. It's a straight shot down Dorchester Ave. Lunch was served at Common Ground Cafe, which has a reputation for being excellent but the interiors are very woody--like a Hobbit's hole or a 70s holdover (or both). The other reason for its notoriety is that the cafe & market are run by the Twelve Tribes, an obscure Jewish sect (for lack of a better word) that's pretty hippie-ish. I sat and knitted while I had a really leisurely lunch. They were nice enough, and the food was really good. I kept walking, visiting a couple other shops. The high-speed trolley from Mattapan is back up and running, so I took that back to the Red line. Then I went home and Yelped all about it!

I'm finally tackling my first real sweater. Last weekend I went through some of my yarn stash (as the flickr shots will show), and found a fun camouflage self-stripe, so I'm working on that for Owen. Mostly, it's so I can practice increases and actually reading a pattern so I can knit my own sweater. It should be done by the fall; one sleeve is already 2/3rd of the way along.

I've also been doing a fair amount of cooking; more to come.

what a little nightshade can do

Last summer when I dyed my hair pink, I still had leftovers of the 2 almost-rans: violet & Manic Panic's Deadly Nightshade. To get out of my gray-hair funk, I went with the nightshade, since it's slightly more conservative.

I forget how the grays really pick up color and reflect it=no bleaching necessary. I love it. It's a fantastic purple-y plum color. Plus, I still have half a jar!

(Owen & I are playing with Photobooth. He especially loved the twisty effect but I vetoed it.)

delicious

Last week I finally started up with del.icio.us and love it. Thanks to Rob, I found Cooking with Rockstars, and maybe someone will find and enjoy Best Parent Ever, a.k.a. Stuff White Parents Like.

I was in an odd mood last night, and so I made banana bread using my mother's recipe. As I was getting underway, I realized that I ran out of crushed walnuts. Luckily it still tastes good, but walnuts definitely add an extra level of texture and fragrance.

My crazy work project is finally over, and it's so weird not to be going constantly. I can shamelessly laugh out loud to LOL cats.

mucinex-d is my friend

I've finally completely off the Mucinex-D--the one with pseudoephedrine that I had to get ID'd for--which worked like a charm. I figured out the extra strength was 2x the dosage I needed. Duh. That and the antibiotics.

mucinex is not my friend

I have had a nastier-than-usual cough for the last couple weeks (but really it's been about a month). I've been to the doctor's twice and today they finally put me on antibiotics for definitely an ear infection, maybe a sinus infection, and possibly atypical pneumonia. (At least it's not strep.) Until now, I've tried various combinations of sinus & allergy meds, cough & cold meds of the drowsy and non-drowsy varieties, inhalers, homeopathic honey cough syrup, and typical home remedies. The only OTC drug I haven't tried up to this point is Mucinex, and the doc recommended it today.

It's horrible. I still need to cough, my body goes through all the coughing actions, but nothing comes out. It's like there's a hair stuck somewhere in the back of my throat. Since it's a 12-hour dosage, I still have about four hours to go.

Needless to say, I'm working at home tomorrow.