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Lamplight is the word of the day….

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CherryBlossom-and-Lamps-by-mstroz-via-istockphoto

It’s time for Sunday Brunch at All Things Girl, and today I wrote about lamplight.

Here’s an excerpt:

I remain convinced that the only thing that would improve my house would not be replacing the cabinets or rebuilding the decorative lintel over the front door, but adding a lamp post in the center of my lawn. We have a corner lot, so a light at the center point would shine as a soft, comforting beacon no matter the direction of approach.

Streetlamps aside, my favorite days are what one of my aunts named for me: lamp-lit days. These are the days like this morning, where even hours after sunrise, the sky is shrouded in a cool mist that softens the light and deepens the shadows, making it absolutely necessary to interact with the world from within the protective circle of light from a lamp.

Oh, we have overhead lighting, of course, but somehow to use such glaring brightness would seem a sacrilege.

Click through for the complete post.

Thursday 13: Beau Melange

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No theme, just miscellany.

1) This quotation about the recipe for coffee, according to Talleyrand, always makes me grin:

Black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love.

2) All day yesterday the word anamnesis was caught in my brain. It’s used liturgically to refer to a memorial act – the Holy Communion in high church. In English, we say “remembrance.” – Do this in remembrance of me – but anamnesis is a deeper memorial. Not just witnessing, but participating in the memory AND the mystery.

3) I watched MSNBC’s coverage of the introduction of the new pope yesterday. My favorite quote, from one of the commentators:

I love that he’s a Jesuit. This means he has a brain.

Sadly, I don’t remember the name of the person who said it.

4) Since the beginning of the year, I’ve reduced my coffee intake to one cup a day, but I’m spending the time to make really amazing coffee. Most recently, I’ve been using a tiny Bialetti moka pot. I love it to bits.

5) Last month, I splurged on tea from Teasim. They make an organic Earl Grey that is so fragrant, it makes me want to take a bath in it, but today I was drinking an herbal blend of peppermint, licorice root and cloves. It made my head feel better.

6) According to Henry Fielding:

Love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea.

7) I haven’t been blogging a lot because I’ve been in a serious reading mood. Specifically I’ve been reading a lot of Star Trek fiction because I feel like I need to escape.

8) Fuzzy and I saw Oz the Great and Powerful last week. It was good, but I couldn’t help contrasting it with the 2010 version of Alice in Wonderland. Both fantasy lands are interesting, but I think I prefer the darker, gritter Wonderland.

9) My favorite version of Oz is the SyFy miniseries Tin Man. This has nothing whatsoever to do with my undying love for actor Neal McDonough. Or rather, for his work.

10) The rules of Rock Scissors Paper Lizard Spock, as explained by Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) on The Big Bang Theory:

1. Scissors cuts Paper

2. Paper covers Rock

3. Rock crushes Lizard

4. Lizard poisons Spock

5. Spock smashes Scissors

6. Scissors decapitates Lizard

7. Lizard eats Paper

8. Paper disproves Spock

9. Spock vaporizes Rock

10. Rock crushes Scissors

11) As I write this, at a bit after 2 in the morning, there are five dogs sleeping in my room. Dog number four is Aztec, our current foster. The most Zen chihuahua in the world.

12) Dog number five is our new puppy, Teddy (he came with the name, and we think it suits him). This is his picture:
Teddy

13) A Facebook friend shared this video with me the other day. It’s called “God Made a Dog,” and it’s awesome. Enjoy:

Meet Aztec

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Aztec

Aztec (formerly James) is a neutered male Chihuahua mix (we think he’s part min-pin, but it’s difficult to know for sure). We’re estimating his age at around 4 years, but he could be a little bit older or younger. His ideal weight is between 12 and 15 pounds – he’s tall, but lean.

Aztec is crate trained, house trained, and learning things like “sit” and “stay.” He comes when you call him, and isn’t finicky about food, the way some small dogs are. We’ve noticed that he gets a little bit growly when other dogs approach while he’s eating (but NOT with people), so we suggest feeding him separately at least at first.

Aztec is a total cuddle bug, and adapts really quickly to new situations. He was giving us kisses within 24 hours of having met us, and asking to be petted even sooner. He loves being held, and loves having his belly rubbed.

Aztec has two health issues at present: his left eye is cloudy, and we believe there is no vision from that eye. He compensates well – getting around with the speed of any other dog, jumping over and onto objects and furniture, etc. He does not appear to be at all skittish about people approaching from his blind side.

Currently, Aztec is also heartworm positive. We are treating him with daily doses of worming medication. Please speak with a Shelter2Rescue volunteer about his ongoing treatment, and do not let this condition deter you – he’s an amazing dog, who just wants to be loved.

Like most small dogs, Aztec is happy to run around outside when given the opportunity, but is content to stay inside during the work day, as well. He is not at all yappy, but will offer a proper bark if the situation warrants it. He does like to “talk” to you while he’s being petted, however, and will make small whimpers of contentment and pleasure.

Aztec is still learning how to walk on a leash.

Aztec is an adoptable dog. For more information, please leave a comment or visit Shelter2Rescue on Facebook or Petfinder.

Mind-blowing Television

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I never thought a show on the ABC family channel could blow my mind, but tonight’s episode of the teens drama Switched at Birth did just that.

From the beginning, I’ve been a fan of the show despite the fact that I’m woefully outside the target demographic. Partly it’s the engaging and talented cast that keeps me watching, and partly it’s the incorporation of not just deaf actors but Deaf culture that the show is getting better and better at as it continues to develop.

Tonight, however, I have a new appreciation for the show, and for those who are deaf and hard of hearing. Why? Because tonight was the much-hyped all-ASL episode, in which, with the exception of a brief scene in the beginning and a few words at the end, no audible spoken dialogue was used. (Obviously the hearing actors who were signing were speaking as they signed, we just weren’t given an audio track.)

So why was my mind blown? It’s not that I’m new to ASL. I mean, I don’t have a working knowledge of it beyond the alphabet and a few choice phrases, but I had high school classmates who were mainstreamed deaf students, so I’m past the gawking stage.

No, it’s because this episode – as it was intended to do – made me realize how much we (in general, and I in particular) rely on audio cues to follow conversations.

More than once, I’ve written about the fact that when I need noise while I’m working I play reruns of The West Wing because it’s both dialogue-heavy and familiar. I don’t need to see the facial expressions to know how Donna REALLY feels about Josh, for example.

But even when I’m watching television I haven’t seen before, I’m rarely giving it my full attention. I’m texting, reading, playing with the dogs, getting up to refill my drink or serve dinner (yeah, we often spend our one hour of tv a night eating dinner – we’re adults, it’s allowed). Rarely, however, do I truly focus on the show in question.

Tonight’s episode of Switched at Birth, however, required my full focus. I had no choice but to put down the phone, and JUST WATCH. And, yes, okay, there were music cues, but they just enhanced the emotional drama.

I knew I would respond favorably to the episode, because it was called “Uprising,” and I’m all about activism – I come from a long line of activists. But I wasn’t expecting to feel TIRED after the episode – because it does take a LOT of energy to focus – really focus – on a conversation where you don’t have even non-verbal noise to give you context.

But this is why I love this show, and why I hope many more people start watching it. Because it DOES make us pay attention. Sure, it’s still a teen drama underneath everything else, and true, it does have it’s soapy moments. Nevertheless, it’s innovative, interesting, truly compelling tv.

And that young Sean Berdy isn’t bad to look at either.

(Hey, he’s legal, and I’m allowed to look.)

Geeking Out over Coffee

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sightglass-is-here

Last week, over at All Things Girl, I admitted that when I was at Barnes and Noble shopping for Christmas gifts, I realized that I hadn’t renewed my membership card there, and worse, that I hadn’t even noticed that it hadn’t been renewed.

Today it’s time for another confession: I may not be able to maintain my gold card status at Starbucks this year.

For those of you who know me, this will be a shock. After all, I’m the queen of frou-frou coffee, and have been known to mark time by the appearance of the red cups each fall.

The thing is, Starbucks is popular, not because they make great coffee (we all know they tend to burn their beans), but because they turn out a consistent product and are conveniently located throughout, not just the country, but most of the world. So ubiquitous have they become that we actually make comments like, “The nearest Starbucks is more than 50 miles away,” in order to demonstrate how rural (or backwards) a place is.

So why am I not drinking at Starbucks? Well, I’m not boycotting them, or anything. I mean, for a safe warm place to write, with free wifi and clean bathrooms, they rock. I love their “protein plate” and if I’m out and about (and hungry) will happily nibble on one while reading. As well, I recognize that for a major corporation they’re not politically horrible, actually offering healthcare even to part-time employees, and such.

A few years ago I bought a Keurig machine. It was nice, because I’m usually the only coffee-drinker in my house, and I was finding myself brewing whole pots of coffee, having one cup, and forgetting the rest was there. (Also Keurig offers pods from Caribou coffee, which is so much tastier (and not burnt) than Starbucks. Really.) So the one-cup Keurig gave me instant gratification, and saved me the cost of all those wasted pots of coffee.

But I wanted espresso.

I did some research and determined that in order to replace the Keurig, I would need a machine that could make both regular coffee and decent shots of espresso, and I bought a mid-range CBTL machine. I love it to pieces. I make shots in the antique demitasse cups my parents brought from Mexico for me at Christmas, or in the less-than-antique Starbucks demitasse that Fuzzy brought me from Hong Kong (the city cups), or sometimes in the cups from the Japanese tea set we received as a gift from some really good friends several years ago. (JULIA, I MEAN YOU.)

I even spent the extra $50 for a frothing pitcher, so I can have lovely cappuccino without ever leaving my kitchen…or, for that matter, putting on a bra.

I love my CBTL. I keep my Keurig upstairs to make cocoa or tea with (since neither requires me to add milk) when I’m working upstairs. But sometimes I want the pleasure, the romance, the heady aroma, of grinding real beans and listening to the water churn and pouring out the deep brown fluid that is the elixir of my life, if not everyone’s.

I especially like trying new kinds of coffee. Not flavored, because I think flavored coffees pretty much uniformly suck – especially hazelnut – but blends, varieties, roasts. A friend of ours from the UU church introduced me to his fair trade coffees – they make some of the best organic decaf on the planet, and then, last November, my friend Clay brought some Sightglass coffee with him when he came from San Francisco.

I was hooked almost instantly, and not just because of the name, invoking pirates along the Barbary coast, and tall ships appearing out of the fog.

We made the espresso in a regular pot, and it was awesome. We made the regular coffee as well and agreed it was likely the best non-espresso either of us had ever tasted.

Yesterday my order of more arrived. A bag each of Indonesia Sulawesi and Blueboon blend. Roasted on Tuesday.

And today, late this afternoon, I will be receiving a three-cup stovetop espresso machine, a Bialetti Moka Express, that’s basically the modern version of the antique copper coffee pot gracing the top of the hutch in my kitchen.

Three cups is just enough to have two really good mugs of coffee, without wasting an entire pot, and since I can grind most any bean espresso-fine, I don’t need to worry about having a specific blend. (Espresso refers to the method of brewing, NOT the roast of the bean – any dark roast can be used – if you’re a Starbucks fan try their Verona.)

And so, as I enter into a weekend that will see Fuzzy heading to Orem, UT for work on Sunday afternoon, I will at least face it with excellent coffee.

Care for a cup?

Thursday 13: In the Pink

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I know Valentine’s Day was last week, but I’m in a distinctly PINK mood today, so I’m celebrating a color I used to detest, and now can’t get enough of, with this week’s late-ish entry for Thursday 13:

  1. Beet juice, when it stains the sink and cutting board, seeping into the cracks in the ancient enamel.
  2. Gerbera daisies, especially when they’re in salvaged glass bottle-turned-vase.
  3. Raspberries, the perfect sweet-tart explosion on your tongue.
  4. The blush of a new romance, just as it begins to take form.
  5. The tender kisses you still share almost twenty years later.
  6. The sky when the sun is at just the right angle against the clouds, at dusk or dawn.
  7. Cherry blossoms against a chilly gray sky on a damp day.
  8. Roses cut from the back yard bush – watch out for thorns!
  9. A fresh coat of OPI “Dutch Tulips” nail polish.
  10. A strawberry and vanilla breakfast smoothie made with unsweetened almond milk.
  11. Grocery store carnations that your husband brings home because he knows you love to fill the house with flowers.
  12. The soft, warm belly of a wriggling dog asking for attention and affection.
  13. The hint of color that makes watermelon tourmaline your favorite semi-precious stone.

Meet Samwise

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Samwise sitting

Meet Samwise.

Samwise was being called Koda when he was at the shelter, but when we asked for him as our next foster-dog, our coordinator asked us to rename him. Since he’s an Aussie/Border Collie mix, I wanted him to have a strong name that reflected the love and loyalty that both his breeds are known for. “Besides,” I explained. “If he gets non-geeky adopters, they can just call him Sam.”

Sam has been with us for a week now, and while he was very shy and skittish at first (even engaging in submissive urination), he’s quickly become a happy, plucky dog. He loves to wrestle with our four-year-old pointer, Maximus, and enjoys chasing tennis balls. A ball with a squeaker inside is his Very Most Favorite Toy, and he would spend all day batting it around the back yard if we allowed it.

He’s trained, sleeping in it and hanging out in it when I can’t supervise him. (He’s still a puppy – under nine months old – and has puppyish tendencies to swipe any object not nailed down, especially socks and slippers.) He loves rawhide chewies and never turns down treats or food. (We feed Blue.)

Samwise learned to answer to his new name very quickly. He hasn’t quite grasped “Sit” yet, but is learning. His leash skills, on the other hand, will require patience and time.

While Sam is extremely active, he’s also a great companion dog. He loves to run and play, but is equally content to sit with his head in your lap. He gives kisses, if you let him, and likes to be able to “check in” with his people. Secretly, he wants to be a cuddle muffin.

At roughly 40 pounds, Samwise is compact enough to live almost anywhere, but apartment dwellers should be prepared to take him on long romps every day.

Samwise is available for adoption through Shelter2Rescue, and can be seen at the PetCo near 1-20 & Green Oaks in Arlington, TX Saturdays from 1-6 PM.

(Of course, you can always contact me, as well.)

Samwise_03

Valentine’s Day: It Is Here, by Harold Pinter

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Every Valentine’s Day since I discovered John Fuller’s wonderfully earthy poem, “Valentine,” I’ve posted it in my blog. Personally I think it’s THE BEST LOVE POEM EVER, because it’s real and honest and a bit mischievous.

I posted it on my Facebook page this morning, and right now, I’m sharing another poem here on my blog. It’s also very real, but it’s much more innocent, and yet, it has a whole different kind of impact.

It Is Here
(for A)

What sound was that?

I turn away, into the shaking room.

What was that sound that came on in the dark?
What is this maze of life it leaves us in?
What is this stance we take,
to turn away, and then turn back?
What did we hear?

It was the breath we took when we first met.

Listen.
It is here.

~ Harold Pinter

The Return of Sunday Brunch

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candlegarden-by-auttiedot-morguefile

After roughly six weeks of being dark (mostly because of technical issues) All Things Girl resumed operation roughly a week ago (slightly longer), and yesterday was the first of my Sunday Brunch columns of the year.

Yesterday’s link is here.

Look for more Sunday Brunch every other Sunday, unless otherwise noted.

The song I wrote about is embedded below, courtesy of YouTube.

What I Didn’t Do Today

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Most years, I spend Candlemas in a personal bubble. I light candles, even if it’s bright out, just because I like the scent of melted wax and faint smoke. I write notes to friends. I sing along with my favorite music. I soak in a bubble bath while listening to NPR.

Today, I didn’t do any of that.

Not that it was an unproductive day.

We slept late, partly because I took a muscle relaxant before bed (my back is still hurting), and partly because the dogs actually let us.

We brought Ace the Foster-Chihuahua to PetCo, where he met his new owner, and was taken to his new home.

We went to the comic book store, where we spent a ridiculous amount of money ($91) because we hadn’t picked up subscriptions in two months.

We went to brunch at Cracker Barrel, because I really wanted French toast.

We did the second half of our grocery shopping (the first half was done on Thursday night, when we went to CostCo).

We then came home, where I had planned to sip a latte and then either watch a skating show I’d DVR’d or take a nap, but since my last 1099 had arrived, I did the taxes instead. (I don’t typically have them done this early, and it seems odd to not have them hanging over my head for another ten weeks.) We don’t owe anything, and we’re getting money back.

I baked a batch of chocolate chip bar cookies, because I felt the need to mark the fact that the taxes were done.

At that point I was about to settle down with a book, when I remembered that the first Sunday Brunch posting of 2013 is supposed to go live in the morning, which meant I had to write it RIGHT NOW. It’s now finished.

And it’s almost midnight.
And my back is stiff and sore.
And I feel like whining a little.

Done now.