Dark Moon, Snow Moon

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The full moon of November, in various types of lore, is known as the Snow Moon and the Dark Moon. We are not yet at the full moon, but just now, leaning out the back door as the dogs patrolled the perimeter of the yard, I saw my breath hanging in the chilly night air, and I looked up and saw the brittle crescent of the moon balancing on the tree tops, and just for a second, I could taste the snow and the darkness.

It is not likely to snow here in Texas any time soon, of course, and yet, high above the trees, the crystalline cold exists, passing us by en route to a place where it will sit and rest, causing people to swap cotton t-shirts for flannel lounging pants, and making cozy firelit evenings a regular occurrence.

Almost, it is cold enough here for a fire, and indeed I can smell pine smoke in the neighborhood, but the weekend will bring temperatures approaching the eighties once more – probably for the last time this year.

I don’t mind the days that creep up on 80, linger there for a moment, and then slide back down to cooler temperatures, but I’m ready for something a little bit cooler, a little bit darker, a little bit more on the winter side of autumn than the summer side.

I won’t get the snow. But I’m ready for the Snow Moon.
We won’t get bitter black nights. But we are ready for the Dark Moon.

“Fallen leaves lying on the grass in the November sun bring more happiness than the daffodils” — Cyril Connolly

Frothing

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I’ve been thinking a lot about espresso machines lately. I used to have a DeLonghi machine, but it was a pain to use, and when I owned it I felt like I had to use it, instead of hitting cafes. I like going to cafes, you see. I like the mix of people, the funky music, the sound of the steaming milk as it makes froth and foam, the cheery clatter of cups and saucers.

However, I also like really strong coffee with pretty foam on top when I write, and without an espresso machine I can’t make one. We have a wet bar in the kitchen, and I’ve often fantasized about having a restaurant-quality machine hard-wired and hard-plumbed into that space.

It’s just a fantasy, of course, because we don’t have that kind of cash, and if we did, we’d be replacing carpets, putting in a hot tub, and rebuilding the front entry, but it’s fun to dream about such things. I try to justify it by reminding Fuzzy that he likes frothy hot chocolate, and that espresso machines of that caliber are also great for steaming scrambled eggs – nothing is fluffier, actually, then eggs done by steam injection.

Fuzzy brings me back from my fantasies with questions like, “So you wouldn’t have to go to Starbucks, then, right?”

Silly man.

(If you came here looking for my Thursday Thirteen post, it’s below. )

Thursday 13: 0711.15

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Thirteen Things about MISS MELISS
Things that Begin with Z

  1. Zabaglione: An Italian dessert. A custard of eggs, mascarpone cheese, sugar and liquor, traditionally served with figs.
  2. Zebra: I was crazy about horses as a kid, and this extended to zebras. They look so magical, especially in video clips from watering holes.
  3. Zenobia: A Queen of Palmyra, she ruled after her husband’s death, was captured by the army of Aurelius, whom she so impressed that he freed her. Eventually she became a philosopher. I used her name for my very first MUSH character, ever.
  4. Zenzizenzizenzic: The eighth power of a number, and just totally fun to say, though less so to type. (A corruption of the Italian censo de censo.) No longer actually used as a word, excepts in lists like this one.
  5. Zephyr: A light refreshing wind, or gentle breeze. I love wind, and I love that different types of wind have names.
  6. Zest: Not the soap, though I remember bars of it in my grandparents’ bathroom when I was a kid. (I liked Ivory better, back then, because of the floating.) I like zest in it’s culinary sense – the outer rind of citrus before you reach the pith – it’s where the color and oils live – and for it’s use as a synonym for “enthusiasm” and “vigor.”
  7. Zingers: Witty, stinging remarks, or frightening Hostess snack cakes, either will do. In the latter, I’m partial to the pink ones (I think they’re supposed to be raspberry?) with coconut.
  8. Zinnias: One of my favorite kinds of flowers, they’re so colorful and vibrant.
  9. Zither: I have a thing for unconventional musical instruments. The zither is one of them – you play it sort of the same way you play a dulcimer (the kind you pluck/strum, not the kind you hammer.)
  10. Ziti: While the word specifically refers to the noodles, which are like overgrown macaroni, or really big penne, to me it also means the dish “baked ziti” which has long been a family favorite. I should make some. Maybe for Thanksgiving.
  11. Zippers: I had a pair of zipper earrings, I’ve had zippered shoes, and I love that my current every-day purse (a messenger bag from an import store) zippers beneath the flap. Zippers are just incredibly useful things.
  12. Zoetrope: Wiktionary says, “An optical toy, in which figures made to revolve on the inside of a cylinder, and viewed through slits in its circumference, appear like a single figure passing through a series of natural motions as if animated or mechanically moved.” You know the spinning gray structure on the old Mr. Rogers show? Technically it was a sort of zoetrope.
  13. Zoo: When zoos are well done, you don’t feel like the animals are imprisoned as much as honestly protected and cared for. The Fort Worth Zoo is my current favorite, because you can get really close to the animals, and never feel like you’re looking through a fence.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Doin’ the Geek-Girl Shuffle

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While I’ve never been a particular fan of iTunes, I have to admit that I’m very fond of the little pink ipod shuffle I won from Blingo earlier this year, and not just because it matches my MacBook, either.

I like it for a lot of reasons: the novelty of storing music in a glorified binder clip, the shiny happy color, the fact that it weighs nothing and is perfect for bringing along on dog walks, the list goes on.

The thing is, though, that I tend not to use it very often, because most of my music is on my Zen or in Napster. Dear Napster, please allow an mp3 format for bought tunes. Dear iPod, please work with Napster.

Neither will happen, I know, but a girl can dream.

The Project Runway Project

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In just a bit more than 24 hours, season four of Bravo TV’s Project Runway will begin, and some fashionista friends and I are going to blog the experience. We’ll be discussing the designers themselves, the designs, the judges, the challenges, and of course, the models, and we’ll also be trying our best to pick the winner.

Where will all this happen? At Electric Tangerine of course.

So, grab your score cards and your snarkiest attitude, slip your feet into a killer pair of shoes, and strut down the runway with us.

All are welcome.

Even if you don’t wear pink.

Productive

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I just sat down to have a yogurt, because I was feeling lightheaded and spacey, but despite the fact that we never got to walkies today (there was dancing in the living room, and a rousing game of fetch, but…), it’s been a productive day. Three articles for work, plus news and a jump-start on a new article.

Tweaked a couple of things on the Project That Will Be Unveiled Tomorrow.

And now? Am trying to decide what to do with ground turkey. Probably turkey meatloaf because that way I’m not actively cooking late at night if Fuzzy’s estimate of how long he’ll be at work proves false.

I had more to say, but the brain is fried.

Happy Monday.

I Support the WGA

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I felt it was important, even though the writing I do is for a web company and has nothing to do with residuals or anything like that, to show my support of the Writers Guild of America. Yes, their strike may mess up your entertainment options for a while, but that’s necessary sometimes. People deserve to have their work respected, and to be paid fairly for what they do.

That is all.

Support Writers

Red is the Color of my Favorite Cup

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…or rather the color of the cups that signify the beginning of the holiday season. Yes, my friends, the red cups are back at Starbucks and with them have arrived peppermint mochas (which you can actually get all year, but taste better in red cups), eggnog lattes, and caramel apple cider. I’m a mocha girl myself, while Fuzzy’s a cider guy.

He was up til six this morning working on, well, work, and I spent yesterday using Nyquil to help nuke the last of a cold that I couldn’t shake, since it was determined I have nothing wrong that antibiotics can help (no sinus infection). Nyquil doesn’t do much but knock me out, but sometimes being asleep is the best thing you can do. I had a long nap yesterday afternoon, had the lights out for the night by eleven-thirty, and didn’t get out of bed this morning til after ten, then returned to nap some more about an hour later.

This evening we went to Panera, but it wasn’t at all satisfying, and then to Half Price Books where for $63 we got more than 100 Christmas cards, a book for Fuzzy, and a bunch of little gifty things that I can’t mention because some are for my mother who reads my blog.

And then, of course, we went to Starbucks for hot, steamy, red-cupped goodness, and another present for Mom.

It was a good day.

By the way, if you’re not on my Christmas list, and want to be, or are, and have moved since last Christmas, please send an email to Melissa AT MissMeliss DOT com with your name and snailmail address so you can receive a card from us. (If you’re reading this on LiveJournal, I’ll be setting comments to be screened, and you can reply there.)