I Love You, Summer. And You Too, Mr. Shakespeare.

We have a big, wonderful park In Town with a pool and playground and band shell and hiking trails and waterfalls.  When we moved here, I asked Steve if they hosted a Shakespeare in the Park program and he told me that it wasn't that kind of town and I wept tears down my face.  My friend who does community theater here asked around about Shakespeare in the Park and got nowhere.  I was sad in my heart.

Thursday we were in the bakery buying snow-on-the-mountain cookies (canNOT find a recipe for them--anyone?) and saw a poster advertising a free performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream in the park directed by the hometown Hollywood hero (she's been in a bunch of movies I've never heard of). 

It looks like we'll be able to live here after all.

I attended the performance last night by myself, which is the problem with having only one person who watches our child and having that person be 65-years-old and having that person come down with sciatica.  Our little 11-year-old friend found me a few minutes into the play, though, so I had a play companion with the inside scoop on all the fairies, including her best friend who is attending her birthday party on Tuesday.

The production was surprisingly good, better than the community Shakespeare in my parents' large city (which is not a high bar to surpass).  The actor who played Bottom was excellent and bore an eery resemblance to MarmotDad and there were several other strong performers.  Because the play is largely set in the woods, we moved to six different locations during the course of the production.  I understand why this was a good decision.  Why not set forest scenes in the forest?  BUT if one is pregnant and came early and staked out a great spot on her blanket in front of the band shell, she feels a bit sad when she ends up standing in the woods for 45 minutes to watch the action.  I imagine the elderly people near me had similar feelings.  Still, I am so pleased with this development, this small gift to sweeten our rural living experience.  (But don't tell me about your trip to Cedar City and the lemon tarts.  It will make me cry.)

What We're Recommending at Our House

To Watch - Masha and the Bear
Steve is crazy in love with this animated Russian series.  He relates to the bear, who plays the trombone (just like Steve!) and lives with a little blond female (just like Steve!).  Apparently, they're making an English movie version. 

To Read - Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead
Georges, a seventh-grader living in Brooklyn, has just moved, reluctantly, into a new apartment building after his father loses his job.  He soon becomes friends with resident spy, Safer, a boy who claims that Georges' upstairs neighbor is up to no good and enlists Georges' help to investigate him.  The young characters in this novel are so likeable and in addition to being a fun story, the book explores relationship issues between friends and family very nicely.

To Eat - Cowboy Candy
We made this last year and it was a bit too spicy for us, so this year we made it without the seeds and ribs and now it's a bit too mild.  Still, I'm eating it up.  I like it best on crackers with cream cheese.

To Do - Sleep
The Bairn napped for 2.5 hours today, which means I got a full-length nap today too.  Two and a half hours!  Sometimes that baby is good and kind as well as adorable.

What do you recommend?

I Want to See the Funny

I want to see this film.



If you don't listen to This American Life (why aren't you listening?  Listen to this episode and this one right away), you may not have heard of the film or be familiar with Mike Birbiglia (he's funny).  The show is currently asking listeners to request that the film play in their cities and there are links to independent theaters to petition, but there are no links for Canada.  Ira Glass, what if I'm in rural Nova Scotia?  What should I do?

Anyway, if you're in the States, you should go see it and make it extra popular so that one day it will make its way to a pizza parlor/video rental establishment near me (all of which I truly believed went extinct in the 1990s but apparently didn't as I have MANY such locations available to me).

This is a Really Good Song

I've been listening to this on repeat whenever I have an Internet connection (which will be EVERY BLESSED DAY after we move into our friend's flat for the holidays on Wednesday).

(It looks like you have to click over to the blog to actually listen--sorry.)

I've Got the Joy

I woke up with the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart today, so I made a wee list of things I love before I have to speak to any government agencies and go back to wanting to punch people in the throat.

I love

1. a kicking baby (because otherwise I worry that he's dead) 
2. homemade bread (Steve's grandmother's recipe has changed my life) 
3. libraries
4. sunny days (Radio 4 promised me a week of cheery weather this morning, so I forgive them for being snotty about Americanisms entering the language) 
5. yoga (I have a yoga pregnancy book that I check out over and over again from the library. Steve reads out the instructions while I stretch in our 2-inch big living room.) 
6. calling customer service desks in America (because they're so friendly and don't make me hang up the phone and weep, which is what happens when I talk to people on the phone in Britain) 
7. Skype 
8. haircuts (even terrible haircuts; yes, I DID go back to the beauty school) 
9. taking trips (come back cheap train fares!) 
10. a dish-washing husband 
11. chips and salsa 
12. free stuff (someone just gave us a pram, which I think is so nice)

I Want a Penguin

Steve found this clip somewhere and it's extra super adorable.

I have actual, real things to say and post but I'm incapacitated by the unfortunate smell of cheap chicken being pressure cooked in my kitchen. Bleagh.



Oh, and I extra super like this at the moment too. It might possibly have the most interesting graphic design I've ever encountered in a cookbook. I'll let you know how the food is after we have the goose cups (or whatever they're called) tomorrow.

She is a Ceramic GENIUS

I commissioned a bowl for Steve from my friend, Melanie, the Ceramic Genius. There were difficulties getting it shipped over to us, but it finally arrived on Thanksgiving (happy Thanksgiving to me) and it is AMAZING. I asked her to fashion a bowl with owls and trains on it, as those are two of Steve's favorite things.

Behold the results.




I love it SO much.

You Did a Good Job, Patrick Geddes

Have I ever mentioned how truly striking Edinburgh is? It's really a beautiful city. Patrick Geddes, the 19th-century urban planner, did a lot of work in Edinburgh and contributed to its very distinctive look.

I stayed in Edinburgh for a week last summer and it's where
Steve came to see me and took me on our first date.

We were in Edinburgh last night. Steve had a meeting downtown and I came along to go shopping with him at the best UK supermarket which only has two locations in Scotland, both in Edinburgh. We stocked up on chutney and black beans (remarkably hard to find) and orange curd at the grocery store. And then I found the Halloween candy. Steve doesn't like Halloween so he wasn't swayed by the selection of chocolate worms and maggot, but I was feeling that disgustingly-shaped chocolate might be just the thing. I was getting ready to make my case for purchasing a bag of worms and maggots, when I recalled that I was about to go see the Alvin Ailey dancers at the theatre while Steve went to talk about tractors and surveys and engineering at his meeting and that perhaps that was treat enough for the night.



And it was a treat, but I would still like a tasty maggot.

Gospel Music

Steve and I like listening to AM radio when we travel. It's especially satisfying when traveling in Tennessee and Virginia, because the stations are full of gospel music and old men advertising yard sales.

On this last trip, we heard "Moses Smote the Water" while we drove through Tennessee, and it reminded me of "Holy Manna," a song I discovered in my sister's Sacred Harp songbook back when she and MarmotDad still had time for shape note singing.

The first video is a performance of "Moses Smote the Water." The next three are versions of "Holy Manna." Mom likes the last version best. I like the second version, which is an example of shape note singing (the actual singing of words comes in the middle).

Grocery Store Treats

Today we drove from Boston to Virginia and stopped in a store in rural Pennsylvania. A fantastic store. I wanted to take lots of pictures, but even more than that I wanted to NOT be a gawking outsider. I snapped just one quick picture while the young women running the store weren't looking. This is the candy aisle. Imagine similar rows of flour and pretzels and noodles for Amish pot pie stored in clear plastic bags.


We bought pear butter and seasoning to make Italian sausage (which we can't get in the UK) and these tiny pig sprinkles. I feel overwhelmingly compelled to make a farm-themed birthday cake now.

Yesterday we stopped at a far less exciting grocery store in Maine. As we were standing in the dairy department, an elderly woman approached us. She looked very well put together and friendly, like a grandma. She turned to Steve and asked him, "Do you know how to keep a goober in suspense?" When he said that he didn't, she replied, "I'll tell you tomorrow!" Then she chuckled and patted me on the arm and confided, "Oh, I got him!"

I've never heard an adult use the word goober before.

Summertime

There are blueberries growing at the cottage. In the morning, I pull on my wellies, tramp out to the bush, and pick a handful to eat on my cereal.

Yesterday Steve and I went walking on a trail that follows the old railroad tracks. It crosses the swing bridge (a section of the bridge used to swing open to allow ships through) and continues down a dirt trail lined with apple trees and wild berries. I picked and ate the blackberries along the trail and they were so sweet.

Berries. berriesberriesberriesberries

These are My Favorite Movies

I love movie trailers. Sometimes I love them more than the actual films. I'm sorry to report, though, that the trailers for my three favorite movies are not my favorite movie trailers. All three films came out before the movie trailer genre really hit its golden age. Nonetheless, the full-lenth features are all lovely.

I first saw Empire of the Sun when I was 11. My parents brought it home because they thought my brother would enjoy it. He did, but I was the one who became obsessed with it and worked so hard to record the music off the film with my tape recorder held up to the TV.





A friend in college introduced me to Some Like It Hot. At one point, I laughed so hard that I fell off the couch.





I discovered Bandits in graduate school and it also makes me laugh. Beavers and ducks!

The Photos are Coming

We are back from the Continent. The UK border patrol didn't want to let me back in this time. They pulled me aside and consulted a supervisor and put The Fear in me but finally relented just in time for us to catch our ferry from Calais.

We did not buy souvenirs, but we did bring home sausages and cheeses and mustards and other delightful foods from Germany and France. (All the perishables went into the cooler that plugs into the cigarette lighter, a device that Steve calls the "CoolTron.") Steve picked out this spread that I was not enthusiastic for him to purchase, but it has changed my life. Its introduction into our home is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. It tastes like spreadable digestive biscuits. Mmmmm.

A Bright Spot in a Rainy Day

My brother and sister-in-law brought me this Jim Thompson bag from Southeast Asia for Christmas. It's one of my favorite things. Love me the elephants.

How I Blog When I'm Sick

I love this video, especially the last half. I first saw it on Brooke's blog (thank you, Brooke) and I find myself mentioning it to people a lot, so here it is.

I Recommend DIANE REHM

A friend took me to an event hosted by KUER and featuring Diane Rehm last night. It was a lovely evening (not least because of the chocolate covered raspberries at the post-show reception). I so enjoy Diane Rehm. Doug Fabrizio interviewed her and it was interesting to hear her speak as the interviewee rather than the interviewer, particularly when she discussed her childhood. Throughout the interview (and afterwards when we spoke to her briefly), Diane struck me as such a gracious and idealistic woman ,while remaining very much aware of circumstances in life and the world that are not ideal. I find that extremely admirable. The interview was recorded and will air on KUED next Friday night. Watch it if you get the opportunity. And if you can find yourself some chocolate-covered fruits to eat afterwards, so much the better.

I Like It

I was catching up on my Prairie Home Companion today, but I never made it through the pas de deux show, because I had to listen to the performances by Anne and Pete Sibley over and over and over again. I'm very fond of a banjo.

In Memoriam

I love these shoes. And today I am throwing them away. The entire sole came off one of them. Based on the fabric choice inside the shoes (which I LOVE) and the outer shoe material which I'm pretty sure it's now illegal to use in the production of shoes (it being some kind of weird synthetic substance that probably gives its wearer cancer), I'm fairly certain these shoes are approximately 1,000 years old and not worth the trouble of repairing. Also, they're not entirely comfortable. I love them, though. I LOVE them.


And now I will carry them away for their funeral at the dumpster. I wish I knew a dirge.

It is SNOWING Outside

Yesterday I grabbed an album by the Decemberists for our teen volunteers to listen to in our meeting. Except that our teen volunteers are not so much listeners as they are shriekers and texters and awkward conversationalists. Bless their little hearts. I enjoyed the music, though, and I'm still enjoying it today, especially these two songs.

The Crane Wife Part 3




The Engine Driver

The Rage Solution

I almost threw a giant fit at work today. I don't know if it's the fact that winter refuses to release the city, and consequently my heart, from its grip, or if I'm turning into a short-timer, or if we just have really rude and belligerent patrons (I vote for that one), but I have had ZERO patience at work the last few days and all our patrons enrage me. After four hours on the reference desk today, I was about to lose it, so I searched my brain for something that would calm me. What makes anyone in any situation feel happy? I asked myself.

Baby hippos.

Yep, Kirsten recently introduced me to zooborns. When Madame E(6) was a baby, she liked the words hoopter woopter. No matter what she was doing, if we said hoopter woopter to her, she stopped and laughed, even if she'd been crying earlier. Baby leopards have the same effect on me. Rage and misanthropy are no match for photos of baby jungle cats or a sifaka with a fuzzy monkey mother. I sat at the desk and I looked at leopards today and I wished I had a baby leopard to keep at the desk. I would settle it near my chair and pat it if I was angry and when it got bigger, I'd let it eat the people who bothered me. Love me the leopards.