Washington DC

Who do you loooooooooove?



This little guy was just hanging out on the street a couple of blocks from the White House.



Smooches by the Tidal Basin.



Honey is holding up the Washington Monument.



Hip little hang-out in Northern VA. Good veggie burger!

strike a pose

The running in place dance is appropriate for all occasions, especially weddings.



You are not an owl, you need to turn your whole body.



Which one makes you see little green men?



Moonville Tunnel



Is this an advertisement?




Pick it before it explodes!

not enough time

I was sorting through some old pictures and stuff and I found this poem that I wrote my brother a few years ago. Tomorrow is his birthday so I thought I would share it. I think I must be missing him lately. . .

There's just not enough time
for country back road rides
Maybe next time. . .
My scary voice driving past "The Circle"
"Planet Caravan" that echoed into the night
Bebe guns and army men without heads.
Dirt mounds, sled paths in the strip-mines
Puppy in the tree, scooters down the hill,
"Dad, what happened to my E.T. poster?"
"Wait till we get home from church"
Brock park in the springtime
Clink of the bat, Big League Chew.
I would hold onto the fence and watch you
Rocking back and forth with my teddy bear
(Not going to Ohio U. not going anywhere)
We used to fight and argue
or sometimes not even talk at all
Now there's just no time for it.
Three weeks out of the year isn't enough
time to spend with you now
Will it always be like this from now on?
Will it just be once a year and then you are
gone?
Trace the words on the seat in front of you
Dad won't know
Just me and you.

fond memory

If I could transport myself back to the best concert ever it would be Bonnaroo 2006 with my brother. We had a blast. It was so great! There were 80,000 people, unbelievable heat, no showers, and all in all a fantastic time! Though this is nothing like being there, here's a clip of Radiohead performing at Bonnaroo. It was truly magical! Thanks for taking me, James!

love my music

My top ten most listened to albums of all time:

1. The Sundays-Blind

2. Tori Amos-Scarlet's Walk

3. Smashing Pumpkins-Pisces & Siamese Dream (it's a tie)

4. Lisa Loeb-Tails

5. Radiohead-The Bends

6. Blind Melon-Soup

7. The Verve-No Come Down

8. Tool-Aenima

9. The Cure-Disintegration

10. Hole-Live Through This

I used to listen to The Sundays on cassette tape while I was driving around in my 1986 Ford Escort. I still love that album. It is timeless.

ribbons undone

I wrote this a couple of weeks ago and found it in my drafts. I will share now.




I have been listening to Tori Amos and I have been spring cleaning all day. I am not awesome at follow through. I start in one spot and then I get distracted and I have several rooms torn up and projects started all over the apartment. Perhaps I am like the little butterfly flitting from flower to flower.

One of the songs I was listening to reminded me of my friend Carrie and her little girl Izzy. I love that kid, she has personality plus! She makes me smile even when I don't want to. I can hear her giggling when I am talking to Carrie on the phone and it cheers up my day.

Ribbons Undone by Tori Amos

Running to spring
It is her time it is her time
Watch her run with ribbons undone

She's a rose in a lily's cloak
She can hide her charms
It is her right there will be time
To chase the sun with ribbons undone

She runs like a fire does
Just picking up daises
Comes in for a landing
A pure flash of lightening
Past alice blue blossoms
You follow her laughter
And then she'll surprise you
Arms filled with lavender

Yes my little pony is growing up fast
She corrects me and says
"You mean a thoroughbred"
A look in her eyes says the battle's beginning
From school she comes home and cries
I don't want to grow up Mom at least not tonight

You're a girl
Rising from a shell
Running through spring
With summer's hand in reach now
It is your time
It is your time
So just run with ribbons undone
It is your time yes my angel
It is your time
So just run with ribbons undone

Run run darlin'
Ribbons undone

the little things

(this is a view from my grandpa's back yard I took in the fall)

A kind word or smile
to share a cup of tea
a chat with someone you love
to hear a giggle or belly laugh
through the phone
to share life's celebrations
marriages, births, milestone achievements
to the little victories
to learn to forgive
or cheer leading for losing a pound
to console in the hard times
sickness, depression, death.
all of the things that happen in our lives
deepens our connection to each other
as human beings
it deepens our love for one another
as our strength rises to the surface
when we didn't even know it was there.
The comfort of knowing that we are never ever alone,
tears down the old walls. . .
watch them crumble.

my grandpa. . .

You are the one that everyone always leaned on,
The only man in a family full of women
You are quiet and calm
You taught me how to drive and you didn’t panic when I almost put us in a ditch (more than once).
You faced many obstacles in your life; you became a widower very young.
You loved unconditionally, and never gave up.
You showed your love in so many ways
I remember good things about you Grandpa. Lots of good things. . .
Witty and sweet, always giving good hugs
You had hard candy in your pockets to share at all times.
You stayed through my entire band and choir concerts all through school. Whether it was torture or not, you would hug me proudly afterwards.
You were there to see me graduate from High School. You were there in spirit when I graduated from college. I know you wanted to be there.
You made sure you were there to check out the "new guy" I started dating for Thanksgiving a few years ago. I am glad that you approved of him.
You gave your dogs funny names like Timex the watchdog, and you had a pet monkey a long time ago. I am sure that you have lots of secrets that no one really knows.
You made it on the 20 mile bike ride, like a man half your age, I kept asking you if you were ready to turn around, but you wanted to finish to the end. That was a good day I spent with you.
You helped with the dishes at the Senior Center and took people their meals. You never complained about helping in the kitchen, you just worked hard and got it done. How wonderful that you got to see your daughter all the time and she was able to cook for you. I know it meant so much to my mom.
You got to hold generations of babies and live to be a great grandpa to lots of children.
You will forever to be in my heart and I know that you will always be smiling at me with your ornery grin.
I hope it was a good life for you, Grandpa. I hope that you lived without regrets. You are so loved.
I will miss you.
I am sorry I didn't get to sing "Happy Birthday" to you today.

snow storm

So, I am driving back to Pittsburgh yesterday after spending the weekend in Ohio, and the sky and roads are completely clear. To my wandering eyes appear, a snow storm, all of the sudden, oh dear. Yes, and it was horrible. I was stuck on the side of a hill for an hour, and there was a guy in a white car that came down the hill and smacked into the back of my vehicle and passed me in the ditch on the right and kept going! Yes, another hit and run friends. It is true. I started thinking, "Why me?" Then I realized that I was not the only one stuck on that hill, there were dozens of us stranded.
SO I REALLY HATE DRIVING IN THE WINTER. REALLY HATE IT. And I figured that maybe this was some sort of sign, like, if you can get through this night, you can do anything. A two hour drive took me four and a half hours. White knuckling, praying, hot flash sweating, no radio, slipping and sliding through West by god Virginia and through some hilly parts of Route 30 in Pennsylvania. The snow followed me all the way home!
Torture for me. I had no one else to take the wheel and if I didn't force myself to drive, I would not get to my destination. I pulled over several times, feeling like I just wanted to give up. I thought I would just wait until the snow stopped, or something. Once I glanced up to see that I was sitting beside a seedy icky porn shop trailer on top of a mountain, and thought I probably better keep on moving. This was not where I want to be. I really really wanted to get home so that I could get to my honey's arms. I inched my way through the ice and the snow, slowly for hours, knowing that when I reached my goal, I would be safe and I did it. All by myself. Life gives us tests, things that make us go outside of our comfort zone, challenges. We have to face them head on, and sometimes there is no one to take the wheel. You have to trust yourself and take the plunge. It might be scary and getting there may be hard, but it is worth the hard work. Pay no attention to the truck that scaled the guard rail head first on your right, you have to keep on truckin'.

hmmm

i guess the steelers just won the superbowl because i can hear people celebrating with screams, horn honks, fireworks, and gun shots (???) yeee haw. wow.

Happy Birthday for me!

My big plans. . .



Cafe Au Lait and Breakfast Crepes at Crepes Parisiennes.





The last moment for a dying snowman. He is going down, the Pittsburgh heatwave is too much for him.




Next stop, Phipps Conservatory, to enjoy the orchids, and lush greeness.














Surprise dinner destination, LePommier! It is a romantic little French Bistro in the South Side of Pittsburgh. We had mussels, and a perfect dinner of duck with huckleberry and hazelnut sauce. So wonderful!



Friday agenda, CHECK! We did everything on my list, and then some and it was fantastic!

My parents came for a visit yesterday, and took us to this lovely little restaurant.






I had a great birthday! I feel so so loved!

embracing french

i have been in a french mood lately. . .not sure what the gravitational pull is, but it is there.

Craving crepes from Crepes Parisiennes in Oakland, but haven't ventured yet, as the lines there are really long, and they aren't open very often. Maybe my honey and I will go there on Friday when I take the day off from work.

I have been sipping Les Confitures a l'Ancienne drinking chocolate from Mon Aimee Chocolate shop.

I want to get a Elastomoule Madeleines so that I can bake the little fluffy cakes at home.

I have been reading these. . .



watched this over the weekend. . .




And I have these books coming in the mail soon.

Breakfast, Lunch, Tea: The Many Little Meals of Rose Bakery



French Milk



now if I could just speak the language, since I took four quarters of it at Ohio State! :-)

"got to let your soul shine"

The weather is icky, and I am a wimp. I love to walk but I am opposed to the cold. I feel like I have pinned up physical energy that needs to be released or I shall explode. Must. go. to. the. gym. tomorrow. yay. I did take advantage of my free time being stuck indoors this weekend digging out my art journaling stuff and doing a few pages. I pulled out pictures from summer in Boston, and that made me feel all warm and fuzzy.

I made sausage and lentil soup, that I pulled off of a recipe website to make today. It was tasty. Had freshly grated cheese and a crusty whole wheat baguette from Whole Foods. Perfect winter perk me up! Being in the kitchen takes my mind off of things, and when my creations turn out the way they are supposed to, it gives me a little confidence. If I can handle a Martha Stewart cookie recipe, then maybe the bigger things in life aren't really that hard.





A lot of folks are sick or crabby or blah right now. Gotta keep the positive energy flowing, so that I do not let my soul shine fizzle out. There is a song called Soul Shine performed by Warren Haynes; live at Bonnaroo, and my friend Carrie and I used to love to listen to it while we were driving around back roads. In fact, she and her husband love this song, so much that they danced to this song at their wedding.

Here are some of the lyrics as far as I can tell and Warren Haynes wrote this song:

When you can't find the light
That guides you through a cloudy day
When the stars ain't shining bright
And it feels like you've lost your way
When those candle light of home
Burn so very far away
Boy you got to let your soul shine
Just like my daddy used to say

Chorus
He used to say the soulshine
It's better than sunshine
It's better than moonshine
Damn sure better than rain
Well now people don't mind
We all get this way sometimes
Got to let your soul shine
Shine 'til the break of day

I grew up thinkin' that i had it made
Gonna make it on my own
Life can take the strongest man
And make him feel so alone
Now and then i feel a cold wind
Blowin' through my aching bones
I think back to what my daddy said
He said, boy, in the darkness before the dawn. . .

Sometimes a man can feel this emptiness
Like a woman has robbed him of his very soul
A woman too, god knows, she can feel like this
But hey, when your world seems cold
You got to let your spirit take control

If you are in a crappy mood and need a little help, listen to this song. It works! Ask my old co-workers, I used to make them listen to this song all the time!

i likey. . .

i went to the strip district for a little bit. it will always be one of my favorite pittsburgh places. i like the way it feels to walk around there. it has a good vibe and makes me smile. i started out without knowing that it was drizzling rain, so i didn't spend much time there.








The holidays are over and tomorrow it is time to go back to work. No more freebie vacation days. it is kind of dreary outside and it is chilly. i am avoiding the tv because i usually keep it on when i am home alone, for background noise. today, though, i just want peace. OK, spring. . .ready when you are! Actually, I guess this weather is all right. It makes you appreciate the nice days more. Instead of wishing your life away endure the cold and be glad you are here!

snapshots

Embee was being a turd today. She likes the new comforter!



My love and I posed for a New Year's Eve self portrait. We spent the night in, with CNN on the tele, a wonderful steak dinner (marinated in wine) and a little bubbly.



Yes, I am one of those people that takes lots of pics of the cat. I can't help it, she is too cute.



I love this hat, I picked it up at a little boutique in Pittsburgh called Sugar.



This may be the best tea I have ever tasted. It is called Bangkok Lemongrass from Teavana. It is heavenly! Citrus and vanilla.