The Big Read

The National Endowment for the Arts has a program called the Big Read that is "designed to restore reading to the center of American culture." They have chosen 12 books to be read, discussed and celebrated in communities around the US: Bless Me, Ultima, The Great Gatsby, The Maltese Falcon, Their Eyes were Watching God, Fahrenheit 451, A Farewell to Arms To Kill A Mockingbird, The Grapes of Wrath, My Antonia, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, The Joy Luck Club, The Age of Innocence An interesting group, to be sure. (look Kaaren - more Hemingway made the list) Of the 12 I have at least heard of 11 of them (sorry Bless Me, Ultima), but have only actually read 3 of them (don't ask how many i have been assigned to read at some point or another cause that is a totally different number). 5 of them are on my "to be read" lists and 2 of them are physically sitting on the "to be read" shelf as we speak. I have decided that I am going to have all 12 of them read in the next 12 months. I was at a library that had a display about the Big Read, which is how i heard about the initiative. There were snazzy bookmarks with all of the books listed on it, and there was a display for Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 (one of my favorite books, BTW), which was the book being highlighted. Along with multiple copies of the book, there was a booklet with discussion questions, commentary and an interview with Bradbury. It seemed well put together. In researching the event in Maryland, I just found out that Baltimore County Libraries have chosen this as the book they are going to focus on. Yippee! (LIGHTBULB MOMENT: i was at a BCPL facility when i saw the display on Wed cause i was returning books! it all comes together...) Anybody want to go see the movie on October 15th with me? I really liked one of the questions posed to Bradbury in his interview: If you had to memorize one book for posterity, what would it be? His reply was A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I think mine would be A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle; i can read it over and over again dreaming of tesseracts and meeting Aunt Beast. However, The View From Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis would each run a close second. All three books are deceptively simple (considered juvenile fiction- 2 out of 3 are even Newberry winners- and less than 200 pages), but carry an important theme about being a better person through love and self-less action. That is a message I would want to carry for posterity. What book would you choose?

How Are You Feeling Today?

Rachel of Red Velvet Art had a really cool post on her personal blog on Sunday. Her church started a photo project where you have to demonstrate how you're feeling at a given moment using photography and text. She invited people to share. I did it last night when I finally had a few moments not previously booked. After about 10 bajillion takes, this is the one i decided to use. I really tried to get a lighter background to show the contrast between my dark hair and light skin, but alas, it looked like crap. I am happy with the blue eyes/ blue paper link (Sharpie written on hand-dyed papertowel, in case you were wondering) and I decided to go with one where I am not looking at the camera, but rather looking toward the future, cause that's how i feel.

Camel-tastic

What did YOU do on lunch today?

Monkey Mania!

There is no place more interesting than the elementary school stage. Unfortunately, many places have converted them into music classrooms due to an alarming lack of space, but many still utilize the stage as a stage. You find the craziest, weirdest, funniest, most disturbing objects in the wings. There are often props from long ago productions. Holiday and/or carnival storage is also popular. And paper mache, lots of paper mache. We like to play "Identify What This Object is Supposed to Be" and "What Does This Object Look Like to You." At today's school there was a fake Christmas tree in pieces in a giant trash can. It wasn't being thrown away; that was just the way this school has chosen to store it. Around the bottom of the trash can and mixed in with the tree pieces there were pieces of rumpled, painted paper. As i tried to get closer it seemed to me that they were... monkeys?!? Oh yes, monkeys on headbands! Here the lovely Laura (my adult-safety-partner-of-the-day, on loan from the Kids Room) models the "girl" version, while displaying the "boy" version: Two questions: what elementary school play needed multiple googley-eyed monkeys and where can i get a copy of that play on DVD?

Like a Squirrel

Many, many, many years ago Rickki starting calling me Squirrel, for reasons that don't really need examined here. I've always loved her personal nickname for me and even had a collection of squirrels for a while. However, i've never really thought of myself as particularly squirrrelly or squirrel-like. Until this weekend. It's no state secret that autumn is my favorite season. Over the weekend I noticed a particular autumnal behavior in myself : i am much busier and more productive than other times of the year. On Thursday i did 2 weeks worth of dishes, made breakfast, made lunch, cleaned out the fridge, cleaned the kitchen, mopped the kitchen floor, cleaned the bathroom, mopped the bathroom floor and washed the bathroom mat by hand - all before i went to work. On Saturday i made paper for the first time since i moved into the apartment. I pulped and screened a celebration of fall called "punkin" and then i pulped 6 more batches, forming them into cakes to dry and be screened later. On Sunday i unpacked 2 boxes, rearranged my kitchen cabinets and started a new art piece about music. On Monday i mailed 8 cards that i made and/or wrote late Sunday night. I am cleaning, organizing, nesting and making lists like nuts - actually like squirrels. Have you ever watched the crazy little furballs in the autumn? They have 2 speeds - frantic and nap. It turns out i also go way faster in the autumn, but nap -or at least chill- more often as well. Sunday around 5:00 I decided it was too glorious of a day for me to stay inside any longer so i decided to write new "to do" lists and redesign the displays in my china cabinets out on the front porch. It was so lovely i brought out music and then decided it was a good time for a margarita. I went from 120mph to about 12mph in 2 minutes and was able to enjoy the juxtaposition of a perfectly round spiderweb behind the square porch trim and the way the sunlight made sparkley, colored shadows through my glass It's good to be a squirrel. (now if i can just get work to allow me to nap for 10-12 days at a time in the winter)

Best Meeting EVER

I just love where i work. Today's education department meeting took place in a SciZone (that's a classroom to you, monkey boy) that was still set up from this morning's program Ziplock Chemistry. As we waited for everyone to arrive my boss walked me through the reaction so that i could play with it as the meeting got underway. Bubbling, gassy, color changing, exothermic goodness ensued as we went through program reports. Nothing makes program reports fly by quite like scientific discovery. Just as the meeting was starting to wind down, in walked Erin with our CEO in tow. He was holding a plastic cup and asked for our opinion on what type of beetle was in it and he shook out this HUGE 3 inch bug. Most of us agreed that it was the body of some sort of rhinoceros beetle. As we passed it around, it started to move. Apparently it had just been cold, not dead. How did this big guy get to my department meeting? A balloon delivery guy was over on the other side of the harbor by the Fish Prison and he saw a woman trying to whack this big bug with a broom. He saved it and brought it to us. When our CEO saw it, his first reaction was "let's take it to the education department" and it didn't matter that we were in a meeting. Science waits for no man! And yes, i did say "balloon delivery guy." I couldn't make that story up. Turns out that our new friend, Carl, is an Eastern Hercules beetle. He is a tiny bit south of his normal range - probably looking for some warmer weather. You know, if I ever got lost I would want to be brought here because in the span of 45 minutes Carl went from corpse-like in a plastic cup to fawned over by the education department to shown to guests on the floor to a photo shoot to a lovely home with the proper dinner identified and laid out for him. I told my boss that not only was this the best meeting ever, from now on I am going to expect experiments, toys or surprises every week!

In the Shadow of the Moon

Last night Jason and I went to see a press preview of In the Shadow of the Moon at the Senator. It is a Ron Howard produced documentary of the quest for the moon as told by the astronauts. There is new archive footage that had been lost and recently found. Nothing in the story was particularly new, but the telling of it was different. As someone who did not live through the space race I know more about it from movies than history class. The astronauts have always seemed sorta mythical to me: men' s men with bluster and courage. The interviews with these 70 year old men show them as real human beings who had a cool job; it doesn't downplay their place in history, but it certainly made me see them as people. Also, i don't think i realized how smart they are or that the original astronauts actually helped to design the Apollo vehicles. Plus, some of these guys - especially Michael Collins- were hilarious in their interviews. There was no Neil Armstrong, but that isn't a big surprise. I really enjoyed the movie. I'm not a big documentary person, but it was cool to see all of these iconic images on the big screen. If you like documentaries or have interest in the space race, I would recommend this movie. It will be playing at the Senator for ONE WEEK starting on Friday.

Celebrations

Here we are in mid-September and there are sooo many happy shout-outs, we'll put them in one place. Kate P (Sep 6) and Douglas (Sep 10) started out the month, but here is the Hectic Week of Happiness: Sept 15: Happy Anniversary, David and Kaaren Sept 16: Happy Birthday, Cricket Sept 16: Happy Birthday, Skip Sept 17: Happy Birthday, George Sept 18: Happy Birthday, Christopher Sept 18: Happy Anniversary, Jonah and Kristie Sept 21: Happy Anniversary, Greg and Deanna That's a whole lotta happiness. Of course, Sept 19th is International Talk Like a Pirate Day as well. Now we need to find something for Sept 20th (better than National Punch Day - WTF is that?) to finish off a whole week of joy. If you need more reasons to celebrate here are are some bizarre holidays.

Apt, not ironic

We have all despaired at how Alanis Morrisette's song "Isn't it Ironic" contains almost no irony at all. Just get Rob started on the subject - it's funny. Anyhoo, today i had a moment that would have appeared in Alanis' song though it shouldn't. We had a cold snap this weekend that has made it almost autumnal - blue skies with puffy clouds, temps in the mid 60s to mid 70s and a clearness in the air which makes it so much easier to breathe. Autumn is my favorite season and this first little piece of it put me in a great, hyper-productive mood. This morning i did laundry, balanced my checkbook, got some things ready to be shipped, worked on unpacking some boxes of glassware and started on the bajillion cards i need to make today (there are 6 birthdays in 3 days this week). While working out in the sun room i looked at my hide-a-key for the first time in months and thought, I really need to put a key in that and put it out by the front steps, but took no action. I went inside, checking that the back door was locked. A few hours later i was leaving the house to run to PA to pick up a gift card (ordered it 2 weeks ago, but somehow it didn't get processed - don't get me started), then to work for awhile (interview tomorrow, work on schedules, pick up recycling and get the book out of the van that i accidentally left there on Friday) and then to the store, all the while thinking about how beautiful it was and how i wanted to take some pictures to blog about the beginnings of fall in Maryland. At the car i realized that the keys in my hand were not for my car, but for the vans at work. DOH! Okay, i'm locked out for the first time in years right after i thought about what would happen if i got locked out. That is not ironic, Alanis; it is APT and it sucks. But no worries - Rachel has a key, i'll just drive over to her house and get it... wait, i don't have car keys. Okay, I call Rachel and as pathetically as possibly I entreat her to bring my key to me. Rachel - I don't have a key to your apartment, Nik. I gave it back. ????????????????????????????????? Several moments pass as she looks in every place she can think of, but no, she does not have my key. She remembers giving it back and i don't doubt her; i just don't remember it and have thought for the last year that she had a key just in case i got locked out. Okay, my brother has a key. He's in VA or PA or some other state that is definitely MD. Great. Okay, the kitchen door is closed, but unlocked. I just locked the sun room door, but it is sketchy and falling apart. I was still on the phone with Rachel as i walked around the house and kicked in my own backdoor. Technically, i used my shoulder and hip instead of my foot (cause it would be really hard to kick in a door while standing on steps and talking on the phone). Apparently joining a gym is having positive benefits for me. I was able to fix the door without too much work, got everything relocked, grabbed my keys and drove directly over to the Palmateer's. Now there is a key to my apartment safely on a Hong Kong Phooey keyring (apt cause Kate got it at the last Open House and ironic cause now i don't have to hong kong phooey my way into my own house) in their living room. Phew. Anyone else want one? I'm making about 5 copies and am going to blanket the greater metro area cause i really don't want to break in again. Now to find a place for that hide-a-key.

Food as Art

I went to Rachel's for dinner last night. She called on Tuesday, unsure of what she wanted to fix and asked me to challenge her with an ingredient. I told her that the 2 new things i am trying to figure out if i like them or not (cause i wasn't really exposed to them as a kid) are eggplant and asparagus. We talked about it for a few minutes and as I hung up i said that if she was uninspired with either of those she couldn't go wrong with sweet potatoes cause i love sweet potatoes. She was excited because there were several recipes with sweet potatoes that she'd been wanting to try. Problem solved. Yesterday i get a message that i could bring either Ouzo or baklava. hmmmmm... obviously she'd decided on a Greek theme, but i couldn't even imagine what Greek dish would feature sweet potatoes. There was a simple Greek salad waiting on the low table when i got to the house. As we finished the first course, Rachel pulls out the main dish - moussaka. Eggplant and sweet potato moussaka with lamb. She also roasted asparagus with sage as a side dish. Yes, she managed to use all three challenge ingredients. And if you think i am a psycho hostess, she set the table with plates and linens that MATCHED THE FOOD: Kudos, Rachel. Thanks for the completely unexpected, but yum-tastic dinner.

Arts and Crafts Fair

Have i told you how much i love living in Catonsville? It somehow is a suburb (11 miles to my office downtown) that rocks a small-town feel. Yesterday was the Catonsville Art and Crafts Festival. It was supposed to be on the main street (Frederick Rd) about a block up from the library. I have never been, so Kate P and I decided to walk there from my house. I think i was expecting some tables along the sidewalk and maybe a funnel cake stand. Not in Catonsville. They closed the road - the flipping main thoroughfare - for over three blocks; there were vendor tents on both sides of the road as far as the eye could see: Not only were there tons of actual arts and crafts vendors, there were local businesses, civic organizations, churches, schools, a kids' area (where the Girl Scouts had a table selling cookies a month before season - HAHA), not one but two stages with live music and tons of food. It was a freaking street fair 2 blocks from my house. I love this place. Kate and i did pretty well on the spending. She got some yummy hand cream for herself and her secret pal while i bought cookies and an Andean Flute CD - i tried to resist and even walked away twice, but the guy was playing selections from the CD live at his booth, changing flutes during songs. It was awesome and i just had to have it. (upon listening to the CD it is indeed fabulous) I also got a FREE wall paper book for crafting purposes - free, people, free. Oh, and i was able to talk to someone from my bank about a saving account question. All on a bright sunny day in the middle of the street. The most incredulous thing i saw? In front of Bill's Music House, where they were offering free guitar lessons, there were two guys playing guitars and kazoos. Yep. Kazoos in fancy-schmancy harmonica holders. I nearly peed myself. I love this place.

Fighting the Echthroi

In elementary school we watched filmstrips in the library. Though "The Rats of NIHM" was great, my favorite by far was "A Wrinkle in Time." I was so captivated by the thought of fighting evil that my best friend and I (the fabulous Francie in Belgium, though at the time she still went by Heidi) created an entire world of our own - He & She, Him & Her, giant water battles in my pool, epic scenes acted out in the pine trees by the tot lot at Chadwick Elementary School. We even tried to learn to kythe which each other (like telepathy). I can't remember the first time i read that book; it's like i have always known the story of Meg and Calvin and Charles Wallace. It was one of the first books I was given in school where we were encouraged to write in the book, mark quotes we liked and underline passages as we acted out scenes and wrote reports (it was 5th grade and though it was a public school I was part of the pilot G/T program where we got to keep the books). I still have that copy; i still READ that copy. It might be one of my favorite books ever, along with its sequels A Wind in the Door and A Swiftly Tilting Planet. Their author Madeleine L'Engle passed away yesterday. I mourn her loss, but am grateful to have her precious books that helped shape who I am. http://entertainment.msn.com/news/article.aspx?news=274750&GT1=7701

Happy Anniversary!

Tomorrow will be Rob's fourth anniversary with TSP. We celebrated with the only fuel that keeps this team running - brownies! Thanks Rob!

Shop Early and Often

Do you often wonder what day, date or year it is? Do you compulsively start your holiday shopping before Halloween? Do you have people on your shopping that you can never figure out what to get them? GOOD NEWS! Rob has published a 2008 Varied Perspectives calendar featuring 12 of his photos. You want one, nay you need one. Go here to buy your very own or to buy several for those you love!

Pottery Unveiled

Erin picked up our finished pieces and they turned out lovely. (place your orders now)

Give Life

I have been phobic of needles all my life. I say “phobic” instead of “scared” because the fear has been acute and irrational. My heart races if i see a needle on TV. Tears run when i have to have blood taken. When i was younger (and i'm talking 13 here, not 3) i would become hysterical at the doctor's and had to be physically restrained. It was horrifying for me because i always wanted to cooperate, i always meant to be good, i always told myself that everything would be okay and then i would literally run from the nurses liked a caged animal. I hate to feel like i am not in control of my own actions. For that reason i decided aversion therapy was the only way to go with this stupid needle thing. I no longer turn away or hide my eyes if there is a needle on TV. But there isn't much else you can do without becoming a heroin addict and how could i possibly afford that on my salary? So i decided to give blood. I have always been not-so-secretly ashamed that i couldn't donate blood – i have healthy, plentiful, O Positive blood (most common type in the US and nearly Universal Donor (which is O Negative, BTW)) and good veins. The American Red Cross is always one tragedy away from running out of blood. My stupid fear was the only thing holding me back. So i made New Year's Resolution 5 - “Give blood, you wuss.” I had an appointment Thursday, but my iron was too low (perhaps i should have taken into account what else was going on with my girlie body last week ) so i went back today on a whim, without an appointment. It was really amazingly easy and i wasn't even that scared. I think that i was soooo freaked out last week when i went that i kinda used up all of the fear. True to my doctor's word, i have great veins and fast blood; i filled my bag in just over 5 minutes (it is normally 4-10 minutes). I did have a moment of faintness after the whole thing was done, but the Red Cross folks had my feet up, ice on my head and a Coke to my lips in about 10 seconds (like they've done this before) and i was good to go in 2 minutes. I can honestly say that i will definitely make donating blood a habit; you are allowed to do it every 2 months. If you are interested in finding a blood drive or your local donation center, go here. You too can have a free T-shirt and cookies. The funniest part of the entire experience was the present my phlebotomist, Joe, gave me – i thought he was marking my veins before he started, but actually he was drawing a smiley face where the puncture wound would be the nose.