Favorite Things Monday: "Well You Can Try ..."

This tiny rocking chair came from PapaTime (Wifey's Dad), a lover of antiques and family history. As the legend goes, PapaTime's parents bought a rambling old farmhouse on a stretch of land in the country near Watertown, NY. Another structure near the main house, previously used as an antique store, became the "Bunk House" where PapaTime and his brothers (the Bro's) slept. The former owners left several antiques in the attic of the Bunk House, most of which were incorporated into family life. This little chair was one of the Bunk House finds, and throughout the years has comforted most of the small children in the family. Shortly after Little Man was born, PapaTime brought the chair to our home, thrilled to pass along a family treasure.

The little quilt was a wedding gift from Wifey's best friend's Mom, who was also Wifey's Mom's best friend. Make sense? At first, I was unsure where to put a small quilt. For a couple years, it hung on the wall. But when the chair came home, the quilt found the perfect location. The two pieces together, despite getting little use, are a central part of our living room decor.

This weekend, in the midst of crazy crafting, Little Man and I did some excellent snuggling on the couch, while Wifey perched on the matching chair. When Little Man decided that he was finished snuggling and turned the couch into a trampoline, I vacated. With no place to go, I tried to convince Little Man to stop jumping. Instead, he offered the rocking chair. When I explained that my bum was too big for his rocking chair, he said, "well you can try ..."

"Well you can try" and all its various iterations has become something of a Mafia Family mantra lately. Little Man started it, and now Wifey and I catch ourselves saying it too. There's a very specific Little Man intonation which is challenging to mimic. But mimic we do.

For the most part, "well you can try" is charming, loving and supportive, all characteristics that I attempt to nurture in my boy. But occassionally, as in the case of the big ass vs. small rocking chair situation, he's actually trying to manipulate the situation. He's taking a cute little family mantra and trying to turn it around on me, the wee beastie. In full knowledge of this, I just walked into the kitchen to make a cup of tea. I was halfway there when he jumped from the couch and ran after me, completely forgetting about his trampo-couch and the attempts to lure me away from it with the carrot of a too-small chair.

Favorite Things Monday: Pretty Boys

I had plans for Favorite Things Monday, but after my train ride this morning, those plans were tossed aside. You see, at stop #2 the most beautiful boy tossed his Louis Vuitton bag onto the middle seat, swung his oversized sunglasses up to the top of his head, and sat down in the aisle seat. Actually, he perched, because someone this beautiful does not simply sit.

Every time I had the opportunity, I stole a glance to grab another detail. Hair? Skin? Eyes? Clothes? Shoes? Bag? Louis Vuitton attache. Sunglasses? Christian Dior. What is he reading? Jackie Collins Lovers and Players (of course). After seeing the book, I was tempted to slip this note into his bag:

Only at the end of the train ride did I realize why I was obsessing about this boy: I have a thing for well-groomed androgynous boys. My name is FemiKnit Mafia and I like Pretty Boys. It all started with this guy -- my first boyfriend:


We started pseudo-dating in 6th grade, when he moved into my school district and I practically assaulted him with my subtle-as-a-sledgehammer preteen sexual advances. We broke up at the end of 8th grade because I realized he was gay. Of course, at the time, calling him gay was an insult, in addition to completely presumptuous. As it turns out, I was right. If only I'd had such insight into my own identity, I could've saved some other teenaged boys the embarassment of lackluster sex. Or perhaps they didn't even notice?



Anyway ... my little Pretty Boy this morning reminded me of my first love, and there is something terribly sweet about that. I wanted to protect him. To pet his lintless black double-breasted wool jacket. To squeeze his perfectly tanned little cheeks. To treat him like a paperdoll and dress him in Diesel and Kenneth Cole.

But what do I look like to him? With my hair growing longer, my wattle getting fleshier, and my knitting in my lap, I probably looked like any other 30-something suburbanite. I wanted to yell, "hey, I'm a dyke! can't you see me in here? did you see my manly shoes, my white button-down shirt, and my confident stride?" Yeah, he probably did. He's observant. Pretty boys always observe, even if judgmentally. And to be honest, I didn't care.

But when the click-click of the conductor's hole punch got closer and I realized that this morning would be all the better because my conductor-crush was working my train, I began to care. Does this cute-super-cute lesbian conductor notice me? Hey cutie conductor - I'm in here! Look closely.

Perhaps that's my personal task for today: to stop caring and to look closely.

And yet, even as that idealistic goal is stated ... I still wish the wicked-cute lesbo conductor would notice me. Just one raised eyebrow, up-&-down assessment will satisfy me. See me? I'm cute!

Favorite Things Monday: Simplicity

These pix are housed in a multi-photo frame that ordinarily hangs in a prominent location in our house. I say 'ordinarily' because all of our wall decor has been in boxes since October. This photo set is one that I particularly miss, so it's a relief that I have access to a digital version.

Taken at Carrie & Hag's house a couple years ago during a weekend trip to the Cape, these pictures show Wifey and Little Man in a moment of pure joy. On the floor. Being silly. Playing with dishes, as opposed to conventional toys. Laughing.

It shows Carrie & Hag's manner of living. Rustic. Cluttered. A little bit dirty. Organic. Homemade. Lived in. Loved. Simple.

It shows Wifey's completely natural relationship with her sister Carrie. Whose house can you visit and feel comfortable in randomly pulling dishes from the cabinets to entertain your toddler?

Favorite Things Monday - My Hoosier

For a long time, Favorite Things Monday has languished. The original concept was to focus on the positive, but FTM quickly morphed into whatever sparked my interest on that day. Positive? Yes. Focused? Not so much. Then it fell off entirely. But since it was such a favorite in my little reader survey, I'm going to revive it. Here goes:


This is my Hoosier cabinet. I love it. I love it dearly. My Mom found it at a yard sale in about 1990. It was painted red. [Yes, someone painted it. Oy.] In addition to it's overall charm, Mom noticed the original Sellers tag, most of the original hardware, the sugar dispenser, the covered tin bread drawer and several original glass spice jars. Recognizing the value of the piece, MafiaMom found a talented restoration pro, had it stripped and refinished, and had one of the glass doors replaced. While the restoration may have diminished its value in the official antique marketplace, it revived this old lady, and brought an antique gem into our family.

Several years ago, MafiaMom visited my apartment in J.P., saw the perfect spot for the cabinet, and offered to sell it to me. At first, I was conflicted. I didn't love the style. It was heavy and old and expensive and fiddly. But Wifey loved it, so we bought it (and spent the next several years paying Mom in dribs and drabs).

I've had Hoosier Cabinets by Philip Kennedy on my Amazon wish list and someday I'm going to buy it. Among other things, it'll tell me what year my Hoosier was built, which parts are original and give me a roadmap for maintaining my little antique gem. I've started hunting eBay for replacement hardware because the old hardware on Ms. 1890's kitchen cabinets is similar, and when we renovate the kitchen, I'd like to use antique hardware that matches my cabinet. In addition, I'm saving digital copies of vintage ads so I can design my kitchen with the period in mind. Without that classic text about my cabinet, I've been completely ignorant of her history. Even without the book, I've very recently started to find her history here and there.

Hoosiers are generally considered 'depression era' pieces, so I always assumed it was built in the 1930s. But I've recently discovered some Sellers advertisements from the early 1900s, and I'm fairly sure mine was built in 1917. I used to envision the kind of family that could afford such a beautiful cabinet during the depression, and I couldn't relate to their life at all.

But now that my cabinet was born in 1917, I envision a world of possibilities. Was her first owner a wife and mother? A wife and mother and activist? A lady in a boston marriage? Instead of envisioning a woman kneading dough to feed her family, I envision Mrs. Agnes Moray, Miss Janet Fotheringham and Miss Lucy Burns perched on stools over the porcelain counter, writing letters, planning demonstrations, coordinating support for their jailed sisters, succeeding in NY State -- not realizing that they would be jailed together at Occoquan. And then I envision them, three years later, setting glass goblets on the porcelain counter, pouring cordials, and toasting their victory.

Little did these ladies realize that 90 years later the same porcelain counter would hold poster paint belonging to the boy child of lesbian moms, and the glass cabinet would house a porcelain mug inscribed with Votes For Women in honor of Alva Vanderbilt Belmont's sassy hospitality:

Mrs. Alva Vanderbilt Belmont (1853-1933), born in Alabama, grew up as a Southern lady. Upon marrying into the wondrously rich Vanderbilt family, Alva focused her impressive energies on winning over New York Society. Her divorce from William Vanderbilt and ensuing marriage to, even richer, Oliver Belmont caused a sensation. The scandal forced the hitherto sheltered society dame to reconsider women's position.

When the Women's Trade Union League in 1909 supported the garment workers' on strike. Mrs. Belmont personally went on the streets of New York City; into the city's jailed and bailed out the arrested strikers. This strike was her initiation into the woman's suffrage movement. She established her own Political Equality League, paid for the office space for a national NAWSA office in New York City, and underwrote a national press bureau for the association. While her sudden plunge into the movement aroused some skepticism, her commitment proved enduring.

When radical Alice Paul broke off from NAWSA, Mrs. Belmont left the NAWSA to become one of Paul's most significant supporters. It was at her famous home, Marble House, in Newport, Rhode Island that Alice Paul and her cohorts formulated their plan to hold President Wilson and the Democrats responsible for the lack of progress on woman suffrage.

Mrs. Belmont commissioned her own set of "Votes for Women" china for a major Suffrage dinner party at Marble House. When the dinner was over, each guest was given a place setting to take home. "

source

Since I will not be spending $6500 on 4 pieces of the original china ( ... don't think I didn't consider it ... ), perhaps I should start collecting the reproduction Votes For Women china. Wouldn't that be a wonderful way to honor the history of my Hoosier?

Favorite Things Monday: Peeps & Prezzies

My step-mother-in-law knows how to win my heart: gift certificates from her local yarn shop. [is it strange that my fingers typed "heat" before I corrected it to "heart"?] For my birthday, which feels like eons ago, she gave me $50(!) at Yarn for Ewe, a wonderful little shop barely outside of Portsmouth, NH.

After spending the last couple months on the house, I decided to give myself a wee break this past weekend. So I asked Beth if she wanted to go, and we convinced Cheryl to join us. Fun times had by all. Seriously fun times. And in case anyone is wondering, Cheryl -is- that beautiful in person too. Sorry to make you blush, Cheryl, but it's true. I'm an expert in such matters.

On my luxurious $50 spending spree, I grabbed some navy Cascade 220 to finish Little Man's winter hat, the Fiber Trends felted slippers pattern, enough Cascade Eco Wool in spring green and navy to make slippers for me, Wifey and Little Man, and 5 balls of Jawoll in blue, white and yellow for a secret experimental sock project.

On Sunday, Danielle came by to liberate Ms. 1890 from the cardboard sculpture, and brought us a present. Yeah -- I was shocked too. As soon as she entered the house, Little Man exclaimed "Wow! That's a BBBBIIIIIGGGG present!" I was hoping for "Hi Danielle. How are you?" But he's only 3. I have some time to work on his manners.

Anyway, since I haven't been home during daylight hours, I'll steal Danielle's photos from her blog. Aren't they amazing???!!




Go read the cool knitting story too. I've very proud of my Type-A friend for being so zen in designing these.

And for another daylight issue - for the past week, I've been hoping to get a daylight photo of another prezzie. No dice. So here it goes: last week I stayed home sick and called Nina to see if she wanted to come visit. With no heat or stove upon which to make a decent cup of my lifeblood tea, I asked if she'd bring me a large tea from Dunkins (two bags, lotsa sugar). Well, she showed up with the tea AND the most adorable little homemade lunch: tuna sandwich, pasta salad, a fork wrapped in napkins, jolly ranchers and twizzlers. Nina - will you marry me?

Anyway ... her Most Adorable Father Ever was in tow and said, "I brought you a present too!" with a jolly twinkle in his eye. He led me to the mom-van, opened the trunk and I nearly fell over. This was my present:


Can you believe that??? I've been talking about getting a new dresser for over a year, but since I'm too cheap to buy a new dresser I love antiques, I asked Mr. Former Antique Dealer/Most Adorable Father Ever for advice. I asked a year ago (!) and he still remembered. Puppa - will you adopt me?

In the spirit of love and gift-giving, Nina and I are heading down to the Bazaar Bizarre this Saturday. You going?

Just a tip: don't stand between me and a cute messenger bag, and no one will get hurt.

Favorite Things Monday: Heat

This weekend, when I wasn't running up and down the stairs carrying boxes and wood monstrosities furniture, I sat like this:


Ms. 1890 was seriously cold. But today, at 8am sharp, this van dropped from the heavens:


After some grunting at a big ass pipe wrench and the installation of a couple air vents, we have functional radiators. Thanks to This Old House, I was able to have a real conversation with the plumber about the new air vents. See those little dials? If you have steam heat, get them.


Armed with that knowledge, and a spare $200, I'll replace the remaining 8 vents at a later date.

The plumber also hooked up Wifey's newest love:


You should've seen her when Sears arrived. She danced around like a little kid. Granted, she held the 7mo surro-preggo belly while dancing, but dance she did. As soon as Sears left, she ripped the tape off and set up all the little gadgets. When I offered to help, she snarled at me like a wolf over fresh kill. Backing slowly away, I worked on setting up Little Man's playroom. So far, so good:


I plan to paint a tree on the wall, like this one but less spindly. Very much like this one.

For my last bit of house news (phew!), I present my favorite sculpture in progress:


Isn't she lovely? Danielle, they're ready when you are.

Knitting News: I'm 15" into the back of Arwen! Hooray!


Now 'd better get dressed for work before this 1/2 day off turns into a full day.

Favorite Things Monday: Ms. 1890's centerfold

Just after the closing, Ms. 1890 begged for new ceilings and floors. She strongly stated that ceilings and floors are much harder to fix while living in the house, so I should focus on ceilings and floors for her 1 month of loneliness vacancy. For the most part, I listened to her sound advice. I've done a LOT of scraping, mudding, sanding and painting. In fact, a couple weeks ago I had a dream that I woke up one morning, looked in the mirror and noticed that my arms were jacked. It was hot. Anyway ...

Two weekends ago (in the time of MafiaBro), it took no less than 7 (yes 7) people to convince me to pay someone else to refinish the floors. We got a fantastic price (which was due, in no small part, to my Halloween crowbar frenzy) from an experienced guy, and I'm thrilled with the preliminary findings.

You want photos? I'll give you photos ...

Living & Dining Rooms (before)


Living & Dining Rooms (after)


Entry/Stairs (before)


Entry/Stairs (after)


What every ceiling looked like


Front bedroom (with repaired ceiling)


Front Bedroom (before)
-why yes, that is a stack of linoleum, subfloor, and linoleum you see there, and yes, I did nearly break my back ripping it out.



Front bedroom (with nearly finished floors)


Middle bedroom (before)


Middle bedroom (with nearly finished floors)


As we near the move-in date, there are precious few evenings during which to work on the house. I need to finish the ceilings, so I'll be swinging from the ladder again as soon as that poly dries.


* Despite a rapid influx of champagne, I didn't embarass myself at the fancy restaurant on Friday. The food: un-freakin-believable. The company: stellar.

** Go wish Cate a Happy Birthday. She's 37 today.

Favorite Things Monday: Dust & Peeps

I am tired, sore, emotionally unpredictable, and so happy. How can this be? No time to knit. or sleep. or eat. or think. or really blog. I'm covered in dust, swinging from a ladder, weilding a putty knife in one hand and a sanding block in the other. I am a student of joint compound, and a master of ceiling white.

Through this whole crazy experience, I've been surrounded by incredibly generous people. HUGE thanks to MafiaBro for an awesome weekend of work and play; Suzanne for an incredible birthday suprise visit and present;

Danielle for her mad sanding and wallpaper stripping skills;



Adge & Neek for performing Rent while scraping wallpaper;




Kat for warm brownies with caramel, cutting them with a corner putty knife, the bar, live music and beer;


Nina for spontaneous eating, precious wees, and an amazingly thoughtful birthday present. Wifey for serving many meals this weekend to many MafiaHelpers; and to Little Man, for moments like this:

LM: Mom, I'm a boy.
Mafia: yes ...
LM: And you a girl.
Mafia: yes ...
LM: And Halle Berry a boy!

[where he got that, I have absolutely no clue! perhaps there's a girl at daycare named Halle Berry?]

Back soon with real pics, yarn porn, and birthday fun. Did I mention that I'll be 32 on Thursday?

Favorite Things Monday - Halloween

Little Man insisted on being '100% up in my grill' while I was sewing on Saturday, so I insisted that he help. See his cute little paw on the back-stitch knob?


See what I mean by 'up in my grill'? He shot this photo at very close range.


And here's what happened when he jumped on my back one too many times. Also his photo.


Ultimately, it was a huge success.


We dashed next door to meet his next-door-BF (aka Tinkerbell, also a Mafia creation) and traipsed through the neighborhood gathering candy.


I must confess -- I trained Little Man to grab the "orange squares" whenever possible. tee-hee...

Favorite Things Monday - Fall

Favorite Things Monday has been in time-out these past few weeks. I apologize to the people who kindly told me they like FTMon, only to see it disappear. You know how it is -- you stop exercising and before you know it, you're five pounds heavier with a daily craving for cookies at 4pm on the dot, and you rationalize away your guilt by saying you never really liked walking anyway. Avoiding? No, not me.

So here I am, getting over the proverbial hump with a photo of my kid. Can you find my favorite thing?


In other weekend news, I saw two antique school desks on the side of the road, screeched to a halt and tossed this one into my wation-stagon. A little refinishing and she'll be perfect in Little Man's playroom in the new house. [new house? did I really just say that? who am I?]


In honor of my commitment to sew all of Little Man's Halloween costumes until he fires me, I'm cutting and cutting and freakin' cutting fleece for his Peter Pan costume. In a moment of pre-house generosity, I offered to make his next-door-best-friend's Tinkerbell costume too. But now Little Man is jealous and wants to be Tinkerbell too. Oy. I bought extra Tinkerbell supplies, so I hope to tame the gender-bending beast with a nice flowery headband. Who said that Peter Pan must wear a feather in his cap? Anyway, these piles represent many hours of my time, two costumes, and DULL scissors. Note to self, call the scissors guy asap.


I caught the Eris bug again this weekend and worked about 30 rows on the collar. I know it's not terribly exciting, but it's progress.


I've also been working away at my Sophie's Toes socks, and I LOVE the socks just as much as I love the yarn. Just to prove how spot-on Emily was in choosing the color, I've included my favorite tea mug, something I consider a fashion statement, not just a cup.


Wifey's been busy too. She's 6 months into the surrogacy that I can't (contractually) blog about (hrumpf). What a cute belly.


Everyone says this, but for sure, I know the best knitters in the whole world. First of all, my MIT SnB Katie placed an order at Patternworks and bought me a Knitter's Rule Junior! Ever since I saw Jess's, I've been wanting one, so I was completely surprised when Katie delivered it to my office. Thanks!! Finally, I'll be able to measure my gauge without my gauge ho. Yes!


Next up ... Kim. After exchanging emails for a few weeks prior to the Boston KnitOut, I bailed at the last minute. But Kim, giver of door prizes, saved my door prize and mailed it to me! Isn't that the sweetest, most thoughtful thing ever? Kim - what's this yarn? It's lovely! And big thanks for the chocolate. Cappacino chocolate, jealous? Yum!


Mafia, signing off

Favorite Things Monday: The Life List

Favorite Things Monday has been languishing, and today isn't an appropriate day to jumpstart it. The memory of 9/11 pervades the blogosphere, the news, and the lives of co-workers and friends. Celebrating my relatively meaningless household possessions doesn't feel right today.

Plus, I have very mixed reactions to 9/11 and the 9/11 anniversary, none of which I'll divulge here. I'm not interested in hate mail, and since there's no clarity in my own mind, why should I subject anyone else to it?

But, in light of the enormity of this day, saying nothing seems disrespectful too. Thankfully my dear sweet Nina showed me the way with her Life List "things that we'd like to accomplish on our short stay on this planet."

My Actually-Possible Life List:

1. Go to Thailand
2. Study Muay Thai kickboxing again
3. See Little Man grow to adulthood
4. Own a house and a postage stamp urban garden
5. Get an MBA
6. Get a PhD (preferrably in Women's Studies or Gender/Cultural Studies)
7. Pay OFF my debt
8. Learn how to keep myself from getting into debt again
9. Move back to the city
10. Buy a condo in Brookline
11. Be content
12. Find a job that doesn't bore me after 2 years
13. Feel really good about my professional accomplishments
14. Swim naked in the ocean (again)
15. Ride a horse on a deserted beach (again)
16. Bungee jump
17. Sky dive
18. Rock climb
19. Ride in a hot air balloon
20. Get a new tattoo for each decade of my life
21. Knit a Sta*more sweater for myself
22. Make a queen size Matisse-inspired quilt of my own design
23. Visit Ireland frequently
24. Finish my geneaological research in Ireland
25. Drive across/around the U.S.
26. Spend time in San Fransisco
27. Go to the Newport Folk Festival
28. Stay in a fancy hotel
29. Eat at a fancy restaurant
30. Sew some formal outfits with pants instead of dresses/skirts
31. Tone my muscles
32. Learn to blacksmith
33. Learn to spin
34. Buy a spinning wheel

My Ideal-World Life List:

1. Be a full-time artist
2. Convince my Mom, my Bro, and my BFF to move to Massachusetts
3. Convince my family, Wifey's family, my BFF, M.I.&Roo, and Nina+crew to buy a huge farm together and live collectively
4. Convert an old red barn into an art studio and share it with my Mom
5. Grow veges and fruit trees and care for sheep and goats
6. Learn to make goat cheese
7. If I must work full-time, own an ocean-front summer home and stay there all summer

Wanna play along? Let me know if you do.

Favorite Things Monday - Lazy Monday

I'm too lazy to tell a Favorite Things story today, because this weekend was the annual camping pilgrimage to celebrate my FIL "Big Time"s birthday. The weekend was great, but without going into extruciating detail, suffice it to say that I'm tired, mosquito-itchy, and everthing in my house is either damp or soaked. The drive was long (5 hours), but the campsite was stunning*! Prior to arrival, I had no idea where we were going. It's Wifey's family's gig, so I just drive and I'm always pleasantly surprised. This year we met at North Hero State Park, which is located on North Hero Island, situated in the northern section of Lake Champlain. Yes, I was very close to Canada, and yes, Wifey and I had long conversations about expatriation. We seriously considered it. Our strategy involved Wifey's Uncle "Big Rock" - the republican boat owner and our nautical guide for the weekend, and the perfect diatribe that would earn us passage to the land of univeral health care, federal marriage rights, mild summers and yarn. Alas, I'm back in Cambridge this morning, part of One Nation Under God. Argh.

While hovered over the 'beacon of hope' lantern, huddled in our tent to avoid the scattered showers downpour, I made progress on my Starry Sky socks. In fact, I'm hoping to post FO pics later this week. Unfortunately I couldn't snap any pix this weekend because our camera battery died and so did Big Time's. Trust me, I looked very Victorian and burned many brain cells wondering how our knitting ancestors managed to create such beautiful items while knitting by candlelight.


*Blogger has apparently upgraded itself over the weekend. I can do lots of crazy things (like bold) directly from the create window. No more HTML tags. Thanks Blogger.

Favorite Things Monday - Wilde & Mead

The BFF&exGF#2 Wilde and her current GF Meade visited this weekend, and it was absolutely incredible! We did some copycat cooking and traditional baking; strolling through my favorite quaint New England town; window shopping; a serious search for a feminist-friendly version of Little Man's new princess & dragon obsession [found!]; a toddler-ized short trip to the beach; and a hike through the woods up to a castle, where Little Man and his BFF freely frolicked around the grassy hilltop.

There was snuggling, cuddling, discussions about community, and visions of collective living. But alas, despite my strong opposition, Wilde and the lovely Mead returned to home and work.

My longing to live near her is deep and strong.

Favorite Things Monday - Inspiration

I am consistently inspired by Lisa Congdon, the artist behind A Bird in the Hand. She's smart. She's sassy. She's unique. She's creative. She's gay. For all these reasons, she rocks my world. For once, I saw something on her blog and thought, "hey, I could make that!" and I did.

I made these two wrist cuffs on Saturday night, not entirely unrelated to my Sunday trip to the Lowell Quilt Festival.


This one's for me. I love the colors and wearing a cuff makes me feel like Wonder Woman. I'll be making several more cuffs, and although a pair of gold cuffs would be so-very-Wonder-Woman, perhaps a red and white star print would suffice.

This one's for Nina, as a swap for the beautiful pin she gave me as part of her SwaparamaMama.


Only after making my cuffs did I realize that Lisa Congdon made her cuffs with one main piece of fabric. When I told Wifey, she laughed and laughed. Of course I had to make it harder on myself. Judging by the laughter, I'm thinking this is a habit of mine. Next time ... I'll keep it simple.

*hand model, adorable freckles and camera provided by my lovely blogging support staff.

Favorite Things Monday - Hiking

Back in my late teens and early twenties, I did a fair amount of hiking and backpacking. But after college, I didn't know anyone who enjoyed it, so I prioritized politics over the wilderness. Lately, I've been yearning to scale mountains and climb on rocks, so I bought two books to help ease me back into it: Best Hikes With Children - the MA, CT & RI version, as well as the NH, VT, ME version. I took several vacation days this week, so there's no better time to start, right? I threw the Boy, my two trusty teenaged sidekicks/sisters-in-law into the car and drove north. We somehow found our way to Maine and Mount Agamenticus, despite the fact that I forgot the book, my cell, my wallet, my epipen, and my I.D. But of course there was enough food & water in my pack to sustain a small army. The day was perfect. The bugs were mild. The teenaged sidekicks morphed into wood nymphs at the edge of the forest and frolicked up the mountain. The boy skipped and jumped and slid around on rocks and desperately tried to keep up with his Aunties on this, his first real hike. I plodded along, feeling every bit of my 31 years out-of-shape body, and promised myself that I wouldn't atrophy again. And yet, I love this tightness of muscle, ache of feet, out of breath sensation because it's so pure. So simple.


ETA: Thanks for all the support prior to my big fundraising event. Yes, we did well. With a modest goal of $20K, we left with $47K. I'm a Superstar!

Favorite Things Monday - Happy Hippy Lovefest

With only 4 days until the gay consulting gig reaches its pinnacle, and 5 days until I teach my last class for this quarter, I'm about to pull my hair out. Boy do I need to focus on my Favorite Things today. But my creativity is actively atrophying, so this is what I have:

MY COMMENTERS

You are my Favorite Thing today. In spite of my current inability to send you love via email, I am reading, commenting on your blogs and most of all, really really enjoying finding new comments in my inbox. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Seriously.

This isn't blatant ass kissing ('cuz really ... I don't do ass kissing), it's about this wonderful community that I appreciate so much. Kisses.

Ah-hem, that's about all the happy hippy lovefest I can handle. Must.say.something.inappropriate.now.

Piss-meyer!

See, it's still me. I haven't been eaten alive by Cute Overload, though I love those kittens. Shhh! Don't tell. It would ruin my reputation.

Favorite Things Monday -Sex and Drugs

1) Thanks to our friend/patron/babysitter Barbara, who clipped this from the Globe for me. Love her!



2) Dude ... I'll volunteer for these studies.

Favorite Things Monday - Curls & Cheeks

This photo of Wifey is one of my favorite photos of all time. In addition to being astoundingly adorable, this little girl exudes Wifey's special brand of confidence. She's sassy. Smart. Direct. Uncompromising. In love with sailboats. Up to something. Easy to pinch and squeeze. A rascal. Playful. Loving. Intensely loyal. Sweet. Little has changed since 1979.

Wanna pinch those cheeks or tossle that hair? Me too.