start seeing season cycles

On a very rainy last day of April, I am thankful that these showers bring flowers

simply satisfying endeavours

swings!

yum.

Mitchell Sweets are divine treats. They are made by Hammond's Candies located in Denver, Colorado (they are known for their ribbon candies and flavored candy canes, and it is another fun factory tour to take). The Sweet consists of a frothy, chewy marshmallow center covered in chocolate or caramel. Let's hear it for Hammond's!

talking trash

The Composters is an eco-feminist performance duo that combines activism for Earth and humor. Mary Mercury and Glenda Greenhouse (their stage personas) met in graduate school at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. After a performance class where they wrapped themselves up in trash bags and mused about where "away" really is when you throw away, the two joined to form The Composters. They have been featured in Bitch Magazine, host a radio show, tour college campuses, and are currently writing a book. They are definitely pretty crumpets. To see some of their wonderful wit, their earthy excentricities, and their humus humor, visit their blog, check them out on MySpace or become a Facebook fan.

favorite words

~aesthetic
~amuse-bouche
~dune buggy
~gala
~impervious
~onomatopoeia
~sale

simply satisfying endeavours

Favorite Activity #2:

Going on factory tours. This picture from the Maker's Mark factory in Tennessee shows one of the wax dipping stations.

bodyandbrain

F. Matthias Alexander believed that with the right mindset, one could break bad habits. He was particularly interested in re-educating the body to remember its correct form from youth. For over one hundred years, artists, signers, musicians (and John Dewey, who was a huge fan) have used the Alexander Technique to reach their full potential as performers. I participate in A.T. as a way to bring consciousness to my daily practices of walking and sitting and to strengthen my sensory and spinal movements. Plus, it feels amazing and sometimes you walk out of your session two inches taller than when you came in.

simply satisfying endeavours

Favorite Activity #1:

Climbing on rocks.
Preferably in and around water.

go green

On this sunny Earth Day, let's celebrate parks. My favorite is Forest Park in St. Louis Missouri- one of the greatest parks in the United States. It's the home of the 1904 World's Fair, it's bigger than Central Park, and there is something to do all year round from ice skating to paddle boat rides to visiting any one of the museums on the grounds. Stroll away today!

it's been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon...

It is said that humans are storytelling animals. It's what we do. One guru of storytelling and a national treasure is Garrison Keillor. I saw him live last night and it was a real pleasure. It is clear he loves language and appreciates the beauty in banality. Masterfully weaving tales together for two hours, Keillor's themes focus on people who live simply but want to do the most good for their families and communities. If you haven't tuned into "A Prairie Home Companion" lately, try revisiting it this weekend.

strange tv

Remember those after school specials with messages of abstinence and staying off drugs? Alumni from Second City, Amy Sedaris, Steven Colbert, and Paul Dinello, completely subvert the genre, changing it to a half hour comedy that shocks and delights. The show stars Sedaris as Jerri Blank, a 48-year-old who returns to high school after being a teenage runaway (for 32 years). It was great to discover that hulu.com has compiled all of the episodes so we can watch them once again! The show offers so many valuable life lessons to learn and take to heart. Here are just a few:

On cooking: "You can't unfry things."
On excuses: "If wishes and buts were clusters of nuts, we'd all have a bowl of granola."
On safe sex: "Thanks to penicillin there's no need to be careful. Penicillin is Nature's condom."
On friendship: "If I'm spending less time with you it only means I'm spending more time with others."

Happy viewing!

break out those baskets

Just went to the first picnic of the season and I hope there will be many more to follow. Why are picnics so great? Good weather, good food, good company. And, the small but exciting dramas that occur when nature and nourishment mingle (like ants and PB & J sandwiches) make for good stories. What is more, now is the time when everything gets made into a "salad": potato salad, jello salad, egg salad, and Snicker bar salad all seem to make sense all of a sudden. So call up your friends and spend the afternoon munching in the sunshine.

you can't fool owls

Today, let's celebrate owls. Owls have long been the symbol of smarts. In Greek mythology, Athena was the goddess of wisdom and her symbol was the owl. Since then there have been many versions of the wise old owl- think the professorial owl in the classic Tootsie Pop commercial. Click here to see a short video on the cunning majesty of owls!

found in translation

Bonjour! Commet tele-vous?

If you want to learn some new words in different languages, dress up your writing or look up a foreign word used in a book of poetry or prose, go to the Free Translation site. It is so cool. Just type in a word in English, French, Russian, German, Portuguese, or Spanish and get results in all those languages. So go try it! Versuchen! Tentativa! Essayez!

you kombucha betcha!

So many reasons to love kombucha tea: it is sweet and sour so you squint a little with each sip, it is made from live active cultures so when you open it it fizzzzzzzzzzes, you can make it yourself or buy it at your local co-op, and it mysteriously invigorates and cures what ails you (it's been a medicinal drink for thousands of years). Cheers!

photo from http://multipleinfusions.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/gt-synergy-trilogy-kombucha.jpg

let's see those toes

I asked my friend Ann what she was thankful for today and she said her sandals she got four years ago at Target for four dollars. Tis the season (very soon) for sandals. After months of wool socks, boots and laces, it is great to pull out the funky flip flops, comfortable Birkenstocks, strappy sandals and embellished espadrilles! Thanks Ann!

brush your teeth- or else

Okay. This is too perfectly wonderful and twisted. It is a child's toothbrush gun I found at an antique store. Can you imagine a time when a mother scolds her children for not wanting to put this in their mouths? I love plays on violent signifiers, and having a PINK gun as a piece of dental CARE is a brilliant example.

i believe in npr

Edward R. Murrow developed and hosted the radio program "This I Believe." It was a collection of voices in America; famous and ordinary people shared their beliefs and how they came to recognize and communicate them. NPR reintroduced the series and like the original, it features personal essays from a variety of people-- Bill Gates to a librarian to Colin Powell to rock climber. It is a great program to listen to for all the different narratives that, not surprisingly, express similar beliefs of hope, compassion, and determinations to learn. Listen to and read some of them here.

eggcellent

Taking the Easter egg up a notch with markers, sequence, feathers, and glitter. These are GLAM! My favorite one is the red devil(ed) egg made by Wendyness. So wrong, so adorable.

dwell in possibility

Emily Dickinson is my favorite poet. I am sure to post more of her poems as this blog goes on. This one is especially important to me, as it captures the basic ideas in the philosophy of communication through spatial metaphors:

I dwell in Possibility
A fairer House than Prose
More numerous of Windows
Superior -- for Doors

Of Chambers as the Cedars
Impregnable of Eye
And for an Everlasting Roof
The Gambrels of the Sky

Of Visitors -- the fairest
For Occupation -- This
The spreading wide of narrow Hands
To gather Paradise

apple sweaters

I like making things that are ridiculous and cute, so I started knitting apple cozies. They make great gifts because the recipients can throw them in their bags without worrying about bruising and it's encouragement to eat more fruit!

rice is nice, vocab is fab

Playing with vocabulary means:

a. donating rice to the UN
b. showing off that you are a smarty pants
c. to procrastinate (but it's for the greater good!)
d. all of the above

If you chose "d" then you are right. The Free Rice website has 60 different levels to test your vocabulary skills. For every correct answer, ten grains of rice are donated to the UN food program. Watch your virtual wooden bowl fill up after you prove you know what "katzenjammer" means. Could you do a sharp post-colonial critique of this site? Sure. But you know you're going to waste some time today- so why not give your mind, and a food bank, a boost?

give your pet a pat

Pets are wonderful. Today, spend a little more time scratching them behind the ears, walk an extra block together, and/or give them a new toy. They deserve it!

knitting and baking and crafting oh my!

Here are three lovely little sites that offer nothing but delights.

Feeling glum? Take a look at Bricole at Home. You can't help but get re-energized to make or bake something nice, from a pair of mittens to chocolate cheesecake brownies. Thanks to this site, I am reminded of the simple, rich elegance that is ganache.

Need some eye candy? Visit Foodbeam. Gorgeous photographs of pastries and sweets from a young woman who writes just as bright and light as her merainges.

Have an urge to create? Then search through CRAFT Magazine. Neat articles, a blog, and tons of craft projects for all different skill abilities. I bet you didn't realize how much you needed a crocheted bike seat cozy until now.

Shiny things at the Guggenheim