English Major

Ars Poetica 
(by Archibald MacLeish)

A poem should be palpable and mute
As a globed fruit,

Dumb
As old medallions to the thumb,

Silent as the sleeve-worn stone
Of casement ledges where the moss has grown-

A poem should be wordless
As the flight of birds.
*

A poem should be motionless in time
As the moon climbs,

Leaving, as the moon releases
Twig by twig the night-entangled trees,

Leaving, as the moon behind the winter leaves,
Memory by memory the mind-

A poem should be motionless in time
As the moon climbs.
*

A poem should be equal to:
Not true.

For all the history of grief
An empty doorway and a maple leaf.

For love
The leaning grasses and two lights above the sea-

A poem should not mean
But be.



I decided to be an English major because of this poem.  It was my senior year in high school, within the first couple of weeks of the school year.  I was in A.P. English and there were only a handful of us, so our very cool teacher, Mrs. M., let us put our desks in a circle and eat our snacks as we discussed poem after poem.  It may very well be the best class I ever took in my life.  As we discussed this poem's imagery, and the concept of poetry in general, I just knew this is what I wanted to do.  I wanted to spend my life reading and thinking about literature and talking to others about it.

There are very few things in my life that I've just known in my being.  And there are few such experiences that stick out so vividly in my memory.  My wedding day?  Mmm, it's a bit fuzzy around the edges.  But the day I met G?  In a crummy cafeteria across from my dorm?  Crystal clear.  Also, the day sitting in class, rolling this poem across my tongue like a marble - or probably more accurately - a jolly rancher.  Leaning over to my great friend Matt, the two of us hunched over the book, reading it together.

I was right - I'm still that same girl with her nose in a book.  And life is all the better for it.

TGIF, people! In Honor of Mad Men.

Check out what I just stumbled upon:  http://www.amctv.com/madmenyourself/

This is me, drinking some coffee with my Mad Men Peeps.  It's how I like to start off my Fridays.

Doesn't it look just like me?

Happy Friday!

On Staying at a B&B

When we travel, we love to stay in B&B's.  What is the plural form?  Beds and Breakfasts?  Anyway, staying in a B&B (I'm going to stick with the singular.  I'm an English Major who apparently can't master her own language, people) is a good way to experience the local area.  B&B proprietors usually have connections with the town folk and can hook you up with great deals and "off the beaten path" experiences.

For example, we once stayed in a B&B in Pennsylvania while G attended a nerd conference.  I had planned to just explore around town, but I found myself in a conversation with the owner and it came out that she knew a local Amish family.  She asked if I would like to have dinner with them.  I was like, "DUH, lady!  Sign me up!"  That sort of experience would not have presented itself if we'd stayed down at the Super 8. 

Local Culture and Local Peeps - the good the bad and the ugly

It's also nice that B&B's usually fit so well into the local environment.  Case in point, this is a place we stayed in Page, AZ:

Arizona

See the separate garage on the left?  On top of that building is a wonderful jacuzzi.  G & I would sit in it at night and watch the stars (you can actually see the stars in Arizona!) and count satellites as they zoomed overhead.  This place is owned by two guys who are hysterical.  They are jokesters and we got along with them really well.  They knew we went up to the hot tub every night, so one night, they snuck up to the top of the building, jumped around the corner and went "BOOOOOOOO!"  Imagine their surprise to find an elderly couple frightened out of their wits.  We had decided to spend that evening in town.  Haaaaaaaaa.  So funny.  They were mortified.  It was awesome.

Ireland

                           
On the other hand, we once stayed at one of the oldest buildings in the U.S., in Valley Forge.  The walls were 2 feet thick and made of stone.  The floor creaked and there were practically no right angles in the entire structure; everything leaned this way or that.  It was a charming, historic building but the owner had a chip on her shoulder the size of a cannon ball.  She would serve us breakfast and complain about the three economics degrees she had but was not able to use in her business.  She would answer our questions about local attractions by turning up her nose at the traffic or small parking areas.  Buzz.  Kill.

We've stayed in many B&B's and by far our good experiences have outnumbered the bad.  When we stayed in a B&B in Ireland, I spent the entire week never understanding a single word the owners said (and they spoke English) and I totally love them to death.

This is one of our favorites, located in Gettysburg:

Pennsylvania

It's also one of the oldest (continually operated) inns in the country.  The confederates retreated there during the battle, Generals have eaten there, and it was part of the underground railroad.  Part of the attic is restored to demonstrate what it probably looked like at the time, and how it was used to accomodate slaves on their escape to freedom.

Our very fave:  southern Virginia

The Devil is in the Details

The beauty (or not) of a B&B is in the details.  Many of them - I would venture to say, most of them - are exquisitely decorated.  These pics were taken this past weekend on our get-away:

One of the smaller bedrooms.

The Sitting Room - we had the place all to ourselves and camped out in here to read.

Beautiful details.

Lovely colors.

The Formal Dining Room.

The Informal Dining Room - we have breakfast in here and talk story with Betsy.

One of my friends says, "I love a good Bed and Breakfast, but my problem is the Breakfast!  Who can eat that much, first thing in the morning?"  Um, ME.  The breakfast is so, so good!  Of course I don't have any pictures because I wolf it down too quickly.

If you have not stayed in a B&B before, I would suggest doing your research before you stay in one.  Take a look at the website, call and talk to the proprietor.  First impressions are almost always correct; if you have a good chat with the owner on the phone, you'll most likely have a comfortable stay there.

Also, try it more than once.  Our first experience at a B&B was so phenomenal that it set the course for our whole vacationing future.  But if it had been bad, say, that lady in Valley Forge, I'm not sure we would have had the courage to try it again.  On vacation you're spending your hard-earned money and time, and you don't want the experience to be stained by a surly proprietor.  But I would highly suggest that if you don't enjoy it the first time, give it a second, even a third try before you rule it out.

Happy Bed-and-Breakfasting!

Weekend Highlights & Trying New Things

Some highlights from our fun weekend in our favorite country spot.

Winter Walks

Winter is farrrr from my favorite season, but there is something I just love about taking walks in the cold, and even in the snow.  We timed our walk around the lake just right this weekend - it started snowing on us as soon as we set out.

Relaxing

I kept my phone ringer off the entire weekend until we got in the car to drive home.  No morning alarm.  No constant alarm "reminders" to remind me to remind myself to remind someone else to do something or check on something or make a call or follow up on a meeting.  On Sunday I took a luxurious nap.  There's no other adjective to describe it.  I woke up to inches and inches of snow!

Snowy Weather

The best snow days are ones in which I don't have to worry about getting to work (or the stress of not being able to get to work), or driving in it, or having to be anywhere by any certain time.  The best snow days are when we have nowhere to be and we can curl up with the bun bun and read or sleep or eat or just gaze out the window at it all.

Thrift Store Finds

Lately I've been trying something new:  shopping at thrift stores and consignment stores.  There's a very nice consignment store on my drive home and a couple of weeks ago, Carpool Buddy M and I stopped to take a gander.  I ended up getting a really cute blouse for Valentine's Day (appropriate for work) for $5.  I thought, Hmmmmmm.  So we hit up a local thrift store this weekend and found some great books and some more "trial" blouses for me.  $1 each!  Can you believe it?

These blouses will look cute - and different - under jackets & blazers at work.

I love Pearl Buck (Read "The Good Earth" immediately!) and thought this book jacket looks great!

I'm also trying to wear more color.  It's easy for me to get stuck in a black/brown routine.  I always see colorful clothes and think they're so cute, but somehow never think to apply them to my own wardrobe.  I got this coat for $10.  The gloves give me "man hands" and are as big as my head, but whatever! 

More weekend highlights to come!

If loving you is wrong, I don't wanna be right

Two words:  Vampire Diaries.

Picture Source



So I know that just a few posts ago, I was harping about how movies (and by extension, TV shows) these days are nothing but mindless gyrating.  Pretty people just being pretty in front of the camera.

Well, I take it all back.  I now consider that pure entertainment, as is evidenced by my complete and total addiction to Vampire Diaries.  Yes, I know I'm behind the times (it is the story of my life) and this show has been out for seasons and this is old news.  And I don't even really get into the whole Vampire thing.  But I'm telling you - I'm hooked to this show.  Give me the Salvatore Brothers and all their problems.  Give me brooding Stephan and bad boy Damon.

This show is basically a bunch of 25-to-30 year olds playing high school students.  And it's basically a supernatural maelstrom of teenage drama and angst.  It's a bunch of: she likes him but he's a vampire, and he's lusting after her but she's a pure human, and people are mysteriously dropping like flies, and there's drama all over town and by the way, no one is actually going to school and no one's parents are like ever around, and no one has to do homework, and everyone is so hyped up on being beautiful and alive but they are going to get sucked into one problem after another and complain about it.  To which I say, "Yes, please!" 

This show is complete eye candy (take that however you want).  What I mean, though, is that it's popcorn.  You just pop the episodes one right after the other.  I've only done that a couple of other times:  LOST and Battlestar Galactica (the new one, of course).  My co-worker lent me the first two VD seasons with a stern warning that I should give myself "six full episodes" before I gave up on it, because the beginning was cheesy and slow.  She was right, but by episode 4, I was double fisting the cheese its and glued to the TV.

G would enter the room and be all, "Ok.  Well.  I'm going to the hobby store now."

Me:  "Mm. Hmm."

G:  "I'm only going to spend a thousand dollars, ok?  On model airplanes?"

Me:  "Hmm?" (chew chew chew) "Ok.  Have fun."

Four episodes (read:  4 hours) later, I would look up and realize I had no idea where he was.

Yeah.  It's that bad.

Now I'm only a few episodes away from being "caught up" to where the show is in real time (almost through Season 3).  HOW am I going to only watch ONE EPISODE A WEEK?  When I'm currently averaging FOUR EPISODES A DAY?

My coworker was trying to make me feel better about it today at work.  She said, "Well, you have what?  Seven more episodes to go?"  I was like, "Yeah, but that's only two days!"  At the rate I watch them, I'll be caught up by tomorrow.

Come on, Mad Men!  Come on, Hunger Games!  Come on, Vampire Diaries!  I swear, I take back everything I ever said about mindless American entertainment.

(chew, chew, chew)

dawrighthouse, on vacation

The mountains are calling and I must go* (Or: The Beverly Hillbillies hit the road)

We got outta dodge for the long weekend, heading a few hours down the road to our favorite B&B.  We found the place a few years ago, and try to go a couple of times a year, if we can.  We've grown close to the proprietor, a really awesome lady named Betsy, and although she's closed during the month of February, she opened the place for us.  Because we're those people.  I kid.  But how awesome is that?

And because the rabbit is geriatric, Betsy let us bring her along as well.

I remember when our friends A & C Peep had their first child.  When she was a couple of months old, they came to spend the weekend with us.  When they pulled up to the house, they came to the door with an overnight bag.  After we said hello, the real unpacking began.  Bags and bags for the baby.  The car seat/carrier.  The pack & play.  The diaper bag.  The other bags.

We were like, WHOA...

Well Karma is a mofracker.

G and I travel light, but not when you throw a bunny in the mix!

The trunk.  Notice whose crap takes up most of the space.

A view of the backseat.  Again, who takes up the most space?

Five hours of driving, people.  Five hours.

With this little rabbit mug peering out.

We had a great time - the best part was just being away for a while.  A little hiking, a little laying around, a little Sonic.  A little reading, some good thrift finds (more about that later) and some snow!  We got a few inches on Sunday night.

The view on the way down there.

The view on the way back!

Perhaps the very best part of this weekend - for me - was the reminiscing.  We're so comfortable in the B&B that it feels a bit like a second home, especially when we are the only ones there.  We were there during this exact weekend last year, and it was one of the lowest times of my life.  I remember being very depressed and almost in a cloud of despair.

This year, things were - they are -  completely different.  I'm not exaggerating when I say I enjoyed every minute of it.

G surprised me with some post V-Day roses:

Looking lovely in the corner of our room.

That there was no room for in the car on the way home:

Five hours I had to ride like this, people.  Five hours.

But it was a good weekend and I think I have it in me to pull through the work week.  Especially since we got to do a little prep work:

Hope your weekend was a good one!  Yay for Presidents' Day!


*Quote by John Muir

Remedy: Thursday is the new Friday

Picture Source

So another remedy for the endless blah winter around here is to fool myself into thinking it's Friday - a day early.

In college, the fraternities and sororities used to have their big parties on Thursday nights.  Not being Greek myself, I always wondered what they knew that I didn't.  I mean, didn't they - at least some of them - have classes on Friday?  Did they all, collectively, skip classes on Friday?  But surely not every Friday, I mean, right?

Then I noticed as an adult that many restaurants and clubs have their Happy Hours on Thursday nights.  On the one hand, these are probably the alumni fraternity and sorority members.  Ha.  But on the other hand, again, it got me wondering how all these people manage to struggle through the last day of the week.

Well, I've made a command decision.  Better late than never.  I'm going to start treating Thursday as the new Friday.  I figure by Thursday, the hardest part of the week is over, no doubt.  Plus, even if things are rough on Fridays and I'm sloughing through the day like a zombie...who cares?  It's the last day of the week!

And THIS weekend is 3-days!  Finally, a holiday!  The last one until Frakkin' May, people!!

Well hello, Uncle Sam



Picture Source

Tonight we're getting our taxes done, oh joy.  This is actually a little *late* in the year for us.  We like to get things overwith.  At least we opted not to do it on Valentine's Day.

We've seen the same accountant the entire time we've lived in this area - an older, retired gentleman who spends the year fixing up his antique corvette and doing who-knows-what, then resurfacing in time to do taxes from January - May.  His name is Glenn and each year we're like, "GLENNNNNNN, MY MAN!  You gonna give us some good news?  We gots ta have some cash, GLENNNNNN."

He smiles calmly, licks his forefinger and thumbs through our paperwork.  Softly pecks the computer keyboard while we sit there in perplexed silence.  Waiting.

You people who do your own taxes amaze me.  Basic math is a mystery to both G & I.  Turbo Tax, blah blah.  I assure you if we tried to do our own taxes, we would 1) get divorced, 2) move to another country to avoid having to do it ever again.

I understand that there's a method to income tax, deductions on work tax forms, etc.  I understand conceptually that this is supposed to make sense.  But, as G says, it's really all witch craft and sorcery.  We look for chicken bones and entrails under Glenn's desk to see how he's really coming up with these numbers.

So tonight, we're gonna be all, "Come on GLENNNNNNN!"

"Come on BIG MONEY!"  (He's like, you know it's your money, right?  This ain't Vegas.)

Things that make you go....."what?!?"

Today in traffic, I was behind a vehicle with a bumper sticker that said: "Don't let the car fool you...my treasure is laid up in Heaven."

Pretty common, right?  I've seen that bumper sticker about a thousand times.

What made it stand out to me this time was that it was on the back of a late-model GMC Yukon Denali.

For perspective...a 2008 Denali, like the one pictured above, goes for about $40,000.

That person must have the Taj Mahal waiting for them.

 

I Win Valentine's Day!

Remember last year's VDay episode of "Modern Family" when Gloria outdoes Jay in being romantic for Valentine's Day?  CLASSIC.  She trots around hollering, "I weeen Balentimes Dayyyyyyy."

Actually, G and I are high-browed, sophisticated people who have chosen to rise above the American commercialism of this manufactured holiday.  Read:  new furniture for Christmas = no Vday celebration.

I do have a funny story though.  When G and I were engaged, he was living in Hawaii and I was finishing up grad school in AR.  We were starry-eyed romantics in those days, and he used to send me flowers at least once a week, sometimes even daily.  You can imagine how much my coworkers just loved that.

But, Vday that year - fatefully, the year we were engaged to be married - came and went with no flowers for me.  Everyone in my office got flowers except me.  G kept calling and fishing around, "Soooooooo?  How are things goinggggggg?" and I kept getting snippier and snippier, "Fine.  Just fine."

Turns out that the most popular florist in town had a disgruntled worker who filled up his delivery van, repeatedly, all day long, and methodically dumped thousands of dollars of beautiful flowers into a local creek.

So, I didn't get my dozen roses on Valentine's Day that year.  But I got two dozen the next day.

Happy Valentine's Day, Peeps!

Frame It

I've been trying to redecorate a bit, using the whole "borrow from one room to decorate another room" idea.  And then I came across a neat & inexpensive idea for framing photos:  in mason jars.  I got the idea here and I love how it turned out!  My pics are not the best because the room these are in gets very little natural light.  But - you get the idea.

Rapper-L, do you recognize the pic of G in the background?  It's from the time we all went canoeing in college.  "What are you thinking, B?"  "I'm thinking, Huck Finn.  What are you thinking, L?"

Ideas:

1.  Buy jars of varying size and shape.  Mine range from about 2x2 inches, to about 6x6 inches.

2.  After placing the picture in the jar, stuff colored tissue paper behind it to add an extra burst of color.

3.  Change the pictures out for different seasons, or simply to change the look of the room.