positive pleasure and positive pain

"Tess had never before known a time in which the thread of her life was so distinctly twisted of two strands, positive pleasure and positive pain."

I'm part of a book club called Read With Me and the current selection is Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. So far, I'm in love with Thomas Hardy's ability to write beautiful descriptions but I am getting a little impatient with some of the characters and the dialogue. I still have a long way to go... I'm on chapter 31 and there are 59!

fig series {two}

My first fig series was posted in July of 2009. My friend Sara has the most amazing fig tree in her back yard and she lets me cut branches from it. In 2009, the branches rooted so quickly in vases of water.

This year, the new cuttings didn't fare so well. Can't believe it's now 2011 (don't blink, your life is passing you by). I recently had to throw away most of the cuttings but this little guy keeps hanging on – it sprouted two tiny, lovely leaves just before Christmas. Sara's response was, "There is life after death my dear. Hang on."

the language of objects

... a few favorites from my out-of-control vessel collection – hmm, maybe I was a prop stylist in a former life.

I'm a little tormented by all of the objects I own; I swear to you that I don't own a ton but the things I do own can sometimes feel like a burden. The thought of ever having to pack it all up and move makes me quite nauseous.

white diamond-pattern cups: alder & co
white and blue porcelain cups: new moon studio
pale, pale blue ceramic cup: phillip ahnen

something inevitable

"It's like a bear stumbling into a beehive or a honey cache: I'm stumbling right into it and getting stuck, and it's delicious and it's horrible and I'm in it and it's not very graceful and it's very awkward and it's very painful and yet there's something inevitable about it."
- Leonard Cohen

color

work

"The best cure for melancholy is industry - and though the winds blew for days, never ending, and the gulls never ceased their cries, we drew strength from the rhythm of our labors." - The Weight of Water

a bit obsessed

This might end up being a long post without a clear point but I know it will have something to do with obsession and longing and the need to constantly seek out beautiful ideas, music, lyrics and images. Whew. Alright...

The obsession part: I've recently become consumed by everything relating to the band EELS. I'm reading and am almost finished with the book, Things The Grandchildren Should Know by Mark Oliver Everett (E, the EELS frontman). I don't pretend to know a lot about E but I think I might love him. There's just something about a man with a guitar who tells it straight and writes perfect lyrics: "I just can't take how very much, god damn, I miss that girl." The new EELS album, Tomorrow Morning, comes out this August!!!

The longing part: I would love to shoot amazing photo portraits someday. First, I'll need a much nicer camera. Then I'll need to get off my lazy butt and do something about it. Which brings me to the image above of E, one of many portraits by the talented Autumn de Wilde. Lucky girl. She just happens to have photographed a few of my favorite artists: EELS, Built to Spill, Elliot Smith (if she would just add Modest Mouse, then the universe would be perfect).

( image: www.autumndewilde.com )

around the house: clutter

If it were up to J, there would be nothing posted on our fridge (or stored on top of the fridge). I'm the source of all the clutter in this house.

think: summer

first day of spring

first day of Spring, first day of getting my life back, first day of stepping back from the ledge. thank god winter is over.

saturdays save me

simplicity is best

early spring

I'm forcing Spring to happen inside our house. The trees outside are doing just fine on their own, no forcing required.

The book I'm reading states it nicely: "Trees are sucking winter up through their roots, exploding luscious and green." – Happy: A Memoir by Alex Lemon

coping mechanisms

Excuse me while I sink into a well-deserved funk. Sadness is turning into physical pain. My self-prescribed remedies will be:

– every Built To Spill song I can get my hands on
– a few bottles of red
– yet another attempt at that whole 'running thing'

(photo by: ME)

random bits of truth

There's nothing quite like the smell of fresh basil.

It's easier to list the things I don't want to be when I grow up than it is to figure out what I should be.

I don't see my friends often enough.

Some people attract chaos, thrive on chaos and create chaos. I'm not one of those people. Thank goodness I'm blissfully dull.

currently obsessed with...

Currently obsessed with this little bit of gastronomic perfection: thai miang kum.

spinach leaf + plum sauce + coconut flakes + lime + ginger + peanuts + hot peppers = all I can think about

{ photo by: ME }

in a pear tree

We're still new to this whole fruit tree thing. Sadly, most of the pears on our pear tree were eaten by bugs (and possibly birds, squirrels and raccoons). Quite a few of them fell to the ground in an over-ripe state and were quickly swarmed by yellow-jackets.

I was able to retrieve one perfect pear. I ate it today and it was THE BEST pear I've ever had. Next year I'd like to try some sort of environmentally safe insect spray. Any suggestions? It needs to be safe to use around dogs, of course.

{ photos by: ME }

nice things from nice people