Unplugged

I've been feeling a bit too cozy with technology lately. Not that I don't appreciate the ability to <woosh> check email every ten minutes or <zap> watch a movie On Demand or <ping> cook dinner in a flash as opposed to spending four hours over the stove in the already stifling heat of summer. However, I have had a few moments where I felt like the glaze of the computer screen all too comfortably matched the glaze of my eyes after prolonged exposure.

Especially now that the sun is out and I have this beautiful little dog who reminds me how great the outdoors are on each and every one of our six daily walks, I've decided to unplug a little more often. I actually journaled a bit about it just the other day. Here is an excerpt:

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I want to bike more, sit less. Listen more, talk less. Taste more, eat less. Dream more, worry less. I will grow more flowers and vegtables; turn off the computer, the TV and other distractions more often. No computer on the weekends. I will draw, I will write, I will use my imagination again...

I want to get back in touch with nature. I want to reconnect to the world. I wish things would be hand-made more often and less often rely on chemicals. I wish people weren't as addicted to their cell phones and computers and instead meet up more often, face to face, to give each other their full attention (yes, this means turning off the phone); remembering to laugh and to see the world around them. I think everyone should wirte more letters, send more care packages, grow more flowers, seek more peace, sit in silence more often.

I wish for more grass and trees in this world, with babbling brooks and trout-filled streams. More blackberry bushes and carefree games. More cats curled in sunbeams, woken only when the jaybirds sing.

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100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall...

This is my 100th post! It's crazy because I seem to be coming across quite a few other blogs that are also celebrating 100 postings or other such blog-stones. I've seen a number of lists touting various things, or "100 this" and "100 that"... I thought I'd do something a little different. I'm going to do ten-tens; that is ten lists each containing ten random things. Here goes!

Ten Favorite Foods and Beverages

1. Ice cream
2. My Dad's calzone
3. Smoked salmon
4. Chai tea latte (order it "No water" from Starbucks)
5. Rustic chicken sandwiches
6. Trader Joes Maple Pecan granola (esp. mixed with their maple yogurt)
7. My sister's lemon bars
8. Fennel pork medallions
9. Ghirardelli Intense Dark Toffee Interlude chocolate bar
10. Jelly Bellies

Ten Favorite Books

1. Einstein's Dreams, by Alan Lightman
2. 1000 Greetings by Peter King & Co.
3. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
4. The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons
5. Anything "Amelia Bedilia"
6. How to Think Like Leonardo do Vinci by Michael J. Gelb
7. Princess by Jean P. Sasson
8. God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
   
9. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
   
10. Sabine's Notebook by Nick Bantock

Ten Songs

1. Catch My Disease - Ben Lee
2. You Make My Dreams Come True - Hall and Oates
3. Sister Kate - The Ditty Bops
4. The World Ain't Slowin' Down - Ellis Paul
5. Six Packs and Big Macs - The Getaway People
6. Come By Me - Harry Connick Jr.
7. Mary - Iron & Wine
8. Save the Last Dance For Me - Michael Buble
9. Everybody Got Their Something - Nikka Costa
10. Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games - Of Montreal
11. Bonus - You Raise Me Up - Josh Groban (it was the song I danced with my Dad to on my wedding day)
    

Ten Movies

1. What Women Want
2. My Life Without Me
3. Finding Neverland
4. What Dreams May Come
5. Saving Grace
6. Woman On Top
7. Stealing Beauty
8. 13 Going on 30
9. Wimbledon
10. Hooch

Ten Names I'd Like To Name My Kids (no, I'm not having ten kids. Even though my sister and brother-in-law seem to think it would be grand.)

1. Kija (pronounced "Kai-uh")
2. Madeline
3. Lucy
4. Ashley
5. Lilian/Lillie
6. Alton
7. Oliver
8. Juel
9. Ruby
10. Simon

Ten Favorite Things To Do

1. Kayaking
2. Camping
3. Fly Fishing
4. Drawing
5. Sewing
6. Playing with Dixie (my dog)
7. Hanging out with my nephew
8. Game night with the Girls!
9. Exploring someplace new with my hubby
10. Travelling

Ten Stores to Blow My Money

1. Crate and Barrel
2. Art Supply Warehouse
3. Ikea
4. Independent bookstores (esp. with used books)
   
5. Cost Plus World Market
6. Five Thousand One (local home decor/gift store)
7. H&M
8. REI
9. Paper Zone
10. Any Flea market (ok, not technically a store, but I can still spend way too much money there)

Ten Websites (non blogs)

1. Tribe Wanted
2. Reprodepo Fabrics
3. Fire Mountain Gems and Beads
4. SOTA: The Society of Typographic Aficianados
5. Briarpress (for letterpress)
6. Skindeep
7. AddAll book search
8. Plum Party
9. Sidestep for air travel
10. The Greater Good store

Ten Magazines

1. Mary Englebreit's Home Companion
2. Martha Stewart Living
3. Step Inside Design
4. Better Homes and Gardens
5. Everyday Food
6. Cooking Light
7. Dynamic Graphics
8. Body and Soul
9. Hooked On The Outdoors
10. Gifts and Decorative Accessories

Ten Cool Words

1. tatterdemalion: A person wearing ragged or tattered clothing; a ragamuffin. (Me most mornings...)
   
2. fatidic: Relating to or characterized by prophecy; prophetic
   
3. zampa: the Italian word for "paw" (and the name of my cat, who has six toes on every paw)
4. indubitably: Too apparent to be doubted; unquestionable (and really just fun to say)
5. organic (as it relates to design, and happens to be quite the popular term at the moment): resembling a living organism
6. milksop: An effeminate or weak-minded person; an unmanly man. (I just think this is funny)
   
7. quagmire: A difficult or precarious position or situation; a predicament. (Also just fun to say)
   
8. xenophobia: Fear or hatred of strangers, people from other countries, or of anything that is strange or foreign. (And here I just thought it was someone afraid of the show "Xena: Princess Warrior"
9. osculation: The act of kissing; also: a kiss. (Aw. I hear this and immediately picture two stodgy professor types at the end of a date during which they quizzed each other on the Pythagorean theorem.)
   
10. fait accompli: An accomplished and presumably irreversible deed or fact. (And with that, this post is DONE!)
    

She's here!

The beautiful girl arrived today - all 720 lbs! For the moment she is sitting outside at the bottom of our steps while I figure out how exactly to get her into the house, if indeed in the house is where she ought to be. I've been searching for an artists work space around here, but haven't found anything yet.

It is all happening so fast, I'm not sure what to do if I can't get her inside! I'm not giving up, though. I just need... a nap. And a cement floor. And a really strong pallet jack that can roll over carpet and not leave a mark.

Oh. My. Gosh.

I think I just got a letterpress. Like, we're moving it here either tomorrow or the day after. And it is the perfect press for me!!! C&P 8x11, motorized, even impression, fully restored. I am shaking I'm so excited. I've been dreaming of this for so long and can hardly believe it. I just don't know what to say. Besides of course: Oh. My. Gosh.

Oooh, I better get working on a name. In fact, I'll start a contest for whoever wants to help me name her! I'll post pics once the girl arrives. Prize will be the second thing I actually print. The first, of course, will be framed for posterity. No matter how hideous it turns out.