Here's Things From My Journal

The end of Daylight Savings Time. The period of evening light up until this point fading gradually, a loved one dying of a terminal illness. But today and pushing those clocks back: quick death by guillotine. Oh light, oh summer, how I miss you.

Now comes the time of Fat and Pale, of Unsociable and Sleepy.

(don't worry, not really)

So to combat this I went bicycling (and then made hot chocolate and pumpkin-raspberry-chocolate-chip muffins). At least it was sunny, although still sharply cold, all prickly from the wind. I put on ear-warmers, arm-warmers, a neck-warmer, a torso-warmer, and feet-only-luke-warmers. I flapped off into the wind, the colors, the slanted golden sun. Biking 17 miles in the cold feels about as wearying as bicycling 50 miles in the delicious heat. Oh well.

So now from my ensconce of blankets I shall write a bit, entitled perhaps: Here's Things From My Journal.


Family Road Trip
A visit to Little Sister living in Virginia. Last week my parents and I climbed into my Dad's spotless car and drove south through Pennsylvania (gee, even width-wise that state is massive), Maryland (just the fingernail of it), and into Virginia.

We drove through a backdrop of golden and orange trees, rolling hills, white picket fences. Then we were 5 with my sister and boyfriend, all us tall people folding ourselves into the car to visit Monticello, Jefferson's home. "Well. If there were a carpool lane we'd qualify for it," my Dad observed. We were squished in the backseat like paper dolls folder too many times to fit in their envelope.

Lunch in the car: Dad is driving and eating a sandwich. He hands it, half-consumed and rather ragged, to my mother. "Dear. Will you rearrange this for me?"

~~~

I think one of the sweetest moments of this little family trip occurred on the Monticello lawn (see backdrop of colored trees and sweeping views), when we'd finished the Standing For a Long Time Tour rather wearied and I'd asked if anyone was carrying any snacks. Nope: snacks were all in the car.

In just a few minutes, though, Dad appears on the horizon with a bag of nuts, not inexpensive nuts either, that he'd charged off and bought at the Monticello gift shop. My parents, as a general rule, all calculated and moderate, do not buy food not from the bulk order or the cheapest price-per-pound. "You remember when you were a little girl and in the middle of the night, Daddy I'm hungry, and I'd take pity on you and get up and fix you a fried egg sandwich?" he said.  Now overpriced gift shop nuts. I was indeed touched. And they were actually really delicious nuts too.



On Being Kale
I haven't had a happy Halloween in many years. I was either being miserable with an illness, attending an academic conference, or wearied by too many college Sexy Bunnies or Slutty Kitties or Hoebag Weevils or whatever.

But this Halloween was an excellent one. I went as: Kale.

I brought a kale plant home from the farm, and fashioned myself a pair of leaf earrings and two breast-plates from leaves woven into my shirt. I wore neon green pants, a leaf-like shirt, and--predictable--sprayed my hair green as well. I played the piano at the local brew-pub that night (made a wad of cash), perched on the bench all greenly, with a bouquet of kale lying on the case.

Most everyone else, in their store-bought costumes, the cowboys, the nuns, the Elvis, regarded me dubiously as they walked in the door and saw what was playing the piano. "DUDE," I overheard one construction worker say to a cowboy, "that girl is covered in lettuce."  The rock-star ladies had a cuter way of putting it, "Well, gee! You're so healthy!"  The owner of the pub strode in bright-eyed, "Of course," he said (he knows my penchant for vegetables), "just let me get the salad dressing."

Ha.

Later, after the piano time, I can attest that kale is most excellent to shake on the dance floor. And also to simply dance waving around a leaf of it. Although I did keep dropping earring leaves. I threw a leaf at the DJ and hit him square in the face with a leafy thwap; he threw it back at me all grinny, but on it's repeat return flight it hit a guy in the wig.

I was happy when people would yell "Kale!" across the place and I could be the one to answer.