mod swap is back

Next Sunday, Mod Swap is back. Check it out if you are in San Diego from 10am to 1pm on the corner of Kettner and Kalmia.

ghost faces

The Ghosts of the S.S. Watertown

James Courtney and Michael Meehan, crew members of the S.S. Watertown, were cleaning a cargo tank of the oil tanker as it sailed toward the Panama Canal from New York City in December of 1924. Through a freak accident, the two men were overcome by gas fumes and killed. As was the custom of the time, the sailors were buried at sea. But this was not the last the remaining crew members were to see of their unfortunate shipmates. The next day, and for several days thereafter, the phantom-like faces of the sailors were seen in the water following the ship. This tale might be easy to dismiss as maritime legend if it weren't for the photographic evidence. When the ship's captain, Keith Tracy, reported the strange events to his employers, the Cities Service Company, they suggested he try to photograph the eerie faces - which he did. One of those photos is shown here.

the witches spell

The Witches Spell by William Shakespeare from MacBeth.

Witch 1: Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd.
Witch 2: Thrice; and once the hedge-pig whin'd.
Witch 3: Harpier cries: 'tis time, 'tis time.

Witch 1: Round about the caldron go;
In the poison'd entrails throw.
Toad, that under the cold stone,
Days and nights hast thirty-one
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot!

All: Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and caldron bubble.

Witch 2: Fillet of fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adders' fork, and blind-worms sting,
Lizards's leg, and howlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

All: Double, double toil and trouble,
Fire, burn; and, caldron bubble.

Witch 3: Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
Witches' mummy, maw and gulf
Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark,
Root of hemlock, digg'd i' the dark,
Liver of blaspheming Jew,
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse,
Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips,
Finger of birth-strangl'd babe,
Ditch-deliver'd by a drab,
Make the gruel thick and slab;
Add thereto a tiger's chauldron,
For the ingredients of our caldron.

All: Double, double toil and trouble,
Fire, burn; and, caldron bubble.

Witch 2: Cool it with a baboon's blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.

Enter Hecate to the other three Witches:
O, weel done! I commend your pains,
And everyone shall share i' th' gains,
And now about the caudron sing
Like elves and fairies in a ring,
Enchanting all that you put in.

Witch 2: By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.

welcome october

Get ready for Halloween folks.

Haunted House by Jack Prelutsky

There's a house upon the hilltop
We will not go inside
For that is where the witches live,
Where ghosts and goblins hide.

Tonight they have their party,
All the lights are burning bright,
But oh we will not go inside
The haunted house tonight.

The demons there are whirling
And the spirits swirl about.
They sing their songs to Halloween.
"Come join the fun," they shout.

But we do not want to go there
So we run with all our might
And oh we will not go inside
The haunted house tonight

nothing gold can stay

by Robert Frost

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Happy first day of fall America.

You can do it

santa cruz

Reading...

I finished reading Middlesex this week. Finally. I say finally because I started the book some time ago and although I thoroughly enjoyed the book I managed to prolong completing it by reading 4 other books at the same time. I shouldn't do this, I know, because I feel like I don't fully enjoy any of the books I am reading when I pile them up like, this especially since my time for reading is so scarce. But I digress, Middlesex. Have you read it? I liked it. I really liked it. And I recommend it. It's good. But. There is a but. I have to say that the last 50-100 pages were slightly disappointing. Not disappointing enough for me to not recommend it (again, I do recommend it) but I just started to feel that maybe the author, who did such an amazing job throughout the book, did not know quite how to finish it. It felt a bit rushed at the end. I wanted more. At one point early on while reading about Detroit, I thought for a second that it was sorta like watching The Wire and learning about Baltimore and what the city was like and learning about a different life. But in the end it was sort of like if The Wire had been cancelled during the 4th season and you were left feeling like you didn't get to fully know all the characters and how things turned out. So it's not perfect. But hey, 4 seasons of The Wire are a hell of a lot better than most of what is out there and the same goes for Middlesex. And hell, it won the Pulitzer Prize. So you know, what do I know anyway? Read it and tell me what you think. Okay?

Now I am off to finish reading the parenting books and cookbooks that were distracting me during Middlesex. Once they are completed and out of the way and I am the best parent and cook you ever met my next two books are: Once Upon a Time in the North and World War Z. Excited!!!!

What are you reading?

Perfectly Phony

What goes into photoshopping photos of attractive human beings into forms of unattainable perfection? Answer here.

Loving

It's Sunday, which is family day and computer-free for me. But while the family is napping I thought I would sneak away and let you in on two shows that I am currently in love with. I would even go as far as saying, I am obsessed with. Mad Men and Louie. Oh, swoon. Yeah, I know I am a little late to the Mad Men party. But that's okay because it is divine catching up on three seasons worth of radness. If you, like me, were trying to resist, do yourself a favor and stop right now. Give in.

As for Louie, man, it's just good. If you aren't familiar with Louis C.K. then go ahead and netflix his two comedy specials now. They are hilarious. Knee slapping, guffaw inducing. You might even pee your pants a little. And when you are done with those, I think, you will be as eager as I am to hang out with him for the measly 30 minutes we get with his new T.V. show. See, cause the show kinda feels like you are hanging out with him. Which I would love to do. I mean, seriously, can I please have plan a play date with Louis C.K.? That would be a dream come true. Because he is awesome and funny and normal and cool and wouldn't try and talk to me about how the tutu his 2 year old daughter is wearing in dance class "washes her out". (Ugh.)

You had me at Bill

This man makes me weak in the knees. Swwooooon!

Thank you, Sara, for sending this my way.

(via GQ)

At Long Last...

At long last, we finally have an answer...the chicken came first!

Summer List

I thought it would be a good idea to make a list of a few things I want to do this summer, so that I can fully enjoy the season. I know I will be adding more to the list but here is what I have so far:

Have a picnic

Ride bikes

Make popsicles

Knit

Make sun tea

Enjoy catching up on Mad Men

Go to the beach (weekly if possible)

Make peach cobbler

Make lemonade

Have 2 ladies dates

Have 2 adult dates

Finish reading the 3 books I am currently in the middle of reading

Have an energy free day (no stove, no lights, no TV) (The no fan part might be kinda tricky though)

What's on your list?

Dennis

I did not comment on the passing of Dennis Hopper here on the blog because I felt like there were plenty of people out there who could say what needed to be said far better than me. And because I never knew the man, I really didn't have much to add to the chorus. However, I will say I am a great admirer of Dennis Hopper. Yes, I know he was far from perfect and had a pretty tumultuous personal life. That really is of no concern to me. I think we was a tremendous actor and filmmaker. But what most gets me most about Mr. Hopper is his photographs. I couldn't possibly tell you how many hours I have spent pouring over his photos books. I own two of of his books and seriously covet this one. Oh boy, how I love these photographs! (This much to be exact.)

This past weekend we went to the MOCA exhibition of Dennis Hopper: Double Standard, in L.A. I was so excited for the exhibit. It was curated by Julian Schnabel and featured Hopper's artwork since 1961. To me, his photographs were definitely the highlight of the show and if you have never seen them I highly recommend you make the trip. The exhibition is not large, which I was a little disappointed by, but it is an interesting look at Hopper's creative output up until his death and worth seeing.

Now, after finally seeing the exhibition, I think it is a good time to say goodbye, Mr. Hopper. Thanks for sharing your memories and for inspiring mine.

Jessica's "Daily Affirmation"

This little girl is awesome. I want to know her. I want to be her.

I think we could all use a little bit of this and thought it was a good way to start the week.

Here is a little bit of what I love, things that I could stand on the sink and yell about...

I love my family, books, navy blue, holding hands, movies, to eat, music, holidays, the fall, dancing, chocolate and peanut butter, awesomely bad movies, halloween, bill murray, summer nights, sunday dinners, mid-century, heather grey, vacations, ruth gordon, fruits and vegetables, girl dates, museums, chocolate chip cookies, walking, dennis hopper, baking, everything french, singing loud with s.c., laughing, sunday mornings, joan didion, making lists, clothes, pottery, making great meals, geeking out and banana milkshakes.

July in July

I find Miranda July endlessly fascinating. No matter what, when I see her name I always stop to see what she is up to because she never ceases to surprise and amaze me.

I found this article saved in my bookmarks and thought I'd share.

Also, I love (!) this project that she did a while back which was also saved in my bookmarks. (Yeah, I have a lot of bookmarks.)

And for more on Miss July...see here.

Travel

Going anywhere fun this summer? Can I go with you? I can just stowaway in your bag. Sound like a plan? Here is a diagram of supposedly the best way to pack for saving space (for me) and for easy packing and unpacking. I tried this once but found it didn't really work for me. Instead I lay the clothes out and roll them up individually and I find this gives me lots of space and makes it easy, visually, to see what's in my bag. I don't have to pull everything out to look for something at the bottom. It worked great recently in Seattle. What's your packing method?

In a nustshell...

Things have been a bit busy and scattered around here and I am feeling all over the place. July usually does this to me. I feel underwhelmed and overwhelmed at the same time. I am trying to get back to center. Any suggestions how to do that? Am I even making any sense?

In the meantime, here is a quick update on recent happenings... We went to Seattle and visited with family. The visiting was fun. Traveling with our two year old was not. To put it mildly she was not in the best of spirits and any spirit I had to give was quickly depleted. I came home exhausted and feeling beat by the motherhood challenge.

I had my birthday. I turned 32. Although for a little while I was thinking I was turning 33 so it actually kinda felt like I gained a year somehow. :) We celebrated with a few friends and family by watching Awesomely Bad movies and eating bad for you food. A tradition. To be honest, after returning from Seattle feeling so beaten down I wasn't much in the mood for awesomely bad anything. Tad insisted it was tradition and just what we needed and he was right (but don't tell him that). I didn't do as much to prepare for the party but I think it was fun for all nonetheless. I hope so.

In addition to Awesomely Bad night, Tad took me to lunch to my favorite restaurant, The Ramos House. Oh my, it was so good. I hadn't been there since my birthday last year and this was my best meal yet. It was the perfect birthday meal and we had a lovely time. In addition, Anita and I started the day by making "Cinnamon Bun Muffins" for breakfast and it was such a nice way to start the day. It is so fun as Anita grows to be able to do more and more things with her and interact with her in more ways. I think that may have been the best part of my birthday.

And finally, 4th of July. We had plans for the holiday but they ended up falling through sorta last minute. We weren't terribly disappointed because we usually don't do too much on the 4th anyway because of the crowds, which I avoid like the plague. So we decided to celebrate with an all American meal of pulled chicken sandwiches, coleslaw, french fries, fruit salad and berry shortcake. This is pretty much Tad's dream meal. It all turned out pretty darn good. I am not a huge fan of pulled chicken (or pulled anything really) but I thought everything else was pretty tasty. I used Alice Water's Cream Biscuit recipe for the shortbread and it was perfection. Seriously, I don't know if I can ever eat shortcake again without them. One reason we had made plans on the 4th, which as I said we usually don't do, is that we wanted Anita to see some fireworks but she ended up missing out. They were cancelled near our house and she was pretty beat at the end of the day and I don't think we could have gotten her to stay up until 9 p.m. anyway. So not this year. But we have it to look forward to next year. I am making an effort to be less of a hermit, less anti-everything so that Anita can experience things, but circumstance and old habits seem to get in the way. But we'll keep trying and see what happens next year.

So that's the last few weeks in a nutshell. I am not sure it explains why I am feeling scattered and up and down and all over the place. If it did, if I knew, then I probably wouldn't be feeling like this. I guess I feel like I have no focus at the moment and that I need focus. Plus, I don't think this weather is helping me any. It's supposedly July but as I write this it is grey and drizzling outside. Which end is up?

*The photo above is of Anita learning to skateboard with her Dad on 4th of July. Once I figure out what is wrong with our scanner I have a great pic to show you from Seattle!

Happy 4th

Happiest of 4th's to you!

For Love of Sandwich

17 Great L.A. sandwiches and/or sandwich joints to seek out and enjoy.

(Tip: I have been to the Oinkster and although I did not try the sandwich listed here, I think their made-from-scratch veggie patty is the best I have ever had. And their cupcakes are pretty tasty too!)

answer july

Welcome Summer!

Answer July by Emily Dickinson

Answer July —
Where is the Bee —
Where is the Blush —
Where is the Hay?

Ah, said July —
Where is the Seed —
Where is the Bud —
Where is the May —
Answer Thee — Me —

Nay — said the May —
Show me the Snow —
Show me the Bells —
Show me the Jay!

Quibbled the Jay —
Where be the Maize —
Where be the Haze —
Where be the Bur?
Here — said the Year —



Note: A little of this too please.

Lean In

This photo tickles me. I have gone back to look at it a few times.

(via Cup of Jo)