I just stepped outside for a few minutes to let some breezes sweep through the dusty rafters of my brain. Today is pretty and bright.
1. Trusty Hydrant
2. Electricity Bunker
3. Remnant Fall Colors
4. The Black Dog from the back of my car. And now I want breakfast: eggs over easy, fish cakes, hash browns, coffee.
5. These boots say “Ready!” to me.
Feast your eyes upon the skyline of Florence, Italy (Photo via Pinterest).
And there it is: the famed church dome of Filippo Brunelleschi.
Right after we disembarked the gondola, I had to hold myself up against a wall because I was so overwhelmed. Not really, but it was definitely one of those “Am I REALLY HERE RIGHT NOW???” experiences. We immediately set out for a souvenir shop to buy postcards and mail them home.
Next, we stumbled upon this. Literally. It’s kind of nestled away in no significant part of the city (Sorry for the poor lighting in the first picture).
I’m not very good at throwing things away. Ask my mother. Recently, in my own place, I’ve been better. I can drop off a couple bags of clothes at a donation bin. I can get rid of the bean slop in a block in the back of my freezer (you know, from the one time I tried to make a big batch of soup to be economical, ate one serving and then froze the rest to eat at a “later time”). Old knick-knacks, burnt-out candles. Dead light bulbs. I can give away furniture or electronics I don’t use or need.
But.
Quasi-serious alert: This post will address the blog’s purpose and plan for this year of our Lord, 2012.
Purpose:
I find myself in a drive-through when I need a pick-me-up, usually of a caffeinated nature. I’d like this blog to be the same. A pick-me-up. A quick respite during the morning regimen or the afternoon slump. Or any time of day.
“Much of civilisation rests on the proper response to death, simple unalloyed kindness, the desire to show sympathy for irrecoverable loss, the understanding that a unique and irreplaceable something has been lost to us. If we ceased to care, we wouldn’t be properly human.”
- Peter Hitchens on the death of his brother Christopher
Read the whole tribute here.
I just turned 25 on the 25th of November. It’s been 25 great years, so in celebration, here are 25 things I want to do before I’m 50.
JUST KIDDING! Sorry if I roped you in with that title. I’d have to refer you to my sister for any crafting advice. She received all those brilliant DIY genes from my mom.
BUT Christmas is on the brain, and how could it not be? I can’t help but recall some fond memories of Christmases-gone-by (Cue Bing Crosby’s desperately beautiful “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”)
Last night I was toasting an everything bagel. Have you ever smelled a toasted everything bagel? I just stood there with my eyes closed and breathed in the oniony, savory mixed scent of toppings.
I love to smell good things like:
1. Lavender. If I could smell like one thing the rest of my life, it’d be lavender-that deep, earthy smell with a hint of flower and a touch of color.
2. Johnson’s Baby Lotion. What is it with this stuff? The smell conjures up blurry images of an age too young to remember clearly.
3. Onions and garlic sauteing in olive oil. Nothing like this smell and the promise of what’s to come-a pot of delicious and hot and rich tomato sauce soon to blanket a mound of fresh pasta.
I pulled into my drab asphalt parking spot, looked up and saw these succulent little berries dancing in the wind above my car.
