The Weekly Cute: Special Edition Birthday Issue

awwww

Happy 23rd Birthday, Nathan!
Who's the cutest? You's the cutest.
xoxo

Look Again

hubble

"Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar", every "supreme leader", every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there - on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam...

...The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds...

...Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. "

(Carl Sagan)
via repository of quotes

Restless

I feel restless again. Is it this time of year?

We had a really big rain recently (I can't even remember when) and it knocked all of the newly, beautifully metamorphosed leaves from the trees. The sidewalk to our apartment was completely covered in a vibrant fuscia-like hue. It was just marvelous. Like someone rolled out a carpet for us. And then this morning someone came by with the leaf blower and scattered them away, and now I just notice how bare the trees are. Perhaps this is the time when I become restless, seeing clear evidence of the season slipping away into winterly tones.

I am much like a bear or a ground-dwelling thing, gathering and feathering to settle into more docile months. The cabinets and fridge are full, coffee is consumed dutifully, lists of thoughts and wishes start stacking themselves up inside my head and across our apartment. Shopping lists on the counter, to-do lists on my desktop, book lists in notebooks. I start bringing arms-full of books home from the library and do not quite get around to reading all of them.

We are quietly busy around here these days, like small animals whittling away at something unseen, burrowing in. Nathan works steadily, off to school in the am, working late into the pm. This boy could teach a thing or two about patience and diligence. And as for me, there's not much to say; the days keep slipping by, but there are small tasks finished and things to fill our days.

Here is a little recap of things unmentioned:

Last Saturday N and I went to see Kevin Smith speak at Benaroya Hall. This was my birthday present to N who turns 23 in t-minus 6 days.

There has been some good eating here lately. Besides the Best soup, there has been acorn squash gnocchi, oriental rice and marinated salmon, pumpkin ribbon bread, curried pumpkin soup, and kale-and-christmas bean tacos (um, delicious). We've also been going out to eat more than his probably good for our wallets, but it's been enjoyable.

We've been watching a lot of movies. We watched Casablanca for N's film class this week, both of us for the first time. It was really lovely. Next week it will be Citizen Kane. Aside from these, when we find a mutually free hour or two before bedtime we are catching up on old tv episodes. I know it's not much to say you're working on a tv show, but it's quite satisfying to move through the story.

...There is probably more to tell, but I've already forgotten.

[lovely photos are by feaverish on flickr, via silencio. no hay banda.]
[thinking i should start taking some of my own photos]

The Weekly Cute

!!!!!
This. is. awesome.
Who is this dog, and where can I find him??

My Girls

You may have gathered from this blog I do not have too much of a social life. But I do have some good friends, and they have made living in Washington quite happy.
The lovely lady at far right unfortunately moves home to her roots in Texas this week, and we will miss her.
xoxo

Well Now...

...Have I failed to mention my parents' being in Iceland?

I would be pretty jealous if the lagoon was looking like this:

But I hear the weather has been pretty dreadful. Mom has sent reports of intense wind and rain and much cold. Hopefully it has let up a bit and proved a lovely trip. It seems like a craggy, mystical sort of place.

The weather here has been up and down, whichway, and all over. The sun is peeking out for now, but we had a good rain today, a little preview of what's to come. Obviously, a soup day.

I'm thinking of Mom as I fix what I remember as the best soup I have home-made (remember, Mom?):

Moosewood Cookbook's Chickpea and Artichoke Heart Stew
4 C. Vegetable broth
1-1/2 C. chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. Olive oil
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
4 med. potatoes, red or white
1 tsp ground rosemary (1 sprig fresh)
1/2 C. cooked winter squash or sweet potato puree
3 C. cooked chickpeas (2 15-oz cans, drained)
14-oz artichoke hearts, quartered, drained
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare potatoes: scrub, remove eyes; cut into 1/2" cubes (4 C).
In a large saucepan, bring the stock to a simmer.

Meanwhile, in another pot, saute the onions and garlic in oil for about 8 minutes or until soft. Stir in turmeric and paprika; saute for 1 minute. Add the potatoes, rosemary, sage (I didn't have any) and the simmering stock. Cook for about 12 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Stir in the pureed squash or sweet potatoes, and add the chickpeas and artichoke hearts.

Remove rosemary sprig and discard. Add salt and pepper to taste, and return to a simmer.

The Weekly Cute

Nice touch with the glasses, puppy.
They say: I'm not just a pretty face but also an intelligent, sensitive individual.
photo via cuteoverload