• In which Dan Pashman makes me eat things

    July 13, 2015 / No Comments

    I’m incredibly suggestible when it comes to food. Mention pizza, and suddenly, I have a craving. If I just hear the sizzle of fajitas as a waitress walks by, I instantly want some. And don’t even get me started on the evils of bakery scents. I could walk into a bakery, totally full from a meal, and the moment that delicious yeasty, warm bread-y smell hits, I’m a lost cause.

    So you can imagine how well I resist the urge to devour treats while listening to Dan Pashman’s podcast “The Sporkful.” In particular, the episode titled, “Donuts Old School, Donuts New, Donuts Glazed, Donuts Blue.”

    Needless to say, I didn’t resist at all. Next thing I knew, I was in the kitchen, prepping dough, mixing a bowl of cinnamon and sugar and heating up the oil. At 4 a.m., with the rest of the world asleep, man… those doughnuts were good.

    Thanks, Dan.

    Photo by Cheryl Leinonen.

  • Books

    Seasonal slump, a quest for home and bookstore ruminations

    June 24, 2015 / No Comments

    So Summer has arrived and well… blech. But I shall endeavor to keep my seasonal grumpiness to myself. Just know that I dream of central air conditioning.

    In recent weeks, M and I have been house-hunting and preparing to apply for mortgage applications. The first activity is fun, the second incredibly stressful. We really want to embark on to the next phase of our life, and that will involve moving, so both activities are required.

    One thing I’ve learned during this process is how compatible we are. I knew we loved each other and got along fabulously, but our tastes are very similar too. Where they diverge, the differences are minor.

    We also share a desire to make the other happy, which comes in handy while examining potential abodes. Best of all, after more than nine years together, we know each other’s likes and dislikes intimately, so much so that I’d feel entirely confident sending him out into the world to find us a home. Whichever place he picked would be perfect for our family. Knowing this type of relationship is so rare just makes me appreciate it all the more.

    In other news, I miss bookstores. Oh, they’re still around, there’s just not enough of them. Bookstores call to me when I’m bored or curious or determined, when I’m killing time between movies or when I want to look at books that I don’t already own and the library’s closed.

    Lastly, I wish time would stop whenever I read a book. Can someone make that happen? Thanks!

  • Orange flowers from yard

    Quote of the day

    June 7, 2015 / No Comments

    “When the last tree is cut, the last fish is caught, and the last river is polluted; when to breathe the air is sickening, you will realize, too late, that wealth is not in bank accounts and that you can’t eat money.” –Alanis Obomsawin

  • birthday cake

    Just a reminder: Happy birthday to you!

    June 4, 2015 / No Comments

    One of my favorite features of social media is the birthday reminder.

    Whenever I receive these emails or spy a notice on a newsfeed, I do my best to take a moment and send good cheer. Generally I’m one of many to wish the happy, yet doing so feels good because no matter how difficult life can be, birthdays should be enthusiastically celebrated.

    The downside of birthday reminders is… well, death. It always makes my heart ache when I receive one of these alerts for a friend or family member who’s died in the past year. Instead of being reminded of joy, I recall the loss of their passing. And it hurts to know they won’t have another birthday.

    Yesterday, I thought about my high school sweetheart all day. Although he died a few years ago, June 3rd has long been a day I noticed because it was his birthday. So even though he’s gone, I can’t help but recall the times we shared and the years we did not. A few hours ago, I received a birthday email for a writer on Livejournal that I followed for more than a decade. He died last year and the loss of his voice has made reading that site just a little less required.