recovery

merry christmas everyone!

or heppy christmas as the queen would say


and i suppose today is actually boxing day, so happy boxing day as well. i imagine dad the post man will come home with a few more things from those people who still give their postmen thank you gifts the day after christmas. we do already have a lovely bunch of cookies and chocolates and honey and such, but can you ever have too much food at the holidays?

holidays were mostly wonderful. christmas eve party was preceded by massive amounts of tamale and mole making in the caset home


tamale mama

steamy pot of tamales

an armful of tamales

don't they make the perfect holiday food all wrapped up like presents? so yummy... so pretty...

what else.... lots of kitchen gadgetry and movies and books for christmas, everyone loved the things i gave... i now have at least 3 sets of canisters, probably the loveliest being from krb - vintage nesting tins in sage that say coffee, sugar, and flour

i love cooking implements.

what else..... oh plenty... ill try to take a picture of the outside of hte house all lit up at some point before we stop turning on the lights. the roof says POE. can you figure it out?

holidays at home

holidays at home mean

people in the co-op talking about solstice plans
the npr station advertising its pagan dance music hour
days when i'm in a skirt, tights, and a sweater and the rest of the town is wearing big coats
decorating everything inside. and plugging in the lights that my dad has hung outside.
constant rain. or drizzle. or fog.
screeches from the highway at least twice a day
spending evenings curled up with friends, board games, and movies
reading somewhat trashy fiction while drinking many mugs of tea and hot chocolate
cooking for hours with mom - today was mole and chicken, tomorrow is tamales

home this time also means taking care of mom with a bad cold. making tea and toast, trying to keep her in bed, keep her from shouting, keep her from going to work so that she can be healthy for christmas. also means that i didn't get the house to myself for my first days home as i was expecting. she's very frustrating when she's sick, because she doesnt let herself get better. i mean, i understand to a degree - bed gets boring and things need doing, but i'm here, my dad had at least one day off this week and we can get things done. i made dinner almost by myself, i vacuumed, i decorated, i helped dad move things out of the living room so that it actually looks livable. she still sounds like marlena dietricht on a very smoky day, but doesn't feel quite as shitty. hopefully even better by the big party on monday.

clean and clear

home state. california. apologies for neglecting while touring, but 6 "beds" (read couches/futons/air mattresses) in 13 nights across 3 metropolitan areas (5 cities, i believe) does not make for the best posting conditions. tonight will mark the last stop before home, and as it is my god parents' home, which is essentially home, i do not mind. warm hugs, showers i'm used to, and an actual bed that i have slept in dozens of times make this almost the real thing.

in any case, brief highlights from caset's tour across the northeast, in which she managed to stay one step ahead of the major grossness that is now hitting it full force. so ha. nary a delayed flight or missed bus.

much of boston has already been highlighted.
the final day/evening was spent with:
> frustrated academic searches (i shall never understand archives that won't let me take photos of their images if they won't scan/copy them for me)
>a divine tapas dinner with the lovely anna, my thesis advisor from last year
>trivia night with em and her law school friends - i contributed sambuca and basalt
>followed by a highly entertaining chat with gregorio, one of the most amusing people i have ever met. "you're looking for a donor, right?" "ooohhh so that's why you were so insistent on seeing me." (very loudly to the bar at large) "i use my high speed internet to watch porn. so does she. she's also looking for a donor. anyone interested?"


next day greyhound dash to queens and rs's lovely apt (which she shares with mdm and at) for baking and a long desired reunion. we realized that the majority of our friendship has been conducted long distance, as we only got close last march or so. wonderful to see her face to face. spent the next couple days shuttling around the city to see various friends, often accompanied by the fabulous miss ebk. plenty of good eats and shopping and the moma:


martin puryear's exhibit at moma is soaring and glorious. the sculptures feel completely liberating and joyous. i don't know how interwoven wood strips and huge magnifications of farming equipment (amongst many) can emote so, but if you're anywhere near ny, do go.


giant paper masala dosa for a much belated bday for rs. eat my dosa. enjoy the humor in the amount of food inside the dosa.


and for my father, from their shop at the union square gift market:
because he fosters a tender spot in his heart for teddy. and how could i resist that jolly look? visit the unemployed philosopher's guild for more silliness.


to dc on friday morning. reunion with the other third of frammey (ebk and myself being the other 2/3), miss fchm at her office in dupont circle. where someone has established the dream bookstore/coffeehouse/bar that krb, lsl, and i had planned. later, reunion with friends from cty, adventures with first year lawyers, a fancy dinner at an overly snooty and completely white (marble, hanging flowers/leaves, lights, tables, dishes, oddness) restaurant, a visit to the wonderful national portrait gallery/museum of american art. i like dc. i like free museums. and good public transportation.

i do not like taxis without meters and wintry mix. nor do i like feeling poor. but i believe i managed my money at least decently this trip, while still finishing my christmas shopping and buying myself a few key items of clothing. and seeing juno. more on that later, but everyone should see it.

now to help pack the rv for the trip all the way homeward tomorrow.

accomplished!

remember that list i posted this morning? check check check! almost all of it. still have to pack. and write cards (which can totally happen on the plane) and buy a book to read on the plane. and clean up the kitchen a bit. but the papers are both done and turned in. i am done with my first quarter of graduate school!

pictures of my productivity and holiday spirit:




so many cookies! so tiny! and not sure what to do with all of them as the prunway party i was going to bring them to fell through.... i'll find people to give them to.


christmas lights! reflected in the kitchen window....

and the newly decorated wall. hurrah for sticky tack!


and actually did start packing.... i love the setting out of clothes before packing.


now have to decide which suitcase to use. always feel cooler with my backpack, but with the gifts and the number of shoes i want to bring, etc.... i might just have to go with the normal suitcase. oh well...


off i go tomorrow morningQ