so says the straw hat

Thirty-Six hours.  the rivers cut out stories and leave them behind.  the hills are slumbering giants. all the rocks will topple over sending out the ghosts of buffalo.  this desert puts me to sleep swaying shiny gold and white and brown.  there is a whispering in the wind.  outside of San Antonio it is 32 degrees we all shuffle off the train to stretch our legs, blinking new eyes and tired eyes against the freeze. people light cigarettes, hold their arms across their chests to shiver, survey the bushes with silence. the bushes do not stare back. everything is frozen.  I watch the sun rise over quivering hilltop, checking the landscape for a pulse.

I was going to write a post about how creepy permanent make-up is because I seriously imagine it giving me a Lady McBeth moment at the sink every morning, just me scrubbing furiously at my eyes in an attempt to get rid of my bad choices, becoming a stranger to myself, a shell of who I used to be...but instead, this: My husband, sister, brother and other-sister are all going together in Canada and they get to see D and Timmy and Ems and I am so jealous of the magic. I hope all their pretty little hearts get compressed straight away into tiny diamonds. A collaborative performance piece that combines the wonder-galloping poetry of Derrick Brown , the musical talent supreme of Timmy Straw and Emily Wells and a dance performance by the Dutch contemporary dance company Noord Nederlandse Dans. It is going to be magnificent. If you are in Vancouver CA or near Vancouver CA, you should go!

By Phillip Pullman I know I have always enjoyed reading YA fiction, but it has turned into pretty much all I am reading. I think I have husband to thank for that. Arguably, it is some of the most enjoyable literature out there, packed full of adventure, light-hearted lessons, empowerment of self...but here I am reading another YA fiction series. And I do not regret it. The Golden Compass is about a girl named Lyra, who lives in a world where all humans have daemons who serve as constant companions. She has an uncle who is an explorer, but she has no mother or father. Raised by scholars at Oxford, she has a tendency to not always listen to lectures, and often go places she may or may not be allowed to go. Sometimes this adventerous spirit of hers can get her into some trouble. But soon her adventerous spirit, through a series of seemingly accidental events and spur-of-the-moment decisions made by a child, turns into a battle for her, her daemon and her friends lives. Thou...

2009: The Year of the Bicycle I had a dream about a desert sky, a dusty road, some children climbing scrape-knees sticky-handed tree branches stretching thirsty for the deep red clouds. The simplicity of the kitchen. I did not know yet about love, but I could still dream it. Later I learned magic bicycle songs of the south, how to pronounce swimmin' hole, and how to carry heavy air like a blanket on summer skin. The storm that came was so fierce, my plane could not even come to take me away. 2010: The Year of Tin Trailers & Trains I tried to calculate how many boxcars could sit, end to end, and line up all the way from my trailer in Austin to your little pointed house in Portland. Sometimes those boxcars sat quietly and patient, open doors inviting exploration and adventure. Sometimes they would roll and cry, moving rusted wheels over rusted rails and all the doors on them were shut and I could not see inside. 2011: The Year of Piñatas Love subtracting...

The past month I have been eating a very restricted diet with hopes determining which, if any, foods I have negative reactions to. The diet also serves as an act of cleansing and starting to eat more whole and natural foods. I am loving it. Not only do I have more energy, my day feels more balanced, and my face/body/heart/lungs/brain feels happy, better, awesome. I usually feel like doing some cartwheels. It has been great. So far, I have three favorite recipes, one of which I will post below. The other two? Something to look forward to! Aren't we all on the edge of our seats now? 1) Nori Rolls: you will need: nori seaweed sheets (look in the "Asian" section/aisle of your local supermarket), carrots, green onions, avocado, cabbage and brown rice (preferably still warm). how to assemble: while brown rice is cooking, peel carrots and cut into thin long strips. Cut green onion, avocado and cabbage into long strips as well. When brown rice is done, take a Nori ...

In your brother's old bedroom there was a hole in the wall or a giant faded painting or writing.  Something I never really saw and you explained it once but I can no longer hold the story in my hands. We watched Animal House late one night in your bedroom when you used to sleep upstairs. It wasn't the version you usually saw on TV. I think the boobs made you feel uncomfortable when I was sitting right next to you. I don't know how late it was when I left. We were in high school then. When I turned 19 I stubbed my toe really bad in Canada on my first ever drinking binge. I remember ice cubes. You bought me a ring. I don't know if I got sick or not but the next day I didn't want to eat anything at all. We were supposed to leave but I decided I wanted to stay. When you dropped me off at my house in Bothell I wouldn't let you kiss me goodbye. When you moved downstairs I showed up once, 4am, pouring rain. I had a habit of doing that to you. Showing up just when...

Today, when I was trial-watching a pair of three-year-old twins (one girl, one boy) I asked them if they liked their "Tea-Tea" (their current nanny). The little boy looked at me very seriously and said "Yes. She is my best friend." And my heart melted. When my friend's baby K. talks he is speaking the incoherent tonal language of a 1-year-old. I listen very seriously. Sometimes he tells me jokes and then we belly laugh. Today we went to a park near his house and he befriended some five and six year old girls who carried him and pulled him around the whole place. He was loving it. And also a little confused by the whole thing. Me too!  My friend says she has never met anybody like me - who doesn't want to just spend some time away alone after spending the afternoon with a toddler. It is unusual. I want to use this year to recognize that my joy stems from being around and interacting with children. Some people are born to race cars or be acrobats ...