My life was the size of my life

Uh oh, looks like this entire month could be a collection of posts about how I keep forgetting to write in this here blorg. The weekend went by, and I utterly forgot. Mark came home from his travels, and we had some catching up to do on lengthy dog walks, screen printing, and cooking food that's not a bowl of cereal or a roasted sweet potato, which seemed to be what I subsisted on in my solitude! Oh, and cheese and crackers too.

We made Moroccan fish stew last night, and I bought a lovely loaf of bread from Standard.

Despite writing my dreams down lately, I keep losing them by the time I'm upright. I know something interesting went on in my brain last night, but I can't remember a single detail.

Living must be your whole occupation

I'm not off to the best start, as far as this posting every day thing. Ah well! I have been spending my days writing things, printing things, and stitching away on an endless embroidery project while watching Bojack Horseman and Forever. In between, I walk dogs, talk to dogs, pet a sweet cat, and let the dogs out in the back yard to wrestle and chase squirrels. Even though I suspect she's out for actual squirrel blood, I love to watch Clover fly around the perimeter of the yard like a cartoon reindeer.

Mark is helping Isaac and Edna move to a new apartment in Ossining, which looks from photos like it has a lovely ornate ceiling and beautiful floors. I am making holiday plans — I always start off with such energy and focus!

A couple of complaints to follow. My house is so dirty right now. Everything is covered in layers of dog and cat hair and dry leaves. I am washing our duvet right now because I'm tired of sleeping with hair in my mouth. Also, I fear that we really really need a new mattress, unless there's some other reason I keep waking up feeling like I've been cage fighting all night long. End complaints.https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/living

Our movements give off light

Looking so peaceful and innocent.

Dogs basking in the sun, after coming frighteningly close to catching a squirrel. The squirrel, to be fair, was teasing them, running back and forth along the top of the fence and doing death-defying leaps from fence to tree branch and back. It ended up on the ground and tore off toward the willow tree, dogs in pursuit, and I swear I saw Clover scramble up the trunk of that tree at least five or six feet off the ground, snapping at the squirrel's tail the whole time. I mean, she almost had that squirrel's tail in her mouth. She was over Gus's head. 

Hello, day after election day, things here are more good than bad, glass at least half full from where I stand. We have the first woman governor of Maine, and she is not (to my knowledge) a nasty racist. Yay!! 

Did I mention how much Gus enjoys when I fill the bird feeder with shelled sunflower seeds? The birds like it too, but Gus thinks it's an awkward treat for him, and he vacuums up all the tiny seeds he can find on the ground. For days afterward, his poop is full of sunflower seeds.

Trigger warning for election map

Gulp.

This fucking map

To watch/listen to election returns, or not to? Just thinking about the map above (much less looking at it) is utterly nauseating.

Still, it's cheering to see everyone's "I VOTED" photos on Instagram and the Book of Faces.

Would you like anything to read?

I made this gif for you.

make holiday GIFs like this at MakeaGif

I have been trying to be better organized about great articles I've read, books I'd like to read, pieces I mean to go back to later when I have more time. I'll let you know if I stumble on a great system for keeping track of it all. On helpful tip is less social media, more blogs and magazines and real books, but we all know how easy that is!

I recently read and enjoyed the old-fashioned paper books All You Can Ever Know by Nichole Chung and The Possessed by Elif "I'll read anything she writes" Batuman. Oh, also Asymmetry, which I'm happy to go back to with my virtual book club soon.

Mark and I have watched the first episode of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat (which was FAT, not SALT, which obviously offends my sensibilities a little bit), and I really love Samin Nosrat and enjoyed everything about the episode except the graphic and possibly gratuitous pig-butchery that occurs. Anyway, several family members got a copy of her book last year at Christmas, including Isaac, and I read about half of his copy. And (to get to my point), this article about candy tasting by Samin is so fun. The caramels at the beginning reminded me of Holly, who adores them.

I love you, Jenny Holzer.

"Solastalgia is a combination of three elements: 'Solas' references the English word 'solace,' which comes from the Latin root solari meaning comfort in the face of distressing forces. But it is also a reference to 'desolation,' which has its origins in the Latin solus and desolare, which both connote ideas of abandonment and loneliness. 'Algia' comes from the Greek root -algia, which means pain, suffering, or sickness."

Red rain

Space heroes, Belka and Strelka
ITAR-TASS PHOTO AGENCY/ALAMY

It's raining and raining, making for slick leaf-strewn sidewalks and damp dogs everywhere. Holly and Maia breezed in and out of town, which was lovely, since one of my top five favorite things to do is talk to Holly while we drink coffee together.

Last night the dogs acted ferocious during our late walk, barking insanely at a passing dog as they twisted and lurched around me. I juggled damp poop bags, slid on wet leaves, maintained my grip on their soggy leashes. I did see a terrible outcome flash in front of my eyes, but we made it back without biting anyone, falling down, or running loose into the street, and thus counted it as a total success.

Nablopomo

Palczewski Suffrage Postcard Archive

Here we go, the month of November, in which I attempt to write a little somethin in this blorg every day, even when I've got nothing to say!

Today is November the second, and unless their plans have changed (i.e. their alarms didn't go off in the middle of the night), my best pal Holly and her daughter Maia are on their way to tour colleges in Maine, starting this very morning, with the college that is a mere blocks from my house. I have my fingers crossed that Maia loves this conveniently-located college.

Mark is out of town, so Clover is extra cuddly. It may be due to slight anxiety, but I'll take it.