we eat food

i realize that these photos are pretty underwhelming, but let me tell you -- this was a very tasty meal. white bean and veggie sausage gravy, spelt biscuits, and greens. in fact, i just ate another plateful for breakfast.
























on the subject of food, i thought i'd update you on my veganism or lack thereof. currently, nobody in my house is truly vegan. in fact, some health issues have led us to include a little bit of fish in our diets lately. then there's the goat milk yogurt temptation, the pizza at otto, burnt caramel micro sundaes at toscanini's, the fact that soy lattes are fifty cents more than cow lattes, and so on, luring me toward the dairy products. however, we still mostly eat vegan, and i mostly cook vegan food. i would currently describe myself as "veganish," or "vegan-friendly," or "vegan curious," or "fickle." i absolutely believe it's the most ethical way to eat, and i'm sure i'll always lean that way, food-wise.

fish tank

not quite precious, but
brilliantly acted and grim,
and quite haunting too.

my heart is an idiot

if the director
were not a friend of mine, i'd
still love this movie.

things i've forgotten to show you

i stayed with my mom and dad last weekend while bean, boo, and m were in new york checking out a certain college. walking minnow one day, we came upon this pig roaster that stopped us in our tracks.
























"ever seen one of these before?" its owner asked me proudly. "nope." i said, reflecting on the fact that minnow would fit nicely inside.

the highlight of my visit may have been watching the boston marathon from the roof of mom's friend's condo near newbury street. who would have thought that it would be so mesmerizing to watch hundreds of people run past from up above? but it was.
























on another dog walk, i spotted this heartbreaking and poetic piece of rubbish beside the curb. there's a story there, don't you think?
























i also suspect that i forgot to tell you that iced coffee season is nearly here. it's that awkward in between time still, really, but i couldn't resist piling ice cubes in my favorite pickle jar/drinking glass and filling it with coffee and soy cream the other day.

flower dog

i love this picture i took yesterday of min in the tulips, and i think it's the perfect counterbalance to this photo of him in the snow, taken in january. plus, what a good boy, right?

date night

it's a little dumb,
but this made me laugh and laugh,
and laugh even more.

the sort-of new library

one of the best things about the refurbished library is that it feels like a completely different place. there was a moment, after wandering the unrecognizable first floor, that i thought, "now, wait - how do i get back to the front entrance?" which is, weirdly, saying a lot.

















maybe the most impressive area is the children's space, which is flooded with natural light and also has adorable light fixtures of various kinds (i like these, above, bird-like). there's also a pretty nice "teen" area with separate computers and study rooms and these seats, below, reserved for ages 12-19. i wondered, walking around, if the staff has had time yet to get all the books back in the main library stacks. i hope not, because there are many empty shelves and face-outs (i particularly noticed this in the teen section).

















then there are places where, clearly, the money ran out. or i suppose some of these things could be still in progress, but it certainly feels like where the new carpet ends and the old (hideous, orange) carpet begins, there should be a sign saying, "PHASE TWO." sadly, phase two is dependent on lots more money, so i'm guessing it'll happen around when my grandchildren are born. below, downstairs. feels like the old library, but roomier.
























there was going to be a cafe, but i suppose that's phase two also. for now, coffee-dispensing machines.

















the auditorium is bigger and accessible from the street, so the library doesn't have to be open when events take place there. i love the font on the blond wood here. pretty.

















i almost forgot my favorite thing, these little cozy reading areas throughout the kids' area. they make me wish i were eight years old, curled beside the window with a stack of books. each one is different, but they all have this wonderful secret-fort kind of feel. and the pillows look comfy but washable.
























well, and my favorite favorite thing was how happy the librarians seem to be with this new set up. i heard lots of references to the environment being less tense and people having the chance to spread out and to rotate between areas of the library (which is good news for those who might otherwise get stuck downstairs with the orange carpet, magazines, and sleeping homeless people, in my opinion). i had the loveliest conversation with one of the usually crankiest of the cranky librarians. she was practically beaming.

ouch

i'm sure you've been eagerly awaiting a closer look at boo's arm bone! yesterday, he got a stylish blue cast, which he will wear for a couple of weeks, and then it will be replaced by a "removable" cast. i'm picturing a plastic thing that snaps open and closed, but i actually have no idea.

on a completely different note, this craigslist ad*, sent to me by enoch, made me laugh.


*aw, it's been removed. it basically said, "my son found this rooster in a tree. i don't know anything about it. please take it away." and there was a photograph of the offending bird.

happy cast day!

maybe. at least he has an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon this afternoon. but look what a cheery face he's putting on the whole thing! also, i forgot to show you this:

broken

on saturday i gave boo a ride to happy wheels (which i now propose we all refer to as "scary wheels") with his friends anthony and mackenzie. three hours later, anthony's dad returned him...BROKEN! yes, it's our first broken bone ever (including m and me - none of us has broken anything before). while skating, some big guy knocked into anthony, who knocked into boo, who went flying and landed weird on his arm.

m took him to our local not-quite-an-emergency-room, where they took an x-ray and found that he broke his arm and his wrist. they splinted him up and sent him home. he'll get a cast on later this week. oh, and yes, it's his right (dominant) arm!
























we all went to dinner at max's dad's house anyway. max's brother oliver loaned boo the above getup for some outdoor activity ("going to look at the train," i believe they said). i think he looks like a wes anderson character.
























we ate a delicious meal cooked by max and bean and chatted with max's dad, matt. it was a really fun evening, despite the broken limb in our midst. even though boo was achy, he managed to have a good time. oliver has a pinball machine in his basement lair. we also watched most of the chris rock documentary good hair, which i highly recommend.
























fun hijinks with the broken arm, above.

anthony's mom, karen, came over with presents and hugs later - not necessary, but so sweet. it really made boo happy.
























she certainly knows the way to a broken-armed boy's heart!
























the boxes of movie candy fueled our homeworking, which consisted of boo dictating and me writing (in the case of his language arts journal) or graphing (in the case of math). i'm still not sure how he's going to get through the next six weeks of school with no right hand available. he can type on a keyboard fairly well, but math is a serious challenge.

(note reese's pieces box used as impromptu ruler, below):

date night

m and i met enoch at the movies last night (we did not see date night. we saw the runaways, which was pretty good, but probably not worth running out to see on the big screen. there were some obnoxious chatterers behind us and, before the movie started, a woman on the phone saying a bunch of weird stuff). but before that we had a mini-date at otto, the best place for a (non-vegan) cheap date in portland. i am in love with the (again, non-vegan) butternut squash and cranberry pizza. three dollars a slice, and yummmmmy. if you're lucky, you can sit in the window and watch people go by.

'hodgepodge' is a good word

my-can't-look-away fascination right now is hoarders, featuring stories of people whose entire houses look even worse than my basement. i got mom hooked on it too when i visited last week. which reminds me of this.

as i stubbornly await the reopening of the kind of brand new library on april fifteenth, i have been catching up on my mountain of new yorkers (but i'm not a hoarder -- i recycle them when i'm done), and reading random books i find on our shelves (currently a collection of short stories by f. scott fitzgerald).

hey, did i ever mention that boo scored a ticket to see president obama when he came to town last week? what happened was, boo was pretty mad at me because i wouldn't let him stand in line (in the rain. instead of going to school. for hours) to possibly get one of the free tickets being given away. in fact, he was basically furious about it, and i actually felt quite regretful that i hadn't let him do it. i didn't stand in line myself because obama and i were going to be like two ships passing in the night, me on my concord trailways boston-bound bus, him in his motorcade. after i left for boston, m came to the rescue, scouring twitter until he found a guy who actually had an extra ticket to give away. "best story gets it!" the guy said. and, as it turned out, boo had the best story. several hundred people with tickets did not get in - tragically, including the man who gave boo his ticket - but boo himself managed to sneak forward in line where he spotted a friend from school, and he made it in!

jealousy

i want to be sharon montrose, don't you?

the way it's done

this is how easter goes, chez moi. first of all, the easter bunny changes into his white jeans in honor of spring.

























candy, silly putty eggs, and arabica gift cards on pretty liberty of london for target plates. so they're kind of 'easter plates,' rather than easter baskets.
























after a candy breakfast, bean, m, and i went to willard beach with a very happy dog.
























.m finally found a sand dollar, as well as nicely shaped shards of pottery.
























in the afternoon, i hiked on the cliff walk with m and the dancer.
























i went sockless.
























happy springtime from me and my rabbit friend!

snapshots

april's off to a nicely busy start. last sunday night, m picked german david up at the airport. he is on break from school for two weeks, and he's visiting his ellsworth friends and host family. he spent the night with us and on monday m and i put him on a bus to bangor. first, we hung out for a while at arabica. it was so fun to see him!
























on wednesday night, all four of us (plus max!) went to a private test screening of my heart is an idiot at enoch's. we've been anticipating this film for a few years now, and it didn't disappoint. enoch is still in the process of doing some editing, and he asked a bunch of questions of the 20-person audience afterward, with the intention of considering feedback and making small changes. but the movie is excellent. really funny, completely engrossing, and a total success as far as i'm concerned. i can't wait to see it again.
























i took the bus to boston on thursday to spend some quality time with mom and dad. the best bus driver ever serenaded us before taking the wheel. he sang again, over the p.a., as we pulled into south station.
























the weather was my favorite kind, warm enough for iced beverages. we walked, ate snacks, met friends for coffee, and i got a massage, too. i am so lucky. not pictured: m, boo, bean, and max drove in on saturday, and we ate a feast that night at punjabi dhaba, with toscanini's for dessert. pictured: mom's reading material.

rabbit rabbit

ahh. can we all agree that april has a nice ring to it? despite its being, you know, the cruelest month and everything?