a summary of 2010, the happy parts anyway*

ninety-seven movies watched
sixty-three books read
one hundred and forty-one conversations overheard
(approximately) seven hundred photographs taken
twelve rabbit rabbits
two bones broken (in the same arm)
one national park visited (twice)
three cousins hosted
one hockey game attended
three pets buried in the yard
three craft fairs
two german friends
innumerable: crows, baked goods, games played, walks on the beach, moments of maternal pride, tears shed, hugs given and received, rabbit costume sightings, songs sung and heard, t-shirts printed and stitched, cups of coffee consumed, reasons i love my dog, fires built in the yard, friends, and family.

as far as the not happy parts, it would be silly to list them. they live in the past, and a new year lies ahead. as usual, i am ready to shake the dust of 2010 off my feet and step boldly into 2011.

*yeah, oh boy, i am such a weirdo. why i included broken bones and deceased pets in this list is as much a mystery to me as it is to you.

merry merry

to you from minnow!* i don't know if i'll post much of anything in the next week or so: we're off to north carolina tomorrow morning to celebrate with food and presents and games and family and extra dogs.

*no, these photos were not staged. i discovered him looking guilty with this candy cane on the couch for real.

four lights

the last day of advent, we had a crowd of friends over, including mom and dad, who arrived bearing a flourless chocolate cake mom made for a belated zoë birthday celebration. it was so very delicious. zoë baked a gugelhupf too! also, i cleaned the chandelier for the first time. ever.* also, clementines and candy canes.

and now i turn to my long, long list of things to do in the next 40 hours or so before we depart for north carolina. slowly, i am crossing things off. and trying not to keep one eye on the weather report. and probably drinking too much coffee.

*there was one time my friend susan cleaned it. that must have been at least five years ago. i forgot how sparkly it can look!

crow(e)s

i spent the afternoon with my favorite crowe getting my feet soaked in almond-scented foam and my neck massaged at soakology (what a luxurious treat that was), and then later i had the pleasure of seeing my favorite murder of crows roosting in the trees all around my house. add to that a morning coffee and chat with my favorite dancer lady, and i can almost relax about the fact that i achieved basically nothing today (except pleasure! and relaxation!). i can, in fact, because this is fuel for the next several days of getting things accomplished.

third sunday

candles + stollen + coffee + zoë + isaac + mark + me

Picnicking

i spent the weekend at the picnic portland holiday sale with my trusty craft fair table mate. it was unaccountably exhausting, but a lot of fun and successful, too. we were directly across from spindleworks, which i love, hence the many photographs of their table.

i restrained myself from buying things, with just a couple of gifty exceptions. there was some amazing stuff to be purchased. i didn't once hear myself refer to this as a "crap fair," as i have admittedly done in the past at other, ahem, crap fairs.

below, the yeti and my lovely table mate (hey, look, she's wearing a milo in maine scarf!).

i saw lots of my favorite people there, some of whom i haven't seen in years. i also got to meet allie of broke 207 (one of my very favorite portland blogs). i think i scared her off with my awkward chatter about nancy drew.

as you exit the irish cultural center, this is what you see. which is kind of funny, no?

something freshly birdish

there's been so much art in my life over the past week. last friday, the checkout girl and i drove down for jen's opening at nahcotta in portsmouth. her work of late has centered around these gorgeous papercuts, simple colors, incredible patterns. it was beautiful, and a treat to see jen. and then we treated ourselves to the friendly toast too!

(quietly, among the flowers by jennifer judd-mcgee. click on the photo for purchasing information.)

below, isaac's mask. art teacher, to isaac: "isaac, are you done with your shading...OH."

and JENNY HOLZER on tuesday night. we heard her speak, and then the audience trooped outside in the cold to watch this projection (words by the polish poet wislawa szymborska) move mesmerizingly down the front of the portland museum of art. it was so striking, strangely moving (and did i mention, COLD?).

finally, my own humble contribution to this week in artistic endeavor, the final words of j.m. barrie, "i can't sleep."

white christmas

vera-ellen's waist

is strangely small: i prefer
rosemary clooney.

dressed in holiday style

perhaps you remember that i complained last year about our lack of holiday cheer, decoration-wise? well, thanks to mark, this year we are plenty cheerful! white lights, and what you can't see in this photo are the beach rose hips all entangled in the greenery. so pretty.

reunion

max is home!

can i interest you in hanukkah?

zoë made vegan latkes and a cherry noodle kugel last night. i found cheap gelt at trader joe's, and we played dreidel (dreideled?) and listened to this weird online hanukkah radio station my mom found. lovely.

what's that? do i look strange?

robert louis stevenson's last words.

rabbit rabbit

it's the hap happiest season of all.