"So, What Exactly Are They Smoking in Eugene, Oregon?"

The literary world's got their fingers pointing to a small town on the West Coast. Knowing that dear town as I do, I can't say that I'm surprised to learn that it turned out a contributor to the great memoir-faking hullabaloo. They do lots of funny and plenty of stupid things there. Being attached to that dear town as I am, I'm immediately inclined to defend its produce and write the whole thing off as a silly hippie prank. But upon serious thought, I just really think there's no excuse for this. Write it, fine, but please call it a novel, not a memoir.

Miscellany

It's been a while since a legitimate post, but that doesn't mean there's been a lack of post-worthy happenings. It means there've been so many I can't keep up on the recording and I crumpled in a heap under the pressure and I dragged myself to the computer to give you a glimpse before I dive back in.

There's been the project to beautify the great white expanse of wall above the couch...

Yeah, I know, there's still a lot of white wall, each frame's a little askew, and the left side's a little flat...I'll work on it.

There's been a fantastic collection of short films which reminded me to savor life's momentary but significant encounters and also made me wish I was in Paris.


There was setting this goal, trying really hard, and finally admitting I'm out of time though I got through the first six years!

There's been another installment of Bon Appetit inspiring Orrechiette Carbonara, Pan-Seared Rib-Eye with Porcini Rosemary Rub, and Beet and Goat Cheese Salad with Pistachios

My husband bought me something pretty that I'm so in awe of I have yet to touch it with the duster much less cram my unworthy clothes inside...


There's been home-made perfume...Everclear plus Lavender! to finally put to its proper use my brilliant Christmas present from Z - a vintage perfume bottle.


There have been other nice things such as the formation of a Cigar and Port Club with Melody and Everett (and anyone else who cares to drop by our porch), pigeons nesting right outside the kitchen window and a nine month wedding anniversary.

Second most of all, there's been starting a second job...back at the good old restaurant. Why? I'm still wondering that as well.

Most most most of all was the welcoming of this fantastic little boy.


Looking forward to (translate- the happy reasons I'll be gone for a while)...Ohio cousins spending Spring break with us, Nik joining us for the weekend, and a Mexican Easter and hike of Great Falls with Billi and Daniel.

WELCOME ROWAN DAVID PARKER!
A Real Whopper at 8lb. 14oz and 21 inches!

The Saga Continues...

And my anxiety grows. New developments in the Burn or Not Burn Nabakov question...read all about Lolita's reincarnation in Laura, ghostly visits from Nabakov himself, and a possible decision...here.

A Strange Preoccupation

Though I don't understand the lure of collecting, I succumb to whatever it is wholeheartedly. Why is it that we become enamored with a useless, hard to find sub sub category of any one material thing? And why choose elephant figurines (Jem) rather than tootsie roll wrappers (Brian)? Dunno, but I sure love my useless sub sub category - antique classic mini books. I don't read them, I have large ugly duplicates for that. I just look at them. I don't know why they thrill me so. Nothing can explain my excitement when I found out, during last fall's visit to Melanie and Brian, that there was a display at the Boston Public Library featuring my chosen obsession. Was I considerate about other people's sightseeing priorities? Was I able to conduct normal conversation until I'd seen that exhibit? Was I late, as I am for everything else, for the library opening that morning? Nope. I was quaking and exclaiming (at an un-library like volume) as I viewed such gems as a tiny picture book illustrated by Picasso, the smallest Bible in the world, a copy of Dante's Divine Comedy employing the first use of the tiniest typeface in the world 'Fly's Eye', and the smallest book in the world (brought to us by the write on grain of rice guys) which was hardly visible even under a magnifying glass. Everyone else thought it was decently cool, but to me it was a little heaven. The feeling of being in a room surrounded by exquisite specimens of the sub sub category that makes you giddy... I was inspired to work on my collection and we visited Bromer Booksellers, the owners of most of the collection. Their tiny books started in the hundreds. I drooled and then left. Back to my meagre but treasured collection at home.
This last weekend roles were reversed and I had the pleasure of seeing Melanie go ga-ga over her mania - stamps. The Smithsonian's Postal Museum is the home of the best stamp collections in existence. We armed ourselves with magnifying glasses and Mel gave me a crash course in philately. She pointed out subtleties in watermarks, perforations, and plate numbers. The crowning glory of the collection, the thing she really came from Boston to see (and I thought it was me) was The Jenny. The most famous stamp in history. One sheet of one hundred stamps was sold before the upside down plane was noticed and they're worth just tons of money now.

We spent so much time in the exhibit talking about the colors Carmine and Lake (which is not blue as you would think) and Type I and Type II specimens that one guy stopped us and asked if we were in any way associated with or worked for the U.S. Postal Service. We took that as a compliment.

P.S. A shout out to my sister Val who is also drawn to antique classic mini books (runs in the genes?) What do the rest of you collect?

Today, A Week Ago

Melanie is missed.

What a Font Says

Handwriting analysts could be out of jobs. Font analysts are taking over. Here they scrutinize the presidential candidates through their type choice. Fascinating. Ever admired the charming (yet forthright) slab serif 'Archer' lettering created especially for Martha Stewart's mag? Now available for your personal typeface repertoire here. If you're into this sort of thing (though it's still a good watch if you aren't) there's the excellent documentary 'Helvetica'. Who would've thunk there was so much social, political, artistic and philosophical background to that prevalent font? Highly recommended.
And if you DIY, Everett pointed out this wonderful site for the amateur typographer in all of us.