grace took this picture in LA. why don't we have wildflowers like this in NY?
reading:
housekeeping by marilynne robinson
a small, quiet story about two sisters and their damaged and eccentric aunt. the plot is slow, but the studies of subtly shifting emotional ties and the ways light can infuse an old house or orchard are rich and heartbreaking. it's like a slow sad summer day.
anna karenina by leo tolstoy
okay don't start beating me with the pretentious stick. i'm late to the game and have never read it, and i thought i'd give it a shot. i figured that i'd get through 3 pages, get bored and move on to the sisterhood of the traveling pants. if you can believe it, it is not boring. in fact, it is kind of fun. and funny. and there are great descriptions of food. and the story is basically your typical soap opera. i'm not done, so i can't tell you if it gets literary at the end, but so far, it seems like all this time i'd been scared of nothing.
watching:
the flight of the red balloon
an homage (i know, i hate that word too, but that's what they call it) to that french children's movie "the red balloon", this movie is a pitch perfect depiction of life in paris. from the street scenes to the smallest moments, every shot feels well-worn and true. i was still thinking about it a week later, which is rare for me. maybe one of my favorite movies?
the red balloon/the white mare
so of course we rented the original movie to re-watch, and netflix packages it with "the white mare." each is about 35 mins long and shot so elegantly you'll forget you're watching a brutal end-of-childhood tragedy. and since the symbolism is laid on so thick, you might actually be able to ignore it and instead focus on the scenery and the superlative child actors. but i warn you, i cried and cried.
take care of my cat
there is a underlying "coming of age" theme here, i just realized. must be the start of spring. this one is set on the outskirts of Seoul, though, and is about a group of friends trying to understand themselves and each other. it's very touching and the cat is very, very cute.
eating
hooligan from cato corner farm
the greemmarket is back in full force and this weekend we dropped by to pick up a few things. along with a handful of peach blossoms and some bread, i decided to try a new cheese from cato corner farm. i usually get the womanchego (the name is intolerable, but the cheese is great), but this time i tried the smelly washed rind hooligan. i've had it for dinner two nights in a row. it is wonderful. for more hooligan worship, see here.
coconut macaroons
in my family, my father was the only one who liked coconut. whenever we'd get one of those boxes of chocolates, i'd always be worried i'd bite into the dreaded coconut. but somehow, in the last 2 months, my tastes have changed. partially due to the most amazing experience i had with my friend hope's macaroons. hope, if you are reading this, please don't worry about ever getting me a birthday present again. just those macaroons were enough. i don't know what recipe she used, but if she ever wants to give it to me, i will post it and the whole world will be consumed with same sort of coconut love i now have.
making
fire escape garden
my dear penpal, david, sent me some seeds that i've planted in large planters on my fire escape. i've had to keep the tomatoes indoors until the end of the month, which only means my cats are having fun playing with the dirt while i'm at work. i also bought some additional seeds at the co-op and am hoping to see lettuce, tomatoes, baby carrots, peppers and dahlias in a month or so. last year i managed not to kill some herbs, but this is a huge project and i'm hope at least one of the many seeds i've planted will live long enough to bear some food/flowers.
wanting
anyone want to split a goldee? we're re-doing part of our apartment and i'm busy daydreaming about wall coverings. i love everything from this design studio, especially the pitching ship in teal and black. it would look great in a white room. maybe...
loving
get ready for this: ny inspa world. okay, it looks totally crazy- a 5,000 square foot spa theme park. what is even more insane is that it is in queens. QUEENS. grace and i went and it was just as insane as the pictures show. ny friends, watch out. i am tempted to have my b-day party here.
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