Thursday, December 29, 2005

wahrsagekarten...

yesterday i watched pom poko for the first time. animal transfirguration will never be viewed in the same light. gives alternative meaning to things such as felix and his magic sack. interesting.

jonquils are strong even at a remarkable distance. some are just appearing along the bus route. one particularly rural stop has a tree stump for seating. across from which pheasant eyes are cropping. very fragrant.

for christmas there were austrian fortune telling cards. actually gypsy. but the term given (zigeuner) i've been told is derogatory. cards themselves i've been enjoying very much. each one has the appropriate name in german french english croation and hungarian. good practice for two of those. but i don't think i'll be picking up the latter languages any time soon. also for christmas more norstein. hoorah! and clementines. and dark chocolate. and grapefruits. and morningstar japanese pine and sandalwood. very aromatic haul.

sister read parnassus on wheels aloud to me. i love christopher morley's haunted bookshop (from which this humble spot stole a name) but i'd yet to read parnassus. i'm so backward.

listened to a forgotten richman album last night. consequently gonna call up someone intelligent maybe albert camus /and say i got some hot hot jokes i wanna try on vous stuck in my head. why is that guy so ridiculous and so charming?

the transcendental mysteries of bread. of which there are many. hopefully i never amass a farm wife's anthology. though i do relish my own baked loaf.

manhattan is the pocketbook of new york and brooklyn the heart. or something like that. from the third rib. i'll have to ask sister to read that bit over again.

so.

Friday, December 23, 2005

listening: my funny valentine-- chet baker

la posada tomorrow. a small girl in della robbia blue side-saddling a burro. candles. los peregrinos. somehow surreal.

lola is recovering from a nail clipping session. hates it. and kjetil has returned from the animal hospital only slightly lighter. poor dear.

there were nine sport utility vehicles lining my street today. nine. my street is small too.

early morning call from asia. again. after nearly twenty years one would expect a good grasp of time zones. but no.

when i wake up the day will be all about bread. i wish i'd never learned to bake.

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

correspondence...

two beautiful encouraging emails arrived in the last several days. both reminders that this slate is mine custodially (adverbs!). so. i'm back.

also in the realm of lettery things the paper kind arrived this evening. not so encouraging though. no. more a bureaucratic mess. requests to quantify the unquantifiable. ridiculous really. well as long as we are inventing rules i've a few. natch!

yesterday's sunset: amazing. quite so. very purple. very orange.

sister weakened in a wonderful way. she gave me one of my presents early! did i ask? not me. i'm perfectly mannered. but she was excited and had been hinting for days. hooray!

coming home this evening towering white sycamores. one especially defined from behind a grey-blue house. the orange crown resting right above roof line.

Thursday, December 08, 2005

listening(on repeat): baby, it's cold outside-- betty carter and ray charles.

working on the muscovite's scarf. merino and cashmere. so f*cking soft. i'd like an entire room made of this substance. perhaps a different shade though. the yarn store had beautiful skeins of noro. and a lush. a lush that laughed exactly like a small aggressive primate from the forested depths of borneo. those make lousy clerks.

spent time with the sister. she's looking so much better. moving slowly though.

a train is trumpeting in the background. means i'll have to go for a walk soon. brr.

listening to riu riu chiu. i don't know who is singing.

yes. i'm listening to christmas music. what of it?

well.

Sunday, December 04, 2005

organs...

squeezed unexpectedly by the handsome jazz man. snuck up behind me. nice.

s.b. explained the loss of sister's spleen to an uninformed person. he said it's the luxury organ. and i laughed. and another friend said that it's the mortgage organ. along with one kidney. silly.

cudgels of fruitcake have returned. the bus driver was very intent on finishing his even at the expense of road safety. i almost wet my pants. no. not really. but i was afraid. fruitcake. it's not that good!

my gracious but it's cold. brr.

twice in as many days i've passed by the unfamiliar mirror and spooked myself. that person looks just like me! who is this intruder?! then quick trailing recognition and a slightly stupid feeling. like calling my own number and getting the machine. that too too rising hello i'd mistake for some courteous practitioner of b and e nice enough to take down a message for me. who was in fact me. me! which is why i let the robot man that lives inside that gadget answer now in my place.

listening: you shook me all night long-- acdc.