fancy dinner

(song: "blood" by the middle east)

there's something to be said--something beautiful to be said--about the quiet satisfaction,
the toasty-warm tranquility that comes from a slow evening with a few close friends--
the kind of evening where conversations, sensations, imaginations have room to grow.

our lives revolve at breakneck speeds around a sun of achievement and instant communication--
what "to-do's" can i check off today?
how many phone calls can i return?
the sun of facebook
the sun of email
the sun of 160-character text messages

but there's more than 160 characters inside of me.
character.
since when was such a thing quantifiable?
cramming all this character into that little box has been leaving me harried and thin.

we vaporize the most important parts of our being when we live at such breakneck speeds,
fueling distraction and feeding anxiety
when we could be cultivating togetherness, incubating creativity,
nurturing, nourishing.

and so we call it "fancy dinner":

friday night, five friends, five courses,
each carefully planned and tenderly prepared,
each enjoyed over four beautiful hours of talking, laughing, storytelling.

the food:

caprese & baguette

beets with citrus and fennel

pasta with shrimp

beans with almonds and bacon
balsamic asparagus

english trifle

the sole purpose of the evening was to enjoy the tastes of the table we'd spread,
to enjoy the people whose company we love,

an evening where we could close the whole world outside.
i champion small, heartfelt gatherings.
they remind me about the abundance of this wonderful world without and within each of us.

an alpine dinner

i can still feel the crisp cool clean of that switzerland air in my nostrils.

you the orchard of my winter

First- if you are in love - that's a good thing - that's about the best thing that can happen to anyone. Don't let anyone make it small or light to you.

     Second - There are several kinds of love. One is a selfish, mean, grasping, egotistical thing which uses love for self-importance. This is the ugly and crippling kind. The other is an outpouring of everything good in you - of kindness, and consideration and respect - not only the social respect of manners but the greatest respect which is recognition of another person as unique and valuable. The first kind can make you sick and small and weak but the second can release in you strength, and courage and goodness and even wisdom you didn't know you had.

     Glory in it for one thing and be very glad and grateful for it.

     And don't worry about losing. If it is right, it happens - The main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away.

(John Steinbeck, in a letter to his lovesick son)

(photo from a 7am project this morning with andrea.  stay tuned!)

new year wish number {five}

that fake mustaches were a socially acceptable accessory for women.

no, i'm not advocating cross-dressing.  i just think they're kind of fun.  sometimes i get tired of my same-old-face.  a little mustache would be just the ticket.  (or a big mustache, depending on my mood and the requirements of the day: formal?  informal?  party?  dali?)

you the greenhouse of my humming

he stocked geraniums.

she borrowed men foolish.

he the perfect gentleman,

she a light-hearted threat 

to civilization.

in the greenhouse of his humming 

she glowed.

that humming!

a breezy menace

to the impulse of her scowl

new year wish number {four}:

sub(en)titled: the pains of being romantic at heart

a rooftop dinner party for two,

with evening wear and white lights,

maybe some norah jones in the background.

(sigh)

via

makin babies

while not writing my thesis this morning, i stumbled across (read: intentionally sought out) a website that mashes up two faces to show what your babies would look like.

and obviously i've always thought me and gregory would have beautiful children.  obviously.

and now there's proof: