pinkveneer

spent a few perfect days in maryland, and also went to MDSW for all of the days it was open. will write about it later, but here are some pix in my flickr...

the vineyard fiber fest was truly charming, not a word i use much, but it really fit this event. just a perfect day to spend with peter in a perfect place :) forgot my camera, but it doesn''t matter. lots of little sheep + goats being sheared, you get the idea :) i'll have some of their wool from the fall shearing as part of my CSA. (cormo + mohair!)

and TENNIS!!! has begun. we've been able to play about 4 days so far. happy bout that!! i love my tennis.

went to hear john zorn and friends play last nite at the ica/boston. beautiful music, beautifully played. i love how his music can make me smile at one moment and want to be crying at the next.

saw all of the usual boston music nerds that i've been seeing for the past 30+ years :) that's a group of people who always show up at certain events, most of us have never even talked to each other...but we always see each other at concerts. there's a few i only see at jazz events, some i see at jazz + contemporary events, a smaller group that goes across all genres. i wonder how many of the other regulars see it this way. we're people who have a certain interest in common...we care deeply about the music - we really love to listen and feel the music in our bodies, i think. sometimes i used to run into a few in front of the more obscure music bins. most are male. usually they're alone...occasionally they come with a female. i usually bring the guy in my life at the time, altho there was that extended period where i went everywhere alone.

when you spend an extended period in a city/town, there are these people one runs into at select spaces. sometimes you get a knowing look of recognition. but there's often a resistance to wanting to get to know these people better, at least on my part. i prefer to let the mystery remain :)

going to the vineyard for a fiber festval tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!! can't wait to see all the animals...supposed to be a warm sunny day. willl take pix :)

if you like used books, an lj friend niyabinghi has an amazon store, and has a variety of books, including gardening, cooking + more.

for the past year or so, i've encountered a few newsy stories about the town where i was born, and left at age 17, to return only a few times. it was a culture-free zone long ago, full of grey skies, pollution and bad attitudes :) syracuse university provided a refuge and salvation to me in the form of its hip radio station and bookstores.

lately i have seen that there is quite a bit of fibery/textile activity, again thanks partly to the university/teachers + students. and i saw an article today that noted details of a comeback in the form of buying + rehabbing existing buildings.

"...Mark Robbins, Dean of Syracuse University School of Architecture gets it- according to the New York Times, "His ambition was to help revive, and even remake, the city."

We [Treehugger site] do go on about the urban infrastructure that is being wasted in rustbelt cities on the Great Lakes or the Erie Canal, that have water, highways and wonderful buildings that can be repurposed. Downtown Syracuse was cut off by a highway in the 60's; buildings were abandoned, and Dean Robbins told the Times “The big resource in Syracuse is basically surface parking lots and vacant buildings."

yup, parking lots and vacant buildings...i am glad for its current citizens that things have changed. but there's still all that grey that would keep me from returning.

Honesty is the human quality of communicating and acting truthfully related to truth as a value. This includes listening, and any action in the human repertoire — as well as speaking.

Superficially, honesty means simply stating facts and views as best one truly believes them to be. It includes both honesty to others, and to oneself (see: self-deception) and about one's own motives and inner reality. Honesty, at times, has the ability to cause misfortune to the person who displays it.

just a wikipedia definition, but i think it says a lot. truth does have a value. indeed, i think it's one of the highest values.

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

well, didn't that just fit the day?

"Deep down inside, I always consider myself a monk, even in my dreams." this makes me smile. that the dalai lama is a monk, even in his dreams.


reminder to self: tonite 8:15 TED live broadcast

(from my handspun yarn)

there are always a few events in february to remind us that new england is still somewhat alive. starting to be lots more music that i want to go out to now that "hard winter" is over.

on friday, there was the sex workers art show. as usual, very funny and poignant. there's still a little bit left of their tour in case you're interested...
also saw bill t. jones on saturday; chapel/chapter. i never watch news (or tv) because i don't want the violence burned into my brain. in these dances, he included lots of repetitive readings of violent events and i found myself focusing on the cellist's hair so i wouldn't have to envision the events. the dancing was good but the overall evening reminded me that i like it less when artists just present. i like to see the events worked through. i think he considers it an ongoing conversation, tho.
(here's a short clip of the dance if you want to see/includes sound)

and i've made yarn, too. i am just making stuff for me, more and more.  i like just satisfying myself.

i have the most fun learning new things. and there's SO MUCH i want to learn.
sunday:
took a tuina and herbal plasters workshop with the (chinese) doctor who helped out my broken leg. so informative and interesting!!!! mostly he concentrated on chinese herbs that can be powdered, made into teas or soaking solutions to treat various conditions. and anybody can basically just have this around to treat their family. boy, is the west missing out on some good stuff by not knowing all of this wonderful info. he didn't do that much tuina (bodywork) but i am going to california in may for a tuina event, and i can also probably do more study here in boston.

monday:
went to a really fun + lively event...learning some rudimentary overtone singing from a few guys from alash, throat singers from tuva. you can hear sound clips on their site. i love this music, and it's so great to have these sounds come from my body, or anybody's body! amazing to me when i hear bird-like sounds come from those alash guys. they were here last year, performing, and they'll also perform later this afternoon. i plan to hear them. so relaxing. however, my practicing the overtone chanting makes the cats hide...
there were around 25 people in workshop, and the room was full of us all trying these sounds for over 2 hours. so much joy.

every now and then i ask myself how old i feel inside. the answer these days is 27. and peter said he felt 29 :) i don't know what the number really means for sure. but it just feels like the energy of me at 27 feels like where i am right now. just vital, engaged, green.

hmmm...the top yarn from october looks more like the weather today than the yarn made this week :)

going to visit my mother and siblings tomorrow. i think it's been about 10 years since i've seen them. rough edges might have been smoothened. in any case, peter and i like roadtrips, so we'll have a good time, i'm sure! going to central new york area, where there will probably be lots more snow. will be fun to see childhood places again. not staying long.

There is a transparent peace tower in New York City which casts no shadow and, therefore, very rarely recognized.
Yoko Ono

video/sound/contains violent war images toward end yoko's letter to john
more imagine peace/no sound

i watched this earlier today online. it's normally pretty hard for me to sit and watch a cartoon/film for 20 minutes online, but this engaged me. a little synopsis of lots you know about consumption and a few things you might not know. i'm sure some of it is debatable, but worth spending the time...
Annie Leonard's The Story of Stuff

"A great, concise, and clear explanation of global capitalism and its effects on the environment (which includes the human body)..."

"The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever."

little perfect snowflakes falling outside. we're chillin inside.

saw romance and cigarettes yesterday and loved it. there's a little clip here (preceded by quick ad and includes sound)

i recently bought 2 books from the same press, seal books, so kind of discovered it.  i want to read all of their books! and they have an archived podcast with author  interviews! so the books: "it's so you" by michelle tea and "word warriors"/women in spoken word. well, anything by michelle tea is great, and it also includes lots of other insightful writers and their observations/relationship to "fashion", whatever that means to them. certainly hits home, because i think we all have such a complicated/weird relationship to clothes and fashion. a good read i think.

ETA: i did not put my tea with m. tea book on purpose :) but, that's some hot spicy chai with pumpkin spice soy milk added, and i wanna know...why can't we have pumpkin flavored things all year round, not just near the holidays????

Corn Bread and Broccoli Rabe Strata

1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, more for the pan
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 pound broccoli rabe, outer leaves and thick stems removed; florets and tender stems coarsely chopped (about 3 cups)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup chopped roasted red pepper
1/4 cup chopped pitted calamata olives
8 large eggs
4 cups half and half or whole milk
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 pounds homemade or purchased corn bread, cut into 2 inch cubes (about 8 cups)
1 cup fresh ricotta cheese
6 ounces grated Gruyere cheese (about 1 1/2 cups)

1. Lightly oil a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. In a large skillet, heat remaining oil over medium heat; add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add broccoli rabe and increase heat to medium high. Cook stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.
Add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 cup water (if using). Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook until broccoli rabe is very tender, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer to a bowl and stir in roasted pepper and olives.
2. Whisk together eggs, half and half or milk,, remaining 1/2 salt and black pepper.
3. Spread the corn bread cubes in prepared dish. Scatter vegetable mixture over corn bread. Dot with dollops of ricotta. Pour cream mixture evenly over corn bread. Sprinkle with Gruyere. Cover baking dish tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
4. Remove strata from the refrigerator about half an hour before baking and let it rest at room temperature. Bake at 350 F until firm and golden on top, about 45 to 55 minutes. Cool at least 20 minutes before serving. Serve hot or warm.

Serves 6 as main course, or 10 as side dish.

lately, i'm all about spinning rope...really thick stuff. just very satisfying :)


this wknd
plum island beautiful shacks i want to live there for at least part of the year
picnic table by marsh lobster rolls kissing fried clams coffee tastes way better outside by salt marsh
even tho i can't yet do much walking peter always thinks of great plans

some (6) of those newly photo'd sea creatures. ya just wanna play a game with them or somethin...
i just want the link, but they might amuse others among you :)

yesterday my sweetie and i celebrated 7 years! he was coming down the stairs at the house of blues in harvard sq., and i was goin up. so in front of the place, (where we always stop to kiss now) he says, "for 20 years i've wondered what it's like to kiss you...". i grabbed his collar and showed him. ^.^ we're perfect for each other and everyday is so wonderful. :) :)

i'm off crutches. YAY! but the broken leg thing has necessitated a change in school plans. i haven't been able to do the bodywork part, so rather than try to catch up, i'd really like to learn it well. so i'm going to continue with point location class on mondays, and do the bodywork again, starting in april. puts my mind at ease. and a bonus is that i now have those couple of wknds to do things like go to new york sheep + wool, if i want!

never underestimate the power of coconut popsicles to heal body + spirit :)