Scenes From The Weekend

We headed to the lake on Friday night and officially declared this past weekend the first of the spring thaw at Round Pond. The snow started dripping off the roof, revealing our long-lost skylights, and the lake took on a glassy hue as some of the melting ice puddled on top. It was warm enough for a nice walk Saturday afternoon although the road is still one big sheet of ice so it was tricky going. Again though, it was a relaxing weekend with few signs of human life aside from three brazen snowmobilers crossing the lake. Wildlife started to emerge with some chipring birds and a tiny fox wandering across the ice late Saturday afternoon. Long after he tucked himself onto the shore across the way, Merwin remained glued to the window on high alert.

A Poem For A Friday

The New Song 

W.S. Merwin

For some time I thought there was time
and that there would always be time
for what I had a mind to do
and what I could imagine
going back to and finding it
as I had found it the first time
but by this time I do not know
what I thought when I thought back then

there is no time yet it grows less
there is the sound of rain at night
arriving unknown in the leaves
once without before or after
then I hear the thrush waking
at daybreak singing the new song

It's Here! Stitchfix #2!

It seemed like a long wait since my first fix and it was super exciting to find the box at the door when I got home tonight! This time I did a better job not peeking at my account to see what was in the shipment so was surprised upon opening it. I immediately LOVED the colors and textures--springy, lacy, stripey...all things I adore.

I started with the Lace Detailed Short Sleeve Sweater by Under Skies. Lace on clothes always makes me happy. This one was a little tricky though. The mint color didn't necessarily flatter my pale skin and the top section of the sweater is just the lace, making it slightly transparent. How does one handle this with bra straps?! I'm still undecided...what do you think?

So then I moved onto the High Waisted Cropped Pants by Margaret M. They really didn't fit right and were not so special in the, um, rump area. Pants without much structure don't do it for me, and these were another slip-on, no pocket, no distinct waistband kind of thing. Quickly nixed them, although I am on the prowl for some similar patterned ankle pants. I paired them with the Aiya Eyelet Detail Blouse, also by Under Skies. Adorable! And way too big. It's unfortunate because I like this style, love the eyelet around the neckline and, as my stylist mentioned in her note, could use it as a perfect mid-season layering staple.

As you can see, at this point Merwin was totally perplexed about what was happening and desperate for his evening walk! The last two items in the box were the Westerly Textured Stripe Knit Top by Collective Concepts and the Roxanna Chevron Open Knit Cardigan by TCEC.

I'm on the fence about these. I LOVE the short sleeve striped top. The two pleats at the top are a nice touch, the fabric is comfy with a bit of texture, and I love black stripes. But it's a little boxy. And the open cardigan has great colors for spring, is something I would never select on my own, and would be another nice transition piece. But what to wear under it? Should I keep these or send them back? Help!

Again with this fix, the stylist was on target with what I like, but I had less luck with things fitting just right. In preparation for fix #3, I'm going to do some tinkering with my profile and also maybe request some accessories. I can't tell you how fun it is to open this box of goodies...I'm sort of in love with the idea of secret shopping by mail! We'll see how it goes come April! 

Merwin And The Pond

What a happy dog (and happy humans too).

Happy Spring and A Throw Back Thursday

It's official. Spring is here. Feels so warm and fuzzy. Birds chirping. Bunnies hopping. Flowers blooming. Sun shining. FALSE! There are still humps of icy, gravelly snow everywhere, we woke up to rain in the dark, and I. Am. Sick. Of. Wearing. Boots. This #TBT is intended to inspire hope that yes, one day it will be so hot the sidewalks will sweat.

I've also been thinking a lot about "happy." I've drafted a few blog posts trying to define "happy" and articulate a process for finding it. They are still drafts and I haven't figured it out (has anyone?) There is a challenge circulating social media platforms called "100 Happy Days" where participants are directed to post a daily photo of a moment that makes them happy. It could be as simple as a piece of cake or dinner with a friend or your couch at the end of a long day.

I'm not up for that challenge (lazy) but this photo brings back a happy memory. Dog. Lake. Summer. Now that is happy.

Photo credit to MissMelissy!!

A Poem (And A Rant) For A Wednesday

We so often get bogged down in the day, the week, the month, and fail to savor the minutes within the collection. Sometimes work and life and shuffling from here to there can be so gosh darn overwhelming. It becomes a burden as we scramble to resist cracking under the weight of it all, scraping together some semblance of happiness as we dash along our ingrained ruts to the office, home from the office, to the dinner table, to the couch, to the bed, repeat. And the things that really stand out are the stressful moments at work, the frustrating commutes, the drone of the TV and the worrying about this, that, and it all. It takes you down, robbing you of respites, slivers of joy, and breaths of fresh air among the life smog.

So I'm having a GREAT day, in case it was't quite clear. What I really want to do though is be better at recognizing that a) the above is dramatic and exaggerated but more importantly b) those moments to savor are frequent if you just do the looking, pausing, and reveling.

Mr. Collins could help us understand a bit better. The entire poem describes images in, and of, silence. They're not necessarily humanity's finest moments, but nonetheless they present an opportunity to stop and recognize the opposite of what we usually see. The process of learning to see these silences could help us better weed out what we want from the overwhelming pile we sort through every day. Usually, it's the loud stuff we take on but instead I'm going to try to find the quiet bits tucked here and there. They might provide just the refreshment I need.

Silence
Billy Collins

There is the sudden silence of the crowd
above a player not moving on the field,
and the silence of the orchid.

The silence of the falling vase
before it strikes the floor,
the silence of the belt when it is not striking the child.

The stillness of the cup and the water in it,
the silence of the moon
and the quiet of the day far from the roar of the sun.

The silence when I hold you to my chest,
the silence of the window above us,
and the silence when you rise and turn away.

And there is the silence of this morning
which I have broken with my pen,
a silence that had piled up all night

like snow falling in the darkness of the house--
the silence before I wrote a word
and the poorer silence now.

Dinner and the Oscars

I don't know why I am so resistant to the term "date night." It irks me. There ends my complaint of the day.

Irregardless (teehee) Saturday night we headed to one of our favorite Cambridge restaurants, Hungry Mother which is cozy and warm with delectable yumminess all over the menu. Plus, they have cardinals everywhere...on the menu, over the door, above the bar, etc. Win! They feature a "dinner and movie" special since they're a hop skip and a jump from the Kendall Square Cinema. You arrive, tell them you want to swing by the movies after dinner, and they pick up your tickets for you. Second win!

Dinner represented a third win with yummy garlic soup, skillet cornbread, monkfish and "cast iron chicken" followed by a chocolate pudding cake for dessert. But the biggest winner was our trip to the movie theater. We noticed they were playing all the Oscar-nominated animated shorts and thought it could be fun.

We saw the five nominees as well as three highly commended shorts. I've never seen a "short" much less an animated short, but I'll tell you, shorts are a good option for someone with a constantly dwindling attention span. Our two favorites were "Mr. Hublot," featuring a quirky old man with serious OCD whose eccentric little world is flipped on its head with the arrival of a robotic puppy (trailer here), and "Room on the Broom," where a sweet witch and a cast of adorable animal characters embark on an adventure complete with an evil dragon (trailer here).

Mr. Hublot captured the gold on Oscar night, but I have to tell you, I was pretty amazed by all of the nominees. While the stories from these two were most interesting, the animation in "Feral" was really, really neat--kind of papery and sketched-looking if that makes any sense. Beautiful. I'd definitely recommend the collection and it was a fun way to spend a Saturday "date night."