Let's Try Sumpin

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Weak Vocal Chords and my Worry

Maybe it's a Boston thing because Lu has a really strange growl and a fairly flimsy bark. The only time she really barks at anything is if something surprises her and scares her a little. Her bark sounds like this: Buh. Buh. It happens so rarely that every time I hear her do it I ask myself, "What was that? Was that a bark?"

Since we're on the subject, guess who escaped from the backyard yesterday and was found ON HULEN?! Thanks to Sarabeth, Kristi, and Jen for looking for her on the spur of the moment. I still feel dread thinking about it.

Provence Post

I wish I was here today. Go look at Bardot and Blue's post and you will, too. Also, go ahead and hit play on her Matt and Kim background music. I know you'll love it.

Perhaps the Best Story I Have

This morning I was hanging my head upside down and blow drying my hair, and there for a second my hairdryer smelled a little funny. That smell took me back to perhaps the most exciting 30 seconds of my youth...

I grew up in the Episcopal church. The Episcopal church uses acolytes (in our church's case, usually middle schoolers) to carry the cross, torches, sometimes incense, and a big golden Bible in the procession at the beginning of the service from the back of the sanctuary up to the alter at the front.



(Also, although this has nothing to do with my story, I've always appreciated the architecture of most traditional Episcopal/Catholic sanctuaries. Most are shaped like crosses with a long narrower section for the congregation's pews, a perpendicular section where usually the choir and acolytes flank either side of the aisle, and the top of the cross where the altar usually stands at the front. I think it's really interesting to see how mindful architecture represents theology. Of course these two things don't necessarily have to coincide, but I also think it's interesting to think about how church architecture has shifted to more auditorium/stadium-style layout as some churches have shifted to more people-centered theology. I think the design of a space can encourage a more individual experience or a more communal experience... I'm getting off track. Carter and I are reading through the Bible, and I'm presently mired in the sometimes excruciating details of the tabernacle's design, so I guess it's on my mind right now.)

So, I was probably in 7th grade or so, which would set our story in 1990 or thereabouts. As a member of St. Philip's who was squarely in the junior high demographic, I was scheduled as a torch-bearer that morning. I had the prosaically famous and requisite big bangs of the era, hair sprayed to perfection. Needless to say, my knock-kneed, bespeckled twelve-year-old self was looking like quite the fashion plate as I impatiently waited in the rear of the church for the service to begin. Church-goers trickled in to their normal pews, filling the sanctuary. I looked so good that I began to bend over, ever so slightly, to admire my shoe selection that morning.

And then it went down.

Something began to crackle. Sort of like a campfire.

As I raised my eyes to the heavens, I realized with the horror only an awkward 7th grader can possess, that my hair was awesomely aflame. ON FIRE!!! IN CHURCH!!!

What do you do here? What is the appropriate response in this calamitous (hilarious?) situation? Well, with great presence of mind, I informed a fellow acolyte that my hair was on fire, handed her my torch, swiftly exited the building, and instinctively smothered the small blaze with my hand and my other remaining bangs. All within about 30 seconds.

So now you might be wondering how we proceeded. I shook out a few ashes, stepped back into place, and fulfilled my duties as a torch-bearer, gifting the whole congregation with the fragrant perfume of burnt hair... a little like the smell of my hair dryer this morning. A burnt offering indeed.


The End

Lunch Break

I know this last one is out of focus, but I wanted to show off my hydrangea blooms. :)

Babies Documentary

Have you heard about Focus Features' new documentary Babies that's being released this weekend, just in time for Mother's Day?





I must admit I'm pretty enraptured with that trailer. Did anyone else notice Sufjan playing in the background?

Cook, Cook, Cooking all Week!

This week is chocked full of cooking and catering. I've mentioned the ten-person interactive dinner party on Tuesday night in a previous post.

I'm also looking forward to making a Mother's Day brunch with my sis on Sunday morning.

Image from Fly Through our Window

We're having: tomato, caramelized onion, herb egg casserole (if I call it a quiche, will you respect me more?); maple-basted bacon; fruit plate/salad; homemade rustic honey wheat bread; mimosas; and, of course, coffee. I can't wait! How should I set the table? With the way the backyard is going, I think we can snip a few things and provide our own flowers or at least greenery. 6th Street Design School had a sweet post on Mother's Day Etsy gift ideas. Did I mention that I'm really looking forward to the brunch? Mother's Day might be my favorite holiday to cook for. This year's celebration meal is pretty simple because I have a paying gig that afternoon...


Image from Food Network

I'm doing a graduation luncheon Sunday afternoon. Now, you might be suspicious that if I'm busy that morning with brunch that the luncheon will be difficult to pull off, but don't worry because the menu is simple, and most of it is easily prepared beforehand. In fact, most of what they want just requires assembly and not actual cooking. We're doing a few types of sandwiches (chicken salad, pimento cheese, etc.), pasta salad, fruit plate, cheese plate, brownies, and vanilla cupcakes. I like a tarragon chicken salad, but this family has requested The Lunch Box's chicken salad, which I've never had (I'm always tempted by their egg salad), so I think I need to go do some research tomorrow.


Image from Urban Spoon