this imploding heart

cut his hair myself one night

this is the butte that overlooks the valley where my mother and grandmother were born and raised. It's supposed to look like a maiden laying on her back with her hands folded over her breasts and her hair laying out behind her.

reading your books, wearing your clothes, nobody knows that they're not mine.

I finished Donna Tartt's The Secret History in bed this morning. It took me a long time to start, but once I was in it moved like a strong current. No matter how fast I went, it pushed me along with urgency.

I feel very fortunate to live with 2 people who have good taste in books and who read a lot. I can usually borrow one of their various recommendations, I never end up reading a downer when I'm down, and I always have someone with whom to discuss the book. Not to mention that they both kick ass at TV Jeopardy, are great cooks, tasteful music collectors and totally dependable friends. How did I get so lucky?

ahoy

I'm home, and 2 eagles just flew past my window!

they'll inherit your soul

I'm leaving for southern Idaho today to visit my maternal extended family. The men on this side didn't fare so well last year, so it's going to be a very lady-filled visit. It should be a lot of fun and probably also a lot of work. Please cross your fingers for me, either way.

manatees are completely unmoved by terrorist threats

I love cable. I just saw one of my neighbors in a Seattle Channel program about the transformative power of art for teens. And then I learned that non-hodgkins lymphoma has increased in frequency by 2 percent over the last 10 years, but the mortality rate has remained the same. Then I learned how gold, prosthetic faces and harps were made.

But I'm still a total sucker for cartoons. When Tiny was visiting, I knew our love was true when she turned to me and said "Oh my gosh, have you ever watched 'The Avitar'?"

GASP!
I just sent back the first season on DVD! I love you so much!"

and the winters cannot fade her

I've been having great luck with kids lately. A tiny young man in a paper hat squated down across the glass from me and put his tiny finger to his lip to consider.

"I like your hat." I said. "Did you make it?"

"Yes! I stickered this here, and I stuck on this..."

"And that's some good coloring. Here is your doughnut."

"Thanks! I'm a great colorer."

I can remember being small enough that the top of the counter was a mystery, and the top of the refrigerator was a faraway mountaintop of wonder. A world of slivers from holding dad's pantleg and standing flatfoot in the bottom of my mother's high-heeled shoes.

"Look at your boots!"

"I know! Santa brought them!"

"They're so shiny and pink. I like them a lot."

With little babies, even. I've been getting lots of sincere baby smiles without trying very hard. I sometimes give them a little wave if I catch them looking at me. I love baby grins.

I got winked at a lot as a little kid. I reacted to it then the same way I do now, by blushing pink and laughing and looking away. I don't understand why, but it embarrases me to death and I kind of love it. I never wink at kids though.

"EXCUSE ME!" he shouted, and his mother shook her head in her hand.

"Yes, how can I help you?"

"Um. Um, Can I have a bag for the rest of my doughnut?"

"Sure. Here you are."

"THANK YOU", he shouted, before making a rocket noise that accompanied his spin around and skip away.

I made a rocket noise too, really quietly, just to see how it would feel.