i went on an adventure!  well, really i was just stir-crazy and googled "hikes in houston" and this appeared and i went with it.  a 30 minute drive to the other side of town, and i found cullen park, with a 6.5 mile long paved trail that is mostly in the shade (this is the ONLY way to walk outside in houston in july).  i saw a dozen or so people walking and biking while i was there, but otherwise had the trail to myself.  just me and my ipod and my sweat.  i only walked 3.5 of the miles, but in the 90 degree heat and humidity, this was a good enough workout for me.

the best part is that the path goes by a 19th century cemetery!

one of these guys fought in the "indian wars"!

excellent adventure.  now i will stay inside for days on end until i forget about how truly hot it was and venture out again.

a ruby a day

1. ribbons are ruby's favorite toy - i think they must look like an animal's tail when i slither them around on the ground, and ruby loves to stalk and pounce on them.

2. when your cat is this cute and smart, you have to let the whole world know.

a screenshot a day

Houston's 10 day forecast = GRIM.

optimism aside.  optimism for another post.  visiting someone in prison inherently sucks.  up at 5am, 3 hour drive, stand in line outside for 2 hours and 15 minutes.  outside.  july.  louisiana.  85 degrees, sun beating down.  old people, babies, a man with a cane, a woman with what i assume is cerebral palsy.  i can't complain too much about the heat, the sweat pouring off of me, because they are doing it, too.  met a woman who drives up from miami.  15 hours.  met a couple who drive in from west texas.  9 hours.  almost everyone is middle class at best.  there is shade by the building, but we don't wait there.  we wait where they tell us to, in the middle of the parking lot.  every half hour or so, the call from the building "10 more!" "15 more!" "6 more!"  we trudge up, finally, to present our IDs and our loved one's prisoner number.  go through a metal detector.  leave behind whatever they deem problematic (the kroger card attached to my keys?  problematic.).  finally into the visitor's room, four hours with the person we've come to see.  everywhere you look, someone's private moments on display.  arbitrary rules.  stories of the guards cracking down after the prison escapes in new york and mexico.  i can't begin to comprehend what being in prison is like, but my little taste is enough to know it's not good.  they did this to themselves, of course.  to their families and friends.  i'm mad at them for that.  furious that they have made these loved ones sacrifice to see them.  that they are loved despite it.  even though i care for my friend despite it.  it's hard not to.  all these people in the visitor's room…and these are the ones whose loved ones come.  the lucky ones?  i don't know any more.  3 hours back home, mentally exhausted.  take out food, tv, cat who doesn't want to snuggle.  icing the heat rash i've acquired on my legs from those 2 hours and 15 minutes outside, the sunburn along the hemlines that the sunscreen didn't quite get.  i'm a lucky one; i get to leave.  i'm a lucky one; it's not my dad or brother or husband or child's father who has been left behind until the next visit.  i stayed until the end and couldn't watch the other goodbyes.  had to turn away from the reality of the goodbyes.  pit in my stomach.  he may just be my friend.  but it's still really hard.

a Ruby a day

In my house, you cannot be this cute/ridiculous and expect to get away with it without me taking at least four pictures. Miss Ruby discovered two shirts that needed to go to the dry cleaners (and now REALLY need to go to the dry cleaners) and made them her bed for a little morning nap. Never mind that they are on top of shoes and can't possibly be comfortable; I have learned in two years of being a cat mama that you shouldn't try to tell your cat what is comfortable. 

i knew a fair amount of this (the first five minutes or so), but was slightly clueless beyond that.  this video from bloomberg business really helped bring clarity - it's worth your time!

i have been practicing yoga, by my calculations, for nine years.  a long time!  it has ranged from yoga three times a week (during vacations from work) to yoga twice a week (when i'm in a good rhythm) to yoga once a week (when work gets crazy) to yoga once in a blue moon (when i forget how good it is for me)…and back and forth and in between.  as it is summer, i'm in the three times a week phase, hoping to stay in the twice a week rhythm even when work gets into full swing.

nine years, and sometimes - like monday - i feel so powerful.  my breathing aligns with my movements, i know sun salutation A and B like the back of my hand, and i'm going through it with no verbal cues.  i could do a hundred of them (well, my brain thinks it could), can sit so low in chair pose, my balance is perfect in tree pose, i kick up into a handstand, the instructor picks the perfect chest opener and i stretch all my issues away.  that was yesterday.  that was nine years of yoga practice paying off.

sometimes - like today - i fall out of my handstand and am frustrated that others pop into it so easily, my mat is too firm and my towel too slippery, the poses selected strengthen my quads too much and stretch out my hamstrings not enough, the music is off, and the supine leg twists at the end barely redeem it all.  and that is nine years of yoga practice, too.  and i will feel great afterwards either way.  and i will go back and it will be better next time.

a Ruby a day

Peaceful dozing on the windowsill.

a ruby a day

A certain kitty seems to have picked up a cold at her boarding place - she's been sneezing up a storm for the past few days (though is otherwise acting normal). If you need us, we'll be on the couch watching Bloodline. 

nine lives

my cousin robin (a fellow cat lover) sent me this link and OMG THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT ISTANBUL IS LIKE and i cannot wait to see this documentary.

in honor of that, i think you all need to see a slow-mo video of me loving on a stray cat in istanbul (yes, i know i got bitten by a stray cat this fall but i clearly cannot help myself):

a ruby a day

I am lying on the couch. I get up to get a drink and find Ruby snuggled up to a DOOR STOP. She picked a door stop over me on the couch. I can't even.

june: 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 & 17

so much reading in my first month of summer - and all really fantastic books!  i'm checking books out of the library at school and crossing them off my endless "to read" list at a good clip.  this month's reading includes no books that i was obligated to read - july will be quite different, with two books to read for school and one to read for a conference i'm going to.  but we can worry about that later!

this month i read:

orphan train, by christina baker kline (i actually read this in may [i thought may's numbers looked low!] - and somehow forgot it until after posting about may's books.  this is a fictional account of a real life event - orphans from new york city being sent to the midwest by train to be adopted in the early 1900s.  in the book we get the story of one such orphan alongside the story of a modern day girl in the foster care system.  it was an easy read, and i love historical fiction.  i'd recommend it!)

a god in ruins, by kate atkinson (remember when i told you about the morning edition book club?  this is their pick from may, and since i really enjoyed life after life when i read it two years ago, i doubly wanted to read this one.  and it was fantastic!  it's the story of the brother teddy from life after life [though you don't need to read that book to understand this one], told at various times in his life.  you jump from old age to WWII [which is the real focus of the book] to becoming a parent and around again.  i got a lot out of listening to NPR's interview with atkinson after i read the book, so i'd recommend that you do that, too.  the bottom line is: if you haven't read a kate atkinson book, you are really missing out.  i love the way she tells stories and i love her "voice"!)

the road from gap creek, by robert morgan (this is the sequel to an earlier book by morgan - this one follows the children of the characters in the original book.  it takes place in the mountains of north carolina - my favorite setting - in the 1940s.  it's sad but well written, and i'm glad i read it.)

the storied life of a.j. fikry, by gabrielle zevin (this is a super quick read about a bookstore owner, with chapters titled and themed by books.  this isn't the most profound book in the universe, but i really enjoyed it and it would be a great book to bring along on vacation!)

the buried giant, by kazuo ishiguro (i LOVED never let me go, and was excited to read the newest book by ishiguro.  this book is so different in tone - but not in a bad way - and the story is intriguing, the setting described so vividly, and i didn't know where the adventure was going but i was excited to go on it alongside the characters.  this is a book where i kept thinking the author was doing something deeper than i was fully grasping, but i think i understood this book on the 80% level, which i'll take.  ishiguro is a beautiful writer, and i am glad i read this book.)

deep down dark, by hector tobar (this was the morning edition book club pick from december - so now i am fully caught up on my morning edition reading and can't WAIT for them to tell me what to read next!  ann patchett chose this book, which she said was one of only a few books in her life that made her cry.  when she talked about it with others, she realized that they had all cried at different parts of the book.  i listened to this audiobook in the car, and it was the kind of book that i was telling EVERYONE about, unsolicited, during the month or so while i was listening to it.  i knew the story - that 33 miners were trapped underground in chile in 2010 for 69 days - and i knew they were found and made it out alive.  but i'll be damned if i didn't cry when the drill found them on day 17.  and then again when the first miner made it to the surface 52 days later.  and i think that tells you so much about this book - you know how it will end and it is incredibly moving and captivating anyway.  the author is the only person authorized to tell the miners' story, and he does an amazing job taking us between the surface, where the miners' families wait, and below ground where the miners wait.  i cannot recommend this book highly enough. you should be reading it RIGHT NOW.)

station eleven, by emily st. john mandel (i love a post-apocalyptic story, and this one takes place immediately before and then 20 years after a plague kills 99% of people on earth.  the plot revolves around a group of classical musicians / shakespearean actors who travel around the great lakes region performing to the remaining people in the remaining towns.  the dust jacket proclaimed that this would be a book that i didn't even know i needed to read, and it was shockingly kind of right.  i really liked the premise and the story line was richly described - it was a book where i had no trouble visualizing the setting or the characters on their travels.  i read it quickly and would highly recommend it!)

more cooking fun

i'm back at home for a day before heading back to houston tomorrow night.  there were five nearly-dead bananas on the kitchen table, so i went to smitten kitchen again for advice, and she told me to make jacked-up banana bread (on the left - it's your basic banana bread recipe, though presumably extra delicious) and double chocolate banana bread (on the right - which was really just single chocolate banana bread when i made it - only cocoa powder - no chocolate chips).

we put the regular banana bread in the freezer and are halfway through the chocolate one.  delish!  it's super moist and dessert-y without being overly sweet.  and there are bananas in it, so it's obviously good for us.  duh.

a photo a day

Yesterday:

12noon: hanging out with Doc Watson in downtown Boone!

1pm: eating what I proclaimed to be the best sandwich of my life, from my favorite sandwich shop in Boone. 

4:30-10pm: throwing up every hour on the hour in what was the most sick I've been since 1999 (this kind of sick - you remember this kind of sick).  Was it the best sandwich of my life or a bug that a friend brought with her?!?  We may never know. 

Thank god yesterday is over. 

more farm cooking

i hate yellow squash, which is why making squash soup for my parents' freezer was so perfect, because i was getting rid of squash but i didn't have to eat it myself YAY.  but there is SO MUCH SQUASH in the garden, so i tried another smitten kitchen recipe (i heart that woman and her cooking) for herbed summer squash pasta bake and we had it for dinner last night and omg i actually liked it.  i think i liked it because the squash was cooked on high heat and thus scorched and not mushy (mushy squash is my enemy).  the sauce isn't like mac and cheese sauce - it's more subtle - and the parmesan on top made it crunchy and perfect.  good job once again, smitten kitchen!

stocking the freezer before i leave the hip replacement patient!

both are smitten kitchen recipes - zucchini fritters:

and summer squash soup:

so.  many.  squash.  in.  the.  garden.

a ruby a day

We haven't done a Ruby and mama sweaty-post-workout-lying-on-the-floor selfie in a while. I know you missed this.

Also, does it may me more of a cat lady that I am postponing for as long as I can packing for my next trip because it stresses Ruby out? Wait, actually...don't answer that. 

“The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world.”
―Paul Farmer

final AP reading numbers

1,800 essays graded!

Each tick mark represents a packet of 25 essays, and yes: we really do count the packets like prisoners in movies count the days on prison walls. 

But now that I have been back in Houston for almost a week, I've forgotten how painful it was the read all those packets. Amnesia!

what i'm listening to right now

i'm currently binge watching season two of rectify, a fictional tv show that imagines what life is like for a man, his family, and his small town when he is released from prison after 20 years on death row.  this song played over the credits recently, and i thought it was beautiful - and then discovered that it's a band i know and love!

"the wine we drink," by drew holcomb and the neighbors:

i am not a religious person.  let's start there.

but i worked for six years at an episcopal school, and it was really a very important experience for me.  there were things i was quite skeptical of (the virgin birth) and things i questioned (raising millions for a new church when that money could be put towards easing suffering).  but i saw religion used for so much good - to build schools in haiti both before and after the earthquake, the fundraise to pay for tuition for haitian kids, to teach kindness and love to those around us.  the episcopalians are incredibly welcoming, and that school welcomed me in so many ways, not just during those weekly chapel services.

if you take the god out of it, all of the lessons of jesus are ones we can follow and should follow and are hard to follow but are ideals we should aspire to.

i learned some songs in those weekly chapel services that have become very special to me: god of our fathers, seek ye first, and this one, which we sang frequently during my last year at the school:


since hearing about the shooting in the charleston church i have been thinking of this word and this song frequently: sanctuary.  this morning, after NPR reported on the first services back in that church since the shooting, i played this song off of youtube on my drive to work and cried and then played it a second time.

sanctuary:
1. how horrific that a church - a sanctuary - could be breeched in this way.  though a church is not my sanctuary, we cannot deny that for many it is quite an important one.
2. my job as a teacher and our job as a school is to be a safe space, an ear to listen, to take students as they come.  i don't think i had put it in those words before this morning.  i have been repeating that phrase: i'll be a living sanctuary.

birthdays at work are a big deal…as in, there must be a cake and a card and singing and eating.  so maybe that is an ordinary deal, but at my old job we didn't have this birthday tradition.  we went out to breakfast at waffle house on a work friend's birthday, which is a fantastic tradition in and of itself.  but i digress.

i am the birthday coordinator, because taking care of people with food gives me great happiness.  when i have time i bake a cake instead of buying one at the grocery store. for my colleague scott's birthday a few weeks ago, i made a banana pudding poke cake, which facebook had told me and scott about independently and we had decided it must be tried.  it felt pretty white trash but tasted pretty amazing.  yellow cake it poked with the handle of a wooden spoon and then banana pudding is poured over/into it, the cake is covered with cool whip, and then at the last minute you add fresh bananas and nilla wafers to the top.

it was consumed with gusto.

a ruby a day

Sunday morning with Miss Ruby:

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”
—Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (1926-2004), Psychiatrist and Author

a photo a day

i am tearing through some books this summer - i almost only brought one book to salt lake city, and then threw a second one in at the last minute…i finished the first book in two days and almost finished the second.  both excellent - you'll hear more about them in my june book review.  life is good.

i compared my ongoing "to read" list with what my school library has on the shelves, and grabbed three more books today - there are no due dates during the summer, so i can take as long as i like to read these.  and then what appeared in the mail?  the book and course pack for the summer professional development seminar on the supreme court that i'm attending in california in late july.  aaaaand now i've got a lot of reading on my plate. :)

a screenshot a day

You might think you are reading that humidity level incorrectly, but you're not. Welcome back to Houston!

what i'm listening to right now

he has a beautiful voice, and i have loved discovering this song (thank you, pandora!).

"my stunning mystery companion," by jackson browne:

AP reading update...

…because you know you want one.

yesterday we finished reading all the essays for our alternate exam question and got retrained on an operational (aka regular) exam question.  i do not like this new question.  it's a bit harder to score (you have to read super closely and at points infer what a kid means), but i will survive.

today i read 275 essays, for a total of 1,325 read over the five days of the reading so far.  two more days to go, and i'm "just" 221 essays away from my share of the reading.  it sounds like we're on track to finish, but not necessarily finish early.  ugh.  but we'll make it!

last night there was a very fun game of thrones watching party with my friends and tonight is dine out night, where the college board pays for our dinner at a nice-ish restaurant, so i'm not complaining too much.  onward!

(houston, please don't wash away while i'm gone.)

a photo a day

after i finished reading 400 essays yesterday, my friends angela and tamasine and i drove into the mountains near salt lake city and went on a mini hike.  the temperature dropped as we got higher in elevation, so it was in the 50s at 7pm as we were walking around.  beautiful!  and we saw a moose!  afterward, we went into park city and had dinner (taking some crazy mountain roads to get there), then headed back to salt lake and to bed.  hooray for a little excursion away from civilization!

a Ruby a day

Missing this snugglebug, who loves to live up to cat stereotypes (playing with a ribbon is just one of her many favorite things to do)!

a screenshot a day

the AP reading started today!  at the beginning of the day they put us all in this big room and tell us the rules and how many readers there are for the government exam and how many exams there are (and each exam has four essays), and i knew the exact numbers at the time, so i did the math.  the number of essays i need to read to meet my quota?

yes, that sounds absurd, but the first year i read i beat that number by a lot and the second year i was just 20 shy of this.  i read 185 this afternoon, when they finished training us and let us read on our own.  obviously i kept track, since finishing a packet of 25 lets you stand up and stretch and put a tick mark on a piece of paper before you settle back down for 25 more.  you know what i'll be doing for the next six days.

but now: dinner + free beer at opening reception.  YES.

“We don't beat the Grim Reaper by living longer, we beat the Reaper by living well and living fully, for the Reaper will come for all of us. The question is what do we do between the time we are born and the time he shows up.”
—Randy Pausch (1960-2008), Professor and Author

what i'm listening to right now

when i first heard this song on the radio, i was certain it was some 80s song making a comeback…it just has that beat that i associate with 80s music, though in reality it's a song from just last year.  i really like it - "shut up and dance," by walk the moon:

a photo a day

A little tree that I am being asked to plant sit this summer while its owner is out of town. His name is apparently Seymour, and his owner is adamant that he is still alive. Ruby is skeptical. I will attempt to work miracles. 

Jiffy Lube mechanic: "Ma'am, your car is going to be ready in just a few minutes. I don't drive a standard, so I had to get someone else to pull it in so I could do the inspection."

Let it be known that on June 8, 2015 at 4pm Miss Claire felt competent around an auto mechanic for the first time in her life. 

what i'm listening to right now

how have i not yet posted a song by the waifs on this blog?  i LOVE their voices, and pandora has made them a staple on my playlists.  this one literally makes me dance around my apartment.

"when i die," by the waifs:

may: 10

this month i only read one book...and i didn't even read it - i listened to it in the car.  gah!  i will blame AP exams (i am the AP coordinator at my school and the event takes up my life for two weeks).  we're done with the school year, though - bring on the books!

the month i "read":

brain on fire: my month of madness, by susannah cahalan (this memoir chronicles the author's descent into what her family and doctors initially think is schizophrenia and almost institutionalize her for...and turns out to be a rare form of encephalitis.  really interesting to hear about how the disease manifested itself and how the doctors eventually figured out what was going on.  a little repetitive towards the end - and i do sometimes wonder how someone under 30 can write a memoir - but overall i enjoyed listening to this.  i wouldn't suggest you put it at the top of your list, but if you happen upon this book it was a worthwhile read.)

a ruby a day

If there's a sweeter girl around, I haven't met her. 

exam week procrastination

7 travel inventions i'd love to see (but probably never will) - i am totally entertained.

you draw it: how family income affects children's college chances - this is both fascinating and not surprising.

how to create a cheese plate for every possible occasion - more funny than instructive...but also instructive.

last!  day!  with!  students!  (until august 17.)

what i'm listening to right now

nate ruess, i love your voice.  and thus i love this song, which also has a great beat.

"nothing without love":

for christmas, becky got me an awesome vegetarian cookbook called plenty, and this weekend i finally sat down and made a recipe from it.  this is the recipe from page 222, lentils with tomatoes and gorgonzola, with my own twists (no onions, add spinach, different kind of cheese).  the oven-dried tomatoes were an amazing compliment to the lentils, and this is definitely a recipe that i will make again!

i'm getting back into a more regular yoga practice, and with the heat of summer approaching, i am craving lighter and healthier foods.  stressful time of year (and all the bad habits that came with it) - goodbye!  hello, almost summer!

strawberry cake

my friend elizabeth's birthday is tomorrow, and she had a little get-together this afternoon at one of our favorite casual bars.  i offered to make her a cake because no one should have to provide their own birthday cake.  she requested fresh strawberry cake, and i found a recipe on smitten kitchen, always my go-to for new recipes because the author makes delicious stuff, takes great pictures of it, and writes like you're her best friend and she's telling you what she made as you eat brunch together.  i. love. her.

i am not really a fan of strawberry-flavored cakes, so i was skeptical but willing to make elizabeth whatever she wanted.

step one: eat a healthy lunch (lentils with sautéed spinach and garlic) to make up for the obscene amount of frosting you are going to lick off of your fingers later.

step two: make the batter.  this recipe has a cup and a half of pureed strawberries in it, and just one drop of food coloring to make it nice and pink.  the recipe makes a three layer cake (but i just made two slightly thicker layers and some cupcakes since i only have two cake pans), and it tested the capacity of my medium-sized kitchenaid mixer.

step three: use this as an excuse to buy the cake carrier you have always wanted to buy.  yes!

step four: baked, frosted, and ready to go!

step five: eaten!  um, this cake is one of the best cakes i've ever made.  seriously.  top three.  i make a bad ass chocolate cake with chocolate ganache (secret ingredient: coffee), a bad ass carrot cake (secret ingredient: no gross nuts), and now a bad ass strawberry cake (secret ingredient: cake flour, which makes a super tender and delicate cake).  i am ready to open a cake shop.  who wants to fund me?!

the strawberry flavor tastes…like strawberries!  because it contains them!  the real thing has made me realize that previous strawberry cakes i've eaten have probably never been near a strawberry, relying on whatever the chemical strawberry "flavor" is.

it was a huge hit with elizabeth and her friends and i am feeling very proud of myself!  i'll be bringing the cupcakes to brunch* with a different group of friends tomorrow and am hopeful that they will go over just as well.


*who says you can't have cupcakes at brunch??

a Ruby a day

I could not be more in love with this sweetheart, who purred and then napped while I watched Netflix after dinner. 

No, but really. How did I get so lucky with this kitty?

miss claire's trader joe's recommendations

the greeting cards section at trader joe's is a-mazing.  some of the cards (not 100%, but enough!) are cute or funny or pretty enough to buy - and they are simple and not cheesy - AND THEY COST $1.  i don't know when the last time you bought a $1 card was, but hallmark cards are like $4 now.  trader joe's.  buy your greeting cards there, friends.

trader joe's frozen foods section: buy the speculoos cookie butter cheesecake bites.  and thank me later. they are small enough that you don't feel guilty have a few bites of something sweet, and they are delicious enough that you will be VERY sad when they are gone.  the box says you should thaw them a bit in the fridge before eating, but i eat them straight from the fridge and they are probably just a smudge firmer than intended, but, like thin mints, these are excellent straight from the freezer.

what i'm listening to right now

the song is another one that requires dancing around my apartment while it is playing.

"fight song," by rachel platten:

a Ruby a day

On Sunday, this snuggle bug allowed me to take a nap with her...if I laid on the floor, only snuggled with one arm, and she got to lie in her bed.

I will take what I can get. 

“To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness.”
—Confucius

wild rice casserole

on friday we had a baby shower for a work friend, which was really fun!, and there was a fair amount of food left over.  i took home the remnants of the vegetable tray, and then got the idea to make a wild rice casserole with lots of the veggies in it.  um, smitten kitchen wins again.  the cheese sauce was AMAZING over the steamed broccoli and sautéed green onions and mushrooms and just-barely-done wild rice, and it only took 15 minutes in the oven to be great.  huge thumbs up - i'll be making this again soon.

a Ruby a day

Ruby is 2 today! Happy birthday to the sweetest little furball around! Please consider that cheese that fell on the floor your birthday present.

a photo a day

I met the first of these fantastic people in June of 2001, when we worked together at Duke TIP. Over the next six summers the others joined. We have laughed and cried together, gone night swimming and hiking, baked and played nerdy games. And, you know, supervised middle schoolers along the way. After we stopped working together we have made it a priority to see each other at least once a year, though we are spread out around the country. These are very special friends of mine, and I can't imagine how our paths would have crossed had it not been for TIP, which hired us all (and then eventually fired a few of us).

I'm so happy we could all be together for Nora's wedding to Nigel in DC last weekend! And I can't wait for the 4th of July in Boone!

what i'm listening to right now

i have heard this a few times on the radio when i was driving, and it is the kind of music you immediately turn up and start dancing in your seat.  LOVE.  "budapest," by george ezra:

a photo a day

The original plan was NOT to have US Air cancel my flight from Charlotte to DC, leaving me stranded in Charlotte for 12 hours. It was not to be rebooked on a flight that landed in DC 3 hours before Nora and Nigel's wedding. But somehow this has all truly been okay. I'm sad that I didn't get to spend the day with my friends in northern Virginia before driving with them to the wedding venue. But we have tomorrow together, too, so all isn't lost. And my forced layover was in a city where I have good friends, who picked me up, housed me, fed me freshly-made biscuits and eggs this morning, and I got to read books to - and draw with sidewalk chalk with - and take selfies with - Mr. Ryan.

I saw a former student on my plane to DC (!!), metroed to the National Mall, and have set up shop with my suitcase and tote bag for a few hours before I uber to the wedding site. Will I be changing into my dress in the bathroom of the Smithsonian? Yes, yes I will. And until then I have a newly downloaded book on my phone, a diet coke, sunshine and blue skies, the shade of a big tree, and a suitcase-pillow.

Life is still pretty good. 

i'm planning to read along with the NPR morning edition book club's pick this month - anyone want to join?  i was sad to miss their first pick and am excited to virtually join in for the second one.  because i am a 30-something educated liberal who loves NPR, and this little book club shows that they know their audience well.

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
—Nelson Mandela

what i'm listening to right now

pandora discovered this song for me, and i love it.  "swing life away," by rise against:

a photo a day

Research papers to grade? A gorgeous 82 degrees with low humidity? Why yes, I WILL grade by the pool.

Let me note that before I moved to Texas, I might have called 82 degrees hot. I now think it feels SO PERFECT because I know what a humid 97 degrees for three months straight feels like. Does this mean I am a real Texan?

april: 9

we need to talk about kevin, by lionel shriver (i only read one book this month, in large part because this one was a little ponderous.  a (fiction) book told from the perspective of the mother of a school shooter?  why yes, i probably should have anticipated not always wanting to pick this one up.  and it is an epistolary novel…which didn't really work for me.  letters by their very nature leave things out that are understood between the writer and the person reading it, but when books contain letters they almost always contain all these details that just don't seem realistic to me.  on the positive side, throughout the book you know that the end will be the details of the school shooting, but there were some TWISTS that i was not really anticipating and so i liked (is "liked" the right word when people are dying?) the end of this book more than the 400 pages i had to get through to get to the end.  i'm not recommending this one, folks, but i guess i'm glad i read it.)

a ruby a day

My Friday night buddy!

a ruby a day

I was only forgiven for leaving when I agreed to sit ON THE KITCHEN FLOOR to pet her. Nowhere else would do. That is the refrigerator that she is rolling around with. 

Let the record show that I don't know why we couldn't have done this in the living room, but her pitiful meows insisted it be here. And I obliged because I am ridiculous. 

a ruby a day

Heading home to Houston...and missing my little Ruby girl, whom I won't be able to pick up until tomorrow afternoon. So let's just take a minute to appreciate how cute she is - this is her "there is a bird I need to keep an eye on!!" pose. 

what i'm listening to right now

i'm still (slowly) making my way through the podcast welcome to night vale.  this is another song from the show: "jews for jesus blues," by clem snide - great beat and i love the singer's voice:

“Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.”
—John Wesley (1703-1791), Theologian

a photo a day

11 years ago this month I was taking a Civil War history class at Duke and we took a quasi-mandatory field trip to the Gettysburg battlefield. The class was half southern frat boys reliving the glory of the capital S South and half history majors who wanted to learn more about, you know, American history. I made a D on the midterm exam because I struggled with - among other things - drawing out battle plans like our instructor wanted us to...where the confederate army was at the beginning and end of the battle for Vicksburg, for example. Who needs to know this?!? Me, apparently. And then then Gettysburg trip. I drove my rugby teammate Jessica, another history nerd who we were kind of friends with, the girl that nerd was flirting with...and my professor. Yes, that's right, my professor rode in the backseat for the six hour drive from North Carolina to southern Pennsylvania. My professor and I became friends on that trip and I experienced my first blatant case of grade inflation: after that D on the midterm, a solid paper + a sold final exam + a weekend of fun in Gettysburg = a solid A for the course. I didn't ask questions.

When we were in Gettysburg with the frat boys, we stopped at the high water mark of the confederacy (Pickett's charge resulted in the farthest north the confederate army made it during the war). Our professor made us reenact Pickett's charge and then the frat boys shotgunned a beer there. You read that right. Shotgunned a beer. 

Today I am in Gettysburg again! I'm here visiting Gettysburg College and two other liberal arts colleges in central Pennsylvania as part of a tour for college counselors. We took a short tour of the battlefield today. Disappointingly - but not surprisingly - no one shotgunned a beer at the high water mark of the confederacy this time. 

a photo a day

Airplane sunsets are sometimes the best sunsets!

a Ruby a day

Let me go on the record (again) as stating unequivocally that not only do I have the cutest cat on the planet, but she is also the most affectionate sweetheart everrrrr. Only flaw at the moment: massive shedding. But that's nothing a good vacuum can't handle.

“Wilderness is not a luxury, but a necessity of the human spirit.”
—Edward Abbey (1927-1989), American Author

a screenshot a day

This? This is pretty incredible. I have two friends in Nepal currently - one lives there, one lives in Bangladesh - and this showed up in my Facebook news feed. 

Both friends had already posted that they were okay, but I know not everyone is that lucky. Huge kudos to Facebook for creating and implementing this.

Technology is not everything. But technology can be a very important thing.

a photo a day

Newest little stuffed animal for a work friend's baby girl, due in June! I am in love with this pattern - the bunny is so easy to make and so freaking adorable. 

a book i loved just won the pulitzer prize - hooray!  this book was recommended to me by my friend who is in prison…and just writing that sentence makes me laugh.  yes, everyone, my friend who is in federal prison has excellent taste in books (and he tells me that he is now reading the complete works of shakespeare because he's got nothing but time).  oh what a weird weird universe we live in.

march: 5, 6, 7, & 8

oops - 22 days into the next month, and i'm just now posting it.  but…march was a good month of reading, helped by spring break!  last month i read:

persepolis: the story of a childhood, by marjane satrapi (this is an autobiographical graphic novel about growing up in iran in the 1970s.  it was on our school's summer reading short list, though we're ultimately going to go with a different book.  i had seen the movie previously, and this is one case where i'd recommend the movie before i'd recommend reading the book.  the art is the same, and the movie evokes more powerful emotions, in my opinion, than i experienced reading the book.  i'd highly recommend you see the movie!  such an important part of world history to be exposed to.)

the book thief, by markus zusak (how did it take me so long to read this book?  it had been on my list for a while, and i finally bought it with a gift certificate that a student gave me (hooray for gift certificates for books!).  this is a fictional account of a girl growing up near munich during world war II.  the book is narrated by death, which i found a fascinating way to tell this story.  it's horribly sad at points, like all books about world war II can be, but the structure of the book and the narration and the characters made this a really interesting read.  i'd highly recommend it!  i think it's technically a young adult book (another work of great young adult literature!), and it's a quick read, but no less powerful because it's aimed at a teenage audience.  i immediately put another book by the author (i am the messenger) on my "to read" list.  see...this is how my list doesn't ever get any shorter...)

the other wes moore, by wes moore (put down everything you are doing.  READ THIS BOOK.  the premise: a man named wes moore finds out he has been selected as a rhodes scholar at the same time as he sees on the news that another man named wes moore is found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison.  the two wes moores are about the same age, both black, both grew up in baltimore.  how does one become a rhodes scholar and the other end up in prison?  the book follows both wes moores through their lives, drawing contrasts between the events of each of their lives and how they respond to them.  it, of course, doesn't answer any questions fully, but it gave me a LOT to think about. this was one of those books where i was talking back to the book while i read it.  always a good sign!)

serena, by ron rash (Q recommended this book to me - the author is from the asheville area, and he knows that i love a good historical novel set in appalachia.  this book was good, but i have a hard time liking books when i don't find the main character likable…and i had a really hard time figuring out what to think of serena.  i'm glad i read it - and there are some really interesting plot points - but i'm not rushing to recommend it to you guys because i'm…still just not quite sure what to think about it.  and the ending…oh, the ending.  so maybe you should read it.  i'm just not quite sure.)

what i'm listening to right now

i know, i know, i'm behind the times again, but i just discovered "little toy guns," by carrie underwood, and i'm loving it (cheesy as it is, as times), which is not hard because carrie has such a fantastic voice:

spring salad

i made smitten kitchen's spring salad with new potatoes a year or so ago, and then (re-)fell in love with it this weekend.  i was in the grocery store and there was some gorgeous asparagus and then this salad popped back into my head.  thank you, internet, for (re-)finding the recipe for me while i stood in the produce section, assuring that i bought all the ingredients i needed.  and, caveat, i hate radishes, so i clearly omitted those.  this salad is fantastic because (a) potatoes are just one ingredient, not the whole story, and (b) the dressing isn't mayonnaise-based (i really like mayonnaise, but the fact that the dressing here is a vinaigrette makes it so much lighter).  i made it on saturday...and then again tonight.  but i made a half recipe each time…which is how i am justifying it.

you should make this salad, and then perhaps bring it for lunch alongside hummus and pita like i did.

a chewy a day

Yesterday, Ruby had a play date with my friend Carolyn's cat Chewbacca, because Carolyn may keep Ruby when I'm out of town in a few weeks and we wanted to see how Ruby and Chewy got along.

Step 1: adorable tentative touching of noses. 

Step 2: retreating into separate corners of the apartment. 

Step 3: Ruby going on the greeting offense. Hissing, noise-making, etc. from both cats. 

Step 4: Ruby, secure in her dominance, lies on the bed in a position of repose, while Chewy hides under it. Carolyn and I leave to go to the Astros game. 

Oh, that's right. We had seats right behind the dugout. Astros win yayyyyy. 

Step 5 (discovered when we get home): there is a mutual agreement that Ruby can have all high surfaces and Chewy will have all low ones. Ruby is on the kitchen counter, later the bookshelf, and finally he bathroom counter. Chewy tracks her movements from the floor. 

Step 6: in an act of passive aggressive dominance (or something? who knows what cats are thinking) like I have never seen before, Chewy casually goes in Ruby's carrier and refuses to get out, making eye contact with bathroom counter lounging Ruby the whole time. 

Step 7: Chewy is extracted from carrier, Ruby is shoved in it, and night is called a success. 

Step 8: Upon getting home, Ruby pretends like she didn't have a cat food buffet while at Chewy's house. I do not believe her. 

Cat play date: success!

domesticity

my apartment tends to go through phases…i spend time getting it super clean one weekend, then three weeks later i look around and it's a WRECK.  this morning we were in wreck territory.  today i did two loads of laundry, vacuumed, did the dishes, took out the trash, got clothes ready to give to goodwill, balanced my (electronic) checkbook, boxed up a baby gift to be mailed, started a new knitting project, and cleaned my closet.  it feels GOOD…is this a sign that i am old?!

ruby does not quite know what to do with all the floor space that has been freed up.  

this is a belated post, because hazel was born in february, but look!  smushy new baby hazel wore the hat i made her!

clearly i was/am over the moon about this.  (and i get to meet baby hazel in 3 weeks - yay!)  i still have some of this yarn, and i think another baby hat for some other baby out there is for sure in the works because the yarn knitted up so nicely.  woo hoo!

what i'm listening to right now

so, like the rest of the world (this video has 218 million views so far), i enjoy this song.  "love me like you do," by ellie goulding:



no, i did not see the movie.  yes, i did read the book and, yes, that did help me get a question right at trivia night a few weeks ago.  so clearly reading the book was time well spent.

HILARIOUS - i was laughing out loud, which either means it is truly funny or i am truly weird.  two medieval monks invent dinner parties

(one instance of bad language, so be slightly warned.)

what i'm pondering right now

on I-45 southbound, driving back from an amazing weekend celebrating becky and brandon's wedding, i listened to some sara bareilles, and a line from "chasing the sun" resonated with me:


so how do you do it,
with just words and just music, capture the feeling
that my earth is somebody's ceiling

this song is literally about walking around a graveyard, where your earth is the ceiling of the dead.  but i heard it figuratively.  my reality, my day-to-day, is someone else's best moments.  that i live daily a life full of moments that are pretty incredible.  and this weekend was full of them - surrounded by family, taking care of my sister, being taken care of by the best wedding date ever, laughing with the other bridesmaids, grinning my face off during the ceremony, feeling valued, feeling loved, feeling the community the bride and groom brought together.  it wasn't an average weekend, but all of these elements are in my life all the time…this wedding just packed them tightly together.  i paused to be reminded that my earth is pretty incredible.  my earth is somebody's ceiling.

seasons

i had a parent meeting today, and we were chit-chatting about the weather as the meeting started, and i said how much i was enjoying spring…and the dad corrected me.  "it's pre-summer," he said.  which, at 86 degrees today, is pretty accurate.  which got me thinking…what really ARE the seasons in texas?

june-september = summer
october-december = fall
january-february = fall+ (when some of the leaves turn fall colors in january, you can't call this season winter)
march = spring
april-may = pre-summer

i'm remaining optimistic that we'll have another cooler spring day before pre-summer turns into real summer…but i'm not holding my breath.

what i'm listening to right now

"if i ever leave this world alive," by flogging molly:


at some point nora put this on one of her fantastic mixes.  i've been listening to some old CDs recently and loved re-discovering this song!

Life with a cat: snuggling on THEIR terms. I just laid down on the ground near Ruby - and let the record show that almost two years with Ruby has taught me to not lie too close and not force her to full-body snuggle, which would otherwise be my goal. So I lie down on the floor near her and pet her ONE TIME and she gets up and moves 20 feet away and lies back down. 

I love you, too, Ruby. 

a Ruby a day

Dear downstairs neighbor,

(I can never remember your name. Jeff? Maybe? Sorry.) Thank you for putting in a bird feeder on your balcony. You have lured all the birdies outside this window, giving Ruby a calling in life. 75% of her waking life is now spent keeping track of these birds, and boy is she good at it. Nothing escapes her eagle eyes!

Love, 

Miss Claire