tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32766956521364993772024-03-07T21:42:28.305-08:00The BlogCatherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-58261428500008870902011-07-30T20:23:00.000-07:002012-02-22T00:03:47.190-08:00personal space invadedAs you can tell, I haven't been writing much on the blog lately. Pictures are easy enough, but I've been avoiding any contemplative moods, instead drowning anxiety about upcoming changes with bad TV and sewing projects. <br /><br />I'm only writing now because my home has been invaded and my normal routine crushed under the dirty feet of my sister's new boyfriend who likes to spontaneously remove his shirt and doesn't wear shoes outside, afterward considering his feet perfectly presentable on cream wool carpet (where I lay out my large projects). I suppose everything all happens for a reason because this all is making my impending move feel a lot less dire-- it will be a RELIEF to have my own space to in live again: dirty feet will not be permitted across the threshold. At this point, a bit of loneliness feels like a fair trade for some cleanliness. <br /><br />It probably isn't very good for me to have my own place if I am ever supposed to cohabit with anyone ever again (but I doubt I will). This is because I get more and more rigid about routines and cleanliness in my isolation-- naturally, because no one is challenging me-- so that it is downright painful to live with other people after the freedom of complete control over my surroundings. I'm experiencing a bit of that right now as Banana arrived home from CA today for a week and the new boyfriend, who I will henceforth call Whipper Snapper (he truly is), is sleeping on the floor in my regular living area на второй этаже. This is usually a space of tranquility or productiveness all day and late into the night. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5992226189/" title="IMG_1745 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6143/5992226189_484e7a7a8a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1745"></a><br /><br />But no, Whipper Snapper will be coming up and sleeping on an air mattress in my sewing area. So, I <em>could</em> have basted my quilt today but didn't start because I wouldn't have been able to leave it out unfinished. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5992793384/" title="IMG_1761 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6144/5992793384_af97bb290d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1761"></a><br /><br />Anyways, I've gathered quite a lot of sewing supplies this summer and have a nice stash of fabric. This is the stuff for my new, quick 8" block quilt to bring to school. I put together the entire top last night from 8PM to 5AM. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5992240219/" title="IMG_1762 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6015/5992240219_c836092b03.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1762"></a><br /><br />Finding fabric for this quilt, which was inspired by <a href="http://www.cherrymenlove.com/crafts-how-tos/2010/03/how-to-make-a-patchwork-quilt.html">Cherry Menlove's spring quilt</a>, was surprisingly difficult! Evidently Midwestern American quilters are not interested in neutrals. I ended up with five yards of not-right fabric, three of which were unusable in any other projects and one which was, allegedly, nonreturnable. Exhibit A:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5992244509/" title="IMG_1756 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6021/5992244509_268a148900.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_1756"></a><br /><br />This fabric is from <a href="http://www.babybedding.com/sage-mini-stripe-fabric">Carousel Designs</a>, called "Sage Mini Stripe" and described as "fine sage green stripes over a soft white background, this pretty fabric functions almost as a neutral." Ah, neutral? I think not! That is lime green if I ever saw lime green and not something I would ever use in a project. I did eventually get the nice customer service rep to let me return it, because it was still in plastic and I was so "disappointed", but I have yet to see whether I've been credited for it. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5992230369/" title="IMG_1734 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6131/5992230369_250a3a1722.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1734"></a><br /><br />Ah, so the thing I've been dancing around, and not thinking about or doing, is <em>packing</em>. Normally I don't mind packing as much as some seem to, but I need to repack a lot of my things like NOW so I can get a moving quote and this requires a lot of running things through the dishwasher, long periods of inactivity waiting to get more boxes or packing material with everything strewn about, and then having to figure out what to do with things that I can't really throw away but don't want anymore. Also, living without things that I've already packed and so feeling like my life is in cardboard limbo. Drudging through all one's worldly possessions can be draining and it might actually be just as much, or cheaper, to buy new things in Boston, so I'm not sure what best to do. Three thousand gallons of gas is expensive. <br /><br />Bah, and then there is the program I'll be staring itself. Russian has been eating me up all year until a few days ago when it struck me that if I spent half as much time studying as I do worrying about it, I'd be fairly well along. You see, even if I manage the English Literature (my program) I'll be screwed if I can't pass the language requirement test and then I'd be kicked out, which would mean moving 1,500 miles <em>again</em> and living at home. This is not an option. <br /><br />And egads, I am so looking forward to having my own place again because Whipper Snapper has displaced me to my bedroom for the night and this means using the basement bathroom which is mainly used by my brother, so less than desirable. <br /><br />Thank goodness for wireless internet.<br /><br />P.S. I do feel a bit bad about being a little less than friendly to Whipper Snapper. Though I did give him a full chance until I had to pick him up, with my sister and my brother (who were riding in the car), one night a few weeks ago because he'd been drinking and was pulled over. He managed to scrape by without a DUI because he is sneaky. I wouldn't have minded picking them up, but afterward he instigated a coverup about it, obviously not wanting my parentals to know. So I was put in the awkward situation of lying about it while my parents talked about how "responsible" he was. <br /><br />I'll try to give him another chance, I suppose. I did feel sorry for him at the end of the night after he arrived with spilt beverage on his pants, spilled his alcohol twice in thirty minutes on the floor of my sister's room, then again on the shorts he borrowed from my brother, then ripped the shorts. He was obviously less than comfortable.<br /><br />P.S.S.<br /><br />Here is a bad photo off FB of said wedding:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5992546867/" title="wedding by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6023/5992546867_9a480b1136.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="wedding"></a><br /><br />You know how I'm always saying that this is the year I'll end up looking like Jennifer Garner? (Or do you? Have I said that on this incarnation of my blog?) Well, this year looks quite promising, though I've had one to many cookies lately. (I figure I may as well take advantage of having fresh baked cookies brought to me by my mother while I can.)<br /><br />P.S.S.S. This kind of post is exactly why my family can never find this blog.Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-80665720125558802942011-07-18T01:13:00.000-07:002011-07-19T05:19:07.467-07:00there had been rain all day...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5863020404/" title="IMG_1659 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5313/5863020404_821f6d2009.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_1659"></a><br /><br />"There had been rain all day, and there was a damp feeling in the air. The leaves were thick upon the trees, and heavy with wet; but the rain had ceased, though the sky was still dark; and the hopeful birds were singing cheerfully. As I walked to and fro in the garden, and the twilight began to close around me, their little voices were hushed; and that peculiar silence which belongs to such an evening in the country when the lightest trees are quite still, save for the occasional droppings from their boughs, prevailed."<br /><br />-<em>David Copperfield</em><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862965508/" title="IMG_1585 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3258/5862965508_bd381b7cdb.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1585"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862422453/" title="IMG_1604 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5108/5862422453_e9c1f53c6e.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_1604"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862962134/" title="IMG_1583 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3010/5862962134_2d0c7c8a6c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1583"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862425461/" title="IMG_1608 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5147/5862425461_86f9859406.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_1608"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862978132/" title="IMG_1613 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5160/5862978132_19d6f65754.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_1613"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862981616/" title="IMG_1614 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5316/5862981616_115ef888c8.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1614"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862437579/" title="IMG_1616 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5159/5862437579_01172797d8.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_1616"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862442463/" title="IMG_1621 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3113/5862442463_c414acb13f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1621"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862995144/" title="IMG_1625 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5070/5862995144_9429cbfe92.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1625"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862998200/" title="IMG_1629 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5305/5862998200_4e2e0c6737.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1629"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862452381/" title="IMG_1636 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2731/5862452381_f915143644.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1636"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862454725/" title="IMG_1643 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3238/5862454725_4d7828d8d1.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_1643"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5863007666/" title="IMG_1647 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3252/5863007666_292e172946.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1647"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862460489/" title="IMG_1648 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3227/5862460489_5347bc8ce4.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1648"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862463229/" title="IMG_1650 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3018/5862463229_a14a12a021.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1650"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5863024176/" title="IMG_1661 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3124/5863024176_7d6b00325d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1661"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5863029728/" title="IMG_1666 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3187/5863029728_520096677f.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_1666"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5863026300/" title="IMG_1663 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3209/5863026300_a9667d7c65.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_1663"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5863032418/" title="IMG_1677 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5234/5863032418_5b9eac6a74.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_1677"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862489491/" title="IMG_1696 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3126/5862489491_5ccd3493bf.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_1696"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5863035018/" title="IMG_1689 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5236/5863035018_538ede1e8a.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_1689"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862492935/" title="IMG_1697 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5073/5862492935_4b89cea12d.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_1697"></a>Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-81576532489863403892011-07-18T00:51:00.000-07:002011-07-18T01:12:48.034-07:00belated father's day pictures<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5949343949/" title="IMG_1576 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6002/5949343949_92641e214b.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1576"></a><br /><br />Happy times. Even a nature loving Dad likes to have a bit of a fuss made of him every once in a while. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5949336293/" title="IMG_1573 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6142/5949336293_f9a0a61427.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1573"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5949340321/" title="IMG_1574 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6028/5949340321_da512af5fd.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1574"></a><br /><br />(Feeling left out)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5949904396/" title="IMG_1579 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6020/5949904396_3a3084e5e6.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1579"></a>Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-53442914857336140362011-06-23T21:29:00.000-07:002012-02-22T00:09:13.256-08:00a family reunion<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862920734/" title="IMG_1542 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5228/5862920734_8ab8543abd.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_1542"></a><br /><br />I just returned from a traditional summer punctuation: a family reunion. I now seem to be on the dwindling end of summer and my time here at home. I hadn't attended a reunion of my mother's family for quite a few years (at least away from <em>my</em> home, since it was held here last year) because they're normally held in Michigan or Illinois and the car rides are tortuously long. The feeling of being hundreds of miles away from home with no control over my movements while being confined to few square feet of car if I ever want to get anywhere safe again has never been a thing I've enjoyed. This year, however, I wasn't going to let my peculiarities get in the way of seeing this extremely lovable side of my family all together (mostly) for perhaps the last time, since I'll be slaving away for the next six summers trying to pay for rent in Boston-- if everything goes well (that is a grim thought). So-- and this is becoming a disturbing theme on this blog-- I went into a medically induced semi-conscious state and slept most of the way there only to stumble drearily into gas stations to buy mini oreos. Maybe I was waaayy stoned or I'm just old, because the nine hour drive went by much faster than before. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862248609/" title="IMG_1451 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3082/5862248609_8edcfdbb84.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1451"></a><br /><br />The main attraction in Evanston last weekend, during the reunion, was the <a href="http://www.custerfair.com/">Custer Street Fair</a>, which I'd been to once before and definitely enjoyed more several years ago. This year the best thing about it was the adorable doggies panting along with their fanny-pack wearing owners. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862253347/" title="IMG_1452 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2762/5862253347_c5ec6202fa.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1452"></a><br /><br />Previously, I'd been intrigued by the sand-filled glittery dragons and fluffy marionette puppets (missing this year) but this year the only real attraction for buying were the tables full of cheapo rings. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862270835/" title="IMG_1458 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2702/5862270835_d1ae26d4b7.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1458"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862827752/" title="IMG_1462 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3096/5862827752_8b87a4ce7c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1462"></a><br /><br />And some not so cheapo rings:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862811384/" title="IMG_1454 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5181/5862811384_6165e7b0f0.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1454"></a><br /><br />Steph wouldn't come to the reunion because she has recently fallen in love with someone and must spend every waking moment with him, so though she's recently taken time off work for visits to friends she didn't think it was worth it to come to the reunion and consequently charged me with getting her something from the Fair. I got her a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claddagh_ring">claddagh ring</a> because it was the the nicest of the lot. I'd want to keep it for myself if I didn't think that they're a bit cheesy and I'd want to buy an authentic one in Ireland someday if at all. I got myself a set of little hoop earrings, for a bit of ~flair~ instead. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862817882/" title="IMG_1457 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5153/5862817882_4c67b293b9.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1457"></a><br /><br />It wasn't insanely hot, but it felt sweltering in the middle of Main Street with so many people, especially since I ended up walking over to it about four times during Saturday and Sunday. On the plus side, the people of Evanston definitely have a thing for pansies, which was quite a welcome sight during the bustle. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862263841/" title="IMG_1456 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2761/5862263841_5174cba364.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1456"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862325121/" title="IMG_1497 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5147/5862325121_38e169e377.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1497"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862824040/" title="IMG_1460 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5021/5862824040_cffd457d54.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1460"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862831368/" title="IMG_1463 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5195/5862831368_0b5d605605.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1463"></a><br /><br />The highlight of my second trip to the Fair was finding the sale trolleys outside <a href="http://www.chicagorare.com/">Chicago Rare Books</a> (this picture was taken on yet another trip to mainstreet on Monday after the Fair ended, hence the peace and quiet). I immediately pounced on a kitschy boxed set of Barbara Pym books for $6-- which are worth thrifting because it seems that there is only one publishing house (Plume) producing them now and the paperbacks don't seem to be worth a whole $16 each-- then discovered a whole slew of gems from Waugh, Wodehouse and Christie in a way that seemed like they'd been stacked there for me. I'd have bought more, but these are all authors that I prefer to check out from the library and don't usually buy because they're such quick reads. I couldn't resist the sale though and I'll post pictures tomorrow. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862288233/" title="IMG_1474 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2787/5862288233_9ec5180607.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1474"></a><br /><br />Oh, and did I mention that they had a fair few of the notoriously trendy <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/penguinpaperbackspotters/pool/with/3315200785/">Penguin paperbacks</a> just sitting there with the $3 Agatha Christies? I bought one and nearly bought the rest to sell on ebay, regardless of content, but I figured that I'd leave them there for someone else to discover. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862284135/" title="IMG_1473 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5160/5862284135_96a62e76a7.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1473"></a><br /><br />The inside of the shop was casually impressive, with a lot of beautiful old books of miniature or magnificent proportions behind glass and a cashier sitting behind the high counter with a fan on him. I didn't get to look around as long as I'd have liked because I felt that everything inside was out of my cheapo budget and I don't think fan-man appreciated that I was taking pictures. I have liked to photograph all the ones I wanted to buy but I'm not that shameless.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862290713/" title="IMG_1475 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5156/5862290713_100c094832.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1475"></a><br /><br />It was really quite a lovely store though and I'd go there again. But I <em>do</em> live in a town without a bookstore, so I may be a tiny bit impressionable. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862301883/" title="IMG_1481 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5191/5862301883_69283d9cd4.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1481"></a><br /><br />The next stop was a perennial favorite: <a href="http://www.davesdowntoearthrockshop.com/">Dave's Rock Shop</a>. This place is always worth a visit with its vials of gold, cubbies full of shiny rocks, crystals, heavy copper spheres and museum in the basement. I wanted some of the emerald jewelry but, alas, could not afford the very crime novel-esque $700 necklace that sat mysteriously behind glass. One day though. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862861610/" title="IMG_1488 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5152/5862861610_a559c5d749.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1488"></a><br /><br />There are plenty of things to get, though, for less than that. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862308199/" title="IMG_1487 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5222/5862308199_c0997ac384.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1487"></a><br /><br />My mom, for example, spent a lot of time picking out the prettiest rocks from this display to fill a glass apothecary jar in her bathroom, much to the chagrin of the seven-year-olds waiting for their turn. She has a thing for rocks and boulders that is unexplainable. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862855894/" title="IMG_1483 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5269/5862855894_244c9c4331.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1483"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862297913/" title="IMG_1480 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3184/5862297913_7c104902c9.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1480"></a><br /><br />My geologist uncle apparently had a small mental break here last year and spent <em>a lot</em> (totally understandable). <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862807982/" title="IMG_1453 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3099/5862807982_c8de32ab66.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1453"></a><br /><br />You can see what I mean when I say that most of the Fair booths couldn't really compete with the sparkling geodes. I also went to <a href="http://www.voguefabricsstore.com/home.php">Vogue Fabric</a> but I can't say I'd recommend going there (maybe for buttons) it as the lady ripped rather than cut my yard of fabric, which ended up having a swathe cut out of the middle of it, probably for a sample. The notions were overpriced and they had hardly any quilting fabric, but I expected that. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862867956/" title="IMG_1493 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3262/5862867956_ffd405190f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1493"></a><br /><br />While all this was going on, Andreas was sucked into the guitar store and may or may not have have been ripped off on an extremely expensive Gibson that cost more than I've ever made working during the summer. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862314135/" title="IMG_1491 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3051/5862314135_c426bbd0ba.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1491"></a><br /><br />Well, it made him really happy.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862896216/" title="IMG_1516 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5103/5862896216_d229b80014.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1516"></a><br /><br />OK, so excuse my money-centered talk-- I don't know where that came from because this side of the family is very nonmaterialistic-- because my favorite part of staying in Evanston (where my mom grew up and we lived for a few years) was the urban gardening and the trees. They may only have a little patch of front yard to show off, but that doesn't mean Evanstonians don't make use of it. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862872202/" title="IMG_1494 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5117/5862872202_eb01a9a2b4.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1494"></a><br /><br />There are a lot of very beautiful American porches and ornamental trees. The japanese maples, in particular, made my mother very jealous (we can't grown them here). <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862350139/" title="IMG_1518 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5230/5862350139_1f4f1c7f14.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1518"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862905440/" title="IMG_1523 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5152/5862905440_dd21117b56.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1523"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862333753/" title="IMG_1499 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3066/5862333753_f44b4ed5bf.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1499"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862888910/" title="IMG_1500 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5118/5862888910_f21dececb2.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1500"></a><br /><br />My grandparent's house is no exception. They may be nearing eighty, but that doesn't keep them from weeding the lawn for dandelions.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862893462/" title="IMG_1502 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5317/5862893462_803668374e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1502"></a><br /><br />This has to be the best dog walking area ever: so pleasant, so green.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862381115/" title="IMG_1547 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3192/5862381115_301e0c17ef.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_1547"></a><br /><br /><em>(This house, above, fenced off their landscape with "caution" tape during the Fair.)</em><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862373901/" title="IMG_1543 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5273/5862373901_73e24ecf44.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_1543"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862928186/" title="IMG_1545 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5314/5862928186_ac3ddd60c7.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_1545"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862917172/" title="IMG_1541 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3066/5862917172_b45f46ebc1.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_1541"></a><br /><br />I won't deny that I wish that the part of Boston I'm moving to looked like this. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862394453/" title="IMG_1558 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5234/5862394453_4bca293779.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_1558"></a><br /><br />Much of the reunion was spent lounging around on the swing (which the larger male cousins broke once, per tradition) and watching the people bonking into other cars while trying to park for the Fair. It was bumper to bumper, again and again, and very riveting stuff. It made me feel better about my own parallel parking skills. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862949628/" title="IMG_1560 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2742/5862949628_2ba8c0de03.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1560"></a><br /><br />Of course, after the Fair on Monday things went back to being peaceful.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862938080/" title="IMG_1552 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5196/5862938080_5394800842.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_1552"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862390927/" title="IMG_1553 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5227/5862390927_b1b25a3607.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1553"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862951598/" title="IMG_1571 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5189/5862951598_1b3cfc3acd.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1571"></a><br /><br />I am very glad that I went, even if I partially melted in the sun, as evidenced by this picture with my esteemable girly cousins-- who are growing up much to fast, in my opinion, and only wanted to watch horror movies and Jackass the entire time...bless them. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862913442/" title="IMG_1539 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5035/5862913442_c7fd8bb1d2.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1539"></a><br /><br />P.S.<br /><br />This is my aunt and uncle's extremely silly cockapoo who has crazy eyes and bandy grasshopper legs that let him get anything off the counter, forcing his family to store their garbage can in a cupboard. We were leaving and he happened to be sitting like this:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5862358225/" title="IMG_1532 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3112/5862358225_47e3058761.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1532"></a><br /><br />It is very strange because the whole family is fairly stoic but just happen to have the most (insert Austenian voice here) <em>ridiculous</em> dog ever.Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-61688377566472751012011-06-03T21:54:00.000-07:002012-02-22T00:17:51.339-08:00a late may walk<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770549813/" title="IMG_1255 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2006/5770549813_b02e7885b7.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1255"></a><br /><br />I hope my lack of posting hasn't left anyone with the idea that we're still experiencing a Narnian winter in Minnesota, because this is not the case. It was winter for an inordinate amount of time, then we had spring weather for about two weeks and now it is full-blown summer. Unless you live on Lake Superior, Minnesotan weather can be very extreme: -40 to 104 degrees throughout the year. Today it was 90. When I took these pictures it was still cool. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770556167/" title="IMG_1259 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3511/5770556167_1c12e34b38.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1259"></a><br /><br />The chance of frost only passed very recently, so we've just gotten all our planting done. We have such a short growing season that it is very popular around here to just head to the nurseries (or Walmart) and buy a pallet of already blooming annuals to fill up one's flower beds, instead of growing from seed. I'm growing from seed because most things wouldn't survive in the beds outside my window and seeds are very cheap. But it is a little sad that I won't be around to see them in their full glory-- just look at them last October. <a href="http://cnordstrom.blogspot.com/2009_10_01_archive.html"></a> I'll be long gone in Boston (in a high-rise with no vegetation surrounding it) before my garden looks that nice again.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771104216/" title="IMG_1260 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3547/5771104216_c8068fef3a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1260"></a><br /><br />This is one of my Mom's beds, having gone the route of the nursery annuals. The tulip bulbs didn't do very well and this particular patch of dirt gets a lot of wind, so-- on top of our VERY HEAVY clay soil-- it is difficult to get delicate things to grow here.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770571241/" title="IMG_1265 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2229/5770571241_c0176ccd34.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1265"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770567195/" title="IMG_1261 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3566/5770567195_ea5ce1ef41.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1261"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771122610/" title="IMG_1268 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3311/5771122610_5c41cb52d9.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1268"></a><br /><br />See that faux terra-cotta pot in the picture above? That is all that is left of my rabid, virulent, the-apocalypse-could-come-and-it-would-remain mint (you can see it in the October link above). It came from my Grammy's garden in Evanston and has the exact same taste as it did when I used to make cups of tea with it when I was four. My mother warned me to put it in a pot four years ago, but I didn't listen. How could I NOT want mountains of Grammy's mint? Humph. Since then, I've had to constantly pull up as much of it as I possible just to keep it in check. All the time. It was everywhere. Finally, two weeks ago, I did a mint exorcism by digging it out-- dirt and all, down a foot-- and then dowsing the whole thing with roundup. If it comes back again, I might die. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770585187/" title="IMG_1274 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5063/5770585187_3dac922f56.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1274"></a><br /><br />These pansies are the only annuals that I could keep. Too bad the dogs have sat on them since this picture was taken. They've also made two big craters where I'd planted my <a href="http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1T4GGLJ_enUS242US242&q=Canterbury%20Bells&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1276&bih=597">Canterbury Bells</a>. Well, they probably wouldn't have grown there anyways.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770589109/" title="IMG_1275 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3501/5770589109_4ec134cb4e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1275"></a><br /><br />Pansies and violas are my favorite flowers. Probably because they're Victorian and look like they have smushed little faces, as in the disney Alice in Wonderland.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771138030/" title="IMG_1277 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2064/5771138030_1464f966fa.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1277"></a><br /><br />I think we deserve this weather after such a long winter.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771141860/" title="IMG_1279 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5263/5771141860_88afcc0081.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1279"></a><br /><br />Our apple tree that actually produces big green apples is in bloom this year too:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770605993/" title="IMG_1281 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5066/5770605993_25974597d0.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1281"></a><br /><br />I just wish I was going to be around to see them and maybe make apple jellies. (There is something really satisfying about the feeling of scavenging and eating what you've scavenged, even if it was deliberately planted at some point...)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770609693/" title="IMG_1282 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2341/5770609693_1eafddd3cd.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1282"></a><br /><br />Which is why I felt like this next little surprise was planned just for me, to make up for things. A bird flew away from the apple tree when I approached it with the dogs, but it took me a second to see this:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770622507/" title="IMG_1295 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2280/5770622507_481bce866e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1295"></a><br /><br />...and I arched my camera above the nest to see these:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770617907/" title="IMG_1292 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3207/5770617907_e40d40b29d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1292"></a><br /><br />The moment felt truly serendipitous on a sunny 68 degree day.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770628987/" title="IMG_1297 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5145/5770628987_26f642dddb.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1297"></a><br /><br />I was a bit late taking pictures of the plum blossoms this year and, in any case, they're all infested with these creepy worms that make filmy webby nests on them, so they don't look their best this year. I just ruined the happy blue robin's egg moment, didn't I?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770637621/" title="IMG_1303 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2438/5770637621_759aa84193.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1303"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770634285/" title="IMG_1298 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5026/5770634285_df2589f4b8.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1298"></a><br /><br />I tried to pick some of these big floppy clovers to press, but they'd shriveled up by the time I got back in the house.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770644195/" title="IMG_1308 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2212/5770644195_8b9a4860fc.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1308"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771189714/" title="IMG_1311 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2652/5771189714_17461825e0.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1311"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770652085/" title="IMG_1313 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3161/5770652085_3311a4165f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1313"></a><br /><br />And ah, the little twiggy oak trees we planted now have leaves:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770655669/" title="IMG_1316 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2644/5770655669_9b884dc43d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1316"></a><br /><br />And I can safely show you the <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/59210698/silver-oak-leaf-earrings-inspired-by">oak leaf earrings</a> that I bought and am anxiously awaiting in the post. There was, apparently, only one pair available and having made the mistake once of doing an is-this-genuine post on thefashionspot with an ebay steal, I thought I'd wait until I bought them. Earrings are the only jewelry items that I get a little irrational about collecting in a very cliche way. I don't care for bracelets or necklaces at all and rings fall off or I can feel them on me and this is bothersome. I think these tiny studs will be great for everyday use and serve to remind me of the days toiling under my Dad's tyrannical concept of "contribution" -- absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771203448/" title="IMG_1322 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2404/5771203448_faa829719f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1322"></a><br /><br />Paradise, y/y?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771207662/" title="IMG_1326 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5064/5771207662_95d57178de.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1326"></a><br /><br />And if you look down, the path is covered with these wild violets. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770669975/" title="IMG_1331 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2621/5770669975_482e72c09a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1331"></a><br /><br />There isn't as much of this wild phlox as there has been in years past. I think our copse needs a good burning, but we've never done it before and would probably need a permit, which is all too much work when it is so nice out.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771217230/" title="IMG_1343 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2425/5771217230_dd15f9708c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1343"></a><br /><br />The undergrowth is deliciously green. Even the poison ivy. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770679115/" title="IMG_1344 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5183/5770679115_c00a52d122.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1344"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771232356/" title="IMG_1347 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2019/5771232356_400be45332.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1347"></a><br /><br />Soon-to-be wild raspberries, which are always eaten by the birds before we can get any of them.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771228340/" title="IMG_1345 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3295/5771228340_557ca3fb8a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1345"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771236032/" title="IMG_1349 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2746/5771236032_a775acc499.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_1349"></a><br /><br />I really have no idea what this pink-flowered vine is and it seems new, unless I've just never seen it blooming before. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771240232/" title="IMG_1360 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2234/5771240232_9414302783.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1360"></a><br /><br />Wild strawberry blossoms in the path that are always mowed over before they can produce strawberries. I've been meaning to try transplanting some of them for the last few years. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770706181/" title="IMG_1365 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2537/5770706181_4b3280abe7.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1365"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771254630/" title="IMG_1368 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2380/5771254630_28a481f42f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1368"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770717483/" title="IMG_1371 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2465/5770717483_eab7547e69.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1371"></a><br /><br />This is exactly the expression of joy I had on too:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771266628/" title="IMG_1374 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5185/5771266628_97c99b3ddf.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1374"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771275856/" title="IMG_1381 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2023/5771275856_1ee137432c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1381"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770729541/" title="IMG_1377 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5181/5770729541_929317fdc3.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1377"></a><br /><br />I may or may not live in The Shire.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771278932/" title="IMG_1382 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2578/5771278932_d348a12b78.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1382"></a><br /><br />There was lots of bird sighting, though my camera isn't up to capturing such, so guess what they are as you will.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771280824/" title="IMG_1393 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5024/5771280824_8b1d057af4.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1393"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770756267/" title="IMG_1401 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5149/5770756267_15837f7eea.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1401"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771289868/" title="IMG_1395 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2347/5771289868_e17493c396.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1395"></a><br /><br />The doggies like to take a dip to cool themselves off in their winter coats. I always make a squeeee/ewww noise in an effort to keep them from shaking off on me. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771295184/" title="IMG_1400 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3408/5771295184_592a1d21e5.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1400"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770760179/" title="IMG_1405 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2488/5770760179_8474c377b8.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1405"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770765239/" title="IMG_1411 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2280/5770765239_a751f04727.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1411"></a><br /><br />Even the grass is in bloom.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770769563/" title="IMG_1413 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3140/5770769563_86cbdf0036.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1413"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771321396/" title="IMG_1414 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3232/5771321396_083038b6c7.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1414"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770783375/" title="IMG_1415 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2750/5770783375_c702dd7a56.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1415"></a><br /><br />Something that looks like yarrow.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771331158/" title="IMG_1417 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5266/5771331158_f56e3bbbfa.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1417"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770798167/" title="IMG_1424 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3268/5770798167_f35c916474.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1424"></a><br /><br />The leaves on this tree are thick, heavy, papery and make the best wooshing noise, like waves on the beach. I think I have a video of this somewhere.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770803945/" title="IMG_1427 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3016/5770803945_1f1a8ac40d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1427"></a><br /><br />The grass is even a little dune-like.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771352630/" title="IMG_1429 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5029/5771352630_c84d3e936c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1429"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5770835103/" title="IMG_1439 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5065/5770835103_b03e32bac6.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1439"></a><br /><br />Always lots to see on the ground:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771385146/" title="IMG_1443 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5066/5771385146_8721fa07ba.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1443"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5771390104/" title="IMG_1447 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3347/5771390104_04a76d309a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1447"></a><br /><br />I try to collect nice things to press when I walk. I put the pressed flowers and leaves in between two pieces of clear packing tape and they add something a little springy (and a little antiquarian) to my bulletin board all winter. <br /><br />(Please forgive any typos in this post. My keyboard is mutinous.)Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-90050281500171641822011-05-18T20:58:00.000-07:002011-05-18T22:04:04.416-07:00thoughts on a little world<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5735917524/" title="IMG_1105 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5069/5735917524_574f642602.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1105"></a><br /><br /><em>one little world I found in our yard last month</em><br /><br />I've been coping a lot lately with the idea of leaving. I always came home on the weekends during college-- I wasn't one of those college students who are enthused about picking up and moving to another state, knowing that at the end of four years they wouldn't be emotionally dependant on their parents (or family) at all. They were successfully transplanted and grew roots so that they only need a call from their mother once in a while (whatever that is). I am not like that.<br /><br />In many ways, being away from my Dad will only be a good thing. He really grows more fond of people when he doesn't see them-- being enormously sentimental-- and has enough self control to be very well behaved for a short time, perfect for a winter or Easter break. I won't have to be around for his daily provocations and mood swings anymore.<br /><br />But my Mother...my Mother's love is like an undercurrent that you can tap into, letting it fill your whole life. It doesn't switch off and on, it is always on, but it is not at its best at a distance. YES, she answers her phone, emails, sends care packages and will visit you when she has the chance, but it isn't anything like the love you feel when you are in her home and she is brightening your life in a thousand tiny ways. <br /><br />I'm going to have the hardest time leaving her and my baby HB. HB and my Mom are almost a package deal, their lives having meshed together in the last few years so that they live in sync and always go to bed together at the same time. I know HB won't understand why I've gone and that is the hardest part for me. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5735383971/" title="IMG_3231 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3504/5735383971_2e4e34fd55.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_3231"></a><br /><br />It has been hard to have this relatively free time and not being able to do things that will carry over time, like plant pumpkins, because I know that I will be leaving in a few months and I'll never live here again. I won't be able to take HB's annual pumpkin photoshoot. I just won't be there. <br /><br />I have been more successful cheering myself up about Boston in the last few weeks and I want to write a post with my list of things about it that seem promising/not terrible. I secured an apartment too! It occurred to me exactly why I was avoiding my school inbox (emails from BU), putting off searching for apartments and generally trying not to think about Boston at all: because it all seems so foreign and fragile. English is a finicky subject, I never know how my work will be received, and <em>I worry that I'll actually love my new life </em>with my horribly overpriced studio all to myself and new found independence, only to have it all taken away when I can't produce the quality of work that is expected of me in English, or can't get my Russian up to scratch to pass the language requirements (which seems more pressing everyday). I woke up one day last week thinking about a BU professor, teaching one of my fall courses and passing my first written piece around to his colleagues in the department asking "what in the world are we going to do about <em>this</em>?". I imagined their horror that they'd given a coveted spot in the program to someone so hopeless that they couldn't even think of anything to help bridge the gap between what I can do and what I need to be able to do.<br /><br />I be honest, I haven't been helping myself a lot lately in this area. I've been meaning to prepare-- to pick up studying Russian again so I can actually remember all the inflections and maybe even get better than I was before (this feels impossible), to do the online theory course that I started posting about in this blog last year, to read all the Victorian staples that I've been neglecting, like Hardy and Thackeray, to read literary journals. I've been meaning to do all these things so that when I show up I can feel scared but throw my hands in the air anyways because I did all I could do. God only knows why I'm not doing any of those things right now. <br /><br />But I have done a few satisfying things in the last week that are completely unrelated to graduate school, like finish <a href="http://cnordstrom.blogspot.com/2009/10/october-is-here.html">my quilt </a>and make myself a few practical sewn things that make life a little easier. I had a marathon viewing session of <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003K025Z0/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00006RCKI&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0S2HB8S0RXAPJGPAD8Q0">A History of Britain</a></em> while hand finishing the binding of the quilt and this was sort of invigorating. I am a huge fan of Simon Schama and he will actually be on the list of things that are not so bad about Boston re: book signings. I've organized my craft things and tried to find new running shoes (unfortunately all three pairs I ordered ended in bloody heels). Mundane life, I find, constantly comes to the rescue and promises to make all my worries go away if I could only let go of silly things like ambition and have a 9-5 job with no intellectual involvement and a garden. <br /><br />But I have been reading more! Not anything very rigorous or as much as I'd like, but I am trying to be more active about spending my time well, instead of watching mind numbing TV. <br /><br />I don't know how things are going to end up. As you've read, I'm <em>trying </em>to do a lot of things right now and the sum of them all is trying to convince me that I am enough.Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-82361400430211552022011-05-08T20:37:00.000-07:002011-05-08T21:04:05.206-07:00another holiday post: mother's day<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5702026922/" title="IMG_1129 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5027/5702026922_db383914bd.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1129"></a><br /><br />In our house, making a place setting (opps, must have been eaten on already in the above picture) at someone's spot at the table-- yes there are immutable assigned seats-- is the ultimate gesture of celebration. We always had our cards and presents stacked around a carefully arranged plate and cup on our Birthdays, usually with a napkin fluffed out in a fancy glass. On Easter, and sometimes Valentines day (depending on whether we had a significant other), we'd have candy at "our place". It is my Mom's way of making us feel special and nothing is quite like it. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5701437833/" title="IMG_1112 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2442/5701437833_781b94e2a3.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1112"></a><br /><br />Of course that means that she gets a place setting on Mother's Day. Being the only child left at home, the burden was completely on me to make the day special, and I think I did a pretty good job. I made this <a href="http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/almond-puff-loaf-recipe">Almond Puff Loaf</a> from KAF the night before. One has homemade lemon curd and the other has raspberry jam on top. How were they? Well, we've already eaten the whole lemon curd one. I'd prefer a krispy cream though.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5701432019/" title="IMG_1113 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2730/5701432019_28cbf33f71.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1113"></a><br /><br />They were quite puffy but I did verge a bit from the recipe by refrigerating the bottom layer while making the top layer and then baking the whole thing about 30 minutes longer. I wanted crispiness and I got it!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5701444157/" title="IMG_1118 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2479/5701444157_69b1d96bd3.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1118"></a><br /><br />I would have taken pictures when the jam and icing were shiny, but it was about 3AM. It still looks pretty good, yes?<br /><br />I also made my Mom a stack of lavender sachets for her closet and this embroidered pouch for a larger sachet:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5702019890/" title="IMG_1124 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5022/5702019890_d010ffdd63.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1124"></a><br /><br />Yes, I went a little crazy with the french knots. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5701426355/" title="IMG_1139 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2567/5701426355_9a267b843d.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_1139"></a><br /><br />In weather news, our tulips have started to bloom, but we still have no leafy trees. Sometimes it feels like winter, sometimes like summer.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5702032892/" title="IMG_1137 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5143/5702032892_a49f760450.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_1137"></a><br /><br />Also, it would figure that the ONE TIME that I am outside all day, it would be 70 degrees and sunny-- as in yesterday when we planted about 400 trees. Not kidding: my knees are bruised and my butt and back are incredibly sore from stooping over. My ears are even sun burned. I will take pictures of the burgeoning oak grove later, but right now I'm going to order some oak leaf earrings to make up for my trauma. Materialism to the rescue. <br /><br />P.S.<br /><br />Here is an extra picture of old little Ole lumbering towards me on the porch:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5702038250/" title="IMG_1136 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5110/5702038250_e26b5d1cde.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1136"></a>Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-82691021122549937232011-05-03T20:31:00.001-07:002011-05-03T20:42:09.624-07:00whither the weather?I woke up today and it was 27 degrees with frost outside. We don't even have leaves yet. This is unfair. <br /><br />That is all.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">ETA:</span><br /><br />Oh, and someone finally killed Osama, obviously. I found out on facebook when everyone started updating their statuses to "got him!", "USA USA USA!" and sometimes "RIP osama" from those who think they're ~enlightened~. Apparently this is supposed to fill me with joy. I'd be filled with joy if this meant that social security is still going to be around when I'm old and infirm, which perhaps it will be if this means that the we can stop playing police for the rest of the world and stop spending money on war. And Obama: don't even think about <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/21/opinion/la-oe-stuehmke-korea-foodaid-20110421">feeding North Korea</a>-- the people who would inevitably get the food would gladly bomb us to smithereens-- when we have a huge national debt and people starving/homeless at home.Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-13192912248834940052011-04-29T18:11:00.000-07:002011-04-29T18:37:09.354-07:00easter<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5670694761/" title="IMG_1044 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5188/5670694761_1153609770.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1044"></a><br /><br />The day before Easter here was gray and cold. My mother and I found these first wildflowers on our walk:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5670684493/" title="IMG_1038 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5309/5670684493_aa9916c5a7.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1038"></a><br /><br />They were furry, as if equipped for the harsh weather. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5670680983/" title="IMG_1024 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5230/5670680983_2a5d717774.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1024"></a><br /><br />Some of our own bulbs had come up too.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5670697525/" title="IMG_1045 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5063/5670697525_f2801fc905.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1045"></a><br /><br />The sun came out later-- a little preview of the next day when it was sunny and 60 degrees and I felt uncomfortably hot sitting on the lawn in the sun with my cousins while the two who were still young enough to hunt for candy had their pick over what they thought was most desirable. The bottlecaps were generally left to be eaten by my grandpa's very sadly neglected dog. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5670702751/" title="IMG_1050 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5304/5670702751_f4cd5caa2e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1050"></a><br /><br />I baked some <a href="http://bakedbree.com/cinnamon-rolls#axzz1KxvceeNn">delicious soft cinnamon rolls</a> (best recipe ever), because nobody was very much into the idea of hot cross buns. Slimy little raisins generally ruin a good soft yeast bread in my opinion. We also had almond-scented pound cake in a bundt pan and in the shape of a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Cast-Aluminum-Nonstick-Spring/dp/B000O5NR5Q">lamb</a>, as is tradition. Last year my mom finally realized that she'd been baking it upside down all these years and that was why it never had a nose. She serves it with green coconut and jelly bellies. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5670705843/" title="IMG_1048 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5068/5670705843_17362a3548.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1048"></a><br /><br />At night, I had an uncharacteristically healthy snack to save up for the cake and jelly beans the next day.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5671268688/" title="IMG_1075 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5226/5671268688_0f68333426.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1075"></a>Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-3390806421371683402011-04-20T19:55:00.000-07:002011-04-20T20:05:42.074-07:00bipolar weatherThis morning at seven:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5639054473/" title="IMG_1012 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5304/5639054473_2ed826ff1f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1012"></a><br /><br />Tonight at seven:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5639634446/" title="IMG_1013 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5108/5639634446_161600aee4.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1013"></a><br /><br />The temperature is still in the thirties and forties-- about the temperature all my favorite UK blogs were complaining about as "cold" in January. At least things are growing and somewhat green now. <br /><br />I'm working full time for these past two weeks, which equals a little less than 40 hours plus six hours of cleaning in four days. I'm just about dead from lack of sleep, but hopefully I'll be able to get my <a href="http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087¤t-category-id=158789389E999C7AFD948ECE84C546E5&action=init">new laptop</a> soon.Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-63315128861170155742011-04-10T15:32:00.000-07:002011-04-10T21:49:21.315-07:00a sense of spiritual adventure?<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5608399893/" title="IMG_1002 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4099/5608399893_5bb441e09e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_1002"></a><br /><br />A snippet for you, before I have to give it back to the library:<br /><br />"Many men whose prime business is the art of writing find rest and refreshment in other occupations. They marry or they keep dogs, they play golf or bridge, they study Sanskrit or collect postage stamps. Except for a period of ownership of a dachshund, Henry James did none of these things. He lived a life consecrated to the service of a jealous, insatiable, and supremely rewarding goddess, and all his activities had essential reference to that service. He had a great belief in the virtues of exercise, and he was expert at making a walk of two or three miles last for as many hours by his habit of punctuating movement with frequent and prolonged halts for meditation or conversation. He like the exhilaration of driving in a motor-car, which gave him, he said, "a sense of spiritual adventure." (<span style="font-style:italic;">Henry James at Work</span>, 22)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5608976846/" title="IMG_0951 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5106/5608976846_f5c9462db6.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0951"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5608408883/" title="IMG_0958 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5061/5608408883_cf66254d74.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0958"></a>Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-51080180493199177842011-03-27T20:10:00.000-07:002011-03-28T00:26:55.471-07:00a visit to boston<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5565493753/" title="IMG_0880 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5097/5565493753_fba6ba267e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0880" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">(on the bridge over Storrow Drive on the way to the Charles River bank)</span><br /><br />I can finally give my final application tally as I've heard from all my schools:<br /><br />6 rejections, 1 sort-of rejection (MAPH, anyone?)<br />4 acceptances, 2 fully funded offers. <br /><br />I made the decision last night, after returning from my visit, to accept BU's offer. It is my best option and after meeting the people in the program I feel that they will be able to prepare me to succeed-- if I can manage to succeed anywhere. <br /><br />I'll preface this post by saying that I am agoraphobic, so this visit was the perfectly terrifying combination of the inescapable situations that I avoid: airplanes, airports, structured schedules and generally unknown places. I have a very hard time in classrooms as well, which makes me surprised that more people don't question my choice of career, but that is another story. This anxiety manifested itself when I <span style="font-style:italic;">discovered</span> zippers and found making things with zippers both satisfying and necessary for my trip. I made myself two kindle cases-- one that ended up too small and got re-purposed for my other electronics (zen & camera) and another that is way too big, but fits-- a <a href="http://www.purlbee.com/zippered-dopp-kit/">dopp kit</a>, and a makeup bag all in less than a day before my trip, instead of sleeping. I was really only limited by time and the fact that stores with zippers are ten miles away. I even lined them properly, which I only just figured out how to do with <a href="http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=176509.0">this</a> tutorial. I suppose my spatial-imaging faculties are not that great. <br /><br />The fact that I made a Cath Kitdston-esque toiletry ensemble didn't help much the morning I left as it had snowed, and it was still snowing, so severely that the weather service told everyone to stay home. If you live in Minnesota, however, chances are that somebody you know owns a huge truck that will glide through two feet of snow and at least make you less vulnerable if you slide off into a ditch or are hit by an oncoming car that is about to slide into a ditch. My dad has one that he affectionately calls "the stomper" and gets about 6 mpg-- this is what my mom and I took to drive the 100 miles to the airport in the whiteout. We drove about 25-45 mph the whole way and saw four cars and one semi-truck in various levels of snow related distress on the way, but we were not deterred. <br /><br />Of course the airport was having difficulties and my plane was delayed, but the connecting flight in Chicago was delayed as well, so it all worked out in the end. I allowed myself to go wild with my klonopin (ie. actually take one of my precious pills), so I was fairly nonchalant the whole time. I'll admit that I took one each morning during of my visit days too, but I'm not all that proud of this, though it helped me be "on" as much as I had to be. I hope I'll be able to do it without them, which is why I try not to take any in the first place. /Pill talk.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5565383839/" title="IMG_0842 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5029/5565383839_fb823c2dbc.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0842" /></a><br /><br />I went to <a href="http://www.radcliffe.edu/events/calendar_2011beer.aspx">this </a> lecture on Thursday after finally meeting my person of interest at BU. I had expected an aloof female professor, like the most competent female professor I've known (and who wrote me a letter of recommendation), and was surprised to find Prof. H to be very personable. I'm too embarrassed to relate the wonderful things she said about my work, but I will say that driving around Cambridge, on the way to Harvard to hear Gillian Beer talk about Alice in Wonderland (my trite but favorite childhood book) and time (one of my current academic interests) while being sort of courted for an English PhD program was nothing short of surreal. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5565377019/" title="IMG_0841 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5185/5565377019_3d3b681435.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0841" /></a><br /><br />My main thought was mostly "how did this become my life?" Probably most when I got introduced to the aforementioned literary celebrity (though I doubt she'd remember me because there were a lot of middle-aged Harvard sycophants sort of hovering around waiting to make sure she found the elevator to the gym) and when I spotted Elaine Scarry. Judge all you like, but I found it very cool.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5565368301/" title="IMG_0840 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5021/5565368301_e16eebb827.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0840" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">(you'll have to forgive the bad photos in this post, because I very often had to apologize for being touristy to take them as nobody thought what was happening was a very big deal)</span><br />I've always been reluctant to connect Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to my life in academia because I like my memories the way they are, but this lecture was too good to be missed by someone who is interested in science and literature. And I couldn't have been taken to another lecture where I'd recognize more textual references. I couldn't help quoting them with Dame Beer under my breath in a way that would have annoyed me if I had been someone else in the hall. I really wanted to ask a question at the end, but was too intimidated. What I would have said was related to something along the lines of the first sentence of the book, which I have always had memorized (it used to be the whole book but now that space has sadly been filled by knowledge of celebrity lifestyles and diet tips):<br /><br /><blockquote>Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, `and what is the use of a book,' thought Alice `without pictures or conversation?'</blockquote><br /><br />The lecture actually focused more on the part right after this, wherein the notable characteristic to Alice of the white Rabbit is that he has a timepiece and is checking it, and is thereby governed by issues of time, but I thought the very beginning was a great encapsulation of her point. Beer made a lot of very clever observations about the manipulation of growth, scope and time that I didn't at all resent like I thought I would because the playfulness of book was always uppermost. She emphasized, as far as I remember it, that <span style="font-style:italic;">Alice</span> is unique in allowing us revisit childhood from adulthood, and, now this wasn't stated explicitly, but this ability has a lot to do with the potential depths of exploration inherent in the book's relative simplicity that makes it at once a children's book and a legitimate literary text full of contemporary cultural references. The book's "pictures and conversations" were a major feature of the lecture, and I think this sentence initially sets the standard for demarcation between the child and adult worlds in a conscious way that doesn't close either off to one another. The jump to the next paragraph where Alice's intellectual stance seems to devolve to considerations ("as well as she could") about making a daisy chain just signals me, as a reader, what is coming. And gosh, I had a better take on it while I wasn't wrapped up in a Winnie the Pooh blanket (as I currently am) but I couldn't form a very probing question, probably out of intimidation again, so I didn't say anything. Being a bit stoned on anti-anxiety meds probably didn't help either. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5565397649/" title="IMG_0844 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5226/5565397649_fcffc9434a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0844" /></a><br /><br />There was cheese and fruit afterward, which I've surmised in my short experience to be the usual fare for academic receptions on the east coast. The midwest, as I've seen, usually offers muffins or cookies. Perhaps we need to create more insular padding, especially in Minnesota. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5565970022/" title="IMG_0843 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5105/5565970022_29b79363e8.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0843" /></a><br /><br />Cambridge, despite my sister's insistence (she lived at MIT for a summer), is very different from the other side of the river/the BU campus. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5565407455/" title="IMG_0851 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5138/5565407455_419faf17c0.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_0851" /></a><br /><br />Before I went, I'd google-street-imaged the campus and the turnpike had thoroughly depressed me. Now that I'd done everything right with my education, didn't I deserve pretty brick buildings with ivy and lots of trees? I'm not sure that I don't still feel like this a little, but BU's campus did make a better impression than I had expected. Though it isn't completely compatible with my personality (I love open spaces/rural areas), there is something a bit impressive about the audacity of this urban campus right across the river from the country's most famous university:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5566133656/" title="IMG_0902 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5024/5566133656_366fe02905.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0902" /></a><br /><br />I am currently trying to reconcile myself about its lack of tree-age, but I like that it feels a little scrappy, like me. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5565980760/" title="IMG_0850 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5299/5565980760_eb944b8eb8.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_0850" /></a><br /><br />The campus is, as I had read, a string of buildings along Commonwealth Avenue. I mostly saw the ones on the river side and not the farther side of the turnpike, so there could be a more campusy feel over there, but I doubt it. A pretty big change from <a href="http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&biw=1076&bih=606&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=university+of+minnesota+mall&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=">this</a>-- I don't think I ever appreciated the UMN campus as much as I did during this visit. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5565416985/" title="IMG_0859 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5259/5565416985_7401a71bf8.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_0859" /></a><br /><br />The urban environment will definitely be something that I'll have to get used to, but then again I'm always complaining about lack of resources, so living in Boston will put a stop to that. Although I heard from BU grad students that Harvard doesn't share. Humph. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5565990364/" title="IMG_0852 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5306/5565990364_dd404d07e3.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_0852" /></a><br /><br />So, besides the slight inferiority complex I'll have as a BU graduate student, I came away with the impression that it will be a very good program for me. The graduate students seemed happy and were willing enough to give "dirt" without much prompting, though all the "dirt" was was just the difficulties of completing workloads and adjusting to graduate school in general, so that may have all been staged if I'm feeling skeptical. The only clearly negative thing I heard was that the program doesn't offer much support before they expect you to start teaching in your second year, but it sounded as though you could get help if you really pushed for it. You get to design your own courses on almost anything. This is scary, but I love projects and the slightly wicked idea of ~molding little minds~.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5565425595/" title="IMG_0863 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5292/5565425595_5e95bdb057.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0863" /></a><br /><br />The farthest section of apartments on the right is the English department building. Like every English department I've been to, it visibly suffers from a lack of maintenance inside. During the morning introductions, the faculty members there were almost incommensurately enthusiastic about their new bathroom remodel which, as I could tell, meant that their building now has a single nice toilet for several floors. They were upfront about funding issues, but the good thing is that they have limited their incoming cohorts to make sure that they can fully fund the students they accept. My stipend won't go far after a studio that will cost at least 1k a month, but it is so much better than nothing and I keep reminding myself of the total despair I was feeling about getting in at all, not to mention money. (Actually, my Dad just walked up to talk to me about 1. doing busy work around the farm while they're on vacation next week, he loves giving people tasks so he knows what they're doing-- intellectual work is invisible to him-- and 2. taking out loans during graduate school since he thinks I will definitely have a job with a PhD and 3. how I won't be able to afford to fly home for Christmas if I don't. Thanks Dad.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5565432905/" title="IMG_0864 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5091/5565432905_bde66fef01.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0864" /></a><br /><br />Across the street from the English department is "The Castle," which I didn't get to go into, but I did get to go to the BU pub, which is just underneath it sort of. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5566019158/" title="IMG_0866 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5305/5566019158_3b7b028c1a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0866" /></a><br /><br />The entrance to it is between the two lights next to the parked cars on the left.<br /><br />I stayed in a B&B on Bay State Road, which looks like this:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5565448221/" title="IMG_0867 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5092/5565448221_0994b88a76.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0867" /></a><br /><br />I wish more of the area looked like this-- and that affordable apartments were available here, but they're mostly BU undergraduate residences or insanely expensive. This road is just behind the photos of the English graduate department, so it would be great to have an apartment so close, but I know I could never afford it. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5565456393/" title="IMG_0869 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5225/5565456393_f0ac67ccc0.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0869" /></a><br /><br />Those red plates are on all BU buildings. Sort of like a nod to British blue plaques. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5566049470/" title="IMG_0874 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5299/5566049470_25f703c71e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0874" /></a><br /><br />There are a lot of random abstract sculptures around...which I sort of think is an attempt to make it all seem more like a deliberately planned campus. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5566065500/" title="IMG_0878 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5149/5566065500_5e21d3f0bc.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0878" /></a><br /><br />There is a lot of pretty ironwork on Bay State Road like this. However, if I'm lucky, I will probably be living in a place like so:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5565540665/" title="IMG_0899 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5104/5565540665_990c47efe5.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0899" /></a><br /><br />This is a dedicated graduate student apartment building owned by BU. They are very expensive studios, but perhaps worth the peace of mind for the first year at least. One grad student was nice enough to show me her apartment and it was very small, but well maintained and cleanable. I won't want apartment drama while I'm taking eight graduate courses so it may be the best option if I can get one in my price range.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5565534179/" title="IMG_0898 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5260/5565534179_dfcf52a85d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0898" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5566127094/" title="IMG_0900 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5021/5566127094_e1b0f07cfd.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0900" /></a><br /><br />So, the good parts: the program seems to be very flexible about requirements, language and otherwise. BU is part of a consortium of universities in the area so I will be able to take graduate courses at any one of them interchangeably, but the seminars offered at BU look very promising too. The faculty and graduate students I talked to also gave the impression that if I wanted to do something interdisciplinary that required more outside courses than I'm allowed, that I could probably do it if I can make a decent case. The program is also fairly small, about 50-60 overall students at any time, so they can give individual attention to your situation and generally care about you. A FAR cry from being a student at UMN, a school only interested in you when they want your money. BU's English department also seem very excited about having me, which is worth a lot. Hopefully they will still feel that way when I arrive in the fall. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5565573099/" title="IMG_0911 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5308/5565573099_a772057b69.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0911" /></a><br /><br />The grad students said that the MA year (year 1) is very intense with the eight courses and language requirement. I was quite disturbed when they told me that I'll have to accept that there will be more work than than is physically doable and that I will have to ask for extensions. I have never asked for extensions, but they say this is the norm. One person rather horrified me by saying that they knew of one student who handed in a paper TWO YEARS later and got an A. Please god help that never to be me.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5565514219/" title="IMG_0888 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5097/5565514219_1d62d72f56.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0888" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">(the bridge from the first photo) </span><br /><br />Sorry for the poor picture quality here, but it was cold and my camera doesn't take great photos without flash in the dark. This is the bank of the Charles River. I was running around after finding a Subway and getting a nicely baconed sandwich. The upside of being in the "athens" of the US: the people working at Subway will probably be competent enough to make your sandwich the way you want, especially when it is so fluxoming as to have just two components. I swear the workers where I live get really confused when I just ask for american cheese and toasted bacon on monterey-cheese bread. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5565501179/" title="IMG_0881 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5266/5565501179_73c408a582.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0881" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5566087470/" title="IMG_0887 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5093/5566087470_5b190b9ea5.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0887" /></a><br /><br />And some insane people rowing in the cold:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5566099872/" title="IMG_0889 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5100/5566099872_0f5203ea90.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0889" /></a><br /><br />I gathered most of this information about the program on the second day, Friday, during the open house. Thursday felt rather weird and surreal because the meeting between me and Prof. H wasn't formal. I just saw her for the first time in the lobby of the English department (where I met Fall-11 from gradcafe, which caused Prof. H not to recognize me because she didn't think I could know anyone there) and then hopped into her car to go to the lecture at Harvard without much ado. I don't know what would have been more appropriate, but I suppose I expected more of an ah-ha moment after our emails. I suppose it was much more dramatic for me after traveling so far. <br /><br />Friday was nice because less of the focus was personally on me and I got to observe. Everyone at WGI was completely right about not needing to feel worried about being prepared because I was never grilled about anything. I only felt uncomfortable once or twice when I couldn't remember an author whose book I wanted to talk about, and once when one faculty member didn't care to hold up his end of the conversation after mentioning that he knew one of my LOR writers and then fostered an awkward silence after I'd said one or two times that I thought my professor had been inspiring etc. and couldn't think of anything else to say. I was upfront with Prof. H, when the first thing happened, about my nerves and feeling unprepared, and she was very understanding. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5565560125/" title="IMG_0909 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5132/5565560125_2663832d11.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0909" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">(the BU B&N bookstore, which was just around the corner from my B&B)</span><br /><br />Overall, I think it was worth the money for the trip. I felt a lot better about accepting their offer, promptly after I got home last night, having met everyone in person and having seen that the campus has some integrity, despite accounts of a non-campusy feel. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5566146410/" title="IMG_0910 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5103/5566146410_5de74279a2.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0910" /></a><br /><br />I don't think I've ever socialized as intensely as I did for those two days. Not merely conversing, but just being in social mode with no real rest for that long-- capped with flights-- really killed me. This was Friday night in my cell-like room; it is best that I'm looking down because my eyes are completely bloodshot and the little membranes around them are all swollen and red:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5565578951/" title="IMG_0919 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5293/5565578951_2a14d648eb.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0919" /></a><br /><br />I don't know what I would have done if I'd had more than one good offer. One visiting day was more than enough for me. I've probably given the impression that I'm completely drug-addled, so I'll just stop writing now and leave you with some pictures from my flights, because views and speed are the only redeeming aspects of traveling by air. From taxiing down the runway at Boston-Logan:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5565583093/" title="IMG_0932 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5132/5565583093_72ab215e1b.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0932" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5566168492/" title="IMG_0934 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5176/5566168492_9f8508bd0d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0934" /></a><br /><br />And, of course, New York:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5565595473/" title="IMG_0939 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5070/5565595473_3d26296459.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0939" /></a>Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-86194734601587311052011-03-17T21:17:00.000-07:002011-03-17T22:07:25.019-07:00life's more obvious luxuries<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5518601675/" title="IMG_0804 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5020/5518601675_0e1fe9cace.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0804" /></a><br /><br />I've been feeling rather spoiled in the last few months, what with Christmas, where I got everything I wanted (my family thought I deserved some recompense for all the mental flogging I'd been up to since August) and then my birthday, where I got a lot of unexpected surprises (we usually don't do a lot of gift giving for birthdays). <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5519195184/" title="IMG_0805 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5297/5519195184_33f70e236d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0805" /></a><br /><br />I love beautiful things-- as I'm sure everyone does-- but they also serve the purpose of keeping me interested in the material/social side of life. I can very easily stop caring about my clothes, shoes, general appearance, and outside ties only to be sucked into a little mental world where there are, I suppose, a lot of rewards, but the stakes for validation are entirely self-made and fulfilled so that I end up rather intense and unhappy most of the time. Sometimes it is nice to simply <span style="font-style:italic;">look</span> nice and have someone tell you so. Some of these presents help me care a bit more about that side of life. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5518606465/" title="IMG_0809 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5059/5518606465_74591bfdf9.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0809" /></a><br /><br />This purse was actually not a gift, at least not this year. I'd had a giftcard to Coach for a few years and finally decided that I'd better use it before the company went bankrupt or decided not to honor giftcards anymore. This brings my purse count up to TWO. The first one was a gift as well. I like to look nice and have functional things, but I can't really get into the purse obsession.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5518613135/" title="IMG_0818 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5132/5518613135_9cf139e803.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0818" /></a><br /><br />Books for my birthday, naturally. The selection is a bit schizophrenic, but what can I say? I'm looking at five plus years of purposeful reading starting this fall, so I'm planning on a lot of promiscuous perusals until then. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5518610825/" title="IMG_0816 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5212/5518610825_eb2e772690.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0816" /></a><br /><br />These are my new favorite earrings. Could they be more perfect? Tiny miniature violets in <a href="http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=20740312&catId=JEWELRY-EARRINGS&pushId=JEWELRY-EARRINGS&popId=JEWELRYACCESSORIES&navAction=top&navCount=564&color=041&isProduct=true&fromCategoryPage=true&isSubcategory=true&subCategoryId=JEWELRY-EARRINGS-SPOSTS&tabStyle=Info">earring </a>form. No, couldn't be better. I love the whole pansy/viola/violet family: they're so perfectly shaped that you're always surprised that you can grow them, they're Victorian, and they have the most colorways. I need the lilac color too, obviously. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5518608419/" title="IMG_0814 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5212/5518608419_675f91ed1a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0814" /></a><br /><br />And ah, my Tardis cellphone charm which quite unfortunately doesn't work with my cellphone, but I didn't really expect it to. It was made in the UK in 2007, so I'm sure my current network is vastly different than what it was made for. I'll have to put it on my keys in the hopes that it picks up some call SOMEDAY and then I'll get to see it work. Would have been as hilariously annoying as the Dalek alarm clock I got for Christmas. <br /><br />Then there was this:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5518593385/" title="IMG_0791 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5140/5518593385_d4eac77d5a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0791" /></a><br /><br />which wasn't a present for anything in particular. I was fixing dinner for my dad one day after work and he asked me what I thought about kindles. Being me, I naturally went into a spiel about how I hated ebook readers because I like the smell of, the feel of, the look (cover art!) of, the physical space taken up by, the way I can put my fingers in, the lastingness of books etc. Then he came around the corner and handed me a box with this brand new 3G kindle in it, in a rather diminished way-- poor guy. I got very excited after that, rather hypocritically, because I love gadgets, though I wouldn't have bought a kindle for myself. Seriously though: forever free (we'll see) 3G connections? Creepy ink screen? Tiny? Very cool. It will also come in very handy for all those texts that I read that are in the public domain, on Google books, or that are not in print (or only have ugly self-published editions). Gaskell's "Lady Ludlow," for example, was the first thing I downloaded on my new toy. It will keep me from having to print out e-reserve documents as well, if I ever encounter that in graduate school. It is not quite the same as reading a physical document, but it does have a notes function, though I doubt I'd be able to reference my notes as easily as on paper.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5519186446/" title="IMG_0794 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5132/5519186446_8c1d5eeb57.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0794" /></a><br /><br />I had to get a pretty gelaskin right away. This is a custom one made with John Singer Sargents "<a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=&q=%22Carnation%2C+Lily%2C+Lily%2C+Rose%22&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS352US352&ie=UTF-8">Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose</a>." I did Google image searches for a few favorite painters until I found one with the right resolution (they have a filter for this) and the right feel for a reading device. This painting has wonderful vibrant colors, flowers and reminds me of childhood wonder, which is what I'm trying to recapture when I read. I would have preferred Harold Knight's "Girl Reading" but you can't even find a print of it, not to mention a good quality image online. <br /><br />Sadly, I have yet to find a screen protector that actually fits the screen. <a href="http://grantwoodstore.com/Grantwood-Technologys-2Pack-Premium-AntiGlare-Screen/M/B003I7YDQ4.htm">This one</a>, that I ordered, is too small and leaves gaps on the sides that trap dust. I also need to make a pouch so it will be protected on my trip to Boston next week. I can imagine that it will be very handy at the airport, especially as I've downloaded the entire Agatha Christie collection...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5518615533/" title="IMG_0826 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5096/5518615533_220af6c7d6.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0826" /></a>Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-22181524958232453842011-03-11T21:28:00.000-08:002011-03-11T21:53:12.700-08:00a nice little surprise/virginia woolf touched my book<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5519174412/" title="IMG_0772 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5177/5519174412_8b90e382fc.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0772" /></a><br /><br />Libraries are truly one of life's quiet luxuries. As much as I complained about my local library <a href="http://cnordstrom.blogspot.com/2010/11/library-1-me-3-lor-writers-2.html">taking back all my books,</a> I always knew that WPL would do its best to get <span style="font-style:italic;">any </span>book that I needed and it did get every book I asked for. It was all, of course, free and the staff there hardly complained when I kept some books after the due date. Those are tax dollars well spent. <br /><br />Recently, I wanted to get Theodora Bosanquet's "Henry James at Work" because it seems to be unusual in actually describing a writer's process of writing-- like what typewriter he liked to dictate to, his drafting process etc-- which, in my limited experience, literary study is not very interested in as it doesn't see this information as particularly valuable. Possibly not valuable, but fascinating and fun? Yes. <br /><br />I expected to get <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Henry-James-Work-Theodora-Bosanquet/dp/0472115715/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3T5YA71LY46JA&colid=1O9DZPOIGYST7">this</a> version from the library and so was surprised to find that some librarian in Minneapolis had dug up this odd looking little book from the minitex stash:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5519171874/" title="IMG_0762 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5059/5519171874_73e7a9b774.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0762" /></a><br /><br />I know it is mutilated, but do they know what this is?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5518585885/" title="IMG_0773 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5293/5518585885_e76c839b6b.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0773" /></a><br /><br />According to the University of Delaware, it is <a href="http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/exhibits/hogarth/series.htm">"the only book from any of the Hogarth series to be handprinted by the Woolfs."</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5518591237/" title="IMG_0776 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5260/5518591237_5c19d1f507.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0776" /></a><br /><br />My first reaction: <span style="font-style:italic;">coooool</span>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5519179434/" title="IMG_0775 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5211/5519179434_7458fc2032.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0775" /></a><br /><br />My second reaction: wondering whether anyone at the Hennepin County Library would notice if it never came back...Bad! Bad! I know. I'll be returning it natch because I don't have the deadened conscious to enjoy a stolen book, and someone else may get this little surprise in the future, but still. This post will have to do.<br /><br />(This should give you some idea of the cultural void I live in where even a tiny literary artifact can keep me excited for days.)Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-91331623903467486622011-03-02T23:51:00.000-08:002011-03-28T00:17:52.893-07:00another birthday...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5566822525/" title="cupcake by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5066/5566822525_eb2f5755d6.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="cupcake" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5567406012/" title="23rd by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5226/5567406012_81d9f70a9d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="23rd" /></a><br /><br />...<a href="http://cnordstrom.blogspot.com/2010_03_01_archive.html">the same bar</a>. A belated post with photos culled from my twin's facebook. She always makes sure that I have at least a few decent pictures tagged of me on FB where I am well groomed and presentable. A better reward would have been to stay home with my dog and watch a movie after working all day, but she made the case that I may not be able to celebrate with her on our birthday for several years and that she doesn't have roommates or a boyfriend this year. Twenty-three seems so old.Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-71626147283016700892011-02-26T19:48:00.000-08:002011-02-26T20:28:47.764-08:00valentine's daySo, the free week that I previously posted about is long gone, but I did get to do a few of the things I wanted to do, like making pizza:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5480273913/" title="IMG_0496 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5258/5480273913_e50c2a60f0.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_0496" /></a><br /><br />and <a href="http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/black-bean-brownies/Detail.aspx">these</a> brownies:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5480276419/" title="IMG_0498 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5136/5480276419_7b2a8c2991.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_0498" /></a><br /><br />which were actually very good. I was simply intrigued by the ingredient list and <span style="font-style:italic;">needed</span> to know what they would taste like. I used egg whites, a spoon of coconut oil and a drop or two of mint extract and they really tasted like fudge. (You can trust this review because I'm a very picky eater who wouldn't eat beans in the first place.)<br /><br />Valentine's Day was pretty wonderful. Andreas was home from tour for a short vacation and the Staz made a brief appearance. My mom had all of our places set with little gifts because none of us have significant others this year and we needed some extra affection. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5480279897/" title="IMG_0509 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5293/5480279897_52593f3f6e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0509" /></a><br /><br />We all got Hunbun mugs and chocolates. I'd created and ordered the mugs, so this wasn't a surprise, but the parents and Andreas had gone to a Russian shop in Colorado and managed to keep it a secret long enough to make the Russian chocolates they brought back for me a surprise.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5480284027/" title="IMG_0515 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5056/5480284027_cc3c1e35b8.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0515" /></a><br /><br />From what I've heard, Russia isn't particularly known for <span style="font-style:italic;">good</span> chocolate; something about the Soviet monopoly of its production that wasn't really interested in a quality product? How long these chocolates had been in the shop they bought them from is also questionable. At any rate, I enjoyed the surprise, having no idea how many calories were in each one, and the thought that was behind them. They also had pretty papers. When you have these little obsessions like I do (Russia, Britain, Doctor Who, 19th Century Lit, Portmeirion, baking etc) people tend to get you presents along these lines and this makes everyone satisfied. Staz has fashion things and Andreas has his music stuff. Get a hobby-- it makes gift giving so much easier. My older sister, however...well, we used to get her Hello Kitty presents, but now no one knows what to get her. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5480934140/" title="IMG_0689 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5132/5480934140_c7190a172e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0689" /></a><br /><br />Anyways, the 14th was a gorgeous day with lots of sun and WARMTH. It was about 40 degrees F! (It has since plummeted to the negative degrees again, so this is a distant but happy memory.) <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5480867598/" title="IMG_0466 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5096/5480867598_65c1c52094.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_0466" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">I planted this amaryllis bulb on November 1st. Really. </span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5480268703/" title="IMG_0473 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5013/5480268703_7ed8fbddbb.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_0473" /></a><br /><br />We all went outside for a walk in the huge, melting snow drifts. Everyone got a little stuck at least once-- dogs and all. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5480863810/" title="IMG_7234 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5134/5480863810_67bb273a59.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_7234" /></a><br /><br />I knitted that scarf, by the way. Pretty good for someone who barely knows how to knit, eh? I've been meaning to take a picture of it. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5480289497/" title="IMG_0558 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5013/5480289497_534c0f83e1.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0558" /></a><br /><br />We've had at least two blizzards since these photos were taken, but the thaw was nice while it lasted.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5480296785/" title="IMG_0584 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5212/5480296785_4299a47407.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0584" /></a><br /><br />Doggies stuck below. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5480916120/" title="IMG_0614 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5097/5480916120_8cbf17f168.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0614" /></a><br /><br />Dad stuck in the corner of this one:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5480939220/" title="IMG_0650 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5133/5480939220_9d0eec1878.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0650" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5480349563/" title="IMG_0624 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5214/5480349563_ac91ec26ed.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0624" /></a><br /><br />That snow is REALLY deep. We were only able to walk on it because the sun had melted the top and then it had refrozen. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5480903462/" title="IMG_0588 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5052/5480903462_dc1cff327c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0588" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5480910232/" title="IMG_0598 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5253/5480910232_0b9f8c698b.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0598" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5480358231/" title="IMG_0567 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5299/5480358231_92994654f4.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0567" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5480955250/" title="IMG_0578 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5219/5480955250_8895e76af6.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0578" /></a><br /><br />Yours truly wearing her jim-jams:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5480863072/" title="IMG_7245 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5179/5480863072_deeef0da82.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_7245" /></a><br /><br />It actually wasn't cold enough to warrant the hood, but it was very windy. <br /><br />This one felt left out:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5480260341/" title="IMG_7255 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5140/5480260341_cdd771e29a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_7255" /></a><br /><br />(Photo not from the same day, but she did give us the same expression when we came in).Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-25405393375173586562011-02-18T14:47:00.000-08:002011-02-18T14:49:52.014-08:00ELATEDI got into a <a href="http://www.bu.edu/">PhD</a> program with full funding today!<br /><br />If this is all a dream, please never wake me up. <br /><br />I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF!<br /><br />AHHHHHHHHHHHH!Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-52408820166687421922011-02-06T00:06:00.000-08:002011-02-06T01:01:48.705-08:00winter wonderland<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5420967510/" title="IMG_0326 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5014/5420967510_b166b89eed.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_0326" /></a><br /><br />It is sort of amazing how the temperature here can vary by fifty degrees or more at any given point during the winter. For the last two days it has been quite warm at about 30 degrees. My sister actually came home last night, from the cities (about two hours drive away), wearing shorts. This temperature is especially nice because it melts away ice and snow on the roads/other blacktop that has been there for a long time. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5420974798/" title="IMG_0331 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1428/5420974798_cd558a257e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0331" /></a><br /><br />We'd been tirelessly removing the snow all week from our drive, because it kept blowing in again, so this thaw was much appreciated as it has melted the top layer a bit, and then froze it again, so that the snow isn't blowing about anymore. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5420978932/" title="IMG_0332 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5133/5420978932_6de025d283.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0332" /></a><br /><br />I took these pictures whilst doing a few chores outside. Among them: getting the mail, an action which is always fraught with anxiety over possible acceptances/rejections. I'm getting the house to myself this whole week as my parents and Andreas have gone skiing in Colorado (something I'd like to do, if only I didn't have to drive 16 hours there and stay in the same condo!) and I've been left to house/dog-sit. Please don't use this information in any nefarious ways. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5420373939/" title="IMG_0343 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5298/5420373939_9ca1138c4c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0343" /></a><br /><br />I was looking forward to a nice weekend of relaxation when my erstwhile twin came home to do her laundry. She only stayed one night, so I couldn't feel terribly bad about not wanting her here because she obviously didn't come home to see me in the first place. She did, however, want me to act the mother for her and make dinner and do her laundry while she was sleeping. This wouldn't have been that objectionable had she asked nicely, but she seemed to think it was a given and so it became intolerable. She doesn't clean up after herself, one of her less admirable qualities, and this is a well established fact. She enjoys coming home to make elaborate stews that require many knives, chopping boards, bowls and utensils, and that-- she thinks-- magically clean themselves and return to their drawers. But no. Someone, usually my mom, cleans them. However, my Mom was gone this weekend so this household magic was necessarily supplied by me. It was not so unreasonable, I thought, in light of this precedent, to ask the Staz to clean up the kitchen after she mentioned that she might make chocolate chip cookies the next morning. But nooooo. This brought a slew of righteous indignation! When did she <span style="font-style:italic;">ever not</span> clean up after herself, she asked? And got into a huge humph about my "nagging" her about things. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5420984506/" title="IMG_0347 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5213/5420984506_048b60e435.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0347" /></a><br /><br />I'm actually torn about whether the nagging is worth it, because it ensures that she <span style="font-style:italic;">does </span>clean up after herself because otherwise she'd be proving me right, which she hates to do. If I hadn't mentioned anything, however, she would have left me with a big mess. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5420990532/" title="IMG_0353 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5291/5420990532_3a50f19b54.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0353" /></a><br /><br />She also brought back a certain library book, in quite a sneaky way, and left it here. This book is part of a big feud stemming from last November when I was in the throes of application anxiety, when our local library took back all my research books (remember?), and I asked the Staz to pick up one from a library five minutes from where she lives. She didn't want to, because she was tired and had other priorities, including parties and picking up a friend from the airport. This was base treachery, of course, because it was <span style="font-style:italic;">my future</span> compared to a few less cinnamon snapps shots or what-have-you. We never quite forgave each other for the hurt all this caused. She eventually got the book, in very bad spirits, after making me feel less than worthless and when it was no longer needed. After reconciling at Christmas, I gave it to her to return it so that she wouldn't get late fees, in what I thought was a nice gesture. This created a whole scene and she got worked up over it-- arguing that she wouldn't return it and that I would have to. This is/was ridiculous because I have no business in the cities and I'm not about to drive four hours to return one book. She doesn't seem to grasp, either, that she isn't hurting me by doing this, but only her <span style="font-style:italic;">own </span>reputation with the library. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5420987692/" title="IMG_0349 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5139/5420987692_6ab5b881b7.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0349" /></a><br /><br />Bah. Well, this is a girl who a few months ago started drawing a bath and then fell asleep letting her apartment flood for several hours. I might just win at life in the larger scheme of things. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5420385727/" title="IMG_0357 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5256/5420385727_f4dd11e96e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0357" /></a><br /><br />But anyways, enough about my evil half. I plan on spending this week patching up all the long-neglected tasks I've been accumulating and doing some nice alone things. Namely I hope to:<br /><br />1. Read the manuscript chapter the BU professor sent me, and a write an intelligent reply. Hope desperately that she isn't offended by my seeming dismissal of her kind gesture by my procrastination. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5420388661/" title="IMG_0364 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5051/5420388661_a7e822aae6.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0364" /></a><br /><br />2. Groom myself in various time consuming ways. <br /><br />3. Bring the entire house into a pleasant state of cleanliness that will only be shattered once people come home again. <br /><br />4. Finish quilting my quilt. <br /><br />5. Work on knitting Staz's scarf...maybe not. <br /><br />6. Read at least one novel by Walter Scott. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5420390859/" title="IMG_0369 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5014/5420390859_bed7048c85.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0369" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5420394621/" title="IMG_0372 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5260/5420394621_7c09c185fb.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0372" /></a><br /><br />7. Make pizza with the new thin crust recipe from Cook's Illustrated. (I found really adorable miniature pepperonis that don't have icky bits.)<br /><br />8. Launder things I'm not allowed to launder when my parents are around-- like pillows. They always worry it will damage the machines but I love pulling fresh pillows out of the dryer. <br /><br />9. Take really long baths at really late hours. <br /><br />10. Listen to very loud music. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5421005852/" title="IMG_0376 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5180/5421005852_d294a0a6f9.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0376" /></a><br /><br />11. Shop online with my hoard of gift cards. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5421009022/" title="IMG_0378 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5139/5421009022_46e547f59c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0378" /></a><br /><br />12. Go fabric shopping for the throw-pillow cover I've been meaning to make for months. Get an insert for another one that I have cover fabric for already. <br /><br />13. Take more pictures and make better posts. About food and books and less about whining. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5421012144/" title="IMG_0380 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5060/5421012144_13be10a388.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0380" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5420407113/" title="IMG_0388 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5014/5420407113_13bd6467b7.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0388" /></a><br /><br />14. Go on more walks with the dogs. Bring tiny dog outside too. Take pictures of said tiny dog wearing coat and boots. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5421017482/" title="IMG_0393 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5259/5421017482_909063a1be.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0393" /></a><br /><br />15. Read in bed. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5421020240/" title="IMG_0397 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5215/5421020240_530144f9e7.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0397" /></a><br /><br />16. Do yoga videos without worrying about anyone seeing my awkward poses. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5420415935/" title="IMG_0404 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5292/5420415935_53f105d7d6.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0404" /></a><br /><br />17. Have fun doing all of the above. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5420420015/" title="IMG_0405 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5099/5420420015_bc727663c8.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0405" /></a><br /><br />18. Not think about graduate school. <br /><br />Oh, and I was doing so well!Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-29116696508723651032011-02-02T23:59:00.000-08:002011-02-03T00:13:40.561-08:00february is not very spring-likeGoing to work was a treat this morning as it was -14 degrees F with a windchill that was probably -30. This wind is what makes these temperatures very bitter because it whips away all your warmth between your gloves and coat sleeves and freezes your legs between your coat and boots. I was freezing all day at work until I got to the gym.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5412876002/" title="IMG_0320 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5293/5412876002_4905ef36a6.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0320" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">(this is a second story window, under which I sit, that was slowly covered in drifting snow)</span><br /><br />Most people in the country experienced a lot of snow on Monday and are not very happy about it. We, in Minnesota, were relatively unfazed because the infrastructure exists to pretty quickly remove the snow from roads and get things working again. Too fast actually; I would have liked a snow day.<br /><br />It promises to be warmer tomorrow, though. Perhaps even up to 20 degrees! I just hope it doesn't snow again next week because I'll be responsible for all snow removal while dog/house sitting and I don't want to get out the tractor. It snows-- WITHOUT FAIL-- whenever my mother drives to the cities area in the winter. She just so happens to be going on Friday and snow is forecast. Super.Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-89485414787014575902011-01-30T00:07:00.000-08:002011-01-31T22:10:41.095-08:00a sad little post<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5400036541/" title="from 2007 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5215/5400036541_f8cdfe4fca.jpg" width="500" height="394" alt="from 2007" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">(from 2007: when I lived <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris,_Minnesota">here</a>; when graduating from college seemed impossible; when I'd just dropped all my chemistry classes; when I felt like I do now)</span><br /><br />I think I will abandon my original goal of making this a potentially family-friendly zone-- a place to build writing samples on lovely, light things in my life (when did I ever even do this?)-- and let it devolve into a straight-up LJ as it was always destined to be. Because, to be frank, the last time I was in this crappy place in my life, out of school with absolutely no plans or purpose, I needed a place to vent <s>and this is where I did it for about five years</s>.<br /><br /><s>Yes, I did it. I put it out there again. Those posts used to be a part of a blog that had regular commenters, comments obviously and picture links that worked but I moved it to wordpress because some people thought they knew me too well and it got rather sickening. I'm not sure why I'm linking to it, but it just seems like the right thing to do now. That is who I was-- and maybe still am-- even though it is embarrassing to read sometimes.</s> Annnnd I took it back after remembering that this account is tied to my school email address. <br /><br />Northwestern rejected me on Wednesday. I was watching the phones at work, in between running back and forth from the sanitizing room (I work as an assistant in a dental office), when I checked my inbox for the thousandth time and saw the nice email from Northwestern's graduate assistant. It had "with regrets" in the subject line so that the poor souls receiving it couldn't for a second be confused about its intentions. This was at the end of an hours vigil that began during lunch when I checked the <a href="http://thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php">gradcafe's results board</a> and saw that someone had been called with an acceptance. Needless to say, I began checking my phone, email, and application status whenever possible-- and simply twitching like a little chihuahua. Really, taking into account my recent weight loss (I was never FAT but I wasn't skinny either) and the fact that I haven't found time to do my eyebrows since September (I usually dye them then wax; they are now completely invisible/white) I do look quite diminutive, and if I was tanner I would look irrefutably Scandinavian. But have you noticed that young swedish people tend to look very pretty while the older ones look like raisins? This is because they don't use sunscreen. I refuse to sacrifice my skin. I digress. <br /><br />I had to share with my colleagues that I had been rejected because I'd shared the venture with them in the first place and it was quite obvious that something was wrong. This situation really cemented the fact that I am not a crier, which doesn't help me when I am pulled over for speeding, but was quite useful in preserving my makeup in this case. I sort of sucked it up and added extra time to my workout afterward at the gym in a haze of complete disbelief. I texted the news to my family so I wouldn't have to bring it up in conversation if they asked later.<br /><br />That. was. it. Really? I mean, after all the work I put into the application? Northwestern was truly the only place I could see myself going. Quite apart from a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Victorian-Relativity-Radical-Scientific-Discovery/dp/0226327329">certain professor</a> I wanted to work with, and other academic motivations, I have close relatives who live in Evanston, I lived there a long time ago and my brother will be studying at NPU next fall. It seemed perfect. <br /><br />And then it slowly washed over me that I'd felt this way before.<br /><br />I applied to a LOT of jobs last year before and after graduation and I'd always put too much stock into the possibility of getting each job and what that would mean. At the beginning I was just so happy to have a B.A. to put on my resume that I felt that this was a time of possibility and that, despite the horrible job market, things would happen to me. Because, really, they had to. A few months of waiting in the summer led to the first wave of rejections (though many didn't even bother to contact me at all) and <span style="font-style:italic;">this feeling</span>. There was something about me that was universally unattractive to employers and I soon started to approach the whole job search with dread, knowing that it would come to nothing. I never did get a real job. I work for my family's business now and, though they need the help, it isn't satisfying to me. <br /><br />So, I now think that Northwestern is probably just the beginning of the end. I'd checked gradcafe's result board to see when English notifications started rolling in last year and I was eager to get out of bed in the morning to see if there was anything new in my inbox before this happened. Now I just sort of lay there, if I don't have to get up, because I'm certain that the rest of my notifications will follow suit. <br /><br />I was aware of the competitiveness of the programs I applied to; all English programs are insanely hard to get into. But I let myself be fooled into thinking that I might have a chance. Literature, writing, reading, and curiosity is all I know on earth (and all I need to know?) and I can't imagine that my life will be much better without the challenge of being a part of an intellectual environment. Without graduate school (or with it maybe) I'll just end up being someone's secretary, if I'm lucky. I mentioned this to a TA last year who inquired about my plans after graduation and she, formerly a lawyer, said that she once had a very nice college-educated secretary. As if that made me feel better. <br /><br />I'm not sure at all what I will do or could do if all my applications are rejected. A diminishing part of me feels like the openness and opportunities are exciting and that I could do whatever I want. The larger part of me knows that these things-- like traveling, my own apartment, a job that pays more than $20K a year-- will never happen because that would actually make me happy and some force out there seems to be bent on keeping me as downtrodden as possible. (Me, probably.)<br /><br />The worst part is that in this free time, living at home with my parents (oh joy), I haven't been able to do the creative things I've been wanting to do for years and that I planned on doing after graduation, like reading "with abandon," crafting and baking. I just fritter away my time trying to make it...go away, I guess? Trying to just not fully realize the reality of my situation. I could easily exchange my activities for more fulfilling ones but I can't seem to do this. It is painful living this way. <br /><br />At the same time-- I'm incredibly lonely. I don't need a lot of interaction with people, obviously, but my own elemental separated-ness from cultural norms and lack of meaningful relationships grates on me every once in a while. When everything is going well I don't think about it much, but now...I don't know. It would be nice to fall back on someone who wanted to take care of me, as so many people in this world are able to do to some degree. I think I have a better chance at getting into graduate school than having <span style="font-style:italic;">that</span> happen to me. <br /><br />Ну, беда никогда не приходит одна. Да?<br /><br />At the risk of being melodramatic, this is the song that always comes to mind:<br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="500" height="405" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/H1tRB7-aBr8" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-73120597656022001142011-01-21T00:46:00.000-08:002011-01-20T22:46:12.727-08:00some resolutions that I wrote on the third day of the month(opps! just getting around to posting this)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5374875272/" title="IMG_0317 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5004/5374875272_ed3c82ff53.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_0317" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">No more Christmas! Only white decorations that try to make the winter seem less dark. </span><br /><br />I woke up yesterday to find that my mother had rid the house of everything red and green except the Christmas tree. Literally everything, as she said, that was "red and green." Even the Scandinavian decorations, such as a nice little apple wreath, that could be left out all year round, or at least during the winter, were gone. The tree was left up because she didn't want me to be too "traumatized." I suppose this is to be expected as everyone else has left and gone back to their real lives in St. Johns (well, not real life there), California, or on tour. We used to have our decorations up until the middle of the month at least, but no more. One day my mother will turn into her mother who doesn't put up a tree at all. <br /><br />I also woke up with a sore throat that has since developed into a cold/flu/sickness, so this made the whole de-christmasing more depressing, but there is something freeing about being sick and giving up for a little while. No gym. No makeup on. No people around, hardly. No expectations. I've been doing little domestic things that have been in the back of my mind for a while but I never get around to. Like putting out a bird feeder, planting the paperwhite bulbs, quilting my quilt that I've been working on since fall 2009...hopefully I'll get some knitting done, but at the moment all I want to do is sit and eat cookies while mindlessly watching Top Chef. <br /><br />I <span style="font-style:italic;">really</span> need to get away from the TV/movie watching mentally that I developed during college wherein I basically drown my anxieties in any free time by watching TV shows etc. that require no thinking, and even no emotional involvement (ie. Top Chef)-- sometimes I don't even like what I'm watching but the point is to turn off. Since I am no longer IN college and have few tangible stresses*, I need to start doing the imaginative things that I used to do that brought me success in college in the first place, because I feel that I've used up my reserves. In 2011, I want to:<br /><br />-Read a lot more for pleasure and keep a list. I probably read 40+ novels last year, not counting short stories, poems, non-fiction and criticism, but this isn't really good enough for me. I want to burn through and absorb all the books I've been collecting for the last few years and haven't got around to reading. I feel like they are <span style="font-style:italic;">experiences</span> that have been on hold for a long time. <br /><br />-Live with more...deliberation. I know it sounds cheesy and very Martha Stewart (who I love), but in the last two years I've found that there are a lot of little choices I can make to be happier like: organizing my clothes by utility and in stacks so I can see the texture of different materials; growing cut flowers and recycling seeds from the garden when the flowers are finished; arranging meals on a portmeirion tray; having a fun <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Who-Dalek-Phrase-Topper/dp/B000F44PNY">alarm clock</a> (my siblings thought this was HILARIOUS at Christmas); living with the seasons; and generally being a museum-like caretaker with the things I already own in a deeply materialistic way that is also deeply satisfying. The goal is to synthesize what I do-- have to and want to-- into an aesthetically pleasing whole. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5374272543/" title="IMG_0308 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5006/5374272543_79a5e09a3e.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_0308" /></a><br /><br />-Take care of myself so I don't feel, well, old. After the debacle that was Banana's bridesmaid dress last June, I started going to the gym five days a week and this makes me feel younger, lighter and stronger, more ready to be involved in life. I lost about twenty pounds-- or 15% of my body weight-- which is not bad at all. I love adventure/fantasy and it is harder to imagine that you're Galadriel (or someone) when you have jiggly bits. <br /><br />-(at the same time) Bake more nice things that I read about in books. I've been dying to make bacon buns like in <span style="font-style:italic;">This Side of Paradise</span>. <br /><br />-Write! Arrive in a place where I again feel the rhythm of sentences and the combination of words in a way that compels me to write. Writing for me is more wordsmithing than storytelling but I'd also love to have a brilliant idea for a story. For whatever reason, I think of myself as a writer-- at the bottom of everything-- and I want to bring this out into my everyday life. <br /><br />-<span style="font-style:italic;">Figure out my life</span>. Ah, impossible, but necessary. I've put in a lot of graduate school applications but can't expect them to come to anything and need to start living in a way that I could continue on if they don't. At the same time, life looks pretty bleak in that direction: no one wants to hire me, and even if they do I'll have to move and live alone again. This is probably why I applied in the first place because I need something to distract me from this terrifying prospect wherein the uselessness of life is always in the forefront. <br /><br />-Find a way to make vegetables taste like noodles.<br /><br />-Go over my Russian textbooks to relearn everything I've forgotten. I'm finding this difficult because I can't do things unless I wholeheartedly commit to them and I tend to get really intense. For example, yesterday I machine quilted for eight hours straight, which didn't make me feel any less sick; small bottles of product that one needs to use copiously everyday are my pet peeve; I was hesitant to start exercising last year because I felt it was just going to be a drain on my energy that I couldn't sustain (good thinking, right?). I don't like the idea of expensive one-week vacations as they're so transient-- if I'm going to spend seven hours on a plane I better be staying somewhere for at least 2-3 months. Anyways, why bother trying to relearn Russian if, down the line, I'm just going to forget it all anyways? There are no Russian speakers in my area <span style="font-style:italic;">at all</span> and chances are that I'll probably never have an opportunity to take more courses or even live in Russia...I need to stop thinking this way. <br /><br />-Be slightly better with people, less misanthropic.<br /><br />-Blog more. I don't live in the moment at all. I try, but it doesn't happen for me. Most of my enjoyment in life is from the before and after: reflecting on what has happened and anticipating what will happen. Blogging and photographing make me recognize that life is good and that I've reached my goals.<br /><br />-Worry less. <br /><br />*Ha! How things have changed since I wrote this post. Life seems more stressful than ever now.<br /><br />P.S.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5374870210/" title="IMG_0289 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5246/5374870210_4d90cb5114.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_0289" /></a><br /><br />I've made cinnamon rolls twice this year. The first time, I used <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/overnight-cinnamon-rolls-recipe/index.html">Alton Brown's</a> overnight cinnamon roll recipe but it let me down-- they weren't fluffy or soft at all. I probably rolled the dough out too thin. The second time I made <a href="http://www.bellaeats.com/blog/2011/1/3/breathless.html">this recipe from Bella Eats</a> with some alterations (cardamom in the cinnamon mixture and more cinnamon; vanilla and less orange extract in the glaze; princess flavoring in the dough) and they were DELICIOUS. These ones were put in the fridge for my mom to bake in the morning. I froze the rest. I adore sweet yeasted breads with citrus zest in them. Well, basically any baked thing with orange zest.Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-78224452215186476792011-01-09T01:18:00.000-08:002011-01-09T02:40:15.537-08:00better late then never: christmas post 2010<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5338035587/" title="IMG_6898 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5244/5338035587_e12ba71174.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_6898" /></a><br /><br />At my house, Christmas always starts by having to wake up too early. It is the <span style="font-style:italic;">only </span>time of the year that we eat breakfast together as a family, because many of us are not early risers and most of the time we're not all at home. Some of us (uh, me) have eschewed the world wide custom of fellowship during meal times and like to eat alone. At any rate, we've always stayed up too late the night before and since we're all adults now, the thrill of presents sometimes has competition in the form of snuggly warm duvets. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5338036309/" title="IMG_6912 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5003/5338036309_5c60c2176b.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_6912" /></a><br /><br />Stocking are magically filled overnight by <s>Mom</s> Santa and can be opened right away when you get up. This year I had the best stocking presents ever. Because they're a part of the presents that I don't pick out, they're usually a pair of socks, chocolates and a little notepad that Mom's found in a bin at Target, but this year I got very pretty grey-hued wool socks from Gap (OK, I picked these out) and a tiny lacquered Russian box from the giftshop <a href="http://www.tmora.org/">here</a>. I <span style="font-style:italic;">LOVE LOVE LOVE</span> things from giftshops, partially because they tend to have a certain depth to them (ordinary, useful objects endowed with the artistic/significant edge of whatever museum/gallery/castle you've got them from) and partially because I was completely deprived of any pocket money as a child when I got to travel around Europe and see <span style="font-style:italic;">a lot</span> of giftshops, sadly unable to buy anything. Anyways, good job Mom!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5338746342/" title="IMG_6926 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5084/5338746342_14519346cc.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_6926" /></a><br /><br />Breakfast (wherein I learn that my twin doesn't wash eggs before she uses them; yet another reason not to eat someone else's cooking) is next, usually hamlink sausages, lefse, scrambled eggs, berries and some sort of baked item. This year it was danish kringle from a bakery the parents had stopped at on the way home from Chicago. If I got up earlier I would make muffins or something but anything before 1PM is too early. This is Steph's plate, hence the (horrifying) brie and bad picture. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5338745608/" title="IMG_6931 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5241/5338745608_5dcbdf5d41.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_6931" /></a><br /><br />We begin tackling the excess under the tree after this nourishing breakfast. It does rather take a long time, so perhaps we'll scale down next year? There was a rather depressing moment on the 23rd when Banana-- my older, married, PhD candidate sister--had a pout fest because we took <span style="font-style:italic;">too long</span> to wrap her presents. Now, this isn't really indicative of the rest of us (it is <span style="font-style:italic;">ridiculous</span>), probably just her, but maybe should be taken into account? They were all suffering terribly under the burden of wrapping eachother's presents as I hadn't had time to do it this year before they came home. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5338337358/" title="IMG_9662 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5008/5338337358_1478db68dc.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_9662" /></a><br /><br />Dad finally got a holder for the state quarters he's been collecting. After putting them in he realized that he'd lost Arizona, only to find it later that night. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5338361660/" title="IMG_9705 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5125/5338361660_2efe66a537.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9705" /></a><br /><br />Mom got rather a lot of presents (and deservedly so) this year. Both parents had many to open, which is why the present pile was a little more excessive this year. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5338340634/" title="IMG_9687 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5041/5338340634_ef2155d449.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_9687" /></a><br /><br />Staz will glitter ANYTHING. She glittered our dog once. I am more of a sewing/baking person while she likes to glitter/glue-gun, cook and generally stay on the tackier side of things.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5337753545/" title="IMG_9720 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5285/5337753545_0cf9819ec4.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9720" /></a><br /><br />My haul was absolutely brilliant, so I felt bad about the whinging I'd been doing on this blog and in real life. The thing is, though, I'd been ordering and wrapping my own presents for years and it really did take some complaining to change things. Of course this doesn't make me exactly unfortunate in any sense, but opening presents is much more fun when you haven't picked out and wrapped everything yourself. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5337757643/" title="IMG_9730 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5207/5337757643_bb50d71c56.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9730" /></a><br /><br />Everything left of the Dalek alarm clock is mine! (I swear I'm not this much of a brat all the time.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5338037011/" title="IMG_6981 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5210/5338037011_0c16fc6665.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_6981" /></a><br /><br />After present opening-- around...noon-- we begin to make Christmas dinner. When I say "we" I mean my mother and sisters because my father and brother are lazy (and a little sexist). <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5338372682/" title="IMG_9733 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5005/5338372682_aef02f648c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9733" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5337775471/" title="IMG_9783 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5006/5337775471_7f1dbc1fe3.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9783" /></a><br /><br />The windows steam up from the heat in the kitchen. My camera couldn't catch it, but it is snowing outside as well. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5337763777/" title="IMG_9739 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5165/5337763777_ffc9683339.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_9739" /></a><br /><br />(The "after" scene in the living room-- completely deserted.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5337767221/" title="IMG_9769 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5290/5337767221_175365e497.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9769" /></a><br /><br />Our porch becomes a walk-in freezer during the winter, which is actually quite useful when preparing food. Things that are easier to make during the winter: pie crusts and sugar cookies. Things that are harder to make during the winter: yeast breads-- our house is usually about 60-something degrees, if not colder, and they just don't rise. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5338383388/" title="IMG_9779 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5245/5338383388_4176db3c9c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9779" /></a><br /><br />I make the best snowflakes, yes? Paper decorations are the easiest, cheapest way decorate a space. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5337778731/" title="IMG_9795 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5163/5337778731_d56cfbba0c.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_9795" /></a><br /><br />This cake was my contribution to the dinner time festivities. Unfortunately by the time everyone was done with their dinner no one had room for dessert. The recipe is from <a href="http://pieceofcakeblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/stupid-delicious.html">here</a> and, although I like her blog, I wouldn't make this recipe again. It just wasn't <span style="font-style:italic;">delicious</span>. The chocolate part wasn't very chocolately and, though I don't have a problem with corn syrup, I felt like I could taste it in that part and it turned me off. It wasn't a rich chocolate flavor at all but rather cheap, like the barely-chocolate cupcakes you'd find with four inches of inedible icing on top at a bad bakery. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5337782471/" title="IMG_9813 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5047/5337782471_8561175951.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_9813" /></a><br /><br />It gets dark very fast. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5338401526/" title="IMG_9830 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5086/5338401526_e9a8ec9089.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_9830" /></a><br /><br />An erstwhile brother appears in the kitchen... <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5338398394/" title="IMG_9823 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5047/5338398394_c2ea8a20ab.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9823" /></a><br /><br />...and pretends to help. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5338405586/" title="IMG_9846 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5206/5338405586_1797a7271d.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="IMG_9846" /></a><br /><br />It may be busy, but there is always time for a little snuggle with HB. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5337798467/" title="IMG_9852 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5247/5337798467_a2b4549faf.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9852" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5338422446/" title="IMG_9897 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5166/5338422446_4343f6cf94.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9897" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5338414314/" title="IMG_9871 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5205/5338414314_c127c03d80.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9871" /></a><br /><br />This year we had a luxurious roast beef instead of our usual ham. My sisters added several ~sophisticated~ side dishes, such as creamed pearl onions and beets with goat cheese, that ultimately no one ate but themselves-- though they made much of a to-do about having toiled to prepare them for <span style="font-style:italic;">everyone</span>. We all just wanted our cheesy broccoli with velveta!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5337814083/" title="IMG_9903 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5046/5337814083_35191a418e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9903" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5338432124/" title="IMG_9936 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5209/5338432124_c70562b38f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9936" /></a><br /><br />There are never any good pictures of us eating Christmas dinner because we sit in the dining room and, as it is always dark by 5PM, the lighting there is horrible for photos. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5337816659/" title="IMG_9911 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5088/5337816659_4a782a85cc.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_9911" /></a><br /><br />Our little bun-bun with her Christmas present from Grammy and new Christmas pajamas-- complete with artificial butt flap:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5337824533/" title="IMG_9988 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5168/5337824533_7b38fd8817.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9988" /></a><br /><br />Snookered out after having to run away from the oven door opening one-to-many times. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5337806243/" title="IMG_9883 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5041/5337806243_7563238e0b.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9883" /></a><br /><br />Well, that is pretty does it for our Christmas day. There is always a feeling, after opening presents, that Christmas is over. Every christian religion tries to battle this feeling but I don't think you could get rid of it without getting rid of the presents and no one would stand for that. Christmas eve always goes by in a blur because we wake up and pack off for the grandparent's house and then get back at 10-11PM, talk and fall asleep. Here is a surprising not bad picture of me sitting on the floor there:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5338034527/" title="IMG_6879 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5207/5338034527_df191b91ee.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_6879" /></a><br /><br />My lovely grandmother gave Steph and I hideous <span style="font-style:italic;">matching</span>, pink lepoard print fleece pajama sets from JCPenny this year. She also taped the gift receipt to the front of them, so all was not lost.<br /><br />I hope your Christmas was as happy as mine was! Tell me about your family traditions.Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-28580954916295121442011-01-02T01:14:00.000-08:002011-01-02T01:49:11.431-08:00happy new year!I no longer get Christmas videos from <a href="http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/barney/">Barney</a> (the best part of the Bush years, undoubtedly) with awkward cameos from government officials, so these will have to do. The president of arguably the most powerful country in the world talking to his dog, no really <span style="font-style:italic;">conversing </span>with him, about Christmas decorations? Some may find this disturbing but I find it hi-larious. <a href="http://online.wsj.com/video/president-obama-christmas-message/88F1D8F7-1EEA-4021-B5DB-018BBEBA1EE7.html">This </a>just doesn't do it for me-- so generic and PC. They need to embarrass themselves just a little bit and start doing videos with Bo, not just mention him. So, I'm trying to garner some holiday spirit by watching the New Years/Christmas addresses from my two favorite foreign countries.<br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="500" height="306" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/urYauQmKr6U" frameborder="0"></iframe><br /><br />I can't understand everything he is saying, so I look over the Russian text <a href="http://kremlin.ru/news/9976">here</a>, and then check out the English translation <a href="http://eng.kremlin.ru/news/1560">here</a>. Tomorrow I'll probably go through and actually look up the words that I don't know and write them down. This is going to be the beginning of my New Year's resolution of not-forgetting-all-the-Russian-I've-learned and trying-to-learn-more. I'm pretty excited about the time I'll have to do this. <br /><br />And, of course, the Queen:<br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="500" height="306" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UWwVoCVCEZo" frameborder="0"></iframe><br /><br />To be honest, I think this address is a little lackluster. Usually I watch the Queen's Christmas addresses when I'm feeling a bit down and I want to listen to her carefully measured speech and keep-calm-and-carry-on message, but this year the video was a bit depressing. They should go for farther away shots so you can't see her eyes darting back and forth from her prompter. And "sports" plus the King James Bible? Very odd. <br /><br />As always, there is a certain amount of absurdity in these videos that is always amusing. The ridiculous singing children and the princes playing soccer in god-knows-where-but-Britain-probably-invaded-at-some-point in the British one, among other things, and the almost humorously stark/stoic scenes in the Russian one. I think the presence of people in the British video is a nice contrast to the blatant lack of people in the Russian one. All those shots of the buildings in red square and where are the дорогие друзья? I don't think it would kill the Kremlin to put in a few shots of happy Russian citizens, or is there some reason for this?Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-75144832791393489762010-12-23T00:38:00.000-08:002010-12-23T01:14:06.757-08:00wherein I finally understand "surviving" the holidays<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5284659657/" title="IMG_7797 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5087/5284659657_0929d2eab1.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_7797" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">(a gift from last year-- will I get any this year? uncertain)</span><br /><br />I am done with the applications!!<br /><br />Well, mostly. There are some teaching assistantship applications that are due in January/February that I'm putting off till after Christmas. I don't know why I even bothered applying to the schools that rely on the success of TA apps for funding offers because I'll <span style="font-style:italic;">never</span> get a TAship with no teaching experience. The twin cities campus didn't need undergraduate TAs and at Morris I didn't have enough experience until I was gone. <br /><br />Anyways, Sunday I went to pick up Anders in the cities and since then I haven't had a lot of peace. My older sister came home Tuesday night and Steph came home around dinner time. Anna's "hubby" is now staying here as well (which will actually make my dad much better mannered). I need to be able to rely on clean spaces-- at least a bedroom and a bathroom-- in order to relax and just feel like I can stop worrying about things. At the very basic level (higher level worries = applications) I'm quite obsessive about having things clean and with so many people at home I am using a LOT of clorox wipes. There is now no sanctuary bathroom where I can take a bath, just de-tense and soak my poor legs with their horrible circulation (read: I am about eighty years old). People are in and out of them all the time and I just don't like being that close to people. Also, I <span style="font-style:italic;">do</span> have a conversation quota per day, but my ideal balance is more like 10% human interaction 90% alone time. This keeps me happy. Right now I'm at about 95% human interaction and it is grating on my nerves. On the other hand, it gives me something to look forward to when Christmas is over. <br /><br />They're everywhere-- all the time-- wanting to know what I am doing/eating so that they can make fun of it. They go with me to the gym (well, that was sort of fun). I have to listen to them chew at lunch and dinner. I have to see their hair all over in the bathroom. I love my family, and I think they love me, but being around them 24/7 is a bit degrading because they don't take me seriously as a person. It is like they all live in the "real" world and I must be humored because I occupy a much lesser sphere that occasionally benefits them (like basically making Christmas happen). English, as a subject, isn't real to any of them and nobody wants to listen to anything about it, which is basically a denial of my life. ~sigh~<br /><br />Also, I never made that Christmas wish list*. This is bad, but there wasn't time. And this means that I'll probably only have the things I ordered for myself off Amazon, including a copy of Le Morte de Arthur that arrived with the dustcover ripped, and one or two badly selected clothing items. Steph-- I love you, but shirts that are wider than they are long do not look good on me. I'm not sure how they look good on you, but there are always mysteries in life. The sad truth is that I spent all my free time arranging other people's gifts because I was honestly so sapped, my soul so shriveled-up-and-dead from trying-to-justify-my-academic-existence (still is) that I couldn't think of a lot of things that I wanted. Usually making up the list is a joy, even if I don't get everything on it, but this year I couldn't bring myself to do it. It was as if the tiny foray into pleasantness would bring me into full-on la-la land and I'd never be able to get back to cold, hard reality where my GPA matters more than moral character. <br /><br />Nevertheless, simply NOT doing applications is fun in itself. I'll probably make some cardamom cookies tomorrow and try to <span style="font-style:italic;">live</span> for a little bit. I may have to lock myself in my room to do it, but it will happen. <br /><br />*I realize that the importance of this makes me:<br /><br />1. About ten years old. <br />2. American.Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3276695652136499377.post-46215247123321976802010-12-19T12:56:00.000-08:002010-12-19T13:11:23.242-08:00a winter walkI'll be done with applications soon so I'll be taking a lot of new pictures. These ones are actually from November-- we have four times the amount of snow now. It is a veritable winter wonderland. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5256834475/" title="IMG_9497 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5050/5256834475_e233713f5c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9497" /></a><br /><br />My walking companions, Ole and Sven. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5257448722/" title="IMG_9504 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5282/5257448722_918b698236.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9504" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5256841233/" title="IMG_9505 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5162/5256841233_e70515307f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9505" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5256845247/" title="IMG_9506 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5168/5256845247_1eacbb1672.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9506" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5256848751/" title="IMG_9507 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5246/5256848751_6235c5224a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9507" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5257462096/" title="IMG_9508 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5041/5257462096_2dc7a0283e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9508" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5256857053/" title="IMG_9513 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5049/5256857053_4701acbb99.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9513" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5256854345/" title="IMG_9510 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5006/5256854345_cc463a7fcd.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9510" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5257470100/" title="IMG_9514 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5121/5257470100_a37374ebf6.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9514" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5256863433/" title="IMG_9520 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5046/5256863433_09b9ef0372.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9520" /></a><br /><br />You really can't walk very fast in those big boots.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5257477974/" title="IMG_9522 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5249/5257477974_587c0fa32b.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMG_9522" /></a><br /><br />One of the fun things about winter in Minnesota is that it allows you access to places that you don't get to explore during the rest of the year. As anyone who listens to Garrison Keillor knows, we have a lot of lakes. My family's forty acres, for instance, has two pond-lakes and is attached to one small lake. These pictures are from an area that has frozen over and is usually filled with swampy water and weeds.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5257483074/" title="IMG_9527 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5050/5257483074_e056f3884f.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_9527" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5257481256/" title="IMG_9526 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5283/5257481256_c8dc2b58e1.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_9526" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5256875095/" title="IMG_9528 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5167/5256875095_13f73fd10a.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_9528" /></a><br /><br />It had an interesting, sort of magical quality about it that I think a person can only understand if he/she grew up with that sense of "exploring"-- attics, trees, unopened drawers or cupboards, mountains and castles (or what seem like mountains and castles). If you are that sort of person you never get bored; you always know how to amuse yourself in some way.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5257487498/" title="IMG_9529 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5241/5257487498_f1c986a920.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_9529" /></a><br /><br />I'm afraid I don't get enough of that sort of thing anymore.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5256881595/" title="IMG_9534 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5164/5256881595_47b046dee9.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_9534" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40202636@N03/5257489302/" title="IMG_9531 by cnordstrom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5004/5257489302_a754119936.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="IMG_9531" /></a>Catherinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307127409197679428noreply@blogger.com0