Project 52: Weeks 7 & 8

Sorry for the delay in posting week 7. Technical difficulties at first...then I forgot. Whoops.

1. Accompanied Chris Martin, principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony. It was a pleasure to perform with a musician of his caliber and humor.

2. Slightly lewd Valentine from a co-worker. Just the giggle I needed.

3. Valentine card supplies.

1. This little sprig of thyme subtly perfumed the kitchen most of the week.

2. Whole wheat chocolate cookies. Nom-noms.

3. I may have set a sponge on fire in the microwave. What a difference one zero makes....

2. Note from a third grade boy that gave me pause. It's a skull balloon, just in case you were wondering.

Mogget Monday: No Room for Compromise

 

This scene may look sweet & cuddly, but in reality this is a basket brimming with stubbornness. Let me describe the scene for you:

 It's a quiet and sunny morning, the radiators softly hissing while the humans sip their steaming cups of coffee on the sofa. Simandl slinks into the living area from the kitchen, Mogget plods in from napping on the bed, both aiming for the basket bathed in sunlight. Realizing they are both headed toward the ultimate nap location, they pause at the basket and stare intensely at each other. Mogget puts a paw in the basket. Simandl hisses and puts one of her paws in the basket. They stare, motionless, until Simandl puts another paw in. Mogget disapproves and swats her. Undeterred in her quest for the sunny spot, Simandl jumps into the basket and quickly lies down. She looks smug in her triumph. Unwilling to admit defeat, Mogget mooses in and lies atop Simandl. They both grumble and hiss at each other for a few minutes, squirming to get comfy. Then Mogget starts to lick Simandl's nose, and they both purr at a ridiculous volume. They remain crammed into the basket for several hours. Cats be weird.

Shedding My Prejudice or Mr. Darcy, Mr. Darcy, Mr. Darcy!

In 2013 I had planned to "watch less, read more." About that...I only cracked open 3 books last year, and managed to not finish any of them. One of the books was about motivation. Oh, the irony and the shame. I adore a good book, and am honestly embarrassed by such a dismal reading record.  Determined to feed my brain, I added read 12 books to my 2014 Amazing Year 100 Things To Do list.

To assemble my list of books to read, I fielded my friends for recommendations. If you could recommend 1 classic work, what would it be? My smarty-pants friends suggested many great books and authors, but I was surprised how often Jane Austen appeared on the list. Jane Austen, really? She's booooooring, I thought to myself.

I think my aversion toward Ms. Austen came from the pitifully brief "women authors" unit I had in high school, where we read a small excerpt from Sense & Sensibility. Ms. Austen's writing style takes some time to get accustomed to, and her wit and humor slowly unfolds. Since time was not invested in reading a whole work, I did not get to fully understand Jane Austen and quickly dismissed her writing as pretentious and trite. How perfectly sophomoric (or Lizzy Bennett-ish) of me. Since so many of my friends raved about Pride & Prejudice, Emma & Persuasion, I figured I may have misjudged Jane Austen.

Clearly I had a prejudice against Ms. Austen, so I decided Pride & Prejudice would be a good place to begin. In all honesty, it took a few chapters before I became interested in the storyline and got a handle on Austen's prose. But then it happened. By chapter five I was completely engrossed in the absurdity of it all. The characters are all ridiculous, the etiquette and civility is over the top in haughtiness, and the banter is ludicrous. Mr. Darcy was my favorite character by far- such a charming ass. I found myself genuinely excited to have time to sit down and read a few more chapters. What foolishness is in store? What snarky thing will Lizzy say? And WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME JANE AUSTEN WAS SO FUNNY? I wondered. No matter, I am a convert now. I certainly plan on reading more of Austen's novels in the future. The big question is: which one?

Pride and Prejudice (Barnes Noble Collectible Editions) / Pride & Prejudice

Mogget Monday: Contemplation

Soaking in the afternoon sun, contemplating life.

Or staring off into space.

Whichever.

Project 52: Week 6

 

1 & 2. Cross-country, Nordic combined, Biathlon, Downhill or Jump- I'm all about the Olympic ski events. I'm sure I am not the only person feeling an itch to strap on some skis and hit the trails. Totally unrelated to the photo, but how amazing were the opening ceremonies!?! Loved every moment of it--so very, very Russian. Stravinsky, animatronic horses, ballet dancers, crazy projector work- what more could we have asked for?

3. Ler and I grabbed an Irish breakfast at County Clare. A splash of scotch in our coffee and figure skating- a delightful combination.

Mogget Monday

Valentine's greetings from Moggies.

Snow Bunny Is Learning New Tricks

I make no apologies for neither the awful pun above, nor the the one to follow, but some bunny is playing with technology. Part of the Amazing Year workbook is to draft a list of 100 things you would like to do. The list can include anything your heart desires- nothing is too big or too trivial. My list has some rather ambitious undertakings (sub 4 marathon!), but consists of many petite ventures, such as:

• Wear red nail polish (Surprisingly, I've never worn red.)
• Take a road trip
• Watch Thelma & Louise
• Go skiing
• Learn how to take better pictures and how to use photo editing software. 
• Improve my blog.

I've really enjoy writing refeathered, and want to advance the quality of my content. So, I will be experimenting with some new software and services over the next couple of months. Any and all feedback is appreciated! For my first foray I created a fantasy wishlist for a day on the slopes using Polyvore ($1200 sunglasses, anyone? Ha!). I had stopped making round-up posts because it took forever to format, but Polyvore was easy, fun and free.

What would you pack for a fantasy day on the slopes?

Alice Olivia crewneck sweater, $255 / Bogner jacket / Sitka woolen socks / Little Fool Textiles wrap shawl / Monki hat, $13 / Bottega veneta glasses / The north face glove / STANLEY ® | Stanley Product Filter

Project 52: Week 5

1. New cold weather gear

2. Tea party at Mo's

3. The best. oatmeal. ever. It's like carrot cake for breakfast.

4. The start of a delicious meal.

Mogget Monday

Mogget (& Simandl) tip #8: When the wind whips at -50, snuggling with wooly blankets is the only acceptable activity for the day.