Said In A High Kitty Voice:

(Thanks to Miss Amber for cheering me up with this. Who wouldn't be cheered up, I ask?)

Chestnuts (Not Roasting)

Looks like what I thought was a picture of Bombay Sapphire on yesterday's post was instead an advertisement. Damn advertisers. My apologies. (The picture today, by the way, is of chestnuts.) I do like chestnuts. From W.B. Yeats: "O chestnut tree, great-rooted blossomer,/ Are you the leaf, the branches, or the bole? O body swayed to music, o brightening glance,/ How can you tell the dancer from the dance?"

Things That Go Through Your Head While Making Risotto

1. Boy, this takes a long time.

2. What is the etymology of gin, anyway?*

3. I blame the books of my young adulthood for a lot.

4. "I am Lazarus, come from the dead
Come back to tell you all, I will tell you all."

5. I want a curly grey dog. I would call him Sasha.

Item 4 is T.S. Eliot, from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." I almost never remember that part; I think having to help (well, cut) my roommate out of his mummy costume this past weekend brought it to mind. (Long story. But look how literature is appropriate for any situation!)

*from the Dutch word for juniper, "genever". Who knew?

Uncollected

You may have noticed from the posting times lately that I'm pretty much rolling out of bed and writing something--maybe not the best plan, since it leads to obcervations like this:

1. Orrin Hatch's re-election billboards (of which there are two I have to see on the way home from my parents' house) make him look like a cadaver.

2. The word "whiskey" came from Scottish Gaelic uisge beatha and Irish uisce beatha, both from the Latin aqua vitae, or "water of life."

Tomorrow: The etymology of gin! Oh, boy!

Knitting, Part 1

I didn't get the finished project photographed last night, but really, the UNfinished projects are so much more impressive:

We have an ivory scarf for a birthday present in the front, the bluetocking sock yarn, a sample skein of the grey alpaca that will be the travelling cloak (for me), red merino/cashmere tweed for a Christmas scarf for my roommate, two kinds of varigated yarn for a secret Christmas present, a second green fingerless glove for a welcome-home present, and some "gingersnap" colored yarn for a chunky vest for me.

But I did get the black alpaca shrug done. Slowly but surely...

Books of My Childhood

Watch out: I got a package yesterday of paperbacks I loved as a "young adult" (that is, an 11-15 year old). Yes, one of them is a horse book: My Friend Flicka has a sequel, Thunderhead. (There's a third to make a triolgy, but it's out of print.) The other two are by Lucy Montgomery, the author of the beloved Anne of Green Gables series. Watch out, indeed.

I know pictures have been scarce this week. I've been meaning to take pictures of some knitting projects, both finished and un. I'll try to get that done tonight.

Karma

Guess who was on the daily update at Blue Moon Ranch today? Aww....

Recovering

As much as I can intellectually accept that change is part of life, I have a hard time accepting it emotionally. New jobs are hard. Change is hard. (I was going to say "stupid," but reconsidered; it's not a particualrly literary word.)

So how do you recover from a first day? You stop at the yarn store on the way home and buy yarn to make socks. Hand-painted blue sock yarn, so you can make blue socks and thus be a bluestocking. (Because after all, you're literary. You avoid words like "stupid" and embrace semicolons.)

Then if you're not recovered enough, you watch Brazil. While finishing up your big black alpaca sweater. And if that's still not enough? You make the potatoes-baked-in-heavy-cream gratin, which makes your roommate happy and finally puts you into a fatty food-induced coma, so you wake up ready to take on another day.

Soundtracks

So it's Monday morning of a new blog address (so much for thinking I'm anonymous) and a new job. And what song is in my head for the occasion? Surprisingly, it's not a song about a certain Maggie and her farm, as much as I love Dylan. It's not even Carmina Burana. No, it's "Feeling Good," as sung by Miss Nina Simone.

New Address

Come Monday, look for the Cute Kitten Picture, Unrelated Information, Potential Band Names Found In Everyday Conversation, and maybe even the Office Snack of the Day at this new address:

www.karenkaminski.com

And to send us off in style here at the old address, here's a bit of Roethke I don't recall the title of (perfect) and a cute bunny picture (wearing a sweater--even more perfect).

"Arch of air, my heart's original knock,
I'm awake all over."

Random Post

I finished the knitting part of the sweater project (yes, still that one) last night while watching Dr. Zhivago. Now I just have to sew it up.

And I found the rules for the Roy Rogers Riders Club yesterday!

1. Be neat and clean.
2. Be courteous and polite.
3. Always obey your parents.
4. Protect the weak and help them.
5. Be brave but never take chances.
6. Study hard and learn all you can.
7. Be kind to animals and take care of them.
8. Eat all your food and never waste any.
9. Love God and go to Sunday school regularly.
10. Always respect our flag and our country.

I like how "be clean" is rule 1 and "don't be a heathen" barely makes it in at number 9.

Cooking

After the Tuna Helper Incident last week, I haven't strayed far from M.F.K. Fisher's ideas about food--two nights ago it was lentil soup wth red wine and tomatoes, and last night it was a "classic potato gratin." The ingredients: potatoes, heavy cream, a smashed garlic clove, salt and pepper, and cheese to spread on top so it gets crispy. I used Edam. If you have never had potato slices baked in heavy cream, run--don't walk--to the kitchen and get going.

I'm blaming Madame Fisher for any weight gained this winter.

In other news, the address of Better Living Through Literature will be changing. Look for an announcement here by the end of the week. (I know all 4 of you who read this will want to update your bookmarks.)

Friends With Photoshop, Part 2:

Just when you think something is safe in its cuteness...

Thinking...

No time for literature (not even picture books)...must keep on task...only a bunny today...

Mousekin's Golden House is REAL

That was the title of a book my brother and I loved, about a mouse who hibernates in a jack-o-lantern. (Sadly, it's out of print and now is selling for "rare book" prices.) Imagine my delight when I checked out Cute Overload this morning and saw this--not Mousekin, but close:

These Boots Are Made For Walkin'

Remember the new boots that were coming Wednesday that made life worth living after all? They came. I am wearing them today. I feel like Jane Eyre. Or Captain Jack Sparrow. (I can't decide if they're Victorian boots or pirate boots.)

Speaking of Captain Jack Sparrow, here's a site where you can create a licensed, branded talking pirate email. It's kinda fun, so visit Dead Man's Mail. And remember, temporary happiness is just a purchase away.

Latin

The (admittedly few) people who read Better Living Through Literature are a good bunch--you ask for a Photoshopped pirate cat captain and you get two of them; you ask for a translation of "Have hobbies and see what happens" into Latin and, by golly, someone finds a friend who was a Classics major and sends it to you. I even got it in Greek, but I don't think the characters would publish online very well.

"Have hobbies and see what happens" gets
translated technically as "Have (hold) the pursuit of leisure and see what happens (becomes)." Which in Latin is "Habe studia otii et vide quid fiat."

So Much for M.F.K. Fisher

Last night's dinner: Tuna Helper.
Last night's quotable quote (yes, I'm quoting myself): "Tough love is letting someone you care about do what they want."

But it's not as bleak as it sounds: New shoes are arriving today, and life is always worthwhile with new shoes.

Let the Randomness Begin

It's only Tuesday, but it's high time for some unrelated information. First, here's the long-awaited picture of the third-prize winning jacket at the state fair:










And here are two pictures of alpacas from Saturday at the ranch (the close-up is of a feeding frenzy that occurred when I gave them carrots, and the distant shot is of them running to the barn to get fed):










Here's a picture of a goat with really big ears, from Cute Overload:















And finally, here's a sample of Worth 1000's "let's photoshop old progaganda posters into something funny" contest:

Cute Kitten Picture Monday!

Doesn't he look tired? I think he looks tired. He's probably tired because it's Monday.