Make Your Own Kind of Music

“I tell jokes and cut capers about the place and make the monks laugh. They all say I’m possessed by the devil and insult me. But I say to myself: It can’t be true; God must like fun and laughter.” 
                                                                     -Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

I gave myself permission, this Summer, to savor the Hell out of it ... Like, really squeeze every last drop of joy out of, even (especially?), the most ordinary moments. At the time I was so benevolently bestowing the privilege upon myself, I couldn't foresee quite how necessary it was going to be. I just knew that my nervous system deserved it, and of all the hits I've taken in the last handful of years, I knew I'd still managed to hang onto my senses of appreciation, and play, and I think that actually leaves a person with quite a lot of room on which to build something good. 

Happy to be Stuck with You!

On this momentous (blogiversary) occasion I want to say, first of all, I can not believe I've been at this for as long as I have, and what's even more unbelievable is that you animals are still coming around to read any of it! The least believable thing of all is that no one has emailed me yet to kindly tell me to log off the interwebs and buy a diary! Actually ... Maybe they have, and I just haven't made it to that circle of Hell in my inbox yet. So, thanks (I think?) for putting up with eighteen years of my screed, so far. 

Copping it, Washing it ...

... 'Bout to go, and get some compliments! Today is National Thrift Shop day here in America (we'll celebrate just about anything), but I'd argue every day can be Thrift Shop day if you try hard enough. Don't believe me? Just take a look at the freaks with extreme flipper-mentality over on the TicTac who've turned junkin' into something weird now. Hey, in this economy, I appreciate anyone making a buck whatever way they can, but making thrift-store-shopping your ENTIRE personality, while you take cool old stuff, paint everything greige, and rub dirt on it is ... Weird. I don't care how you slice it. Speaking of slicing, remember that six month stretch a while back when everything was cake???

Hypnotized, Mesmerized

"August is the slow, gentle month that stretches out the longest across the span of a year. It yawns and lingers on with the light in its palms." 

- Victoria Erickson

Round and Round the Garden

Don't worry, I won't be tickling anyone's under there at any point in this post, but I have been going round and round the garden a lot lately playing match-maker with my Daylilies ... In fact, I think I'm down to the last few days of this love connection before one of my flower beds turns into a full blown maternity ward. For my fellow flower pervs out there, I've been spending my time cross pollinating the deepest bordeaux red petal, and chartreuse throated Pardon Me, with Nashville Star (I believe?) which fluctuates between a gorgeous oxblood red to sparkling rusty orange with a vibrant golden throat. The latter I acquired from my dad several years ago ... I was down for a visit on a weekend he was loading up to head South for the Winter (it must've been the same weekend I got the chicken wire and bird bath stand that I turned into a mannequin, boy that really was a while ago!). Anyway, he was offloading a bunch of stuff and on his final mosey as he passed the corner of his shop he picked up this sad little plastic pot that housed what looked to be Cousin It's little sister ... "Think you can do anything with this?"

When I Dip, You Dip, We Dip!

With cookout season in full swing, I figured it was high time to share my most tried and true, time-tested dipping sauces with all of you. These recipes are incredibly low effort, full of simple ingredients, but deliver such a satisfying payoff, which sums up my cooking style 100%. I don't live to be chained to my kitchen, following a bunch of complicated steps, with ingredients I had to go on a treasure hunt for. If that sounds like you, you've found the right place ... If you like it complicated, you can still do that, and let these sauces be the easy accessories that elevate the whole ensemble! Let's get started.

Lip Service

I'm on a quest for the perfect tinted lip balm, and I have not found it ... YET! It's not that I haven't done the legwork lipwork, it's just that no one brand is delivering on all of my requirements. Why not just shut up, use a lipstick or a gloss, and be done with it already? Well because, and my 35 (nah, she was half dead, she wouldn't care), 25, and 15 year old selves can NOT believe I'm about to say this, but sometimes lipstick, or a lip gloss is just a little too much. There, I said it. I can't take it back now, mostly because it's true!

Ok, so what do I want? Oh, the million dollar question, indeed! 

Abracadabra

The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.

-Frank Zappa