S T A C Y V E R B

Monica visits from Raleigh

This week one of my bestest buds was in town for a work-related thingie and we got to spend some time together.  Monica and I met in college 20 (yikes) years ago and she currently lives in Raleigh, NC.  Saturday night, Monica and Christy and I gathered at my house for an evening of fun.

Monica brought a bottle of this wine, which I hadn't tried before but now definitely recommend.

Christy spent some quality time with boy foster kitten and my official party mascot from our college days, Eager Beaver.

As you can see, girl foster kitten felt very comfortable hanging out with Monica!  Good friends and a cute kitten...hmmm, what's missing from this picture?  Oh, I know...

...a second cute kitten! :)  They are such social little creatures* already, and really enjoy climbing on people.

We had a great evening playing board games, drinking wine, and ordering Chinese food.  As often happens when I'm with Monica and Christy, I laughed until I cried.  I laughed until my face hurt.  And isn't that the best sign of a good visit?  Yo, Slick...come back soon!

*FOSTER KITTEN UPDATE: One of Adverb's co-workers wants to adopt both of them together!  They should be weaned in another couple of weeks and ready to go to their permanent home.  Hurray! 

Happy birthday to me!

So!  I turned 40 years old today.  It was not traumatic.  Mostly I think birthdays that end with zero are just fantastic excuses for bigger celebrations.

A while back, I told Adverb that all I wanted for my Milestone Birthday was for us to take a great trip somewhere.  So when some friends of ours who live in San Francisco announced that they were getting married on Labor Day weekend, I was like, score.  A fabulous trip, right after my birthday, to a place I've always wanted to visit?  Perfecto.

We leave in the morning.  (To any bad guys who may be reading this: there will be people staying at my house, so don't make the mistake of thinking there's no one around.)  Bags are packed.

My real present is the trip, of course, but this evening my hubby also treated me to a pre-vacation date: Julie and Julia (which we both thought was great fun) at the Movie Tavern.  We sat in the back and giggled like fools, ate pizza and drank beer, and partway into the movie, a guy quietly and magically appeared with refills.  Gotta love the Movie Tavern.

Oh, and also?

 

I wore sparkly devil horns all day.  Just because I could.  Let's hear it for celebrating every day like it's a birthday that ends in zero!

Jones Bridge Park

The other day, Adverb and I had a zillion things we should have been doing around the house, but instead we decided to run away from home and spend a beautiful late summer day at the park.  We headed out to Jones Bridge Park, part of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.

 

On the way, we picked up some picnic food from the Publix deli.  With happy taste buds and full tummies, we took a stroll down to the water.

 

We watched ducks...

 

...and geese...

 

...and this big black dog, who was having the time of his life swimming out to fetch a tennis ball.  (Photo blurry due to dog being in action!)

 

Adverb tests the waters.  Verdict: cold!

 

Scenic pedestrian bridge.  Not the eponymous Jones Bridge, which apparently is at some other, undisclosed, location--or at least we never saw it.

 

Close-up of oddly beautiful rust on the bridge railing, because I like to take pictures of weird crap like that.

 

A lovely day--much better spent than doing whatever it was we were supposed to be doing!

Mid-year resolutions

Recently my friend Rachel H. shared a list she called "10 Things I Would Like To Accomplish Before The Year Is Done."  I really liked this exercise, especially at this time of year.  Why should the start of a new year be the only time we think about goals we'd like to achieve, or changes we'd like to make?  Putting these ideas in words helps to focus on those goals, reminding us that they exist and that aren't going to get accomplished all by themselves.  (Plus, I just really like to make lists!)  So, here's my version of Rachel's list. 

1. Do a major purge and re-organization of closets, workspaces, cabinets, etc. in my house.
2. Re-design my blog (new banner, new color scheme, maybe new layout).
3. Do at least one writing exercise a week (not counting blogging).

4. Have a new collection of jewelry designs ready for fall.
5. Have another new collection of jewelry designs ready for winter.
6. Finish the *BLEEP* I started for *BLEEP* in, what, 2005?  (This entry has been censored because it is supposed to be a surprise for someone who reads this blog!)
7. Go to the doctor and get a real, complete physical.
8. Design and knit a sweater entirely from my own handspun fiber.
9. Teach at least two knitting lessons per month.
10. Go on--or at least have definite plans and dates for--an actual vacation, preferably to a place I've never been.

What would your list look like?

An open letter to cancer

What the hell is your problem?  Who do you think you are?  You are pissing me off.

In the past seven months, five people I know have been diagnosed with you.  Not to mention the very ugly bout my father-in-law had with you in 2006.  Not to mention that you killed my favorite cat in 2007.  Don't think I've forgotten about those things, because I have not.

Now, true, I'm THRILLED that you are not the cause of some problems my husband has had this year.  I'm also extremely excited that my friend's husband is kicking your sorry ass.  Loving this.  Huge fan of this.

Yesterday, though, you killed someone I knew, a very talented guy who had not been sick for long.  He moved into hospice care last week, and the doctors said he wouldn't last the summer...well, he barely lasted through the weekend.  His partner, family and friends barely had time to get used to the idea that he was sick, and now he is gone. 

Enough already.  You suck.  No one likes you.  Move along.

Seriously.

Summer solstice

Happy first day of summer!  The temperature reached 98 degrees here yesterday, so we are already deep in the thick of it.

I've made no secret that Atlanta summers wear me down (although they are the price I'm willing to pay to avoid being buried under snowdrifts all winter!).  So as I brace myself for several months of relentless heat, humidity and smog, I thought I'd try to focus on some positive things about summer.

Here's one:

A gorgeous, luxuriant plant I pass by each day as I stroll to work.  I don't know what it's called (anyone? anyone?  Bueller?), but it's huge and clearly undaunted by the extremes of summer.  [Edit:  A shout-out to Irene, for helping me identify this beauty as a variegated canna lily.  Thanks!]  The flowers are lovely, but for my money, the real stars here are the leaves.

Just look at those graceful curves...the lush, striated greens...the way each leaf is elegantly edged with deep red.  But wait, there's more....

Down inside, coiled tight, patiently waiting for its chance to unfurl...a leaf-to-be.  Somehow it's encouraging to see something that thrives so adeptly in the brutal sun.

Enjoy the longest day (and shortest night) of the year, everyone!

All clear!

A quick update to let Adverb's legions of fans know that we got the results of his tests today, and the news is good!  Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, good vibes, etc.  We feel very loved. :)

A special request

Hi, readers.  Just a quick note to ask for good thoughts as Adverb has some more medical tests done today.  Thank you!

Porch time!

Late spring is one of my favorite times of year in the ATL.  The thick coating of pollen is gone from the cars, the pavement, and our nasal passages.  The mosquitoes are not yet out in full force.  A person can sit still and not start sweating.  This year, spring seems to be stretching itself out longer than usual, too.  Usually we'd be in full-on summer by now.

This is the season I call porch time, when being outdoors is a pleasure.  Adverb and I like to eat meals on our porch (when we have our act together to make it happen, that is) while we have the chance, before the mugginess and bugginess kicks in.  Steamy summer is on its way, but for now, we are reveling in our little al fresco table for two.

Apologies, my adoring public

It has been brought to my attention (repeatedly) that I've been slack about blogging lately.  I can't deny it, and I can't justify it, except to say that life got very "lifey" there for a few weeks and blogging did not feel like a priority.  (Isn't that a great word--"lifey?"  A customer said that to me at the shop recently and I have now adopted it.  She said she hadn't knit much in the past year because her "life had gotten very lifey" for a while.)

In the midst of the lifey-ness, life has been going on, and there were many times I thought, "Don't forget to blog this or that," but it didn't happen.  So then I had a backlog of things I wanted to blog about, and the thought of catching up on all of it was a little overwhelming, so I didn't blog at all.  Argh.

Anyway.  Let's move on.  Let's sum up the past several weeks in a few sentences and then get back to our regularly scheduled craziness, shall we? 

Christy and I saw Bruuuuuuce at Philips Arena and it was an amazing show, as usual.

Adverb and I attended Quintron & Miss Pussycat's fundraiser for the Center for Puppetry Arts and had a great time.  To understand the Q & Miss P experience, see my November post about them here.

Adverb had to have some scary medical tests, which revealed that he does NOT have a horrible disease.  We love this!

I briefly got excited about basketball, but then the Hawks went out in four against the Cavs, and now I've lost interest.

The Stacybeads summer collection is in production (meaning, I've been making it) and will be revealed on this blog within the next month.

A canine friend of ours went to doggie heaven.  RIP Tessie.  Big hugs to Tessie's human, Sue.

I accidentally went on a bit of a fabric bender and am very excited about sewing new creations for summer.

And on that note, I return to other projects.  But blogging will once again be a regular activity on my agenda.  Thanks, loyal readers, for your concern over my internet silence. :)