retrospect

oh 2008, i barely knew thee.

i don't know if i could come anywhere near summing this past year up with the fanfare it deserves, but maybe i'll try a bit. maybe saying that i've been re-introduced to a certain tucker jaymes speaks the volumes i'd have trouble articulating? i'm pretty sure i have the best friends in the world and this man definitely made them multiply (almost like rabbits, is that weird?).

highlights:
- patriots v. terrorists reredux
- chicago x2
- the purchase of my motobecane mirage
- duluth with some of the vixens
- doittoit and introduction of the above tucker along with the amazing ashley and all of their talented and lovely friends (who i'm pleased to introduce now as my talented and lovely friends)
- sunday dinner
- a visit from jesse/james
- both the stormy red stag block party and the rainy bryant lake bowl block party
- rooftop parties/debauchery
- danell and her talented band putting on rad show after rad show
- bikerides to the beach
- the 5th classy birthday party with nels
- MMAUOHSMP (i think that is the acronym...)

while all of the above was lovely, it kept me away from the two resolutions i made last year, so i'll make them again:
1. write more/every day
2. stick to that damn allowance

torched

December 26th, 2008 8:00 p.m.

menu:
roasted butternut squash and apple salad
venison steaks with a red wine and leek pan sauce
cheddar, chive and pepper biscuits

vanilla ice cream with a mulled cider and cranberry reduction sauce and ginger snaps

dow's reserve vale do bomfim

guest:
ryan lyle

ryan is not only a really cool guy, but he also has a torch that i have borrowed (for an indefinite period of time) to make crème brûlée and italian meringue. before heading out for the tim rally gold show (and yes, you really blew it if you missed this one), we had dinner at my place. i'm sort of embarrassed about the amount of venison i've eaten lately, but only sort of. and, i realize i should have made a torched dessert for the man, but time was short and i was running around my kitchen like a madman as it was...

I sentiero dei nidi di ragno

the second bookclub will be meeting on january 21st at 7:30 pm at my house to discuss the book the path to the spiders' nests, written at the unthinkable age of 23 by italo calvino. i don't want to talk about the books i've not written now that i'm two years old than he was and published.

i've called both magers and quinn and booksmart - neither have a copy in and cannot order it, but amazon and related booksellers have a plethora of editions available at low, low prices.

let me know if you'll be coming and bring a bottle of something to share...

i hate perfume

i don't know a bigger sucker for language than myself. i own this perfume and love it. how did i find it, you ask? read about it and having never smelled it, i ordered it from new york. christopher brosius is an absolute genius. i am almost out, in case you're looking for a last minute gift and want to make me swoon a little.

this wins an honorable mention and i'm using all my self control not to order a bottle...

MMAUOHSMP

see you there?

this is now the official plan

louisa says: so,
my plan is to win the lottery tonight.
lauren says: oh man.
louisa says: i have my winning ticket and everything.
lauren says: i'm excited about it.
louisa says: right?!
lauren says: if you win, i'm not coming in to work tomorrow.
louisa says: the first thing we'll do is make sure there are lots of space heaters for the party on saturday night
lauren says: yes.
definitely.
louisa says: then, we'll go to greece,
you and me.
lauren says: woooooooo!
louisa says: we might get a villa out there...
lauren says: i like the sound of it.
our cats will come,
louisa says: i figure we can come back once a month until it's nice out.
yup, they can each have their own room.
lauren: ernest would like greece.
louisa says: then, when it's spring,
we'll get really nice bikes
and come back to minneapolis!
lauren: WOOOOOOOO!
louisa says: we'll buy a 4 plex!
lauren says: yes!
louisa says: and you can run your bookstore/cafe.
we'll be well dressed, but casual.
lauren says: i'm loving this plan.
louisa says: we'll have great hair and personal trainers.
and ricky can rub us all the time in a non-sexual healing kind of way.
lauren says: OH MAN. BEST PLAN EVER.
louisa says: i think i will just hire all of my friends to do what they are good at, just like you said
louisa says: ashley can be my booking agent, tucker can keep my energy up, munzy can give me footrubs.
i might buy kiefer from janessa, think she'd mind?
lauren says: no, i think she'd be cool with it. i'm in love with that cat.
louisa says: or, i'd just genetically alter all cats so that they hugged.
i mean, why not?! i'd be rich!
lauren says: i'm in total agreement.
louisa says: then, we put lorin in our pocket and he comes around with us to all the best restaurants as our personal sommalier. i'm thinking that maybe a hiking trip in glacier national park could be nice in april. and then while we're out that way we could swing through san fran and you could visit jesse.
lauren says: yes! bike through wine country!
louisa says:then it would be just a hop/skip/jump to the alps of switzerland! we could learn to yodel!
lauren says: oh man! do it! do it!
louisa says: we could weave on giant looms! while we yodel!
lauren says: i could see nabokov's last house!
louisa says: yodelling! how do you spell that!
lauren says: no idea! can't stop the exclamation points!
louisa says:it's exciting though!
never!
i think we should probably also have a personal tailor
lauren says: that sounds like so much more fun than work tomorrow that i don't even know how to comprehend it!
oh yeah
louisa says:to make us fancy dresses!
you mean, oh yeah!
lauren says: a personal designer!
louisa says: emily's jewels!
lauren says: aaaaaahhhhhh!
louisa says: i'd hire someone to clean my litter box! well, my cat's litter box!
but, i would continue the vacuum duties! for i like to vacuum!
i would mow peoples' lawns! for free! just cuz it's fun! and they have day jobs and i don't!
lauren says: awesome!
louisa says: i may get a grill!
lauren says: yes! a big one! on the rooftop of the 4-plex!
louisa says: i meant on my teeth! grille?!
lauren says: i almost just peed my pants. no joke.
louisa says: it's okay! when i'm rich we'll have extra pants for you at all times!
also, fancy adult diapers!
lauren says: lifesaver!
louisa says: we'll have those too! i love hard candy!

In absence of starlight [james fowler]

when small,
mysterious lights form
from around the lake
to break against
the many drops of rain
and stay the darkness
in
a glimmer cast
over an off-white beach's
cold and clinging sands
forgetting a
few hidden leaves
tangled in the breeze
scraping, scurrying lightly
to somewhere maybe
across the fragile shore
as cars curve
around still
stand and stand
of trees revealing
only heavy fog,
chance glances
of you and
of me

but you and your skirt,
when the city sky line hides
in a horizon of
indifferent clouds,
sit
and stay the darkness
f o r a w h i l e

the end of the great leviathan

good food, wine and conversation accompanied a fine discussion of moby dick. however, when it came down to deciding on a new book, we didn't quite make up our minds...

in the running are:
the savage detectives [roberto bolaño]
italo calvino - not if on a winter's night a traveller
a thousand acres [jane smiley]
the sound and the fury [william faulkner]
in america [susan sontag]
david copperfield [charles dickens]
ada [vladimir nabokov]
dead souls [nikolai gogol]
the executioner's song [norman mailer]
brothers karamazov [fyodor dostoyevsky]
the life and opinions of tristram shandy, gentleman [laurence sterne]
michael chabon - not the yiddish policeman's union

we decided that we wanted to read books that are on our list, but books that we probably wouldn't read on our own - many of the longer or denser books that are easier to get through not on one's own.

VOWELS [christian bok]

loveless vessels

we vow
solo love

we see
love solve loss

else we see
love sow woe

selves we woo
we lose

losses we levee
we owe

we sell
loose vows

so we love
less well

so low
so level

wolves evolve

i need to re-watch groundhog's day.

the only good argument for moving to brooklyn that i've ever heard.

the waldorf

my apartment building does not HAVE character, it IS a character.
EXHIBIT A: the above painting that hangs in the laundry room.

following suit,

it's funny, i've been thinking about this for a few days and therese beat me to the punch...

for the last several weeks, every sunday when i'm in lund's shopping for sunday dinner, i see these pre-packaged, peeled pomegranates for about $6. this baffles me. why in the world you would pay an extra $4 to let someone else have all the fun of peeling your pomegranate? i may be going overboard here, but part of the appeal of a pomegranate for me has always been the time and labor involved - it is a luxurious fruit and you cannot eat one in a rush. the popping of some seeds and juice-stained fingertips are a very necessary part of the experience for me.

speaking of sunday dinner, yesterday's delicious meal was complimented by something decadent. my first attempt at crème brûlée went quite well...

and, happiest of birthdays to my best of friends. i love you like tucker loves text messaging.

a girl could get used to this...

December 4th, 2008 7:30 p.m.

menu:
eggs with cream, spinach, brie and prosciutto
yukon gold hashbrowns
grapefruit and pomegranate salad
crusty garlic loaf

chocolate oblivion tartlets with kahlua whipped cream

earl grey gin and lemonade

guest:
aaron fryman

aaron happens to be an incredibly talented masseur and we came up with a deal: i make him delicious food (with a very specifically chocolatecentric dessert) and he gives me a massage. now, don't tell him this, but it is a win-win situation for me. yes, i will be doing dishes for the rest of my natural-born life, but i get to make a decadent meal, a ridiculous dessert and THEN I GET AN OUTSTANDING MASSAGE. seriously, by the end of it i managed to melt onto my couch and fall asleep pretty early.

anyone who may be interested in his services, let me know. his rates are really reasonable and he's open to bartering...

fakelife

photo care of tucker jaymes.

it will never be the same

for reasons i do not fully understand, this website fascinates me to no end.

please, take a moment and share my newfound interest - make that obsession.

let the right one in

this looks so amazing on so many different levels. i've heard/seen very little other than the trailer and a some positive words from friends, but wow.