Ten on Tuesday: Chilled

Ten Things in My Refrigerator Right Now:

1. Skim milk. I actually like skim milk.
2. Sour skim milk. I might like it, but I forget to drink it before the expiration date, and then I forget to throw it away.
3. Apples. I love this time of year, when the apples are fresh and sometimes even local.
4. Simply Limeade, which has become a staple in my fridge. One of these days I'll switch to something else, but right now it's all limeade all the time. I mix just a little into a glass of seltzer and I'm good.
5. Yogurt. Usually Greek style, but at the moment it's Stonyfield Farms Blueberry.
6. Leftover oven-roasted summer squash. It's tomorrow's dinner, over brown rice.
7. Extra-sharp cheddar cheese. Just a little, because otherwise I'd eat it all up!
8. Salad fixings: lettuce, tomatoes, vinaigrette, etc.
9. Half and half, just for my coffee.
10. Peanut butter. The natural kind that doesn't contain anything but ground peanuts.

All this food talk would make me hungry, but I just ate one of those apples.

Ten on Tuesday: Happy Birthday

Shadows one moment...

It's always somebody's birthday! In fact, this evening I'm heading over to Judy's house to help celebrate her mother's 96th birthday. Louise is my Other Mother, and I can't wait to give her a hug and a kiss, and the little box of rugalach I just picked up at the Blue Duck Bakery.

But ten ways to have a happy birthday? I tried, but I just can't improve on Carole's list. After all, it is her birthday today!

...and shadows the next.

Happy Birthday everyone, whenever it is!

Ten on Tuesday: Summer's End

This week's ToT topic is "Ten Things to Do Before the End of Summer." For me, summer just ended. Labor Day weekend was it. Though on this half of the planet summer will last for a couple more weeks, my long, stressful season has passed. My thoughts are happily turning to the next one. Here's my list of some things I'd like to do:

1. Go to the ocean while the water and the sun are still warm. I can do that now that beach permits aren't needed and the crowds are gone. September is the best-kept secret about the East End of Long Island!
2. Clean. There are neglected corners in my apartment — at least four of them!
3. Sort the yarn stash. The Knitter's Review Retreat will be here before I know it, and I want to do a serious assessment of my yarn and fiber so I can take some worthy skeins to the Stash Lounge.
4. Take the big down comforter outside for some air while the days are still long enough, and before I need to get under it in a cold snap.
5. Once and for all, take the bags of unused clothes (that I sorted months ago!) to the donation drop-off.
6. Go out to dinner. At a restaurant. With other people. This is something I never have time to do in the summer, and all the restaurants are too crowded, anyway. I have a date with Judy and the R's this week, as a matter of fact!
7. Take the car to get an oil change and a check-up. It's time.
8. Speaking of check-ups, make an appointment for my annual mammogram. Have you had yours?
9. Relax and enjoy the turning of the season. I love the way fall arrives a little abruptly here. One day it will be warm and muggy, and the next it will be crisp and the leaves will have turned.
10. Open the sock drawer and see if there are any sad pairs that should be retired from the rotation. If there are, think about knitting more! — after all, the real name of the next season is Knitting Season!

Ten on Tuesday: Mood Lifters

This week's Ten on Tuesday is all about lightening your mood...

 1. Buy yourself a nice bouquet of flowers.

2. Get a little love from the cat. Even if she won't let you pick her up and give her a squeeze, she loves you.

3. Have some comfort food. One of my favorites is a nice bowl of Cream of Wheat, because my grandmother used to make it for us.

4. Enjoy a sunset by the water.

5. Watch a favorite movie. I like Meet Me in St. Louis, even when it's not Christmas time.

6. Listen to some good music that makes you smile. For me, that's The Weepies.

7. Rest. Don't climb into bed and never leave, just close your eyes for a little while. When I was sick I learned how to rest, and it's served me well. Our bodies and spirits need it, especially when we're overwhelmed or blue.

8. Look up.

9. Have a knitting-in-your-pajamas day.

10. Celebrate yourself. Don't ever forget to do that. ♥

Ten on Tuesday: College

Ten Things I'd Like to Have Known When I Started College

I went off to Moore College of Art in Philadelphia in September of 1972. Thirty-eight years ago. When I think of it that way, it feels like a long, long time ago! Looking back, I'd like to have known...

1. ... that homesickness was temporary. I wasn't sure I could make it to Thanksgiving.
2. ... that I could have brought more stuff with me. I had two cardboard boxes, a suitcase, and my quilt.
3. ... that I wasn't going to be the only person who felt like a fish out of water.
4. ... that studying art all the time was not the same as being one of the good students in Mr. Motovich's art class in high school.
5. ... that I could have switched majors and it wouldn't have been a crisis. To this day, I think a Textile degree would suit me better than an Art Ed degree.
6. ... that I was strong, stronger than I gave myself credit for.
7. ... that I really was creative and artistic, and that I could believe in that.
8. ... that I was attending a women's art school in a time near the beginning of the women's movement, and that I would be taught by many amazing women artists. I would have asked a lot more questions, and paid a lot closer attention.
9. ... that you can never have too many art supplies. Just as in knitting, the right tools are everything. And I would have liked to own a set of Dr. Ph Martin's Concentrated Watercolors.
10. ... that I would be assigned a roommate who would become my best friend, and I mean best friend forever. I would have been more myself, sooner (who knows, that could have backfired on me). By now, thirty-eight years later, Judy and I know each other well enough, I think.

Ten on Tuesday: Bacon?

Ten Reasons to Love Bacon

1. It's salty.
2. It's crispy (at least that's the way I like it).
3. Bacon goes with eggs, and I love eggs.
4. It smells soooo good when it's cooking.
5. BLT's aren't possible without it.
6. Neither is Cobb salad.
7. They serve it at the Eveready Diner in Hyde Park, on the way to Rhinebeck.
8. If I'm going to eat meat, I may as well enjoy some bacon.
9. Since I don't eat bacon very often, when I do, it's a special occasion.
10. Where would this Ten on Tuesday be without bacon?

Ten on Tuesday: Road trip!

This week's Ten on Tuesday topic is "Ten Things to Take on Vacation." Vacation? I've almost forgotten what one is! No, not really, but my time off never happens at a "traditional" time of year, like Summer or Thanksgiving or Christmas. That's when I'm busiest at the bookstore. So I take my days when I can grab a few, usually in the Fall or early Spring. 

I love a good road trip. What do I pack?

1. Knitting. An easy-peasy project, plus one that requires a little more attention. And maybe one more, just in case.
2. My iPod and iPhone. There are always a few audiobooks on mine, along with my music.
3. A book to read, not just listen to. And a book of crossword puzzles to help me fall asleep at night.
4. The basics, like my toothbrush and toothpaste, and enough underwear.
5. My own pillow, if possible. If I'm staying in a hotel, the pillows are not always comfy enough.
6. My laptop. I like being connected. I just do.
7. My camera, along with the cord that connects it to the laptop, and a spare battery. I don't want to miss anything.
8. The GPS that Judy gave me for Christmas after I got lost in The Bronx on the way home from the KR Retreat last year. It's as much for her peace as it is for my peace of mind, since a panicked call to her office that ends up with a coworker giving me turn-by-turn directions to find my way out of there should happen only once.
9. Warm socks and gloves and an extra sweater. If I'm driving, what's an extra tote bag or two? I want to be warm enough. And if I get lost in The Bronx again, I won't freeze.
10. A little bag of trail mix, apples, crackers, and stuff like that. And water. See rationale behind #9, above. You just never know. 

Ten on Tuesday: TV-less

Ten Things to Do Instead of Watching TV:

1. Knit something complicated.
2. Knit something not too complicated and listen to an audiobook.
3. Bake a cake. A blueberry coffee cake, perhaps?
4. Chat on the phone.
5. Daydream. How about going back in time to Italy?
6. Listen to the night creatures through an open window.
7. Write an email — or even a letter — to a friend.
8. Take a nap, especially if it's Sunday afternoon.
9. Read a book, for goodness' sake.
10. Write a blog post, like this one.

Ten on Tuesday: Camping

Ten Things to Bring on a Camping Trip:

That's easy. 1-10.:A hotel room. 

The last time I went camping was when I was eleven, and my mother (the Girl Scout leader) made me camp out in our back yard with the troop for the weekend, I think so she could convince me of the joys of being a Girl Scout. It didn't work. I don't remember much (it was 44 years ago), but I do remember wanting to go inside to read the Sunday comics, and she said No. The whole thing was weird, anyway, because we were so completely not an outdoorsy/camping kind of family in the first place. I'll bet my mom felt like an alien, out there in the wilds of Bethesda, thirty yards from the house.

Ten on Tuesday: Where I Live

Ten things I like about where I live:


 1. My little home.

2. The beach at the ocean.

3. The beach on the bay.

4. Small-town-ness.

5. Friends nearby.

6. Local berries.

7. Big sky.

8. Beautiful light.

9. Inspiration.

10. All the seasons.

Ten on Tuesday: Again!

Ten Ways to Enjoy Summer
1.   To a tall glass filled with ice, add limeade and cold green tea. Sip.
2.   Get your feet wet in the sprinkler.
3.   Watch a parade.

4.   Eat lots of local blueberries/peaches/tomatoes/corn.
5.   Find a place by the water to sit and daydream.

6.   Drive the back roads with the windows down and listen to good, loud music.
7.   Knit in the evening, while the sun is setting and the day is winding down.
8.   Get up early in the morning, make some good strong coffee, and listen as the world wakes up.
9.   Let your hair dry while you stand in front of the fan.
10. Always wear sunscreen (also known as: One Way to Enjoy Many Summers to Come).

Thank you, Carole!

Ten on Tuesday

I signed up for Carole's emails so I could think about participating in her lovely Ten on Tuesday blog themes. But the thing is, I don't usually have time to post on Tuesdays. Tuesday is a busy day at work. After work on Tuesday is my getting-over-busy time. But the theme this week is all about books, so how could I resist? Here goes:

Ten Books on My Summer Reading List

1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It's the 50th anniversary of the publication of my favorite, favorite book, so it's time for a re-read. I've already read it dozens of times, but I can always spare a few hours to be with Jem and Scout.
2. On the nightstand: Sue Miller's The Lake Shore Limited. 
3. Also reading: Simon Van Booy's short story collection The Secret Lives of People in Love.
4. And: The Girl Who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson. Of course.
5. I'm listening to Daniel Gilbert read Stumbling on Happiness. He has a wonderful reading voice.
6. American Music by Jane Mendelsohn. I loved her book I Was Amelia Earhart, which was quite imaginative.
7. Photoshop Elements 8: The Missing Manual by Barbara Brundage. Enough said.
8. David Mitchell's The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. Like I'll have time.
9. What a Difference a Dog Makes: Big Lessons on Life, Love, and Healing from a Small Pooch by Dana Jennings, which is being published in November.
10. Knitting Green by Ann Budd. I just got this the other day, and I'm looking forward to reading and knitting my way through it!

There! I did it!