the summer hit list.

in reading order- 

Freakonomics- Steven Levitt 
We Were the Mulvaneys- Joyce Carol Oates
The Year of Living Biblically- A.J. Jacobs

A Year in Provence- Peter Mayle Toujours Provence- Peter Mayle

The World is Flat- Milton Friedman
Raising the Bar: The Story of Clif Bar, Inc.- Erickson

Great Britain to 1688- Ashley Things Fall Apart- Chinua Achebe
Roots- Alex Haley
The Memory Keeper's Daughter- Kim Edwards
John Steinbeck- Jay Parini

Saving Fish from Drowning- Amy Tan Thirteen Moons- Charles Frazier

the constant perusal- 

History of Art- H.W. Janson
The Diary of Anais Nin Vol. One
The Enduring Hemingway
The Feminist Papers- Rossi
A History of Modern Chinese Fiction, 2nd Ed.
Lives of the Artists Vol. 1- Vasari

primer: cooking for one in spring.

 life has changed, and the weather changed it.
i woke up at 8:30 today, when my alarm clang at 6:30. and there, in the 10 o'clock sepia-soaked morning light, the breeze still tender enough to be susceptible to a tinge of coolness, i glossed a shiny art book, sipped earl grey- a wamp of leaves packaged in tissue paper like a fat dumpling- and calculated and studied and thought about how sinful it would be to waste such a remarkable saturday inside.

when i allow myself to be exposed to them, i get these incredible daydreams. the other day, when a buddhologist spoke in my idolatry class, i slipped from his words and dreamt about vancouver, and salt water taffy, thick wool sweaters, tall tall trees and wisps of cold air.

then i thought about the magic of his mindfulness after i slipped on some stone steps- the beauty of soft flesh against industrial hardness, and concentrating on the pain, i felt no pain at all, only nubs of miniature marbles ascending my thick, plastic-skinned calves- the feeling of the coming of a bruise.

 the key to feeling these intricate moments is solitude- adventures for one. these are the first things i remember from the week, because they are the most important memories.

small blood orange

ingredients for a small stew of sorts

 

beautiful, crusty dessert bread from albemarle baking company

granny smith apple slices, monastery's brandy infused honey, local strawberry jam, sliced havarti cheese on buttered bread

and an enigmatic mango pit