gritty and sweet

ooooh i'm not happy with this.

2009-03-01T22:01:00.001-05:00

i came back to reactivate my blog and stupidly went ahead and "upgraded" my template, thinking i could just paste the old one back in. now there are all these code restrictions! so not sure if i will still use blogger. working on getting this to look the way i want without all the built in extras. if i can get it to work, i'll be here in the future. if not, i'm moving to a different provider.

i am NOT happy with this, google :( and normally i like things done by google, but not this.

the elfchicken has relocated

2006-01-06T09:33:00.000-05:00

Someday in the future I will use this site again regularly, but until then,

please visit me at flickr
which I update weekly.

I am NOT!

2005-10-11T16:49:00.000-04:00

You Are 31 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe.

13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.

20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.

30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!

40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

joyeux jour de la bastille!

2005-07-14T10:05:00.000-04:00

"em, mais, quel est le jour de la bastille?"

and let's not forget this guy...

where are all the coastal fireflies?

2005-07-12T22:21:00.000-04:00

I grew up in an area where summer was synonymous with cicada and cricket song and firefly light shows every evening. Where are they? Why aren't there any in Boston? I have seen them farther inland, near the Berkshires, but not near the coast. In the case of cicadas, one does hear them from time to time near Boston, though their songs are limited to occasional hot August days. Sadly there are none at night, nor are there crickets. I am convinced that it has something to do with the fact that it is neither hot nor humid enough here in the north. But fireflies--what is the reasoning for their absence? Lack of uncut grass? The salt air?
I swear I saw two tonight while I was out watering the garden this evening...

------------------------

"For whatever reason, the greater Washington [D.C.] area is a major epicenter of firefly activity. There are many, many species," says Jonathan Copeland, a biology professor at Georgia Southern University and one of the country's top firefly authorities. "It probably has something to do with how humid, how hot, how moist it is."

------------------------

He thinks light pollution at night may be one reason. "That's noise to them, and might be affecting successful mating."

------------------------

Decoding the Flash of Fireflies from All Things Considered, July 10, 2005

------------------------

fellow firefly country ex-pats reminisce and commiserate together...

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World Champion

2005-07-06T15:43:00.000-04:00

Happy 4th of July!

2005-07-04T16:36:00.000-04:00

unrequitedmusicloverant

2005-06-29T15:40:00.000-04:00

despite the fact that i adore the music (and presence) of certain singer/surfer/guitarists from hawaii, i sadly must refuse to see them perform live on tour anymore as for some reason most of the paying ticketholders at said concerts would be better suited for club mtv, body shots and coors light drinking in the narsty parts of cancun
why oh why did this happen? why? especially if one listens to his lyrics...

nest

2005-05-18T14:54:00.000-04:00

look at this hummingbird nest!

additionally...

2005-05-02T15:54:00.000-04:00

American Cities That Best Fit You:

60% Philadelphia

55% Chicago

55% New York City

50% Atlanta

50% Boston

Which American Cities Best Fit You?

apparently

2005-05-02T15:27:00.000-04:00

Your Linguistic Profile:

45% Yankee

35% General American English

15% Dixie

5% Upper Midwestern

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Your Japanese Name Is...

Shina Sato

What's your Japanese Name?

still here, but

2005-04-28T17:22:00.000-04:00

this has been more my thing lately:

elfchicken on flickr

non-verbal

2005-03-04T17:57:00.000-05:00

haven't been feeling very verbal lately as i have been typing a 56 page paper for work.

snow duck

2005-02-23T13:45:00.000-05:00

does anyone know what kind of duck this is?

is it an eider, by any chance? I saw it a few weeks ago in Duxbury,MA.

2005-02-20T01:16:00.000-05:00

That last post was a bit ironic, since I was down for the count beginning Super Bowl night and lasting through until the following Monday! Well, if there's anyone out there still reading, I made it through my first week back at work after being sicker than I have ever been, inundated with the flu and a bacterial infection. It was a horrible, surreal eight days that both made me at once sick of my house and appreciative of it and of life in general. I am now in the process of rebuilding, and it's going pretty well so far, but slow. I saw a bunch of films, most on DVD, and most of which were ones I had already seen. Some excellent films I must recommend that I have seen of late: Dogtown and Z-Boys, Open Water and Million Dollar Baby (there were a bunch of others that weren't as impressive). There are so many I want to see right now but that's as far as I have gotten, only one in the theater. I am also trying really hard not to bake lots of sweets, but it's gotten cold again so it's not easy. That's my update for now, I will try to be more dedicated to updating this thing from now on, as I know there are some of you who do read it. Ciao~

p.s. I re-linked both videos from my Feb. 4 post, hopefully they will stay live for a little while anyway.

yo he creado... la mamba

2005-01-08T01:44:00.000-05:00

en una racha iridiscente mágica de mohair, la mamba nace.

land of clay and yarn

2005-01-05T17:00:00.000-05:00

after almost a four year hiatus, i have started making things out of clay again. partly out of practical need and partly out of spiritual need. it is so good to throw again. so now i must try to keep my knitting clean! being that i was so out of practice, i threw cylinders for the first few hours of studio time. and i can only get in there monday nights and weekends, so i have thrown two nice mugs so far--one heavy, rough-carved, and the other big but light and delicate with a handle. i may wander into abstract land at some point, but i may only have a month so i need to crank out some stuff for the kitchen first. both mugs are white stoneware, i am hoping to bring in some porcelain if i continue working in this studio. they have limited resources (and space) there, so anything besides what they have there needs to be schlepped in and packed out. unless you are special, and i am not yet. i miss the wood kiln! do i need to go back to grad school and run away from the working world for awhile? or do i need to keep working for a living so i can save to have my own studio and kiln.....and farm, and goats, and vegetable oil powered vehicles, and PV system to power the house that i am going to build....

2005-01-04T14:48:00.000-05:00

warmth of the sun
sand hot under my feet
barbecue
corn roasted in a pit
cool drink with lime
floating on the water surface
watching fish swim below
sea birds calling
warm breeze

it's only the beginning of january. gonna be a long time.

feliz año nuevo con las reinas de nueva york

2005-01-02T19:17:00.000-05:00

this weekend we welcomed 2005 (good riddance '04, as seze says) with many friends, sharing in glee and then solitude (after a considerable lack thereof until 5 am)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
new year's eve began like this, with a lovely salsera and some delicious potion

y seguió, con diosas en brooklyn....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
it was a peaceful new year's day, which we spent con queridas amigas nancy and raquel at tom's diner and subsequently, some time in one of my favorite places on earth, the cathedral of saint john the divine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
then there was a screening of a fine historical film called tuff turf, in order to replenish the energies lost the previous eve. two members of our expedition were able to revitalize enough to drink vodka and crank out some heavy renditions of bon jovi songs in chinatown, then crawl home to more solitude. the next day was primarily taken up with eating delicious foods of wonder cooked by miss seze and then riding in the carriage home to bostonia, where we will share a respite until the next leg of our journey...

2004-12-28T11:30:00.000-05:00

you will notice that once in a while a pygmy goat will show up.

2004-12-27T18:07:00.002-05:00

2004-12-25T00:04:00.000-05:00

A Very Classy Christmas to All...

ent sounds

2004-12-21T13:16:00.000-05:00

i got up to go the airport at 4:15 this morning and it was 4 degrees fahrenheit.
with every breath, any moisture on the way toward my lungs froze for a moment.
i love how in this kind of cold the snow doesn't melt and it retains that delicious crunchy frictiony sound--when i am parking my car it reminds me of Ents, which is always a good thing. like ice breaking and moving down the Hudson.

2004-12-20T14:11:00.000-05:00

right now:

it is snowy, windy and very cold (currently 16F not counting the wind chill)
a robot made my hot cocoa a few minutes ago
it is hot and dry in this building
i have a bag of smart food on my desk
if i went and stood on the mass ave bridge facing east, within seconds i would not be able to move my facial muscles very well, and i would be looking at whitecaps on a dark gray-blue river that appears to be flowing backwards toward the continental divide. but don't worry, it's not.
i am looking forward to this evening and to seeing my family this weekend
i am thinking about baking cookies when i get home
i would like to have a snow day

2004-12-17T18:25:00.000-05:00

look at this!

big fuschia

2004-12-13T20:35:00.000-05:00

big fuschia is a cardigan (i think). here is a picture of her first sleeve:

she kind of looks like the devil with an iPod in this shot. i am both excited by and frightened of big fuschia, in part because she has no pattern and i have never knitted anything except scarves and hats. whenever i show her sleeve to people they say "that's a big sleeve" and i say "yes, it is"

this is not the last you will hear of big fuschia. and once she's done, she may no longer answer to that name.

happy 100th aunt sirarpi!

2004-12-08T15:06:00.000-05:00

Today is my great-great aunt Sirarpi's 100th birthday. Aunt Sir is one of the most vivacious people I know. She still writes, cooks amazing food and paints, and she recently testified in front of the Maryland State and U.S. Senate about the Armenian Genocide. She has a great attitude about life. Here's a little something she wrote when she was 92 that I find inspiring:

I hope my life will be an inspiration to the new generation--systematic 15-minute calisthenics and 3-mile walks every day, rain or shine.

After college and 2 years of medical school, I continued my education by reading books, newspapers, and interest in current events. As I got older, instead of stagnating with people my own age I spent time with younger people. I kept myself mentally young by helping and getting involved with their lives.

After raising three children, I began working at age 54. I took pride in my appearance and looked 20 years younger because I never smoked or drank alcohol. At age 85, I retired.

Seven years ago, my husband passed away. I was totally lost. I felt sick and despondent and wanted to die. My granddaughter encouraged me to write my life history. I wrote 500 pages and gave copies to my children and grandchildren.

Today, I am 92 years old. I still walk 3 miles a day. I have joined church groups, and I read and lecture. I take pleasure in group vacations, and instead of wanting to die, I have learned to give.

pearls melt in vinegar

2004-12-07T15:08:00.000-05:00

layman:
oooooh! um, is that really true?

chemist:
yes, vinegar reacts with pearls, according to :
CaCO3 + 2HAc -> Ca(Ac)2 + C02 + H20
How fast this happens depends on a number of factors like concentration of acid, surface exposed to reaction, temperature, agitation, etc. I believe that the term MELT was employed in a common sense for a layman.

yes, a layman. a romantic, poetic, visceral image-loving layman.

oh, feelin yucky

2004-12-06T13:30:00.000-05:00

gotta keep an eye on my valuables, i'm on the cold meds again. my wallet is locked up as I speak.
gonna drink me some tea and sleep me some zs.

when i was a waitress

2004-12-06T11:35:00.000-05:00

When I was a 20 year old waitress, after my day shifts ended I used to go to this huge hill to watch the sun set through the forest. I would get there just when all the geese were gathering at the bottom of the hill. When I arrived, they would be eating, and as the sun sank lower and lower, they slowly moved up the hill, still eating. Within minutes I was completely surrounded by them and the dulled tearing sound of a hundred rounded beaks pecking at the earth. When the first layer of geese reached the top of the hill, one or two would start calling. A few would assemble amidst their dining peers, and the few would take off into the sunset, wings beating close to the top of my head. They continued in this way for about 25 minutes, until all the geese had taken wing and I was alone in the autumnal Pennsylvania twilight.

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting--
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

© Mary Oliver

thanksgiving

2004-11-25T20:50:00.000-05:00

11/26/04 5:35 p.m.

arkansas

2004-11-20T18:08:00.000-05:00

2004-11-19T13:30:00.000-05:00

this is not my cat, but if I had a cat, I would certainly share my popsicle with her (or him).

gogol night

2004-11-19T01:52:00.000-05:00

having just returned from experiencing my first gogol bordello show, i am feeling a combination of elated and enraged. elated because the energy that group of people puts out is so alive and makes me have no problem jumping up and down continuously for 90 minutes in joy, but enraged because for some reason, the boston metro area is possessed by puritanical demons from hell that dump ice water on everyone all the time just when things get hot. to avoid dwelling on such things, i will not go into gory detail, but let's just say i may never patronize the middle east again (though i probably will due to the fact that it is one of the few very intimate venues in the area that hosts such fun and joy). their staff is uptight and unprepared to deal with anything: they can't deal with a tiny woman riding on a bass drum above the audience, but they are fine with someone taking a steel grinder to her guitar and shooting sparks everywhere, conjuring images of west warwick for a split second (i prefer not to think about that when i am in the fire trap that is the middle east). anyone glimpse any logic there? ANYWAY, it was an amazing show, and i am so ready to see them in new york, and elsewhere. again. my favorites i think are the ukranian peasant percussionistas, with their plethora of washboards, cymbals, and the aforementioned bass drum. and the brazen (can i call a man that) fiddler gnome, and hutz, of course... the music was fabulous, and reminded me of why eastern european and western russian music is so dear to my heart.

Purple America

2004-11-17T17:31:00.000-05:00

how divided we really are...

2004-11-14T17:37:00.000-05:00

11/14/04 5:13 p.m.

caracol

2004-11-14T15:58:00.000-05:00

Floating in the wooden canoe at high tide, the reefs below them undulate close and dark turquoise not far beneath the water's surface. As they drift further from the dock, the reefs fall deeper and deeper until they can see nothing below them except iridescent cobalt blue, streaks of sunlight dissolving in crystalline sheets in the bay's density. Moments later, the reef again rises toward them, so close that they worry for a moment that it might collide with their boat; instead they find a calm spot in the water in the midst of the small group of islets and stop to gaze into the shallow water, rich with life. Brightly colored fish about the size of a human hand hover here and there, as schools of tiny black minnows dart in and out of holes in the coral. For now time has stopped, and they simply wait for twilight, when they will return to their stilt house to make dinner and rest for their dive early the next day.

ready or not

2004-11-13T16:54:00.000-05:00

9:28 a.m. 11/13/04
Originally uploaded by elfchicken.

first day of snow and still 5+ weeks to go until the winter solstice. gorgeous, 6 inches accumulated so far...

joanna week!

2004-11-12T19:36:00.000-05:00

joanna week ran this year from nov. 5-12, with the peak day being, of course, nov. 9. The festivities were held at the glorious homestead of delicious cuisine and rustic ambiance known as the night kitchen. it was a welcome festival with a lot of good food, music, conversation, dancing and, of course, poodles.

2004-10-30T21:52:00.000-04:00

I am ravaged by the evil upper respiratory "installment" virus of autumn '04, but dressed up anyway in honor of the fun i should be having...

hawk mountain

2004-10-17T23:03:00.000-04:00

where in the surrounding skies we saw a golden eagle, various hawks and buzzards, lots of robins, and lots of this kind of glorious autumnal Pennsylvanian vista: