well-stated in december

Quotations featured this month on what maisie knows:

"The truth is more important than the facts."
- Frank Lloyd Wright

(lovely photo by Ailera Stone, on Flickr)

good tidings

Wishing you easy laughter and warm celebrations with friends and family, with memories shared and memories made. And wishing you days of true relaxation, filled with lightness and possibility and your true heart's desires. See you in the new year!

travel essentials

Tonight I got to cross off two of the most enjoyable tasks on my pre-holiday/pre-travel to do list. The first was getting a much overdue haircut. For you dog people out there, you know how delightful it is to pick up one of the more shaggy breeds from the groomer and discover you can actually see his face again? Well, let me tell you, the analogy is not far off.

The second task was stopping by the bookstore to pick out my airplane reading. I am really not fond of flying. This isn't because I'm afraid of the flying itself, thank goodness; I have friends so affected and know it's a difficult problem to have. Nor is it because of the mild air sickness I experience. Instead, my issue is that I get a wee bit claustrophobic in the cramped confines of a plane, especially if I let myself think about the fact that no matter how much I might wish to get off, this is clearly not an option and completely beyond my control. [Deep breath.]

The best ways to deal with this affliction, I've learned, are to get an aisle seat whenever possible and distract myself with engrossing books. (They have to be engrossing enough to distract me from the mild air sickness, too.) To avoid the dreaded situation of running out of stuff to read midway through a flight, I give myself leave to pack liberally when it comes to reading material, even though that's not terribly practical in this age of increasingly strict carry-on rules and hefty luggage fees. And even if I'm in the middle of several books, as is usually the case, I allow myself to purchase new ones because if taking up precious suitcase space with books is impractical, taking up space with books that are already partly read is downright foolish.

My choices for this trip?

This latest issue of The Economist. Because only long flights afford the luxury of time to read an issue of The Economist from cover to cover. And this cover caught my eye because I've been feeling not as young as I used to.

Julia Alvarez's How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. Because it's one of the books my tutoring student will be reading next, which means I can read something I think I'll enjoy and know I'm getting work done.

Elizabeth Kostova's The Swan Thieves. Because I loved her first novel, The Historian, which exemplifies the magic that occurs when a skilled researcher is also a gifted writer. The Swan Thieves, her second novel, has been on my wish list for a year and finally came out in paperback.

I feel better just knowing these will be making the trip with me.

how did the cookie know?

This was the fortune I received, mere days before departing for fair New Mexico, where indeed I look forward to relaxation.

Uncanny, isn't it?

weekend notes #39: holiday status update

The cookies are baked and delivered. Pictured are the remaining four that failed quality control for giving but haven't yet been devoured by me.

The gifts are purchased - but still waiting to be wrapped.

The laundry is done. Of course, this is a temporary state since laundry has that annoying intrinsic property of never staying done.

And the cleaning . . . well, I can say it's started. Maisie helped by sitting triumphantly atop the pile of cardboard I'd prepared for recycling. Isabel made it abundantly clear that she'd much prefer to nap than do work, thank you very much.

For a much welcomed break in attempted industriousness, I satisfied an Asian noodle craving with a plate of Singaporean street noodles. Delish, and in contrast with my terrible photo, not at all blurry in real life.

friday felicitations #35

Happy Friday!

It's the last weekend before Christmas and before Izzy and I head out to Albuquerque. Yikes! This'll be my weekend of pre-holiday industriousness. I need to clean the apartment so Maisie's cat sitter won't be aghast at its condition, bake cookies for friends and neighbors,* and catch up on laundry so I'll have clean clothes to pack. I think the gift shopping is under control. If this were a marathon, I'd be reminding myself to set a steady and reasonable pace, drink plenty of water, and remain calm. Good advice for most situations!

The first snowstorm of the season for our region might happen on Sunday evening, but it's sounding dubious. I suspect we're in for "wintry mix" rather than proper snow. Doesn't wintry mix sound like a much nicer thing than it really is? New speakers of the language might wonder if the term means a stylish clothing ensemble or delicious party snack. After moving to New England, I quickly realized it was a meteorologist's euphemism for big mess!

What are your plans this weekend?


(photo by Jess Kehrli Runkel, on Flickr)

* I won't be making gingerbread people, but this photo cracked me up. I thought you might enjoy a good laugh, too.

pack and smooch

Clemens Burkert of pack and smooch makes gorgeous and functional cases for iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks.

This I can personally attest because the MacBook case I ordered arrived recently, and it's bee-yoo-ti-ful.

He sews smooth, dense wool felt and vegetable-tanned leather into elegant designs that are a pleasure to handle. The case's fit is impeccable.

I discovered pack and smooch by searching for laptop sleeves on Etsy, but around the same time I stumbled upon his shop, Clemens was also interviewed as an Etsy featured seller. His business has since exploded. My order shipped within a few days, which I don't even consider slow, but he included a note apologizing for the delay and explaining that he's been so busy he's "hardly finding sleep."

In addition to being a talented artist, Clemens sounds like a nice guy, the sort of person you're happy to see succeed. When asked in the interview about his dreams for the future, he said

In ten years I would like Pack & Smooch to be a famous brand that stands for high quality, good workmanship and excellent design. For me personally, I would like to have a small family, a wonderful wife, at least three children and two daschunds[sic].

I love the specificity of his vision - down to the number of kids and the breed of dogs!

recursively jumbled

On Sunday, I reached into the envelope for the next one in the stack . . .

and pulled out the cleverest Jumble ever.

It makes up for the ones that just aren't funny. Or the ones I just don't get.


Did you figure it out?

(I gave you a big hint.)

great voices

Walking home tonight, I heard the greatest interview with George Jones, part of NPR's 50 Great Voices series. I'm ashamed to admit I didn't even know who George Jones was, but I was spellbound. He was charming and dynamic, his speech peppered with "y'alls" and "oh Lordys." His easy candences reminded me of the Oklahoma drawl of our neighbors back home in New Mexico. At the age 79, he still actively tours and played 90 concerts in the past year. It's fitting that one of his songs is called "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair."

Country isn't my favorite genre, but as I listened to clips of Jones' singing, I could easily appreciate his artistry. A younger singer named Dierks Bentley (whom I admit I'd also not heard of) named U2 and George Jones as his two big influences and observed that Jones "digs into every lyric, every word."

The interview, conducted by Melissa Block at Jones' Tennessee home, noted his rocky past of alcohol and drug abuse, bankruptcy, broken marriages. Hearing him now, it sounds like he's found greater peace and stability but clearly maintains a driving passion for music.

Pieces like this are why I adore NPR. My enthusiasm is ironic because as a college student, I worked for a postdoc who played NPR in the lab, and I remember wishing she'd play music and wondering how anyone could listen to talking on the radio all day long. At some point in the last several years, my attitude flipped 180 degrees, and now I can't get enough Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Fresh Air, This American Life, Radiolab . . . . I have this incorrect perception that I'm essentially the same person as at age 18, but obviously something switched in my brain. I wonder if it was a matter of age or cognitive maturity or education. I dunno, but oh Lordy, I love NPR.


(photo by Ms Ladyred, on Flickr)

weekend notes #38: "what happened?" edition

Ack! So not ready for Monday. That work I needed to do swallowed up the whole weekend.

Back tomorrow!


(photo of endearingly ruffled geese by birdyboo, on Flickr)

friday felicitations #34

Happy Friday!

The Christmas lights are coming up around the neighborhood, but gradually. Perhaps I'm not the only one surprised that Christmas is just 15 days away? I like the simple displays best.

This weekend will be partly a working weekend. I try to keep a line between work time and home time, but it doesn't always work out.

On Sunday evening, we have our division holiday party. This is the first year I've been able to attend, so I'm not sure what to expect. I heard from a reliable source that the emergency medicine division had dancing and karaoke at their party! I bet ours will be more low-key. As a general rule, we infectious diseases people are a decorous bunch.

Enjoy any fancifying and festivities your weekend may bring!

vole aleusq araangsm

If print newspapers indeed go extinct, I predict my parents will be among the very last subscribers. For as long as I can recall, they've made a morning ritual of reading the local paper. Mom always prepared a hot breakfast, and I remember the rustling of turning pages as we ate, the kitchen lights golden against the darkness outside. My parents swapped sections across the table, occasionally murmuring, "Wow, did you see this . . . ."

From the self-centered perspective of childhood, I was sometimes miffed, wishing they'd put the paper down to converse - more specifically, to listen to me. Much as I love the printed word, I've never been a newspaper reader.* I can't focus on eating and reading at the same time (and believe each deserves a full measure of concentration); I find the oversized pages awkward; and to this day, I have a hard time skimming, feeling compelled to read thoroughly to the end everything I start.

I did enjoy one part of the paper: the puzzles. I'd find the 10 differences between the two pictures, take a stab at Isacc Asimov's quiz, and fill in the crossword to the extent permitted by my deplorable knowledge of history and pop culture. My very favorite puzzle of all was the Jumble. I adore anagrams, and over the years I developed a practice of unscrambling the four words and the "surprise answer" without writing anything down.

Since leaving home and entering the heathenish state of non-newspaper-subscriptionhood, I've missed those Jumbles. Mom has continued to work them, and I'm always thrilled when she gets stuck enough to shoot me an e-mail.

Subject line: Help!
Message: ZMCEAE?

Just in the last few months, however, I've been solving Jumbles over breakfast again! Knowing how I love them, Mom has started cutting them out and collecting them for me.

She actually arranges them in an envelope** in chronological order, so each Jumble's solution appears on the next one in the stack.

She writes her own answers elsewhere on the page, thus leaving the puzzles pristine.

Sometimes neither of us understands why the surprise answer is supposed to be funny. But it's still satisfying to solve it.

I limit myself to one Jumble per day, and thus I am reminded daily that I am loved. And I am grateful because with my parents, this has always been one of the surest facts of my life.


* Nevertheless, I'll still be really sad if print newspapers disappear. Even though I don't read them myself, knowing they exist and that other people read them makes me happy.
** The envelopes often contain other gifts, too - recipes, photos, or, in this case, an unsolicited donation to defray the costs of Izzy's medical care because my parents love Izzy and Maisie, too!

coping mechanisms

Winter has arrived in Boston. The backyard trees have nary a leaf left, our temperatures this week will reach no higher than the 30s, and as I walked home a couple nights ago, the first snow flurries fell, dancing in the headlights of passing cars.

I like autumn better, but I don't mind winter so much. I wholeheartedly embrace that crucial strategy for weathering winter: to out-cozy it.

Whether from the outside in, with colorful cashmere sweaters, dapper wool coats, and stylish scarves and gloves. (Thank goodness for J. Crew's constant sales and promotions.)

Or from the inside out, with cups and cups of hot chocolate and tea or nourishing servings of comfort food. This week I'm enjoying this decadently delicious mac and cheese, served with a side of steamed broccoli to add a little virtue.

In addition, self-observations have revealed, of late, another approach for dealing with winter.

To protect nicks and cuts on chapped knuckles, I chose these unabashedly adorable Band-Aids.

And to soothe dry noses (feline and human), I was drawn irresistibly to this pulchritudinous pachyderm.

From which I declare Strategy #2 for coping with winter: to out-cute it.

(pretty photo of macaron and hot chocolate by fruitcakey, on Flickr)

broken

Oh, dear readers, the eleven o'clock bedtime experiment has lately gone sadly awry.

I expected that meeting this goal during my patient care stint would be generally impossible, and indeed, that's the explanation for the missing aqua squares from November 16th to 29th. But since then, I've had the hardest time getting back on track! On some nights, I've come close, making it to bed by 11:10 or 11:20. I employ a strict maximum grace period of three minutes, however, so close doesn't count.

Predictably, I've been feeling tired again - nodding off while reading at my desk and experiencing food coma after dinner.

I'm sharing these ignominious results so you can help keep me accountable. In two weeks, I'll update you on whether I've managed to start a new chain!

notes on recent life

Ah, it's good to be back! My two weeks of clinical service were exhausting, as usual, but good. I had an especially talented team of trainees, and we took care of some of the nicest kids and families. I was on call over Thanksgiving weekend, and Thanksgiving itself turned out to be busy. Thanks to sweet Daisy, however, I was still able to celebrate the day, enjoying a delicious (if late) dinner in the company of friends.

I realized that I failed to note another important occasion: November 13th was Maisie's two-year adoption anniversary and third birthday! (Because she was found as a stray, no one knows her real birthday, so we celebrate it on her adoption day.) I can't believe she's already been with me for two whole years, but I also can't imagine life without her. To celebrate, I gave her a wee portion of a cupcake, and she purred through the last crumb. For those of you who don't know her, Maisie, who seems unaware that she's supposed to be a fearsome carnivore, adores baked goods.

The other stupendously fabulous news is that Izzy had a follow-up ultrasound a couple of days ago, and things looked ever so much better! The swelling of her right kidney and ureter have completely resolved, and the kidney stone that was seen previously has passed. The medications have worked! I'm ecstatic that she won't need risky surgery. Thanks to all of you who expressed sympathy and good wishes.