Do you buy products made locally? Is there anything made in your area that you love?
apricot gem! I found it at my farmers' market and am hooked. At first, I thought the name was too cutesy- it is *just* jam, after all- how wrong I was... gem, indeed.
The first time I bought it, the woman next to me said her husband simply wouldn't settle for anything less than this stuff. My silent judgement of her husband notwithstanding, I tasted it on a toothpick, and there, standing in the rain in November, I tasted summer. I bought a jar for $6, and joined the ranks of not settling for less. When I ran out, I thought I'd replace it with some apricot jam from Trader Joe's. While that's okay stuff, it's nothing compared to the gem I get at the market!
Then it snowed. Between my lust for the apricot gem and my recent reading of the Omnivore's Dilemma, I drove through the snow to get my locally grown goodness. I saw the gem across the parking lot, glistening with its companions in the snowy morning. I grinned at it as if I were meeting a long-lost lover at baggage claim.
I nabbed a jar and gladly forked over my $6 for round two of my new obsession.
On my rounds around the market in the snow, I stopped to help one of the vendors put a wall on his EZ-Up shelter. As a six-time attendee of Burning Man and former vendor at markets myself, I have extensive experience with these shelters. The guy was so nice, so sweet and grateful- he gave me a loaf of bread for free, as a thank you! Guess what tasted really good that afternoon, toasted with apricot gem on it?
What's on your "do before I die" list?
Submitted by Caroline.
get really good at a few things- like to expert level, instead of to 'intelligent and resourceful quick learner' level
write and publish a book
be a guest on oprah
as I sit here waiting for my cake to bake, I am thinking about 2006 and what it's meant to me.
This has been one of the hardest and most satisfying years of my life. Those two qualities are undoubtedly related.
I lost a couple people, but that's nothing new- all before their time, in my opinion.
Nathan crashed his car on the playa in July, hard to believe that someone I loved could die, especially violently, in a place we both consider sacred, but that's just one way this year pointed out some cold hard facts.
the shootings in March rocked my community and my world, and we made art out of it. A bunch of relative strangers came together to create a place to let go of some of our anger and grief, and on a larger scale, for everyone touched by grief to let some of it go. We fought, we sweat, we cried and we laughed, and best of all, we saw it through and it was a beautiful temple. We got to exhibit it in two places- here in Seattle, at the Seattle Center, and on the playa, in Black Rock City. It was important to me to take it to BRC because that's where we got the inspiration to build a sacred grief temple, and it felt right to pay homage to that place by bringing our piece there and setting it free in a pyre of its own, to release that energy. I felt like my soul was annealed by that fire- I walked away from it lighter, stronger, freer and more open.
I fell in love, or something like it. Quickly, I fell hard. The whole affair crashed and burned in a most painful (yet mercifully brief in retrospect) way, and I am a better person out the other side of that affair. I learned (again) the value of being present, and the incredible power of denial. I learned that shiny and pretty and seductive doesn't always mean substance- what's that about all that glitters not being gold?
I learned what I want in relationships- and I learned that I can and should choose to walk away if something doesn't suit me, rather than try to shove a triangular peg into a pinhole. I hurt myself trying to accommodate someone else, for what I hope is the last time. I let someone hurt me, semi-consciously. I also learned to forgive myself for that. There's a lot for me to learn, and I'm up for the challenge. I feel content that the next time I date someone I'll be more satisfied with the way I *am* in that relationship. Whether or not it'll work out (what does that MEAN, anyway?) remains to be seen, but I do know that I'll *be* better.
I have made some incredible friends, people whom I admire and respect and adore more than words can say. The universe tossed a whole pile of brilliant, competent and sexy people in to my lap, and I am so very grateful. Burning Man 2006 was an amazing episode in my life, thanks to some of these people. From arriving at my camp to a group of strangers embracing me wildly, ten days later knowing that they'll be in my life for a mighty long time, and all points in between. Such love! Such openness! Such fun! Pancakes, fishnets, tears, whiskey, laughter, showers, fire, jambalaya. Honestly, I could gush about just that couple of weeks in the desert for hours. It was incredible, and not really just because we were in the desert at Burning Man. It was because each of these people was committed to both having AND sharing the best time possible. I am grateful to my core, and look forward to knowing them all better as time moves forward.
On the employment front, 2006 was up and down. I talked my way into a job working for a woman I really admire in the spring, and learned a lot working part time at her PR firm. Come August, she put me in for a job as the interim director of the capitol hill chamber of commerce, and to my surprise and delight, I got it! I started a few weeks after returning from burning man in september. It's been a wild ride, and it's the hardest job I've ever had. There's plenty to do, that's for sure. There are challenges around every single corner, and I found myself exhausted a month or so ago, and I'm striving for balance now. It's really easy to work upwards of 60 hours a week, and I don't want to do that, it's simply not sustainable for me. I'm learning to put things down, take a day or two off for the holidays, and pace myself a little better. At least I'm intending to learn this.
Life, love, work, art. Looks like it's been a banner year. I've been feeling like it was a really hard year, but when I look back on it, 'hard' is only one ingredient, one that seems to weigh more in the moment, and less in retrospect. Add in extra parts joy, love, laughter, inspiration and learning, and the whole thing looks like the life I intend to lead.
The cake is done now, and it's time for me to take a shower and get ready to celebrate the passing of a new year with a few of these lovely people. Board games and fondue (with fresh pound cake for dipping in the chocolate!), mellow evening. Sounds great.
Happy new year all, and here's to 2007.
(oh yeah, and I quit smoking!)
What song gives you the most holiday cheer?
Submitted by Roxy.
The first time I hear "Christmas in Hollis" by Run DMC each holiday season, I squeal with delight.
It's Christmas time in Hollis, Queens.
Mom's cookin' chicken and collard greens.
How can you deny the picture of tradition painted by those lines?!
what a relief. To have a spot on the internet that is ALL MINE. Nobody knows me here, nobody reads my blog religiously, because they don't know it's here.
This is where I will mention names, write with abandon about people and things in my life without concern for their feelings or opinions on my matters.
Blogging brings up all of my fears about my diaries when I was little. Will someone find it? I have to write in code in case people read it. Bullshit!
I have names that I need to flush from my fingertips.
I have memories that deserve outing on the pages.
I will be here.
