Words I Like

1. Kodachrome
2. Estuary
3. Vermillion
4. Sanctuary
5. Fortitude
6. Exacerbate
7. Elan
8. Silverado
9. Sublime
10. Surprise

Sign of the Times?

Saturday was awash in rain, one of those weird fall storms that just rained on and on and on.

All told, I drove about 15 miles that day. I seemed to loop in and out of pockets of everything from torrential rain and light sprinkling showers.

That didn't stop me from driving around, doing errands.

And as I drove past the train station I used to take into the city, I stopped at a light.

A few feet away, a fully opened red umbrella sat in the middle of the street, like symbolism in a dream.

Good Things

Lavender buds.
Friends you've had since you were six.
Colorful textiles.
Electric blue patent leather handbags.
Moleskines.
Knives with heft.
Tomatoes so good you eat them like apples.
Walking under a canopy of trees.
Cheerful banter.
Seeing with fresh eyes.
Knowing someone understands you.
The unexpected Roz Chast cartoon.
Amelioration.
The foam at the edge of a crashing wave.
Good sleeping weather.
Spotting a cache of butterflies.
Being pleasantly surprised.
The glide of a pen over smooth paper.
A perfect cartwheel.
Bananas with no spots.
Undulating waves of flowers planted by someone who cares.
Using your strengths.
Biding your time.
Biting your tongue.
A coupon you forgot you had.
Well-worn shirts.
Oft-read books.
Togetherness.

Queen Was Right

"Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frightening me!"

Oof. Early this morning, waaay early, as in 3:00 a.m., a rollicking series of thunderstorms crashed through our part of the state.

The lightning lit up the bedroom, caused the power to flicker a few times, and then continued on for a good half-hour.

At one point sounding like a veritable explosion, complete with fiery orange brightness.

I thought something had been hit - a transformer, a tree, something? - and had caught fire. But no.

Did I mention that thunder and lightning scare the bejeezus out of me? They do.

Other people have told me, "Oh, we watched the most beautiful summer storm from the porch during vacation! We could see the lightning crackling all over the valley!"

Me? I'd be inside under the bed with my fingers in my ears.

This was the very annoying kind of thunderstorm, where just as you thought it would end, and you'd calmed yourself enough to get drowsy enough to fall back asleep, the sky crackled with power and boomed over and over.

So today, sleep-deprived and addled from the humid heat, feels like I've been operating on an even slower speed than usual.

Here's hoping I can stay up long enough to watch Project Runway.

Hot Child in the City

That old Nick Gilder song always runs through my head during the sticky, summer-swelter days, like the one that's on tap for today.

Today, despite the heat I'm headed into Philadelphia for a day of fun that includes checking out the Rittenhouse Square Fine Arts Show with a friend, and standing in line for the David Sedaris book-signing event at Joseph Fox Bookshop in center city.

The art show is one that I've visited before but not for many years. Fine artists set up their wares under canopies, and you can talk to them about their work and approach and what inspires them. There's one artist whose painted wooden boxes are a unique collaboration with her artist husband. There are a few on her website that look just wonderful, but I have no idea of the price.

In a unique twist on the usual book-signing for Mr. Sedaris - which I've heard can involve standing in line for four (four?!) hours - the bookstore has collaborated with nearby merchants to throw a block party in his honor. Aside from making the wait more tolerable, it could be provide a fabulous people-watching venue.

More to come...

How to Start Your Day Right

Squeeze a little extra sleep past the wake-up music drizzling out of the iPod.

Arise to sunshine dappling the trees - a welcome change from rainy gray starts to last several days.

Window shades up, light fills bedroom, dancing across honey-colored hardwood floors.

Read random Real Simple article about herb compatible garden plant pairings.

Saunter down to end of driveway to pick up newspaper.

Catch sight of flower beds, with past-their-prime bulb foliage reminding you to plant annuals.

Consider riot of purple and gold pansies, reminiscent of your high school colors.

Decide on petunias, purple wave, to introduce explosive unruly color.

Make mental note to stop by fairy-tale plant nursery, the one with the shady inspiration garden you can walk through on the way in to the retail area.

Stretch.

Add toast to the usual cereal regime of breakfast, so you can use that jam you like.

Take the few minutes to make tea, too - decide it's worth the effort.

Savor the vanilla rooibos flavor.

Finish morning primp routine and find jacket you love is back from cleaners.

Jump in car and drive two miles to work - in heavy traffic, but still easy on the gasoline budget.

Breathe.

Walk into office building, with the knowledge that your to-do list will flex and grow and shrink as the demands of the day require, but that you're doing your best.

---

Photo: My father-in-law's gardening talents at work

41 Grattitudes

Taking a cue from Ariel at Electrolicious, I'm capping the celebration of my birthday week with this list of 41 things for which I am grateful this year.

1. My husband, who tries to understand me even when it's a lot of work
2. My parents, each for their own gifts
3. My sister, brother-in-law, and their kids, who are a riotous whirl of pandemonium - a party packaged in a single family form
4. My friends all of whom have broad shoulders to lean on and make me smile
5. The way the light comes into the downstairs windows in the morning
6. The lush canopy of trees that envelops our yard in the summer
7. Grilled sausage
8. Chocolate in various forms, be it truffle, solid and bite-worthy block or cake
9. Color and the way it evokes different feelings
10. Fuzzy lambswool-lined slippers
11. The feeling that comes from doing good
12. Bloggers who inspire me to write better or more regularly
13. Mentors
14. Splendid serendipity
15. Commonalities
16. Extemporaneous commentary
17. Ephemera, as both a word and a concept
18. Colorful graphics
19. Well-told stories
20. Flights of fancy
21. Stationery stores
22. Musings
23. Connections
24. Cartoons
25. Alliteration
26. Unmitigated joy
27. Laughter
28. Insight
29. Smooth-writing pens
30. Confidence
31. Backstory
32. Clean slates
33. Fresh laundry
34. Perfectly timed hugs
35. Reading before bed
36. Surprisingly good movies
37. Energized discussion
38. Meetings of minds
39. Course correction
40. Turquoise
41. Understanding

Walking Unplugged

Too often, I fire up the iPod and head outside for a brisk walk.

But especially now that it's spring, during the last few walks I've taken I've left the gadgetry at home.

And it's amazing what tuning your visual attention to your surroundings can do for you.

Took a photo of a daffodil on my phone.

Heard six distinct bird calls in a one-block radius of my house.

Noticed that a neighbor's weeping willow tree has gorgeous pink petaled flowers this time of year.

Saved a child's ball from rolling into the street and executing a nice little kick to lob it right back into their hands (an actual achievement, given my lack of athletic prowess).

Met some neighbors I hadn't seen in a while and chatted up their one-year-old.

Walked farther and enjoyed it more than I have in quite a while.

Now you try it. Go ahead. Unplug, walk around and see what happens. Maybe you'll notice more, too.

A Fistful of Daffodils

It was cold and damp here today, and like many Mondays, I trudged into the grocery store to do the shopping.

Mondays are odd days at the grocery store. Much shelf-stocking is done -- and today the post-Superbowl Sunday snack displays were still fully stocked.

But it was while I meandered through the produce aisle that I got an unexpected surprise: a woman of a certain age in a blue nubby tweed overcoat ambled by bearing a fistful of daffodils. Just in her hand -- no bag, no plant tote.

Made me smile and realize that although Punxatawny Phil insists there will be six more weeks of the cold stuff, the bulbs know better.

10 Effects of Unseasonably Warm Weather

It's been a weird week, what with the weather all unseasonably gorgeous and sunny - highs in the 60s for crying out loud! A veritable heat wave for the East Coast. Not that I'm complaining...

But everything just feels a little off-kilter. I've got a couple of big projects brewing. A few things that are weighing heavy on my mind. Feeling a little stuck creatively. Need a little inspiration. Some kind of kick-start.

In the meantime, my list of top 10 Effects of Unseasonably Warm Weather:

1. Being outdoors as much as possible suddenly seems very important.
2. Spotted someone eating an ice cream cone while walking down the street.
3. Everyone seems 100% happier and friendlier; big, goofy grins abound.
4. The side of my face gets a slight sunburn while driving. (Damn! More freckles, too!)
5. Sunglass'd mothers feeding their newborn babies while sitting on park benches.
6. Outdoor seating that's been under wraps for months is resurrected for two freak days of dining al fresco.
7. A walk to an Italian market for dinner ingredients feels like a jaunt through a European neighborhood - with people outside talking, kids playing, a family sitting on the stoop.
8. An odd smell (mud mixed with dead grass?) in the air outside... Not quite spring, not quite winter.
9. Golfers wearing shorts while hitting the links on a "sick day."
10. Flip-flops in January finally make sense.

Best-laid Plans

My first real job interview was the only thing standing between me, a fresh-faced journalism major, and an internship at a big city magazine.

That unseasonably frosty September day, I’d picked out a subdued, office-appropriate outfit. Filed and polished my nails the night before. Had my portfolio updated and ready for review.

The morning of the interview, while closing my bedroom window to dodge a sudden draft, the sash jammed momentarily and I caught the fingernails of both hands on the top of the vinyl edging, sawing off 6 nails down beyond the quick. I saw stars. In pain, and pressed for time, I quickly filed the remaining ragged edges into a presentable shape.

Post-shower, while dragging on my stockings, I poked a finger straight through the knee of one leg, a run two inches wide zipped all the way down from shin to foot. The only black pair I had to my name, I tossed them in the trash. Grabbing the only other pair I had, I realized the outfit needed more exciting shoes than black flats. Ten seconds later, I unearthed a funky, multi-colored pair of shoes that finished off my all-black ensemble.

I shrugged on a coat and ran out the door, portfolio in hand.

Walking quickly to the subway stop, I hop onto the jam-packed train. In the standing-room-only car, I was wedged between two men.

One was an investment banker doused in Polo cologne reading a folded up Financial Times.

The other sported B.O. of an intensity that 10 years later must have inspired the Seinfeld episode built around a mutant form of the stench so powerful that it attached itself to nearby hosts.

Within seconds, my eyes were watering and my vision was clouded. It wasn’t until three stops later on the unfamiliar line that I realized I had taken a train headed in the wrong direction.

At the next stop, I shot out the door and raced up the steps/down the steps to the proper track, convinced I could still smell the man’s morphing stench.

The minutes ticked by, but I was determined to make it to the appointment on time. The intern manager had sounded so haughty on the phone when I scheduled the interview that I knew being late was out of the question.

With only 5 minutes to spare, the subway doors opened and I ran the last 5 blocks to the office.

Sweaty and out of breath, I arrived. After a few deep breaths to regain my composure, and a final straightening of my sweater (and one last sniff to ensure my scent was my own), I walked into the offices.

I smiled and introduced myself to the receptionist (later, I learned she sang in a hard-core punk band), told her who I was meeting, and waited.

Twenty minutes later, the Intern Manager flounced into the reception area, apologized for being late and ushered me into a conference room.

After leafing through my portfolio, she asked me a few perfunctory questions. Shuffling through some papers, she extracted one and handed it to me. Intern Information Form, it said, and it was where I was to document my name and that of the college I attended.

"Congratulations, you start on Monday."

I sighed. Who knew that that the toughest part of the interview would be getting there?

5 Favorite Foods

1) Pancetta: Everything's better with bacon, right? This Italian answer to bacon is salty, peppercorn-filled loveliness in cured meat form. Cut a few ounces into bits and fry it up and start your risotto with this and a chopped up onion, then finish with parmigiano-reggiano and you will be in heaven.

2) Cheese: The pecorino tartufello (pecorino with truffles) I had two years ago made a lasting impression - found it recently in a cheese shop downtown, bought a hunk and realized it is still a sensory overload experience. Also, parmigiano-reggiano. And, goat cheese (Boucheron).

3) Figs: OK, from the start of this list, it's clear I should live in a villa in Tuscany, or at least closer to the Italian Market. But figs are a proverbial feast for the senses, between the gorgeous dark exterior and the vibrant, flecked textures inside - and when perfectly ripe is just lovely cut into fourths on top of a salad (throw in some goat cheese, too, while you're at it).

4) Kettle Krinkle Cut - Salt & Pepper Chips: These things are so crispy-crunchy, and peppery, once I start eating them, I can't put them down. Crunch-crunch-crunch. We pretty much have banned these from the house, due to my inability to eat one serving at a time.

5) Hazelnuts: Love 'em in chocolate, love 'em with chocolate, don't love 'em in Nutella (too oily, Nutella is). Simply toasted and chopped and sprinkled on top of a salad, they're a nutty crunch and have a flavor character all their own. Even better, I've made chocolate chip-hazelnut cookies (Giada DeLaurentiis recipe) that were so good, during Christmastime I've eaten them for breakfast. And I am not ashamed to admit it.

Tri-Color Trees

When I was a kid, the end of Summer was a bummer, but Fall still had a few things going for it.

With the start of school came brand-new notebooks (which I still obsess over) and shiny new shoes. The promise of winter. Which meant Christmas wasn't far behind! And snow days that sometimes closed school. Woo-hoo!

Now Fall means raking gobs and gobs of leaves (we have some extremely tall maple and oak trees), colder temperatures. And with the impending winter, the occasional snow day, but instead of joy these can bring stress if we have to still trek to work, if we have to find a way to get home in the crush of traffic. Or most productive of all, work from home and figure out later how to chip out the car from its encasement of ice.

During long country drives on sunny Fall days, however, the trees in their golden, red and bright yellow hues are nature's mood elevators. Among my favorite rides are those where the trees form a colorful archway beckoning me to zoom right through. Change is good.

We just spent the weekend driving up and down the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut, one of the most scenic roads in the country. More on that later.

For now, a shot of trees from another outdoor jaunt that jolted me into appreciating Fall yet again.

Restorative Powers

The long, bumpy, seven-hour flight left me with the equivalent of a catnap overnight, and the plane landed before dawn that February morning.

The hotel wasn't ready, but my friend, Susan, had said I could come to her flat when I'd arrived. It seemed too early to call her, so I got some coffee and waited until the sun came up, then yawned and flagged a cab.

Careening around Paris, stopping to ask for directions to the tiny street he couldn't find on his map, the cab driver finally dropped me near the apartment.

Finally, inside Susan's building, I traipsed with my purse and heavy laptop bag, up... up... up... eight flights of steep, short stairs, grasping the twisted wrought-iron bannister, walking nearly sideways to keep from tumbling down.

On the landing I paused, my pulse raced from exertion and I swayed from fatigue. I walked over to the apartment number that matched what I'd scribbled on a scrap of paper. The laptop bag fell to the floor with a thump and I knocked.

As Susan answered the door, we squealed our hellos, gave each other a big hug and immediately fell right into the same banter that kept us going all through college.

Ever the hostess, Susan read my mind: "Would you like a cup of tea?"

A few minutes later, as she poured me a cup, the vanilla aroma filled the apartment, like a tray of sugar cookies fresh from the oven. All the strain and fatigue of the morning faded away in an instant.

Now that the cold weather is setting in, I crave this tea all the time. Go ahead, try it.

Sense and Sensibility

What I'm...

• Hearing: Shrift, Lost in a Moment
• Eating: Cookies
• Reading: Quintessence - The Quality of Having "It"
• Watching: Pushing Daisies, 30 Rock
• Smelling: Lavender - our only surviving perennial