*whew* a puff of air before finals...

...or, "studying is much like packing a u-haul".....

 a minute, weeks, days, well...it is the internets and all is a minute time-capsule of the day-to-day anyhow...but, don't over think that....sore gray matter does not = fun. This is a love/ hate semester....being that a challenge, is on my "hearts list" and 30 points off- total for an A, is not. All was well until family came to visit....then, I overstepped my "me time" boundaries, which I am notorious for (but, working on). So let's rewind in our-internet-only-ability-to-do... Before the havok...when autumn was sneaking in...I needed my own personal Walden pond...Let's go back!

=some wind for my sails. off to share dinner with a neighbor and pore over the books

~megs

grapefruit juice and fizzy water...

...or, recovery from a whirl-windy week...

 It has been a minute...that, for me, has passed in mere seconds. Insomnia has been a buddy of mine since early July...the wide eyes in the dark that last well past 3am, even though life happens in between. This week has been, woah. First exam of the semester (all essay) was owned =75 out of 75, my cos' band played my town of residence

  and played a fab set,  a 60th birthday celebration that lasted until all hours of the night, and an old friend visiting from Washington state kept my sleepness-ness company. Now is for the reset button. A return to bed before tomorrow due to a funky fever. Autumn is sneaking up upon us (ever so slowly here in NC)...time for roasted hard squashes, pumpkin carving, mulled apple cider, wild oyster mushroom hunts, fire pits, smoky whiskey beverages, and most of all a cabin es-cap-e.  Hope all is well in your day to day. Cheers to good sleep for all....
zzz's
- m

A secret love of Powerpoints...

...when combined with Indie Euro Music scene musicians playing in bathrooms.

  I have lamented and complained a wee too much about the semester, thus far. I have to admit that I have come up to my favorite part...the RACES...err....exams. The first exam of the semester, to me, is like the first crispy, red maple leaf in the autumn ( or, the first goldenrod-colored dandelion....we know crayola mixed those two up in the box).  So, that may have sounded a smidge weird in times of study...Try it this way,maybe? 

    (*at your own risk) 

I enjoyed THIS:

apbrwww5.apsu.edu/thompsonj/.../Chapter04_BK_Hall.ppt

because I was listening to THIS(concurrently):

http://www.scenedebain.com/dour-festival-2012/brns

  -sidenote: j' t'ador scene de bain

  This semester started on a lighter load note. The books are actually unpleasant to carry (minus bag) but, this part is after that. My fingers have no pen indentations nor highlighter marks and pencil rubs. When the notes are done, Powerpoints complete, and exam on the horizon...study+mixtapes.....

best

~m

on being studious...

...and other things.

  This week has been chock full of work and studies. Admittedly, the first few weeks of class give a special glint in the eye and keen joy of using new pens on white paper...many, many sheets. On a later date, my fancy new color-coded  study flipbook- inspired by old school Trivial Pursuit pie colors, may be posted in photo form (you may disregard the microbiology germ terms in said future snapshot).

  So much time spent on the interwebs has also brought a bounty of new muz-aks that are carving wee niches in these ventricles. 30 minutes solid of paper writing= a song!!

  Scene de Bain= favorite go to, you can glean a lot from a group that can rock a tiny loo. This is one of the favorite finds. One thing that may turn a smile upside-down (if, you live in the US) is that these songs are in English...these bands are not from England/US. Feel ready to pick up a foreign language book? Let's do.

Malibu Stacy (Belgium)-


#05 MALIBU STACY DOUR (SCENE DE BAIN) by scenedebain

  A few years ago, an application was sent for an apprenticeship at a studio in Belgium. One day a fancy letter came accepting me to live and learn art for a year.  Be it fear or fate, these feet stuck fast in their place. The daydreams, based on photo and film continue, to this very day...now, there's some tunes to keep them at pace.
  ~m

noses to grindstones...

...and saving whimsy for free time.


  This week, school has started in full-swing...thus far: 1 paper, 42 pages of notes, 150+ in print outs, and much reading, has happened. Gladly, the summer reading pile had been neatly stacked away, months ago, with surprise ( due to unforeseen bibliophile ferocity). The thoughts of extreme heavy lifting due to: boxes and shelves of neatly preserved tomes can be reserved for a later date when the "moving" sneaks up.  Two days past, a neat parcel of brand new powdery pigments showed up as well...2 weeks later than one would have liked (pieces asked for, carry a heavy importance). Now, they'll have to wait until several hours of day decide to clear out for dreaming....oh, but there are drafts.

  On that note. Here is to re-escaping to escape. If you haven't, you should...if you might, you must....autumn is a brewing and it is high-time to cook up an adventure.

  This happened whilst at Jack of the Woods...it was a close circle that began to encompass the entire room with music they called "mountain old-timey". The man in the foreground was tuning to join the circle...5 minutes later, at least five more did the same...

  This was my birthday gift to muh-self. A serious love of barley-wine, limited cask, and aged, struck my fancy. All told, it took near 2 hours to finish its serious high-gravity goodness. Note: the lack of foam...I like drinking beverages that are not SO foamy and, preferably, warm-ish...admittedly, the upstairs held a  creme brulee stout that a cheese board and fig jam could not be without... so, if you are in Asheville....stop here...

 Paste and rate beer tell you so...

Oh, and "hi"...so do I...

 A much needed catharsis of vacation...in reality, the thought processes (on this end) are all sorts of tied up in responsibilities  (academics), let us take a virtual vay-cay, no?

love for early girl

   A Buckminster Fuller photo in an alley window....where else?!?!  geodesic dome=infinite, geeky props

E Normus trio...named after his Leonburger. Fantastic...amazing... buy this muz-aks: http://enormustrio.com/ 

 So tired...wishing everyone the best the stars have to offer...and more...

soonly,
m
 

on birthdays and such...

...or, my heart belongs in Asheville. Part One:

  For the first time in 7 years (yes, check that, 7), I decided to do something fancy free to mark the day that a wee person I once was made it onto this pretty marble.  Honestly, I work...a lot...we all do, but, being a busybody that works physical labor at work...cooks + cleans upon returning from walking the dingo...paints...oh, yeah and goes to school +maintains hours as an intern....sometimes, it is forgotten that there is a "me" factor, as well. Solely, in life, I take care of things. Many sad rescued orchids that cannot go on being light poisoned by the local hardware store, 3 pets, a large jardin, and , in the day to day, at least 60 dogs (+ cats, hermit crabs,etc.). So on a whim, "I" dipped out. The first minute of the elevation rising and mercury dropping made the coast seem years away. No guilt. Fresh mountain air and a place with a soul of its own...

 First, I got lost in Columbia, SC for an hour and a half and found this fancy place called : Goatfeathers

 Had a pint whilst gazing at a not-so-perfect map, chatting with a bartender who offered me a job, and getting back on the road in some rain....to this:

 The most central, ecofriendly place that makes a perfect stop off.

 My nest...sleeping position for me is a random tumbling through sheets that sometimes resembles the "dead man's float", often cocooning into a snug bundle, occasionally turning the comforter wrong side over before waking. This bed is very missed. That being said, the bed that was lonely for a few days is calling...as is Monday. My first day back into the semester ..::sigh::...

  To anyone reading. When there's less "huff" in your "puff", why not find a nifty town in your home state to escape to? It will do your spirits some good and maybe even lift off heavy weights. Promise to share some smiles with all the new faces you see, and even on a rainy day...things will seem a bit sunnier.

To be continued.
~m

no more gloom and doom...

...or, lemons make me smile.

  All of us have our "things"...be it: hobbies, foods, habits, or erstwise. One of mine (which are many) are lemons...their scent, the bite of sour, in drinks, in curd, rinds...well, I think I have made my point. I even like how Pledge makes my furniture so swoon-ily scented. Yesterday, at the market, I found THREE pounds of lemons for $1.99 (which is another "thing", personally, the deep bargain)...the lady at the checkout kept shooting odd glances as she rang up lemon bag after lemon bag....pshaw.

  Work this weekend has been incredibly hopping...60 large dogs in all of their boisterousness (and, well, excrement) ...::whew::... What was whirring in the grey matter through the decibels of barking? You guessed it, the wafting citrusy brilliance of my bagged friends....challenging a duel of wits (well, maybe the lemons were just hanging out). What to do with three pounds of lemons? Some say lemonade... but, this is what happened....

  Preserved lemons!!! Four jars. Thirty days to go, until they're done. You may doubt the magic these hold but, I assure you...when hosting guests for dinner, people rave. They are unique, spiced heavily, and can change any dish to: WOW. Last year, a friend was having an impromptu "old friends" reunion get together at his place. He works in a position at which he gets POUNDS of seafood if he requests it so. Not market fish, the kind that need cleaning, boning, and fileting. The plan was: IRON CHEF potluck. Everyone was to bring their own ingredients and we would make a dinner party of it (sidenote: myself=cook in former life as a job+all the time for many few, Sir W= studying for his Master chef as we speak, and Sir K=former cook+current mathematician extraordinare...were the Iron Chefs). Downside of plan: I was the ONLY brave cook that showed up when chow was beginning to be craved...these were one of my bring alongs. Garlic+real butter+riesling+ drum= happy well fed first course faces. Sir K appeared shortly thereafter and made magic with a random smattering of:crab boil spices, potato flakes, salt, pepper, my jardin garlic, and fry oil...sounds weak but, in the right hands, makes for sublime fried flounder. Aw, memories...


  With the remainder of the stragglers I decided to do this:

   And then make a non eggy aoili for marinating/dipping. With a bunch of parsley, 5 cloves of raw garlic, olive oil, shallots, salt and pepper. I'd list the recipes but, not really sure who checks this wee plink of the thing on the interwebs. If you'd like the recipes, though, just hit me up....I love fellow foodies.


Other things that happened to day:

-Found this cthulhu-like creature creeping on my cranberry beans

-My "senior" potteds were moved under the canopy... I have a "plant-sitter" coming for my orchids/mail/garden everyday. My friend Matt is a great kid...we are trading $10 a day for all that care...+ one homecooked dinner...worth it? Indeed, you haven't seen the ones in the ground...

-Dusted my "treasures table...I do enjoy a nice clean spot o treasures.

I hope you had a fab day as well....even if it just turned around in the last inning....

~m

Pt.1

 Well, it has been quite awhile. Whew. A whirlwind of a series of events...some fortunate, others un-. a lot of gapping in a typing timeline but, alot of living away from the screen in-between. Recent events have been shaping up better than most positive tarot readings (though they pop up like wispy crystal ball readings) . In the further past (or more reasonably, the 'year' marker ) I would like to do these things:

 

- Gardening:
  I study, work with, have at home companionship with, feed, love, medicate and take care of animals....in short, because I am entranced by them. I have: 2 feline co-habitators and 1 lovely dingo wingman sharing my commonspace. One thing we all agree on, we LOVE our plants. Indoors or out (though the human residents favor the 'edible') we all peek at, inspect, and sniff the greenery each time we pass..I adore North Carolina's moody weather, extended growing season, and beautiful eco-systems. Our sandy lot provided a lot of challenges to micro-mini-farming....composting and mulching and dutied work at french dug beds and well planned pots have been a great joy.

 To be continued...
m