relaaaaaaax

some time for winding down was in order,
so today was me,
a 2 liter of cherry coke and
an unholy amount of home improvement television
here at sungo‘s palace.

but i am here in the greater area of the nation’s cap.
yesterday i spent most of the day (and an undisclosed number or dollars) downtown.
i couldn’t attempt to bring appropriate clothing for a wedding on a train, so i
went to a designer here and said “bring it, bitch.”
and then i felt like vomiting.
“normal” women i’ve heard feel powerful and such after shopping.
i just felt poor.
i mean, i’ve always been poor, but i usually don’t “feel” it.

in other news, i must say that drava, j., and their three luscious kitties
ROCK MY WORLD.
many thanks to my angels of mercy.
not only was i given safe harbor in new orleans, but i made great friends,
ate tasty food and saw all the sights necessary.
lovely graveyard pics will be uploaded in the near future!

love to you all my friends from this big crazy trip.

another entry from the northside . . .

it ‘s all so very suburban here .

but i am surprisingly comfortable being stranded
in the retirement abode of a friend’s parent ‘s .
odd, isn ‘t it ?

i am S U C H a gypsy.
I end up comfortable almost everywhere.

thanks for all the tips on the ” big easy . ”
i am realizing that since i’ll have nowhere to check my bags at the
hour I’ll be there that I may see nothing but the inside of the station .
i ‘ll have to wing it .

i would love to say more , but i hardly know where to begin .
all my energy is being spent attempting not to get too maudlin
about resuming my journey to the northeast —
leaving things and people and experiences I have loved to
move toward other things and people and experiences I love .

( insert dramatic sigh )

hello Texas!

Well, friends, we made it safely to Houston.
All is well and I am actually going to be here a few days it looks like.
My train to New Orleans is departing Sunday morning . . . .
Now the question is how I will busy myself for eight hours IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT in downtown N’orleans.
Suggestions are welcome.
lol.

faeriepet makes an excellent point—

“Frozen grapes ROCK!”

They do.
You’ll notice they were on my road trip menu earlier.
Well, they are great if you are snackish—
if you are on a diet, or –if you have tiny mouths about the house–
MUCH healthier than popsicles.
and, i would imagine, though I’d hate to waste them, that a frozen grape battle could be a good deal of fun.

it soooo smells like autumn.

first— it is absolutely indescribably perfect weather today.
my kitchen window is open and the scent of warm sourdough bread is all through the house.
in case i haven’t mentioned it in all the rushrush.

I am leaving for TEXAS tomorrow.
Strange I know, but I am riding to Houston with David to keep him company on the journey south.
Beyond that the plan is a bit fluid. *giggle*
I *may* go see some relatives in Dallas
and then my current preferred plan of travel to the northeast is by train with a layover
in New Orleans.
Crazy, huh?
maduro and sungo will hopefully get calls in the next week with details of my arrival in the nation’s capital.
It’s happening.

The travel menu thus far:

1 Loaf Sourdough
1 Loaf Country White
sliced colby jack
curried chicken salad with grapes and peanuts
taboule
carrot chips and ginger salad dressing
fat free/sugar free chocolate pudding
frozen grapes
diet dr. pepper

if i have time, more later.
I’d love to get some lotus pics uploaded, but I still have to clean the house and pack.
eep.

Bold ’em if you’ve read ’em!

(please if you put this in your journal say that the list is the ALA’s list of The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000 and include the link to ALA’s Banned Books Week page [http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bannedbooksweek.html] to help get the word out about Banned Books week.)

1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
15. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
19. Sex by Madonna
20. Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
24. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl
28. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
30. The Goats by Brock Cole
31. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
32. Blubber by Judy Blume
33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
34. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
35. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
36. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
37. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
40. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
42. Beloved by Toni Morrison
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
44. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
45. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
48. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
49. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
50. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
55. Cujo by Stephen King
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
58. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
60. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
61. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
62. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
63. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
64. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox
67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
77. Carrie by Stephen King
78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
79. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
80. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
81. Family Secrets by Norma Klein
82. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
86. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
87. Private Parts by Howard Stern
88. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
89. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
95. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
97. View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
98. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
99. The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

so—much—life

I witnessed tonight probably the single most amazing collaborative musical experience of my life thus far.
If it were not for the sheer joy I felt for the performers, I would have been jealous as hell.
As a musician, those moments just can’t happen too often.

The complete rundown of the music fest fabulousness will have to wait.
I want to post pictures to narrate and at this moment I must eat.
Earlier I postponed hydration to purchase a cd and it was not a good thing. hehe.
So, sustenance must be acquired-
For tomorrow is another big day.

that’s where i parked my car. _right_ behind the buskirk chumley. rock star parking for lotus. i got lucky.

not too much spare time . . .

at this moment.
I spent last night at the comfy casa of vitreous_fish and then went to work first thing this morning.
Thankfully, courtesy of Lotus Fest, all of Walnut Street got newspapers. So now I have a schedule and am thinking that I may have to go tonight as well in order to see and hear all the fabulous that my heart desires. **rushes to put on dancing pants**

but until I have juicy updates from the music festival,
here are some pictures from dinner last week.
Kevin and I drove to Indy to have dinner at Some Guys
with Ed, Jason and David–shown in these following ambient photos.  😉