J.D. Salinger

From Freckle Rock

When I was younger, my brother played little league baseball. I watched with my parents but often had a book in my hand. One particular evening around dusk I remember sitting on a picnic table by the concession stand. I was reading Catcher in the Rye.

At some point around 6th or 7th grade, I had discovered this fabulous room in the library where all the assigned school reading list books were kept. As much as this does not sound like an exciting coming of age discovery -not as movie-worthy as discovering The Smiths or something in that order- for me that room was it. I went to a Baptist school that whited out "damn" in Steinbeck books. Most of the books in this room were completely new to me so I basically went through the alphabet. It was in this room that I found Catcher in the Rye.

As night settled on the baseball field, my Dad looked at the red book I was reading and asked a simple question: "Is that book too old for you?"

I carefully considered the question. Was it a test? Had he read the book and found it objectionable? I had not read the whole book when he posed the question and I quickly reviewed what I had read in my head.

"No," I said carefully, waiting. But that was it. I was a good kid and I had given an honest answer. I finished the book, enjoyed it, and went back to that room in the library for another.

Herbs

For our wedding, we made the somewhat controversial decision not to register. As a result we received many thoughtful and generous gifts that were a complete surprise. One gift was so fantastic that I bought the same thing for my father for Christmas.

From Freckle Rock

From Freckle Rock

For the past month we have been growing cilantro and peppers in our very own hydroponic herb garden. I can't recommend these little devices more. They are easy, fun and delicious. Thanks Jalila!

From Freckle Rock

I know you are already thinking of what herbs you could grow...maybe even a few cherry tomatoes. Anyone out there have their own indoor garden?

The Anti-Hero

I am just going to throw this out there. I have never understood the appeal of the anti-hero. I just finished reading a new book from the library. "Whacked" by Jules Asner. Honestly, I probably should have known from the name. I thought it would be an easy, fun read. Instead it was mostly boring and a little bizarre.



The gist of the story was about the life of a non-fancy hollywood insider - a tv show writer. The hero, Dani, was basically a Bridget Jones that you never really rooted for. The whole book I kept waiting for the hook. She would make a change in her life or wrestle with moral inconsistencies or something...but there was nothing. Nothing except some sort of ironic, anti-hero, satire that I completely did not get.

After watching the first season of Californication, I tried reading Bukowski but had the same problem. It was boring. Honestly, life is mind-boggling enough without heroes that never rise to the occasion.

I wish these books came with a label because at this point I am, in my old age, making a decision that these types of books simply are not for me. Before I really get set in my ways, anyone out there have THE anti-hero book that will show me the light or at least make me reconsider my line drawn in the sand? Speak now because I have it on good authority that, post-30, one's opinions solidify rapidly.

Time spent

To kick off the new year I decided to decorate my office. The bulk of our time is spent at work yet my office had virtually no personal touches besides my diploma. I added a lamp, two rugs, art, and a table. I am looking forward to work tomorrow.

From Freckle Rock

From Freckle Rock

From Freckle Rock

The lamp, table, and green rug are from Ikea. The larger rug is from World Market. The art is from Ikea but it reminded me a bit of Max Wanger.

Cork Coasters

Pretty much the only type of craft project I like is one that can be finished in a few hours. On New Year's Eve we went to a wine tasting party. I made these coasters by stamping and embossing small cork pieces.

From Freckle Rock

The only difficult thing about this project was finding the cork circles. It felt like people around the country were making cork coasters. I went to two Home Depots and two Michaels before finding them. I highly recommend finding the pre-cut circles though as it makes the project much simpler.

Another thing I discovered during this project is that only certain shades of ink show up well on the coasters. I had good luck with black, red, and purple. Lighter colors (I tried pink, blue and silver) did not work as well as they blended into the cork and made it hard to read.

The wine stamp I found on etsy and the circle stamps I found when I was home at Maryland at a store called AC More (seemed to be very similar to Michaels).

From Freckle Rock

Wedding Pictures

Just before Christmas, I received our wedding pictures. This is one of my favorites.

From Freckle Rock

Sequins

It seems there are few occassions to wear sequins. New Year's celebrations and Vegas come to mind. I took full advantage this year. Perhaps it was the end of the decade.

From Freckle Rock

The last time I can remember wearing sequins was for a American Diabetes Association benefit at Cipriani in New York. Our brain seems to have an independent way of categorizing what is significant. I cannot tell what will be seared in my memory at the time, but when years later I remember odd tidbits it suggests to me that for some reason the tidbit was significant in the grand scheme of things. I find it odd that I distinctly remember a coworker telling me that Cipriani was pronounced with a "Ch" sound. Yet things like high school graduation are nearly impossible to dredge up from my brain. I would like to think that high school graduation was more memorable than learning that Cipriani's sounded like a fancy Chip and Dale's but apprentaly my brain feels otherwise.