sprite writes
broodings from the burrow

January 24, 2008


no no no
posted by soe 8:33 pm

Bad news from today’s Telegraph: “Miss Marple: Murder is easy. Finding a new Marple isn’t”

I’m hoping they’re writing with sarcasm about wanting to pick someone so … un-Marple-like.

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random, you say?
posted by soe 12:29 am

The challenge:

  • link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
  • share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
  • tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
  • let them know they are TAGGED by leaving a comment on their blog.

Rudi knows I’m a bit weird, and I’m sure that’s why he tagged me. That or he knew I was sucker enough to come up with answers.

Oddly enough:

  1. I do not like bananas or banana-flavored candy, although I like banana bread.
  2. I can doze off while holding a full cup of tea and not spill any of it.
  3. I keep an emergency box of Samoas in the freezer in case of a Very Bad Day. Luckily, since I stopped doing media relations, I haven’t had to dip into it. Samoas are this teetotaler’s version of a good stiff drink.
  4. I own a snuggly green sweater that I stole from my brother who stole it from his best friend back in high school who stole it from his older sister.
  5. As a child I managed one day to become covered head to foot by a swarm of ants. As such, ants only get one warning in my unfair system of which bugs survive in my house. Seeing multiple ants inside can utterly cause me to freak out.

I like to alter rules to fit my needs (it’s a good thing I’m not a politician!), so I’m not going to tag anyone specifically. If you have a blog and want to play along, then you’re it. If you lack a blog and want to have a go at this meme, please leave your random facts in the comments.

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January 22, 2008


a pleasant long weekend
posted by soe 1:16 am

My three-day weekend is nearly at an end. Rudi’s already retired to the bedroom and I’m going to drink my tea and follow suit.

It has been a long weekend — both in length and in how much we squeezed in.

Friday night we went out with friends. We had dinner at a bar (I had a very nice beet salad and an okay cherry bread pudding) and then headed next door to the Black Cat to see Rhett Miller of the Old 97s. I wasn’t familiar with either the singer or the band, but his MySpace clips were pleasant enough and my friends are kind enough not to harass me if I want to hang out in the back instead of squishing up front with the masses. Miller has a nice enough voice and a good ear for melodies, but he plays at being a rock star with lots of head shaking, hair flopping, and arm windmilling which I found distracting. Once I shifted over to the couch next to Sweetpea where Miller was hidden from my view behind a pillar, I enjoyed his performance a lot more.

Saturday, I voted for D.C.’s delegates to the Democratic Convention, ran some errands with Rudi, and then had dinner at a new restaurant with our friends John and Susan. Café Tropé is just a couple blocks from the Burrow and still had available reservations for Restaurant Week earlier that day. The restaurant is French Caribbean with sort of a tapas feel to it. I’m delighted to report that the food was excellent and I’ll be giving it and our earlier Restaurant Week excursion a full report this week.

Sunday, except for our weekly trek to the farmers’ market, I stayed in. Elspeth and Amani and Marcus came over in the evening so we could watch this week’s Jane Austen movie, Northanger Abbey, on PBS. With the exception of a small omission from the novel’s end, I was pleased with the translation to the screen. Next week is Mansfield Park, which I haven’t read (but have seen another adaptation of), so I’m hoping that it’s a fun watch, as well. Oh, and I blocked the pieces of my Everyday Cardigan, so I’m on schedule for an end-of-month completion.

Today was our lowest-key day. Rudi went out for a below-freezing bike ride this morning and I slept practically until noon. I read a little. I started a new quick knit project, which I expect to finish tomorrow.

As I said, it was a long weekend, and I suspect I’ll be glad it’s a short workweek. Rudi heads west on Thursday for some skiing, so the only thing I have planned for next weekend is the Jane Austen watch Sunday night. Lots of time to rest…

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January 19, 2008


metro minutes
posted by soe 11:52 am

From a random Tuesday in midsummer: A girl rides the two stops from home to work with me. She is wearing business attire with high-heeled strappy sandals. Her hair is down and you can see mascara clumped on eyelashes that surround mildly alarmed eyes. Her pinkie toes stick out between the straps of her sandals. I wonder how much of her personality is stuffed beneath her work attire as her feet are stuffed into ill-fitting shoes.

(Yes, I’m clearing out my post backlogs. Why do you ask?)

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January 18, 2008


my d.c.: ride on
posted by soe 10:10 am


Hold On!

Can you guess?

(more…)

Category: dc life. There is/are 4 Comments.

January 17, 2008


true love, generosity, and soft
posted by soe 12:31 pm

Rest assured, like the post office, three beautiful things happens regardless of snow, sleet, or sickness (although I did venture back to work today). Three things from the past week:

1. What could be more appropriate for a sick day than a watching of The Princess Bride? (Plus, did you know that Cary Elwes and Mandy Patinkin did their own fencing?)

2. While the internet can be fun, I sometimes forget that it really can be a tool for change and for good. Last month, food bloggers around the world generously donated prizes for a raffle toward raising funds for the U.N. World Food Programme. People across the globe chipped in funds ($10 would net you an entry toward one of a hundred or so prizes) and last week the announcement was made that we had raised $91,188 to feed hungry children in Lesotho. What a terrific thing to be part of! (I was the lucky winner of a care package from London!) Interested in other sorts of online charity? Christy is trying to get knitters to build a house in New Orleans — without having to lift a hammer.

3. Rudi gave me new flannel sheets (with adorable penguins on them!) for Christmas this year. Because the flannel hasn’t yet been washed, it is SOOOOOO soft, which is particularly nice seeing as how I’ve spent an awful lot of time in bed this week.

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