sprite writes
broodings from the burrow

November 26, 2009


tableau, lights, and leaves
posted by soe 11:47 pm

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you had wonderful celebrations with your loved ones. We spent a wonderful day watching the parade, cooking, eating, and touching base with friends and family, which I think pretty much embodies how the day is supposed to go.

I offer you here three beautiful things from my week:

1. Two women in purple pause during their workday to walk a pocket-sized puppy.

2. I notice the first Christmas lights on Hilliard where two small trees sparkled with silver lights. The next night, a full-sized tree adorns a front window near Whole Foods and a strand of multi-colored lights decorates a fourth-floor apartment window.

3. Tiny Japanese maple leaves turn scarlet outside the Colombian embassy. And Hilliard is blanketed with golden ginkgo leaves.

What’s been beautiful in your world recently? Or what were you particularly thankful for today?

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the beautiful things about a long drive
posted by soe 2:29 am

Our drive to Connecticut, which normally averages 8 hours, took 12 instead. It was a surprising turn-of-event, but not as painful as you might think. I did, after all, have my favorite guy, good tunes (including two new cds Dad mailed down for the occasion), and knitting to help while away the time.

Here are three beautiful things from our drive:

1. We drove up Maryland Route 40 instead of taking 95, from just north of Baltimore to the Delaware Memorial Bridge. At one point, while sitting at a light, we realized that although it was raining over the car there was sun behind us. We probably would have missed the rainbow in front of us if we’d been on the highway.

2. Road food is an important aspect of any trip. We stopped for a 5 p.m. lunch at a hot dog stand in Wilmington, Delaware, where delicious meals for two ran me a whopping $11. And we just squeaked into our old favorite pizza joint as they were closing. We were too late for table service, but we split our piping hot takeout pie while sitting in the car outside. We dripped cheese and sauce and our fingers ran with grease. I don’t think there were two happier people in all of New England. I kept sighing with contentment the rest of the drive north. (Thank you, Modern employees, for making us a final pizza of the night. We are truly, truly grateful.)

3. A later start meant we got to see the first Christmas lights in New Jersey (my favorite state for holiday decorations). And by the time we were driving on the Merritt Parkway, the fog curled around the trees in the median, offering ghostly shadows as car headlights bounced past.

Have a happy Thanksgiving tomorrow everyone. I hope you’re spending it with people you love.

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