Things to Like
[On Seawall beach, Maine, September 2008.]
For all my ardently proclaimed love of fall, I must recant a little and admit I’m having a few pangs at the season’s shift. Mostly I think I’m not looking forward to the time change (running in the dark! less sun during the day!), the end of good tomatoes at the market (oh … sigh), and I’m wistful for July days at the beach. Maybe it’s simply that change in general sometimes makes me twitchy (is that like twittery?). So on this last day of September, when I’m feeling the wee-est bit of nostalgia and melancholy for summer, a list in progress of Things To Like, to cheer myself along:
Blood oranges, white grape juice, Putumayo’s Afro-Latino album, mango lassis, turquoise rings, Indian dinners out, red wine in warmdark bars, talking to my grandmother, daffodils, clean sheets, clean laundry, new sweaters, camping at the beach, 30th-birthday cocktail parties, brothers who cook, messages from friends, puppy-love (in the literal sense), story ideas, stories to read, Newman’s Own chocolate sandwich cookies (RIP, beautiful you), asiago fresca on toasted bread, The Piano sheet music, semi-permanent vacations, red dresses and brown boots, E.B. White’s essays, “The Art of Eating,” weekends in Pt. Reyes, cheese and avocado sandwiches, freshly made hummus, mojitoes, cheese plates and 1/2-priced bottles of wine happy hours.
[Bodega Head, Pacific Ocean, August 2008.]
Also: four-day weekends, clarinets, Mule Variations, rainy California winters, crisp Vermont falls, the high Yosemite mountains, limes, red leaves, pine trees, real-mail letters from abroad, Indian summer, Wildcat Beach, horses, old journals, long runs, Assateague Island, conversations with my best friend, ice cream sundaes with hot fudge sauce, walking home from work, Fleetwood Mac, HBO, baby spinach salads with strawberries and almonds, the Marin Headlands, red-tail hawks, bay leaves, sand in my shoes, Lewes, De., Friday nights, putting the ipod on ‘shuffle,’ my new nano, New York City in the summertime, San Francisco anytime, Phoebe Snow, my farmers’ market, the possibility of, roof decks, days with no plans, the Thistle & Shamrock, champagne, sunny early mornings, coffee on Saturdays, fabulous dinner parties with interesting guests, dinner parties in general, getting out of town, being in town, reconnecting, getting down to it, lavender-parsley candles, Sunday morning yoga classes, pretty table linens, library books, leaving for home in 10 minutes.
What do you like?
[Wildcat Beach, Pt. Reyes National Seashore, July 2008.]
On a day like today when the sun still shines strongly down as it has done all afternoon, I have plans to bake something delicious after my run tonight, and I’ve fortified myself with that list of wonderful things it’s true that the difficult bits seem easier to manage — well, OK, maybe just the tiniest little bit. After all, tomorrow begins my favorite month, full of slanting, golden light, impossibly blue skies, a return to my (faabulous) fall coat, more excuses for roasted cauliflower, and so many birthdays (I’m afraid my card will arrive late for tomorrow‘s, alas) I can scarcely count them all.
In the midst of all the swoop and slide of everyday life, I think it’s important to remind ourselves of all the good things, the happiest things, the wow-tomatoes-right-now-are-just-amazing things — and to take a moment to savor them like a slice of that last perfect peach of summer.
Do you agree?
I like running in the evening just as dusk is settling in and it’s getting chilly. Then I go home and slowly cook a huge meal and eat late at night. Those are my favorite nights of all. You have a beautiful blog.
i like Golden Girls reruns! (is that wrong??) also madonna. indian food. tofu. txt msging ;) loud favorite songs in my 05 chevy. puppies. lipstick. pancakes. eating in general. and bffs. ‘natch.
lovely, as always. how did you know this was just what i needed to read? i too dearly miss paul newman. i don’t know what it was about that man, but his life and death affected me much more that a stranger’s should. xoxo, d
I love this blog; it makes me happy…I found it searching for food blogs!
Other things I like: huge wool sweater, scarves, coffee with milk, crusty multigrain bread, bread w/raisins, plain yogurt, big rings, runs on windy days, purses, swimming in lakes
I like you… and the fact that Phish is getting back together the week before I turn the dreaded 30! Oh, and I like the japanese curry we made for dinner with chicken, cauliflower and sweet potatoes. Yummers! I also like when good things happen on seemingly bad days, nice surprises and phone calls from old friends reliving our glory days.
“puppy-love (in the literal sense), story ideas, stories to read, Newman’s Own chocolate sandwich cookies (RIP, beautiful you), asiago fresca on toasted bread”
Oh yes. I’d like to add: Stephen Colbert, HBO (True Blood is addicting!), pumpkins, fresh apples with cottage cheese and honey, hot americano’s, and the new Jenny Lewis cd. All things that make me happy.
I have to admit, the tomatoes are pretty awesome right now.
Of course. I have to admit yesterday, as I had to put a sweater on for the first time in weeks, I felt a distinct mixture of sadness and anticipation. Then I bought a pumpkin today.