top ten tuesday: cold comforts

Things that help me feel better when I have a really bad cold, also known as right now:

10. Vitamin C and Zinc supplements

9.  Ice Cream — Nothing feels better on a sore throat than ice cream, am I right?

8.  Staying home from work — All I need to do now is convince HR to give me unlimited sick time…

7.  Garlic — It contains compounds that boost your immune system and help your body fight infections.

5.  Cold compress on my forehead

4.  Orange Juice

3.  Emergen-C

2.  Water and lots of it

1.  Pain Relievers, namely Excedrin® and Tylenol® — Whoever said diamonds are a girl’s best friend had obviously never experienced sinus pressure and migraines.  Bring on the drugs, I say!

Where is number six, you ask?  I don’t know.  I skipped it.  I’m sick — that’s my excuse.  I hope you’re not sick, but if you are maybe some of these things will help you feel better, too.

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red sox sweep series!

It’s a great day in Red Sox Nation, baby!!!

The last time the Sox won the World Series, we were living in Boston.  We watched the game at a restaurant bar in Medford.  The entire restaurant was empty because everyone was crammed into the bar area with their eyes glued to the televisions.  One guy was so worked up that he was pacing back and forth along the length of the bar, muttering to himself when the game was going badly and pumping his fist when it was going well.  The energy in the room was palpable.  The place erupted when the game ended with a final out — everyone was jumping up and down and screaming,  the guy who had been pacing popped a bottle of champagne and sprayed the whole place, strangers were high-fiving and hugging.  After watching the coverage for a while, we decided to try to drive a little closer to the city to see how people were celebrating.  We only got as far as Davis Square (Somerville) before we were caught up in traffic and mobs — people were pouring, literally POURING, off the side streets and into Davis.  We had to slow the car to a crawl, it was sort of like driving in a parade — there were thick crowds of people all around us, reaching into the windows and the sunroof to high-five us.  Everyone was smiling, cheering, screaming, crying — one guy even streaked out in front of our car wearing nothing but running shoes, wildly waving a Sox jersey.  It was amazing — I’m sure I’ll never forget it.

Despite feeling a little more tame this time around, it’s still just as sweet — aw YEAH, it’s a sweep!  And the second time in four years — woo, hoo!!  Oh yeah, it’s a good day.

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flickr friday

I’m nervous.  I’m coordinating an event today for the Trustees of the College; it’s a luncheon and dedication of the new residence hall here on campus.  Speakers include the President, the Dean of Students, and one of the Trustees.  Unlike my last event, there’s no press involved, thank goodness.  But still…um, all the Trustees.  Yikes.  Wish me luck!

Moving right along to the photo selection of the week:

sky island

Who is a kitty?  WHO is? It’s YOU!  Yes, it is.

Oh, Boston, how I miss you.

cappuccino love

stack

an old friend

I think I might need to have this.  It’s a green, bakelite telephone  — I’m not made of stone, you know.

Have a lovely weekend, friends!

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top ten tuesday: old-fashioned expressions

Despite having grown up in a very conservative Christian household, I can remember being exposed to vulgar language at a pretty young age. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly didn’t hear much swearing at home. The strongest word my Mother ever used was damn and she would apologize even for that. I heard my Dad say, “Oh, sht*t!” but only when he didn’t know I was within earshot. Maybe the exposure to foul language was the result of spending my first five years on military installations or spending the rest of my childhood in a small town in rural Maine with lots of fishermen. Either way, chances were good I’d end up swearing like a soldier or swearing like a sailor! These days, I try really hard to keep it clean, so I like to “collect” cute, funny, old-timey expressions — here are some favorites:

10. Whew, my dogs are barkin’. — This one is particularly funny if you actually picture your feet as a couple of barking dogs. Go ahead, I’ll wait…………………… See? What’d I tell you?

9. Well, isn’t that the living end? — My Grandma Vande Vrede used to mutter this under her breath.

8. If that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black… — My parents used to say this all the time.

7. Oh, for sweet Pete’s sake! — I have no idea where I first heard this one, but it makes me smile to think of my Grampie — his first name is Peter.

6. Oh, my stars. — A co-worker who used to be a nanny used this expression. She also said “Oh, sugar!” instead of “Oh, sh*t!” Child care givers are a great resource for non-swearing expressions.

5. Cuter than a bug’s ear — You know, because bugs are tiny. Tiny stuff is cute.

4. Now you’re on the trolley. — Blame The Simpsons for this one.

3. Best thing since sliced bread — I heard this one for the first time in Annie, which was my absolute favorite movie growing up. I didn’t know what it meant then, but had a bit of an “A-HA!” moment when I finally figured it out…years later.

2. Holy doodle, that’s a pip! — First read this one in a yearbook from the 50s. To me it sounds like something a reporter from the 40s would say to his gal Friday as he’s getting the “scoop” on a big story. Makes me smile every time!

1. Geez, Louise. — I say this one all the time.

What about you — know any good, clean phrases?

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miscellany monday

You know, if you have to be home alone recovering from surgery for an entire week, not to mention all doped up on painkillers, you could do worse than to have this view out the windows of your house:

Not bad, eh? It was very reassuring to know that when I felt up to going out, the foliage would be there to greet me with its warm, welcoming colors. Once again, yay Fall!

So we did manage to get out and about over the weekend — woo, hoo! Three cheers for contact with the outside world! We strolled around the flea market in Brunswick for a bit, had lunch at the Corsican, which is one of my favorite casual places, and then did a little leaf-peeping so I take some photographs (new Flickr upload coming soon). (Aside: The flea market visit provides a very telling demonstration of the difference between Joel and me — I bought a McCoy bowl and a planter, Joel bought the Centipede cartridge for his Atari 2600. You can see what I’m dealing with here.)

After a little rest in the afternoon, trundled off and saw We Own the Night. It was really good (Joaquin Phoenix? Yes, please!), but that’s not what I want to talk about. What I want to talk about…what I really want to discuss…what I’m DYING to tell you…is this: before the movie started, they showed the trailer for Sweeney Todd! Sweeney Todd!!! Sorry to get all carried away there, but…HOLYMOTHEROFJEFF, SWEENEY TODD!!! The movie version of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is coming out this Christmas! Sweeney Tood starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter directed by Tim Burton — need I say more? I suppose it goes without saying that I’m pretty excited. Can’t. Freakin’. Wait.

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flickr friday

wave

fog

lovers

untitled

thirty-three and a third

birches

mt. auburn

Recovery continues here at Chez Songbird — I’ve stopped taking the pain medication, but still need regular doses of ibuprofen, so there’s room for improvement.  But I hope to get out of the house sometime this weekend — I’m going absolutely stir crazy and I’m starting to feel sorry for myself a little bit.  Quick, someone talk some sense into me!

Hope you enjoy the pictures above — have a lovely autumn weekend!

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she’s baaaaack

Ah, so happy to be back!  As you know, I had surgery on Monday.  They sent me home that afternoon (yay, no overnight!!) very sufficiently drugged up on morphine and other lovely narcotics.  I spent all day Tuesday in bed loaded up on oxycodone.  Yesterday was the first day I felt ready to be out of bed for any length of time.  Today I’ve mostly switched to ibuprofen and I actually feel well enough to do stuff!  …which is why I’m here!  Of course, I missed the regular writing I do here in this space, but more than that I missed the interaction it provides with you all, my lovely readers!  Thank you for hanging in there while I took a little (medically prescribed) drug-induced relaxation.

I want to take a quick minute to rave about the quality of care I received at Maine Medical Center.  From the admitting associate, the anesthesiologist and the nurse anesthetist to my surgeon and all the recovery nurses — I was very well taken care of.  Someone from the Ambulatory Surgery Unit even called me at home on Tuesday to see how I was doing.  Don’t get me wrong, surgery sucks — it was no fun — but if I had to have it again, I’d feel safe and comfortable having it at Maine Med.  They’re good.

And now I’m focused on being well enough to get out and about a bit this weekend.  I’m looking forward to enjoying everything the peak of fall has to offer:

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surgical notes

Surprise! I don’t usually post on Sunday nights, but here I am. Actually, I’m just posting a quickie to let you know (if you don’t already) that I’m scheduled for minor surgery first thing tomorrow morning. Don’t worry, it’s not cosmetic, I’m not coming home with a new nose. And it’s nothing too serious. But because I always try to be as honest as I can here, I will admit that I’m scared. Terrified, actually. I know everyone says this, but I really hate detest abhor despise loathe hospitals. In spite of that, I think I’m doing a pretty good job staying calm for the most part. Admittedly, I haven’t stopped thinking about the surgery for one stinkin’ second — the anesthesia, the oxygen tube, the cutting (gah!) — but I’m not freaking out. Yet. Anyway, please be patient with me as I take a brief blogging break. More than likely I’ll be able to come home in the afternoon, but there’s a small chance I’ll have to stay overnight in the hospital. Either way, I probably won’t be up to posting for a day or two. If you’re a praying type, please send up a few for me — I would really appreciate it. And I’ll be back here as soon as I can. Have a great week, friends!

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flickr friday

Geez, Louise.  Maine is having some seriously crappy weather today — cold and oppressively rainy.  It was raining so hard during this morning’s commute, I actually drove the speed limit. Here’s a picture of a much nicer day:

Look at that sky! Gosh, I love fall.

Here are some more photos to enjoy…

let’s get the obligatory flower out of the way, shall we?

acorns

floating

this looks like a nice place to spend some time

l’instant revient

why am I not in Scotland right NOW?

a girl after my own heart (except I don’t usually use wire-bound…)

a thousand years

winds (of change perhaps)

Have a lovely weekend!

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musical memories

I’m feeling pretty nostalgic today…don’t say I didn’t warn you.

They say that scent is the closest sense tied to memory (you know…”they”), which I imagine is true, but I’m also constantly amazed by memory response to music. You, too? Isn’t it remarkable how even just a few bars of a song can instantly transport you to a different time and place in your life? or even a particular moment in time?

For instance…

• When I was a little girl, my Mom used to play a record that had the hymn In the Garden on it. Whenever I hear that hymn, I’m instantly five years old again, playing at Mom’s feet while she irons my Dad’s uniforms.
• And any one of the songs from the At The Hop compilation reminds me of dancing around the dining room with my Dad.
• Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Lepard (be prepared — clicking that link will take you to a video which is simultaneously hi.lar.i.ous and creepy as hell…hey, I never said this post was only going to be about good music!) makes me think of my brother driving us to school during that one year we were both in the same school, he a senior and me a freshman.
• The Cure‘s album Disintegration reminds me of visiting my best friend Liz (who lived four hours away) in high school.
• Whenever Lithium by Nirvana plays on my iPod, I remember driving through the Old Port in Portland one night near the end of my senior year of high school. Now, it’s not the happiest song in the world, but even so, I remember feeling incredible — like it didn’t matter if not everything was okay because I knew who I was and where I was going in life. (Turns out I really didn’t, but that’s beside the point )
• The same thing happens whenever I hear songs from Belly‘s album Star. It takes me right back to my tiny apartment during my sophomore year at Keene State when I played that album ad nauseum a lot and drove my roommates crazy.
• Sarah McLachlin always makes me think of the time I went to the Lilith Fair with a friend on whom I had the hugest crush. Fortunately, McLachlin also reminds me of the year that I lived alone in a basement garden level apartment at Tiffany Terrace (seriously, that was the name of the building) in Dorchester. My friends all thought I was crazy for living alone in Dorchester (*gasp* it’s the ghetto!!! whatever.) but I loved it — the neighborhood, the proximity to my job, the apartment, the independence!
• Steely Dan reminds me of weekend trips to New Hampshire.
• Stereolab, Throwing Muses and Kristin Hersh, Cat Power, The Sundays, Portishead, Dar Williams — they all remind of my carefree young-adulthood in Boston.
• I listened to Tracy Bonham a lot over the the winter, spring and summer of 2003-2004. Hearing her song Mother Mother makes me think of bumpity-bump-bumping down the horrible driveway at the Estate (where we were caretakers), off to Maine to visit my Mom. Evanescence was also in my CD player lot that summer — it’s good angry music and I was angry about my Mom being so sick.
• One of the few bands I’ve listened to throughout — from freshman year of high school to the present — is Indigo Girls. So many of my memories are attached to their songs, I couldn’t even begin to list them here…

These days, I can sometimes predict which music and bands are going to be significant to me. You may remember I did that recently with The Shins — they’re definitely my favorite band at the moment. I’m also listening to Camera Obscura and The Postal Service/Death Cab for Cutie quite a bit.

Et tu? What music is connected to significant moments in your life? Please share.

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