Enamannoyearningcited

Enamored with:
Mark Twain’s description of German opera in A Tramp Abroad. “The racking and pitiless pain of it remains stored up in my memory alongside the memory of the time that I got my teeth fixed.” I love Mark Twain even more than I love Shakespeare, and that’s saying a lot. (Oscar Wilde trumps them both, but that’s beside the point.)

The cauldron of fog overturned on our region two days ago. I love the mystery of not being able to see what’s ahead; for instance, I may know it’s only the supermercato, but perhaps it’s taken on a different personality or grown a mustache in hiding. Plus, the fog is just spooky enough to keep ghost stories on the menu.

Our new… are you ready for this?… {{drumroll}}… dishwasher! It has replaced Sophie’s high chair in the corner of our kitchen and is giving me reason to writhe around our tile floor in a frenzy of joy. The time I spend on dishes has gone from 1 ½ hours a day to 3 minutes. 3 minutes! Excuse me while I go lick the plate rack again.

Tea, after a two-year tastebud hiatus. We don’t have as many options here, but I’ve managed to find a mandarin-spice-cookie flavor that makes my heart sing. And anyway, my beloved peppermint is universal. (Now that I have a tea infuser, I’m itching to make peppermint tea from our riotous little balcony plant. Note to self: Learn how to use a tea infuser.)

My makeshift vanilla-berry candle platter and the friendly glow of small, contained fires. Natalie and I are going to paint holiday scenes on empty baby food jars and then put tea lights in them tomorrow for Christmas, and I’m finally going to get our money’s worth out of those Pottery Barn pumpkin pillars we carted over from the States. This year, I am not taking candles for granted.

Annoyed by:
Adults doing the children’s voices in cartoons.

Waking up to a bathroom-related mess. As in, it should have happened in the bathroom.

Finding myself from time to time really not wanting to be a mom. (See above.)

Other drivers waiting impatiently for my parking spot while I bundle the girls into their carseats.

How very, very yummy those caramel krispy treats were, causing me to make and eat a second batch when I was already full.

How my last entry (posted elsewhere as well) stirred up a level of controversy I never expected… How so many people were adamantly opposed to the government helping out those in need… How my joy over Obama’s election was squished out of me, e-mail by e-mail, until I began to wonder if speaking up was worth it… How this week was down in the first round.

Learning how to:
Respect people who think differently from me, even when their beliefs seem misguided and hurtful, even when they don’t treat me with respect.

Stick around for conflict rather than darting behind the nearest hedge.

Just say no to caramel krispy treats. (Still working on that one.)

Excited about:
Christmas decorations, Christmas photo cards, Christmas art projects, Christmas gifts, Christmas outreach, and a special Christmas treat for all of you!

Getting a favorable response from the company I so longed to work for. We have some tangley logistics to work out, but I am delighted to find out the door is not shut.

A clean house (thank you, dishwasher!), a sweet family, and a whole day wide open to living.