Crystal Anniversary: I Got You a Unicorn Figurine, Portland

I keep starting to write a blog post and realize it's basically nothing but a list of wintry complaints, so then I delete it because that's just...so bad.

It's our fifteen year anniversary of moving to Portland! This is the longest I've lived anywhere--in one state, not to mention one house. When we moved here, the Bean was only six, and Isaac was going on three. So little. I really do love Portland, and Maine, and have friends I love here, but sometimes I feel like my attachment to this place, this house, is tenuous. Like, we could pick up and move easily. But then I think about all the crap in our basement, and how it probably represents much more heaviness and attachment then I'm letting myself acknowledge. And anyway, for now, we're not going anywhere. Also, while I wouldn't miss my neighborhood much, I would miss this ocean if we left it.

The winter is stealing my words. I need a news/information cleanse, probably, because I keep Googling things like "buy an island" and "remote farmhouse."

Today I was thinking "My get up and go has got up and went." Maybe what I need is a hunk of cheese.


Yep. Basically, my ten gallon hat's a-feeling five gallons flat. And yes, I can eat cheese on my Very Special Diet.

BUT, okay, here we go, almost halfway through February, and I got to spend a January weekend in New York with Ellen visiting Zoë, who's back at school in these United States, luxuriating in a fancy hotel room (thanks to David and Ellen!), drinking good coffee, eating good food, ducking out of the cold into cozy shops and museums and cafes. It was so lovely.

I've seen tons of movies and read many books already in 2014. See sidebar for details! Not listed there yet is my beloved pal Melissa's poetry chapbook, Girl, Giant, which I am savoring like a box of very expensive, beautiful handmade chocolates. It sits by my bed making me blissfully happy. Movie-wise, my goal is to see all the Best Picture nominees and then as many of the others as I can. Mom and I are hosting another intimate* Oscar party in a Boston hotel room with a TEE VEE and CABLE. Come and join us for a sleepover, unless you're afraid our snoring will keep you up all night.






*possibly just me, Mom, and snacks.