A little green

Late fall is not exactly my favorite time of year. 

Of course I love the cooler temperatures and the clothes and boots.  I think pumpkins and mums on doorsteps are cute.  Butternut squash is delicious.

I live in New England, and the people here love fall.  It's their Time.  Summer is too hot for them.  Winter is brutal.  Spring is nice.  But they love fall.  They love driving around and looking at trees.  They love pumpkin spice lattes.  They love apple picking. 

I get it.  Those are lovely traditions.  But all I want to do is to pull everyone aside and whisper, "Can't you see what's happening?"

What I see happening is days shortening so much that the sun sets in the afternoon.  (The afternoon!)  I see trees with no leaves.  I see grass turning brown.

But we are settled here for many, many good reasons.  We are not moving to warmer climes for at least thirty years.  So I need to make peace with my regional climate.  And in an effort to restore the glass-half-full mentality, I decided to buy some indoor plants.  I thought a little green in our home would help.

Yesterday at the store, I picked up a very cute mini-hydrangea plant.  The clerk asked if I had any questions.

"Will this do well indoors for the winter?" I asked.

She said, "Yes.  You need to water that a lot."

"Okay!  Sounds good!" I exclaimed.

Then she looked at me as if she knew that I had not had the time to replace the shampoo that ran out a few days ago.  She seemed somehow aware of the fish that I couldn't keep alive a few months ago.

And she said, "Like every day."

So I bought the plant anyway because I am a secret optimist.

 

On the mend

I will not let strep and exhaustion throw me off of pursuing this weird little goal I set.  One post every day this month.  Today's is done.  Now I can go to sleep.  

Second sick day

Typing this as I nurse Pumpkin for her bedtime.  

Chills, fever, aches, and sore throat.  Strep.  As an adult.  Sucks.  Not like serious illness sucks.  Just like stuck in traffic for two days and afraid of getting your kids stuck in traffic sucks.  

Sick day

Technically this post keeps me working toward my goal of a post a day.  

COMMUNITY NEWS: Hip Hop Nutcracker

Just got a note with the press release below.  Take a look, and let me know if you go!

“The Hip Hop Nutcracker” Poised To Become Holiday Classic 

Show Kicks Off 12-City Tour with “King of Rap” Kurtis Blow in NYC

October 28, 2015 (New York, NY) —  On November 20 and 21 “The Hip Hop Nutcracker” returns to the United Palace (4140 Broadway at 175th Street, NY, NY) to kick off a 12-city tour, including Miami, Atlanta, St. Paul, Charleston, Charlotte, and Moscow, Russia.

The show features the music from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker”, 11 dancers, DJ Boo, an electric violinist, and digital scenery that complements the adapted storyline, which locates the action to New Year’s Eve in a contemporary WashingtonHeights community in New York City. The adaptation is respectful of the traditional narrative with references to beloved touchstones like the Mouse King and growing tree.

The production inserts the vocabulary of hip hop movement to what has traditionally been a classical ballet, broadening the audience for the art form. The variety of styles represented (breaking, popping, locking, etc.) serve as a history lesson of hip hop dance.

“What better way to bring people together during the holidays than to combine different popular art forms to reach as wide an audience as possible, then dip this classic story in a contemporary setting that celebrates community,” said Mike Fitelson, executive director of the United Palace of Cultural Arts who adapted the story and is supplying the imagery for the scenery. “This production is the perfect symbol of how we are combining old and new to reinvent the United Palace. It has become a new holiday tradition here.”

How many toys is the right number of toys?

Yesterday, a friend posted something online about Christmas presents - the suggestion that Christmas should involve four gifts:

- Something a kid wants;
- Something a kid needs;
- Something to wear;
- Something to read.

Apparently, this suggestion has been wandering around the internet for several years now.  But, always late to the party, I just found out about it.

Here were my four immediate reactions (in order of experience):

Fashionably late to NaBloPoMo

The fact that I am only a day late to the NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) party feels like a genuine accomplishment these days.

Today's post is very short - a simple declaration that I will be blogging every day for (the rest of) the month of November.

Look out, world.