Tis the season for... jam!

If you're sick of hearing about J-A-M, avert your eyes. Still with me? This week I'm counting down (up?) 4 ways pretty jars of preserves make the perfect gift! Follow along at the all jam all the time blog... (if you're on my mailing list you already have spoilers, but look! pretty pictures!)

Happy (C)hanukka(h)!!

I still have a menorah (excuse me, hanukkiyah) identical to the smaller one pictured. I bought it on ebay after losing the original in a move. Though, sadly, I didn't get to light quite so many candles tonight. I did eat fried eggs and give JR his first Hanukkah present.

Home sweet home

Me and my lovely New York hostess Nhu with like half an inch of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree behind us. Taking the picture myself seemed like such a good idea at the time.
How was this night trip to Washington DC different from all other nights trips to Washington DC (otherwise known as the two times I went in November)? Because this time I had them fly my to New York first, whence I indulged in some good old-fashioned socializing before continuing on to my conference in DC last Sunday. Two planes, three trains, three beds, countless subways, and excessive tasty East Coast food later, I'm back in Texas and still too busy to blog. But here's a quick rundown of trip highlights:

1) Visiting the Chrysler Building lobby for the first time, not because it's actually extraordinarily impressive (though the elevator doors are pretty awesome) but because it's in Cremaster 3 and I'm still a little too obsessed with the Matthew Barney exhibit I saw seven years ago.

2) Eating the following things that don't exist in Austin: lox cream cheese, latkes, deli pickles, and Chinese hot pot.

3) Wes Singers alto reunion circa 2002!!!! Rebecca, you were sorely missed. I'll post a photo once somebody sends me one, because all of mine are awful.

4) The super enjoyable Tim Burton exhibit at MoMA. Oh MoMA. What a shining beacon of light you were after the New York Historical Society Museum. What can I say? I was in the neighborhood waiting to meet up with a friend for lunch! It was $12 worth of bad, my friends. SO BAD. And SO BORING. (I was going to call it the worst museum I ever went to but then I remembered that terrible Museum of War they made us go to in Normandie when I was studying abroad that I literally had to WALK OUT OF in the middle of our guided tour and wait for everybody else in the parking lot because it was so bad. Okay fine, this one was just ALMOST the worst museum I ever went to. Pah.)

why do you keep all your stars in

*waves*

I still heart my blog, I promise. Am too lazy to write many words all together these days. I guess there's always twitter... *blows up computer first*

1) Record low temps the last couple days, with a frost advisory and everything. Now, I know an oakland cold snap is not exactly comparable to a chicago cold snap, but at least you people have sensible insulation and heating! I could SEE MY BREATH INSIDE THE HOUSE THIS MORNING. INSIDE. THE HOUSE.

2) I've been spending more time with one student who cracks me up. She's, I don't know, not a normal child but straight out of quirky children's stories about precocious girls with vivid imaginations. She passionately reenacts her favorite activities - eating and sleeping. She taught me how to draw a cowboy hat. But she reeeally needs to turn off the teevee. She's convinced that a) I look like Pam from the office and b) vampires are real - "I saw it on Tyra!"

3) I have a goofy holiday job selling cookware at the zoo. I'll just be working two weekends, but it means I can pretend to afford Christmas in Texas! The best news I've heard all week? At the training the organizer said they couldn't afford to pipe in christmas music. *cue heavenly choir*

4) A car in front of me today sported two bumper stickers: "Wouldn't you rather be behind a good book?" and "My other car is a Pynchon novel." OK, I'm all for nerdy book love, but really? REALLY??

and bear our harvest home

Yikes, I better post while it's still November! Hope everyone has been having a marvelous season of plenty.

1) Overheard in the lunchroom today.
Teacher 1: What are you eating?
Teacher 2: Turkey with cranberry sauce.
Teacher 1: You always have the most exotic meals!

(I have never wished more to be an edgy cartoonist so I could illustrate this little scene to its full culturally subversive potential.)

2) I turned my cell phone off for my flight to Chicago... and it never turned on again. *mourns* Actually, it's quite liberating. Yet, there's that whole thing where I'm paying for the service. Also, it's my mp3 player. Also, I dropped my camera the week before so I suddenly have no functioning picture taking devices. I suppose I should look into repairing the damn thing...

3) Sure, I ate my way through my home town and had some quality family time, but the absolute highlight of my trip?

Miniature Rooms: The Thorne Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago by Fannia Weingartner


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Yes, I read the whole thing. Yes, I took the book to the museum. Yes, I gave my dad a guided tour of all 68 rooms whether he wanted one or not. Yes, I am a huge nerd.

Coming soon: JR's adventures in crawling! More Thorne Room action! (cue: crickets) Localfooding. Nostalgia for many things but mostly analog media. And the first in a recurring segment: From the Labon files, in which I am my own grandpa.