Daybreak

Sorry for not posting on Friday! We were in Utah for a week, and now we're home and trying to put things back in order. Development in Utah is usually at a breakneck speed, and it's rather distressing to us because we grew up with lots of pristine open space. One of the things that we really love, though, is the Daybreak development. We love the interesting homes with their large porches and garages in the back. We also love that Daybreak has walking trails and a pond and great landscaping. If we lived in Utah (and had a lot of money), that's where we would live.

Thursday Tunes: Symphonicities

Sting has a new album out on the Deutsche Grammophon label. It's called Symphonicities and is a collection of songs by Sting and the Police set to instrumentation by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. I can't wait to pick up a copy! Sample it here.

Zipcar

Have you heard of Zipcars? We've seen a couple around, and I think it's a fabulous idea. There's an application fee and an annual fee, but no monthly fees. Whenever you need a car, you reserve one and then rates start at $6-7 per hour. That includes gas and insurance! So far they're only available in big cities, but if I lived close enough to one I would love to ditch my old car (and all of the money that goes into it).

Cinnamon Sugar Kettle Corn

Have you tried the popcorn from Popcorn, Indiana? Tony picked me up from a meeting the other day and had a bag of a new flavor - cinnamon sugar kettle corn. It was fantastic! We couldn't stop eating it...

Eisenhower Silver Dollars

As part of our summer organization project, I put all of my collected coins into a binder. It's rather heavy now because I included all of my Eisenhower silver dollars. Every Easter growing up, our grandpa would offer us the choice of two silver dollars or a chocolate cream egg from Mrs. Cavanaugh's. For many years I took the dollars - and then one of my sisters and I figured out that we could share and get a dollar and half an egg! (I still ended up with about 34 of the Eisenhowers...)

Friday Featured Art: The Power of Suggestion

Joe is part of a new show called The Power of Suggestion opening today at the Mockingbird Gallery in Bend, Oregon. I love the new works - especially the ones with beautiful blue skies and the ones with farm implements (because I live in the Midwest where it's all about farming).

Thursday Text: Rilke

We've been cleaning out some files and boxes around our house, and in the process I've found some lovely cards and letters from my husband.

One included this poem by Rilke:

Understand, I’ll slip quietly
away from the noisy crowd
when I see the pale
stars rising, blooming over the oaks.

I’ll pursue solitary pathways
through the pale twilit meadows,
with only this one dream:
You come too.

Everyday Mary Jane Trekkers

I bought these Mary Janes on closeout from Lands' End for $13. They are my shoes to wear around the house while I'm doing my chores so that my feet don't hurt at the end of the day from going barefoot. I bought a khaki pair last year and loved them so much that I started wearing them outside - so I needed a new inside pair. One of the cool things about them is that the insole board contains 70% recycled content, 80% of which is from recycled plastic bottles!

Coasters

We need some new coasters - they are definitely necessary when you live in the humid Midwest. Here's some I found on Etsy that I think could do the trick. 1.) Lucky Bee Press 2., 3.) Joie Letterpress 4.) Ruby Press

Key Largo

We caught Key Largo on TV the other day. It was great. Lauren Bacall was tiny and looked like she was about 19. She is beautiful, and I really love the classic (modest) styles of the '40s.