Currently 11.14

old + weathered, but still capable of beauty

Thankful for: (#14) Being married one month. Its hard to believe that a month has whirled by since that day with the vows and bells and bows. Its hard to believe, too, that I have spent a month of days with Mark. After being so used to seeing each other on occasional weekends, it still feels like such a treasure to spend so much time together. I wonder if being around him will ever be old hat? I don't think so--no more than being around yourself is old-hat. It just is. And its wonderfully perfect. We celebrated with painted daisies, homemade Mexican-bean-and-sausage soup, and Xbox live. Well...Mark celebrated with that last one. I knitted a Christmas gift. Little old couple already.

Reading: I really need to pay more attention to book-jacket descriptions. I picked up Phillipa Gregory's Wideacre, the first book in a trilogy of the same name. I usually select my books by recommendation--be it friend. professor, or newspaper review--and then read the first few pages to see if the prose captures my fancy or not. I have read other historical novels by Gregory, specifically her series about Lancaster and York. Who doesn't enjoy feuding cousins, right? Anyway... my read-a-few-pages test failed me. Let me just throw a few words at you. Seduction. Betrayal. Murder. Incest. Deception. Yes. That. And the problem is, I hate stopping a book half way through; so here I go, wallowing through the mire to the end, I suppose.

Listening to: Brandi Carlile's Bear Creek. I'm pretty sure she has the most soulful voice I have ever encountered. Your opinion may differ, but she certainly gets my soul to rocking and my boots to tapping.

Loving: My Yamaha keyboard, a surprise welcome-home gift from my daddy. He knew how much I would miss my piano so he sneaked and bought me a substitute. I have to say, I think my playing has improved this past month. Probably due to the fact that every day, after a morning of frantic application submissions, I sit and play for about an hour or so. The thing I love most about this keyboard: it senses if I hit the keys harder... so I can determine volume by touch, just as with an actual piano. This is truly great, people. The little things do matter; they determine the whole song.

Planning: To bake this peanut butter pie. Pretty spectacular, huh? For some reason, I've been dying to bake a pie. Maybe its because I have my own place now with my own kitchen things ...including pie dishes and cute aprons. Whatever the cause, this pie is happening next week! Turkey Day is almost here! Fast and be ready! We're getting there.

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