gypsy blood

There's a race of men that don't fit in,
A race that can't stay still;
So they break the hearts of kith and kin,
And they roam the world at will.
They range the field and they rove the flood,
... And they climb the mountain's crest;
Theirs is the curse of the gypsy blood,
And they don't know how to rest.

If they just went straight they might go far;
They are strong and brave and true;
But they're always tired of the things that are,
And they want the strange and new.
_Robert Service



This is basically how I feel today...and most days. Some people call it adventurous, or discontent, or hyperthyroidism, or Mahoney blood. I don't know exactly what it is, but it rarely leaves me.

schwesterbesuch

thrift store. malibu. ukulele. jane erye. olives. refreshing. chipper chicken. shakespeare. hiking. sushi. hollywood. scrabble. june lake. telescope. grand central market. fresh corn. angels flight. beauty culture. picnic. forever21. lacy park. couscous salad. artwalk. blossom. 26th birthday. camping. frozen grapes. youngest child. griffith observatory. waterfalls. pride and prejudice. peanut butter. naps. moon. long unbrushed hair. euro sisters. scrabble again. h&m. 6 hr car rides. striped shirts.

i love sisters.

on learning to draw...

My latest learning endeavor is drawing. A painting class last summer (which was a blast) has opened a door to the wonderful world of visual arts. I never considered myself artistically inclined (and still don't actually), but I'm discovering the joy of dabbling in things without the pressure of being 'good at it.' With that said, I picked up a stack of drawing books from the library several days ago and I've been drawing on my metro ride/at lunch/ect. ever since. My repertoire currently includes a 3x4 inch composition book (thanks joi) of an owl, some vegetables, three dimensional boxes, some other kind of bird, a funny looking man in a top hat, and a pitcher. I kind of feel proud of them even thought it looks like a second grader did them. I have attachment to the things I create even if they aren't very good. I painted this Van Gogh that came out looking more like Michael Jackson and I still having hanging in my kitchen. Jon keeps asking me to take it down but I refuse. I'm actually really proud of it.

Up until today, I had only drawn from looking at pictures in the drawing books. Today I started to draw a object by looking at the object not a drawing of the object. It's turning out to be rather challenging. At lunch, I tried to draw a picnic table with an umbrella above it. It looks horrible. That whole three dimensional thing is pretty tricky. I guess I'll have to try again tomorrow at lunch. Actually, I'll probably be drawing that picnic table for the next several months at lunch.

my dear friend, jane

I just finished reading Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. I always walk away from an Austen novel feeling thoroughly entertained and smiling at being reminded of how clever she is. A feminist before it was cool. She's making light of someone's reality (her own actually) and I seem to be the only one in on the joke. I sometimes feel like it's a secret we share as I'm reading her book.

A few of my favorite quotes from this book:
"Mrs. Allen was one of that numerous class of females, whose society can raise no other emotion than surprise at there being any men in the world who could like well enough to marry them."

"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel must be intolerably stupid."

"Where people wish to attach, they should always be ignorant. To come with a well-informed mind is to come with an inability of administering to the vanity of others which a sensible person would always wish to avoid. A woman, especially if she has the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can."

"The advantages of natural folly in a beautiful girl have been already set forth by the capital pen of a sister author; and to her treatment of the subject I will only add, in justice to men, that though to the larger and more trifling part of the sex, imbecility in females is a great enhancement of their personal charms, there is a portion of them too reasonable and too well informed themselves to desire anything more in woman than ignorance."

"It would be mortifying to the feelings of many ladies, could they be made to understand how little the heart of a man is affected by what is costly or new in their attire... Woman is fine for her own satisfaction alone. No man will admire her the more, no woman will like her the better for it. Neatness and fashion are enough for the former, and a something of shabbiness or impropriety will be most endearing to the latter."

I Want to be the King of Spain

"Well if you could reinvent my name,
well if you could redirect my day,
I wanna be the King of Spain."




Jon has been singing (parts of) this song incessantly for three days straight. This is usually a habit of mine, so I'm not the least bit annoyed by repetitious singing. And it's a great song. I'm really writing this blog for Jon. Jon is a great blogger. When he lived in Germany, I used to read his blogs faithfully. Mostly because they were so thought-provoking, but on a more honest note because I was in love with him and wanted to know everything about him. I've been wanting him to start blogging again, which is why I let him 'share' this blog with me. If you read it, you know that I'm the only one that contributes. So, I thought write a blog for him to encourage him to get started again. This song is basically about Jon. He loves Spain. His favorite things originated in Spain....flamenco, pamplona, me, etc. And He wants to be the King of Spain.

I heart Jon Ziegler, the King of Spain. (and i wish he would write a blog).

these days...

We've been here in California for several weeks. Tomorrow I start my new job as a research technician at USC. The last several weeks have been somewhere between relaxing and boring. So here are a few things I have been doing:

1. Making granola cereal.
Just about everything is more expensive than it is in Louisiana, including granola. Even the cheap granola isn't cheap and it's too sweet. I decided to try my hand at granola. Here is the recipe if you're interested...
Recipe- 4 cups rolled oats, 1/2 cup flax seed, 1/2 cup rice krispies, 1/2 cup sunflower seeds (unsalted), 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 3 tablespoons of honey, 1/2 cup water, 1/3 cup canola oil. Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately. Add two mixes together and stir well. Spread onto a large cookie sheet. Bake at 250 degrees F for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes. Add raisins the last 15 minutes.



2. Cleaning my bicycle.
A couple of years ago, Jon gave me the coolest bike ever for my birthday, a blue '70s Schwinn Breeze. It unfortunately spent too many days outside and ended up moving to California looking like rusty old bike. With the help of vinegar, WD-40, aluminum foil, and brillo pads, it is approaching it's former days of glory.


3. Painting a Van Gogh (that doesn't look anything like the original).
I've always wanted to try out painting. This past summer I took a 10 week painting class with UL continuing education. I had no idea of where to begin and the class provided just that. The last assignment for the class was to pick a Van Gogh and replicate it. I chose an edlerly lady sitting at table reading. I chose this painting for obvious reason...reading is pretty much my favorite thing to do. The painting came out nothing like the original, but I had fun doing it. Her face actually resembles Michael Jackson in his later years, not intentionally of course. I just hung it in my kitchen. I have mixed feelings about it. I'm proud to have completed a painting for one, but on the other hand I'm a little embarrassed that it's not as awesome as I envisioned. We'll see how long it last on the wall in the kitchen.


4. Building a compost bin.
We had a compost bin in our back yard on oakcrest. The first day we arrived, the apartment coordinators had us over for dinner. They told us about the recycle bins, ect. available and we gathered that they were from Portland thus evironmentally sensitive. I asked them about the possibility of composting. They were excited about the idea. I built a compost bin just like the ones we had back home. I just set it up today. We'll see how it works. They climate here is a little different so I may have to adjust my protocol accordingly.
5. Reading my Kindle.
I wasn't sure how I would like the electronic book experience, but it is great. I carry my Kindle with me everywhere I go. It's like my new best friend. My parents gave it to me for christmas. I keep texting them thanks because I love it so much. One cool thing about it is that it give the percent of progress you have made in a book. I am 65% complete with the Brothers of Karamazov, which is an exceptional book by the way. Thanks Mom and Dad! I have a 45 minute Metro ride to work starting tomorrow, so it will definitely come in handy.

small group

Sometimes in life you end up in a community of amazing people and somehow a family is formed. A kind of family that is even more profound than a physical family---a spiritual family. I'm actually pretty sure heaven must be something like being with these guys. We just left a group of such people. I miss them dearly.

Every now and then, I look at the door to see if Jess or Joi are going to pop in for a dance session.
Or sit down and wish it was with an excellent glass of wine and John Penn.
Or drive down Lil lane and walk into an eclectic apartment to see the creative Alida.
Or sit down with a good cup of coffee and talk about feminism with Bonnie.
Or take a run around the block with Charles.
Or see Amanda with little Aiden in her belly.
Or do some dishes alongside Ciji.
Or hear a christian romance novel written and performed by the one and only Dan.
Or hear Aaron go on about fairies.
Or be bear hugged by Kelsey.
Or listen to Ken say something so profound that everything is silent after.
Or hear the gut laugh of Sherronda.
Or eat some of Ryan's gumbo.
Or see Jen dressed up like a graham cracker.
Or laugh and bust a move with Hope.
Or listen to Sherry tell some crazy story about something that could only have happened to her.
Or see Chris walk in and say "hey guys."
Or watch Morgan draw some hybrid animal.

I miss these people so much. I look forward to a day when we will be together for eternity and talk about the good old days back on earth.