Amber & Wish You Were Here (I Was There)

Remember when I was at the River House?

I officially start counting down until next year right... now.

Amber & Target Demographic

So, I was just in D.C. overnight for biznusses.  And I stayed at the lovely Quincy hotel, mostly because it was cheap and also right around the corner from where the biznusses were conducted.  (And because my old apartment at the Argonne has probably been rented.)  There were several notable things about the Quincy which I will proceed to note hereforth.

1.  The couch in my room was totally the larger L version of my home couch.  Same fabric, same feet shape, same velcro attachments for the pillows.

Same, same, same-- except less cat fur.  And no sheet covering it to protect it from cats or little decorator pillows or Ginger.

2.  There was a very strange music thing happening, both in that they chose to blast all of the songs from my "HS Memories" playlist in the lobby (see sidebar), but also because, very randomly, there was a Billy Squier album cover on the wall on my floor near the elevator.

True, they never played any Billy Squier in the lobby, but there he was, gazing at me while I waited for the elevator.  This prompted Kevin to say, "This must be a hotel for young people."  And that made me laugh uproariously since that album came out before some of my younger friends were born.

3.  There was a giant mirror against the wall.  (Even bigger than yours, CRD.)  It made me realize that I really need a full length mirror if I am going to avoid making outfit mistakes like that one time I wore the balloon top out in public.  Or, maybe just forgetfully not make outfit choices at all.

4.  In this big mirror, I also noticed that my skirt (seen here with the oddly ruffly sweater, both acquired during my total blogging black out at Outlet Mall Weekend Edition of Awesome Club) matched the orange couch pillows.

Is there such a thing as fate?  Are some matches are meant to be?  E.g.,  My skirt + the couch pillows? Me + The Quincy?  This must be a hotel for me.

 Billy Squier doesn't want me to embed his video as my conclusion, but it's here.  But, we also heard this song in the lobby, and it made me touch my heart in nostalgia and emotion.  And a voice inside my head said, "Don't look back-- you can never look back."



Except at the Quincy.

Amber & My Gift

So, today is a super big day for me for two reasons.

First, I got a chiropractic jaw adjustment, my first ever.  Dr. Cooper is a miracle worker.

He started off my massaging the inside of my mouth which was not very enjoyable.  And then he did that scary magic thing with the cracking sound.  And now my jaw is in a different place; I am actually biting my tongue a bit and have a lisp, which the doc says will get better as I adjust to the correct position.  He said it moved a whole centimeter.  Crazy stuff.  And, now I am wicked sleepy, likely from the release of all of the tension.  Maybe tonight, I can sleep through dawn?

The second big thing today, maybe even bigger than my jaw miracle, is that maybe I will get my big dancing break tonight.  I mentioned to my chiropractor that I was planning to go see Nick's sister dance tonight.  (Also, I asked to leave postcards in his waiting area.  Seriously, it sounds wonderful and you should go.  It's about the Forest, which is very timely for me--stay tuned.)  Dr. Cooper asked what I had been doing to prepare in the event they asked me to join them on stage.  Why, I have been born to dance, as readers of this blog know.

But, even those with natural gifts sometimes need to use them lest we lose them.  To this end, I have spent the week watching Shakira videos.



See?  Anything I want, anything in the whole wide world.  And what I want?  Is to share my gift.

I only hope the world is ready.  I fear the crowd might yell, "Give us Barabbas!"  And then my dance would be silenced.  Not to use too heavy of a metaphor.  Or to bring to mind my favorite summer reading.

More than anything else in the world the Procurator hated the smell of attar of roses.

Amber & It's All In There

This weekend, a new kitty environment was added to my household.

This Super Fabulous Kitty House really sums up the weekend.  It was made by my fantastic sister.

Candice is seen here prepping for her trip to the Gulf where she helped out with the oil clean up efforts by wrapping herself in toilet paper and then rolling around on the beach.  See?  She is not only very giving of environments to the kitties, but she also helps out the other Al Gore kind of environment.

In addition to being made by the birthday girl, out of the box which contained an air conditioner present from my parents which made my apartment completely livable again, which they gave me on their visit, and which my dad and Bernard installed, the Super Fabulous Kitty House also reminds me of all the fun games the cats played in it all weekend which reminds me that I had a super fun time watching the World Cup Soccer game on Sunday with Nick and Diana after brunch at La Palapa.  And that reminds me of huevos rancheros con salsa verde.  And that pile of green stew and white creamy stuff on an egg makes me happy.

See?  The Super Fabulous Kitty House is really quite representative of my whole weekend.

Amber & Too Hot To Blog

Sigh.

THE COMBINATION OF TEMPERATURES AROUND 100 DEGREES AND GRADUALLY INCREASING HUMIDITY LEVELS WILL PRODUCE HEAT INDEX VALUES OF 100 TO 104 DEGREES THIS AFTERNOON. HIGH TEMPERATURES WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON ARE EXPECTED TO REACH IN THE MID TO UPPER 90S... WITH HEAT INDEX VALUES OF 100 TO 104 DEGREES.

Emphasis added at great energy expense.

Amber & Oppression

Summer?  I am over you.

CONDITIONS WILL BE EVEN MORE OPPRESSIVE TODAY THAN ON SUNDAY... AS TEMPERATURES RISING INTO THE LOWER AND MID 90S... WITH DEW POINTS 65 TO 70... PRODUCE HEAT INDEX VALUES OF 95 TO 100 THIS AFTERNOON INTO EARLY THIS EVENING.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A HEAT ADVISORY IS ISSUED WHEN HIGH HUMIDITIES ARE EXPECTED TO COMBINE WITH HOT TEMPERATURES TO MAKE IT FEEL LIKE IT IS OVER 95 DEGREES FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE DAYS. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS... STAY IN AN AIR- CONDITIONED ROOM... STAY OUT OF THE SUN... AND CHECK UP ON RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS.

Relatives?  Are you all okay?

I know my neighbor is fine.  He sitting in his kitchen with his foot sticking out the window.

Amber & Newton's Law

Just so no gets confused or feels left out, my hair changed again.

It's my long-standing traditional switch to Summer Hair which involves chunky, totally fake-looking blobs of blonde on the top of my head.

This heritage hair goes back many, many years.  But the oldest photo I could find was this Jimmy one from 2007.

The mustache is not dyed to match.  That's its natural color.

I also got shorter bangs and sort of smoother, blunter sides.  I was going for something like this.

Only, also mixed with this.

I think I came pretty close.

Amber & For The Air, For The Light, For The Love

I've never really been a fan of summer.  As a lass, I didn't want to not go to school for all those months.  And it's hot and it smells on the A train, and iced coffee just isn't as good as hotdrink.

But in recent years, I have started to come around.

(photo by Peter)

There is something that requires one to go a little more slowly in the summer (intense heat?).  To relax.  To stop and squint into the shiny distance, through the haze, and to exhale a little more deeply.  And it makes me happy.

This past weekend, despite Pickles being a sickie beast and somehow injuring my shoulder in my sleep, was the perfect reminder that summer has its place and its rhythm.  I think it sounds something like this.



Summer? It's not what I want; it's what I need.

Now, I am counting the days to River Cabin.

Amber & Favorite Places

Birthday girl Tiggy Winkle, who doesn't look at day over seven although she's just reached her twelfth year, loves the River House just as much as I do.  Sure, she likes all the extra space and takes advantage of it to be as far as possible from her meddlesome brothers, but laying outside in the sun may be her favorite activity ever-- even more favorite than chest rubs.

Look at her soaking up the sun and squinting with joy!  I look forward to fulfilling TeeDub's birthday wishes again this summer.

Amber & Goodbye, Spring, My Love

My delicate, gentle, and shy love, Spring, has left me.

I wish I wrote this song for it.



The video is so uncomfortable-making and fascinating.  We are such a weird, inward looking ape.

Amber & Birthday Treats

Diana made a delicious ice cream terrine with layers of rhubarb frozen yogurt, Italian plum sorbet and peach sorbet. It is frakking delicious!

Holy crap, Diana. You are amazing.

[Update 11:37 pm: I added these photos to show a) that Kevin was not bored by the terrific terrine, but rather with my photojournalistic intrusion...

...b) what a joyous and lovely laugh Diana has...

...c) it was a birthday celebration, and d) I can fill up my cheeks like a squirrel does but with air instead of nuts.]

[P.S. Don't I look oddly like Woody Allen in that shot? Look at the eyebrows.]

Amber & Sundaes

I always like my sundaes with Jimmies on them.


Ha!

Amber & Looks Like 99

This is what Feels Like 99 Looks Like.

Note open mouth, tank top and use of headband (because even small hair is too much hair today).

Desert creatures like kitties respond to the heat by stretching out on the floor, thus minimizing energy output and maximizing contact with a cool surface. Note partial belly exposure to capture any passing breezes.

Further to this strategy, the under-bed stretch is popular for the shade it offers and, as Ginger demonstrates below, the ability to capture any cool air descending along the walls.

(Yes, that is a chewed swab in the foreground. Sometimes, we use clean swabs as toys. Cheaper than those fur mice.)

Some prefer the under-middle-bed strategy. This may be more to do with the fact that the vacuum made an earlier appearance than the heat. (Note my bathing suit top in the foreground. How did that get there? I don't know. Why is it there? It has ties which are preferred cat entertainments.)

But some clever beastinas take advantage of the heat-induced sloth of their housemates and enjoy their solitary time at the food tray.

It sure is hot.

Amber & Out of the Frying Pan

I have returned from the Bay Area. All of the kitties are fine: Woody's nose is 99% healed, Tiggy only puked once (and not on my bed!), Ginger is shedding like crazy from a week of not being pet, and Pickles needs to be right next to me everywhere I go. I have some cleaning to do (six days of cat shedding, plus laundry) and some work (no meetings today!).

But, it is really really really hot. Oh man is it hot. I went out to get cat food and an iced beverage and almost sweat myself into a shriveled heap.

I really would move to San Francisco... if it wasn't going to fall off into the ocean in the next 30 years.

Amber & Summer Fridays

Today feels so, so hard. My neck hurts from hauling around 26 lbs of meat yesterday. It's really, really humid out. I have a TON of work to do. Vacation is just out of reach, but close enough to distract me. And, I forgot to bring the salad I assembled this morning to eat for lunch.

But really, it's almost the weekend, I have some lovely lovey kitties waiting for me at home along with a salad I forgot to bring to work, vacation is right around the corner, and I have a jungle growing on my desk.

Sigh.

Amber & the House

After yesterday's post, some (one) of my dear readers asked to hear more about the River House.


The house itself is in Milfordpennsylvania, right on the shore of the Delaware River. The house has five key elements: the dwelling, the deck, the lawn, the spit and the walk into town. The photo above was taken from the spit, from which you also can swim across the River to New Jersey, looking up at the dwelling and the deck. Here is another shot of Jimmy, enjoying the lawn with the dwelling sort of visible in the back.

As you can tell, one of the key attractions is how secluded it is. For example, based on surrounding streets and following the stream down to the spit, I am pretty sure the house is somewhere in the trees in this satellite shot.


Here is a view of the covering trees from in front of the dwelling, looking up at Jimmy on the deck.
The lawn is good for afternoon resting and having lunch in lawn chairs, while the deck is fabulous for evening meals cooked on the grill and also morning coffee while reading magazines.


The beauty of the dwelling shouldn't be overlooked, though. Here are Baby Alicia and Jimmy in inclement weather hard at work.


The house is owned by some mysterious man who knows Mary Kay whose mother, Mary, knows me. I have been going there for many, many years with some sizable heart-wrenching breaks in between. Woody and Tiggy are old River House pros, but this will be the first year for Pickles and Ginger. I think we're all going to love it. I know I will.

Amber & Pombupani and Frankie

A while back, James made me aware, via this article, that Tabla had a food cart. Now, I love Tabla so much that I was thrilled, rather than envious, to hear that Kevin and Diana were taking Shane there for his birthday dinner. So great is my love of Indian food, and Tabla's particular take on it, that I want to share its bliss with the world.

James and I had a series of scheduling conflicts which prevented us from partaking of the cart together. But yesterday, Kevin and I ventured over there... and I went back again alone today.

I had the delicious lamb frankie and am still enjoying a super yummy pombupani which is a pomegranate limeade drink of deliciousness. It's a perfect drink for a summer afternoon spent checking Mother Goose, Inc., renewal notices for typos.

Don't worry, James, I will be more than willing to go back when you get back from Florida.

Amber & Pooh Coats

This season has seemed unusually rainy to me. I sure wish I still had my Pooh Raincoat from Sears.

I do still have my friend Kelly via Facebook. And I recently posted this photo to my wall, and she recalled how much she, too, loved her raincoat.

Meanwhile, CRD recently posted this photo of himself as a tot.

That's not the same tree, is it?

Amber & School's Out!

Congratulations to Diana on her last day of the school year! After today, she can sleep late... like to 7:30 or something crazy like that. And, she can do lots more grilling in the Garden like we did on Memorial Day. (Diana is seen here with Kevin, CRD, Lizzie and watermelon.)
Of course, I hope next year Diana actually graduates from pre-K. She seems super smart to me, and pretty old to be taking pre-K this many times. (Ha! Joke where I pretend not to know she is a teacher!)

Amber & Bahn Mi Club

After yummy Korean sandwiches on the Lower East Side, we sit and
notice it's summer.