Favorites Wednesday!

Ha! See that little cutie right there?
That's the logo for my dear friend Spencer's small press, Laughing Mouse.

Spencer has been cooking on Laughing Mouse since way back in 2002 and he's recently found a lot more time to dedicate to making it a little press worth talking about and cranking out some new material.

He's recently published a book of poetry for Mariette Papic called 'Electric Bathtub Psalms' and they are just beautiful hand crafted pieces of art with some really enthralling poetry inside.
You can learn more about Mariette's chapbook here!

But more importantly, you should go to the website to stay abreast of all the great ideas and wonderful plans Spencer has in store for Laughing Mouse!

Spencer is one of my favorites so it seems appropriate to give a shout out to him and Laughing Mouse Press on Favorites Wednesday!

CHECK IT!

It's A Race, A Race For Rats, A Race For Rats To Die

Lately, the weekends are all that I look forward to.
I spend my time really playing up my domestic side.
I'm blocking the world out...with baking.

This is the New York Times Speedy No-Knead Bread recipe.

You should make it!
It's crazy easy and there's NOTHING like a loaf of fresh, warm bread sitting on your counter all day long!
Seriously, in this picture, you can see where I HAD to slice some of the end off because I couldn't wait to eat it...

I did a little running around, but I always find that my heart is at home.

I've been knitting...

And have picked up some books recently and am excited about holing up and reading them...
Sadly, I am currently reading like 7 books - it will take some time to get it together.

Embroidery is pretty awesome too!
It's patient work and nobody needs a lesson in patience more than me.

For my bread, I made this AMAZING tomato concoction!
It's tomatoes (grated), garlic, olive oil, and salt and pepper...
I made mine so garlicky that it gave me a headache, but it was so good...I couldn't help but eat it all. (Email me or leave a message in the comments if you want the real deal recipe.)

It's been like spring here...again...

I'm not really into it.

But I'm trying to take each day as it comes and try not to think too much about snow days and crock pot cooking.

I shouldn't have even been wearing a sweater on Sunday.
My friend Carrie says, "It's better in a sweater" and it's something I wholeheartedly agree with.

I did brunch with Meg and we caught up...
She and her husband Chris are buying a house! Send them good vibes!

Sometimes it's hard to summon the energy to get up and be a part of something - the city, your friends, the world, your family...
But I find that if you try - it's surprisingly easier than you'd imagined and makes you feel better.
You don't have to shine alone.

The Qualified Technician - SUPER POST!

Baby S and I got to DIA at about midnight...
We were catching the red eye to New York.

This is a brutal travel arrangement...and it becomes clearer, the older I get, how painful time changes are and how inflexible body clocks can be.

We boarded Jet Blue, hunkered down and tried to sleep away the tedious plane trip.
Thankfully, there weren't many passengers and I moved to another row and had a decent lay down.
I woke up with one of those annoying air blowers pointed straight at my face and felt as if perhaps a Swine Flu had infected me.

Spencer is an old pro at getting around and I was thankful for that...I sort of went on auto-pilot and let him lead me.

Oh, also...in this pic...Spencer is Twittering about a pigeon getting run over my the subway train car.
Morbid little bunny.

We arrived at about 6 in the morning.
A little Dunkin' Donuts decaf with sugar set me straight momentarily...

My first MetroCard.

I want to briefly state that I'm not really NYC material. Don't get me wrong...I LOVED the city, but I also felt a panic and anxiety that intrinsically exists there.
On the subway with my luggage, packed with commuters...I started to think - "What if I get diarrhea, a bloody nose, vomit?" "What if that starts happening to someone else?"...
There are conveniences to every place and I see the draw of a place like New York. And it's not that I'm just a girl that lived most of her life in Montana and Wyoming...some hick that can't hang.

Or maybe that IS what it is...

We stayed in Brooklyn right off the Cortelyou Rd. stop.




Spencer's hilarious and totally amazing friend Adrienne put us up at her sweet two bedroom apartment in Ditmas Park. The neighborhood was amazing!
I meant to get a pic of Adrienne before she scooted away, but missed opportunity after opportunity because I was too busy listening to her awesome stories about visiting India!

THANK YOU, by the way, Adrienne!
Come to Denver and let us treat you!

After a much needed nap, Spencer and I met his lovely friend Lenora for Thai at their fave place.

Curry often fixes a lot of things.


See, I told you Lenora was lovely? Spencer and Lenora mostly talked shop while I gazed about in a daze of wonder and exhaustion.
They're both brilliant PhD students!

After lunch, we started walking...and didn't ever really stop. Not that I'm opposed. I really believe that walking is the best way to know a place.





But, when the walking finally stopped, we were at The Strand.

18 Miles of Books!
And what is more appealing to my cohorts and I than piles, tons, and gobs of books.
I overspent. I'll admit it.

But...being a bibliophile/bookworm...it's hard to resist.

I've been deep, deep, deep into a Gossip Girl Season 1 marathon...
So, seeing this endorsement of sweet Dan Humphrey rockin' a Strand tee was divine!

Union Square.

Sadly, we had limited time for exploration because we had a date with Throbbing Gristle.
I know, right?
I was shitting my pants - figuratively, i.e. not on the subway.

When we got back to Adrienne's, we each had little power naps before we ate something and hit the show in Fort Greene.

We shared a bottle of Mondavi - My mother would have been so thrilled.


And ate some wicked good pizza.

This one's for Ian Bruce.

Brooklyn Masonic Temple - Fort Greene

Emeralds...
This band, for better or worse, reminded me of a show my mother took me to when I was a wee babe.

That show was called Manheim Steamroller.
Unfortch, for the Emerald dudes...the crowd wasn't that into it...I suppose opening for Throbbing Gristle is a blessing and a curse.

Decorative swastikas.

The crowd.
Holy shit, the crowd. It was so strange to be at a show where everyone came off as dark, intellecutal, and mature.
No randy moshing, no fist pumping...

And handsome boys...Oh! Spencer and I were in 7th heaven.


The temple was a truly beautiful place.

Unlike any other show I've ever been to before, when TG stepped on stage, the house lights went up.
No need for dramatic light shows and tension building spotlights.
Cosey Fanni Tutti, Peter Christopherson, Chris Carter, and Genesis P. Orridge simply stepped on stage and got to work.

G.P.O and Chris Carter.

Balcony.


Cosey playing a horn...it was beautiful.

This guy with his creative TG hair art.

Peter Christopherson wore a cow print robe. It wasn't a Snuggie, but it look comfy.

When it was over, everyone just stood there looking at each other.
Like, "What the fuck do you do when your life changes?"...

I'm so lucky.
This is the 2nd show that TG has played in New York in the last 32 years or something.
Who knows when that will happen again?

On the way out, after spilling more of Spencer's wine than he was able to slurp...we caught sight of the secrets of the Masonic Temple.



It was pretty neat in there.

If you have a chance to go to this place for a show, as I've heard that a lot of shows are happening there...GO!

It's worth it.

DO WASH, PLAY LOTTO!


After we made it back to Ditmas Park, we stopped in at George's to grab some diner food and rest our feetsies.

This place was amazing.

Weird, empty, and perfect.

George's Gyro Platter, at 1 AM, was probably not the best choice, but it was delicious.

I slept like a stone...dark, cold, and heavy in the guest room of Adrienne's apartment.
And good thing too - another big day ahead...