i’ve been running in a thousand directions lately but i wanted to stop in and share a few of my new favorite things:

1. the big green egg:

i know i have written here before about my fabulous neighbors. but perhaps i have not explained that we are slightly commune-esque. it has become a regular practice for us to eat a couple of meals a week together in the middle of our cove. the kids run around, the adults eat whatever strange combinations of food we’ve pooled together, and there is always plenty of wine. perhaps the latter came into play the night that the plan to jointly purchase a green egg was hatched. saturday there was a grand delivery, an assembly, a video to watch, and a huge celebratory feast of grilled meat and veggies. we also discovered that the big green egg cover doubles as a big green monster costume.

2. through to sunrise by girlyman:  

i dare you to maintain a sour mood while this song is playing. it’s impossible. here are some of the lyrics: 

“Keep the faith, don’t toe the line, and watch it through your two eyes
Leave the light still on inside and watch it through to sunrise
Leave the fight and go behind where all the stupid fear dies
Keep the light still on inside and watch it through to sunrise”

by way of a warning, i should tell you that this song has been known to induce ecstatic dancing. even though he was strapped in his car seat, the bird danced so wildly to this song last week that a giant piece of styrofoam fell out of the seat.

3. superglue. see # 2.

4. hipstamatic. my friend lynn introduced me to this iphone app that takes vintage-looking photos. hours of entertainment.

5. star runners. andy and i are gearing up again this year for the st. jude half marathon in december. i’ve never done much in the way of training before, so i am really enjoying designated runs for speed, pacing, and distance. but most of all, i like meeting up with a group four times a week to run. i’ve always been a sucker for community.

6. the sketchbook project.anyone in the world can be part of this project sponsored by the arthouse co-0p in new york. for a small fee, the co-op will send you a sketchbook. you fill its pages and send it back, then they exhibit the results in the brooklyn art library. the sketchbooks are also cataloged in digital form so that they can be viewed by way of the internet. i am participating in the “monthly” version of the project, which is a simpler and more condensed version.

7. oreo cheesecake pretzl bites. i found this recipe on the picky palate blog and tried it saturday night. delicious!

i’ve got some more coherent posts in the works, as well as some good “mothers of invention” features. stay tuned…