Five Sextillion Atoms

I'm so proud and honored to share this book of poetry with you. 

The author, Jayne Benjulian, and I have know each other for about twelve years now. We met as next-door neighbors in Mill Valley, CA, under the redwoods we both love so much. Indeed, it seems we share a soulful appreciation of the same geography for we have separately lived in a number of the same places, including Bainbridge Island, WA, New York and France. We both earned our Master's degrees at Emory University and share a joy of the French language. It's uncanny the ways in which our lives have criss-crossed. Now, if I could just finish my book and get it published too!!

Of course, regardless of the uncanny ways in which our personal lives have criss-crossed, Jayne's official biography is much more intriguing . . . I mean chief speech writer at Apple?!!?

Jayne’s careers have been as varied and many as places she has lived: she served as chief speechwriter at Apple, investigator for the public defender in King County, Washington, and director of new play development at Magic Theater. She was an Ossabaw Island Project Fellow; a teaching fellow at Emory University, where she earned an MA; a lecturer in the Graduate Program in Theater at San Francisco State University; and a Fulbright Teaching Fellow in Lyon, France. She holds an MFA from the Warren Wilson Program for Writers. She lives in Massachusetts and hikes the Berkshire Hills with her long-haired German shepherd, Ophelia, but she misses her big, brash Pacific Ocean. Five Sextillion Atoms is her first collection.

Jayne has been on a book tour, and so I had the chance to see her read when she passed through NYC last week at the legendary "Cake Shop on the Lower East Side. As she said, this was probably her most funky reading venue, and it turned out to be a quintessential night out in NYC.

I hope you all check out her new book! You can learn more about Jayne on her website.

A New York Nana

Super, duper autumn weekend with my mom and the kids!

Howling at the Urban Moon

I have a lot of better-late-than-never posts to get out there, and I figure NOW is a good time--anything to keep my mind off yesterday's election results.

Halloween ran the gamut this year, from an upstate fall fair, to trick-or-treating in the concrete jungle, to a special screening at The Met of "The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown."

The school banned scary costumes on Halloween Day, and students were asked to dress as a character from a book. Love the literary nod, but what a nightmare for parents to facilitate two different costumes per child. Grrr. This was one of the more noteworthy PC moments in our return to the U.S.

The kids first trip to The Met was a delight:

Trick-or-treating at all the stores up and down Broadway . . .

A Little Hee Hee

This, and only this, made me smile yesterday.

Thanks for the pick-me-up, EB.

Hudson Valley

On our way home from a weekend away in Massachusetts with SB and gang, we took the scenic way home and stopped for a hike and dinner in Woodstock, NY.

Yes, home of the famous concert.

The Hudson Valley is one of my favorite parts of the country, and I'm thrilled to be just a 1-2 hour drive from such an historic and beautiful region. Never mind that it's close to the Berkshires, upstate NY and CT!  It's also named after Henry Hudson, first guy to settle on the island of "Manhattan" in the 1600's via the Dutch West India Company.

Don't worry, I'll be back a LOT with tidbits about the Dutch settlement of Manhattan and the surrounding area. Quite intriguing (for me) that we moved from Old Amsterdam to New Amsterdam, loads to explore on this topic.

A nice closing moment for my birthday.

We hiked Kaaterskill Falls, the tallest two-tiered waterfall in NY. It's a bit dried up right now, but a cool expeeriment for the kids if we're able to come back in spring and see it gushing.

Kaaterskill Falls is also a pretty good novel, if you haven't read it.

Isn't this restaurant just sooooo fall?!!? Our dinner at Cucina in Woodstock made my night, but mostly because this is where my awesome daughter wrote a birthday poem for me.

 

Finally, lest I forget, DS handed me a very cool early birthday present back in September--Adele tickets! Awesome show, awesome night. #madisonsquaregarden

DS and I were on a roll that week. We also went to see KT Tunstall at Irving Plaza a few days before Adele. Another great show.

Country Weekend

We headed upstate (and out of state) for my birthday a couple of weeks ago. The get-away was more about seeing some old friends, and spending a beautiful autumn weekend in the country, than it was about my birthday. But, as anticipated, it was the perfect birthday present in and of itself.

I am so, so happy to see you again SB. I'm counting on your prediction that there's likely lots of hikes in our future. No matter how much time or distance, it always feels like coming home.

Kids giggled their way through oodles of outdoor time, and oodles of arts-and-crafts time. Meanwhile, the adults giggled their way through the second presidential debate--it was the only way to cope with absurdity of it all. Well, other than the wine and popcorn.

Please note the Sunday NY Times crossword. Getting my game on again! First crossword in three years, and it felt GREAT. And so much better with a buddy--thank you, MB, for sharing (wink, wink).

The crossword wasn't the only game going down that weekend . . .

DB and MB have the best backyard EVER. It's no contest. Bike racing, zip lines, tree swings, tree house, magic hideaways. Can't wait to come back in the summer for the pool!

 And the view ain't too bad up the street from SB's and NH's house!

Of course, one of the highlights of the weekend was reuniting with our dear Fiona. We are all very grateful to DB and MB for taking in Fiona, almost two years ago now, and giving her such a loving home. We miss her, but we're so happy she's happy. It's a tremendous gift to know where she is in the world and be able to visit her. Thank you from the bottom of our doggie hearts for all you have done, for rescuing our hearts from a loss we could have never anticipated. We love you, and we are forever grateful.