This is just to say....

A few weeks ago, This American Life did a feature on the poem, "This is just to say" by William Carlos Williams. It's a simple poem, but incredibly evocative, and often-imitated. Several of the regular TAL contributors composed their own versions of the poem, and the results ranged from funny to tragic.

Here is the original poem:

This Is Just To Say
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast.

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold.

-- William Carlos Williams

Here is my attempt (it's autobiographical, even):

This is just to say that
I ate your chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream
from the Happy Harry's

and which apparently,
you were
saving for a before-bed snack
Lucy ate some too.

Forgive us
it was chocolatey
and chippy
and so sweet.

-- Kirsten

And here is Richard's entry, in his favorite creative style, LOLcats (click on the picture to make it bigger):

Christmas in May

Multimedia message
Originally uploaded by kjerstieb

For Christmas, my mother gave all of us kids a weekend at the beach, staying in a great B&B owned by a friend of hers. Mia and her boyfriend Josh came out from California for a visit, so we were all together for the first time in ages (along with Marianne, Andrea and Brian). The weather on Saturday was amazing and we took a wholesome family bike ride to Gordon's Pond (except for Richard whose broken knee gave him the perfect excuse to stay at the B&B and read a book), where we collected tadpoles from a giant puddle, and found whelk egg cases and baby horseshoe crabs on the beach. We ate and drank way too much all weekend, and spent an excessive amount of time watching what we dubbed "Train Wreck Karaoke" at the Purple Parrot, and all in all, had a lovely time. Merry Christmas!

the horror

the horror
Originally uploaded by kjerstieb

We went to our friend Olivia's First Communion on Saturday (Lucy wore black pants and a blue polo shirt). After the ceremony, we went back to Olivia's house, and Olivia's grandmother, the very persuasive Nonna Bibia, convinced Lucy to try on Olivia's Easter dress. This was the result.

birfday or no birfday

cupcakes
Originally uploaded by kjerstieb

happy birthday to marianne.

travelogue part 2

I have been meaning to wrap up the travelogue for a few weeks, but just haven't gotten around to it. I know you all have been waiting with bated breath, so let's get this over with.

The second week of our England trip was spent in a lovely little canal town called Bulbourne. We rented a great house right next to the canal, which we shared with Richard's family -- his mother (aka "English Grandma"), brother Duncan and his wife Tracie, and their 2 kids Katie and Ben. The week was relaxing -- a much slower pace than the week in London. And by this point in the vacation, Richard was getting around much better, which was good for everyone.

For the sake of brevity, I am going to post a Jocelyn-style list of highlights:

1) Watching canal boats go by the front of the house, and learning about canal locks
2) Feeding ducks (we named one set King George and Queen Elizabeth, and for some reason, I took about 20 pictures of them throughout the week -- they're just regular old mallards. There was also a set of gay ducks -- two males -- that we named Drake and Josh.)
DRINKING TEA
3) Going to quiz night at the local pub (we came in 4th -- not too shabby)
4) Visiting the Roald Dahl Museum in Great Missenden, and sitting in Roald Dahl's actual writing chair
DRINKING TEA
5) A trip to the Whipsnade Zoo which was huge, but distinctly lacking in animals
6) A walk around the ruins of Berkhamstead Castle
DRINKING TEA
7) Watching the clouds and snow (!!!) pass across the field behind the house
8) Eating a delicious English roast chicken and potatoes
9) Spending time with Richard's family
10) And did I mention, DRINKING TEA??? Man, did we drink a LOT of tea.

All in all, a lovely week. Lucy got a little sick of her younger cousins --- the poor thing is an only child at heart -- and Richard got a lot sick of his mother, nothing new there.

The End.

inapprop

I saw a very disturbing sight today while driving Lucy to the skating rink. I tried to get a picture of it with my camera phone, but it didn't work out.

It was a minivan, with a license plate that had one of those holders around it which said "Clergy." Now that in and of itself may be disturbing to some -- perhaps to heathens like myself who hate to share the road with god's messengers on earth. But no, the ick-factor does not stop there. The license plate was a vanity tag which said BACKRUB. Eeeew. Should I call the Pope?

misery loves company

For a long time, I have been working on a mixtape in my head called "Misery Loves Company" -- a mix of all the best (i.e. most tragic) love-gone-wrong songs. I was thinking about my list today while cranking my iPod on a trip to scenic Dover, and thought I would post a list of the five songs I have come up with so far.

5. "The Art Teacher" -- Rufus Wainwright. A great song about a woman remembering her unrequited love for her high school art teacher. Lucy and I were singing this throughout London as we visited art museums..."I looked at the Rubens and Rembrandts. I liked the John Singer Sargents. He told me he liked Turner. Never have I turned since then. No, never have I turned to any other man."

4. "Simple Kind of Life" -- No Doubt. Back when they were just a couple of kids growing up in the OC, Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal fell in love. After years of hard work, touring the country with their little ska band, life got in the way, and Gwen and Tony broke up. But despite the band's success, all Gwen ever wanted was a simple kind of life. "I always thought that I'd be a mom. Sometimes I wish for a mistake. The longer that I wait the more selfish that it gets. You look like you'd be a good dad." Now Gwen has Gavin, and baby Kingston, with another on the way, so she is living the dream, and I am happy for her. But if Tony needs someone to carry his baby, so he can find out if he would indeed be a good dad, I could probably make myself available.

3. "You Were Mine" -- Dixie Chicks. Country music. Key changes. Cheating men. Do you really need anything more for a great break-up song? Well, how about if we throw in an additional dagger to the heart (Justin, if Ally is reading this to you, brace yourself.....), kids caught in the middle. "I can give you two good reasons to show your love's not blind. He's two and she's four and you know they adore you, so how can I tell them that you've changed your mind?" Cue weeping.

2. "No Children" --Mountain Goats. More bitter than working class voters in Pennsylvania, and at least twice as witty. "I hope it stays dark forever, I hope the worst isn't over. I hope you blink before I do, I hope I never get sober. And I hope when you think of me years down the line, you can't find one good thing to say....And I hope you die, I hope we both die..." Hey, at least they don't have kids.

1. "Fairytale of New York"-- the Pogues with Kirsty McColl. This song gets me every time. Poor Shane McGowan is in the drunk tank on Christmas Eve, pining away for Kirsty, and Kirsty is totally over him, calling him a "scumbag" and a "maggot", among other choice words. This one is made so much more poignant by the fact that Shane McGowan really is a horrible drunk, and Kirsty McColl met a tragic end, decapitated by a boat. You can't make that shit up.

Now you have to tell me what other songs I should put on my mixtape (and by mixtape, I mean iTunes playlist). Thanks for your help.