Letter B

Sign Me Up

"Armed with glitter and grit, glue guns and sewing machines, impresarios like Ms. Burke and Ms. McManus have been redecorating the landscape of the city’s after-dark underground, tweaking and honing the warehouse parties that have roved Brooklyn for more than a decade into ever-more-refined environments."

Decorating the Night in Brooklyn via www.nytimes.com

I think I found the circus I want to run away and join. Will work for pizza and sequins.

Melt With You

[Had to republish this post because PictoBrowser was acting up.]

Lowell and I made crayon melt valentines for his class and other friends this year. We were inspired by an entry on The Long Thread which I found via the Craft blog. Lowell can be pretty lukewarm about my crafting ideas but he really took to this one. We had a blast making them and so far they have been a big hit.

The pictures were taken with my fancy new camera that I LOVE SO MUCH I WANT TO MARRY IT. Sigh. Romance lives.

What To Get The Blogger Who Has Everything

Way back in the year 2000 I turned thirty and Matthew, then my boyfriend, threw me an incredible surprise party. It was at my aunt Peggy's loft in Williamsburg that was a fabulous space with an amazing view of Manhattan. It was filled with all the people I loved including my sister who hid in the bathroom and called me on her cellphone to apologize for not coming and then sneaked over and tapped me on the shoulder while the room watched. There was a disco ball, there were 3000 frittatas, there was booze, and dancing, and general mayhem into the wee hours. It was an amazing night that I fed off of for years. And I remember thinking then, "Jesus, what's he going to do for my fortieth?"

Well, he topped himself.

Back in November he started asking me what I wanted to do for my birthday. Most of our conversations went like this:

Him: What do you want to do for your birthday?
Me: Nothing.
Him: How about a party? A BIG party...
Me: No. That will really interfere with my sulking.
Him: ...A REALLY BIG PARTY...
Me: Not a chance.

I did not want to have a party. Even after he convinced me to go along with the idea there were a few times when I asked him to call it off. Thankfully he did not listen to me. This weekend we had a giant bash at my friend Emily and David's house. Almost all of our friends were able to come along with a good portion of my family (including my sister, who did not have to hide in the bathroom this time). There was a disco ball, there were 3000 sandwiches, there was booze, and dancing, and general mayhem into the wee hours. But Matthew, being true to type, needed a surprise element. And he thought up the one thing that I would never suspect: he made me a birthday blog. It was unveiled at the party and I couldn't believe my eyes. People had posted old pictures and had written about memories and even made elaborate videos (including my nearly 90-year old grandmother who doesn't even watch TV). There were many, many, fabulous haiku (including one that our friend Mike got his famous boss to record on tape). I stood there with my mouth hanging open reading and crying and laughing. I can't even begin to thank everyone for putting the blog together but I am trying. It was the greatest gift that I could ever imagine. It was the greatest night EVER. And Matthew has done the impossible. He's actually made me look forward to my fiftieth.

F*ck Yeah, Forty!

So I woke up forty today. Still not happy about it, but it's great to get presents and the big fuss. (One note about presents on your fortieth: people do not screw around. Got some niiiice stuff including a Nikon D5000 so, well, just expect a shiteload more photos around here.)

But the day went kind of south after the morning because Lowell got sick enough overnight to require a trip to the doctor today. And then a subsequent trip for a chest x-ray to be sure he didn't have pneumonia (he doesn't). Although it was not the way anyone would want to spend their birthday (we were, in fact, supposed to go ice skating) it was a good reminder that when life feels a little scary it's best to just take a deep breath and face it with this kind of bravery:

After you get through it you have no idea what rewards lie in store. Like maybe a fistful of stickers and getting to see your heart and your bones.