The Metaphorical Magpie

Open your heart to peace

"War is over, if you want it." - John Lennon

I want it. I want it real bad. Do you?

Happy Birthday, Ladies!

Can it get any better than twins that are also Geminis? It's the dynamic duo's birthday. A round of applause, please! We'll be getting together later in the week for celebratory activities.

Love you two.

This photo was taken by Elizabeth Weinberg who shot the wedding. She set up a faux photobooth at the reception. Guests had alot of fun participating. We've put together a set on Flickr. Please stop by for a peek. You can't miss this one of the birthday girls goofing off.

Self Portrait Challenge: Flitting around Philadelphia

When we spent a few days in Philadelphia after the wedding I tried to focus on this month's SPC assignment.  I tackled it from a variety of approaches. This sparkly street is just off Philly's famous drag South St. The entire block is mosaiced with tiles, mirrors and found objects. To the left, out of the frame, gates conceal an amazing courtyard alive with sculptures using bottles and other detrius to beautifu effect. We stumbled upon this street on a Monday afternoon and had it all to ourselves to play.

Sweets took the above shots for me. He looked like this while we was doing it. The real point of this month's exercise though was to try and include other unsuspecting people on the street along with yourself. I know many of the SPC tribe are having trouble doing this for various reasons. So I slipped in among these girls on a street corner. There's a cheesesteak joint in the background for extra Philly flavor.

I also shot myself in Rittenhouse Square where lots of people were enjoying the sun. One of my favorite shots of the day is this dreamy one where I'm reflected in a window full of golden paper lanterns.

For more of how we spent our time in Philadelphia; take a peek at my mini honeymoon Flickr set.

Make sure you check out the other antics on streets all over the globe at the Self Portrait Challenge site.

Self Portrait Challenge: In a convertible

I never, ever, thought I would have a convertible. You say convertible, I think "Isadora Duncan." Sweets came along and along with him came a convertible Volkswagen Beetle. It quickly grew on me. I like going for rides in it at this time of year before it gets too hot. In this photo we were returning from our mini-honeymoon trip in Philadelphia. We spent the morning looking at art. I felt loose and free.

There is something about driving at this time of year that I love. The season affects my musical choices. Today I felt like something mellow and listened to "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd. I couldn't get "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" out of my head all day. I think it matches up well with this photo.

Shine on You Crazy Diamond I-V
Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
You were caught on the crossfire of childhood and stardom,
blown on the steel breeze.
Come on you target for faraway laughter,
come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!
You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Threatened by shadows at night, and exposed in the light.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Well you wore out your welcome with random precision,
rode on the steel breeze.
Come on you raver, you seer of visions,
come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!



Then we stopped to pick the dogs up from the kennel on the way home. They'd never ridden with the top down before. Doesn't Quentin look ridiculously happy?

For more people making self portraits on the streets this month, tune into Self Portrait Challenge.

A day for mothers and Mother Earth

Yesterday I met my mother, my sister and my four nephews for breakfast to celebrate Mother's Day. We picked a diner with a big lobby in hopes the kids would be better behaved but many other people had the same idea and the place was packed. After some time enduring the brothers poking eachother; I devised the game of how long can we keep our hands in our pockets. Two of them really gave it a go thinking the prize was bacon for breakfast. I let the littlest guy win. Of course, you can't deprive anyone of bacon. That should probably be illegal, so there was bacon for anyone that wanted. R, the little guy that won the game ordered bacon AND sausage with his pancakes. I wasn't feeling well so I didn't even get through my order of french toast. I kept busy sitting between the twins. One was sick and fussy. The other needed help with his burger and fries. I enjoy fussing over my nephews. Being an auntie is fun.

We gave our mom an iTunes gift card so she can get some new music to listen to at the gym. She's been working on getting healthier lately.

Sweets had to take his mac into the genius bar so he didn't come to breakfast. I came home and spent a few glorious minutes enjoying a cup of jasmine tea in my pretty yellow anthropologie tea cup just listening to the neighborhood go about it's Sunday. Right now I am craving stillness.

After he came home with his unfixed machine he was hungry. He likes his eggs over easy. I'm personally anti-yolk so I'd never bothered mastering cooking eggs up or over. For the past few years when I cook he either gets his eggs, scrambled, over hard or in an omellete if I'm wielding the spatula. Now it seems like my wifely duty to cook eggs to his liking. I was pretty successful this time. I think I will consult my Julia Child cookbook next weekend for even better results.

We sat down and started talking about a new grand scheme (yes, it's one week after completing the last grand scheme and we are hatching the next one) to jazz up the outside of the house with a new porch, paint, new windows and doors, more landscaping and possibly switching out the back deck for a slate patio. It seems that most of our grand schemes take a full year to execute. This one is no exception. We're going to start slowly exploring the possibilities to make the house more energy efficient, enviromentally friendly and of course stylish and livable. While that plan simmers on the back burner the yard needed immediate attention. He'd already mowed the meadow where the backyard should have been and put down fresh seed in the bare patches. With encouragement from the garden writer at my newspaper, I whacked the butterfly bushes liberally. There were plenty of hydrangeas, echinaceas and herbs to clean up out back. In the front we focused on pulling weeds. There is only a small portion of the front yard that doesn't utilize weed block. in those places we get giant onions and thistle. I don't even feed thistle to the birds in our yard but they must be getting it somewhere else and "depositing" the seeds here. In the terraced beds some of the plants are getting monstrous but that will have to wait until another day to tackle those.

One thing I've really wanted to get started on this year is a compost tumbler. We had a little writeup about one in the paper a few weeks ago. I went to talk to the garden writer about it and she told me I should just make my own out of a garbage can. So that's what we did yesterday. We took one of our spare cans with a locking lid. Sweets drilled some holes in the bottom for me. Then I loaded it up with leaves that were hanging out in the driveway, butterfly bush bits, those onions from the garden, the eggshells and coffee grounds from breakfast and the remnants of the gorgeous yellow tulip arrangement I got as a gift a few weeks ago. I like the idea of special flowers going toward making more in my own garden. Then we watered it down, popped the lid on and gave it a roll in the grass. I'm a little concerned the lid doesn't want to stay on perfectly while rolling. I'll have to be careful. If it doesn't work out we can upgrade to a real compost tumbler but at the prices they go for I'd much rather going with something cooked up with materials we already have.

My throat is still yucky. Today my lungs feel itchy and I'm coughing up some junky stuff. Hopefully this cold will pass out of my system in the next few days. Until then it just gives me an excuse to drink more tea with honey.

Post wedding recap

Thank you to everyone who left kind words and wedding wishes here and on your blogs. That was so very sweet of you all!

The wedding happened last week.I can't say without a hitch but what wedding is. After all the scrambling and hijinx it seemed pretty perfect to us. On Thursday, family and friends began from all over the country. Sweets' family flew in from Indiana and Chicago and some drove from Tennessee. One of his friends made the trek by motorcycle from Indiana in record breaking time. One of my uncles flew in from the Pacific Northwest. My bridesguy, ME, and his fiancee came in from California. And my Uncle Mike and Aunt Linda drove up from Florida to be part of our day. Although a bit stressful to have so many people on hand, it was great to see our families getting to know each other a bit more. I just wish I had more time for visiting with them all but bridezilla duty called! I'm a control freak. My mother says it. My boss tells me every so often. Boy, did it really come out in me in the final days before the wedding. If I got too bossy with any of you there, please accept my humblest apologies.

We had amazing, glorious weather. As guests arrived they were escorted through a grove of apple trees to a clearing filled with chairs. Forget-me-nots were underfoot. Between white dogwoods and a pink magnolia they enjoyed the birds flitting about Mill Grove while listening to our pre-ceremony playlist playing on our new Bose SoundDock which we got with the generous gift from my co-workers. Of course, we weren't ready to begin on time. It was the bridesmaids, I swear!

Behind the scenes there was alot of rushing around trying to get everything "just so" in the barn before the guests arrived. I frantically pointed out things to fix and my mother, mother-in-law and new sisters-in-law made it all perfect in a flash. (Thanks, ladies!) Guests were arriving already so I chatted with them. When I saw my friend, Tiffany, who'd flown in from Seattle, I hugged her so hard I bit my lip. All the while, I was trying to dodge Sweets so he wouldn't see me in my dress until I walked down the aisle. Finally, we were ready and everyone lined up in front of the Audubon museum to start the procession. Sweets went first to join the mayor in front of the old magnolia tree. I peeked around the corner to watch him. He looked so handsome. Then the bridal party made their procession to "Ceremony" by New Order which made Talulah super happy. Then it was finally time to take my Uncle Mike's arm and take the surreal walk for myself. I chose the amazing song "Northern Sky" by Nick Drake for my processional music. My uncle was exactly what I needed at the moment- relaxed, reassuring, funny and proud of me. I was so honored he agreed to escort me down the aisle. Once he delivered me to Sweets, I started feeling emotional. After a greeting by the mayor who officiated; our friend, Tiffany, came up to read ""A Birthday" by Christina Rossetti. From her emotional delivery of the first line I was in tears. I didn't expect to be so emotional. Sweets was the calm one. (Evidently, his older brother slipped him a nip of whiskey pre-ceremony to settle his nerves.)
I tried very hard not to get distracted by the guests and concentrate on Sweets' face while the mayor spoke. My mother kept insistantly calling my name quietly and then hissed to fix the strap on my dress. She said I was about to flash the crowd. Whoops!

After Tiffany's reading we said our vows and exchanged rings. Then our friend, Dipti, came up to read "i carry your heart" by e.e. cummings. After that the mayor declared us husband and wife and we finally got to smooch. The recessional music was "Come Rain or Come Shine" performed by Billie Holiday accompanied by Harry "Sweets" Edison. Then we chatted with all the guests before slipping away for some quiet time and portraits.

In the barn, Lenny Lounge got the party started with rockin' music. People danced under bobbing cream and green Chinese lanterns. < a href="http://cafespice.com/2005/pa35menu.html">Cafe Spice from Philadelphia served a magnificent Indian feast of samosas, grilled wedges of cheese stuffed with mint, tandoori chicken, basmati rice, Goa fish curry, assorted naan breads, saag paneer, chicken tikka, navrataan korma, spiced eggplant with cashews and raisins, papadums and masala tea. The bartender mixed up the Cafe Spice signature mojitos and other specialty cocktails. To finish the meal, we served cupcakes custom designed for us by Flying Monkey Patisserie. Tiny birdsnests holding jellybeans sat on green coconut grass atop buttercream frosted vanilla and chocolate cupcakes.

We're waiting to receive the photos from the "official" photographer. In the meantime, there are plenty to look at from other people's viewfinders. There were so many photographers there I felt like a celebutante coming down the aisle. My friend, Lucius, put together a Flickr set. Sweets parents posted lots, too.

I'll tell you more about the dress and the flowers and such when I've got more photos to show y'all.

The day after the wedding was super busy. We had to go back to the site and pack everything up. There was alot of leftover food and alcohol. Plus gifts, the paper lanterns and more. It took three cars to get it all packed up. So my plan to have a mini break holiday immediately was delayed slightly. We had to drive back home, unload, parcel up all the food, rejigger the luggage and then head back out. It was almost midnight when we checked into the Latham Hotel in Philadelphia. We spent the next two days just chilling out, sleeping in, reading magazines and sleeping some more. The weather was great. We walked around the city, had sushi, saw a movie and went to the art museum. I haven't downloaded the photos yet.

The day we came home I got a cold and lost my voice. I sound all froggy and ridiculous right now. Sweets has been taking care of me making lots of cups of tea. What a nice husband, I have. Yes. Indeed.

I'll be back with more soon. I've missed my little blog.

The waiting is over

Dear Friends,
Well, the moment has arrived. The car is packed. The dress is pressed. Flowers ordered. Wine list chosen. Rings engraved. Dogs kenneled. Favors assembled. (You can take a peek at them here.)

We're ready to leave the house and join our families and friends for the weekend to celebrate our wedding.
I am so happy it's finally arrived. I'm looking forward to having more time free to enjoy each other's company.

There will be many more details after the big day. And lots of gorgeous photos by the uber-talented Elizabeth Weinberg to share with you. The photo above was taken by me last Saturday in the spot we're getting married this weekend. We'll be standing in front of huge old magnolia tree. Guests will be surrounded by an apple grove.

After all the festivities, we're going to sneak in a few days on our own lounging in a hotel before heading back home. In the fall, we want to take a real honeymoon in New Zealand. (Tips on what to do there are welcome!)

I was happy to find this morning that magpies mate for life. Whew. More interesting magpie facts and lore here.

Gotta fly!

xoxo

Self Portrait Challenge: Streets of New York

I don't usually post more than one SPC a week but this week I've goin' crazy people. I love to shoot street photography and myself out there, too. I'll often stop for self portrait's in shop windows, mirrors and doorways. During these times, I use what my friend, Julie, calls my self portrait face which is a sort of off blank expression that I'm sure all you SPC'ers who drop by here have gotten a glimpse of by now.

All these photos were taken on the way to my bachelorette party in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Talulah and JPo were in charge of planning the affair and it was perfectly to my tastes. We had dinner at Lucky Cheng's which is a popular stop for these sort of affairs. We supped on Chinese food and got good naturedly dissed by the divas. Talulah and I drank from something called a flaming orgy bowl. This pretty much set the tone for the evening.

I've included a subway shot here because technically it's just a street beneath the street. I thought it would be interesting to show the complete disinterest of New Yorkers of what's going on around them. It's the best place to shoot street stuff. Everyone is doing their own thing and nobody bats an eyelash. This photo was actually prior to any drinking. I swear! As you can see, it doesn't take much to get me going. The girls thought I should try to make some cash for the honeymoon fund. All the subway riders were apathetic so Tess took pity on my and coughed up a bill. After Lucky Cheng's we went on to a lounge called the White Rabbit. It was very spare and white as you'd imagine. Lucius bought me a margarita. We wanted to sit at the tables but girls were setting up displays of tiny shoes and posters that said "Toms." I had to ask if Tom was a creepy children's shoe fetishist but it turns out he's actually a designer named Blake Mycoskie who's helping kids around the world by making shoes. (TOMS shoes donates a pair of shoes to a needy child for every pair purchased. ) I would have liked to shake "Tom's" hand but we had more places to go. Next stop was the Slipper Room for a burlesque show. This is where things start to get hazy for me. I remember that I had this incredible drink that never seemed to be empty. And I kept shouting at Jpo that I was more talented than the burlesque dancer and should teach her how it's done (I still think so actually). I also complained that I was "veil challenged" because all the other bachelorette party brides had fake veils on their heads. Lucius disappeared and found a shop nearby to make me something special. After this point, I remember bits and pieces of being in a coffee shop and a taxi and falling asleep on JPo on the train.

This is the last photo of the night. Say no more. Ahem.

For more odd people roaming the streets of the world, do check in to Self Portrait Challenge.