blue girl

Service With a Smile

Little boy, eight-ish, walked up to the counter with $3.00 to buy his mother coffee. Lady ahead of me moved to let him get a better look at the bakery. He plopped his money down. He pointed at an M&M cookie, “How much is that?”

Barista answered, “$1.49.”

Wrinkling his nose, he pointed to another, “What about that?”

“1.89.”

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and kicked at the floor.

The lady in front of me got her Latte and left. And the little boy got his mother’s coffee, an M&M cookie and his $3.00 back, with a smile.

The Laughing Heart

 

~ Charles Bukowski

How 'Bout Them Apples

A friend’s a woodworker. He’s given us exquisite pieces -- pepper grinder, cutting board, and small, beautiful bowls. Recently, he gave us a larger, beautiful bowl, one that’s been crying out for wooden apples.

I’ve been thinking of wooden apples. And Googling wooden apples. You can also buy wooden plums, peaches and pears! Bananas, too.

But the bowl hasn’t been crying out for those.

Driving around yesterday, I passed an antique store. Had some time, so I circled back around. Inside the front door in a glass basket were seven wooden apples, that fit perfectly in our larger, beautiful bowl.

Spring Sprung Suddenly

Oh, a beautiful spring day in January. Rolling clouds across the sky, one a large fat rabbit. Long ears, button nose. Cute cloud button nose. It was windy and the streets were wet with rain, and the birds were chirping in confusion. And so was I. Dampness got into my head and into my back and into my eyes. Spring overcame me inside of me too suddenly. I was all crinked up, popping Advil all day long.

It was a beautiful day. And it’s a warm evening. And I need to go to bed. This day has worn me out.

The Secret

 

h/t Brain Pickings

Castles, Wine and the Best Cappuccinos

The world was so big! It could take a lifetime and no matter how hard you tried you’d never really know it all and yet you might pretend, in your small corner, as I did, to have had some idea of what really mattered.

Read the whole post, Going Soft by Nathan Deuel.

Amore, amore, amore!

A Good Feature

Watching Jodie Foster at the Golden Globes, I thought, Well, she’s not intimidated by anyone in the movie industry, and she’s not happy with you or anyone else. Except Mel Gibson.

Dr. X has an excellent post about their friendship:

…goes to show our minds and relationships are not appropriately dissected on a rational-motivation basis. We can love deeply damaged, deeply flawed people. We can love people who don't share our values. And others can love us with all of our flaws and differences. That's probably not a bug. More likely, it's a feature, a good feature.

Read the rest.

Had a Small Question

Tried to place an order on a pizza website. Large, chicken, black olives. Clicked to pay then wanted to know how many slices were in a large. I like to eat pizza for breakfast! So maybe I needed an extra large for extra. Navigating through their endless promo pages, couldn’t find the info. Called. It was that important. Had to wait through a pre-recorded, two minute football promo then when she finally answered she read through the promo again in a disinterested monotone. Finally, I could ask my question.

“Hi, how many slices are in a large?”

“A large what?”

Keeping On Nodding Terms

From Brain Pickings: Joan Didion on Keeping a Notebook.

What a Set Up

Wrapped in a blanket on this cold, bitter winter afternoon and in the mood for a movie, I watched the trailer for Richard’s Wedding.

Quirky. I like quirky.

The first review quote over the trailer: “Often hilarious.”

Dig at the director? Or does that mean it’s always funny and often hilarious?

Another review: “Has a neo-Seinfeld vibe to it.”

Another: “Packed with great comic writing.”

Another: “…. possibly this generation’s Woody Allen.”

Oh my God, can it get any worse?! Am I gonna do this to myself?

Who would want these kinds of reviews?! Onur Tukel must be absolutely devastated.