The poetics of things

One of my favorites:

Wild Geese
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting–
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Mary Oliver, Dream Work

AppleBucks

This weekend, I passed by a man snorting coke in the middle of a street just outside Chinatown. It was sunny, windy -- early in the morning. Nate and I were walking to Chinatown Coffee, where we bought a a big pot of French press and sat at a table amongst hipsters, listening to old school rap. He ate gourmet potato chips; I ate yogurt and granola. It was kind of a bizarre morning. 

Later that day we walked to the botanical gardens near the Capitol, which we stumbled upon accidentally after visiting the Museum of the American Indian. It totally sucked. The botanical gardens were amazing though, and it made me thankful all over again for living in such a cool city, and for the chance to explore it with my best friend. If Nate had moved to DC with me back in 2011, I don't think we would have ended up doing all these touristy things that we do whenever he visits. I think we would have felt like we had all the time in the world to see the sights, and we would have taken them for granted. So I'm thankful for that, too-- I like that even though we've been apart, we have all these memories of discovering the city together, across so many different seasons. 

This morning, for his last breakfast (before he comes again next weekend for his interview), I made buckwheat pancakes. I'd never made real pancakes before, so I'm not sure what made me want to try... especially because I don't believe in cake for breakfast. Everything in moderation? Anyway, I used a mix, added grated apple, and they were delicious! Then, Nathan and I walked to J.Crew and he bought the most beautiful suit... I almost threw up, I was so panicked about the price and simultaneously excited about how good he looked in it. 

Photo cred (including the staging):
Nathan Lockett

Apple Buckwheat Pancakes (serves 2-3)

1 1/3 cups organic buckwheat pancake mix
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 tsp canola oil
1 tsp honey
1 1/2 cups almond milk
splash of vanilla
cinnamon to taste
2 medium apples, coarsely grated

Combine all ingredients, fry in batches on lightly greased pan.

These are delightfully thick, and amazing drizzled with syrup and almond butter. Nate ate 3. I ate 6. Just kidding I also ate 3, what?! Where's my appetite?