A Reprise

I went on two excursions to Parks Mall last week: a solo walk, and a venture with my husband. On my solo walk, I noticed that Regis Salon had closed down. I had not had any plans to return; however, seeing the shuttered building felt like another sign of the end of an era. I spent many hours in Regis, got some of my best looks from their stylists, and found some of my signature nail polish colors (in particular, O.P.I.'s "Suzi Sells Sushi by the Seashore"). Sears was going out of business and as such, they were selling all mannequins and fixtures. On my second excursion with my husband, I bought some deeply discounted clothing at Sears. Afterward, we had dinner at Piranha Ramen on the patio. It was beautiful, but windy. Apparently, we are having a massive haze from an unusually large Saharan dust cloud this summer. I can't believe I've lived here so long and never knew that Saharan dust covered the east coast. However, after eating outside, I found particles in my

This cemetery was near Waterside. We wandered there after dinner. The first, and oldest, grave, mentioned in the historical marker.

I got the buttermilk one, white chocolate dip and espresso dusting.

It has been a good week.  I did a Vampyre Tarot reading last night that helped me re-focus on my own life and activities at a time when I was becoming obsessive-compulsive. The third card, in the Future position, was Eight of Skulls. This card spoke to the work I am doing for comps and gave me focus today as I worked through both the annotated bibliography and more readings.  The description of the card in Phantasmagoria  really spoke to me in how it mentioned not over-focusing on the bigger picture, but instead taking time with the details. I feel that's where I need to focus my energy with the readings for comps. Understanding the individual works.  My mind still skips ahead to the future quite a bit, while I'm doing the readings. I wonder if I should include this short story or that when I teach the literature course in the Spring. I start to imagine how I would teach it. Then, I wonder if I'll have more opportunities to teach literature courses, or any courses at all, i

Today I made Jamaican Curry Spice Blend from my Afro Vegan cookbook with my new spice grinder. I'm using it in my new pink beans from Central Market.

Last night, I started my Penguin cloth-bound edition of Jane Austen's Emma . I found it and many other books yesterday when I was cleaning and re-arranging my books in various places around the house. I felt sad I hadn't read it when I first got it. I'm unsure how long I've had it, but I think it could be ten or even 11 years, judging by when the edition was published. I am pretty sure I got it close to when it was published because I remembered seeing the cloth-bound editions advertised in a magazine, then putting some on my wish list.  I found a number of cookbooks I thought I had given to Half Price Books. I wanted to change out the books I have on my nightstand, both the ones between the book-ends and the ones on the shelf below the surface. There are a number of books that I will give to Half Price Books, because I don't think I will be able to make time for them.  I also updated my Goodreads account to reflect the changes in my "am reading" and "

I finally got to go to Summermoon Coffee today in Fort Worth. It was incredible. I got an iced moon milk latte and a wildberry macaroon.

Two older entries I edited tonight re-posted today's date. However, the original month/year is still visible in the permalink. Looking back on the past often makes me cringe, especially when I remember my own behavior. However, re-reading these entries makes me feel the past is accessible in the sense that I am still holding on to many of the same dreams and desires. This week, for comps, I read two early gothics, James Hogg's The Private Memoir and Confessions of a Justified Sinner , and Charles Brockden Brown's Edgar Huntly; or, a Sleep-Walker , which were very much along the lines of the books that absorbed me from 2005-2007, most of which I read on my Treo from Project Gutenberg. Looking back upon my interests and desires of that time sustains me now, when I have to tap into my reserves every day to keep reading.

... as "country" and have no old-fashioned mannerisms or accent. With my co-workers I feel as out of place as if I am from a different country, and my silence and discomfort, I think, speaks more for my differences than anything. This is a disease not many ought to catch. Now that I am here, I know I can't be content without seeing my beloved Rasputina et al. every few months, without the Indian food I have come to crave, and my choice of coffee houses and libraries every day, but I will never really be happy here. Sometimes I hate the city, but let me specify: Dallas. New Orleans is still Mecca, and Houston is somehow like New Orleans to me, but Dallas is a cold-hearted, titanium-covered city. One apparently antiquated quality of mine is to be considerate to others. I am practically indecent and impolite compared to my predecessors. I naively compare this city to NYC for its rudeness, though I am sure I could never survive there for one day. Why, with all of this, I am

Many of Rasputina's songs consist of "This was a girl who lived long ago in [somewhere in America]." Inevitably, I want to go to those places, and find that girl. I feel like it's a common realm of imagination I share with her. She would understand how I see Blanche in the swamp, or Margaret in the pines. Anyway, I wanted to go to Chicago and St. Louis to find Rusty the Skatemaker. I did. On her new album Perplexions she has a girl (with a jet-pack) exploring the North Pole. I want to find her, too. It doesn't exceed my passion to find Saline the Salt Lake Queen in the Great Salt Lake. That is my favorite story of hers. She surely must have seen the painting "The Magic Circle" by Waterhouse when she wrote it. What I love about Melora Creager is that she is a singer of America. Her songs capture the very best of America and remind me of the things I love about it, when it is very hard to remember. She is also a singer about women's experiences, but

Our first Indian meal out since the pandemic. India Grill in Arlington. I had the dal majarani, which was wonderful.

Got my hair cut, and I dyed it with henna again. I plan to return to henna for good and discontinue using chemical dyes completely. 

"Clipped" was on my mind the other night. It was not a song I had noticed before. From Rasputina's Cabin Fever album.