Blogger friends, this list has some pretty cool widgets, as does this site.

You can call me now by following the link below, if you so desire. :)

Ok! Mix more or less complete. I couldn't get a hold of the one song from that Kurt Weill album, so we'll have to wait on that. But, if you're interested in hearing the rest, it's here, entitled provisionally, "Letters from Home."

It's interesting, when I first heard about Regina Spektor, I initially downloaded a handful of her songs, not knowing which albums they were off of, just to get a feel for her sound. And then when I got a hold of her album Begin to Hope, I heard the new version of "Samson", and was disappointed, and a little confused. It seemed so much less intimate and careful, two qualities I really loved about the one I knew and loved. I found this interview that explains the story of the changes, and also is kind of telling about her own relationship with her music. But, unlike her, I personally really prefer the slow one that was on her self-released Songs. And it just feels more right on this mix. So it's the one on there.

In other music news, Erika has gotten me into the Kate Nash fan club. So cute!

I spent my morning doing at-home spa treatments, drinking fermented barley water and oat grass and peppermint tea, and doing a facial treatment with an aromatherapy steam (lemon, lavender, and mint) and some extraction, two different kinds of masques, one with tourmaline and one for healing and soothing, a rosehip peel with brush massage, moisturizing with my super thick, rich Hungarian aloe cream moisturizer, cleansing with seaweed soap and finally topping it all off with a lighter moisturizer mixed with a bit of my Duac acne medication, and ceramide eye cream around the eyes. Needless to say, my skin feels pretty amazing.

Iranian "diagnosed transsexuals"

This is pretty amazing. In Iran, where homosexuality is forbidden, many young men who find themselves attracted to other men undergo sex change operations, and the rates of the operation are higher than anywhere else in the world except for in Thailand. A new film, Be Like Others, explores the experiences of some of these young people.

That other playlist, the unofficial "breakup mix"

Lailah reminded me that I forgot to post the mix we can, for short-hand purposes, call the "break-up mix". I didn't make it with that in mind, but I made it while I was feeling, and being, mopey and reclusive, and the more I listened to it while I was mopey and reclusive the more I realized that it was all about loss, alienation, people disappointing you in deep and existential ways, and seeking reserves of inner strength on solitary journeys. Huh.

Well, here's the list. As I mentioned to Liles, my external hard drive AND my laptop are acting up, and I can't access my music for the time being, sadly. So you'll have to wait for the tracks themselves until I sort out my computer woes, if you're interested in them.

I'll say some more about the artists when I can actually provide, but one thing I have to mention now is that tracks 2 and 5 are from an album of Kurt Weill songs sung by various artists that Dani turned me onto. Yeah. (Those of you who heard my mix I made in my cottage in Austin several years ago may see no small irony in its title, "September Songs.")

(new extended version added above to replace this old post!)

Happy Monday to y'all.

I'm a little sad that, having discovered surfthechannel.com and bit torrenting, I have now exhausted the existing stock of Gossip Girl episodes on top of all the other silly shows I've been enjoying. I think I will have to take Erika's advice and start exploring the wonder of the new Dr. Who once I finish up Coupling.

Ah, wonderful free time. I have a lasagna in the oven (I opted for the simplest version, with nothing but pasta, sauce, spices, and cheese) that smells yummy, and am doing the laundry and drinking some Bell's Two Hearted ale I found hiding in the back of the cupboard.

I have a new obsession with scramble that has taken over for my previously irrepressible compulsion to play scrabulous.

Another day, another sunset.

You'd think I'd get tired of the same exact view and capturing it with the tiniest, most subtle variations of color and tone. But somehow, I don't.

La Belle Dame sans Montmerency

The funny thing about running out of money is that it forces you to be very creative, to draw on hidden reserves. Not only figuratively, but literally, practically. Suddenly it's very handy, my habit of over-buying and hoarding amazing supplies of delicious jarred sauces, canned and dry beans and legumes, frozen chicken and ground beef, tofu, tempeh, and a variety of nuts, dried fruits, and whole grains that even the Whole Foods bulk section would have difficulty surpassing. If I were snowed in for a month, I don't think I would starve here, and I might actually get progressively healthier as I relied increasingly on whole foods and ate more and more rationed portions.

I'm sitting here eating a breakfast of home-cooked oatmeal with dried Montmerency cherries and blueberries, toasted pecans, and honey, as I write this. This afternoon (or over the next couple of days), I'll prepare a whole wheat lasagna with spinach and beef, a couple of broccoli/mushroom quiches, a carrot and lentil salad with feta, lemon juice and red onion, and a chicken curry of some kind with ginger, mushrooms, carrots, celery, onions, and snap peas to serve over brown rice. And that will still not exhaust my fresh food from my big grocery shopping expeditions at Costco, Busch's, and Kroger at the beginning of the month.

Yes, I could use a credit card to fill up the gas tank and buy more food, so I could have whole milk with my coffee just the way I like it, and my favorite dry cereal with fresh blueberries, more fresh spinach and grape tomatoes for salads, and whatever else I am inclined to reach for when I open the fridge initially. But I've decided that I'm not going to do that until I really have to, because for now I'm very well fed and enjoying being in retreat from the world. It's a beautiful, sunny day out on the lake, and I have nowhere I need to be. And I even have delicious fair-trade organic coffee from my awesome, wonderful friend Katie. :)

So, I'm just going to stay here, clean house, write, and listen to the birds, while I give myself facial masks and a manicure, drink cleansing teas and fermented barley water and do other fun cleansing rituals from Helene Silver. Later this week I'll dig out my certificate for a free pedicure at Aveda Institute, and probably finally get a little sassy haircut to style my wacky mop I've been growing out for a few months without losing too much of the length.

Yes, life's okay.