I don't like it when....

You know how some people fall asleep - with their eyes half open, rolled into the back of their head so you can only see the whites, their mouths partially open, maybe a little drool making a great escape and sliding down the chin? Combine this with someone sleeping in an upright position so their head is slumped over too. Well it's not a pretty picture in the best of circumstances. But when I walk into a very sick patient's room at 3 in the morning and this is what I see? I freaks out a little. I stand there and stare at the chest to wait for it to rise or fall. And if that is not easily visible, I go to poking. Yes people, I am a professional and this is what I do. I poke you (gently) to make sure you are not dead in the hospital bed. It's science. Any of you out there who sleep like that, you need to cut. it. out.

Winter highlight

This winter has been bumming me out and putting me in some irritable states of mind. Just ask my poor husband. But he gets it. He also misses the cold frigid air of December in Colorado. The air that freezes your nose hairs immediately upon stepping outside. Which I only know because Adam tells me because of course girls, especially proper Southern girls, don't have nose hairs and couldn't experience such a thing.

Winter on the Mississippi coast is not very wintery. There are still roses and tomatoes growing, or there were until we had our first frost this past week. My nieces were confused apparently, wanting to go play in it.

So this wearing t-shirts and flip-flops on the way to get the Christmas tree, well it's just not doing it for me. It's put a damper on the holiday season. But our last trip to the grocery store revealed a reason to give thanks. One look at that display full of beautiful boxes of bright orange clementines perked me right up. The perfect fruit, here again for a glorious little while. So easy to peel. So juicy. So seedless. I love you clementine.

Best Song of 2007

According to Pitchfork, it's "All My Friends" by LCD Soundsystem. It's hard to disagree.

One of the greatest blessings in life is to have a set of interesting, passionate, brilliant, caring, thoughtful, hilarious friends, and one of the greatest curses is to be separated from every one of them. This song is about memories and about moving forward. How hard that is. The droning but frantic piano a perfect backdrop to the scene of getting older and missing those careless days of sometimes really stupid decisions made alongside your best friend. Wondering how you made it out alive and would you trade any of it for anything? Those stories, the stuff that has now become material for wedding toasts. "The memory of our betters, keeping us on our feet."

This song is best heard alone and loud.