SUNDAY RITUAL

I am unashamed to say that my Sunday morning ritual has absolutely nothing to do with incense, robed gentlemen or The Good Book.It does, however, revolve around a troupe of witty, chic and outrageous boys. Yes, that is correct: I spend a slow, sacred, inspiring and hilarious hour touring around the planet known as FABULON.
All that is required is a huge mug of tea, milk please, a comfy chair and a need to be entertained. Anything else gets in the way of what is always a, well, yes, fabulous time.
My happy little habit evolved over time, as the result of a too-busy schedule. When I happened most accidentally onto the site, I was beguiled by their honest love of shiny things, nonpareil ladies ( the deader or more outrageous the better, most naturally)and first-class kitsch. I traipsed ridiculously far back into their archives--I almost wrote annals but that just didn't seem right. I think it was a Saturday afternoon (it must have been),it was skin-chafingly cold, and I had time to kill.
Then, sad to say--slap my wrist,please--I lost touch with them in the whirring madness of my own most stylish life. Fortunately for my future enlightenment and delight, I had the good sense to heart them into my favourites, where they were rediscovered during a later spate of boredom. They have remained, since then, on the radar of all things glittering, wacky, and witty.
The time crunch is ever an issue, becoming worse and perpetual with each passing week. Thus, I found, and find, myself catching up on some of my favoured web spaces on the weekends. FABULON is too tasty to miss, and too tempting to stay away from for long. For months, I have played catch-up with its contents--a week at a time's worth-on Sunday's shortly after rising. Which is to say some time between 10:00 and 11:00 AM.--there is no need to picture me squinting in front of my laptop screen in the dark, like some crazed morning person.
After a few weeks , I realized that I looked forward to this time spent in that oasis of delightful madness. I am a retro-loving girl (yes, really, ,I AM a girl,biologically-speaking, thanks ever so)who likes to kick-it-back old-school on the fashion and movie front. Yet, in this modern world, I am what you might call edgy with a side of crazy,pop-culture kitsch thrown in just for the added confusion. Kind of like those boys over on FABULON.
Which is why I treasure the laziness, the raw over-the-top-ness,and the sheer beauty of the weekly hour I spend on their planet. I also adore the cheeky-tacky and sometimes utterly unself-aware YouTube clips they dig up and the scads of old ads, photos and ephemera which, quite often, act as fashion inspiration for yours truly. There is nothing to not love about the heady decor, positive attitude and dashing vibe of Planet FABULON.Check it out!

SIMPLE PLEASURES: THINGS TO ACTUALLY DO THIS SPRING

I spend all winter pining for warm weather, for sunshine, for leafy and lush greenness. I spend the arduously long, cold nights sketching out the details of the legion of fabulous things I plan on doing once the weather turns, when the days are endless and temperate.

Without fail, come warm weather, most of those things, however simple, remain but a dream and are still undone once the leaves start falling.I am determined, this time around, to actually do those exuberant,joyous little things that pop into my mind. This year, as nature cycles from Spring to Summer, and then to Autumn, nothing that I yearn to do will be left behind.

Each season, and our experience of it, is entirely unique: it will pass, taking with it all but fleeting and liquid sensory memory. The next version will be the same in name only, the contents will be different. I have vowed to embrace this Spring and all it has to offer. I will follow wishes and whims--when Autumn emerges, slowly and colourfully,I will have no regrets.

SOME LITTLE THINGS TO DO THIS SPRING

1-FLY A KITE. YOU CAN STILL FIND THEM AT DOLLAR AND TOY STORES AND, OF COURSE, ON LINE. BUY AN ENTIRE SEASON'S WORTH, PLUS EXTRAS. WHEN THE STRING BECOME TANGLED OR THE KITE PUNCTURED, YOU DON'T HAVE TO MISS A BEAT. IF YOU ARE AMBITIOUS YOU COULD EVEN MAKE YOUR OWN.

2-DINE AT A DRIVE-IN RESTAURANT, EVEN IF IT IS JUST A SONIC. PUT YOUR SEAT BACK AND KICK OFF YOUR SHOES.

3-SAVOR A CONEY AND A ROOT BEER FLOAT WITH ALL OF THE GUSTO OF YOUR INNER 8-YEAR-OLD.

4-GROW SOMETHING. FROM SEEDS.EVEN IF YOU ARE IN THE CITY WITH NO PERSONAL INCH OF EARTH, ALL YOU NEED IS A SMALL POT AND A PATCH OF SUNSHINE.

5-BUY A HANDFUL OF PINWHEELS AND STICK THEM IN A LARGE CONTAINER,DIRT AND ALL, OR IN A VASE. OPEN A WINDOW AND LET THE BREEZE PROPEL THEM. SMILING IS INEVITABLE.

6-WEAR LOTS OF WHITE.

7-MAKE FRESH-SQUEEZED LEMONADE.DEVELOP YOUR OWN SPECIAL BLEND.

8-IF YOU HAVE A DOG, WALK THEM FOR THE JOY OF COMPANIONSHIP AND THE CHANCE TO BE OUTSIDE, NOT AS A CHORE TO SPRINT THROUGH.

9-WHEN LATE AFTERNOON SUN INTRUDES INTO YOUR SPACE,OBSCURING THE TV OR COMPUTER SCREEN, BASK IN THE WARMTH OF ITS RAYS INSTEAD OF BEING ANNOYED BY THE PERCEIVED INCONVENIENCE.

10-SCAMPER THROUGH A PARK BLOWING BUBBLES. YES, LIKE YOU DID AS A 5-YEAR-OLD.

11-GO ON A REAL PICNIC, THE KIND THAT INVOLVES LOADING YOUR CAR WITH A BASKET, A BLANKET , PLASTIC CUTLERY AND A COOLER. IT IS WORTH IT.

12-PICK ENOUGH DANDELIONS FOR A BOUQUET.

13-EAT FOOD AS IT COMES INTO SEASON. BAKE FRUIT-BASED DESSERTS WHEN THE FRUIT IS FRESH, RIPE AND LOCAL. IT WILL TASTE DIFFERENT.

14-BUY ARMFULS OF VINTAGE SUNDRESSES AND SUNGLASSES. WEAR THEM EVERYWHERE WHILE PRETENDING THAT YOU ARE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING: BRIGITTE BARDOT, SOPHIA LOREN, AUDREY HEPBURN, ANN-MARGRET, LESLIE CARON.

15-RIDE A BICYCLE.

16-HIKE AT STATE OR NATIONAL PARKS. THAT IS WHAT THEY ARE THERE FOR, AFTER ALL.

17-SLEEP WITH THE WINDOWS OPEN.

18-RISE EARLY, WITHOUT COMPLAINT. ANTICIPATE THE LOVELY THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO WITH A FEW EXTRA MINUTES A DAY.

19-WATCH FIREWORKS IN PERSON, NOT ON TELEVISION.

20-WALK ACROSS A BRIDGE--APPRECIATE THE GRACEFUL, UTILITARIAN MERGING OF MAN AND NATURE.

21-EAT OUTSIDE AT RESTAURANTS WHENEVER POSSIBLE. COLD DRINKS TASTE BETTER WHEN THE SUN IS SHINING DOWN THAN THEY DO WHEN YOU ARE BEING SUFFOCATED BY ARTIFICIALLY COOLED AIR.

22-SPEND AS MUCH TIME AS YOU CAN WATERSIDE.

ILLUSTRATION:"A June Afternoon" (1898) by A.B. Frost

Modern Day Doris (Happy 85th, Ms. Day)

Modern Day Doris by amisslis on Polyvore.com

AN INTELLECTUAL TOOL KIT:BOOKS I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT

The Chef thinks that I own too many books, an opinion he does nothing to contain. He is, in all fairness, a recreational reader of erudition, adventure and taste, when time allows. He has insisted on making some introductions that I was hell-bent on avoiding. I am now three novels acquainted with Robert Heinlein, a state that I far from regret. Yet, we differ in our approach to living with books.

I prefer immersion; he prefers minimal intrusion. Had he his way, I would be limited to a case, maybe two. Had I mine, I would keep adding to my collection for the rest of my life, with editing of the ranks but seldom.We have come to a detente. I try to borrow and re-read books whenever I can, and occasionally purge myself of things not wildly enjoyed. He has ceased to complain in as loud a voice.

My book collection is a symbol of comfort and contentment as much as a tool kit of knowledge, growth and entertainment. I have lovingly packed up my 1000 or so volumes numerous times over the last decade. The number of boxes has increased with each relocation.My family and friends happily aid me in my moves, going out of their way to help in any way necessary. Except for the books.They take no pity on me as I lug,heave and haul my lode up and down stairs, and I cannot say that I harbor blame.

If The Chef and I were to make a major move--away from this city--then the book standoff would certainly begin anew. He would insist on a thinning of the herd; I would fiercely maintain my right to keep them all. We already know how this thing will go down.Yet, it has set me to thinking. If I am ever faced with the horror of whittling them down, what would stay? What would make up the criteria? Of all my books, which ones are most precious or useful?

That is what I am going to do, in this space: Review the books that already have a home on my shelves, to remember or determine why they are there and, if pressed to it, whether they deserve to remain. People change over time, and our attitudes and tastes are often altered by degrees too incalculable to detect without deeper investigation.

The investigation begins later this weekend with 'Living Authors', Edited by Dilly Tante.

Post-a-Rama

Take note: I intend to go on a posting frenzy this weekend. Friday through Sunday, 1000 Follies will be chock full of goodness. Until then, enjoy the below quotes.

5 Quotes

"Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something."-Henry David Thoreau

"To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead."-Bertrand Russell

"Tradition is a guide and not a jailer."-W. Somerset Maugham

"There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval."-George Santayana

"One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar."-Helen Keller

Finally Convinced that Spring is Really Here