Boston college reservoir

It's been a few weeks of keeping my head down, doing repetitive and draining work without too much of a break, days had become too predictable. So it was a welcomed message I received when I sat down on a bench at the reservoir, to wait for Laura. "Take a breather" was clear as day (what does that mean, anyway?). Once we got moving we talked about expressions; "Dry as a bone" (presumably in Death Valley or some such place). Laura mentioned one her grandmother used which I'm determined to pepper my every day commentaries with: "Dumb as a haddock", though there will be some stressful decision-making between it and my long-time favorite "One taco short of a fiesta plate" . After, I went down the google rabbit hole and discovered more, many of which involve animals and most of which were raunchy (and funny):

• Like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs (which means the same thing as one my mother used to use: "like a bull in a china shop")
• Chew the fat (seriously, I can't even)
• If a frog had wings, he wouldn't bump his ass hopping
• Well, I'm not here to fuck spiders! (apparently Australian)
• Eat crow
• The cat's pajamas
• Can't afford to even pay attention
• Can't find their way out of a paper bag
• Madder than a bag of ferrets
• Couldn't hit a dartboard with a hedgehog

Writing about anything serious seems out of place on such a beautiful summer morning, so here's a smattering of random.

• I don't usually buy any prepared foods at Costco, but the Ponytail Radish kimchee looked so good I had to try. And it diidn't disappoint. I like this better than any I've tried and have been learning about the importance of eating fermented foods, so will be going back to get another jug of the stuff.
• Our local bookstore, Brookline Booksmith, is a treasure, with new books and now enough gifty sorts of things to support their book business upstairs and used books downstairs. Many authors visit, sometimes filling the theater across the street. I love photo and art books so usually amble downstairs to see what's available, and this was yelling at me, not usually the kind of book I'd pick up. The author was a federal prosecutor and somehow befriended this guy, getting a shocking amount of detail about the life he led and where and how the Teamsters and Mafia were interconnected. Also, some mind-blowing revelations about the allegiance of these two groups and politics on the global stage. Well-written and a compelling read. Happy to lend it out.
• It's natural that entering a beautiful little bookstore in the shadow of the Domtoren, one would be compelled to pick up a few with a Dutch theme. Not to mention the lovely image on the cover, which captures Dutch light so well. But let the urge pass, my friend, unless you need to dial down your happiness a bit. They're well-written, but....The first two sentences from Funeral Rights, by Belcampo: "By two men who did not speak his language but who could clasp his arms in an immovable grip, he was chucked down the stone stairs into the darkness. There he lay and bled. With a booming blow the iron hatch slammed shut above him". And it gets worse from there. Then there's one about a chipper pig who makes everyone happy by among other things, enlisting all the pigs in the pen in a scheme of banging into the fatest pig, which they all love, except for the fattest pig, who mysteriously always disappears.My theory is that the North Sea is responsible for everything dark and grey in the Netherlands.
  
• This is my favorite photo book right now, garnered from the Brookline Booksmith basement. I love his sense of color and many details in his photos. When having a look, it takes every ounce of commitment to not get in my car and go.
  
• I was recently turned onto Desert Island Discs, which is a lovely way for famous and not so famous people to be interviewed a bit less formally, they tell you the 8 tracks they would bring with them to a desert island, and intersperse that with stories from their lives. Listening to one of Professor Tim Spector, I was turned on to his Zoe podcasts, which are about health and fitness, which drearily, the time has come for me to pay more attention to. 

OK, time to go and sieze the day. Hope it's a good one for you.