I-95

Early on this wintry Saturday, I-95 is quiet. Shrouded in fog, lined by spiny, leafless trees, save for the pines. Litter and traffic cones dot the otherwise monochromatic landscape. Here a sleeping excavation machine; there, in a clearing, a shrine to a dead loved one, the cross and wreath tidy, tended. What looks like a hawk wings through the haze. What looks like an owl watches intently, feathers puffed against the chill.

The bus driver pulls into a rest stop. A new driver boards. Wrappers crinkle, a respectfully low din of conversation is a hypnotic white noise.

We resume our journey north. The fog is spectral, enchanting. Was it fog like this that blinded Kobe’s helicopter pilot? What is beautiful can also break, crush, ruin. Just look at the world.

I am heading to New York for refuge in its relentless vibrancy and tolerance, the theater, and a coincidental overlap with my parents’ own week of retreat in the city.

In this bus in this fog in this cold in this path through dead-not-dead, I feel peace for the first time in weeks.

It is welcome.

Jamathon, and why?

Today I indulged in a marathon of jam-making and stayed in my PJs until I had to go to the gym. There, I thought I'd make up for lost time by doing a ramped-up interval session on the elliptical before my training session. 5 minutes after my trainer put me to work, I started to feel some regret about that decision as well as my choice to have yogurt and granola for lunch. That was not enough sustenance to go into such a rigorous workout, and I left the gym no more than a torso with overcooked spaghetti limbs. I treated myself to a smoothie from the juice bar immediately. The jamathon was great fun though, and if you're wondering why I'm on such a kick it's because a) it's summertime and that is the time to can, and b) the annual Circle Yoga Arts Market is just a month away so I'm building my stash. I hope all of you in the DC-area will consider coming to this local artisan's fest: it's lots of fun and you can indulge in all sorts of great products. I'll have all manner of canned and baked goods, others will have jewelry and art, last year there was a woodworker.... It'll be Saturday, Sept 7, from 1-4p, at Circle Yoga on Northampton St, NW. Check my calendar for updates and more specific info.

A pizza crust is proofing right now, in anticipation of a good and easy dinner. Tom and I are avoiding packing in every possible way right now, and though we're excited about our weekend in NYC, I simply cannot believe (and am slightly bummed about the fact that) I'm about to leave for my third straight weekend away. Must.stop.traveling. I am excited about eating -Craftbar, Da Silvano, TBD lunch spots, the Greenmarket- and seeing The Book of Mormon on Sunday. Equal-opportunity offense: I can't wait to laugh my face off.