Top 10 Tuesday

Hello, friends, and happy November.

Of all the months, November has the prettiest name. I have always been smitten by the letter v, f's verbal cousin. How she tickles the bottom lip and the vocal chords distinguish her. And yes, v is a she, but I'll talk about that in a future blog post. November is mist and scrims of ice, cold finger tips, a calling for wool, and a dewy dare to aimlessly stroll and think. I wanted to believe that the Nov- in November meant new but like so many blessed times in my life, I was wrong. My second guess, nine, was correct (November is the ninth month in the Roman calendar). And then there's the -ember, conjuring fire, moody light, and tendrils of smoke. I hope all of you get the chance to romance November. Today, the 7th of November, marks the first day of the season for Altoona, PA to see snow speckle the cold, brittle air.

So, I was inspired to start doing my own version of a "Top 10 Tuesday". So, every Tuesday I will aim to share with you my top ten favorite things (in random order) throughout the past week. It could be anything from a memory conjured by a bite into an apple to a cosmetic product. Some of you probably couldn't care less what Sarah enjoyed the past week--it seems like such a selfish endeavor to talk about what I have enjoyed when there are mass murders, opinions about "thoughts and prayers", and new emojis that accurately represent our disgust. But perhaps there's a little somethin' somethin' below for you to enjoy.

The Top 10

1. Hambone In early October, my boyfriend approached me with a handful of postcards, asking if they were mine. He had found them in his car. He handed me five very colorful postcards depicting paintings by the artist Hambone. I immediately told him that they weren't mine and even more immediately began wondering what awesome human left these in my boyfriend's car?! As far as I knew, no one had been a passenger in his car. At least no one who would absentmindedly (or purposely?) leave postcards depicting rural, cajun life in the deep south. They were vivid, colorful, and celebratory.

A curvy woman, her body strewn across the top of a jazz piano. Southern folk tending to their gardens. I was smitten with the imagery, the lives that were so very different from my own. Oh, and who the hell left these in my boyfriend's car? How are they friends with him and not with me?! If you Google Hambone, you will come across some derogatory definitions, as well. A more refined definition is an inferior actor or performer, especially one who uses a spurious black accent. Another definition, however, is a fat jelly-ass who lives off welfare, is overweight, and contributes nothing to society. Hambone is also a type of dance and its soul purpose is to make noises by slapping parts of the body, like the hambone artist below, Steve Hickman.

But back to the postcards. Weeks passed and I chose five awesome humans to whom I would send my postcards. I explained to these five awesome humans my suspicion regarding the whereabouts and intentions of the original owner of the postcards. I mentioned to my boyfriend Brian that I had mailed them out and he casually brought up that he really did think that they were mine; that I had picked them up during our trip to Burlington, Vermont, and had simply forgotten.

And you know what? He was right. I forgot. They were mine.

2. National Parks Forever Stamps For those of you who are philatelists like me, the National Parks stamps are lovely and you can find them here.

3. "Riverside" by Agnes Obel I began watching "The Mist" on Netflix and it featured this song which is lovely and has been accompanying me on my drive to and from Pittsburgh to visit with my family.

4. The Old Farmer's Almanac (2018 Edition) I'm obsessed with almanacs and documentation. The newest issues of these almanacs always begin in November, so now I am stoked to move on to this newer issue. I date a meteorologist and I forget what his opinion is regarding this almanac, but I don't care. I still follow it. How else would I know which day in January I should lay shingles (3rd, 4th, and 31st) or castrate animals (17th-19th)?

5. My Favorite Murder My obsession for serial killers has been growing over the past couple of months. I work in the mental health field and have been finding myself bringing up serial killers a little too often at meetings and in casual conversation. My Favorite Murder is a podcast delivered by two sassy-pants funny-ladies from California. During the podcast, these "murderinos" take turns telling the grisly stories of murders and serial killers. It's amazing (when they finally get to the storytelling). I listen to them during my commutes to Pittsburgh, as well. Their podcast does so phenomenally well that they go on tour. One of my dreams would be to attend one of their shows with my lovely friend Jeanette (the goddess who introduced this podcast to me). Check them out and don't forget to

6. Nick Offerman: Full Bush Brian and I had the pleasure of attending Nick Offerman's show in Pittsburgh this past Sunday evening. The man is his own vernacular of a slow-talkin' Jesus (Jessis). How I would love to peek through the windows of his woodshop and watch the man handle a fine slab of mahogany. And I must admit, his love and devotion to his wife, as well as how corn should be prepared, is sexy.

7. BBC's Round Planet Oh my god. Okay. So, most nights I prefer to watch nature documentaries to fall asleep. I remember texting Brian last night while he was still at work that BBC had new nature documentaries on Netflix. We were both excited. So, we went to bed last night and pushed play to what we did not realize was a humorous spin on traditional, smooth-talking documentaries. The volume was low, but we couldn't help but what-the-hell? during the first two minutes of the documentary. What's with this guy's voice? Is this serious?

No. It's not serious. It's hilarious. Narrated by Armstrong Wedgewood, a fictional character (voiced by Matt Lucas) who wants his toasted Panini right now, this documentary features the traditional footage of animal shenanigans but with a comedic twist. This documentary series is so refreshing that after one episode, I had to turn it off because by no means do I want to fall asleep to these jewels.

8. Snow! Okay, okay. Chill out. Yes, it snowed today in Pennsylvania. Real snow. Big fuckin' flakes dazzling the air. I was at work when it began and unfortunately, my workplace has no windows, so I couldn't conveniently watch it. I know, I know. Snow sucks. Driving in snow sucks. Falling on ice sucks. Shoveling sucks. Brushing off your vehicle sucks. Whatever, Trevor. Get over yourself. You live in Pennsylvania and most of all--you're aware that you live in a temperate region which means that yes, there can be snow in October and April! And it can be 80 degrees and sunny in March and November! Out of the dozens of people who work with me, less than a handful of us were stoked for the snow. I'm always excited for any form of severe weather. I'm a radar junkie. My eyes light up at the orange and red alerts from my weather apps. Even if I have to drive over the mountains to go home to Pittsburgh during a blizzard, I get excited. Worried, but excited.

Oh, and if you're wondering if the Old Farmer's Almanac predicted today's snow accurately, no. It did not. It predicted "rain, some heavy" for the 1st-7th of this month which is pretty accurate, but rain is not frozen fractals of water falling from the sky.

9. "First Date", a poem by Sabrina Benaim This past weekend, I purchased Beanie's book of poetry Depression and Other Magic Tricks. The book was okay, but this poem--the first poem in the book--was the initial selling-point.

"i wouldn't say/i'm sensitive, i would say i'm highly susceptible to feeling a lot"

Same here, sister.

10. The Naturalist's Handbook Like I already mentioned, I'm obsessed with almanacs and documenting. I journal every day, documenting the weather, my dodge-ball emotions, patterns, observations, and my passions. I came across this "notebook" that will help me to document and organize my observations of the passing seasons in my own personal almanac. I'm very excited to use it for the next five years.

#toptentuesday