Castaway!

Allow me to tell you about my beloved Dr. Pap. He initially informed me I'd do a 6 week stint in my cast. But he gave me an unexpected prison release 2 weeks early for good behavior. I think he's aces. You will note my self-directed photo of him in action, taken on waning camera batteries by a hapless nurse. I shamelessly told her my little girl neighbors would thrill to the sight of my cast being sawed off. Can you imagine! The vibrating buzz saw was a bit scary even though I knew it would not pierce my skin. Once the dreaded encumbrance was off, my arm was revealed. Weak and a bit forlorn, but healing well. The occupational therapist promptly fit me with a lightweight splint: very high tech, made of thermo-something plastic, and custom-molded to my personal anatomy. I'm so damned happy to be free (of cast) at last!

My darlin' Sparkelene

Sunday marked The Boss's birthday, and I am consoled that she has plenty of lively canine company in the wilds of Lincoln, where she spent many happy hours at Camp Emily.

I feel lucky that she has a city and country resting place, thanks to my dear Global Design Director, The Richard E. Lee (in his debut as a stone chiseler), Therese + Eddie (f.a.t.s.), and Aunt Moon for their steadfast friendship and animal husbandry.

Cain't help loving that dog of mi•i•ine.

Heaven on Earth

Only a few more days in this tiresome cast. Tuesday I get my case (and cast) examined and, if all goes well, they'll saw it off and replace it with a splint. I can't tell you how glad I am to be getting rid of this heavy thing. It weighs upward of eight tons. I may be exaggerating a bit, but not about the relief I'll feel. Anticipation of this event made me so joyous I took a jaunt through the Lexington tree farm, a piece of conservation land set aside to grow municipal greenery. I felt happy as a young sprout. So happy that I later attended a special session of Observatory Nights where I shared my thoughts (and impressive views of the moon and Venus) with astronomers on the roof of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Soul Sacrifice

Some corporate buildings are merely a neutral backdrop for workaday life. Others assault your soul with their monotonous blandness. I have inhabited both types. The lone picnic tables discovered outside the latter seem to suggest desperate measures; a hope that by taking a break in the out of doors one can somehow regain her humanity. Yet, isn't it the architect's responsibility to feed the spirit as well as house the body? The temporary nature of corporate buildings, with their so-called 7 year roofs, belie a cruelly spartan approach to design. Methinks we sometimes sacrifice too much in the name of efficiency.

All Charged Up

I got all charged up on electronics at the MIT flea market Sunday afternoon. Raw and cold as it was in the garage on Portland Street, I was on fire. There I found capacitors, both electrolytic and tantalum, offered at bargain prices; spools of RG-8X cable like you read about; plus a complete Nazi Enigma machine with a full bore documentary explaining its mysteries. Gals, if you like 'em nerdly and you don't mind the $5 admission ticket (the price of a boilermaker), this is the place to be.

Brave Tulips Bloom

This week saw the official Jardin de Sparquette bronze (OK, brass) plaque installed on Massachusetts Avenue. It provides a fitting and some say defiant counterpoint to that ignoble Harvard edifice I have come to call The Reichstag.

That the Jardin flies in the face of Harvard's monstrosity is no mistake. For weeks, nay months, I have been hearing similar complaints from neighbors and visitors alike regarding the despoiling nature of the gargantuan new building. And now mere yards from it, brave tulips have the audacity to bloom. Take that, Harvard!

On the Ball

Here I am outside Target in Woburn, MA, giving instructions to my accomplice "on the inside" by walkie-talkie. Note that I appear to be resting on a large red cement ball. In Barcelona, these balls are a design feature. They're commonly placed on sidewalks and plazas to protect pedestrians from being mowed down by errant cars. But since not a single car looked inclined to jump the curb, I felt quite safe.

I came here today to see how famed design house Liberty of London's patterns look plastered on Target's voluminous line of wares. And what do they look like, you ask? A bit chintzy, to tell the truth. It reminded me of Melmac or Corelle ware. (It's unbreakable, that's what it i•i•is...) The stuff just exuded mass-produced gimmickry. Of course, I am wild about Target. I just think they should stick with the basics and, when they team up with known quantities, they should keep the originality and the quality up to snuff. Nuff said?

My Worst Cauchemar

Imagine. You dream of being a celebrated painter. Instead, you end up sharing a suburban storefront with your husband's real estate business. To me, that would be a horrifying cauchemar (nightmare), but apparently one person is actually living it by day.

I'm not going to reveal the town this husband and wife realtor/art studio inhabits, and I deliberately blurred the signage to maintain the couple's privacy. I have a hard time publicly ridiculing someone's personal vision. Yet I suspect there's an exception for disturbingly weird combos of real estate and art, especially when it's truly, hideously awful. Anyone for teen girl fantasies incorporating pet lions and fey young men bearing roses and appetizers? Phew.

If you ask me, this kind of stuff should be limited to pen scratchings on the inside cover of a biology notebook and not shown in public (and never with price tags on it.) I'm sure some of you will think my cast has made me mean spirited. Maybe so. But honestly, would you want one of these creations in your living room? I think not.

Broken but Not Busted

Not one to let small things like a broken wrist stop me, one week to the day, I am back "on the job," brazenly lurking in local branch libraries. Arlington was the site of today's DVD snatch: Fellini's I, Vitelloni. I sullenly forked over my $1 rental fee. It's annoying that some branches charge money for DVD loans and others don't. I wonder if Barney Frank knows about this scam. I feel a Congressional investigation is in order.

As some of you may know, I am a vegetarian, but I do make exceptions for bacon, brisket, cheeseburgers, turkey and pork. Lucky for me the nearby Blue Ribbon BBQ was serving up delicious pulled pork and coleslaw, cajun style. I think I heard my doctor mention that BBQ was good for healing bones, and I'm not one to ignore sound medical advice.