Marcheline is waiting to read... The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

While toodling around the CNN website at work last night, I came across a two-month old article about a girl named Erin Morgenstern who wrote a book called "The Night Circus".



This is Erin's first novel, and apparently it's hitting big. There was a "bidding war" for publishing rights, and she made a huge pile in advance from Doubleday, who won said war. The producers who made the "Twilight" movies snagged the movie rights to her story, and David Heyman (Harry Potter movie producer extraordinaire) is in talks to produce the movie.



Intrigued equally by the book cover(s), the plotline, and her Bjork-esque mien, I did a little plot researching, a bit of review reading, and a little library sleuthing. I now have the CD recording of her book on request.



Her website/blog has now been added to my blog list on the left there, for any who care to visit - it's an intriguing place. My favorite part of her site is called "flax-golden tales", in which a friend of hers takes photographs and Erin writes ten-line stories to go with each. My favorite so far is this one. Gave me a downright chill at the back of my neck. In a delicious way.

So, there you are lovelies, enjoy. Back soon for more adventures in Mystic!

Mystic, CT - Day 1, Part Deux: Welcome to Stonecroft!

After a delicious and 1980's style joy-filled lunch at Mystic Pizza and rambling around the local neighborhoods, we headed on up to Stonecroft Inn. It's located on the Octoberly-named Pumpkin Hill Road, which gave me a soft warm feeling towards it from the start. Pumpkin Hill Road, like much of Mystic, was under some kind of repair. This ended up being a good thing because it's a hilly, winding road with lovely houses and forests all the way, and we were having such a good time seeing the sights we might have missed the inn if we hadn't been forced to slow down and pay attention. Thanks to photoshop, you don't have to see the road crew in the above picture - ha!



This driveway looks lovely at night, with the lamps lit all the way down. There are two main buildings at the inn. The one you can see at the end of the drive here is the newer one, called the Grange House. This is the house we stayed in. It used to be the barn, and has been refitted beautifully to contain the breakfast room (downstairs) and two exquisite luxury suites (upstairs), the Schubel and the Sarah. We stayed in the Sarah suite.



There's a small parking area right in front of the Grange House where we left our vehicle. Then we meandered down this small drive to the left, which leads to the main house, looking to check in with our hosts.

I was enchanted by this pairing - wood and stone.

As with most houses I photographed in Mystic, the main house also bears a historical plaque. I do love me some old houses, and will choose a B&B in a historic house over a chain hotel any day of the week.



This hand-painted mural going up the stairs in the main house is just one of the unique touches that captured my artistic heart.

Foyer of the Schubel House.

As we sat in the front room waiting for our host (we were, to be fair, at least an hour early for check-in) we soaked in the beauty of original wood floors, the color on the walls, the beginnings of Christmas decorations, and the lovely old fireplace... not to mention a rather odd statue of a Rottweiler.

A confirmed skeleton key addict (I wear one on a chain around my neck), I couldn't resist taking a photo of this piece, which was hanging on the wall of the front room. It seemed to confirm my feeling of connection with the place.

The host was kind enough to allow us to check in, early as we were, and so we meandered through the grounds a bit on the way back to the Grange House. Stone walls everywhere... this place was truly well named!




If you click to enlarge, you will see a massive burning bush at the back of the yard... one of many we saw while driving through the area. On Long Island, our burning bushes are usually small and hedge-like. Up in Connecticut, they're more like trees!



Walking around behind the Grange House, we passed a lovely yard containing a hammock (featured later in the story), a pretty garden shed and stone trough, and...

... situated just behind the breakfast room is a lovely arbor...

... right next to which is an ENORMOUS tree, surrounded by outdoor seating, and a firepit with a view to the gardens. This place would be an amazing spot for a wedding!

This beauty sat near the loft railing just outside our bedroom door. It faced out an upper front window, and when I peeked through it, I found that it was trained on the Stonecroft Inn sign at the head of the drive, which made me smile.

Someone who will not be named is showing off by proving that he can (nearly) hide behind a skinny wood post. Hee hee! The ceilings in our suite were nicer than most floors I've ever walked on. Made the room smell absolutely woody-wonderful.



To quote Julia Roberts from her other smash hit, "Pretty Woman" - "THE BATHROOM IS BIGGER THAN THE BLUE BANANA!" The above shot was taken standing in the center of the bathroom facing west: a huge walk-in shower room to the left, a huge two-person jet tub to the right (with french shutters that open to allow a view of the fireplace while in the tub).



Standing in the same spot, I turned east and took another photo. Massive, massive bathroom. Bear is blocking a view of the bidet, which is not necessarily a bad thing I suppose. I was just in ecstasy that I had four whole days' exclusive use of a bathroom I could do cartwheels in.



Two comfy (if greatly worn) armchairs faced the gas fireplace and flat screen TV. We had some lovely evenings watching Hallowe'en movies by firelight! Nothing makes one sleep better than a nice hot bubble bath followed by a cozy robe, a warm fire, and some Michael Myers stabbings and Jamie Lee Curtis screams. Bliss!

We stayed here just days before Hallowe'en, so there were plenty of seasonal flicks on television, but even if there hadn't been, there was a nicely-stocked DVD library on the main floor of our building. Sweet!

The windchime on our balcony.

View of the main house from our balcony.

From our balcony, another view of that side yard with the hammock. That hammock tempted us to grab our books and go outside, where we promptly got into said swinging rope bed, started acting silly and laughing instead of reading...

... and then took a nap!

Later, of course, we ventured out for some victuals - had a tasty Mexican dinner at a place called Margarita's (and they made great ones, too!), after which we came back to enjoy the Sarah suite. Completely. Ahem.

Get yer seafarin' clothes on and stay tuned for Day Two.

Midday rant...

... in which I go all "R. Lee Ermey"

Can we just agree that it's easy to be a decent person, and that people who are shitheads spend more time and energy doing the wrong thing than they would have if they just did the right thing to begin with? Can we agree that people KNOW the right thing to do, and it's not over the top to expect them to do it?

Sigh.

Lately I've been hit with a plethora of small discourtesies by friends and coworkers, and it's starting to wear on me. As you might have gathered by now. Somehow these little expressions of disregard upset me more than if someone just walked up to me and shoved a cream pie in my face.

Here are some things I believe should apply to everyone.

1. If you owe someone money, say RENT, for example, pay it on time. Without being asked. Without making someone, say ME, for example, have to text several times in order to get it. Without telling me you're bringing it over, while I sit on my couch wondering when or if you're coming by, wondering whether I should just give up and go out to do my errands or not. If you know you can't pay on time, just send me a text or an email letting me know. I'm not an ogre, I will of course give you reasonable time without any hassle at all, but I JUST FREAKIN' WANT TO BE GIVEN THE COURTESY OF A HEADS-UP.

2. If you make plans with someone, those plans stand unless one or the other party actually calls and changes those plans. Does it get any simpler? No. I think it does not.

3. If you hold a job and you are required to be there at a certain time (who isn't?), especially if you are relieving someone who has just worked an eight hour shift and wants to go the hell home and see their own family, it's your responsibility to get there on time. Consistently skidding into the parking lot with three seconds left on the clock, calling the office and asking other people to stay late for you because you have so little regard for anyone but yourself and your life makes you a complete shite.

4. If someone tells you something personal, no matter who it's about, no matter how juicy it is, and even if they don't make you cross your heart and swear not to tell anyone, never - ever - repeat it to anyone else. With the possible caveat of a plot to murder. If someone tells you they're going to kill someone, it might be nice to let the authorities know so they can warn the intended victim. But besides that.... keep your trap shut. The only possible side effect to this courtesy is that once everyone realizes they can trust you, they will all tell you their deepest secrets. Which may lead to feelings of somehow having been involuntarily inducted into the clergy.

5. Please, please, please.... don't cut your fingernails at work. That's a personal, at-home-in-the-bathroom kind of activity. Your fingernails contain a plethora of unspeakable germs, and the thought of little bits of someone else's fingernails all over my keyboard/desk/workspace makes me nauseous. Not to mention that I can hear the annoying half hour of "snip snip snip" sounds across the room, no matter where I'm sitting. We all have to share our work stations at my office, we don't have "our own" desk... so cutting your fingernails at work is tantamount to picking your nose and wiping it all over the keyboard. Egads, people... seriously. Gross.


And that's it, really. See? Not even a long list. Being courteous has never caused anyone to pull a groin muscle. As a matter of fact, it makes life more pleasant because other people don't want to put their hands around your neck and choke the life out of you. They're actually happy to get the rent! Happy to see you at work! Happy to know that they can count on you!

The additional thing that gets my goat about the work issue specifically is that management is so willing to overlook this crappy behavior for particular individuals, and give me the side-eye when I get upset about it. I guarantee you this: if I ever started paying my bills whenever I felt like it and showing up to work late every day, they'd be on my ass like a hawk on a rabbit. It's just certain people that are allowed to be inconsiderate assholes, it seems. I must have been in the loo when they distributed the "get out of jail free" cards.

Thank you for listening, dear blogfriends. I will be back with a contrastingly upbeat post about our trip to Mystic soon.

Mystic, CT - Day One

So, back from vacation, with over 200 photos from our trip, you can probably understand how overwhelmed I feel trying to blog about it. But then I thought of just writing about one day at a time, and only using the best photos... pictures that people who didn't take the trip with us might possibly appreciate. That means no shots of the interesting crack in the sidewalk. Try to hide your disappointment.



The ferry ride itself was a bit of an adventure, starting with the lovely prelude of driving all the way out to the North Fork on the east end of Long Island, past all the wineries and lavender farms, past the farm stands resplendent with mums and punkins, finally ending up at Orient Point. Then we drove up into the belly of the ferry beast, climbed the big metal stairs, and spent a sunlit, breezy hour on the outside deck, enjoying the ocean views until we reached New London, CT.



This is always one of the most delicious parts of a vacation... the beginning. When you have all your time off in front of you, everything to look forward to, and that wonderful feeling of letting go and really relaxing. We were FREE!!!! Well, maybe not free, but reasonable. (If you're too young you won't get that joke. Serves you right.)




Driving into Mystic, I immediately fell in love with the wee drawbridge just at the mouth of town. We must have driven across it five times at least while we were there, and each time I had the urge to pick it up and put it in my pocket and take it home with me.

If you click that picture to see the larger view, you'll see an ice cream shop just past the bridge there. The fact that I did not eat ice cream at that shop is not due to my iron will and moral strength, nor my intestinal fortitude. It's because on the sunny days, there was sidewalk construction blocking it, and on the rainy days, it was too cold for ice cream. I have definite designs on that little shop for next time we visit!



Our first stop (of course) was Mystic Pizza. I was in movie geek heaven, with posters and photos from the movie everywhere, and flat screen TVs on every wall playing the movie (sound muted, sadly). The pizza itself was (of course) not as good as Long Island pizza... however, it was tasty and cheesy and just the ticket after a breezy hour spent in the October ocean air.



Julia Roberts grinned at us from every wall, and I grinned right back. Mystic Pizza is one of my favorite movies of all time, and it was a genuine thrill to be at "the real deal". Bear bought me one of the tee shirts (same as they wore in the movie), and of course I chose the red one... the color Julia wore! It was as close as I ever get to saying "Squeee!" I'm not really a "squee" kind of gal, you know.

The rest of the afternoon was spent driving around, seeing the neighborhood, and so I had Bear stopping the car every five seconds so I could jump out and take pictures. If you don't love old houses the way I do, you might as well stop reading here and go get yourself stuffed a cup of tea.

Those of you who do love old houses... I urge you to click on these to see the bigger version, because the trim, the trappings, the details, are all exquisite... and nearly invisible in the smaller version.

The Samuel Donnelly house, 1881


You may notice...


... that I especially...


... loved this house!


Oh, the stone walls!!!


This little cottage called to me
in a BIG way...


John Cheath house, 1862
He was a carpenter/builder.


William Wheeler house, 1853


A little "haunted house on the hill" thrill
for October!


A privately owned ship in Mystic harbor
(do click this one, it's FAB)


Daniel Edgcomb house,1835
He was a cutter shipwright.


Another click-to-appreciate view
of the harbor.


Waterfront property, anyone?
Yes, please!


I can't say I had no egrets...


Last but not least, a wonderful retro-turquoise
house sprawled out with a view to the lake.

And so, dear blogfriends, here end my ramblings about our first day. Of course... we did go to our lovely B&B and get "settled inn" (I slay me)... but that place deserves a post of its own. So, next time - to Stonecroft!

Yes, but now I have to get ready for work....

See, I had all these great intentions of spending the morning posting about our vacation, but then I spent two hours working on the photos in my online gallery, adding captions, and etc.... only to find out that the captions didn't save! ARGH.

Now, it's time for me to get ready for work, my first day back after vacation, and I just want to lie on the floor and kick my feet and scream NOOOOOOOOOO!

But of course the cats won't be impressed, so it's off to the shower with me, I suppose.