Rain and Fall

This post is a bit of stream-of-consciousness writing.

As I type this, it's raining decently hard and I get to wear cords and a turtle-neck sweater (which I spilled coffee on! :-( ). I love listening to the rain, and my favorite memories as a kid are surrounding rain. The sound cars make driving on wet pavement, and the smell after the rain of Bristol-Meyers Squibb. I have no idea what Bristol produced, but my mother always blamed the smell I loved on them. :-P Some kind of factory smell, maybe with a bit of sulphur?

This kind of weather makes me want to curl up with tea and a blanket, perhaps write or read a bit.

I had to run an errand today that wound up being unnecessary. A very dear friend just moved across the country and I had to go put her remaining belongings on the curb. Turns out, building management took care of it for her/me! But it was nice to get out of the house and know that the house would be warm and waiting for me. Also, for some unknown reason I really enjoy walking in the rain. I am not an umbrella-dweller, I put on my leather jacket, sturdy pants and shoes and a hat to keep the rain off of my head and glasses. This last bit is quite important, as I turn into Cranky Bitch (TM) with a wet head.

When walking in the rain, I love how everyone is in their own little world (and its NOT caused by headphones), merely trying to make their way around the puddles. I also enjoy seeing who else is reveling and who is hiding from the rain. Who is firmly ensconced in their layers and coverings and who is simply appreciating the barest requirement of a jacket... or not.

When Mister and I were first dating, we went to a music festival for one weekend. It poured when it wasn't hotter than hell, and I was miserable and crabby. When Mister convinced me to leave the tent during one rainstorm, I was upset for a while. And then, it switched. I was wet enough that I could get no wetter and just enjoyed being wet and being wet with others who enjoyed it. We were dancing, and hopping, and skipping, and splashing and it was glorious.

Yet for all that I scorn umbrellas and those that use them (I hate seeing umbrella people hogging sidewalks and acting seemingly unaware of this fact) I have seen some beautiful umbrellas that I want. I would love the one that is a black umbrella with blue skies inside. I want with a passion this beautiful 24-paneled umbrella (I just called and found the info :-P) from Vista International, "Memphis". It's just classy looking.



And there are all of the beautiful red and scalloped and decorated ones out there. I do so love beauty of form and an umbrella can be absolutely beautiful (I know I'm over-using that word, but I love the look of the word 'beautiful' so much more than any of its synonyms :-P).

When I was in high school I was in a production of Once On This Island. The song Rain was choreographed with all of the chorus coming out with blue and white mini-umbrellas that were decorated with hanging strings of beads. We all danced with the umbrellas and swung them around and up and waved them back and forth. That was my favorite scene to do for that reason. That and the soloist for that song (Agwe, God of Water) was phenomenal and really carried the scene. He was the master of that piece since the first read-through and it never failed to impress me.

My plants are ever so happy that it's raining. After all of my high hopes, I have one really happy canteloupe plant (still covered in blossoms), one sad, stunted canteloupe, three happy bell pepper plants, six happy black cherry tomato plants and two sad black cherry tomato plants. I'm looking forward to getting a small harvest of SOMETHING!

I broke the "rules" today and went and bought a coffee and a snack. $4.21 for my bagel and coffee. It is just such a lazy, comfy day I couldn't help myself (that and we have little-to-no food in the house). It's due to this lack of food that I pulled a roast out of the freezer and plopped it into the crock pot two hours ago. I threw in a bottle of shitty homebrew, a carton of beef stock, some Worcestershire sauce, some molasses, some tomato paste and a bunch of herbs. We'll see how it turns out.

I love the color of the light in my house during the rain. It's such an even, warm grey that it feels like I must be a ghost in my own home. And then if I turn a light on, it becomes a warm, cheery yellow/pink like a fire. This kind of day makes me wander the house feeling satisfied with nothing to do. I am strangely good at doing nothing and having no thoughts. I am just content.

I am currently listening to my favorite clarinet sonata, Saint-Saens Op. 167. It's absolutely beautiful and I think everything that a clarinet could be. Ah, the end of the piece, now I am onto Poulenc and Saint-Saens' oboe sonatas. Both Poulenc and Saint-Saens towards the end of their lives, within a few years of each other, wrote three woodwind sonatas: oboe, clarinet and bassoon. They are absolutely beautiful and complement each other well. I love the oboe pieces, but they do not fill my heart the way the clarinet piece does. Clarinet is just such a warmer sound, a perfect sound to settle oneself during a rainstorm. Oboe is a little more prickling -- it makes me wonder, and it makes me restless. It is such a questing sort of sound. It is always asking questions; that is, if it is done well. Clarinet is content in itself, oboe is always striving towards something.

This entry is dedicated to my great friend mle.