Once Upon A Time...

Warren and I met up in Paris a few months ago. It was so nice to be back in some of my old stomping grounds. Paris was a lovely, rainy few days and since today is a lovely, rainy day, I thought I'd share some moments. I really miss it.

We climbed the Pantheon


We discovered that Noah definitely took unicorns on the ark


We loved Montmartre so very much



We discovered squeeze Nutella, AKA gift from the gods


We spent one awful, freezing night at a bus stop (note the misery on my face?)


And woke up to sun, green, and azulejos in Portugal

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Brevity!

Brevity Fall 2009 just went live!!! If you are not familiar with Brevity, it is a lovely journal exclusively for "Concise Literary Nonfiction." It is a joy to read. I literally cannot believe that they accepted my essay, but I am insanely glad that they did! You can read it here. Many thanks to Dinty Moore, David Grover, and my amazing mini writing group for making this girl's dreams come true!

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breaking news!

Folks, the great Pat Madden just told me that an essay of mine ("When the World Explodes"--about volcanoes and spiders and such) was picked as a notable essay in this year's Best American Essays, edited by the one and only MARY OLIVER!!!! I nearly fell out of my chair! Luckily the 15 pounds of ice cream I consumed for my roommate's birthday anchored me pretty well. Anyway, I'm totally honored to be in the company of other notables like Pat himself.

To celebrate (well, let's be honest, I've had this on loop since well before Pat's email), I've been obsessing over the glory that is this glittery video:

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the most terrifying donkey

is eeyore. obviously. my friend nancy just sent this to me and it is amazing/terrifying/sad/hilarious all in one.

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Mini Donkeys!!!

We first fell in love with these adorably soft critters at the Iowa State Fair and we had to know more. So, for Labor Day, Warren and I drove down a series of dirt roads to get to a lovely farm called Sunny G Acres (owned by the wonderful Carmen & Dorie) to visit a herd of 60 mini donkeys. First we met Sunbun, a brand new jenny who spends most of her time hopping and butting into things. (Caution, the next few pictures may cause your heart to melt into a pile of goo. You were warned).

Then we went to meet the rest of the girls and were immediately mobbed by a bunch of super friendly, super silky donkeys. They love attention and fall over themselves for affection. Note: When visiting your own herd of mini donkeys, don't be dumb and wear sandals like we did. Their hooves are tiny but mighty.

Dorie then introduced us to Xena, their high maintenance zedonk. With the promise of treats, Xena did some tricks for us, like standing on a bucket and waving.

Finally, Dorie let us take Cupcake around her obstacle course (it's something the mini donkeys are tested on when they compete at the horse fair). Basically, it was the best Labor Day ever.

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"I haven't seen a crocus or a rosebud,"

But I have been to the Iowa State Fair! Which we memorialized in a series of mortifying photo ops [Exhibit A]:

First things first: we definitely won a blue ribbon for our awesome chickens. And by "we" I mean the moon-faced boy below. His little banty was quite a looker, too.

We left the chickens to saunter down Main Street (literally, it looked like a small town's main street, only it was lined with fried food stands and golf carts) and stumbled across this gem--yep, this is exactly what it looks like. A goose herder.

Lucky for us, Main Street turned out to be the gift that just keeps giving. Like, for instance, the elderly couple holding hands while cruising in their matching electric wheelchairs.

And who could forget the heart attack (gotta love it!) known as fried candy??! Turns out you really need one bite of a fried Oreo to understand its true perfection.

There were also, inexplicably, bears:

And grandfathers plopping their startled grandchildren on the backs of giant pigs. Obviously.

We rounded out the 115 degree (at least that's what it felt like) with an Iowa Fair Classic/requisite--a pork chop on a stick! I don't know how to say this, but it was delicious. Don't judge.

And like any normal girl, I came home and started singing in my window sill, just like Margy in the hit musical State Fair.

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