A Letter from Vida to the School Principal

I made a copy of this letter because it's just so Vida.

Dear Mr. A________,

First of all I would like to inform you that if you take this letter as a friendly suggestion rather than a demand, it will sound much better, so please do. Secondly, I would like to say that this is not a classroom assinment [sic], but just a thing that has come to my attention on the school yard. That "thing" is Mrs. C_________. I have noticed that she is sort of harsh. This first came to my attention when she benched me for running around the lunch tables. If she has a reason to do that, I am entirly [sic] ok with it. But isn't lunch for getting out our energy? The other, bigger thing that concerns me about Mrs. C________ is that she never lets us explain why we did whatever it was that we did. In my case it would have been, "Mrs. C_________, I was only playing tag." I am not sure if it would've worked, but it would have been nice to tell her that I meant no wrong. Thank you Mr. A_________.

Sincerely,

Vida

P.S. please, for my own good, do not show this to Mrs. C__________.

After he received the letter, Mr. A. made an announcement over the school sound system: "Vida W., come to my office right now. You are in BIG TROUBLE." She did as she was told, and then of course the two of them just kicked it for a few minutes and shot the breeze about Mrs. C. I love our school.

Soup & Sentences & Stories

The upside of having your desk in the kitchen is that you can blog while making a pot of soup. Which is exactly what I'm doing now. Judging from the past few days, it seems that Winter is on the wane, and so I wanted to make this Caldo Verde one more time. The first time was very good (especially on the second day), but this time around I'm making Nesting Ground Mistress adjustments: more chorizo! more linguica! more garlic! slice the kale thinner! It's so simple to do that I doubted the legitimacy of the recipe, which I found while perusing the San Francisco Chronicle. A quick Google search later, though, it seems that it is, indeed, basically the real deal. And so I have no qualms about passing it on to you. Here's a tiny picture of the finished product:


Doesn't that just look like the best mess ever?! And here's a link to the recipe. Make some, and then invite your parents over for dinner, and then you will be my Nesting Ground Twin!

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Here are some blog post sentences that I've found quite moving today, actually:

From Weez: But I can rely on you to fill in the blanks, and if you do not know the specifics, you’ll think of something that made you feel whatever it is you recognize, and you think you will know me, and that I would understand you. Maybe that’s why I write, and why you might read - for an illusory if not actual accidental communion.

And from Tony: There’s something very endearing about 70 year old (or older) men wearing Members Only jackets.

So here's to Weez and Tony and their blogs in general. And, more specifically, to actual accidental communions and Members Only jackets.

***

I've been writing a little bit lately. I'm working on a series of short-shorts that all include a line from a story I wrote years ago, "As a Filipino, it's my responsibility to be a good dancer." I'm doing this because it's endlessly amusing to me.

Also I'm fumbling through writing an essay about my father and his whistling. Whistles all the time, that guy. Has whistled for as long as I can remember. I'm not a very good writer of essays; I lack the ability to relax into my topic. Too self-conscious, too much thinking, fear, whatever. But I'm trying. I like these short craft essays over at Brevity. Helpful.

Hearts A-Bursting @ Nesting Ground

There are half-finished Valentine cards scattered all over the place. Vida is making her own, Lea chose these, and Risa is custom-coloring these. The latter has requested (in a whisper) an additional Valentine for a "special boy." I am fine with this, as he always greets me with a cheerful, "Hi Ms. Montes!" and his hair is impeccable, and he listens intently when I teach art. He only makes it to school a few days a week, probably because—I think—he lives in an apartment with just his teenage cousins, but never mind; he's a good boy.

In more hearts-y news, I've been meaning to post pictures of the shower I hosted for my little cousin which had, if you recall (and I'm sure you do), a woodland forest theme. And perhaps that was a ridiculous theme to have, but these types of social events really ought to have a theme or else there is a very real danger that they'll downward spiral into an unpleasant aesthetic mish-mash. Do I sound crazy? I got your crazy right here. I made my front room into a dining room:


Does this owl not very much belong? My delightful mother-in-law gave it to me:


I am a fan of party favors. These are soy candles scented with lemon & verbena. I found hemp ribbon that twists out into a leaf shape. Boom:


And here is the winning entry in my Draw-A-Baby-Please game, which I invented just that morning when I realized that oh shit, I didn't plan any games.


I bring you this close-up of the table because I want you to see the little marzipan toadstools made by S.:



Love all over the place here.