Friday Flotsam

Frrrrrrrrrrrrrri forgot to start the dishwasher last night.

Okay, I want to do something fun this morning. (well, fun to me, that is.) And this might require you to wake up that noggin of yours, but I swear it’s worth it! (well, worth it to me, that is.)

But just give it a try!

Let me start by saying that I have a broken record player downstairs. (and I’m not being metaphorical.) It’s been broken for years and years. I had it during college and I’d play records in my tiny Fayetteville apartment on Taylor street (Taylor street!) like Built to Spill’s Keep it Like a Secret, Joni Mitchell’s Blue, Elliott Smith’s XOXO, and a ton of deep cut indie that I would list here but I remembered I like having human friends. I loved that thing. It was a part of me.

And it’s my mission to one day get a new record player. I follow a bunch of IG accounts that are purely about vinyl vibe. (I just made that up. PATENT PENDING.) Beautiful rooms with plants and candles and tooooons of vinyl lined on shelves. And it got me thinking last weekend over pizza about the perfect opening to a record. An album. Doesn’t have to be vinyl, but I need you to imagine pulling that shiny black record from its sleeve and settling it on the turntable. Gently lifting the needle and placing it on the record, in that smooth little area before a whole sonic world opens up.

What album for you is the most perfect intro? The perfect beginning?

And this completely impossible, I know. Even if you can’t imagine the number ONE, pick something that might land in your top ten. What album, in your opinion, has the perfect opening?

I’ll give you one of mine. And it’s probably not NUMBER ONE, but this is way, way, waaaay up there.

Radiohead’s Kid A.

OMG. The very opening moment of Everything In Its Right Place, the four notes that fall . . well, into place. It’s just perfection. Sets an entire mood for what you’re about to experience. Listen to that on vinyl and you will never be the same.

Think about it! Tell me yours. What’s your favorite opening moment of any album? Dig deep.

Or not! I’m breezy!

Why do I need to explain every purchase I get everywhere?

It’s this thing I cannot control. I have this tendency, almost every single time I’m shopping to explain why I just bought what I just bought to the cashier.

“Find everything okay?”

“Yep, sure did! We’re out shopping for a little birthday party. Friend of my daughter’s. Gonna be cute.”

“Hmm, mmm.”

“Her mom said she likes skin care things, so that’s why I got the face mask. I think she’ll like it.”

“Hmm, mmm.”

“I know, the stuffy seems a little young, but these girls still love them! Ha! Oh to be young, right?”

“Hmm, mmm.”

“And that keychain? I’m getting that one because all these girls are obsessed with backpack keychains. Sort of like our charms in the ’80s. Do you remember that?”

“Credit or debit?”

“Oh, right. The gum’s for me. Ha! Aren’t you glad the snow’s melting? GAH, to see grass again, right?”

“Receipt with you or in the bag?”

Why does she hate me?

Okay HOW did I not know Sophia Coppola has a movie out I’ve never seen?!

Somewhere: have you seen this? I have not seen this! How have I not seen this!

Sophia embodies everything I love about film. She’s it for me. Lost in Translation are you kidding.

Of course she hooked the world with The Virgin Suicides back in 199- WAIT.

I’m realizing there’s a slew of her movies I’ve not seen and I cannot believe this. ON THE ROCKS? THE BEGUILED? THE BLING RING??? What’s all this!

Sorry, having a weird moment here. I thought I knew myself. I’m not sure how to handle this.

Yes, I know about Priscilla. That will happen at some point. Maybe it’s because I was pregnant in 2013 and blacked out on all culture at that point. Can we blame Will and Nat for this?

If I tried to tell you just how long I spend getting egg mucus out of the shell each morning, you’d have me committed.

Weekend plans?

The snow has melted and greenish grass is back! All that moisture on the ground for a full month has to be good for the grass, right? I know we’re still eight weeks away from spring, but isn’t it fun to think about the stirrings deeeeeep down, deep in the soil. Something is thinking about waking up. I love it. And I have three Sophia Coppola movies to watch. What a time to be alive.

We’re having some friends over tonight to eat steak chili and play Codenames! Heard of it? I got it for Aaron for Christmas, but this will be our first time playing. Mom Night tomorrow night and the Chiefs game on Sunday! I’m already nervous.

From this week::: Buffalo Chicken Wraps! Ya might need this recipe for Sunday. Am I right or am I right? (I’m right) Here’s the video on how that comes together. And some Cilantro Lime Shrimp! I swear, if you try this you’ll see what I mean. DIVINE. And that video for ya. Give it some love.

Did you already forget about the BEST opening to an album? This is what I need from you today. Let’s go.