favorite things to feel (texture wise)

1. bare feet in mud
2. vibrating the sacrospinalis
3. soft weathered wood
4. squelching play-doh between your fingers
5. breaking up cold butter into scone batter
6. cashmere. plain and simple
7. memory foam
8. smooth wood
9. newly-hatched chicks or ducklings
10. beach glass
11. Will's stubble
12. a box of buttons – the buttons, not the box
13. warm towels
14. crisp money
15. wrinkled, heavily handled papers
16. marshmallows and fluff
17. sinking your fingers into a container full of m&ms or beans or lentils
18. the plump pad on the bottom of cats' feet, fur on cat chins, cats' tongues and cats in general
19. horse noses
20. broccolli
21. flour: a big bowl of it that you can stick your hands into or drive match box cars through
22. moths' wings
23. freshly painted nail polish
24. kite string
25. piano keys
26. the sun on your back when you are a little bit chilly
27. holding a tiny hand to cross the street
28. felt
29. anything fresh from the dryer
30. hot bathwater (with oils in it)
31. corn starch and water or cornstarch in a plastic baggie
32. standing at the shoreline while the tide pulls the sand out from under your feet
33. jumping into a pile of fresh powder snow
34. rabbit fur
35. down-filled slippers
36. hay
37. an envigorating cool breeze blowing on your face, preferably from the top of a hill or mountain, or by the ocean
38. the underside of a sea star
39. boyfriend sweater
40. the silky edge to some winter blankets
41. the cactus with the tiny pearls
42. hotter than hot water on a chilly winter day
43. pavement on bare feet
44. grass on bare feet
45. bread dough
46. hands
47. the skin on my stomach
48. those ridges you get on the top of your fingernails sometimes
49. soft, cottony pages in old books or the crisp pages of a new book
50. cookie dough (in or out of cookie dough ice cream)
51. Curious Touch™ Soft paper
52. warm sand
53. vintage feedsack fabric
54. corduroy (but really only narrow-waled; wide-wale is not as exciting)
55. freshly cut short hair on the backs of boys' necks or a freshly shaven head
56. clean sheets or very old 100% cotton high thread-count pillowcases
57. earlobes, which are very succulent
58. kitchen floor with bare feet in summer
59. reptile skin
60. white down comforter love
61. soft furry dogs, especially their ears
62. mousse (texture in mouth, not in hand)
63. hair while you're rinsing out the conditioner and it feels like a mermaid's hair would
64. mud, moss, or a carpet of pine needles beneath your feet
65. crème brûlée
66. wet leaves and crunchy leaves
67. curly hair
68. flower petals
69. caterpillars
70. sandstone
71. soft skin, especially after you have been at the beach
72. the right ballpoint pen on the right paper
73. old printing press blocks
74. velvet
75. silky hair in ponytails
76. birch bark
77. the way freshly-shaven legs feel
78. freshly sheared wool
79. the tile floor in keith's old bathroom
80. fingrepainting
81. wet clay on the potters' wheel
82. flannel (old flannel and flannel sheets)
83. the fuzzy side of sycamore leaves
84. pumpkin innards
85. ultrasuede
86. lambs ears (animal and plant)
87. glue on fingertips
88. creamy peanut butter (texture in mouth, not in hand)
89. car upholstery
90. the soap at el camino in brunswick
91. brand new baby beech leaves with fuzz
92. staghorn sumac twigs
93. turtle shells
94. my mom's elbows, when un-folded (she always hated when i was a kid and i would rub them)
95. puppy bellies
96. old t-shirts
97. glue on fingertips
98. the right person's lips
99. the inside of a brand-new sweatshirt
100. nectarines and peaches and kiwi
101. a bucket full of wet grapes


list by: alyson, amy, ashley (photo by ashley!), becky, darcy, dierdre, hannah, jan marie, lauren, maggie, michela, rebecca

amazing things to do in autumn

1. go apple picking: climb trees, run around, stretch to reach the
highest apple you can pick
2. take lots of photos of you and your friends with apples
3. make a leaf pile and jump into that mofo when the sun is just right
4. rake a huge pile of leaves and jump off a swing into them
5. buy or knit new sweaters and wear them
6. wear the sweaters that have been put away all summer
7. do absolutely anything with apples [sublist: applesauce, apple cider, apple juice, apple jack (whoa), apple cake, apple jam, apple pie (please melt some cheddar on it in autumn), apple chutney, roasted apples and sweet potatoes and oh, there’s more… ]
8. fall in love
9. start school or at least plan to teach yourself something
10. make/eat thanksgiving dinner sandwiches
11. eat scuppernongs and muscadines
12. mail a box of leaves to a friend who lives in the south
13. make wreaths out of dry bittersweet
14. start rum and coke game nights (apples to apples!)
15. drink pumpkinhead (or other pumpkin flavored beers, I guess...)
16. eat pumpkin pie
17. use cinnamon in your cooking
18. go to north carolina
19. get some new pencils or sharpies
20. collect every color of leaf in your neighborhood and tape them in your journal
21. go out in the woods for a walk, observe the changes in nature that happen as we transition from summer to fall
22. fall off something (get it??? fall???? har har)
23. climb trees
24. wear socks again
25. celebrate halloween! and all that goes with it
26. start carrying tissues
27. go to lisa korf’s annual fall day
28. go on late night walks and try to take a mental picture of what the ground looks like before it gets blanketed in snow
29. re-imagine your life, accounting for the change in temperature
30. take rainy days off to drink hot chocolate and play cards
31. wear a hoodie and take a picture of your rosy cheeks
32. get a pumpkin and invite people over to help you carve it
33. watch a leaf drop from high above and try to run and catch it
34. stay home for sunday baking
35. host/attend potlucks
36. fly kites and wear scarves so you look like twins
37. go on haunted hayrides
38. wear thick, brightly colored and textured tights
39. drive on the kangamangus highway
40. swing on the swingset at school until your chest hurts from cold air
41. climb a mountain and appreciate the changing leaves from the top of the world
42. harvest vegetables and make them into yummy pickles
43. go to the cumberland fair (“it’s always in september”)
44. finally make that epic halloween costume that you’ve always wanted to make but in the past you put off until it was too late and the night before you decide to be the croc hunter or will ferrell or a barbie
45. make art
46. get obsessed with a TV show on DVD to get some down time, finally
47. wear your mike lowell jersey and get into sports
48. go on a wagon ride and swing your legs off the end
49. go school shopping even if you’re not in school
50. stand on the deck of your favorite bar, because it’s going to get a helluva lot worse really soon
51. find a great set of mittens, hat and scarf that you love so you won’t be
52. searching all winter thinking, why didn’t i get this sooner?
53. same goes for jackets, longjohns and woolen socks
54. drink hot toddies
55. celebrate day of the dead
56. visit a graveyard and try to scare your friends
57. learn to like football
58. make hot cocoa (with peppermint schnapps)
59. carve an obscene pumpkin and put it on your doorstep
60. start drinking tea all the time! stay warm!
61. wear mittens while you make pecan pie
62. eat homemade soup for supper every night
63. make hot mulled cider (with rum and cinnamon sticks)
64. open up the windows at night so you can bundle up under the covers and curl up to your honey
65. go to the boston open studios or portland’s first friday
66. stay home on halloween and watch scary movies while you wait for trick or treaters
67. visit haunted houses
68. eat homemade donuts
69. roast pumpkin seeds
70. put candy corn on your canine teeth like a vampire

list by:
amanda (who was very proud that so few things had to do with drinking), ashley, darcy, emily, hannah, jamie, jess, maggie, michela and nicole