I've got a spring trip on the calendar for May and I'll tell ya, it can't come soon enough. On Sunday afternoon I took Kenny's 636 out for a quick ride before the flurries brought me home. I think I forgot what it felt like to ride a true sportbike. So small, compact and tight. It felt so good. As I was humming along under the grey winter sky my mind was in the rolling green of West Virginia... C'mon spring!

..and while we're on the subject of travelling and maps and all that, of course there are the books that get my motor running.

I received my second copy of "1000 Places to See Before You Die" as well as "The Most Scenic Drives in America" for Christmas this year. I spent New Years Eve perusing the pages of Scenic Drives. Not that it takes much to kick my wanderlust into high gear, but it just makes me want to get out there and go, go, go! So much to see, so little time.

Do you have any travel book suggestions? Do tell!

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They make me afraid
scary pink turtleneck wangs
too close to the bums

why have they made you
eerily looming above
ceramic penis

oh sweet dollar store
your treasures always amaze
one hundred pennies

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I don't know about yous guys, but I am still in the paper age when it comes to maps. I love the toil of pulling out my file of maps, spreading them out across the livingroom floor and jotting down routes and numbers that ultimately string together to form a route. Call me old fashioned, my GPS is the Girly Pen System. I sometimes even draw little hearts over my I's.

I can of course see the appeal of the GPS, in terms of telling me where I've been, where I am at this very moment, where the next gas station is and all that but I just can't shake my affinity for good ole paper.

Its pretty awesome how many websites give away free maps. Chambers of Commerce, Tourist Bureaus, States, counties... they are all just dying to get you to come visit them. They want to tell you exactly where you can get that warthog whittled from real colby cheese that you just know your Aunt Myrtle would die for. From? No, definitely for. Need a place to stay? No problem. Often along with the maps, you get restaurant, motel and touristy information pamphlets as well.

I know, I know. This certainly doesn’t appeal to everyone. Signing up to receive things in the mail might rank right up there with shoving glass in your eyes on the scale of things to do on any given day. I happen to love shoving glass in my eyes, so there you have it.

Here are a couple spots I have on my bookmarks:

·         US Scenic Byways 

·         http://www.pocahontascountywv.com/

·         Scenic Roads in Virginia

·         Maryland Scenic Byways: 

·         New Hampshire – White Mountains

·         Nova Scotia Travel Guides

·         Great Lakes Seaway Trail

·         Blue Ridge Parkway Guide

If nothing else, getting the maps and guides helps to fuel the pipedreams of travel. Please feel free to share what you’ve come across.

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On Saturday we took a ride up to Dia: Beacon in Beacon, NY. One of the pieces in their collection really did a number on me. I was particular affected by Louise Bourgeois' Crouching Spider. The bronze giant stalks the seemingly small confines of a naturally lit brick room in the upper south corner of the building. It's black and bronze, spindly legs precariously and delicately balanced on razor sharp points. It made me feel like I wasn't sure if it was crouching to pounce or in order to fit into its temporary home. Each one of its slender legs almost touching the surrounding walls.

Being in a room with a 10 foot spider is really unnerving, even when you are fully aware that it isn't real. You still carry your own personal baggage to the work and apply your feelings to the scenario. For better or worse, I love that someone can make you feel something like that.

Crouching Spider has been on display in Philadelphia as well as San Francisco in outdoor settings.  There are many photos online of the work outdoors, and indeed it is a beautiful work outdoors, but none of the photos Ithat ’ve seen seem to have the feeling of menace that I experienced with the spider inside that room.

I found this photo on Grufnik's flickr of Crouching Spider and am using it with their Creative Commons license.The original is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/grufnik/1411399458/ 

• Search For Louise Bourgeois – Crouching Spider

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The sun beamed in through the window as when I moseyed my way to the kitchen table with my toast and coffee this morning. The warm ray created a nice warm cocoon from the cold air that has a grip on us here in NY right now. It really was easy like Sunday morning. 

When I sit at the table alone, I always read something. Magazines are usually my material of choice. They are small doses of information with pictures to feed the imagination. Mags can be the perfect non-committal read.  For some reason, our magazine supply here at the Fuzzmop household was limited to the Harbor Freight catalog. Not exactly my first choice... but ok, beggars can’t be choosers.

Just about every online forum that I read has at one time or other made reference to H.F. having whatever hoozywhatsis that someone needs for like 90% less than every other retailer. Admittedly, like many women, I love a great bargain. Did I tell you I got a $200 pair of Betsey Johnson shoes for $30 at a store closing sale right before Christmas? No, seriously, I did! The black patent and red plaid Leopold shoes.  Every time I wear them to work I smugly chuckle to myself at my super thrifty shoes. When you only spend $30 on $200 shoes that means you have a $170 left to spend on other sale shoes! Right? Shut up. It’s new math.

Where was I? Right. Harbor Freight.  This wasn’t the first time I’ve Harbor Freight-ed. I have indeed perused their catalog before, thought it’s usually right before I deposit in the recycling bin.  There I sat at the table, sun-beaming. Sipping and thumbing, thumbing and sipping.  

“Oooh, cool. Babe! Look at this motorcycle dolly for the garage!” I call out to my sleepy-eyed, darling.

“Why are you reading the Harbor Freight catalog?” he says. “Yea, that is cool.”

“I don’t know. We don’t have anything else to read,” I say as he wanders back out to do something manly or scratch himself someplace manly.

“Babe? Did you see this solar panel thingy in here?” I shout to the living room where he’s camped out.

I have a hideously annoying habit of asking him questions when he leaves the room. I know he can’t hear me and yet, I cannot help myself. Ah, the joys of cohabitation :)  

In he comes again to see the solar panel “thingy”.

“Cool,” He says as I turn the page.

“Oooh look, they have purple wrenches!" I shout in full on, chick glee.  I was indeed impressed to see those cute wrenches in purple! If I had a set of wrenches I would totally want them to be a cute color like purple.

As always, my darling boy smiles gently at me. 

I’ve been told that:

a)      Tools aren’t cute

b)      Purple wrenches aren’t cute

c)       I need to stop getting glitter on his needle nose pliers

Whatever. The blue one is hot.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94316

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