Briefest Update...

Thank you, everyone, for your caring and support.

It has been difficult this week. I was successful in visiting my Dad. And I made it back home unscathed (physically, at least; more on that later, perhaps!) about which I am HUGELY thankful.

I know that your prayers and support have made an big impact... can see a difference in the smoothing of obstacles... feathers... paths...

Sadly, my Dad was not in a good way when I visited... though cheerful, and bright eyed. I am moved more than I can afford to be whenever I think about it. It has left me very subdued, and unable to artificially spark into action, though I wish I could. So many things are being left undone, untouched.

Dental emergencies, a 3 birthday weekend just past, hard working teenager with a bad cold, and preparations for a family trip to the lone star state in 3 days which have scarcely begun mentally, much less logistically, have me wondering how long and deep and tangled my various colored denial can go on!

But it warms my heart to know you are there... I just wish I could be with you more.

I hope to catch up with all of you as soon as I can... and update you in perhaps a more interesting introspective way at some point.

Ever More love and thanks...

Love and Thanks

Tomorrow, Tuesday, I hope to visit my Dad. Please pray for me. That is all for now... I must keep prayerful... peaceful.

Ms. Kathleen, who's known me for a lifetime, may know part of the story. I will try to fill in the blanks come what may, later.

Love and Thanks

Plate 'o Brian Eno... Gnomes... Cotswolds...

Things are striving towards stasis here-- I dare not write about any of the subtext. Must keep a positive outlook. So this is my (seemingly frivolous) post.

In light of a movie quote we often use 'round here (movie quotes abound, lots of movie quotes...) which is and derives from the cult classic Repo Man, 1984, which talks about synchronicity in life and the way things, even messages can come to us in the mundane, routine:

"Plate 'o Shrimp"

The character played by actor Tracey Walter (who will remain in my mind as "Frog" from "Best of the West", the short lived television series he co-stared in three years earlier) is explaining to a very young Emilio Estevez, "Say you're thinking about a plate of shrimp. Suddenly someone says plate, or shrimp, or plate of shrimp. Out of the blue, no explanation. No use looking for one either. It's part of the [lattice of coincidence that lays on top of everything.] [cosmic unconsciousness.] " (Quoted slightly differently by two different sources) While at some point later, (in addition to other hinting thematic references throughout) they unknowingly are standing in front of a placard advertising a greasy spoon special "Plate o' Shrimp".

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=plate%20of%20shrimp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4HQyqc-aVU

Thinking of a Plate of Shrimp...

So.

Oddly, over my way, Brian Eno keeps interlacing himself, along with, separately, garden Gnomes. (And then, in retrospect, there is for me an out of the blue reference to the Cotswolds during my Tag response.) I figured I'd Google for fun, Brian Eno, and Gnomes, having no confidence in or knowledge of any likelihood that anything pertinent would surface. Ha.

Fripp and Eno; The Cotswold Gnomes. 2006

Little did I know!

Guess I should pay attention... ?

We all should, I believe, take notice of the messages we receive. I'm just not sure yet of the significance (if any) of this one! According to my friend Frog, er Miller, no point in looking for any either. Just whether or not to believe him...

;)

In Memorium...

Natasha Richardson

1963-2009...

Our thoughts and prayers are with her family tonight.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day, 2nd ed.

Oxalis, Iron Cross...

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY

HAPPY SPRING...





Yes. But, I suppose I must settle for a Green's amber...

(To paraphrase Colin Farrell's character in In Bruges;)

"One BELGIAN beer, please!" ;)

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig!

Game of Tag...

Wow, I've never been tagged on blogger before... Spring has sprung me something new! Thanks, my lovely Ciara!



What is your current obsession? What day is it? Probably taking pictures for blogs... Blogging... my new found Blog Friends!


What are you wearing now? Levis, black tooled leather belt, 1" wide striped black and red Norma Kamali hip-length fitted tee, (under or around $20 at Evil World Domination-Mart... I do shop there once in a great while and couldn't resist!) with long fitted sleeves that bell out below the wrists, and go to the fingers, wide, 2" diameter silver hoop earrings (slightly tarnished), my Wedding rings, little black Beatle-esque boots. (with rubber heels for chasing-children comfort...)


Who was the last person you hugged? My teen guy, after his break, right before the throes of homework ensued.


If you were a tree, what tree would you be? A Catalpa; more specifically the Catalpa in front of the the turn of the (20th) century Sears house my Dad had near the Sea for 17 years... *sigh*



This is a fine example of a Catalpa; just click to enlarge...


What's for dinner? Gluten Free (Pepperoni ,Vidalia Onion and Red Bell Pepper) Pizza-- Homemade!


What was the last thing you bought? What, you mean besides groceries? I bought mascara; I figure it's time to try wearing it again... and a little real fur skunk made in the 70's by Real Fur of West Germany, for my sweet little thing who loves sweet little things.


What are you listening to right now? Eva Cassidy, Live at Blues Alley. Also, the wind, and the sounds of the house that seem sweeter now that spring is seeping in...

What is your favorite weather? Real Summer: hot and dry and fine, where an afternoon Thunderstorm is not out of the question, lightning and lightning bug weather, where the trees are dark against the blue sky, the shadows are dark, shade is actually cooling, where you heat up all day, and the coolness comes at night, where you are rejuvenated by the feel of your bare feet being swallowed up by cold grass...

What is on your bedside table? How to open a Financially Successful Bakery, Siddhartha, Frommers Paris 2006, Shadow of the Wind, Special Places to Stay in Ireland, Beautiful Boy, Proust was a Neuroscientist... (the stack got to be too big, and continues beside the bed... do you want those, too?) Also, a little brushed stainless retro gooseneck lamp, and a clear plastic princess phone, where you can see all the parts, and it lights up when it rings (so you know when the phone is ringing when the ringer is off, which it always is).

What is your most challenging goal right now? To move forward with my old GREAT BIG goals, while gathering to me all these oh-so-inspiring, energizing and propelling new goals, and wondering if /how-long I will stay in this way; having more energy, and with it seemingly more time, while time available is really the same or less... and trying to keep up with the everyday, too.

Say something to the person who tagged you: I think you are amazing and I am truly blessed to have found you and to be spending time here with you!

If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished, where do you want it to be? Where wouldn't I want it to be? Malibu, Miami, Marblehead- Greystone Beach!, Oregon, Napa, New Mexico- Corrales Village would be nice, Key West, Ireland, Intercoastal Waterway- a charming historic town somewhere, England- London or the Cotswolds, Coastal Maine, France, Italy... any of those ought to do it...

Favorite Vacation Spot? Any of the above. Especially, my family's beach house, circa 1983-1993...

Name the things you cannot live without: my loved ones, music, beauty, nature, aromatics whether in good food, fragrance, nature. Water.

What would you like to have in your hands right now? My favorite perfumes; one discontinued, one seemingly on the way to be... (so here is my question:)

What is your favorite fragrance? Blue Carnation by Roget et Gallet, Dolce Vita by Dior.

What is your favorite/favourite tea flavor/flavour? Once again, I cannot pick! This is me and tea; at 6 am every morning, I drink Red Rose, probably because it's what my mother drank, and it has always come with a free figurine (by Wade) in every box, and growing up, I always collected the tea-bag tags as tiny pretend playing cards for my tiny bears and Liddle Kiddles, and my daughter now collects the cut white board dividers from inside to make bookmarks for everyone!

But also, as "recreational" and comfort tea drinking I very much love: Bigelow Constant Comment, Earl Gray (Twinings is ok), Black Currant, & Cranberry Autumn both from Harney Teas, and Genmai Cha (Brown Rice Green Tea) by Maeda En; the brown rice is toasted and roasted and some of the kernels pop and look like wee popcorn.

Here is a second question I've added; when it's time to brew tea, what do you use? Pot/pan, Kettle, Microwave, Electric Kettle, other...? Kettle, microwave sometimes...

What would you like to get rid of? Clutter, in my house... Prejudice and Selfishness, in the world.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? To Ireland, but I would take my Dad with me! I'd just steal him away, and I know he'd go with such glee!

If you could have your portrait painted/made by any famous artist from any era, who would you choose? Tough choice! I must say Maxfield Parrish, but would also love Waterhouse or John Singer Sargent.

The Rules:

1. Respond and rework; answer the questions on your blog, replace one question you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more questions of your own. (I cheated; I left all the questions and added 2, so you may omit 2 if you like, and still add one or more of your own.)

2 . Tag eight other untagged people. (And I say, "Or more. Or less!")

These are the people I'd like to have play, if they'd like to! Amanda, Miss Pine, Puanani, Ms. Kathleen, Lisa, & Tutta Rolf. Also, even though they are less familiar with me, and even though their blogs are not really inclined towards such things, I'd like to tag Noreen, Bea Fleur, and Adriana. It's still a fun way to be introspective... even if you don't publicly play. Still, it'd be grand if you did.

And, as a longshot I'll tag: Barycoise, and two other gents seemingly COMPLETELY out of the blue who's profiles/blogs I find intriguing: Chris and Peter.

You may, but needn't be, as wordy as I have been! ;) Illustrations not required... but I know all of you at least well enough to say, each of you seem quite creative...

Back after a Brief Respite...

Midnight Snow... after the second, before the third.

I can't believe this is March... or that it was 6 degrees Fahrenheit overnight 2 nights ago, and that it should be 73 this weekend...
The first snow was 2 inches, and melted after 2 hours... who would have believed it was ever there...? The second snow came a few hours later, but in fits and starts... In the night I got up to peek out the window... No new snow, but this is what I saw in the hazy moonlight. By morning we had 8 more inches, with drifts after 25 mile an hour winds, to one and a half feet. Still, not much for the year, while way too excessive for March! Madder than a March Hare... In like a Lion... I suppose the Lamb is due on Saturday...

(All of these were shot on the same night...)

The Earth can be any shape you want it

Any shape at all

Dark and cold or bright and warm

Long or thin or small

But it's home and all I ever had

And maybe why for me the Earth is flat...

All along you still believed

Believed you were immune

And if love is all you're missing

Look into your heart

Is anybody home ?

Please remember ...The Earth can be any shape you want it

Any in the world

Thomas Dolby, The Flat Earth

Selection #17, Player at the bottom of the Page...(merely mood music, if you like)

Waters of March

Waters Of March

by Antonio Carlos Jobim. (to hear it, scroll down to end of post page and play it!)



A stick, a stone
It's the end of the road
It's the rest of the stump
It's a little alone
It's a sliver of glass
It is life, it's the sun
It is night, it is death
It's a trap, it's a gun
The oak when it blooms
A fox in the brush
The knot of the wood
The song of the thrush
The wood of the wind
The cliff, a fall
A scratch, a lump
It is nothing at all
It's the wind blowing free
It's the end of a slope
It's a beam, it's a void
It's a hunch, it's a hope

And the riverbank talks
Of the waters of March
It's the end of the strain
It's the joy in your heart

The foot, the ground
The flesh and the bone
The beat of the road
A slingshot stone
A truckload of bricks
In the soft morning light
The shot of the gun
In the dead of the night
A mile, a must
A thrust, a bump
It's a girl, it's a rhyme
It's a cold, it is the mumps
The plan of the house
The body in bed
And the car that got stuck
It's the mud, it's the mud
A float, a drift
A flight, a wing
A cock, a quail
Oh, the promise of spring

And the riverbank talks
Of the waters of March
It's the promise of life
It's the joy in your heart

And the riverbank talks
Of the waters of March
It's the promise of life
It's the joy in your heart

A point, a grain
A bee, a bite
A blink, a buzzard
A sudden stroke of night
A pin, a needle
A sting, a pain
A snail, a riddle
A wasp, a stain
A snake, a stick
It is John, it is Joe
A fish, a flash
A silvery glow
The bed of the well
The end of the line
The dismay on the face
It's a loss, it's a find
A spear, a spike
A point, a nail
A drip, a drop
The end of the day

And the riverbank talks
Of the waters of March
It's the promise of life
In you



Performed by Basia