Goosebite Lake

Fifth Monday Specials

2012-01-30T15:40:00.000-06:00

Fifth Monday Specials: Great Destinations

Want to see great Photography? Check out http://1x.com
Food and Wine highlights at http://www.foodandwine.com
Check out http://www.artbabble.org Play Art Loud for interesting, short, well put together videos on works of art.

Happy sojourn to these great places…

Engaged

2012-01-23T15:51:00.000-06:00

My son popped the question and got a yes!

Oriah Mountain Dreamer

2012-01-11T15:39:00.000-06:00

"It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain! I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty, every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes!”

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments." ~Oriah Mountain Dreamer

I'm here...really I am.

2011-12-19T17:21:00.000-06:00

School hall, lights out, Christmas cheer on.

This year has been one wild ride…

Reading all your blogs has been a wonderful thing.
Thank you all.
Hope to share more in 2012.

The Frenzy

2011-05-27T11:29:00.000-05:00

I am deep into the end of the year frenzy…

Hawk Cam

2011-04-26T15:34:00.001-05:00

This is good TV for me...
http://www.livestream.com/nytnestcam

A Good Book

2011-01-16T09:14:00.000-06:00

Daughter of the Forest, by Juliet Marillier, is a great book. I highly recommend it. This book was the first of the Sevenwaters Trilogy, but she has since written two additional books for this series. I have not read the latest book, Seer of Sevenwaters, yet. I did read her book Heart’s Blood this past summer while I was housebound due to foot surgery. It was good, but nothing she has written since Daughter of the Forest has been as powerful. I am still a big fan of Marillier.

The First Monday

2011-01-03T07:35:00.002-06:00

Monday Monday, so good to me,
Monday Monday, it was all I hoped it would be

First Monday of the year...here we go!

Joyeux Noël!

2010-12-25T06:08:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas to all of you.
Peaches

24

2010-11-29T21:55:00.000-06:00

Sunday was my son’s birthday.

He turned 24. Wow!

It all seems to go by so quickly.

He has grown into a very nice man.
When he was little we shared snowcones.
This birthday we shared beers.

Thanks is given

2010-11-25T09:19:00.000-06:00

A quiet moment of reflection on this day of thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving.

2010-11-05T19:39:00.000-05:00

What a week. I photographed 432 people this week and just finished taking pictures at a formal dance. I am looking forward to some R and R this weekend. This picture is what I do in-between people photos.

Still Alive...

2010-10-16T16:10:00.000-05:00

Wow…It’s been five months since my late post. What a ride it’s been.

During the month of May I was strapped up and painfully hobbling to the end of the school year. I had Achilles tendon surgery in June, which made me pretty much non-mobile and house bound for the summer. In there was a fall which gave me a large knot on the head and a dislocated shoulder…but no damage to the leg, only my pride. Add to the mix having to have the exterior oh my house washed (which makes a mess) and painted for insurance requirements, having to have the plumber over for emergence repairs and a new hot water heater, the city complaining about my over grown flower beds and weed-whacking everything down, pet trauma, a friend who went psycho on me, a scratched cornea, and oh yea…a root canal and crown...

And though I have been keeping up with you I have not wanted to write about any of that. Now it is October and I am just finishing up the first quarter of the school year. I’m still hobbling, but in a good way…on the mend and as busy as ever.

Gardening

2010-04-29T19:34:00.003-05:00

Gosh...I love this ladies approach to gardening/life.

Spring Break(down)

2010-04-06T22:40:00.003-05:00

OK… after eight days, today I acknowledged defeat and dragged myself to the doctor… got a Cort/B-12 shot in the hip, (burned big time)… a prescription for some antibiotics … and while I was there, and under one co-pay, did my annual blood work… three vials of blood… with that shank of a needle… nice little side trip to the pharmacy (30 bucks for 12 pills)… all accomplished with no voice… just little squeaky sounds… what a day... and not one thing on my to do list accomplished all break.. this is my spring break. What’s a workaholic to do? Aright, I’m through whining…

The purple verbena is glorious and doing just fine without me…

On the other side

2010-03-28T07:45:00.005-05:00

I have made it to the other side of the production. What a great show it was, with a good mix of heavy, dark history and comic relief. My girls did a great job. I am so proud of them. I love watching them grow as individuals through the process of stage production. However, I am exhausted…worn out, bushed, and pooped. It takes everything…or more correctly, I give it everything, but I love every minute of it.

I worked in the garden yesterday…first time in a very long time…and it was great. I got my herb garden weeded…a four by ten foot bed…and the heather and blackberry beds. All the snow we had this year has wiped out most of my herbs, so I will have to replant. I was wonderfully sore last night…definitely out of shape in this area. I have spring break coming up soon. I will spend most of it in the garden. That will get my backside in shape fast.

This morning I am catching up with Facebook and Blogger. Let me rant a moment about Facebook. I was never into chain letters. Then these critters became e-mail forwards…but they were still chain letters. Now they have made their appearance on Facebook…as the copy and paste in your status chain letters. No matter how cute, or sweet, or laced with social pressure…they are still chain letters. I hold the line…I do not do chain letters. I do not understand how my friends get sucked into these things…they are intelligent women who should know better.

…and I know I used the “…” a lot, but I am not a blogger because I want to be a writer…I am not a writer. I blog as if I am having a conversation…in a stream of consciousness kind of way…that is totally informal. Just thought I’d clear that up…

One Year...

2010-03-18T21:49:00.002-05:00

Today was a hard day...one year since mom's passing.
I posted about her here.
I still have not cleaned out her room...maybe this summer.

Friends are Good for You

2010-03-14T09:37:00.003-05:00

So…I have not been posting much. It is not that I have nothing going on…it’s that I have too much going on. I have been totally drained, physically and creatively, as I am putting it all into the production. Dress rehearsal in on the 20^th, one week away, and the performances are on the 25^th and 26^th. That means costumes, props, and set all have to be finished now. Then there are tickets to sell, programs to design, promos, and a seemingly ends list of small details.

But last night Michael insisted I take the evening off, dress in my best “glad rags,” and go out for dinner and a dance concert. It was a much needed break and creatively renewing. And it was a reminder that friends are good for you.

He is off to the Gulf Wars XIX today for eight days of camping and medieval weaponry and arts.

(Gulf Wars is the annual contest between the Kingdom of Ansteorra, and the Kingdom of Trimaris. The war is hosted by the Kingdom of Gleann Abhann and the Kingdom of Meridies ; all of which are member groups of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. The SCA is an international organization dedicated to researching and re-creating the arts and skills of pre-17th-century Europe. Our "Known World" consists of 19 kingdoms, with over 30,000 members residing in countries around the world. The link is: http://www.gulfwars.org/index.html )

I, however, am back to it today. I am going in shortly to continue my own production battle of RADIUM GIRLS.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radium_Girls)

Productivity

2010-02-18T08:41:00.002-06:00

This week I have been working on costume plots for each character/actor in the play and pulling costumes from storage. I will have to find a few I do not have, but mostly I will start fittings next week. I am still unsure about the lighting idea I have, using an InFocus project…just haven’t had the time to play with it yet. I am feeling the crunch as there is not a lot of time between now and dress rehearsal and still lots to do.

I have also been working this week on getting three paintings, by my second year students, ready to submit to the Literary Rally Art Competition. Lots of forms to fill out and get in the mail, labels to make, and hanging hardware to install, etc., and I have to bring them to the university Student Union Information Desk today. I personally do not like competition of any kind, but it is good for the school to be recognized.

Then, while I am in the city, I will meet up with my Tri-Ya’s (three women who like to get together and have fun) for lunch and a movie.

I like being this productive!

There are days

2010-02-14T07:56:00.004-06:00

“There are days I drop words of comfort on myself

like falling rain & remember it is enough

to be taken care of by myself."

-Storypeople

I’m stuck

2010-01-18T15:33:00.003-06:00

OK…I have tried to deny it, but…I was seriously depressed over the holidays. This is the first Christmas without my mom. I miss her so much. She lived with me for 22 years…It’s like losing an arm.

And today I realized I’m still depressed…I can’t seem to get it together. I’m tired and sleep a lot, or escape in a book…but I am not getting anything done. My house needs a deep clean, my garden need attention, I need to finish blocking the play before the next rehearsal…but I can’t seem to do it. Intellectually I know what it is…but, emotionally …I’m stuck.

Leonard Sax

2010-01-13T18:05:00.002-06:00

I attended an all day In-Service today on single gender vs. co-ed education.

Dr. Leonard Sax, a leading expert in the field of single-gender education, was the presenter.

It was a great workshop with loads of current research and resources.

I have long been a believer in single-gender education and it is nice to see that research is supporting it with such in-depth studies.

Dinner and a Movie

2010-01-03T10:50:00.003-06:00

Had another date last night with “the falcon,” he is such a nice person. We had dinner then went to see It’s Complicated. What a delightful movie. I laughed so much...it is of my generation and is so funny. I highly recommend it.

Today is my last day of vacation. I plan to roast a duck, cook carrots from the garden, and putter around the house doing domestic chores. It’s a beautiful day for it.

A friend of mine posted this video on Facebook today and I enjoyed watching it. It shows how much fun we can have with animals. The dog looks as if it is having a blast.

Enjoy it. Make a great day!

Boxing Day

2009-12-27T16:28:00.001-06:00

Had a Boxing Day party Saturday night which some of my former students attended…they graduated in ’98, ’99, and ’02…they are so like daughters to me. Life is good.

I stay in touch with many of my graduates on Facebook, even the ones from 1987, my first year teaching at my current school. The newly fledged are all about the college party scene. Then the middle group is very career focused. Then I see many of them become young caring mothers. Patterns and cycles…

Greetings

2009-12-25T08:49:00.001-06:00

Happy Holidays! Make a great day!

Love is All You Need!

2009-12-24T10:18:00.004-06:00

Happy Holidays...All You Need is Love!

On December 7th, 2009 at 1:30pm GMT Starbucks invited musicians from all over the world to sing together at the same time to raise awareness for AIDS in Africa. In that one breathtaking moment, musicians from 156 countries played "All You Need is Love" together. Watch now, as musicians from all around the world come together and share a song.

Join in by lending your own voice to http://StarbucksLoveProject.com Watch streaming video from countries around the world and then join in by singing All You Need is Love yourself. For each video submitted, Starbucks will make a contribution to the Global Fund to help fight against AIDS in Africa. You can also help increase the Starbucks contribution to the Global Fund by submitting a drawing to the Love Gallery.

The global sing-along is part of our continuing efforts to help fight AIDS in Africa. In just one year in partnership with (RED)™, Starbucks has generated money equivalent to more than 7 million days of medicine to help those living with HIV in Africa.

Sunshine at last

2009-12-22T07:01:00.003-06:00

We actually had a sunny day yesterday. We have had weeks and weeks of rain here…even my dogs were smelling a little moldy. They sunbathed all day and were so happy.

I had a date Saturday night…not ready to talk about it till I overcome my trust issues a bit. Anyway, we had dinner and then went to see Avatar in 3-D. It was a beautiful creation and the 3-D was well done. I enjoyed the environment a bit more than the story line, but I still recommend it. If you go see it, go early as it is a long movie.

Breath

2009-12-16T08:18:00.004-06:00

I am, as most teachers are at this time of year, swamped with work. I can see the end now, with a two week holiday break starting Friday. Big breath...

This month my department put on a wonderful Winter Concert and I held auditions for the spring play. I will be doing the play Radium Girls this year. Now I am grading projects and portfolios, both photography and studio art, and proctoring exams. I love it.

I will leave you with a few images. (I do not show student faces)

Happy Holiday Season to you all.

(After the St Francis of Assisi mass we have the Blessing of the Pets…so cool!)

2009-11-13T12:18:00.003-06:00

What?

It’s Friday already?

November?

Mid November?

Twelve hours a day is not enough to get my work done.

I have so much to do before Thanksgiving.

I sure need the holiday break.

Ginkgo Tree at work.

Recap of my week

2009-10-30T17:53:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I did my best to do all of my domestic necessities, except the laundry, on Saturday because Sunday I had to work. I went in to school Sunday morning at 9:00 to photograph the Primary Father-Daughter Mass and Brunch (primary is Pre-K through fourth grade). After that, I set up a small art exhibit of my studio art students’ work, cleaned and set up my rooms for visitors, displayed computer students’ work in the hall, and set up a PowerPoint of students photography . From 2 to 4 it was Open House (Meet and Greet) for interested new families. I was back home by 5:00.

My plans were to cook chili for the week and do the laundry. I jumped right in. I chopped up two onions and started them in the pot, then went to the refrigerator to get the stew meat (I like a chunky chili) …that is when my day took a nose dive. When I opened the door it was warm… not cold… I had to toss a lot of food. No worries I thought, I can cook from the pantry. I decided to started a load of laundry and then regroup…so I did. Back to the kitchen … I decide to make a quick tomato sauce, using the onions, with some spelt pasta. As I am getting that stared, I hear a very bad noise from the laundry room. I go check it out and the washer is making the horrible noise… I open the lid and smoke billows out… and of course it is filled with water. So, between tending my supper I wrung out clothes. Now, in Louisiana you cannot leave wet clothes in a pile…they mildew over night. You can put wet clothes in the frig, but that was not an option…so I put my wet, soapy clothes through the dryer…poor dryer …poor clothes. Two appliances out in one day…I smiled …I carried on …but I was feeling the budget tension inside. I did not sleep well Sunday night.

Monday I went to work as usual… I called the repairman and made an appointment for Tuesday morning… I arranged to take the day off.

Tuesday… The repairman calls at 7:15am to say I am first on the list and that he would be over soon… waiting… repairman arrives at 9:30. He works on the frig first and in about 45 minutes has it repaired… cost $125.00… not too bad. The frig is old and I was thinking it might not be fixable. The washer, which is less than five years old, is next. He starts testing and replacing parts. When he gets to over $250.00 in parts alone, he stops and announces the time of death… removes replaced parts... no charge.

Nothing for it… “Suck it up, Peaches; you’re off to Lowes to buy a new washer.” I walk in…go to the appliance section… locate the cheapest Whirlpool washer… flag down a salesman… order… arrange for next day delivery… check out with plastic… home by 11:00.
Now, you know I brought paper work home and sense my school has a laptop program and we are online (Moodle-virtual classroom, RenWeb-virtual grade book/Homework Board/Lesson Plans, and Rubicon Atlas-virtual curriculum mapping) I had plenty to do… so I worked on a bit of that… then I read a bit as a treat to myself.

At 5:00 Lowes calls to say they would like to deliver the washer now as they have a lot for Wednesday… I say yes, come now… waiting… they arrive at 6:30 and finishes at 7:30… long, expensive day.

This made the Parent/Teacher conferences on Thursday seem like a piece of cake…

Now it’s Friday a 5:45 pm and I am still at work… processing senior pictures, which takes time. I am typing this in-between-time.

I think I might make chili this weekend…

not my forte...

2009-10-25T06:36:00.003-05:00

A leg cramp woke me up at four o'clock this morning. I have been having server leg cramps lately...the kind that turns your calf to rock and makes your toes flex in seemingly imposable directions. I could not get back to sleep so here I am in blogland.

I have not been posting much in this blog space. I work so much that I really only have three hours at home in the evening during the week. That seems to evaporate with making super, eating, cleaning the kitchen, taking care of my pets. The weekend is a flurry of domestic catch-up activity which this week had to all be done on one day.

It is Sunday morning and I have a long day ahead...going in to work to photograph the primary father/daughter mass & brunch from 10-12...doing paper work, setting up a small art exhibit of my student's work, and cleaning my classroom till 2...then it's meet and greet/open house from 2-4...then it's home to do laundry and cook food for next week-I bring my own lunch...my life is so exciting....

Don't get me wrong. I love my job, even all the extra duties I taken on to earn extra income, but it does consume me. And I know that the job, the time restraints...all of that is not the only reason I have not posted much... Part of it is that I think...who wants to hear about your day over and over...part of it is that I spend my time reading your blogs and think...they really have something to say...their life is so interesting...they really know how to connect...they have it together...

So...so I am trying to let my comparison go, that is not why I started this thing...I will try to post more often and not worry about it's worthiness. Know that I am not a writer, have no desire to be one...I am a teacher of the arts, an artist, mother, friend, etc, but writing is not my forte.

Rain

2009-10-04T08:07:00.002-05:00

I love this clip called Rain. You need to have the volume up for this one. So creative. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6ZVpZqistk

Cello Music...beyond Bach

2009-09-27T18:12:00.001-05:00

I was just listening to Adam Hurst, who plays cello with a Middle Eastern, Indian, Gypsy influence...I am loving it! I'm putting this CD on my wish list.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT0lRqGKU4k&feature=player_embedded

I could have been dancing...

2009-09-20T21:40:00.003-05:00

I wish I was at this celebration over the weekend...but I was all about the yard work, the house work, and the prep work for mid quarter progress reports. Yes, I have been back in class for one month already. Enjoy the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYNertKngNU

Dizzy Domestic

2009-08-30T16:00:00.002-05:00

I am trying to do a weeks' worth of chores in one day ... but as you see, I am taking a break with my blog and a cup of chocolate truffle coffee. The coffee smells great...but I smell like wet dog, as I just bathed my two doggies. Before that I was weeding and wacking and cleaning the patio so you know I am looking and smelling my best...

Two weeks into the school year and I feel swamped with paper work already. I love teaching, but I am not a fan of all the documentation attached to it. I will get ahead of it all soon, no doubt.

I finally decided on the play for the spring stage production, Radium Girls. It will be very challenging to produce on my postage-stamp-sized stage, which does not have theatrical lights. It has a low plaster ceiling with a few strip lights. Anyway, I will make it work. After reading plays all summer, this one was by far the best of the bunch.

Well...my cup is empty..back to the chores. Still so much to do.

Moth visits

2009-08-27T15:48:00.001-05:00

This moth hung out on my back porch all weekend. It looks like a White-lined Sphinx moth, but the marking are not quite the same.

One week down...

2009-08-23T21:43:00.001-05:00

I spent the weekend...

Writing lesson plans and such for classes.

I read the play Waiting for Godet.

I would like to see it done.

I went to the movies with friends to watch Julie and Julia.

It was the best laugh I have had in a long time...fun!

Didn't get to work in the garden, but the movie was worth it.

Did the regular domestic chores: clean, laundry, market, mail.

Cooked food for this weeks lunches.

Took pictures of a moth that was hanging out on the back porch.

I haven't downloaded it yet, I'll share when I do.

I have a super busy week ahead...

I will acclimate soon, so I will get back to posting more often...

I hope.

I do keep up with all of your posts.

That is good.

Feeling Better

2009-08-16T12:03:00.004-05:00

After many trips to the chiropractor and several massages I think that I will live. I am almost pain free, free enough to get back to exercising, which is, at my age, the biggest help. It's true--use it or lose it. Exercise is hard to fit in during the school year so I will have to incorporate short sessions. The weekend gardening, though intense, is not enough.

Here are a few more pictures from my yard. Have a great week everyone.

Back to work

2009-08-12T14:53:00.008-05:00

Summer break is over for me.

I returned to school today for freshman orientation.

Great bunch of girls this year, as always,

and a very productive day was had by all.

It was nice to see the returning students

who came to help, even a graduate,

because they love the school.

I hope all of you love your jobs as much as I do.

Here are a few photos of campus.

My Little Corner

2009-08-09T08:40:00.001-05:00

Just a little peak into my world...the top of my dresser.

15 Books

2009-08-07T19:31:00.002-05:00

Name 15 books challenge.

I am playing along with Allie, but I will not be passing this along. Not my style.

I did this in about four minutes...I thought of the first book in my youth that I remembered then moved forward in time. I stayed away from classic works, except for Midsummer, which I read in sixth grade.

The Instructions: Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.

1. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

2. The Good Earth - Buck

3. Cheaper By the Dozen

4. A Midsummer Night's Dream - Willy

5. Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut

6. The Illustrated Man - Ray Bradbury

7. Hawkline Monster, a Gothic Western - Richard Brautigan ( I count too)

8. A Clockwork Orange - Burgess

9. Mists of Avalon - Bradley

10. Hatrack River - Card

11.Newford Books (all 16 plus) - Charles de Lint

12.The Farseer Trilogy, Liveship Traders Trilogy, Tawny Man Trilogy - Robin Hobb

13.Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon

14. The Black Jewels Trilogy - Anne Bishop

15. The Sevenwaters Trilogy - Juliet Marillier ( love all her work)

Zorba

2009-08-05T07:42:00.006-05:00

I have just finished the book, "Zorba the Greek," by Nikos Kazantzakis. It was very earthy...makes me want to see the old B&W movie with Anthony Quinn again, now that I have read the book. My friend, Roxanne, said she wanted to see the movie before traveling to Greece, but the story has very little to do with Greece. It is more a character study between a pagan/peasant and a Christian turned Buddhist/intellectual. The book has a lot more grit. It was written a year before I was born.

I posted recently about designating Mondays as a snippet day, then preceded to read two books that presented no snippets, a very rare thing, though they were interesting period pieces. (Well...it's not Monday, I know, but I am snippet-ing none the less. I think I am too loose for designated days.) Zorba, however was full of snippet-able lines. Here are two.

I think this snippet captures the essence of the 'Boss' character very well:

The stars were traveling round, the hours were passing—and, when I arose, I had, without knowing how, engraved on my mind the double task I had to accomplish on this shore: Escape from Buddha, rid myself by words of all my metaphysical cares and free my mind from vain anxiety; Make direct and firm contact with men (humankind), starting from this very moment. I said to myself, “Perhaps it is not too late.”

Earthy as Divine:

The imperishable force which transforms matter into spirit is divine. Each man has within him an element of the divine whirlwind and that is how he can convert bread, water and meat into thought and action. Zorba was right: 'Tell me what you do with what you eat and I will tell you who you are!”

….

I am off to the Chiropractor today to work on hips that have gone astray, which are giving me a pain in the neck, literally.

Happy Tuesday to you all.

Beautiful Day

2009-08-02T14:26:00.005-05:00

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...hot but beautiful.

Just a walk around the yard today...and pictures.

Feast

2009-07-30T08:58:00.005-05:00

Feast or famine? That's the cycle of my life on so many levels. I have had a feast the last week, socially. I have had lunch with many different friends, far and near, and lovely visits with several friends I have not seen in years.

I have the tendency to get lost in my job/life and not pick my head up and look around. I neglect my friends, myself, my personal life. I find myself living in a tight little circle of work-home-sleep-work. It's not healthy. And, it amazes me that my friends still remember me and like me. I am endeavoring to be a better friend this year...truly I am...and it's a gift to myself...but I hope my friends will enjoy it as well. I hope I can stick to that.

On Sunday I went antique browsing and thoroughly enjoyed it. I do not need another thing in my house, but I do love to look. I love writing desks and library tables, hutches and enameled kitchen tables, side chairs, jewelry, books, glass...I have a thing for green and blue glass. I can spend many hours looking.

Monday I spent with my friend Jeannine who lives in Florida. It was so great to spend time with her. She is a very key part to who I am today...she is the person who taught me how to drive and so much more. I promised to scan and send her pictures from the summer of 1973. We took a mega road trip that summer which we reminisced about and laughed about. So yesterday I pulled out my old photo albums and scanned and send them off. I had a great time looking through these old albums. I haven't looked at them for many years. Damn, I looked good in the 70's.

Today I am being very good to myself...I am having a massage. I love and really need massage. I am fortunate that I have found a great masseur. She has great rates, too.

Hey new friends...treat yourself to a massage soon.

Keanu Fred and Ginger Carrie-Anne

2009-07-24T19:22:00.007-05:00

Keanu Fred

Ginger Carrie-Anne

Here are my dogs, Keanu Fred and Ginger Carrie-Anne.

Well, I named them Fred and Ginger,

but my son calls them Keanu and Carrie-Anne.

So, we put the names together.

I must apologize to them and to you.

They are very dirty and are in need of some grooming.

They are rescued litter mates and they are mutts. Fred is carefree (read not the sharpest knife in the drawer) but very loving. He would like to be in your lap 24-7.Ginger is more independent and incredibly intelligent. Look at her eyes. I think they are beautiful and say so much.

They miss my mom very much as she was always home during the day with them.

The Gate

2009-07-21T20:05:00.009-05:00

I intended to go out and take pictures of old downtown this afternoon, but it rained and rained. We need it; it has been so hot and dry. Anyway, I have uploaded a few old pictures.

I love high contrast...love it. I always push my black and white prints to a very high contrast. That doesn't work with some subjects, but I like it here with the iron gate.

And here is another picture of the oaks, but with the same gate. Love these beauties.

And one more...

That's all I have in me today.

My thanks to all of you wonderful bloggers.

Three's enough, thank you.

2009-07-19T23:50:00.003-05:00

"Sometimes I think I must have a Guardian Idiot.

A little invisible spirit just behind my shoulder,

looking out for me...only he's an imbecile."

~Spider Robinson (Off the Wall at Callahan's)

I still have A/C problems...and now a major plumbing issue...and to top it off nicely my roof, my new roof, leaked during the rain yesterday.

Can I please catch a break here?

Three's enough, thank you...my plate is full!

Waiting and rambling...

2009-07-17T17:53:00.003-05:00

I was held captive all day waiting for the A/C repairman to come. He came yesterday and was to come back today...he was a no show, no phone call. You know, I consider my time very valuable, even though I don't always get paid for it. I had planned to run errands and such. Well, I'm not one to rant and complain so I rearranged my day.

I did get to finish a book. I got many little projects done...like putting together the new spice rack/swivel-Susie thingy, that I have had for weeks, and put it in, in place of the old one which was scotch-taped together, but leaning dangerously...did some purging in my studio. Yep, lots of puttering and waiting...uncovered surfaces I haven't seen for a while...found the Tai-Chi DVD I have been looking for...wondered many times, why did I kept that?

I remade some earrings...I had a pair of chandeliers that I took apart and made into two nice pair of drop earrings. The chandelier earrings are just too big for me. I also changed a pair from post to hooks. If I find a pair of drop earrings I like that have posts I will buy them and change them to French hooks. Post are not comfortable to me. I do this a lot with my jewelry.

See...see how I am rambling...It's that kind of day...

Slip-sliding away...

2009-07-16T22:43:00.004-05:00

It was definitely a two steps back day....

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

2009-07-15T11:33:00.002-05:00

I walked in my neighborhood this morning, instead of the Ridge. It was good, bad, and ugly. The good thing was that there was a great breeze out today, which as very nice in the heat. The bad and the ugly was that it is garbage day in the neighborhood, which smelled bad and looked ugly. Why do people produce so much Trash?

Now I must admit that I have three cans out for trash pickup, but the two big cans are full of yard waste-weeds, sticks, pruning, and trash I pick up from the street. The small can has one kitchen sized bag in it.

First of all, most people here do not recycle. The city tried to have curbside pick up but so many people complained about it that it was stopped. It's embarrassing to me that my city is so lazy and selfish. I recycled before this venture and I still recycle. I just have to load up the car and drive it to the recycling plant myself.

Unfortunately, my local recycling business has stopped taking glass. They could not find a buyer close enough to break even. That is very sad.

Working in the summer heat

2009-07-12T10:08:00.002-05:00

I have put in many hours of work in my front yard as most of the flowers there have finished for the season. All the daisies needed to be cut and the seed heads clipped and spread for next year. I let them go through that dead, drying, seeding phase that I'm sure my neighbors don't understand at all. The daylily stalks needed pulling as they bloomed very early this year...they knew the drought and high heat were coming. It is high summer now, so not much is happening in the garden because of the intense heat.

The pictures were taken awhile back.

Good Morning

2009-07-11T08:24:00.002-05:00

Good morning to all of you. I am off to mow the lawn. Have a great day...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0j3-tmQLjg&feature=related

Girl Talk

2009-07-08T22:59:00.003-05:00

I have been getting together with different friends these last two days. I had lunch out with the Tri-Ya Girls on Tuesday and the Crones Club on Wednesday.

And yes, I have names for the different groups of women. We all live in different local towns now, but we try to meet up at regular intervals to stay connected.

I tell ya, spending time with friends is such good medicine.

Photo by Peaches

pure and endless light

2009-07-07T22:42:00.003-05:00

A great ring of pure and endless light

Dazzles the darkness in my heart

And breaks apart the dusky clouds of night.

The end of all is hinted in the start.

When we are born we bear the seeds of blight;

Around us life and death are torn apart,

Yet a great ring of pure and endless light

Dazzles the darkness in my heart.

It lights the world to my delight.

Infinity is present in each part.

A loving smile contains all art.

The motes of starlight spark and dart.

A grain of sand holds power and might.

Infinity is present in each part,

And a great ring of pure and endless light

Dazzles the darkness in my heart.

-M. L'Engle

holding pattern

2009-07-05T21:02:00.005-05:00

I need to clean out mom's room. I have not touched a thing. It has been over four months. I need to do it now while I have time. Once the school year starts I really don't have much extra time. But I can't seen to get started. It's so personal. I don't want anyone to touch it. I want to do it; I don't want to do it.

I feel like I'm in a holding pattern. If I was burning it up in some other activity, getting something done, I'd feel better, but I'm not. I'm not getting very much of anything accomplished, and I always have a list of things waiting to be done, especially in the summer.. I'm doing the minimal daily activities, very minimal. Still the day is gone in a blink of an eye and then...it's one more day I coasted through.

And I understand the logic of the situation. I recognize all the little sabotages. I know that the lethargy will lift. But, I am standing still.

Photo by Peaches

Our values are shifting

2009-07-04T12:09:00.002-05:00

"...The great problem of our time

is that we don't understand

what is happening to the world.

We are confronted

with the darkness of our soul,

the unconscious.

It sends up its dark

and unrecognizable urges.

It hollows out and hacks up

the shapes of our culture

and its historical dominants.

We have no dominants anymore,

they are in the future.

Our values are shifting,

everything loses its certainty,

even sanctissima cusalitas

has descended from the throne

of the axioma and has become

a mere field of probability.

Who is the awe-inspiring guest

who knocks at our door portentously?

Fear precedes him,

showing that ultimate values

already flow towards him.

Our hitherto believed values decay accordingly

and our only certainty is that the new world

will be something different from what we were used to.”

-letter from Dr. C. G. Jung to Sir Herbert Read, 2 September. 1960

Photo by Peaches

The art of laughter

2009-07-01T22:26:00.004-05:00

"Suffering....confers no privileges.

It all depends on what one makes of that suffering.
It is possible to suffer and despair an entire lifetime
and still not give up the art of laughter.”

Elie Wiesel
photo by Peaches

You are...

2009-06-30T23:04:00.001-05:00

You are what you are

by what you believe.

Oprah Winfrey

Photo by Peaches

I got a lot of errands done today...missed mom a lot ...sad.

Snippet Monday

2009-06-29T09:15:00.004-05:00

I am a veracious reader. I read every day. I get up early in the morning, 5:30, so that I can fit some reading in before work, and I always end my day reading. I am also an insomniac so at night when I am reading in bed I have to keep looking at the clock. If I don't I can read right through the night. I try to put the book down by 12 or 12:30.

I live on a very tight budget, which does not include the purchase of very many new books. I also work long hours and my weekend in stuffed with domestic chores and keeping the family and home together, so regular trips to the library is not a good option either. (Small town libraries have short hours.) But I have my ways. I know when the library is giving away discards and I arrive with bags and bags to fill up. And once a year I hit up the Book Both at Congé just before they shut it down, when paperbacks go for 25 cents and hardbacks for 50. I aways have a stack of books waiting to be read.

But, as you can surmise, these books are not your current best sellers. In fact, many of them are very old, very dated books. They have that old book smell. Each one has something to offer. I tend to mark little snippets of intriguing thoughts in each book.

So, I thought that Mondays could be Snippet Day. But don't rush out looking for the book. You more than likely want be able to find it. And I know your snippets would be different than mine but...

Father Melancholy's Daughter, by Gail Godwin
“...what you said in that sermon about the ways we can choose to carry our crosses really hit home. You said we can just flat out deny we have a cross, or we can refuse to carry it, or we can whine and blame everybody else. Or, you said, we can just accept it and carry it in such a way that it builds our strength and serves as an example for others. You said we could incorporate it into our style and make that style a fine and splendid thing that can have meaning for ourselves and others.”

“... “People have so many definitions of sin,” I said. “Do you have one?” ... “A falling short from your totality,” he said. “Choosing to live in ways you know interfere with the harmony of that totality.” ... “But how do you know what your totality is?” “You learn. You unlearn. You pay attention. You feel where things balance for you and where they don't.”

Spunky...

2009-06-27T21:40:00.005-05:00

Having AC problems this evening...leaking all over the place...I have been mopping up water. I called my AC guy for advice and he says, after asking questions, that I can run it but to put something under the inside unit to catch the water till he can come buy to clean my lines. That's one good thing about small towns...I called him at home at 8 at night and he was OK with that.

So I went out to the garage looking for a pan and came across my cats litter tray. Made me sad to see it. I do not have a cat at the moment. I lost Spunky to feline aids over a year ago. I loved him so much...I miss him. I think I kept him alive longer than was good for him. At the end even the injections I was giving him for pain weren't enough so I had to let go. It was hard and I'm still not ready for another cat.

But, I have two dogs who don't mind being the center of attention.

Looking good...not

2009-06-26T14:43:00.005-05:00

Walked on the Ridge again today.
Very hot , even at 7:30 in the morning.
The hills are getting easier,
meaning I am not gasping as much at the top.
It's the inclines that make the walk interesting.
Then I worked in the side yard for about two hours;
weeding and pulling day lily stalks.
Filled up one trash can

then had to stop because of the heat.
I put my head under the hose to cool off...

I looked a mess...
well you know that's when the ex stops by...
why does that still bother me?

...how I look to him?

mental attitude

2009-06-25T09:31:00.002-05:00

Seek out that particular mental attitude
which makes you most deeply and vitally alive,
along with which comes the inner voice
which says, “This is the real me,”
and when you have found that attitude, follow it.

William James (1842-1910)

Photo by Peaches

to think quietly, to act gently...

2009-06-23T12:44:00.003-05:00

To live content with small means;

to seek elegance rather than luxury,

and refinement rather than fashion;

to be worthy, not respectable,

and wealthy, not rich;

to study hard,

think quietly, talk gently, act frankly;

to listen to the stars and birds,

to babes and sages,

with open heart;

to bear on cheerfully,

do all bravely....

William Ellery Channing (1780-1842)

Photo by Peaches
(detail of a mural by Robert Dafford)

Him

2009-06-21T10:40:00.004-05:00

There he is, the man who was my father, dead some twenty-five years now. His death gave me back my mother, in a way. She lived with me for twenty-two years after his passing. She died this March, she was seventy-seven years old. Theirs was an arranged marriage. They were together for over thirty years; he was nineteen years older. She came to love him, I came to not. I guess I loved him when I was small and unaware. My mother chose to be unaware; it was what she knew. I left my fathers' house when I was sixteen. Life was hard, but I survived. I have been taking care of myself ever since. I am fifty-five now, I have a masters degree, a job that makes me happy, and a son that I love.
Am I a happy person? Yes, I am. Did I have a happy, shinny childhood? No, I did not. My life experiences give me depth, but my life, the living of it, I color as I please.

I Believe...

2009-06-19T11:51:00.003-05:00

I believe in the eternal importance of the home

as the fundamental institution of society.
I believe in the immeasurable possibilities

of every boy and girl.
I believe in the imagination, the trust, the hopes, and ideals

which dwell in the hearts of all children.
I believe in the beauty of nature, of art, of books,

and of friendship.
I believe in the satisfactions of duty.
I believe in the little homely joys of everyday life...

Ozora Davis (1866-1931)

Photo by Peaches

Timeless Words

2009-06-17T10:32:00.004-05:00

To awaken each morning with a smile brightening my face:
to greet the day with reverence for the opportunities it contains;
to approach my work with a clean mind;
to hold ever before me, even in the doing of little things,
the ultimate purpose toward which I am working;
to meet men and women with laughter on my lips and love in my heart;
to be gentle, kind, and courteous through all hours;
to approach the night with weariness that ever woos sleep
and the joy that comes from work well done
this is how I desire to waste wisely my days.

Thomas Dekker (1570-1641)

Photo by Peaches

A Brontë Day

2009-06-15T14:32:00.009-05:00

“I've dreamt in my life
dreams that have stayed with me ever after,
and changed my ideas:
they've gone through and through me,
like wine through water,
and altered the colour of my mind.”
Emily Brontë (1818-1848)

Photo by Peaches

Domestic Frenzy

2009-06-13T19:51:00.004-05:00

Saturday is my domestic day. The day I try to fit in all the things that need to be done at home. Even though it is summer I am still programed to do this. During the school year I leave home between 7:20 and 7:30 in the morning and get home around 6:45 in the evening. After supper is made and consumed, then the kitchen cleaned, I don't feel much like doing chores. But on Saturday morning, after coffee and a bit of reading, I am out working in the yard by 8:00 or earlier. There's mowing, weeding, harvesting, and watering to be done with lots of dog cuddling and playing mixed in. I stop around 11-11:30 because you never finish that stuff and it gets hot at that time of day, and it's lunch time anyway. After a quick bite, lots of water, and a shower, it's on to the inside stuff. There's vacuuming, dusting, and scrubbing. I stop that around 3:00 because you never finish that stuff and I need to get the marketing done. There's driving to the market, finding all the things on my list, checking out--which takes longer than the shopping, driving home, and putting it all away. Did I tell you that I hate shopping, all shopping. I did not get the shopping gene. Then, gee, it's time to cook supper...
Sunday is laundry day...

Photo Friday

2009-06-12T18:19:00.004-05:00

I have photographed this place many times, for many years. I love this spot...this view...under these oaks. It is a place filled with spirit.

living in the process

2009-06-11T12:07:00.005-05:00

I had lunch with my friends, Linda and Denise, yesterday. We always have great fun when we get together. We talk about everything and at one point we were talking about Meryl Streep. It made me remember a quote of hers in a book I have, which I had to look up today. She says, Meryl that is...

“Integrate what you believe into every single area of your life. Take your heart to work and ask the most and best of everybody else. Don't let your special character and values, the secret that you know and on one else does, the truth—don't let that get swallowed up by the great chewing complacency.”

Now that's living in the process...life to, like art, is about process.

Simple things

2009-06-10T14:26:00.004-05:00

sunlight and shadows...

Trees and shade...

and quiet time to enjoy them...

Photos by Peaches

Twenty-two years and a life time...

2009-06-09T21:35:00.005-05:00

This post, the first real post, will be about my mother, Marjorie. Mom, who lived with me for twenty-two years, died in her sleep on March 18th of this year. She came to live with me after my father died, because she did not have the means to live on her own. Even though I am the youngest of my siblings and was not at that time at a point in my personal life for this responsibility I embraced it anyway. I invested deeply in making her life a good one...she deserved it. She grew and blossomed into a happy, independent soul. She had twenty-two good years.
She loved to be outside with her feet bare and her hands in the dirt. She could grow anything. I once gave her a long stem rose which she rooted. If it rained, she could only take it for so long then she was out working in the rain. Later she would come back in dripping, but with a big smile.
My son and I miss her.

and so it begins

2009-06-08T18:53:00.000-05:00

...this dive into the waters of bloggerland.
I'll just explore a bit...