Random Ramblings

Hammarskjold - Week 2

2012-01-30T20:20:00.000-08:00

On April 7,1953 Dag Hammarskjold was appointed as Secretary-General of the United Nations. Hammarskjöld was not a member of any political party and regarded himself as politically independent. That attitude combined with his Swedish neutrality made him a candidate acceptable to everyone.

He was not aware that he was under consideration for the position and was surprised when the news came. When he arrived in New York he was met by Trygve Lie the current Secretary-General with the words “you are going to take over the most impossible job on Earth.”

His career up till that point would seem to have prepared him. In 1945, he was appointed adviser to the Swedish Cabinet on financial and economic problems. In 1947 he was appointed to the Foreign Office with rank of Under-Secretary. In 1949, he was appointed Secretary-General of the Foreign Office and in 1951, he joined the Cabinet as Minister without portfolio. He was a delegate to the Paris Conference in 1947 and he was his country's chief delegate to the 1948 Paris Conference of the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC). He was Vice-Chairman of the Swedish Delegation to the Sixth Regular Session of the United Nations General Assembly in Paris 1951-1952, and acting Chairman of his country's delegation to the Seventh General Assembly in New York in 1952-1953.

From Markings:

What next? Why ask? Next will come a demand about which you already know all you need to know: that its sole measure is your own strength.

Sunday Thoughts

2012-01-29T12:34:00.000-08:00

Yoda is one of my favorite Star Wars characters. I thought I'd share some wisdom from him today. And this reminds me that I used to have a little plastic Yoda. I don't know what happened to him, I'll have to look around!

Fear is the path to the dark side... fear leads to anger... anger leads to hate.. hate leads to suffering.

Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.

Yes. A Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you it will, as it did Obi-Wan's apprentice.

Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try.

When 900 years you reach, look as good, you will not.

Named must your fear be before banish it you can.

Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size do you?

Secret, shall I tell you? Grand Master of Jedi Order am I. Won this job in a raffle I did, think you? "How did you know, how did you know, Master Yoda?" Master Yoda knows these things. His job it is.

To be Jedi is to face the truth, and choose. Give off light, or darkness, Padawan. Be a candle, or the night.

Ready are you? What know you of ready? For eight hundred years have I trained Jedi. My own counsel will I keep on who is to be trained. A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. This one a long time have I watched. All his life has he looked away... to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing. Hmph. Adventure. Heh. Excitement. Heh. A Jedi craves not these things. You are reckless.

Friday's Poem

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000-08:00

Let Me Die A Youngman's Death

Let me die a youngman's death
not a clean and inbetween
the sheets holywater death
not a famous-last-words
peaceful out of breath death

When I'm 73
and in constant good tumour
may I be mown down at dawn
by a bright red sports car
on my way home
from an allnight party

Or when I'm 91
with silver hair
and sitting in a barber's chair
may rival gangsters
with hamfisted tommyguns burst in
and give me a short back and insides

Or when I'm 104
and banned from the Cavern
may my mistress
catching me in bed with her daughter
and fearing for her son
cut me up into little pieces
and throw away every piece but one

Let me die a youngman's death
not a free from sin tiptoe in
candle wax and waning death
not a curtains drawn by angels borne
'what a nice way to go' death

by Roger McGough

I thought this was a funny poem with some truth in it! I think Friday will be a poem day from now on. It seems like a good way to end the week.

Beautiful Night

2012-01-25T18:23:00.000-08:00

It's quite beautiful outside tonight. I can see the Moon and Venus and despite being in the middle of a city, I have a clear view of Orion. According to my handy widget thermometer it's 53 degrees. I hope wherever you are it is just as nice! By the way, if you like space images NASA's site is a great place to visit. You view thousands of pictures and download them also. I especially love galaxy pictures!

A Year with Hammarskjold

2012-01-23T12:50:00.000-08:00

Many, many years ago at a bookstore in San Francisco, I bought a book called Markings by Dag Hammarskjold. Hammarskjold was a Swedish diplomat who served as UN Secretary-General from 1953-1961. After his death, the manuscript for Markings was found in his home along with a letter explaining that it was a diary that he'd begun without thought of it being public. As his fame increased he realized the possibility that it would become public but continued to write for himself. He called it "a sort of white book concerning my negotiations with myself - and with God."

Over the years I've read and re-read Markings numerous times. It is one of my favorite books. I realized recently that I know very little about Hammarskjold aside from the basics and, of course, what is revealed in Markings, so I've started reading a very long biography called Hammarskjold by Brian Urquhart. It's a good book - I'm only about 1/3 of the way through as it's slow reading but I'm enjoying it.

To change the subject a little (although you'll see how this ties together), over the last year I've been reading a blog called A Year With Rilke. The blog authors were posting excerpts from a book of the same name. This gave me an idea! As you've probably guessed, my idea is to do A Year With Hammarskjold. I'm going to post excerpts from Markings and provide some biographical information. I'm only going to do this once a week though, not daily. Monday seems as good a day as any so I'll make Monday Hammarskjold day. And here's the first entry!

Dag Hammarskjold was born in Sweden July 29, 1905. He was born into a family with a long tradition of public service which he was to continue. On the influence of his parents he said: "From generations of soldiers and government officials on my father's side I inherited a belief that no life was more satisfactory than one of selfless service to your country - or humanity. This service required a sacrifice of all personal interests, but likewise the courage to stand up unflinchingly for your convictions. From scholars and clergymen on my mother's side, I inherited a belief that, in the very radical sense of the Gospels, all men were equals as children of God, and should be met and treated by us as our masters in God."

And here's this week's quote from Markings:

Only tell others what is of importance to them. Only ask them what you need to know. In both cases, that is, limit the conversation to what the speaker really possesses. Argue only in order to reach a conclusion. Think aloud only with those to whom this means something. Don't let small talk fill up the time and silence except as a medium for bearing unexpressed messages between two people who are attuned to each other. A dietary for those who have learned by experience the truth of the saying, "For every idle word..." But hardly popular in social life.

This is one of my favorite quotes. I hate small talk with strangers or acquaintances and I'm kind of bad at it. I think that people talk too much. I generally don't unless I'm nervous and then I tend to babble a little. A habit I'm trying to cure myself of. I like this quote so much because it expresses clearly what I feel about conversation. Too often people aren't really listening to one another, they are talking just to talk. When I feel that the person I'm talking to isn't listening I usually stop talking. I suppose that's a little egotistical actually. I don't know. Anyway let me know if you like the quote!

Last but not least! You may have noticed that my links are to Goodreads. I never finished my reading challenges last year so this year I've decided to do something different. I'm tracking the books I read on Goodreads and I've done a personal challenge for myself to read 150 books this year. If you are on Goodreads or join, please send me a friend request - I love to see what other people are reading and maybe something I'm reading or have read will sound good to you!

Sunday Thoughts

2012-01-15T13:04:00.000-08:00

It's been a long week. I spent part of it at a web training class in San Francisco which was great but tiring. I got home Thursday night and worked Friday. My daughter and her boyfriend had been staying here with my cats and they left yesterday afternoon. I read awhile after they left, had some dinner and went to bed early.

Today, for the first time in almost a week I feel relaxed and like I'm home. It's quiet, my cats are resting and I'm just playing on the computer. Both cats have wanted a lot of cuddling since I returned. Usually they each spend some time cuddling with me everyday and I think they are making up for the days they missed. It's nice though. I'm always awed at how affectionate they can be. It seems so amazing that they are willing to share themselves and be vulnerable to humans.

So there you have my Sunday Thoughts! It's a lazy, quiet day and I'm pleased and happy to be here.

Cats know how to obtain food without labor, shelter without confinement, and love without penalties. ~W. L. George
The cat is domestic only as far as suits its own ends... ~Saki
There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.~Albert Schweitzer
I am the cat who walks by himself and all places are alike to me. ~Kipling
If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat.~Mark Twain
The smallest feline is a masterpiece. ~Da Vinci

Taking a break

2012-01-11T22:58:00.001-08:00

I've been in Oakland & San Francisco this week. I'm taking a class in SF on web design & management. It's a 3 day class and I'm really enjoying it and learning a lot!

I'm staying in Oakland with my brother and sister-in-law and their 4 cats. Even though I love their cats, I miss mine!

Anyway I plan to get back to blogging this weekend. Here's a picture of downtown San Francisco near where my class is.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Bayo St,Oakland,United States

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T12:01:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had an exciting New Year's Eve! I certainly did. I spent the evening doing some beading, cuddling with my cats and reading a french mystery book (not in french!). Pretty exciting isn't it. Actually I had a very nice time. It was relaxing and peaceful. Mostly quiet except we heard fireworks at 9:00 pm. The cats didn't like that all. By the time they recovered it was close to midnight and the noise started again!

The mystery I read is called Murder in Montmartre by Cara Black. It's been on my bookshelf for quite awhile. I was looking for something new to read yesterday and thought I'd give it a try. It was a great story and the most exciting part is that it's part of a series which means I have a lot more to read! This was the 6th in the series so I'll go back to #1 now and read them in order. If you like mysteries set in Paris I'd recommend this series.

So that was my New Year's Eve. I suppose it could have been more exciting but I was happy. Today however will be, um ok, boring I guess. I'm going to go to the store, clean my kitchen and then bead. Well that doesn't sound all that boring. I'm feeling lazy though and don't want to go out!

Poem for a cold, gloomy Thursday

2011-12-29T15:32:00.000-08:00

Reluctance

Out through the fields and the woods
And over the walls I have wended;
I have climbed the hills of view
And looked at the world, and descended;
I have come by the highway home,
And lo, it is ended.

The leaves are all dead on the ground,
Save those that the oak is keeping
To ravel them one by one
And let them go scraping and creeping
Out over the crusted snow,
When others are sleeping.

And the dead leaves lie huddled and still,
No longer blown hither and thither;
The last lone aster is gone;
The flowers of the witch-hazel wither;
The heart is still aching to seek,
But the feet question 'Whither?'

Ah, when to the heart of man
Was it ever less than a treason
To go with the drift of things,
To yield with a grace to reason,
And bow and accept the end
Of a love or a season?
Robert Frost

Yolo Wildlife Area

2011-12-26T22:18:00.000-08:00

We visited the Yolo Wildlife Area today. I've wanted to go there for a long time because I keep passing the sign on the freeway. I looked it up and I hadn't gotten around to going. Anyway it was pretty cool. We saw lots of birds, including an egret (first picture). As we were walking around my daughter informed me there could be snakes. I wasn't happy but fortunately I didn't encounter one!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T18:45:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We just got back from visiting the tree & menorah at the State Capitol. Then we drove around for awhile and looked at Christmas lights!

Sunday Thoughts

2011-12-18T11:08:00.000-08:00

I was thinking about what to post today when I read this article. Terminally ill woman to stay in foreclosed home until she dies. It's a bit trite to say it made me realize how lucky I am but it did. It made me cry also. I feel so sorry for these people. I don't have anything else to say today, so I guess I'll get on with my fairly comfortable, healthy life. It did make me think of this poem.

Love Does That

All day long a little burro labors, sometimes
with heavy loads on her back and sometimes just with worries
about things that bother only
burros.

And worries, as we know, can be more exhausting
than physical labor.

Once in a while a kind monk comes
to her stable and brings
a pear, but more
than that,

he looks into the burro's eyes and touches her ears

and for a few seconds the burro is free
and even seems to laugh,

because love does
that.

Love Frees.

~ Meister Eckhart ~

My Christmas Tree!

2011-12-16T18:34:00.000-08:00

For the first time in my entire life I bought and decorated a Christmas tree by myself! I was going to do it last weekend but kept putting it off. I guess it's silly but I didn't want to pick one out by myself. Finally this afternoon I went out, found one, drug it into my apartment and decorated! And I only cried a little. Not really from sadness just because it's something new and feels a little scary. Putting on ornaments that bring back memories was hard too. I can sometimes get sentimental over Christmas ornaments. Anyway I had a nice evening decorating and listening to Christmas music. I'm trying to figure out why I know all the words to the 12 Days of Christmas and it's one of my least favorite songs!

One of my cats keeps circling the tree looking for something to pull off. The other is totally ignoring it. She managed to get some tissue paper from me and ripped it up. I think that exhausted her for the day. This whole tree thing exhausted me! My neck aches and I'm tired. I think it's time to curl up like a cat and rest!

Still wrapped up and recovering from my attempts to pull it out of my car and inside the apt.

Wrapping removed and ready for decorations! I was afraid it would be hard to get it into the stand by myself but I didn't have a problem. The guy at the tree lot told me to leave the wrapping on until I got it situated in the stand. It was good advice and worked perfectly!

Decorated! I don't have a top yet though. The top I brought with me to use is too small. Ignore the mess in the background!

I have a bunch of these little bells. I bought them last year at Target and I really like them. They are pink, purple and silver. My mother collected bells so they remind me of her.

Shoot I forget what these are called. Anyway my daughter embroidered this one year. I tried to get a good close-up because it's so pretty.

This is a bird I embroidered for my daughter when she was two years old.

Every year my daughter has had a new ornament for the tree. This is the first one when she was only 6 months old. It's my favorite.

Last but not least, and now I'll probably cry again, this is one of the crocheted ornaments that my Mom made one year. I have six of them and they are special to me.

Sunday Thoughts

2011-12-11T09:00:00.000-08:00

Well I'll try Sunday Thoughts for a couple more weeks and see how I like it. Another tree picture! I liked the way this looked. I was, as you can tell, looking up at it. This poem that I found the other day seemed to go with the tree picture.

THE TREE

Because of the morning bird singing,

song will persist inside me.

Because of the sound of traffic,

I shall always wonder,

and I shall be troubled at what remains

unknown. But I shall hope. And because of the mailbox,

and the road, and the tree. It is hard to despair

because of the tree. Slowly, we turn toward love.

~ Tryfon Tolides, An Almost Pure Empty Walking

Sidewalk Art, Leaves and Laundry

2011-12-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

There are piles of leaves all over my neighborhood. Unfortunately I've noticed some are disappearing. Fortunately I've taken pictures of them! I have no idea why I'm so entranced by them but I am. Also I got some interesting sidewalk art on my walk yesterday. The other day when I did laundry I took pictures of the windows - I thought they looked nice!

The next two pictures go together. The first is easy to read, the second isn't quite as clear but if you enlarge it, you should be able to read it. Apparently the feeling was mutual. I thought it was kind of cute.

Do you have a secret life?

2011-12-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

A Secret Life

Why you need to have one
is not much more mysterious than
why you don't say what you think
at the birth of an ugly baby.
Or, you've just made love
and feel you'd rather have been
in a dark booth where your partner
was nodding, whispering yes, yes,
you're brilliant. The secret life
begins early, is kept alive
by all that's unpopular
in you, all that you know
a Baptist, say, or some other
accountant would object to.
It becomes what you'd most protect
if the government said you can protect
one thing, all else is ours.
When you write late at night
it's like a small fire
in a clearing, it's what
radiates and what can hurt
if you get too close to it.
It's why your silence is a kind of truth.
Even when you speak to your best friend,
the one who'll never betray you,
you always leave out one thing;
a secret life is that important.

by Stephen Dunn

Ah well

2011-12-05T07:00:00.000-08:00

Monday again. . . I had such a nice weekend. I don't know why weekends always have to end the same way - going back to work. I did a lot of stitching, went to a booksale, cleaned, read, walked and cuddled with my cats. What more could I ask for! I only spent $12 at the booksale and ended up with 9 books. Not a bad deal. I was going to get my Christmas tree but decided to wait until next weekend. I'm going to get my ornaments out of storage then so I might as well wait and not have a mostly empty tree sitting around for a week.

I haven't had a Musical Monday for awhile so here's one for you. Baby the Rain Must Fall sung by Glenn Yarbrough. The video says it's a tribute to Steve McQueen. I thought the quote was interesting: "...every baby boomer honestly believes that the average woman would rather sleep with a dead Steve McQueen than a live Ben Affleck." GQ

Now I'm pretty sure I'm a baby boomer and I don't believe that. Steve McQueen just doesn't appeal to me. I don't know who Ben Affleck is so I looked him up. I guess he's cute but again, doesn't do much for me. Now if it were Cary Grant definitely. Or Pierce Brosnan. Or Martin Sheen - I've been watching West Wing and for a fairly old guy, he looks pretty good! Anyway, here's some music to brighten up your Monday.

Sunday Thoughts

2011-12-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

I particularly like my quote this week: In solitary stone fastness among the mountains, there is a strange market, where one can barter the vortex of life for boundless bliss. ~Milarepa (Tibetan poet/yogi, born 1052)

This is a mountain monastery north of Yushu [Gyêgu] near the confluence of the Tongtian and Sepa Rivers.It's where I would imagine one bartering the vortex of life for boundless bliss. I wonder if it would be worth it?

I don't know about Sunday Thoughts as a title. I liked Silent Sunday - maybe I'll go back to that. . .

Bunches of random stuff

2011-12-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

Another post of various bits of information I've found in my web travels!

Pew Internet report says that more people are going online for fun and to pass time, not to specifically look for something. Apparently this is mostly people under 30. I'm slightly over 30 but I go online all the time just for fun. It's amazing the stuff you can find. As this post will show!

One of my not-so-secret interests is UFOs. Seriously. Really and truly. Whether I believe in actual aliens from outer space visiting earth I'm not prepared to say but I find the subject fascinating. Here's an article from The Skeptical Inquirer about the Roswell Incident in 1947. I want to go to Roswell someday!

I cannot imagine why you'd only want an email address for 60 minutes (well I can but I'm going to pretend I can't), but if you do, check out Guerrilla Mail. No registration and you get an email for 60 minutes. If 60 minutes is too long for you, try 10 Minute Mail. Yep 10 minutes. Everything is disposable today.

If you have cats and want to get them a cat tree for Christmas look at these new ones from Whisker Studio. One looks like a cat (sort of) and the other like a tree. Both my cats want the cat one. Unfortunately they seem unwilling to get a job and help pay for it!

Some good advice from Mark Twain: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

If you like pictures, quotes and poetry, visit A la recherche du temps perdue. It's a very cool site! By the way, the title means In Search of Lost Time. I could let you all think I read French but I really used Google translate. I would like to learn French and Italian. I'm worried that my brain is too old though.

I found an interesting site called Quiet: The Power of Introverts. It's managed by Susan Cain who has written a book called Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.I like the site and what she says. You've probably guessed that I'm an introvert. I've been told all my life that I'm too quiet, I should speak up more, be more outgoing, etc. You know what? I like me this way! Quiet is good, introverted is good, being alone is good. I don't dislike people (well a few maybe) but I'd almost always rather be alone. There are only a small handful of people I can tolerate being around for any length of time. I need to be alone, I need quiet. It's one of the things I love about my apartment complex - it's very quiet here. I rarely hear my neighbors and even the street noise is muted.

As I stated in my second paragraph, I do like going online just for fun. But always, always, always I'd prefer to read. I prefer reading to anything else. Here's a picture from The Tattered Cover Bookstore blog called Bathing in Books. Isn't that wonderful!

Ok, that's about it I think. Speaking of reading, my plan for today is to visit a huge used book sale sponsored by the Friends of the Sacramento Library. I'm looking for some mysteries, beading books, poetry, and just about anything else! I'm signed up to receive notifications from Book Sale Finder every week on book sales in my area. If you like book sales, you might want to register with this site.

After the book sale (if I have money left!), I'm going to look for a Christmas tree. I want to get one soon and decorate. The cats are looking forward to helping me!

StoryPeople

2011-12-02T09:59:00.001-08:00

Have you heard of StoryPeople? Now that I ask the question I'm not sure how to explain what they are! Created by Brian Andreas, the company now sells prints, furniture, calendars, and much more. I have no idea how many stories they have but they are all great. This is from the about us section of their website and probably gives you a better idea than I have!

We're a diverse group of people, artists, activists, healers, tinkerers. We talk, we laugh, we eat great food & drink great wine, sometimes we disagree (passionately) & sometimes we agree (equally passionately) & it's all part of the same gift of being alive together. Our wish is that other people experience this amazing world we live in as a world of imagination & possibility & healing. We believe our stories do that. (& that's not just StoryPeople stories, but all our stories...) We believe (fiercely) in the power of stories, not because they're our stories, but because it is valuable & right to protect the precious connections between people.

Anyway I love StoryPeople! I have two prints hanging in my living room and I'd like to get a lot more. I was going through their site last night and finding stories I thought fit people I knew. I wanted to get them as gifts but it was getting rather expensive! Maybe I'll do it individually throughout the year. I can easily find at least 2-3 prints that fit everyone I know. I have so many favorites I couldn't possible show them all but here's a few. The first one is a particular favorite! Anyway I hope you enjoy these as much as I do and if you are looking for Christmas gifts, this is a great place to start!

Time for another poem

2011-11-30T07:30:00.000-08:00

Moonbeam

By Louise Gluck

The mist rose with a little sound. Like a thud.
Which was the heart beating. And the sun rose, briefly diluted.
And after what seemed years, it sank again
and twilight washed over the shore and deepened there.
And from out of nowhere lovers came,
people who still had bodies and hearts. Who still had
arms, legs, mouths, although by day they might be
housewives and businessmen.

The same night also produced people like ourselves.
You are like me, whether or not you admit it.
Unsatisfied, meticulous. And your hunger is not for experience
but for understanding, as though it could be had in the abstract.

Then it’s daylight again and the world goes back to normal.
The lovers smooth their hair; the moon resumes its hollow existence.
And the beach belongs again to mysterious birds
soon to appear on postage stamps.

But what of our memories, the memories of those who dependon images?
Do they count for nothing?

The mist rose, taking back proof of love.
Without which we have only the mirror, you and I.

Foggy & Gloomy Day

2011-11-29T09:10:00.001-08:00

This is what it looks like outside this morning!

State Capitol Pictures

2011-11-26T18:31:00.001-08:00

We went to the State Capitol yesterday and wandered around the park. I wanted to show my daughter the statue honoring Junipero Serra as she has always been interested in the California Missions. There are nine plaques surrounding the statue for each of the nine missions Serra founded. I took a picture of them all but I'm only going to post MissionSan Francisco de Asís.

Statue of Junipero Serra and map of the 21 California missions.

View of the California State Capitol through a few trees.

I liked the way the sun came through the tree in this picture.

This rose is named Cary Grant! My all-time favorite actor!

The plaque for San Francisco mission.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Jill holding a rose!

Cool trees w/lots of leaves!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T05:06:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone has a wonderful day however you choose to spend it! I'll be going to my sister's house so that means I don't have to do much work!

A few days ago I read a post on The Conscious Cat blog about the Thanksgiving ABC list she makes every year. I did do one of these a year or so ago but Thanksgiving seemed like a good time to do it again.

A - Anne of the Thousand Days - I know I used this last time for A but it's my favorite movie & I'm thankful for it!
B - Beads & books
C - Computers
D - Dreams
E - Embroidery
F - Family
G - Google Reader
H - Health - I recently had some tests done that, happily, came out negative. I'm quite thankful for that!
I - iPhone
J - Jill - my favorite daughter (my only child so she really had no competition!)
K - Kindness
L - Libraries
M - Mellifera -my cat
N - Night - I like nightime
O - Olives - cause I like them!
P - Pippin - my cat
Q - Quilting
R - Robin - that's me! I'm thankful for myself!
S - Serendipity
T - Trees
U - Unicorns
V - Vacation!
W - Work - with so many people unemployed I'm glad I have a job
X - Xanadu - from Coleridge's poem "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan, A stately pleasure-dome decree." I remember my mother reciting that & I'm thankful for the memory.
Y - Yeats - I like his poetry.
Z - Zaftig - I'm thankful for the word. It means having a full, rounded figure. I'm definitely zaftig & I like the sound of the word!

I was going to dress my cats up like this for the day. Then I looked at their claws and decided it was a bad, bad idea. I've seen pictures of cats dressed up. I guess their owners are braver than I am!

A Nice Day!

2011-11-20T16:46:00.001-08:00

I've had a nice, relaxing day so far. Even though it's the weekend this still counts as the second day of my vacation. I took Mon, Tues & Wed off work. Thursday & Friday are holiday days so I'll be off until Monday, 11-28, a total of 9 days!

I had to go out and get cat litter today. I'm trying to figure out why, in the grocery store, if I have two small bags, the checker will look at me like I'm 90 years old and say, "do you need help to your car?" At Petsmart, where I had a 40 lb box of cat litter they didn't ask me! Do I look younger there? Anyway I got it into the car and then put in on my little rolling cart to bring it inside. That was actually the boring part of the day!

Before I went to Petsmart I went to Beers Books, a lovely bookstore in Sacramento. I've decided to begin rereading, from the beginning, Elizabeth Peter's Amelia Peabody mystery series. I thought I'd go to the bookstore and see if they had any. I was lucky enough to find nice used copies of the 1st and 3rd in the series for only $2 each! If you like mysteries these are great!

I love bookstores almost as much as libraries. The reason a library is better is because the books are free. Unless you forget to return them on time like I do. . . Anyway I can happily spend hours wandering around a library or bookstore and am always well rewarded for the time spent. Here's what I found today: The Complete Guide to Beading Techniques, Menopause with Science & Soul, the two Elizabeth Peters books - Crocodile in the Sandbank & The Mummy Case, and Biking and Hiking the American River Parkway. I ended up spending $40 but they were all used except the American River one. I've checked it out of the library a few times and have wanted to buy it. They just came out this year with the 4th edition and when I saw on the counter it seemed to saying "buy me, buy me." Books do that to me a lot.

I happily came home with my books and cat litter and had some soup, went for a walk and relaxed for awhile looking at books. So it's 5 pm now and I have a whole lovely evening with two cats, loads of books, and lots of beading I want to do! Oops just remembered I'm supposed to clean today. My daughter & her boyfriend will be coming on Tuesday to visit for a few days. Oh well they don't care if I clean or not!

A Thanksgiving cartoon

2011-11-18T06:30:00.000-08:00

I thought this was funny. Although if I were a turkey it might not be so funny!

This is a good thought

2011-11-17T05:00:00.000-08:00

The Word

Down near the bottom
of the crossed-out list
of things you have to do today,

between "green thread"
and "broccoli," you find
that you have penciled "sunlight."

Resting on the page, the word
is beautiful. It touches you
as if you had a friend

and sunlight were a present
he had sent from someplace distant
as this morning—to cheer you up,

and to remind you that,
among your duties, pleasure
is a thing

that also needs accomplishing.
Do you remember?
that time and light are kinds

of love, and love
is no less practical
than a coffee grinder

or a safe spare tire?
Tomorrow you may be utterly
without a clue,

but today you get a telegram
from the heart in exile,
proclaiming that the kingdom

still exists,
the king and queen alive,
still speaking to their children,

—to any one among them
who can find the time
to sit out in the sun and listen.

Tony Hoagland

Trees, trees, trees, and more trees!

2011-11-16T05:30:00.000-08:00

These were all taken on my walk yesterday. I love walking in my neighborhood at this time of year because the trees are so pretty. These are a small handful of the pictures I took! When I walk I also collect leaves and I want to identify them. Unfortunately I don't know what the different trees are. My daughter is going to be visiting for Thanksgiving and she doesn't know it but I'm planning on her taking a walk with me to identify the different trees for me!

Poem for a slow Tuesday

2011-11-15T10:39:00.001-08:00

When You Go

When you go,
if you go,
and I should want to die,
there's nothing I'd be saved by
more than the time
you fell asleep in my arms
in a trust so gentle
I let the darkening room
drink up the evening, till
rest, or the new rain
lightly roused you awake.
I asked if you heard the rain in your dream
and half dreaming still you only said, I love you.

Edwin Morgan

A few pictures from a recent walk

2011-11-14T11:10:00.001-08:00

Look closely - there is a leaf print on the sidewalk. I tried to lighten the picture but then you couldn't see anything!

A Poem for Veteran's Day

2011-11-11T11:25:00.001-08:00

Tommy

by Rudyard Kipling

I went into a public 'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, " We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' " Tommy, go away " ;
But it's " Thank you, Mister Atkins," when the band begins to play
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's " Thank you, Mister Atkins," when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' " Tommy, wait outside ";
But it's " Special train for Atkins " when the trooper's on the tide
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's " Special train for Atkins " when the trooper's on the tide.

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap.
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Tommy, 'ow's yer soul? "
But it's " Thin red line of 'eroes " when the drums begin to roll
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's " Thin red line of 'eroes, " when the drums begin to roll.

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Tommy, fall be'ind,"
But it's " Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's " Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind.

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Chuck him out, the brute! "
But it's " Saviour of 'is country " when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An 'Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool - you bet that Tommy sees!

Neglect

2011-10-16T18:54:00.000-07:00

I've been neglecting my blog lately. :(

I just read this poem and thought I'd put it on and realized the last thing I posted was a poem. I was going to wait and then I remembered: it's my blog, I can do what I want! So here you go - another poem!

The Thing Is

By Ellen Bass

to love life, to love it even

when you have no stomach for it

and everything you've held dear

crumbles like burnt paper in your hands,

your throat filled with the silt of it.

When grief sits with you, it's tropical heat

thickening the air, heavy as water

more fit for gills than lungs;

when grief weights you like your own flesh

only more of it, an obesity of grief.

You think,

How can a body withstand this?

Then you hold life like a face

between your palms, a plain face,

no charming smile, no violet eyes,

and you say, yes, I will take you

I will love you, again.

A Poem for Today

2011-10-11T20:42:00.001-07:00

The Second Coming
by W. B. Yeats

Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand. The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert A shape with lion body and the head of a man, A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds. The darkness drops again; but now I know That twenty centuries of stony sleep Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

Earrings

2011-10-06T20:17:00.000-07:00

If you like earrings you can click here and go to my stitching blog to see the earrings I've made. I'm just beginning with this but it's lots of fun! Here's a preview of one of my favorite pairs.

Banned Books Week

2011-09-28T13:54:00.000-07:00

My goodness I almost forgot that it's Banned Books Week -September 24 - October 1! Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to increased book challenges, Banned Book Week is now an annual event. Since 1982, more than 11,000 books have been challenged.

If you feel like reading a banned book, below is a short list to get you started. These are all classics which have been repeatedly banned. If you're interested in the reason why they were banned, you can read about it here. There are a number of my favorite books on this list. What are some of your favorite banned books?

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
Ulysses, by James Joyce
Beloved, by Toni Morrison
The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
1984, by George Orwell
Lolita, by Vladmir Nabokov
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
Catch-22, by Joseph Heller
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
Animal Farm, by George Orwell
The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway
As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner
A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway
Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison
Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison
Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
Native Son, by Richard Wright
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey
Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway
The Call of the Wild, by Jack London
Go Tell it on the Mountain, by James Baldwin
All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren
The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien

This is fun!

2011-09-27T15:12:00.000-07:00

If you have a smartphone that can read these things, aim it at this one. It will take you to my blog! Since you're already there you may not notice the difference but it's pretty cool anyway. Go to QR-Code Generator and input a url, text or a phone number and you can create your own label!

A Poem for Monday

2011-09-26T12:58:00.000-07:00

Saint Francis And The Sow

The bud
stands for all things,
even for those things that don't flower,
for everything flowers, from within, of self-blessing;
though sometimes it is necessary
to reteach a thing its loveliness,
to put a hand on its brow
of the flower
and retell it in words and in touch
it is lovely
until it flowers again from within, of self-blessing;
as Saint Francis
put his hand on the creased forehead
of the sow, and told her in words and in touch
blessings of earth on the sow, and the sow
began remembering all down her thick length,
from the earthen snout all the way
through the fodder and slops to the spiritual curl of the tail,
from the hard spininess spiked out from the spine
down through the great broken heart
to the blue milken dreaminess spurting and shuddering
from the fourteen teats into the fourteen mouths sucking and blowing beneath
them:
the long, perfect loveliness of sow.

Galway Kinnell

Bits and Pieces of Stuff

2011-09-22T14:19:00.000-07:00

I found an interesting blog called Letters of Note that is "an attempt to gather and sort fascinating letters, postcards, telegrams, faxes, and memos." Recent posts include a letter from Frank Sinatra about crossword puzzles, one from Audrey Hepburn to Henry Mancini praising the Breakfast at Tiffany's soundtrack and my favorite, some notes from Johnny Cash.

NPR article titled Can Computers Reconstruct Your Dreams? Brave volunteers spent hours in an MRI machine (I say brave because I hate those machines), watching movie clips. A computer was able to reconstruct, with varying degrees of accuracy, what the volunteers had watched. Researchers speculate that eventually this technique could reconstruct images generated by the brain rather than outside images. I thought this was pretty cool. I'm wondering if the success of the images could be dependent on the individual?

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you;
Don't go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want;
Don't go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth between
the door sill where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don't go back to sleep.

Rumi

I use Google Reader to track and organize all the blogs I follow. Here's my latest statistics:

From your 267 subscriptions, over the last 30 days you read 4,483 items, clicked 231 items, starred 26 items, and shared 82 items. Since November 19, 2008 you have read a total of 161,476 items.

Well I was impressed. My 267 subscriptions is down from over 500 I had at the beginning of this year. I realized that I had so much to look at that I wasn't taking the time to enjoy the ones that really mattered. I'd still like to cut it further but it's hard.

I took a bead class last Thursday and learned how to make a bird's nest pendant! It was a lot of fun and really gave me some confidence about making jewelry. Since the class I've made two more nests and four pairs of earrings. It's a lot of fun!

Last, but far, far from least, is this item from the Sacramento Bee about the weather: Temperatures are expected to drop a good 10 degrees this weekend as a Pacific Ocean low pressure system and the Delta breeze brings cooler air into the Central Valley.

Excellent news because I'm HOT!

What a Change!

2011-09-20T09:21:00.000-07:00

It was a year ago that I took pictures of this house originally. Finally someone is fixing it up! The funny thing is that I took the 2nd pictures from similar angles. It wasn't by design, I guess I just stood in the same place. I still don't know how they are going to get to the second floor. I can't find any stairs!

A Lazy Sunday Morning

2011-09-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

I'd have included a picture of me but I'm still in my pajamas!

Another Mostly Silent Sunday

2011-09-11T10:42:00.000-07:00

Wow this week really got away from me! I've meant to post all week but I've been busy and tired. My boss is leaving for a 3 week trip to Kenya on Tuesday and work has been a little hectic. By the time I get home I'm tired so I've been relaxing and reading in the evening!

Yesterday I went to Berkeley and had lunch with my daughter & her boyfriend. We saw this car parked on the street and my daughter and I both pulled out our phones and began taking pictures. My first thought was that I'd put them on my blog today! We went to a bead store after that and had fun spending lots of money!

If you're unfamiliar with it, Dia De Los Muertos means Day of the Dead. It's a Mexican holiday for remembering family and friends who have died.

Mostly Silent Sunday

2011-09-04T04:55:00.000-07:00

I found this at the Tattered Covered blog. It strikes me as excellent advice for most any situation!

Shameless Promotion

2011-09-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

This post is about shameless promotion. But it isn't for me so I guess that's ok! I like to post my pictures here to share them and I'm actually behind in posting some. The weekend before last my daughter and her boyfriend were visiting and we went to the American River. I got some nice pictures I think but I've been lazy about getting them on here.

For a change I thought I'd share a picture taken by a professional! My brother, Stephen Texeira, is a professional photographer and took the picture below. It was taken at Say Hay Farms in Woodland, CA. I love farm pictures, don't ask me why, I don't have much experience of farms and I'm not really a farm type person (by which I mean I like to be sure I'm not stepping on anything when I'm walking!). Anyway I really enjoy looking at pictures! My feeling is that you can enjoy many things through photos that you'd never want to actually experience!

Stephen's specialty is wedding photography so if you or someone you know (in or near the SF Bay Area) is planning on getting married, you might want to contact him. Meanwhile check out the links and view some wonderful pictures!

Oh yeah. I should point out that I have not been paid for this endorsement. I'm expecting a large Christmas gift but that's it!

Musical Monday

2011-08-29T05:49:00.000-07:00

Silent Sunday

2011-08-28T08:06:00.000-07:00

One day, one week, one month. . .

2011-08-26T12:45:00.000-07:00

"If you knew you had only one day, or one week, or one month to live, what life boat would you grab onto? What secret would you tell? What band would you see? What person would you declare your love to? What wish would you fulfill? What exotic locale would you fly to for coffee? What book would you write?"

This is a quote from a movie called One Week about a guy who finds out he has stage 4 cancer. I haven't seen the movie, I read about it in a post on the Psychology Today blog.

The post made me cry. I don't know what I'd do if I knew I only had a day, week or month to live. I do know that I can't think of one thing I'm doing now that I'd want to continue. I'm sad about that.

How about you? What would you do and are you doing any of it now?

Maps!

2011-08-19T10:25:00.000-07:00

I love maps. I have a collection of mainly National Geographic maps that I've found over the years at used bookstores. I've yet to figure out what to do with them all but I'm not giving them up! It's fun to look at maps online also so I thought I'd share a few that I found yesterday. These are all from my favorite historical era - Tudor England!

Completely unrelated but I just found this out and it seemed important to share. Tomorrow is National GoTopless Day. This is only for women, men are supposed to wear bikini tops. So if you've been having the desire to go topless tomorrow is your chance! Personally I plan to leave my top on. Twenty years ago I might have been willing but not now!

Poetry Day

2011-08-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

Stations
by Audre Lorde

Some women love
to wait
for life for a ring
in the June light for a touch
of the sun to heal them for another
woman’s voice to make them whole
to untie their hands
put words in their mouths
form to their passages sound
to their screams for some other sleeper
to remember their future their past.

Some women wait for the right
train in the wrong station
in the alleys of morning
for the noon to holler
the night come down.

Some women wait for love
to rise up
the child of their promise
to gather from earth
what they do not plant
to claim pain for labor
to become
the tip of an arrow to aim
at the heart of now
but it never stays.

Some women wait for visions
that do not return
where they were not welcome
naked
for invitations to places
they always wanted
to visit
to be repeated.

Some women wait for themselves
around the next corner
and call the empty spot peace
but the opposite of living
is only not living
and the stars do not care.

Some women wait for something
to change and nothing
does change
so they change
themselves.

She Will Come Tomorrow by Edwin Deakin

Musical Monday

2011-08-15T09:01:00.000-07:00

Silent Sunday

2011-08-14T06:48:00.000-07:00

LOTR!

2011-08-13T11:22:00.000-07:00

Hopefully you all know what that stands for! Lord of the Rings! I'm going to my Dad's house tomorrow to watch the blu-ray extended version. It's 11-1/2 hours. I doubt that we'll get through all the movies tomorrow. Last time we ended up just watching the first two and then going back later for the third.

It should be a nice day though. He has a giant tv with a great picture so it's better than being at a theater. Lots more comfortable, better food and it's free!

LOTR is my favorite book and my second favorite movie(s). I've seen the movies, I don't know, maybe 10 times. I've read the book probably 20 times. My brother and sister-in-law will be there also. My brother is as big a fan as I am but he has a better memory (only because he's younger). Anyway he tends to remember lines better than I do but for an old person I do pretty well. Here's a few of my favorite lines from the movies:

Aragorn:Are you frightened?
Frodo:Yes.
Aragorn:Not nearly frightened enough. I know what hunts you.

****
Aragorn:Gentlemen, we do not stop 'til nightfall.
Pippin:What about breakfast?
Aragorn:You've already had it.
Pippin:We've had one, yes. What about second breakfast?

****
Aragorn:If by my life or death I can protect you, I will. You have my sword...

***
Frodo Baggins: We are Hobbits of the Shire. Frodo Baggins is my name and this is Samwise Gamgee.
Faramir: Your bodyguard?
Samwise Gamgee: His gardener.

***
And last but not least, my favorite clip from the movie. I tried to embed this but all the versions I found on YouTube have embedding disabled so if you want to listen you'll have to click on the quote below and go to YouTube!

I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. The day may come when the courage of men fails. When we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day. An hour of woe and shattered shields when the age of men comes crashing down. But it is not this day. This day we fight.

This day we fight.

One Thing Everyday That Scares Me

2011-08-12T10:04:00.000-07:00

I finished a book last night called Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage by Hazel Rowley. I think that Eleanor Roosevelt was an amazing person and reading this just reinforced that. If you are at all interested in either of them I'd recommend reading the book.

I started thinking last night about one of the quotes I like from Eleanor Roosevelt: Do one thing everyday that scares you. I saw a book called My Year with Eleanor by Noelle Hancock. Apparently the author took this advice for a year. I haven't read the book but it sounds like she did things like skydiving. She was considerably younger than I am.

Since I'm so old I've decided to take the advice for only a month and not jump out of any airplanes. Beginning today and for the next 30 days I'm going to do one thing everyday that scares me. Does writing that sentence count? Ok, probably not.

So today's thing that scares me that I'm going to do is not have a drink tonight. Or two for that matter. I've never been much of a drinker but the last ten months - not so coincidentally since the beginning of my on again-off again relationship with the snake - I've been drinking more than I need to. And unfortunately even more in the last few weeks. It's kind of scary to think about not doing it tonight because then I have to think and maybe cry a little and then maybe get on with my life. That's more than a little scary.

I'll probably share most of my scary things - I might as well I guess. This one was a little hard to share! Anyway wish me luck as I start this month of scaring myself!

I was going to add a picture of a vampire because they scare me but the pictures I found were just too awful. You'll have to imagine a scary picture at the end of this post!

How about some quotes?

2011-08-11T15:52:00.000-07:00

I like quotes. They make me think which is usually a good thing. So here's a few for you and hopefully one or two will strike you enough to remember it!

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. ~ Anatole France

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.
~F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

When he shall die
Take him and cut him out in little stars
And he will make the face of heav’n so fine
That all the world will be in love with night
And pay no worship to the garish sun.
~William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

You owe it to us all to get on with what you’re good at. ~W. H. Auden

The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking. ~John Kenneth Galbraith

Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. ~Winston Churchill

I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.
~ Anna Quindlen

Do what you feel in your heart to be right- for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't.
~Eleanor Roosevelt

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds.
~William Shakespeare

Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
~P. J. O'Rourke

Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her, still she sings away all the same, knowing she has wings.
~Victor Hugo

But never have I been a blue, calm sea. I have always been a storm.
~Stevie Nicks, "Storms

Do one thing everyday that scares you. ~Eleanor Roosevelt

There are days when solitude is a heady wine that intoxicates you with freedom, others when it is a bitter tonic, and still others when it is a poison that makes you beat your head against the wall.
~Colette

A Poem for Today

2011-08-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

I found this poem the other day and really liked it so I thought I'd share. It's a long one but worth reading! While reading this I was thinking that it's good advice that I never told my daughter. It guess that's ok since somehow she knew it without being told.

forty-five thoughts for my daughter and my virtual daughters

i always believed if i had blond hair, pixie face
big breasts
everything would be all right
not realizing that culturally idolized beauty
is not only foolproof
but potentially dangerous

if you believe in your own unconventional beauty
when you are young
you will accomplish twice as much and suffer half so

turn off lightbulbs and light a candle

walk don’t drive

plant a tree

wear sunscreen

dancing is an antidepressant

kindness is the new status symbol

every day please try to eat something green
and something orange
that grow out of the ground

tell me how mad you are
that your father and i parted
i will always listen
though i can’t ever take away the pain

expectations are for what you yourself create

they rarely work when applied to others

turn off the television

tv is a depressant

yoga is an antidepressant

don’t feel guilty about wanting pretty things

they would not be so alluring
if you weren’t supposed to want them
just don’t value them over compassion

use your words even when you are a grown-up
and people no longer think it is entirely acceptable
when you say, that hurt my feelings

if you can digest chocolate eat it sometimes
same goes for ice cream
(i don’t really need to tell you those things do i?)

do your homework because it is part of the game but

don’t spend too much time worrying about grades

fall in love with someone kind who loves your body
and your mind

if you have a dream that won’t let you go, that
tickles your solar plexus, heed it

turn dark feelings into paintings or poetry
or dancing

music is a kind of food

if you are sad talk to a happy woman who loves you
it will always help

move your body when you are sad or angry

avoid the following:
genetically modified ingredients
parabens
sodium lauryl sulfate
mercury in certain fish
neurotic thoughts about food
(is that a contradiction?)

love your curls though they tangle
your pale skin though it can burn in the sun
your nose though it is broader than some
your sturdy legs and feet

forget barbie she does not possess imagination

remember you are a botticelli angel

the planet we live on is perfection

love her like a goddess

love yourself as her daughter

there is a planet full of different kinds of beauty

the idea that only one type of woman is beautiful
is blasphemy

of everything i brought to the world in these
forty-five years
you and your brother are by far the most astounding

because of this i will always love your father

matter never vanishes, only changes

remember that when someone you love dies

your round head on my breast when you were born
is the memory
i will keep with me when i leave this body

when i am gone i will still be near you

this is how i know: when you were born
it was not a meeting
but a reunion

Francesca Lia Block

Cloud 9

2011-08-09T12:49:00.000-07:00

I watched an interesting movie last night. Cloud 9 is about Inge, a 67-year-old woman who has been married to Werner for 30 years. She meets Karl, who is 76 and falls in love with him. The guilt of the affair is hard for her and she finally confesses to Karl. I’m not going to give away what happens but I will say that I was disappointed in the ending.

It’s a German movie with subtitles but even without the subtitles I think you could follow the plot line. Aside from the ages of the trio the other unusual thing about the movie is that it contains a lot of nudity. Not unusual in movies, but older actors nude and having sex isn’t something we see often.

I thought it was well done. It’s nice to see older people (I hasten to add they are much older than me!) portrayed as enjoying sex and finding each other’s bodies attractive. It’s interesting also that Inge clearly loved her husband. She wasn’t out looking for an affair, she was settled in her marriage but she fell in love. The portrayal of two older people falling in love is nice. Generally we just see 20 to 30-year-old beautiful people. You can fall in love at any age and it’s nice to see that portrayed in a movie.

The other thing I thought interesting was the conflict of Inge loving her husband but loving Karl also. What she felt for Karl eclipsed her love for her husband Is it a sad or joyful thing to realize that the love you’ve felt for someone wasn’t enough? Finding the person you belong with and being with them even though it hurts someone else takes a willingness to put yourself first which isn’t always easy.

Musical Monday

2011-08-08T07:58:00.000-07:00

I was trying to decide whether to stick with the Musical Monday idea but since I haven't decided yet, I'll go ahead and post one!

Solar Lunch

2011-08-07T10:49:00.000-07:00

Well I survived the lunch and it went well! We served about 50 people solar cooked lasagna, salad and solar cooked brownies. Fortunately it wasn't a really hot day and the park has some great trees for shade. I was pretty tired afterwards though! It was fun and the volunteer clean-up crew was appreciative and hopefully we got a few people interested in solar cooking. Here's a few pictures of the event!

Morning Glories

2011-08-05T18:57:00.000-07:00

These are growing through the fence in the parking lot of my apartment.

Random Update

2011-08-04T20:06:00.000-07:00

I've been away from this blog for quite awhile for various reasons. One has to do with the snake song I've posted about before. Maybe this time the lesson will stick. . . Anyway, I think I was getting a little bored with blogging. Right now I'm feeling ready to start again but I'm not sure what I want to say. It felt like life was getting pretty boring and I had little to say before. So is my life still boring?

Well sort of. Somewhat less interesting than it was three weeks ago, but calmer and more hopeful. Definitely a good thing! Work is um, interesting. Things are somewhat in a holding pattern until after this weekend when I will say more, hopefully positive stuff.

Saturday I'm going to a solar cooked lunch. Actually I'll be working at it. The organization I work for is providing a solar cooked lunch for volunteers who clean at a local park. 8 am Saturday will find me loading lasagna and brownies into my car for the lunch. I'll try and take some pictures to post. It's kind of cool to see the cookers all set out.

That's about all for now. I'm leaving shortly to drive to Stockton to pick up my niece and take her to the airport. Her flight leaves at 12:30 am. I have no idea why she booked a flight at such a horrid hour. Probably cheap.

Here's a cool site that I found if you like poetry & pictures!

A poem for today

2011-08-03T10:02:00.000-07:00

The Breather
by Billy Collins

Just as in the horror movies
when someone discovers that the phone calls
are coming from inside the house

so too, I realized
that our tender overlapping
has been taking place only inside me.

All that sweetness, the love and desire—
it’s just been me dialing myself
then following the ringing to another room

to find no one on the line,
well, sometimes a little breathing
but more often than not, nothing.

To think that all this time—
which would include the boat rides,
the airport embraces, and all the drinks—

it’s been only me and the two telephones,
the one on the wall in the kitchen
and the extension in the darkened guest room upstairs.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

It's Friday . . .

2011-04-22T15:02:00.000-07:00

How about a Musical Friday? Nina Simone singing I Think It's Gonna Rain Today. It isn't raining now but it's supposed to this weekend. I'm feeling in a kind of rainy mood though.

Pulitzer Prize for Poetry

2011-04-20T17:50:00.000-07:00

Kay Ryan is the winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for The Best of It: New and Selected Poems. Therefore it seems appropriate to post one of her poems!

We’re Building the Ship as We Sail It
The first fear
being drowning, the
ship’s first shape
was a raft, which
was hard to unflatten
after that didn’t
happen. It’s awkward
to have to do one’s
planning in extremis
in the early years -
so hard to hide later:
sleekening the hull,
making things
more gracious.

The Future

2011-04-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

This is kind of funny - The Future According to Google Search Results

Daffodil Hill

2011-04-18T08:17:00.001-07:00

I went to Daffodil Hill yesterday. It's a family farm in Volcano, CA that is open to the public for about a month every year when the daffodils are blooming. They have about 300,000 daffodils planted around the 4 acre farm. It was a perfect day to go - not too hot! I went with my brother & sister-in-law who are always good company, it was a lovely drive and we saw lots of beautiful flowers. What more can you ask for!

If you'd like to see more daffodil pictures, you can go to my Picasa album!

Another poem

2011-04-07T08:12:00.001-07:00

Late Poem

" . . . a matter of changing a slide in a magic lantern."

I wish we were Indians and ate foie gras
and drove a gas-guzzler
and never wore seat belts

I'd have a baby, yours, cette fois,
and I'd smoke Parliaments
and we'd drink our way through the winter

in spring the baby would laugh at the moon
who is her father and her mother who is his pool
and we'd walk backwards and forwards

in lizard-skin cowboy boots
and read Gilgamesh and Tintin aloud
I'd wear only leather or feathers

plucked from endangered birds and silk
from exploited silkworms
we'd read The Economist

it would be before and after the internet
I'd send you letters by carrier pigeons
who would only fly from one window

to another in our drafty, gigantic house
with twenty-three uninsulated windows
and the dog would be always be

off his leash and always
find his way home as we will one day
and we'd feed small children

peanut butter and coffee in their milk
and I'd keep my hand glued under your belt
even while driving and cooking

and no one would have our number
except I would have yours where I've kept it
carved on the sole of my stiletto

which I would always wear when we walked
in the frozen and dusty wood
and we would keep warm by bickering

and falling into bed perpetually and
entirely unsafely as all the best things are
—your skin and my breath on it.

Cynthia Zarin

Musical Monday

2011-04-04T02:53:00.000-07:00

Good advice for all of us!

Silent Sunday

2011-04-03T09:01:00.000-07:00

Front Street in Sacramento, 1869.

National Poetry Month

2011-04-02T18:35:00.000-07:00

Since April is National Poetry Month I'm not going to choose a monthly poet. I'll just share poems throughout the month! I'll start with one by Louise Gluck, one of my favorite poets.

Lamium
By Louise Glück

This is how you live when you have a cold heart.
As I do: in shadows, trailing over cool rock,
under the great maple trees.

The sun hardly touches me.
Sometimes I see it in early spring, rising very far away.
Then leaves grow over it, completely hiding it. I feel it
glinting through the leaves, erratic,
like someone hitting the side of a glass with a metal spoon.

Living things don’t all require
light in the same degree. Some of us
make our own light: a silver leaf
like a path no one can use, a shallow
lake of silver in the darkness under the great maples.

But you know this already.
You and the others who think
you live for truth and, by extension, love
all that is cold.

Cookbooks

2011-04-01T01:16:00.000-07:00

I think I've mentioned before that I collect old cookbooks. I love the small leaflet style and have quite a few of them. Some were my mother's, some belonged to my grandmothers and the rest I've picked up at yard sales or on ebay. One of my long-term projects that I've yet to start on :( is to create a database of all of them so I know what I have. In the meantime I thought I'd share a few!

This was published in 1955 and has some tasty sounding cake recipes. I want the Orange Cake with Orange Fluff Frosting! Good thing I'm too lazy to make it!

This was from the 1955 Pillsbury Bake-Off where Mrs. Henry Jorgensen won $25,000 for her Ring-A-Lings (on the cover). It was her 7th try at winning - apparently persistence paid off for her! I have quite a few of the bake-off cookbooks. I know I have number 4 and I think I have 3. Those are the oldest, the rest are number 7 and beyond. I want to get them all out so I know exactly what I have!

Published 1957 (the year I was born!). The introduction says that Nestle's Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels are "a staple product found on the pantry shelf of the modern homemaker."

Oh phooey, I realized that I took a picture of the back of this one. Oh well. I have to confess that I love jello cookbooks. I have no idea why. I like jello ok but if I never had it again I'd be fine. I just like the recipes. This is an old one - it was published in 1928. It includes recipes for Cherry Sponge, Maple Walnut Jello, Prune and Raisin Jello, Paradise Pudding, Pineapple Rice Sponge, and Sea Dream Salad. The inside back cover has a coupon with an offer to purchase molds for .30 cents each.

Another one from 1957. It's only 27 pages but it includes lots of nifty sounding recipes! How about Pizza Boats made with a hotdog, cheese, chili sauce and biscuit dough shaped into a boat. One of the menus is called Company's Coming for Dinner: Chicken Patty Shortcake, Peas & Mushrooms, Citrus Salad, Sundae Short Pie and Coffee!

This one's a hardbound, spiral cookbook published in 1964. I don't remember where I got it but it's clearly been used. Some of the pages are sticky and dirty. Anyway it's pretty amazing the things you can do with Bisquick!

R for Robin

2011-03-31T05:57:00.000-07:00

I walked in a different neighborhood last night. I had to do laundry and I figured if I walked while it was washing I'd get two things done at once! Anyway I found some more sidewalk art for my album. I'm becoming fascinated with all the stuff I find on the sidewalk. I especially liked this one because it's an R for Robin!

February/March Poet: Adrienne Rich

2011-03-30T07:46:00.000-07:00

Storm Warnings

The glass has been falling all the afternoon,
And knowing better than the instrument
What winds are walking overhead, what zone
Of gray unrest is moving across the land,
I leave the book upon a pillowed chair
And walk from window to closed window, watching
Boughs strain against the sky

And think again, as often when the air
Moves inward toward a silent core of waiting,
How with a single purpose time has traveled
By secret currents of the undiscerned
Into this polar realm. Weather abroad
And weather in the heart alike come on
Regardless of prediction.

Between foreseeing and averting change
Lies all the mastery of elements
Which clocks and weatherglasses cannot alter.
Time in the hand is not control of time,
Nor shattered fragments of an instrument
A proof against the wind; the wind will rise,
We can only close the shutters.

I draw the curtains as the sky goes black
And set a match to candles sheathed in glass
Against the keyhole draught, the insistent whine
Of weather through the unsealed aperture.
This is our sole defense against the season;
These are the things that we have learned to do
Who lived in troubled regions.

Adrienne Rich

Check your neighborhood!

2011-03-29T20:39:00.000-07:00

I found an interesting site that I wanted to share. It's called CrimeReports. You can input your address and see what kind of crime is going on in your neighborhood. I found that I'm surrounded by sex offenders. Anyway maybe you'll have more interesting results. . .

Musical Monday

2011-03-28T05:11:00.000-07:00

Silent Sunday

2011-03-27T06:36:00.000-07:00

This is from my Sidewalk Art photo album. It's pretty cool the things you see if you look at the sidewalk!

February/March Poet: Adrienne Rich

2011-03-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

From Atlas of a Difficult World by Adrienne Rich

X
Soledad. = f. Solitude, loneliness, homesickness; lonely retreat
Winter sun in the rosetrees.
An old Mexican with a white moustache prunes them back
           spraying
the cut branches with dormant oil.     The old paper-bag-brown
           adobe walls
stretch apart from the rebuilt mission, in their own time.     It is
           lonely here
in the curve of the road winding through vast brown fields
          machine-engraved in furrows
of relentless precision.     In the small chapel
La Nuestra Senora de la Soledad dwells in her shallow arch
painted on either side with columns.     She is in black lace crisp
           as cinders
from head to foot.     Alone, solitary, homesick
in her lonely retreat.     Outside black olives fall and smash
littering and staining the beaten path.     The gravestones of the
           padres
are weights pressing down on the Indian artisans.     It is the sixth
           day of another war

Signs of Spring

2011-03-25T06:50:00.000-07:00

A few signs of Spring from my walk last night. Also a couple of reminders that it's still Winter! Oh yeah and a new sidewalk leaf print!

February/March Poet: Adrienne Rich

2011-03-24T07:56:00.000-07:00

For the Dead

I dreamed I called you on the telephone
to say: Be kinder to yourself
but you were sick and would not answer

The waste of my love goes on this way
trying to save you from yourself

I have always wondered about the left-over
energy, the way water goes rushing down a hill
long after the rains have stopped

or the fire you want to go to bed from
but cannot leave, burning-down but not burnt-down
the red coals more extreme, more curious
in their flashing and dying
than you wish they were
sitting long after midnight

By Adrienne Rich

This is how I've felt today

2011-03-23T23:51:00.000-07:00

I'm being submerged in storm waters. Or maybe I'm just tired. . .

February/March Poet: Adrienne Rich

2011-03-22T07:52:00.000-07:00

I've done a poor job with my poet of the month idea! Well actually I haven't done a lot of posting lately. I'm going to try and catch up a little and post a few poems over the next week by Adrienne Rich. She was February/March poet and I think I've only posted one poem. . .

At age 22, Adrienne Rich was selected by W.H. Auden for the Yale Series of Younger Poets prize for A Change of World. She's been called one of the most influential poets of the 20th century. In 1997, she refused the National Medal of Arts, saying "I could not accept such an award from President Clinton or this White House because the very meaning of art, as I understand it, is incompatible with the cynical politics of this administration."

Power

Living in the earth-deposits of our history

Today a backhoe divulged out of a crumbling flank of earth
one bottle amber perfect a hundred-year-old
cure for fever or melancholy a tonic
for living on this earth in the winters of this climate

Today I was reading about Marie Curie:
she must have known she suffered from radiation sickness
her body bombarded for years by the element
she had purified
It seems she denied to the end
the source of the cataracts on her eyes
the cracked and suppurating skin of her finger-ends
till she could no longer hold a test-tube or a pencil

She died a famous woman denying
her wounds
denying
her wounds came from the same source as her power

Adrienne Rich

Musical Monday

2011-03-21T06:31:00.000-07:00

River & bridge pictures

2011-03-19T15:24:00.000-07:00

These are pictures I took today by the Sacramento River. The river is almost at 25 ft and 35 ft is flood level so I guess I'm safe. I took some of the Tower Bridge also. It's one of my favorite views in Sacramento. There weren't a lot of people out as it was rainy and cold. I walked and took pictures and got wet and had a lovely time! There are plaques along the river walk that have information on them. Some have excerpts and drawings from The Wind in the Willows. That was one of my favorite stories but I haven't read it in years. I think I'm going to find a copy to read!

I've embedded a link to my Picasa album to see the pictures. Hopefully it works right - I've never done it this way before! Ok it worked! Click on the picture or the date and it will take you to the album.

2011-03-19

Oops

2011-03-15T18:06:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted for awhile! Not much to say - it's a rainy, gloomy day here. I walked & took a few pictures so I'll post those.

Looking up at the tree - it looked pretty cool I thought!

This is a pretty tree!

This house is next door to where I work. It was built in, I think, 1921. I want to live there!

Despite the rain these tulips are looking fairly happy!

I liked the tree against the tower.

Sidewalk graffiti!

I always look for leaf prints on the sidewalk because I really like them. This is a nice one.

I also look for hearts when I walk. This one is on the door of a house that is being remodeled. It's not the best picture - I had to crop and lighten it so you could see the heart.

Just a thought

2011-03-03T08:18:00.001-08:00

Life is a good teacher and a good friend. Things are always in transition, if we could only realize it. To stay with that shakiness – to stay with a broken heart, with a rumbling stomach, with the feeling of hopelessness and wanting to get revenge – that is the path of true awakening. Sticking with that uncertainty, getting the knack of relaxing in the midst of chaos, learning not to panic – this is the spiritual path. Pema Chodron

Just pictures

2011-03-01T07:50:00.000-08:00

Some pictures from my walk this morning!

Musical Monday

2011-02-28T13:06:00.001-08:00

Silent Sunday

2011-02-27T05:43:00.000-08:00

A few pictures!

2011-02-21T10:43:00.000-08:00

Some pictures from my walk this morning!

I think this is a cherry blossom tree. Right?

Someone has been working on this house for over a year. I think they are finally starting to make progress.

Tulip tree?

I've always wanted to own a bookstore in a building where I could live upstairs. This looks like it'd work. It's for sale and not in a bad location but unfortunately I'm poor!

Two views of my apartment building from across the street. In the second picture you can see my patio and bedroom window. My apartment faces the street which I like!

Oh yeah. Since it's President's Day here's a link for you to increase your knowledge of presidential trivia - POTUS. Just in case you're off work today and bored! I'm off work but not bored so I think I'll just bookmark it for now!

Musical Monday

2011-02-21T07:39:00.000-08:00

Silent (mostly) Sunday

2011-02-20T05:55:00.000-08:00

I thought you should all know about this: Today is Northern Hemisphere Hoodie-Hoo-Day -- At high noon (local time) citizens are asked to go outdoors and yell "Hoodie-Hoo" to chase winter and make ready for spring.

My daughter sent me this picture a couple of weeks ago. I love Cosmos so she took this picture for me!

Random Stuff

2011-02-18T20:17:00.000-08:00

In keeping with my blog's title, today is a bunch of random stuff.

Here's the subject line from an email I received at work today: Tiered of been passed over for that promotion because you do not have the proper Dgeree? Seriously.

This is a pretty cool site! Called CAT-LADDERS, it shows lots of pictures of different cat ladders. I suppose that would have been your first guess! Anyway it's pretty neat so if you have cats (or dogs that like to climb ladders) check it out.

The Bay Citizen is a nonprofit, non partisan news organization dedicated to fact-based, independent reporting on civic and community issues in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you're interested in what's going on in the SF Bay Area, it's worth reading.

If you like browsing web sites, take a look at my Delicious account. I have over 500 sites bookmarked.You can find history, poetry, cats, stitching, beading, books, libraries + lots more!

Concerned about online privacy? Find out more than you probably wanted to know at this Wall Street Journal site.

That's about it. It's been cold and rainy here today. I'm inside now with my heater turned way up. Send me pennies for my PG&E bill!

Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. ~Martin Luther King Jr.

February/March Poet: Adrienne Rich

2011-02-17T08:26:00.000-08:00

Since I'm starting so late in February I figured I'd cover February & March. Adrienne Rich is one of my favorite poets. Below is an excerpt from Transcendental Etude. This is a short post because I have to get to work!

But there come times –perhaps this is one of them—
when we have to take ourselves more seriously or die;
when we have to pull back from the incantations,
rhythms we’ve moved to thoughtlessly,
and disenthrall ourselves, bestow
ourselves to silence, or a severer listening, cleansed
of oratory, formulas, choruses, laments, static
crowding the wires. We cut the wires,
find ourselves in free-fall, as if
our true home were the undimensional
solitudes, the rift
in the Great Nebula.
No one who survives to speak
new language, has avoided this:
the cutting-away of an old force that held her
rooted to an old ground
the pitch of utter loneliness
where she herself and all creation
seem equally dispersed, weightless, her being a cry
to which no echo comes or can ever come.

Musical Monday & Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T00:28:00.000-08:00

I love Valentine's Day. I know it's overrated, commercial, full of unreasonable expectations etc., etc. But I still love it. I love hearts and flowers and mushy love songs and dorky sentiments. This is probably because I'm a mushy, dorky, hearts and flowers kind of person! Aside from that I think it's a nice thing to have a day once a year to tell people you love them. It's easy to get busy and forget.

I occasionally get caught up in feeling sorry for myself and forget how lucky I am to have so many people who love me. This song always makes me think about the people in my life who have seen the best in me even though I couldn't see it myself. They've pushed me, lectured me, sometimes yelled at me but always loved me. And I am grateful to all of them.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Silent Sunday

2011-02-13T09:31:00.000-08:00

Venus of Willendorf statuette made between 22,000 and 21,000 BCE. She was found in 1908 at a site near Willendorf a village in Lower Austria near the city of Krems. It's speculated she was a fertility goddess but I like to think people at the time preferred women built like this and made statues to honor them!

My apologies for the long absence. I plan to start posting regularly again!

Silent Sunday

2011-01-30T05:50:00.000-08:00

Twenty Questions

2011-01-26T07:53:00.000-08:00

We've probably all played that game right? CNN had an article called 20 questions that could change your life. I don't know that they'll really change your life but some of them seem worth thinking about. You can click the link if you want to read all of them - I've posted a few below that I liked. Now you have something to think about in your spare time today!

Is this what I want to be doing?
Why worry?
What is my body telling me?
Where am I wrong?
What potential memories am I bartering, and is the profit worth the price?
Where should I break the rules?
Are my thoughts hurting or healing?

Musical Monday

2011-01-24T18:09:00.000-08:00

Oops forgot to post earlier today! My sister always liked this song when we were kids. She may still like it actually. How about the short skirts? I thought clothes today were revealing! Oh my goodness that makes me sound awfully old. . . One of my somewhat secret desires is for a pair of sexy boots like she's wearing in the video. It's one of the things I promise myself when I lose weight. Oh well - one of these days I guess. There are a few people I'd like to walk on with them!

Silent Sunday

2011-01-23T00:41:00.000-08:00

All taken last Sunday on Highway 1, along the California coast, somewhere between Monterey & Half Moon Bay!

Pictures, pictures, pictures

2011-01-22T21:17:00.000-08:00

I finally got my pictures from last weekend into my Picasa web album. If anyone wants to look I've listed them with links below. Since there are 27 albums on my Picasa site I thought I should provide direct links! I didn't edit them so there are some that are similar and some not so great but I guess that's ok.

Taken in Monterey
At Carmel Mission
At Soledad Mission
Along California coast

January Poet: Kim Addonizio, Pt 2

2011-01-19T19:48:00.000-08:00

My Heart

That Mississippi chicken shack.
That initial-scarred tabletop,
that tiny little dance floor to the left of the band.
That kiosk at the mall selling caramels and kitsch.
That tollbooth with its white-plastic-gloved worker
handing you your change.
That phone booth with the receiver ripped out.
That dressing room in the fetish boutique,
those curtains and mirrors.
That funhouse, that horror, that soundtrack of screams.
That putti-filled heaven raining gilt from the ceiling.
That haven for truckers, that bottomless cup.
That biome. That wilderness preserve.
That landing strip with no runway lights
where you are aiming your plane,
imagining a voice in the tower,
imagining a tower.

Kim Addonizio