Thursday, January 30, 2014

Moral Disorder by Margaret Atwood (9/9/2013)

From January 2014


What a marvellous, marvellous book… and wonderful, wise and witty prose. Drink it in. Some of my favourites!

(And, let it be know that this damn computer is an Aussie and corrects all my spelling. That last word up there, the one before the exclamation point, it didn't have a "u" when it came off my fingertips.)
The persistence of material objects is becoming an amazement to me. It's the same door. The one I used to go in through, out through, year after year in my daily clothing or in various outfits and disguises not thinking at all that I would one day be standing in front of this very same door with my grey-haired little sister... but all doors used regularly are doors to the afterlife.

As any bank robber can tell you, Nell would say, the best thing to do when running away is not to run. Just walk. Just stroll. A combination of ease and purposefulness is desirable then no one will notice you're running. In addition to which, don't carry heavy suitcases or canvas bags full of money or pack sacks with body parts in them. Leave everything behind you except what's in your pockets. Lightest is best.

"I am a cannibal", she thought with odd detachment.
Maybe she would grow cunning up here on the farm. Maybe she would absorb some of the darkness, which might not be darkness at all but only knowledge. She would turn into a woman others came to for advice. She would be called in emergencies. She would roll up her sleeves and dispense with sentimentality and do whatever blood soaked, bad smelling thing had to be done.

She would become adept with axes.

In the end we'll all become stories or else we'll become entities. Maybe, it's the same.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Batman eats a chip! (11-6-13)

From November 6, 2013


FRENCH FRY!! All the other kids were doing it - so after 30 min of intense peer pressure, he relinquished. And, as of today, Jan 29, 2014, he has had no more…though I would have stopped at McDonald's today if I had seen it.

Sushi! Sushi! Sushi!! (Mid November - I must look before I edit!)

Sure it was just an avocado roll and he didn't actually eat any avocado and not much rice, but he enjoyed the nori wrap and sucked down plenty of pickled ginger.  I'm so proud!  My big boy!!
Edited Jan 29 - He's doing much better with the rolls and will eat everything except the avocado. ?? What's wrong with the avocado, Zupe?
Anyway, I what I really wanted to add here is that I have no idea what   means or where it came from. Perhaps, it is code and something cool will happen when this is published. We shall see.
Hmmmm - it disappears. ( )

January is almost over

From January 2014


And, how go those fleeting-on-the-edge-of-consciousness resolutions? I've made myself ONE green smoothy - a chocolate/banana/almond butter smoothy with a mix of spinach and arugula… interesting combo. I would do it again. Maybe next year. I've managed to do my exercise maybe 3 times. That's close to weekly. And, on one day I didn't look like a slob - though I needed a haircut. That is coming. February 6. I just can't keep my hairdresser in the country! Oh, and the blogs. Could be worse. I wrote a series of twelve just to get to a one word punchline. And, despite my camera dying, I have managed to get a few photos published. I'd say, 2014 looks like it is on the road to success!

Thursday, January 23, 2014

On the Ninth Day of Christmas

From christmas 2013


SANTA!! This photo was taken at the Piqua Mall. Santa didn't have much of a lap and Zupe was not impressed. This was the only non-tears photo. Gone is our happy to sit with Santa boy. Maybe that is a good thing. Men with long white beards…. suspicious.


Because I wasn't overly pleased with the photo and, why not- Santa was in town- we took Zupe up to the Eagles' Club in Versailles. Daddy and Zupe and Santa had a much better time there. (Love the North Pole Coors Beer sign!)


From christmas 2013


And, sometimes all you need for a great Santa photo is the right hat.
From January 1, 2014

On the Eighth Day of Christmas

From January 1, 2014

Shopping and exploring Bear's Mill. Bear's Mill is always on my list of things to do when I am at home - especially when there are gifts to buy. Kevin had never been there before - though Zupe had. So we explored the upper "working" levels of the mill and then took a walk along the water. This was the first time that Zupe enjoyed being out in the snow. He was smiling from ear to ear as he bumped along in his stroller/sled. Way too many photos here. I'll make a slide show. Enjoy!



I can't believe I didn't take a photo of the great little penguins I bought for Christine… What was I thinking?

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

On the Seventh Day of Christmas

From January 1, 2014
More lights…but these get separate billing as "nativity scene".
From January 1, 2014

On the Sixth Day of Christmas

From January 1, 2014
My favorite - the lights! Christmas lights really shine on a snowy night!
From January 1, 2014
From January 1, 2014

On the Fifth Day of Christmas

From January 1, 2014
my mother said to me
the time has come
to put up the tree!

From January 1, 2014
We were concerned how our short man would handle a tree with decorations and so my mother decided not to "put up a tree". That really meant not to use breakable ornaments or to put up a tree in the living room. There were, however, three trees in the foyer and countless small trees adorning mantels, and tables, and window sills (oh my!). We were not suffering from a deficit of holiday color!
From christmas 2013
Zupe did really well with the trees and hardly ever took the golf ball ornament off my "father's" tree to hurl it across the room. (But, could you really blame him? It WAS a ball.)
From January 1, 2014

On the Fourth Day of Christmas

From January 1, 2014
I decided I really wanted to take photos of trees that stand alone in fields. I also wanted to get my shopping done. In fact, I wanted the latter first. It was on the drive between Versailles and Piqua - with my mother driving and the forecast calling for white-out conditions - that I was inspired to want the tree photos. I tried taking some shots through the closed car window (my mom thanks me for that) while driving probably less than 55 mph (road conditions). Remember, I was not doing the driving.
From January 1, 2014
This shot, you'll note, lacks the solitary tree motif which was the whole point of the entry. But, I wanted to share with you what I discovered and loved as a kid traveling the country roads between my house and my grandparent's farm. Anywhere you looked, in the back of that field that was fronting the road, there was a forest. Maybe they aren't "real" forests, but only moderate stands of trees. The point was that even though they were not physically contiguous, they formed a ring around any place I was. The frontier of Ohio stands on the edge of the present day.

On the Third Day of Christmas

From January 1, 2014
It snowed. There will be other days of Christmas with snow - but the snow won't keep Christmas from coming. (I promise. I have seen the future and it is off-green.) In the meantime, some photos to enjoy of the snow around my mother's house.
From January 1, 2014
From January 1, 2014
From January 1, 2014

On the Second Day of Christmas

From January 1, 2014
This should really have been "the first day" - but I was too amused by the turkey. On the Second Day of Christmas …. TRAVEL: by plane, by car.
From January 1, 2014
To LA, to Dayton, to Versailles, to Cleveland, to a BIG OLE VIRUS that kept us in Versailles with only excursions to Troy and Piqua. Then, of course, it was back to LA and Home. The second day of Christmas lasted 5 weeks.

Monday, January 20, 2014

The First Day of Christmas

looked a lot like Thanksgiving…….
From January 1, 2014
My research on flight prices revealed that traveling from Oz in November was significantly less expensive than in December. Fortunately, I have a very accommodating boss who was willing to let me go for 5 weeks - making it possible to be home for both Christmas and Turkey Day. And, Kevin, has so many holidays that he probably surprises his coworkers on the days he shows up at the office. Yay! Let the festivities begin!

It's a brand new year - so let's wrap up the old one….

I get so excited about the new year… the buying of a new calendar, a new date book, maybe a new pen… resolutions, a do-over. The time is rife with possibilities! I even start thinking of getting some Christmas cards out. This year I felt particularly ambitious. Maybe it was all the difficulties and losses of the last two years. Maybe it was jet lag. I was giddy and ambitious and remembering when Mondays used to be my favourite day of the week. (Yes, really - for the same reason - you never knew what wonder laid ahead.) Anyway, I thought I'd get back on my qi gong horse, fix up my diet, get on a "photo a day" program, write my blog, write old friends, clean off the table, get a new desk, clean the shower…. Nothing has really gelled - yet. But, I do not despair. Tonight, I will start cleaning up 2013. I will start at the end of the year and maybe later I'll attack the 42 draft entries that lie in wait. Tonight we begin with the 12 days of Christmas. (I must admit to being a bit anxious about this project - I think it is because my outline only contains 10 days!)

Friday, January 10, 2014

The Power of the Heart - Peter Gabriel

Book of Love - Peter Gabriel (Lyrics/Pictures)

Happy New Year!

There are at least 20 unfinished posts in the "draft" status from 2013. I'm trying to get back to this project - and several (many?) others. A new year. A clean sheet. The possibilities are endless and I can almost taste success. But, as it is already after 9 PM and it is a "work night", I need to keep this short. Short is do-able. And, so, here are two of my new favourite songs from Peter Gabriel's 2010 (I believe) album "Scratch My Back". Happy New Year! Enjoy!!