Send Love

I tried posting a comment at Melissa’s blog but couldn’t — my sister Betsy called me yesterday with the news and my heart stopped — please anyone reading this send Melissa, her parents, Tony and Linda, and anyone else in their circle prayers, light, love and all the strength and beauty you can — they need it so badly after their recent loss. Thank you.

Natural Love

It’s very hard for me to pick just one thing, but for bloggy giveaways from folks whose work I admire, I will always attempt a choice —

“tell me one non human thing in the natural world that you love the most and why” (from Resurrection Fern), so here goes:

Trees — because we burn them, chop them down and more yet they never give up…their roots are deep and they will push up new growth wherever they can, even through concrete…their tenacity inspires me when i feel discouraged…

Now go tell her yours here.

Turn up the Volume

So, yay, I can finally turn the speaker on by myself and I actually figured out (on my own!) how to listen to the interview with Andrea over at Jamie Ridler’s site. I think I’ll listen to one every morning til I’ve caught up with them all. People’s voices sound tinier when I listen to them than when I read their words — interesting. But I’m feeling good about this blogging thing now and I think the Andrea interview helped — my creative space — just show up for 15 minutes in the morning with my tea and I will write something, even if it is only another writer’s quote such as this one by Oscar Wilde (a favorite of mine, with his impish Irish wit) — it’s from a book by Jack Gantos called Hole in my Life.

“It is not what one does that is wrong, but what one becomes as a consequence of it.”

Now I’m off to work with the wild, the beautiful and the damned. And one of these days I’m gonna add pictures. Have a glorious Wednesday, World.

Okey Doke

I am actually fairly computer literate, but i do need some tutoring with new programs, etc. I know dreamweaver and photoshop basics, but dang if I can’t figure out how to turn the speaker on and off on this laptop. My cousin’s an NPR commentator and I wanted to listen to one of his latest stories but the sound’s off.

Okey doke, Marty just came downstairs and showed me where the speaker icon is. I’d been looking on the keyboard. He said it was on the right and I didn’t realize he meant in the way little right hand corner of the screen. So anyway, now I can listen to Sean tell me about the Latchkey Cup. Just listened to his story on the best and worst jobs in America. The link is here.

Evelyn Speranza Pizzo Bash

Today would be my beloved mother-in-law’s 80th birthday. I think of her just about everyday, how I loved her, and how I wish I had thought to have her move in with us instead of us leaving Vermont. It would have been hard living together though — we were both headstrong, independent, sometimes too proud women.

I hope she knew how much I loved her. I could be a real jerk in the early years of my marriage to her son, but even when Jason and I divorced, Evelyn continued to be a big part of mine and my children’s lives.

Alzheimer’s finally got her, as it did her father. It was a long goodbye, with the final send-off this past April. She used to say put her on an iceberg and let her go. Christine held ice cubes in Evelyn’s hand on a visit and said to her mother, “It’s okay, Mom. You can go. This is your iceberg.” On some level I think this reached her and she was finally able to let go. She was a beautiful woman, the best mother-in-law a girl could ever ask for and a fabulous grandmother. She adored her grandchildren and would do anything for her kids. Evelyn was there for me many times when my own mother wasn’t. She was a mother to me too, prickly as I could be. Thank you Evelyn. I will always remember you with a heart full of love and the lessons I learned from you.

February

I’m looking forward to going to an art show reception tonight featuring this Brooklyn artist’s work tonight — I’ve been following her blog lately and love her embroidery. I was thinking how I’d love to check out her show in New York tonight and then whoa! saw that she’s got a couple of pieces in tonight’s show practically up the street from me…

Thanks for the notes about where I can get help with my blog banner, etc — gotta eat supper now or I’ll never make it to the show…have a glorious weekend. And if you’re in snowy parts, stay warm, eat chocolate and drink lots of tea. Some snuggling with a honey’s always good too!

January

It’s the last day of January and I’ve been working all day on a website. An unfinished doll awaits me and I am longing to get to it. Sometimes bloggie connections beckon to me too. It is slow going for me, this posting to my own blog — I’d much rather read others seeking inspiration and connection — wintertime does it to me. Years ago on another winter day I discovered blogs through knitty and girl at play websites. Those two sites opened up a world of possibility to me. The danger for me is letting the virtual replace the real. I can be very Virgoan at times — solitary — couple that with SAD and my normal year-round garden variety depression and blog addiction can become a very real dilemma for me. Looking forward to yummy dinner at the Brazilian Grill in a couple of hours though…it will be a cold walk, but cold and walks can feel good, and I love the Brazilian/Portuguese vibe.

Tangerine Dreams

Kathy from Tangerine Dreams has inspired me to finally post an entry on my blog. She has a yummy fiber give-a-way posted on her blog about life in the Canadian Pacific Northwest. Her spot of the world is pure magic.

I hesitated to post because I don’t know how well I’ll keep up with this. Commitment to a blog isn’t very easy for me, but I’ll try.

That being said, I am totally smitten with our new First Family here in the USA. They strike me as the real deal, not phony at all, and I am so excited to have them in the White House. I am crushing on Michelle Obama these days…she is one gorgeous and inspiring lady.

Now, I need some help. Could someone refer me to a source for affordable blog banners/templates. Part of my hesitancy has always been that I want my blog to look as pretty as some of my favorites such as Beauty That Moves, Boho Photography, Tangerine’s, Persisting Stars, and Fig and Plum to name a few. Thank you in advance.