There's nothing sweeter.....than a road trip with your sweetie.....through postcard country....listening to fantastic music.....going to see your grandbaby.  <3

I've set up shop in the Library, and put on Mannheim Steamroller's Fresh Aire II. Delightfully ensconced, but still with the task ahead of organizing all the books. Fun work!

The transformation has begun. I got my first photo up - printed on canvas. Thanks to my son who has a good eye, and good imagination, I've decided to put all of the forest-y and landscape photos on canvas, with no frame. To look like they are part of the scenery. Then the other photos will be framed and scattered throughout the woods. And there will be sconces with candles here and there on the walls, among the art. Not just a forest, but an enchanted one.  :)It will be a long process, but each addition to the decor adds to my delight.

I don't know if I'm the only one, but it seems that the period in the history of my culture that I'm the least familiar with is the time just before and just after my arrival - the late 50s, the 60s, and the early 70s. Such a tumultuous time, we turned such a corner during that time, and I have so little understanding of it. So I'm looking into it now. Exploring everything from the Angry Young Men to Black is Beautiful, the Jesus Freaks, and the High Heeled Boys. Searching for what actually made the changes and why. If anyone has any books or music - or anything else - to help give me insight, let me know!
And on the advice of a friend, I'm going to keep writing here, whether I get any feedback or not. Thinking out loud. I could do it just as well in my notebook, and probably will there too, but the idea of at least offering my thoughts for others to ponder is very appealing. 

                                                                       Villanelle

                                               Under dirty hemlocks snowdrifts cling.
                                               New pussywillows pale and scarcely show.
                                               Only children trust in early spring.

                                               When none but silly sparrows hop and wing
                                               Late in the afternoon and skitter low
                                               Under dirty hemlocks. Snowdrifts cling

                                               Out on the frozen pond. Old ice has lost its ring.
                                               Half-frozen fields and mudflats know
                                               Only children. Trust in early spring

                                               When slender maple branches dip and swing
                                               Fitful, and flaunt their budding scarlet glow.
                                               Under dirty hemlocks, snowdrifts. Cling

                                               To bursts of sun when busy breezes fling
                                               Kites into clouds and twist them tugging so
                                               Only children trust. In early spring

                                               Who has the courage for one day to bring
                                               Marvelous marbles out where they may go
                                               Under dirty hemlocks? Snowdrifts cling
                                               Only. Children trust in early spring.

                                                                   - Carole G. Goldberg


I love this piece of genius. Fiddling around with words and phrases and rhymes. I'd love to write something similar.  

Dinner for ten, with the two families whose kids I'll be teaching this year. Calormene Chicken, salad, stuffed grape leaves, and roasted potatoes. And chocolate cake with two kinds of ice cream for dessert. Such wonderful families, such a perfect mix of students. This is going to be a great school year!

I just heard a sports broadcaster, covering some gymnastics competition, discussing the number one reason to watch sports. Not only to see a good game, or a good competition, he said, but most of all, and most important of all, to watch greatness. To see greatness.

I totally get that. Never occurred to me before.

I think she was 12 here. I love this little girl.

"What about the one who said he loved you?
What about the one who said he cared?
He's up in the high sierra
Don't bother looking for him there.

The angels lay their clouds across his sky
They line up for him every night.
Some have wings and others sing;
The rest do lazy ballets in the air."

....what a poet the man is. I'm loving the stuff I never knew he did, until now.

Rest in Peace, Dear Lady. Thank you for all the joy!

This girl's got it! I hope she wins the whole thing.

This girl. 

"On The Beach"
(originally by Neil Young)

The world is turnin'
I hope it don't turn away
The world is turnin'
I hope it don't turn away

All my pictures are fallin'
From the wall where I placed them yesterday
The world is turnin'
I hope it don't turn away

I need a crowd of people
But I can't face them day to day
I need a crowd of people
But I can't face them day to day

Though my problems are meaningless
That don't make them go away
I need a crowd of people
But I can't face them day to day

I went to the radio interview
But I ended up all alone at the microphone
I went to the radio interview
But I ended up all alone at the microphone

Now I'm livin' out here on the beach
But those seagulls are still out of reach
I went to the radio interview
But I ended up all alone at the microphone

Get out of town, I think I'll get out of town
Get out of town, I think I'll get out of town
I head for the sticks with my bus and friends
I'd follow the road till I don't know where it ends
Get out of town, I think I'll get out of town

The world is turnin'
I hope it don't turn away

Death By Garlic sandwich, with well over the legal limit of garlic sauce. On the PERFECT Phoenicia Bakery French bread. Toasted in the oven. Life is good.

Contemplating a course of action normally taken by people in their teens and early 20s. Scared witless........

Do not go gentle into that good night

Dylan Thomas, 1914 - 1953

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

"Sub Umber Floreo"

This will be on a plaque on the wall, in my study/library which is being decorated to suggest a forest.

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms."   - Henry David Thoreau


This will be on a plaque on the wall, in my study/library which is being decorated to suggest a forest.

We've called it the World Wide Web for years, and never thought to wonder about the nature of the spider........

Deeeeelicious......

Here's the gent serenading my Happy Housewifery today. Life is good.  😎

Mustang grapes, fermenting. Yummm......

Dinner for two! <3

High. On. The. Ladder (afraid of heights), taping the ceiling, while listening to Boz Scaggs....... Steely Dan...... Simply Red on the surround-sound. Life is good.   😎

Having shut down Facebook and turned off the news, I was a little afraid that I would miss out on something important. This morning I learned just how grave the danger is. It turns out that Plastic Straws are now going to end civilization as we know it.

Stunned silence.

A few brain cells just died. 

"Apply them constantly to everything that happens: Physics, Ethics, Logic." - Marcus Aurelius

Swoon.......

"You can hold your breath until you turn blue, but they'll still go on doing it." - Marcus Aurelius

The more things change......
                                         

It has come to my attention that in order to be recognized by the blog and to comment, one has to have a Google+ profile. It's so easy to set up that I had one and didn't even know it! So if you'd like to join the fray here, git 'er done! 

Los Dos Guapos.  :)

Just wow.

And of course this fine gent. Listening to more Chris Botti, and Miles Davis. Which opens up a whole new box.......   Life is good!  

I mean........
I've now become a fan of Christian McBride too. Yum.

Such a gorgeous tune. I'm in love with this version of Sting. This is what he was born to do, not The Police.  Jazz......

Here's the before pics of my soon-to-be-library. It was our girls' room as they were growing up, and most recently Robbie and Kasi's room. It's soon to be my Ma'am Cave.  lol.  I want to make it look forest-y. The walls have been painted stone gray, and there will be some brown, and plenty of green. I plan to print and frame a bunch of photos I love - that I have taken and that I just found and like, and cover the walls with art. And book cases.
 The design painted on the wall was put there by our daughter Yvonne, when she was about 15. Her dad was horrified to learn it was painted directly on the wall!  I love it and have painted around it. I may even find a way to frame it.
When it's finished, I will show you!  It's going to be beautiful....

Raymond's figlets. lol. He's already got five trees in the ground (some producing figs), two in pots, and four more in the dining room, soaking in watery nutrients. Gonna have a proper orchard soon!

Yesterday afternoon. This is getting ridiculous.

http://nlandsurfpark.com

Here's where Raymond and I went last evening, around sundown. To surf?  Please. No, we heard there's a brewery there now!  And a restaurant! So...... the burgers weren't bad, the beer's pretty good, and it was fascinating watching the waves, tho we only saw the last of them, as it closes at 8 for waves. I'd like to go earlier next time and see the folks surf. Pretty cool.

Today is the 9th of Av, on the Jewish calendar, a major day of fasting and mourning. If you look it up, you'll see how many remarkable things in the history of the world took place on this date. To all my Jewish and Christian friends - may there be heavenly comfort for you today.  <3

I object.

Get in the best mood you can muster, get rid of distractions, and turn it up.

"I forget who the poet is who says -

'Mysterious are thy laws;
The vision's finer than the view;
Her landscape Nature never drew
So fair as fancy draws.' "

    - William Carleton

Here's what I'm currently reading - to re-ignite my imagination and fill my head with good language. Delightful!

I've discovered a couple of painters I like very much. I won't post any pics, for fear of copyright issues, but check out Leonid Afremov, and Edouardo Cortes. Like.   :)

"....everyone is a visionary if you scratch him deep enough. But the Celt is a visionary without scratching."  - W.B. Yeats

One of the musicians I grew up listening to. Thank you, Bob and Diana Ward!  <3

The Honeymooners! Having so much fun in our empty house, loving every time a kid stops by to say hello.

You said you're not like me
You'll never drop to your knees
Look into the sky for a momentary high
Never even try till it's time to say good-bye
But everybody fights for a little bit of light
I believe.

Around Mariah's table there's always lots of good food and drink. And conversation. And music. And friends and family. I will be posting such things here, and will love your reaction. I love sharing beautiful things and presenting ideas that have come to mind - hopefully you'll find them interesting. Always feel free to comment, and always be polite, even if we disagree.
And bear with me, because I'm still getting my feet wet here and don't know how to do much of anything with a blog. Learning as I go!
Thank for joining me - let's have fun!