Have a Fabulous Holiday Full of Food and Love…

…and football, if you’re into such things!
I’m going to be off-line until next Tuesday at the earliest… Even more than a premature jonesing for my daily internet fix, which I have survived many times, this is the first time in my life that I feel like I am actually going to miss my internet community. [...]

Repost: Thanksgiving Ingrate

Okay, since y’all didn’t disown me the last time I pulled a fast one like this, I’m going to do it ONE MORE TIME.  (All caps means it’s a promise!)
Thanksgiving Ingrate

Americans love to get presents and be the center of attention, which is probably why most of us claim our birthday as our favorite holiday. [...]

Top Five: Thanksgiving fixin’s

Since we are fast approaching the biggest food day of the year (well, for some of us, anyway) I thought it would be fun to get the drool going by listing the top five things we are looking forward to…
Mine are:

gravy
pumpkin pie
green beans with onions and bacon
rolls
appetizer plate eaten while watching football!

Austin Powers in North Carolina

Okay, I know I’ve written about this before, but I never get tired of it.  Cracks me up every time.
I’m just glad that I learned right when I got here two years ago that “shagging” refers to a beach music dance that originated in South Carolina, because I’d always just understood the lewd way it [...]

“Each instant…”

“Each instant is a place we’ve never been.” — Mark Strand
And here you are with me.
Even though as you read this, I have gone off somewhere else, to another place.  But I was here in this moment of now once, as you are.  I was aware of the letters on the screen, how they were [...]

New Feature: Top 5 lists

I love to play the game “Top Five…” which is of course inspired by the novel “High Fidelity” by Nick Hornby (upon which was based the 2000 movie of the same name starring John Cusack).  I want to play it here on a once-a-week basis, and hopefully some of my readers will be inspired to [...]

A place in the world

Yesterday I got the idea in my little head that it would be fun to be an online moderator for a new site I joined for mothers in my local area.  They have all kinds of forums that have eaten up more of my day than blogging lately.  One of the forums is called “Natural [...]

A dollar ninety-seven

Not much news.  Saw gas on sale today.  A dollar ninety-seven.
A dollar ninety-seven!
Was it or was it not twice that much a month ago?
Is there rhyme or reason?  
Not complaining.  
DON’T want to see a news story to help me marvel at the unceasing wonders (nudge nudge, wink wink to RPG).  
Great timing before our [...]

Fighting a deadbeat

On second thought, can it be considered a fair fight to shoot fish in a barrel?
My ex finally decided to contact me after months of silence, months during which he didn’t speak to the children either.
I’d have to tell you my life story to explain precisely why he’s the most selfish human on the planet, [...]

Monkey pics…

These are photos I took at a really cool park in Eugene, Oregon about 2 1/2 years ago.  It had the neatest rope climbing structure, among other things.  Joy made a nice comment about the bit I used in the header, so I thought I’d torture y’all with the whole series.  (Blame Joy!  :D  )
 
 

The [...]

Never the twain shall meet…

I’ve been inspired by a post I read over at Idea Jump! and wanted to describe the garden path I ended up wandering down.
I have long pondered the split between one’s public and private life.  My parents have always held this divide as sacred.  Heaven forbid anyone should know what color the couch is.  It’s [...]

When I’m 88…

Have you seen the movie Big Fish?  Brilliant flick.  A must-see, if ever there was one.
Anywho, inspired by this movie, I love the idea of “knowing” when you are going to die, although I DO NOT actually want to KNOW that information.
Allow me to elaborate.
I am one of those people who is mindful of the [...]

How we thank veterans

Every year we have a parade and listen to grand speeches detailing all the ways in which we are grateful to our veterans for their sacrifices.
Last night on the radio I heard of a fundraiser to help a veteran who came back from Iraq without a leg and needs work done on his home to [...]

Longing

“God picks up the reed-flute world and blows.
Each note is a need coming through one of us, a passion, a longing-pain.
Remember the lips
where the wind-breath originated,
and let your note be clear.
Don’t try to end it.
Be your note.”
– The Essential Rumi
translated by Coleman Barks
 
So often when I feel needy I try to be tough, an admirable [...]

Slacker gone hopeful

It really feels odd.  I’m not one to drone endlessly on the same topic, but as the days go by I can’t help but continue to meditate and marvel on the transformation… and figure out how to keep it going.
Growing up I was told I was part of the slacker generation.  We didn’t care about [...]

Welcome…

To the first day of the rest of our lives.
I want so badly to believe in President-elect Obama that it is a bit frightening.  My M.O. is to be cooly cynical, looking always for ulterior motive and reading greed and self-interest into everything that just about everyone says.
But try as I might, I could hear [...]