More Random Than Average

By Association

2012-01-22T11:40:00.002-07:00

In fairy stories

true names have power.

I discover them

on crumpled paper between

the bras and cereal,

forgotten on the floor.

“Chili powder, diapers, tampons,”

on the back of a receipt;

or, “fixadent, turnips, beer,”

in meticulous cursive

on pink paper.

Sustenance

and sanitation;

turnips and toilet paper,

greeting cards and waste baskets.

These things

shape us.

Thanks

2012-01-05T07:09:00.001-07:00

Dad loaned me his phone once,

and I changed the voice-mail message.

Then, when I gave it back,

he never changed it back.

I would call him and get

myself.

Now all I can call on

to get him

is me,

and when I open my mouth

and his words fall out

I am thankful.

Note: The OSI topic was change but I didn't really look at the page close and thought it was thanks and so this isn't really an OSI poem, but it's what I wrote this week anyway.

All Things Being Unequal

2011-12-31T12:13:00.001-07:00

Does the flower ever wish
that the sunlight
needed it?

OSI: Knight

2011-12-15T13:55:00.002-07:00

Dear Prince:

Rescuing is all well and good,
but I didn't sign up
for a lifetime of armor polishing.
I've run off with a peasant
who can cook
and doesn't have a palace
to dust.

Have a happy ever after,

Your Princess

More OSI: Here

OSI: Sapid

2011-12-07T11:31:00.002-07:00

Knowledge

Long ago I hefted
the cool, pale fruit
and pressed my thumb
to yielding flesh
beneath translucent, tender skin.
My sharp incisors piercing
yielded fountains
of sapid, sweet and sour juice.
The flesh-
earthy, grainy texture.
Satin and burlap
all in one;
One taste
never undone.
Before was innocence,
they say,
but two-dimensional
forever
is nothing
to now
in the round.

more OSI: HERE

You Tube In Box

2011-12-05T09:08:00.003-07:00

I get one of these messages regularly. It's sort of the viagra spam of You Tube, but this one was more entertaining than they generally are so I thought I'd share with you. By the way, if you only know me here then you might want to see my videos. I mean, you might not too... but you can find me on You Tube as RandomerThanAverage.

i thought your video was great

Hello!
How are you man?
who is your life?
Your channel is great
always sit and wait for something new!
The channel is very interesting X
I want to tell you a great way to be sunscribed
trying to get on www.subs4youtu.be
The site is very good!
I informed you if you did!
We'll hear!
Allen!

Meanwhile, who is your life?

We'll hear,

Marilyn

OSI: Fool's Paradise

2011-11-30T11:44:00.003-07:00

Once upon a time,

the food was poetry.

The chili was thick gravy,

spread like summer on

my tongue.

The tortillas were pressed

by the hands of a woman

that knew what it was

to love.

I sat next to a man

I had torn in two,

and asked who would get the

table and the chairs.

Now, the tortillas are fakes

that come wrapped in foil.

The chili is salsa

from a jar.

The busboy presses his hands

to his face.

I sit across from a man

who holds my hand

when I tell him

how I miss my father.

He holds my hand

and all the conversational

pauses

are just places

for my heart

to stop.

More OSI: HERE

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T07:45:00.001-07:00

My first Black Friday in retail... so that's exciting. Hope you and yours have lots to be thankful for this year.

OSI: Hourglass

2011-11-17T12:03:00.002-07:00

Sometimes they
fall like boulders
and roll past me,
relief in wake.
Or they fall
like bells
and leave sorrow
in the passing;
the chimes,
unhoarded.
Boulders and bells
slip away,
even now.

More OSI: Here

Lazy Woman's Cup Cake

2011-11-16T21:50:00.002-07:00

I know there are better versions of this out there, but this is about as simple as it gets. Cake mix is on sale at our local Wal Mart and I don't want a whole layer cake sitting around. Besides, it's cold outside and warm cake is warm.

Ingredients

1/2 cup cake mix
1 T. butter or oil
1/4 cup milk

In an average sized coffee mug melt the butter or dump in the oil. Add the cake mix. Add the milk. Mix well. Microwave till done. My microwave takes about two and a half minutes. Yours may take longer. Better to undercook it than overcook it. Add chocolate chips, dried fruit, or nuts before cooking, if you want to get fancy, and feel free to top it with whipped cream or frosting or something, but it's good all by its lonesome. It's not gormet, but it is simple, warm, sweet, and fast. There's an inappropriate joke in there someplace, but I'll let somebody else make it.

New Blog

2011-11-10T09:17:00.002-07:00

My friend Believerette just made a blog. She's a nerdfighter I know in real life, totally made of awesome, and one of the coolest people I've met since I moved here. Here's the link. If you wanted to stop by and comment there it would be a wonderful thing and make me happy.http://dreamingaimlessly.blogspot.com/

OSI: Birdie

2011-11-06T11:34:00.004-07:00

You aren't in step with me.

There is no hand to hold,

but you are the orange of leaves,

and warmth of sunlight.

I hear you in the crunch

of acorns underfoot.

I smell you in the air.

The craggy junipers are blue.

I pluck a sloe and taste the

gentle, calm, and sweet.

The birdies are still singing.

I can't make out the words,

but the melody

is true.

More OSI: Here

Dona Nobis Pacem

2011-11-04T09:20:00.010-06:00

I had a big creative project planned but the technical details just didn't get ironed out in time. There's just too much going on in my life this year. I did write this villanelle for the occasion. As always, visit mimiwrites.blogspot.com for more about the peace globe movement and how this all started.

This might seem silly to some, but to those people I'd just like to point out that words and images are not powerless. Even in the hands of regular people, especially when there are many of us, words and images have some power, and so this isn't a waste of time and effort. This might even, possibly, be the only important thing I've ever blogged.

Everyone wants war to end.
Everyone wants peace
while there's still life to spend.

Some, with strength of arms pretend
that we can force the hate to cease,
yet everyone wants war to end.

The people with crops to tend
know peace could mean a larger feast
while there's still life to spend.

Though politics refuse to bend,
and fighting lasts without surcease,
everyone wants war to end.

Preachers speak of gory end
and the strife of life's release
but there's still life to spend.

Words are all I have to render,
my almost hopeless caprice,
but everyone wants war to end
while there's still life to spend.

All images (excepting my globe, of course) are from the national archives and can be found, in order, at the following places.

http://www.archives.gov/research/military/civil-war/photos/images/civil-war-035.jpg

http://www.archives.gov/global-pages/larger-image.html?i=/research/military/ww2/photos/images/thumbnails/ww2-192-l.jpg&c=/research/military/ww2/photos/images/thumbnails/ww2-192.caption.html

http://www.archives.gov/global-pages/larger-image.html?i=/research/military/ww2/photos/images/thumbnails/ww2-126-l.jpg&c=/research/military/ww2/photos/images/thumbnails/ww2-126.caption.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/5506533212/sizes/l/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/5164453067/sizes/o/in/set-72157622745727211/

OSI: Sunset

2011-11-01T13:59:00.003-06:00

Sunrise: Hope
Sunset: Regret
Is it noon now,
or midnight?

Note: Sorry about the comment moderation. Can't be helped for now. Comments are very important to me and I hate moderation but I need it at the moment.

More OSI Here

OSI: Limber up

2011-10-24T09:58:00.002-06:00

In a crowd of strangers,

two cranes call

to each other;

Thin necks reaching

to see.

On finding his lady

by his side, he bows

a noble nose to bending grass

and she demurely nods

in turn.

The two flap and jump.

Tentative and tangible-

the dance of finding the one.

You have to limber up

to a lifetime together.

More OSI: Here

OSI:Paper

2011-10-19T07:54:00.002-06:00

Time pulps the memory of past
and bleaches it.
If I could spread it on a screen to dry,
I'd write your future there
in bright pink ink.

More OSI: Here

A Walk in The Park

2011-10-15T14:04:00.008-06:00

OSI: River

2011-10-11T20:39:00.003-06:00

How We Lost It

We used to cross rivers together.
He'd go on ahead and wait.
I would follow;
my feet slipping on the smooth rock
in the rushing cold.
Then once, I looked down at my feet
and saw myself in the bent light,
where I wasn't,
but where I could be,
and something about the is
became the possible,
and I lost my footing
and found a new one
elsewhere.
He is still waiting,
some days,
but I can't get to that
grassy bank
any longer.

More OSI: Here

The Economy

2011-10-10T11:11:00.002-06:00

If you set up a system where there have to be winners and losers and then you rig it so that more and more people must lose, is it fair to blame the losers for their loss? Is it fair to blame the winners for winning? Be it luck or skill or hard work, somebody has to win and somebody has to lose and when you get too many angry losers, things go badly. And face it, losers tend to get angry. It's hard not to be when they see how easy life seems for the winners and there seems to be no way to turn things around.

I'm not saying people who are poor didn't make some bad decisions, but increasingly, it seems to take fewer and fewer bad decisions.

I think we can all agree that you can't pray the poor away. Things seem on track to become more and more divisive. I don't think I'm the only one who finds this scary as heck.

OSI: Language

2011-10-04T09:45:00.002-06:00

Bourbon and Beer

We sidle up
to what we say
from edges,
and yet,
we used to
say real things.
The universe needs figuring.
I don't care about your girl
and the possibility
of love for me
is beside the point.
Explain to me the spark
of being someone else.
I'll taste the extra brown
and tell you what it's like
to open up a mouse
and see the magic of
it's parts glistening inside,
and know that each has
it's place and purpose,
and then wonder,
where is mine.

More OSI: HERE

Moth

2011-09-27T20:22:00.001-06:00

You are burning brightly now,
but I can't tell
if you're the moon
or a candle's flame.

Astericks for the end of September

2011-09-26T08:12:00.003-06:00

The OSI prompt is kicking my rear at the moment, so you can have a randomy asterisk post from me instead.

***

Stuff. I has it. Money. I don't has it. I took a trip to Alamosa to sign the divorce papers and get some stuff and hopefully help Andy find closure. Mostly, I think all it did was make me broke. The divorce is moving along though, for whatever that's worth.

***

All my facebook peeps know, but I gotta brag here... My kid got her first ever report card. All A-s and B-s, cause she's brilliant and all.

***

Check out my you tube channel at randomerthanaverage. New stuff up there sometime late today or early tomorrow.

***

I had plans this weekend but they fell through, so if you wanted to kidnap me and take me to Europe or something, this would be a good weekend for that. Of course, I have to work evenings so it would have to be a short visit, but I'm putting that out there for you just in case you were thinking about it. Disney world might be fun too, or Japan. Never been to Japan.

Getting Lost

2011-09-22T08:50:00.001-06:00

You can make a million wrong turns
and still end up where you're going,
if you make enough right ones after.

OSI: Betrayal

2011-09-19T06:09:00.002-06:00

The Heart of a Man

So there's this pile of marbles,
and a little boy is gathering
the shiny ones,
and off to the side there's a marble
a different color and shape
from the others,
and he thinks to himself,
"I'll get that one later,"
because his hands are full, you see,
but another boy comes along
and takes just that one.
Only then
does the first boy realize
his mistake.

More OSI HERE

Five on Friday: Songs for Today

2011-09-16T10:09:00.003-06:00

No rhyme or reason and no message of any kind. It's just what I'm listening to today. I honestly don't remember if playlist and blogger play nice with facebook so if you don't see the player you can always click through from facebook to the blog, if you're interested.

If you wanna see other five on friday posts you should visit Trav's Thoughts.

One-Sided Things

2011-09-15T07:12:00.001-06:00

"...blossom must not ever fly from bee to bee to bee ."

Blossoms and bees, reciprocate,

and if a blossom needs a thing

and the bee refuses,

the blossom won't breed blossoms

for bees.

And that leads

to fields free of flowers

and clouds of hungry bees.

Fields free of flowers,

and clouds of hungry bees,

are pretty much the downfall

of all societies.

A Walk Through My Hood

2011-09-12T09:23:00.009-06:00

I'm told this is a mailbox.

I have a thing about the name Hazel. Nice of her to include Jim there.

The morning sun casts things in shadow. The weather was perfect.

Sycamore and a swing set.

The community theater is over that way (according to a sign over there). Some lovely buildings, but that's another walk.

I love the bird feeder/bird cage.

Off in the distance you can see a floral bedecked Saturn.

Blog Your Blessings

2011-09-11T21:16:00.004-06:00

It was suggested by Sandy of Writing in Faith that today would be a good day to revive Blog Your Blessings. I am trying hard to get back into blogging and that seems like a fine way to spend a few words. Here are some things I am grateful for.

Jasmine. She's a great kid and I'm not just saying that because she can read this. She just is.

My dog. She's an idiot but I love her to pieces. Who doesn't like to have somebody waiting at home, happy to see them. She makes coming home from work joyful, when it could just be kind of sad.

My family. They demand almost nothing. They call occasionally to see how I am. They are just all around pretty awesome. Who could ask for more. I hope some day to be as supportive of them as they are of me.

9 11 2001

2011-09-11T07:04:00.000-06:00

Some days change everything.

Asterisk Post

2011-09-09T08:35:00.003-06:00

I'm way too old to be dating. The alternative is just worse. ... but anyway, it's a learning experience.

***

I like this house but I can see I'm going to have to get better at nagging the landlord. That's an unhappy thought for me.

***

I love the neighborhood I walked through this morning. I need to remember to grab my camera so I can show you all why.

***

It's very awesome to be able to make inside jokes with somebody you just met.

***

For some reason this post reminds me of the random ones Mags used to do when she moved to the city. That makes me happy.

OSI: weeds

2011-09-08T12:08:00.002-06:00

We all know the Nobel winners

and fashion gurus,

the people with big houses

and undented cars,

the celebrities.

I want to know the weeds.

The cure isn't in the rose bed,

but in the undiscovered

patch of wild.

More OSI Here

White Chili

2011-09-07T19:15:00.001-06:00

The birds on the wire keep distance,

one from another.

There is no gossiping between them.

The white faces that I pass

carry pained, bland expressions,

and ignore my bright, "hi,"as often as not.

One roofer on a house I pass

calls to another in Spanish that seems

blunted somehow, and though I never

understood it anyway, I tear up.

A little woman, of about five or six years,

wields a bunch of roses at the grocery

and swings it at me playfully,

piercing me with nostalgia.

"Flores," she says.

"Flores," I answer.

OSI: Silence

2011-08-14T15:31:00.004-06:00

I went to church today
and watched the masses munch on Jesus,
drinking down the blood of Christ,
in this place I made my home.
I remembered how I
believed in something holy
for a moment.
Anger is a kind of passion,
I suppose.
You said silence was violence,
but silence is the kindest thing
I ever did for you.

More OSI Here

Convenience Food

2011-08-06T14:56:00.003-06:00

I'm against it. It's expensive. However, I'm here all alone and I'm just not all that into cooking without an audience.

Tai Pei makes the best frozen egg rolls and pot stickers. However, I just tried the sweet and sour chicken, and it was disappointing. Very little chicken and a lot of rice. I can make rice myself very easily. I want my frozen Chinese food to have more actual meat and vegetables. I don't suppose there is really anything authentic about sweet and sour chicken anyway, but the sauce didn't taste that good to me, and I really like the sauces that come with the egg rolls and pot stickers. Just letting you know, in case you care.

Book Review: Fallen

2011-08-04T19:05:00.005-06:00

I just finished Fallen by Lauren Kate and it was a compelling read. I kinda want to buy the next one in the series but I won't. Judging from the cover I was expecting an angsty, teen vampire novel. What I got was an angsty, teen fallen angel novel.

It's not really a big deal to me that it wasn't about vampires. What irritates me about the book is it's twilightishnes. I actually kinda liked Twilight, but this is more twilightish than twilight. Maybe I'll be able to explain.

I read a lot of young adult literature, and by that I mean books that teenagers like to read. I like those kinds of books and besides, they are the kinds of books Jasmine likes, so we can talk about them together.

The kind of love represented in these books is just plain silly. Don't get me wrong, I totally get seeing somebody you don't really know and feeling like you have a connection and being a little silly about it. Been there. Done that. But that's not love. That's body chemistry. That is not the kind of thing to die for, or get your friends killed for, or fight a war for. Oh, I know that people have done those things in real life and will again, but it's not a holy thing to be revered and save the world.

Love might conquer all. Lust just gets everybody into trouble. Trust me on this. Like I said: I got the T-shirt. Passion isn't evil. It can be the driving force toward great things, but it's a lot like fire. Be really, really careful with it.

Another thing that seemed off putting to me, but is probably really minor in comparison to the Twilight complaint, is that there is a standard set of Christian-style angels and demons along with a mostly Christian ethos, and nestled integrally into the sappy, romantic, boys-fighting-over-girls-and-saving-the-world plot they have reincarnation. That just feels like bad form to me.

Also, it has been said before but I'll just say it again. No immortal, two-bazillion-year-old-idiot better be making time with my daughter when she's only seventeen. I'd be kicking me some angel rear. Just sayin!

OSI: uncomfortable

2011-08-02T19:30:00.005-06:00

I bought a purple pen and now all my prose is purple, save the spaces in between, and all the spaces touch-if I am careful with my a and e and o-if I leave them imperfectly joined.

Sometimes I can't help but make a perfect one and close it up and leave the space alone.

I am, thankfully, not perfect, but today my spaces are uncomfortably unjoined.

I was unjoined on your carpet once and left some spaces there. If you find them sweep them up and send them home.
more OSI HERE

How is that bad?

2011-08-02T14:53:00.004-06:00

noun

1. the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.

Maybe I'm missing something? I'm not marching on the streets or demanding equal pay immediately or anything, and for the most part I feel like we have things really good here in this country. Not too many complaints from me... but when asked if I'm a feminist my perplexed answer is, "of course". Why wouldn't everybody be?

Asterisk Post

2011-07-31T17:26:00.002-06:00

Gonna be moving back to Kansas soon. Getting ready to move. Transfering from the department store I work at to another where I'll likely be a cashier. I probably won't mention my work much in blogs because that could get me into trouble but I will say that I love my job here. The company has been very good to me and there are a lot of people I'm going to miss. Probably sounds funny that somebody who essentially considers herself a scientist and teacher likes a low level retail job that much, but I do.

***

Been catching up on the you tube vlogs I miss, because Jasmine's not here to watch with me. If you watch you tube at all, the vlog brothers are always fun to watch. Two of the latest are about the uselessness of lawns and the realities of being bullied. I love those guys because even when they are being silly, they are saying something worth thinking about.

***

Jasmine's starting public school for the first time real soon. Send happy thoughts her way.

***

When did compromise become a dirty word? Seriously, if the politicians in Washington were my kids, I'd make em apologize and hug each other and start over. This is plain stupidity. The word moderate is a compliment people. Embrace it and move on.

an actual blog post

2011-07-28T20:10:00.003-06:00

Life is so strange. You go for years and years with things changing but not changing quickly enough that you notice and you wake up after ten years of that and find your kid is practically grown and your life isn't really what you were aiming for when you started on that path, that you feel like you... okay not you- me. I feel like I slept through it. And then it crashed.

This isn't the first time my life crashed and probably not the last, but it feels like the most thorough. I lost my dad. My marriage ended. I got a real job and gave up on the business. I'm looking at a move that I'm only slightly more thrilled about than the idea of staying here in these circumstances. I've got little time to get lots of important things done and I really feel like sitting here and staring off into space and doing nothing.

If dad were here I'd ask him if this is what it felt like when his dad died and he crawled into his own little hole and I'd ask him what it took to crawl out of it and I'd ask a few other pertinent questions because I'm sick to eff of everybody saying it's not about the money and then following that up with how they know what dad would have wanted. No. You don't. I don't and you don't. Things aren't like they were. Life crashed on all of us. It sucks. You know only what you think you know and I know only what I think I know and sadly, Dad isn't here and we can each only do with each moment what we think at that moment is the best thing.

It's like that saying 'what would Jesus do'? Well Jesus isn't here to ask and I'm pretty effing sure I don't agree with what you think he'd do. He was my father and I love him and I miss the hell out of him and I wasn't the best kid in the universe and I didn't succeed at everything he'd have had me succeed at, but nobody except me and him knew what it was like to be us. And Dad knew what it was like to not be perfect and not accomplish what you set out to. And Dad loved me.

nonesense

2011-07-27T21:02:00.002-06:00

I used to do this thing called blogging.

It's sort of like tweeting except you can use as many words as you want and it's sort of like facebook except you don't have to play Mafia Wars or pretend to farm or anything.

It was fun. I met a lot of great people that way. Maybe I'll try that again.

just me

2011-07-19T19:37:00.003-06:00

Question

2011-07-16T20:35:00.002-06:00

Does the spider know
ahead of time
that he will be devoured?
Does he dance his seduction anyway?

OSI: Seven Sins

2011-06-29T23:39:00.003-06:00

Apathy
Complacency
Failure to suspend disbelief
The tendency to pretend to care
Politics
Gossip

The deadly one:
to fail at love.

more OSI: here

OSI: wind

2011-06-22T10:53:00.002-06:00

Road Trip

The waft of waffle words
and small talk situations;
the weft and warp of routine rituals
and all the cloth of what's expected,
can dance away in happy winds
to the tune of a song sung off key
and louder than the engine.

more OSI here

OSI: Miss

2011-06-13T12:21:00.003-06:00

Where I come from it storms with passion.
With the storm comes an invisible hand.
Its lusty, rough caress
tousles all the rain and brushes
the tops of our lives
till the land itself gasps
at the violent, life bringing love.

An unpredictable lover,
it will turn in an offhand way,
and miss the missing;
knock all the world aside,
and turn gasps to tears,
life to loss.
Then return with love,
uncaring of response.

more osi here

At Your Service

2011-05-22T23:56:00.003-06:00

It occurs to me that I may not have said anything here about me getting an actual real job. For the last few months I've been working in apparel at a local department store. I'm still making the signs, but not as many and not as often.

Anyway, I've really enjoyed it. I like getting out and seeing people and I like helping people find exactly what they are looking for. Often, when I've really gone out of my way for somebody they ask me my name and then they walk away with a smile that suggests they are going to say something nice about me to somebody important. They never actually do this, but it's a nice feeling to have anyway. Even though it's not an earth shakingly important job, helping somebody find the right underwear or sweater, it's nice to feel like I made somebody's day a little easier.

Also, just in case you're interested, I lost four pounds last week. That's always nice.

OSI: Love

2011-05-11T23:51:00.000-06:00

Love

When he was leaving
but not quite gone,
she held his hand
and though he couldn't speak,
he raised his eyebrows
in recognition,
and said everything,
there was to say.

Note: More OSI here

Blog Update

2011-05-10T10:05:00.004-06:00

This was always a goofy personal blog where I rambled about whatever interested me and I've kinda abandoned it lately. For one, I started it when I felt like I had no voice and I since seem to have found my voice. For another, most of the bloggers I know are now on facebook and it's easier to just go look there for them. Most of us crosspost so you see the blog stuff on facebook anyway and I've just got out of the habit of blogging.

However, I know two or three people that aren't on facebook and the conversation has died off and I miss it so I thought I'd try and come back here. Besides, I like my header with the alien guy and if I don't visit here I don't get to see him.

Here's what's going on in my life. Warning, it's mostly depressing.

For one, my Dad died. My dad raised me and we were close and heartbreaking doesn't begin to describe it. It was lung cancer. It happened really fast. It was painful and awful for him and us too. Smoking kills. It's an awful death. I know you don't want to hear that but it's true. Stop before you've been smoking for thirty years.

For two, I'm going to be single again soon. I'm not really up to explaining all the reasons and circumstances. It's my fault as much as his.

For three, I'm going to be moving back home to Kansas as soon as I can figure out all the things I need to do to accomplish it, which is not really sad but is another stressful thing.

Me Me Me. I'm a tad self involved at the moment. I'll try to get around to other blogs and see how other people are doing, but at the moment, I kinda need to focus on this stuff.

I know you are just computer people, but you all have meant a lot to me over the years. Thank you for being out there.

For my Dad

2011-05-03T12:24:00.004-06:00

"For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love"- Carl Sagan

My sister asked me for a copy of the words I spoke at my Dad's funeral. Please understand that I prepared this statement thinking there would be a lot more people speaking and I didn't really touch anything more than a tiny piece of what there is to say about this man. It's unusual for family members to speak at a funeral like this, but we wanted people who knew him to be the ones to talk. My father was a great man in every sense of the word, and while my words hardly convey this, my step mom and sister covered my gaps pretty well. I'm proud of my family and saddened both by the loss of the man who raised me and the grief that his loss has caused us all.

Here is what I said, as close as I remember:

Dad was a lot of things to a lot of people, he was an easy going, roll with the punches kind of guy and he was one of the few really, honestly, sincerely nice guys. He was loved by many people.

Dad was also a man of thoughts, ideas, and creativity. He was the man who introduced me to Asimov, Heinlein, and Bradbury. Dad was the embodiment of 1950's science fiction optomism; a guy who was pretty sure that mankind could solve any problem with just a little intelligence and investigation.

Dad had priorities. He cared about Stephen Hawking, Stephen King, and Spongebob but he didn't give two hoots about Lindsay Lohan or royal weddings.

He was there for me in an unmatchable and undemanding way; there for me through weddings (plural) and divorce, through stillbirth and Jasmine's birth, through high school, grad school, and teaching school. He was a joy in good times and a comfort in crisis and he never asked for a single thing in return. Dad understood on some fundamental level that love really can be unconditional.

He lives on in our hearts and lives and in turn in the lives of those we touch, and maybe that's a little bit of the vastness and love Carl Sagan was talking about in that quote.

I'll miss you every day of my life. I love you Dad.

OSI:Hollow

2011-03-28T15:39:00.002-06:00

What's In It For Me

Give me a tail feather fan,
or a head bobbing dance.
Give me a bower filled with
sea glass glitter.
I need some extravagant,
frivolous proof
that the offer is not hollow.

More OSI here

Dona Nobis Pacem

2010-11-04T08:49:00.003-06:00

In your heart, your home, and your world, my hopes and prayers for you today are of peace.
Visit Mimi to learn more.

Time Flies: Peace Reminder

2010-11-02T12:24:00.002-06:00

Obviously, nobody's reading because I haven't been blogging and I just realized that the blogblast for peace is in only two days and I haven't made my globe yet. If you're in the same boat, visit Mimi at http://www.mimiwrites.blogspot.com and see about getting yours put together.

While I'm busy working on that, in case you didn't see what I did last year, HERE's a link. Obviously, I spent a lot of time putting the animation for that together. This year, I'll probably just have a globe. Whatever you do, it's important to participate.

Words do matter.

WW: Hitching Post

2010-09-22T10:43:00.000-06:00

Move Meme

2010-09-21T12:22:00.002-06:00

A facebook meme I stole from Mo. Of course, I'm not tagging anybody unless you want to do it. If you do drop me a note or leave me a comment and if it's through the blog I'll link you up.

The rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen films you've seen that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes. Tag fifteen friends, including me, because I'm interested in seeing what films my friends choose. (To do this, go to your Notes tab on your profile page, paste rules in a new note, cast your fifteen picks, and tag people in the note -- in the 'tag' line.

1. Grease

2. Camelot

3. Frankie and Johnny (the one with Michelle Pfeiffer)

4. Don't tell Her It's Me

5. Return to Me

6. Roman Holiday

7. Star Wars

8. The Lord of the Rings

9. The Last Unicorn

10. The Princess Bride

11. Harry Potter

12. Clash of the Titans (original)

13. Casa Blanca

14. The Sound of Music

15. Mary Poppins

Return of the Asterisks

2010-09-20T10:45:00.003-06:00

I'm painting my house the same color as my hair.

***

Tabasco sauce totally counts as a vegetable because I'm the mom and I say so.

***

I'm not the world's best wife but I love my husband. Just so's you all know. Nine years of marriage and counting. Eleven years together. Still learning new things about each other. Never easy. Always worth it.

***

Jasmine's watching House on Hulu and I'm not sure I'm looking forward to the discussions that might follow that. Some of the subjects on that episode are not ones I want to talk with my thirteen-year-old about.

OSI: Empty

2010-08-28T21:19:00.003-06:00

Grief

It's a little like if you gave a baby a half full bottle...
not a new baby
but one that's been around a few months.
The milk is sweet and warm
and then it runs out too soon
and nobody can really explain to the baby
about trips to the store and running low on formula.
It looks up with those big baby eyes
asking why.
Why did it end too soon?
Except it's only milk,
and the baby
will eventually know.

More OSI here

Remembering Josh

2010-08-23T20:25:00.004-06:00

In the early morning hours Saturday, Josh was driving home and his car hit the highway median. He over-corrected and flipped his car and died.

Josh was my step-brother. It isn't always the case when you father marries somebody and you are already adults, that you form a relationship with your step-siblings. Then again, it isn't always the case that your Dad marries the nicest, most down-to-earth woman on the planet and it isn't always the case that one of your step siblings is somebody like Josh.

Josh is not somebody I would have known under other circumstances. He was a large man with tattoos all down his arms and a penchant for large metallic face jewelry. Had it not been for our family connection I never would have had the oportunity to get to know him.

It's hard not to love Josh's mom. Both her and my dad are personifications of the word generosity, and so when her son was down on his luck and moved in with my dad and his then girlfriend for a while, I wasn't all that surprised. However, I remember being distinctly irritated with him when he came in really late one night while I was visiting and woke me up. I was sleeping on the couch and he was carrying a six pack and the look on my face must have conveyed my irritation because he offered me a beer... and we stayed up till two or three in the morning talking about parenting...

You see, Josh wasn't just a musician whose taste in music was a lot different than mine and he wasn't just a man with tattoos and jewelry. Josh was a daddy who's world revolved around his three little boys. He was a man with one of the most wonderful senses of humor I've ever come across. He was a dog lover who was willing to brave my idiot dachshund's fierce demeanor and had the uncanny ability to surprise me with a sensitivity you don't often see in anybody.

I wish I'd known him better. I wish I'd spent more time with him. I can tell you for certain that the world is a better place for Josh having been in it and that it's a darker place without him. Nothing I can say can convey my family's sense of loss. Nothing I can say will make things any better for his mom or his kids or his sister or my dad, and damn it, I'm going to miss his goofy smile so much. If you're the prayerful type, please send some prayers out for his little boys and his mama.

OSI: Beginning

2010-08-17T08:20:00.004-06:00

Every story has its once upon a time.
Every Adam gets an Eve.
Retelling the beginning is no crime.

The hope of newness is so fine,
even seen from endings grieve.
Every story has its once upon a time.

Though the narrative has run its ragged line
and joy has long since taken leave,
retelling the beginning is no crime.

I can hear the bells of mourning chime
and feel the whole begin to cleave
but every story has its once upon a time.

Once the dawn was yours and mine
and sunlight filtered to us through the green of leaves.
Retelling the beginning is no crime.

Dusk falls now like a rain of bitter brine
and dead leaves are no sunlight sieve
but every story has its once upon a time
and retelling our beginning is no crime.

Note: I wanted to try a formal form again and it has been a while since I wrote a villanelle. I was thinking about how we, as women, often remember that first date long after the men have forgotten it and how sometimes it seems like we have to conjure it back up in conversation, to remind our partners how we got here. More OSI Here.

Back To School Special Idiocy

2010-08-16T12:40:00.003-06:00

Cleaning house today... trying to get ready for yet another visit from a realtor. I hate cleaning house and so generally my home looks like it's managed by deranged toddlers high on ephedrine. One thing that makes house cleaning somewhat bearable is music and so I've been listening to commercial radio. Seriously, don't try that at home. Commercial radio is scary.

Anyway, one of the commercials is for a back to school special on cable television. Honestly, back to school is the time to encourage your kids to sit in front of the T.V.?

OSI: Connoisseur

2010-08-10T09:35:00.002-06:00

The puppy beats his heart
against his cardboard prison
but the old dog knows a plethora of pains.
The old dog circles three times
and settles in to wait,
savoring the overtones of heartache;
a connoisseur of loneliness and loss.

More One Single Impression: Here

Home

2010-08-09T10:06:00.000-06:00

One Single Impression: Cocoon

2010-08-04T09:51:00.003-06:00

The Caterpillar

He was tired of being fat
and weary of an all salad diet
and he didn't have any friends,
so he shut himself away
and when he woke,
everything was different.

More one singe impression HERE

2010 Backpacking Trip In Pictures

2010-07-30T11:18:00.011-06:00

Gone Adventuring

2010-07-02T08:52:00.007-06:00

Be back eventually with more pictures and stories to tell.

OSI: Ochre

2010-06-29T15:20:00.004-06:00

Missing You

My toes are in the bright blue earth,
my head in the ochre sky.
The wind is wet with sorrowful mirth,
and the dry river rushes by.
The crickets lift their heads in song,
while mountain goats are laying eggs
near willows thick and strong,
in which robins rest their tired legs.
There's a scent of laughter on the air
I've followed all this time,
but what I'd hoped to find out there
has fallen into grime.
Without you in this world we made
the sense just seems to fail and fade.

Note: This is my attempt at a sonnet and not the kind of thing I usually do; not exactly right but I like the sound of it anyway. I promise not to make any more promises about what I'll post and when. It'll happen when I get around to it. More OSI here.

One Single Impression:Dawn

2010-06-25T11:17:00.003-06:00

Beginnings and Endings

Sometimes it's hard
to tell
the dawn from dusk.

Note: More OSI here. Also, Five on Friday is going to happen on Saturday. It's less than a week before I leave for my annual backpacking trip and things are always crazy here while I try to make sure my clients aren't going to be left in a bind. I'll try to post some of my favorite pictures from the last few years over the next few days too. Total weight loss of ten pounds now, if anybody wants to know. Happy Friday!

Not The Five On Friday

2010-06-18T09:43:00.002-06:00

Because I just have a lot going on today, I'm not playing this week, but I will spend some time on research and bring you something new and different next week.

On an unrelated note, Friday is my weigh day. Lost two more pounds. It's still really not much compared to what I have to lose and I honestly thought the number would be bigger, but I can see a difference in my face, so I'm happy about that. Progress is something to celebrate.

OSI:Oubliette

2010-06-17T12:25:00.002-06:00

Depression

There's this ant.
She's a tiny red one, maybe,
and she marches out to look for food
just when the wind kicks up.

She gets swept away
from all her sisters
and lands in a sandy little hole
and she has no trail out
and her feet slip on the sides
when she tries to climb.

Her sisters don't notice.
The sun is out.
The sky is blue.
Somebody dropped a sugar
cube near the nest.

She watches them silently.
Sometimes the dungeon is
subtle like that.

Note: More One Single Impression Here

Manic Monday

2010-06-14T12:27:00.003-06:00

Monday! Blech!

***

The customer's always right, in that I'll try to do right by them, even though I'm pretty sure somebody, somewhere, isn't telling the truth.

***

Mini misses Jasmine. Can't blame her. I'm not as much fun. I'm certainly not as noisy and rambunctious.

***

Lost six pounds. Feeling better. Some things are fitting better. It's not a lot but it's a start.

***

Adorable nephew is adorable.
***
That's all I got. Happy Monday.

Five on Friday: Cheesy Movie Musical Songs

2010-06-11T10:27:00.003-06:00

Back to the You Tubes because Playlist doesn't have the songs I want. Not the best songs. Not even necessarily good movies. Just songs that make me smile. We could all use more smiles.

This last one has a lot more of the movie than the one song... like the movie though. More Five on Friday at Trav's Thoughts.

One Single Impression: Icarus

2010-06-08T09:48:00.002-06:00

Advice

Daedalus gave good advice,

and, to his son, an ingenious device,

but advice that is needed

seldom is heeded,

and Icarus paid quite a price.

Note: Maybe I'm just not feeling poetic, but my brain seemed insistent on making this one a limerick, so I went with it. More One Single Impression Here.

Asterisks for Monday

2010-06-07T08:38:00.002-06:00

Been a while since I posted and this is turning out to be kind of a busy day so I thought an asterisk post would be easiest.

***

Oh, money, where for art thou. I hate being broke.

***

Jasmine is at her dad's. House is soooo quiet. Kinda lonely.

***

Getting in shape for the backpacking trip. Andy's way ahead of me though. He's already carrying forty pounds. I'm also dieting because any weight I lose off of me will make things easier... also I'm tired of looking like this.

***
Time is slipping away... need to get my house cleaned up so we call sell it and be a family again. That's what I'm working on a lot lately.

***

Hope you have an awesome day.

BBL

2010-05-26T09:11:00.002-06:00

I'm leaving for about a week to take Jasmine to Kansas and see my adorable nephew turn one. I'll have pictures when I get back.

Perspectives of Time

2010-05-25T09:25:00.003-06:00

We were talking about Laura Ingles Wilder this morning.

Jasmine: Is she dead yet?

Me: Honey, we visited her house! Yes, she's dead.

Jasmine: I was wondering why she wasn't there.

Five On Friday: Memory Edition

2010-05-21T11:11:00.008-06:00

I'm not really up to doing a lot of research this week. Instead, here are five songs from my past... The kinds of songs that when I hear them, put me right back where I was when I heard them the first time. Good music? Maybe... I don't know. Looking back over the list I see quite a few from my grad school days. I guess there was a lot going on with me then. Enjoy.

Visit Trav for more Five on Friday.

One Single Impression: Trembling

2010-05-18T10:35:00.003-06:00

Alone:

Does the flower
still tremble
for the long absent bee?

More One Single Impression: Here

Five On Friday: Wrock Edition

2010-05-13T12:31:00.004-06:00

If you don't like Harry Potter, this post is not for you... all Wizard Rock this week. Spent way too much time on this because I wanted all videos put out by the actual artists. I had to either give that up or not let you listen to examples from some of the best. So, a couple of these are videos put together by fans. On the bright side, the sound quality is nice. (sorry Facebook Folks.. to listen you have to click through to the blog.)

As always, visit Trav's Thoughts for more Five on Friday musical goodness...

Coalition

2010-05-12T11:30:00.005-06:00

"Nick Clegg and I are both political leaders that want to put aside party differences and work hard for the common good and for the national interest." -David Cameron.

It's clear to me that I don't have a clue about British politics, but doesn't it seem like it would be nice to hear that sentence out of a politician's mouth here at home... and have it backed up by action on both sides? I'm so sick of how the system we have kicks out the moderates and props up the deep divide we have. Coalition: that's a pretty word.

One Single Impression: Reign

2010-05-11T11:47:00.004-06:00

Homesick

In Wichita,
where I'm from,
when it rains,
it rains with passion.

In Wisconsin,
where I lived once,
it was patient and persistent,

but in my alpine exile
it never reigns at all.

Note: Do puns count as valid poetic devices? Since it has been kind of a long time since I drew something just because I wanted to, I illustrated this one. Read more One Single Impression Poems Here.

Jasmine-isms

2010-05-10T09:51:00.002-06:00

"It's Mother's day so technically you should be giving ME presents. I'm the one that made you a mother!"

While watching Sherlock Holmes:

Her: I always thought their head popped off when you hanged somebody.

Me: No. It doesn't work like that.

Her: That's so disappointing.

Happy Mothers Day

2010-05-09T08:40:00.002-06:00

Call Your Mom! Tell her how great she is. Go on now... It's the least you can do.

Five On Friday: Charlie Edition

2010-05-07T01:00:00.000-06:00

Charlie hasn't put out as much music (on his personal channel) as Hank Green, but what he has done is very nice. Enjoy.

(Note for my buddies on FB... you won't be able to see the videos unless you click through to the blog. It's just the way FB and Blogger and You Tube work together...sorry about that.)

And if you liked those, or even if you hated them, you can visit Travs Thoughts for more Five of Friday, where you can be sure there's lots of music and none of it quite like what I've just posted.

And Again with the Asterisks

2010-05-06T10:08:00.004-06:00

I should be able to post something about current events about now... I just don't feel like it. The oil spill thing is just sad. Lots of sad in the news and I don't have anything to add to it.

***

I need an actual diet. Thinking of joining Weight Watchers online. Some of my friends have had good luck with it. Weight Watchers was the first diet I ever went on... maybe I was traumatized. I know dieting is supposed to be bad for me, but being overweight has to be worse and I just can't seem to lose weight without a plan. Backpacking would be so much more fun this summer if I weighed a lot less.

***

Having one of those days when I just want to yell at everybody. Maybe I better do some yoga or something before I leave the house.

***
That's all I got. I'll try to find some upbeat music for tomorrow... thinking of subjecting you guys to Charlie is So Coollike...those of you who didn't really like Hank, might like him a lot better and he just came out with a new song about neurotransmitters. Happy Thursday.

Have a Yummy Mommy Day

2010-05-05T15:41:00.003-06:00

Buy Mom a Lemon Cake for mother's day at Lisa's ETSY shop... heck buy me one. Lisa knows where I live so you don't even have to have my contact info.

It's the yummiest cake in the universe. It has to be, because anything yummier would be illegal and immoral. Click up there or here... or here.

One Single Impression: Enigma

2010-05-04T09:01:00.003-06:00

Knowledge Isn't Everything

Cricket's song to Bluebird;
Unexplained enigmas
don't deter dinner.

More One Single Impression Here

Enthusiasm is Not a Disease

2010-05-03T13:52:00.004-06:00

Why do all the young people at Wal Mart look so angry, while most of the older people look nice? Is this a generation thing? Trust me, older people have even more to be mad about, they've just figured out that looking mad all the time won't help anything. You don't look cool that way. You just look silly.

It also seems to be true to that attractive people are less likely to smile back when you smile at them. This isn't a hard and fast rule... one cute man smiled at me and six pretty women looked at me like I was nuts so gender might play an issue too...though I got lots of scowls from cute people under the age of thirty.

Why is this? It's silly. Being nice to the fat lady with the bad haircut won't make you ugly or old. Honest. Till you young and pretty people shape up, us ugly people are going to have a nicer shopping experience.

That's all I got for today. Hope your Monday is going better than mine.

Warning: Offensive Content

2010-05-01T09:25:00.002-06:00

Happy Spring!

Five on Friday: Hank Green Edition

2010-04-30T09:08:00.003-06:00

Thanks to Jasmine I figured out what I was doing wrong with the embed thingum. Here are five reasons I love Hank Green... All of them nerd songs.

Visit Trav's Thoughts for more Five of Friday Fun...

The Weekend In Words

2010-04-28T11:01:00.002-06:00

So, we left the house about noon thirty on Saturday, which is significant because Andy asked me when we were planning on leaving and I said noon. He said- "no, really, when are you leaving?" By which he meant- "you never leave when you say you are going to". It was important because we wanted to go see his best friend and her family Saturday night.

The most normal friends we have are Andy's best friend, her partner, and their live in gay male BFF: A family that all like and love each other...wouldn't we all like to be a part of that? We had the most awesome evening of BBQ ribs, way to much awesome food, and laughter and stories and jokes and talking until I was just too tired for words.

Next morning Andy went to early mass with his mom. I meant to go, but when the alarm went off I sort of groaned in his general direction and fell back asleep. MIL probably enjoyed me not going along. I know she enjoyed commenting about it. It's nice when I can spread happiness that way.

Then we visited houses all day and took pictures of them. This is part of a marketing thing Andy is doing to help realtors that have so many listings they don't actually get around to marketing them properly. So far, it's really paying off and it was fun to do. We saw some breathtakingly lovely homes with master bathrooms the size of my kitchen, and some homes that earned tags like "TLC" and "flippers dream".

Then we went to a banquet at Buster and Dave's which is an arcade kind of a place. Andy earned an award for being the Most Ambitious Realtor in his company... I can't tell you how much that meant to us. It was really wonderful. After more good food at the banquet we splurged and played games in the arcade. Andy kicked our rears at air hockey and Miss Packman while Jasmine excelled at a racing game that involved making a four wheeled vehicle pop wheelies. I lost everything but had a great time.

We spent the late evening inputting the information we had gathered from the day's picture taking safari and then the next morning we did some sleuthing for a hard to explain thingum on a listing that is supposed to close today (cross your fingers). We had lunch at Taco Bell and then Jasmine and I had to come back home so she wouldn't miss any more school.

And that is how a weekend should be. Need more of that.

Road Trip!

2010-04-27T10:19:00.007-06:00

One Single Impression: Fissure

2010-04-25T01:00:00.001-06:00

The ceiling fell the other day
on our marriage bed,
and though we washed
the sheets out well,
the wound still sometimes
festers.

We lie awake at night,
stare up at the old lath scar,
and wonder if it's just too late
to call and have it fixed.

Note: I wrote this a very long time ago... This is just what came to mind when I saw the prompt over at Sandy's blog. I'm out of town and wanted to future post my OSI. Will sign the linky over there when I get back. More poems at One Single Impression

Five on Friday: The Fourth

2010-04-23T09:34:00.003-06:00

It's Friday! I'm getting ready to go see Andy this weekend so you won't see any new posts from me till the middle of next week. The way I've been posting lately, you probably won't notice. This week's music doesn't really count as nerd music. Some of these songs are really popular. All they have in common, besides being good music with an emotional impact, is that they've been interpreted by Stephen Torrence in ASL. This is really good stuff. Please take the time to watch at least one of these. You won't be sorry.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to embed a player. That might have something to do with people not giving Stephen the credit he deserves for his work, or it might have something to do with my own ineptitude. Here are links. Follow one? For me? Please!

The Lighthouse by Nickel Creek : This will make you cry.

I'm Your Moon by Jonathan Coultan :Nerd Song! A song about Pluto.

Party in the USA by Miley Cirus :The first Stephen Torrence I ever saw. Thanks Whall! It's just fun.

Fireflies by Owl City: One of Jasmine's favorite songs.

I Got a Feeling: Black Eyed Peas: Stephen is joined by Stephen Brackett on this one.

Two More Links:

Find more Five on Friday at Trav's Thoughts

Whall: My conservative blogging friend who introduced me to Stephen Torrence.

My Museum

2010-04-22T09:45:00.004-06:00

First, a little explanation. I love You Tube. Seriously, the future of the internet isn't on blogger, twitter, facebook, or any of the new yahoo doohickeys; it's You Tube. I'm not talking about the You Tube you probably know. I don't care about viral videos. I care about video blogging. All the coolest, newest, most creative stuff on the internet right now is there. I'm not making my own videos because I'm older and fatter than almost everybody on You Tube and videos of myself make me nauseous... Mickeleh is older than me. I love him for that. One of his videos gave me the idea for this post.

If you could put together a museum of all the stuff you think makes life worthwhile and all you had to do to make that happen was declare those things as part of the museum, what would you put in it?

Here's a little of my list, not in any particular order. What would you put in your museum?

1. Springtime

2. Fantasy Novels

3. Mountains

5. Dogs

6. Men

7. Flowers

8. The tilde ~ I don't really know what it's for, but it's cute. ~~~

9. Coffee

10. The electron transport chain.

Sarah Palin and the Flying Spaghetti Monster

2010-04-21T09:07:00.002-06:00

Dan Brown from pogobat on you tube has shown me the path to enlightenment. I have been floating without a purpose in my life for too long. I now accept the Flying Spaghetti Monster as my savior and call myself a pastafarian. Now that I have done that, as Dan points out, the only logical conclusion I can make is that Sarah Palin is the incarnation of our great lord the FSM.

May he touch you and your life with his noodly appendage as he has mine.

One Single Impression: Mask

2010-04-19T09:22:00.003-06:00

Dear Fish

Loved
the feathered mask.
I'll try harder
to pretend
you can fly.

Sincerely,

Bird.

One Single Impression

Presents and Five on Friday The Third

2010-04-16T10:06:00.009-06:00

That's what came in the mail yesterday. We had bread for supper with the flavored oils. Mags of MsMaggieMooTalksToYou sent this cake to me because I won a contest, and all of the rest of the goodies were for me and Jasmine just because Mags is the most awesome friend in the universe. That cake looks good? It tastes 100% better than it looks, moist and yummy and rich and lemony. (An Etsy Link will go here when I find it)

Sorry this is such a long post... below is my five on Friday. This is all new nerd music direct from the You Tubes because it just isn't on playlist yet. Every single song is a favorite. I thought new stuff would be nice after last week's walk down memory lane.

Talented nineteen-year-old musician... made this song using sounds made by everyday objects as accompaniment. Seriously good music that doesn't take itself too seriously... and there are no broken hearts involved, even though it's a song about love.

Dan and Dan sing about a British paper. Lots of fun.

I don't even own this game. Just love this song.

Buffy vs. Edward: 'nuff said.

There are all kinds of nerds and I guess Glee nerds are called Gleeks... and I'm a total Gleek.

Edit: I forgot to link back to Trav: More Five On Friday Here

Asterisks are Awesome

2010-04-15T09:34:00.002-06:00

It's time for another randomish asterisk post.

***

Afternoon walks are back. It's time to get in shape for backpacking and I want to beat Andy for with my training this year, which, as we all know, is a huge challenge. I love spring and I never like my neighborhood more than when I start my walks in the springtime. I'll try to remember to take my camera along today. The mountains still have some snow on them and they are really nice to look at.

***

I'll get to see Andy soon, so that's something to look forward to. I wish I'd lost twenty pounds or so in the interim... but I'm falling back on some of my old OA strategies. Maybe dieting isn't going so well but I can at least exercise and not overeat. I'll feel better and that will help me look better.

***

I'm expecting something wonderful in the mail today. That would put anybody in a good mood... wouldn't it? Sending out some virtual hugs to the wonderful lady who sent it (((Mags))), and some good vibes for her hot date on Friday.

Wordless Wednesday: I added some words

2010-04-14T10:25:00.004-06:00

This is a wild rose from the flattops... 2008 trip. I took this with Andy's camera. I know that because I never did get mine to do that time stamp thing and he doesn't take flower pictures. Feeling down today and a trip through the backpacking pictures gave me a little lift.

I Bet This Meme Has a Name

2010-04-13T09:28:00.004-06:00

...but heck if I know what it is. It probably has rules too, but since I stole it from Matt-Man and he doesn't do rules, I don't know what they are.

If I were a month I'd be July. At least half of that month, my spirit is where it belongs.

If I were a day I’d be Saturday. Just me, coffee, my computer and NPR.

If I were a time of day I’d be 4:00 P.M. Just coming in from a walk in the sunshine with Minnie.

If I were a font I’d be Girls are Weird. Love that font.

If I were a sea animal I’d be a manatee named Barbara.

If I were a direction I’d be South because that's where the sunlight is.

If I were a piece of furniture I’d be an easy chair.

If I were a liquid I’d be Diet Pepsi; Lovely sweet and unnatural.

If I were a tree I’d be an aspen... at least then I'd be skinny and a few months out of the year I'd get to be blond too.

If I were a tool I'd be a corner rounder. Useful, but I'd get lots of leisure time too.

If I were a musical instrument I’d be an accordion.

If I were a sound I’d be the gurgling of a mountain stream.

If I were a food I’d be a lasagna; Deep and layered and delicious.

If I were a body part I’d be legs. I'm supportive that way.

If I were a song I’d be House of Awesome by the Whomping Willo ws.

If I were a bird I’d be peacock and the boys would all be pretty.

If I were a door I’d be a window. (These answers don't have to make sense. I was given no rules.)

If I were a poem I’d be Homage to my Hips by Lucille Clifton.

One Single Impression

2010-04-12T11:41:00.003-06:00

These are from two prompts because I got sidetracked and didn't post last week's poem. The prompts were: cognizant and voyeuristic.

Aging Well

An hour before twilight, the sunlight
sometimes becomes cognizant
of everything it touches.

From Viewed to Viewer

I only really watch the tree
when it blooms.

See more poems at One Single Impression. Note: The actual prompt was Vicarious... I only thought it was Voyeuristic. I'm posting this anyway because it still sort of applies. Sorry about that.

More Random Than Average

By Association

Thanks

All Things Being Unequal

OSI: Knight

OSI: Sapid

You Tube In Box

i thought your video was great

OSI: Fool's Paradise

Happy Thanksgiving!

OSI: Hourglass

Lazy Woman's Cup Cake

New Blog

OSI: Birdie

Dona Nobis Pacem

OSI: Sunset

OSI: Limber up

OSI:Paper

A Walk in The Park

OSI: River

The Economy

OSI: Language

Moth

Astericks for the end of September

Getting Lost

OSI: Betrayal

Five on Friday: Songs for Today

One-Sided Things

A Walk Through My Hood

Blog Your Blessings

9 11 2001

Asterisk Post

OSI: weeds

White Chili

OSI: Silence

Convenience Food

Book Review: Fallen

OSI: uncomfortable

How is that bad?

fem·i·nism

Asterisk Post

an actual blog post

nonesense

just me

Question

OSI: Seven Sins

OSI: wind

OSI: Miss

At Your Service

OSI: Love

Blog Update

For my Dad

OSI:Hollow

Dona Nobis Pacem

Time Flies: Peace Reminder

WW: Hitching Post

Move Meme

Return of the Asterisks

OSI: Empty

Remembering Josh

OSI: Beginning

Back To School Special Idiocy

OSI: Connoisseur

Home

One Single Impression: Cocoon

2010 Backpacking Trip In Pictures

Gone Adventuring

OSI: Ochre

One Single Impression:Dawn

Not The Five On Friday

OSI:Oubliette

Manic Monday

Five on Friday: Cheesy Movie Musical Songs

One Single Impression: Icarus

Asterisks for Monday

BBL

Perspectives of Time

Five On Friday: Memory Edition

One Single Impression: Trembling

Five On Friday: Wrock Edition