Haiku #1

I have a friend who started blogging five months ago when a friend of HERS dared her to write something everyday. Today, that dare was passed on to me. My promise to her ( and it is a terrifying promise) is to present something creative here everyday, no matter how small. Be it words, art, photography, reflection and introspection, everyday it will appear here. Many of you know her and admire her. Can you guess who she is? I will unveil her only if she says I may.

Haiku #1

Sadness peels my heart.
Harsh words spoken hastily.
A smile. Peals of joy.

Sunday Scribbling #5/3 Why I Live Where I Live

52 Influential Books #2 - Journey

From Publishers Weekly Starred Review.

Sonia Nazario's account of a 17-year-old boy's harrowing attempt to find his mother in America won two Pulitzer Prizes when it first came out in the Los Angeles Times. Greatly expanded with fresh research, the story also makes a gripping book, one that viscerally conveys the experience of illegal immigration from Central America. Enrique's mother, Lourdes, left him in Honduras when he was five years old because she could barely afford to feed him and his sister, much less send them to school. Her plan was to sneak into the United States for a few years, work hard, send and save money, then move back to Honduras to be with her children. But 12 years later, she was still living in the U.S. and wiring money home. That's when Enrique became one of the thousands of children and teens who try to enter the U.S. illegally each year. Riding on the tops of freight trains through Mexico, these young migrants are preyed upon by gangsters and corrupt government officials. Many of them are mutilated by the journey; some go crazy. The breadth and depth of Nazario's research into this phenomenon is astounding, and she has crafted her findings into a story that is at once moving and polemical.

Photos not seen by PW. (Feb. 28)

Copyright © Reed Business Information,

a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Poetry Thursday

CONVERSATIONS I HAVE OVERHEARD

I - Emergency room

One room, two beds
A curtain in between.

Conversations overheard, not whispered,
The curtain is too thin.

A child's shrieks of fear and protest,
The curtain is too thin.

Sounds beeping and pinging,
Smells sharp and astringent,
The curtain is too thin.

The quiet sobbing of my daughter
Presses against my heart.

Thin curtains do not matter.

Emergency Room

What is WRONG with all of you?

This is a waiting room, not party central.

This room is so cold.

The curtain between two beds is too thin.

Shrieking fear and protests of a child being treated.

Conversation overheard that should be whispered.

Beeping and Pinging.

Smells sharp and anticeptic.

The quiet sobs of my daughter.

The surprising comfort of a blanket fresh from the warmer.

Emergency room

Flea Market Dreams

Corey asked me recently what I would look for if I went to a flea market. I thought about it for a time and after dismissing the idea of EVERYTHING, I came up with a very satisfying list that found its way into my art journal.

Kwei-Cee's Corcavado

During Spring break, the University Choir went on tour to their director's home country of Brazil. They had an amazing experience. Kwei-Cee, one of the students, came in today and showed me all of his pictures he had posted online. Of the 107 pictures I saw, this one just took my breath away and I immediately emailed it to myself. I post it here now for you all to enjoy.

At the very top of the highest point in the picture is a immense status of Christ. The statue stands on the hill of Corcovado, which is 710 m tall (about 2,400 feet). The Statue of Christ stands 30 meters high (100 feet), covered in a mosaic of soapstone. On its base there is a small chapel. Just a moment later, the peak and statue were covered by the clouds. The picture of the Christ looking down over the city gives you a sense of Kwei-Cee's perspective as he took the cloud picture from far below and across the bay.

Spring Break Sunday - Passages

After a quiet final morning before returning to work, I went to a baby shower in the afternoon. Since I was going to Modesto, I took the opportunity of stopping in at Barnes & Noble Bookstore. We have Borders in our town but B&N is a destination place for me. I explored the writings of Joanne Harris and discovered that as well as haven written the well-known Chocolat, she has also produced at least five other titles. I was so intrigue by all of them that I wrote them in my notebook for future reading. Then it was on to the shower.

I find myself surrounded by baby showers these days. I have three now behind me and another one coming up. I've reached an age where the young women I knew as girls are now having children of their own. But there was something about this event that was very special.

Christina is 24 now. She was six or seven when we first met. Her mother Jenny was my friend and our kids went to school together. Later, life intervene and we experienced long periods of being out of touch and occasionally finding each other again, only to lose each other again. But now we are back in each other's orbit and this time it's to stay. Back then Jenny was married and her youngest was not yet born. Now Blake, her youngest, is ten and Christina is about to make him an uncle. Watching my children and the circle of children who surrounded me back then and are now grown up, inspired a moment of reflection. Well, more than a moment actually.

I think back over the past ten years and of Jenny's struggles to keep her family together. The four children, the tiny 2-bedroom duplex that replaced the home and ranch she lost after her marriage fell apart, the absent ex-husband, the job that helped make ends meet, the blessed in-laws who didn't abandon her, Jenny going to college, landing a great job and all the while doing the soccer mom thing. There were times when you were so tired, Jenny that you practically lived out of your car, your cell phone a lifeline to those who cared about you. And now Christina is having her first child, a little girl. Sit back and relax dear Jenny. Life is good now, delicious as Chocolat.

Here are the koi as we found them when mom and I arrived at the lake Friday morning.

To the Rescue

The creek was dry and a pocket of water was pooled under this rock. Two koi had been trapped in there since at least February. It is now April. The first picture shows John clearing rock and debris away. Then he slid in the leaf skimmer and lifted out one of the koi. They were both white so the contrast against the white net of the skimmer is not favorable. But believe me, he's there. In the third picture you can see the skimmer on the edge of the screen. The small white koi in the background is the second of the rescued fish. The two boys discovered the fish when they crawled around and under the rock. They ran and told John and Don about them. Way to go kids.

Sunday Scribble #4/2 - Chocolate

This morning I was gently rocked into wakefulness as I read Corey's The Language of Words at Tongue in Cheek. Later, as I was contemplating chocolate and my less than ideal relationship with said substance and with food in general, I went back and read her words again. God help me but I was completely swamped by a Weird Al Yankovich moment. Thank you Corey for allowing me to pursue this crazed thought. It epitomizes my life-long struggle with food.

One bite of chocolate, a few bites of chocolate...the power of CHOCOLATE! The feelings chocolate can evoke, cherished chocolate, the cannot be forgotten chocolate. Chocolate sings, it whispers, cries, it angers -CHOCOLATE!! Chocolate does not speak, it is a siren call. Chocolate cannot be denied. Sharing chocolate. Sharing? NOT. I search for chocolate, write of chocolate as a substitute for its consumption. I bury chocolate in the back of the freezer, hiding it, questioning my sanity as I am consumed by the desire to consume chocolate. Poetic, prayful, worshipping at the altar of dark chocolate. Chocolate fills my heart, chocolate eases my pain, chocolate is my refuge and keeps me hidden. Chocolate speaks all languages. Chocolate carves a canker in my mouth, a red inflamed token of how I wear chocolate that says so much about me.

Spring Break Saturday - Sorrow

Last year Quanah was studying in Rome for the Spring semester. He was studying at the Angelicum, a Franciscan institution. His backyard was the Roman Forum. His neighbors were the Roman Colosseum and Musolini's monument to himself. He was a 45 minute walk from Vatican City and this was the Spring that we lost our beloved Pope John Paul II. Quanah was there, a witness to what will no doubt be remembered as one of the great moments in recorded history. With the death of John Paul II, for an instant in time, enemies came together to pay their final respects to one of history's most remarkable human beings.

Spring Break Saturday - Boxes, Little Boxes

The first exercise from my art journal class was to create boxes and write in them important things about myself, what I like, what I believe, etc.

Spring Break Saturday - Maypole Memory

Recently I was with mom at the hospital and we were looking through a Smithsonian magazine. The last page had photos of women from the 1930's going around a Maypole. It occured to me that mom may have Maypoled when she was a girl so I asked her about it. As it happens, she did Maypoling when she was in high school; she wore a white dress and flowers and a hat. This new piece of information gleaned at a time when mom can speak very little anymore excited me and I tore the back page from the magazine. This journal page honors my mother and this newly discovered expierience from her youth. In the picture on the journal page she is just graduating from 8th grade at Nazareth Academy in Rochester, NY. The picture was taken in 1933. She was 13 years old.

Spring Break Friday - Part Two

Much later now. I did some mundane necessary things today. Change the oil and all the fluids in the car and flushed out the cooling system and got a new air filter. The car runs so much better. Went to Target and picked up a baby shower gift afterwards. I had not been at Target alone in ages. Wandering around, I was able to pick up information about furniture and patio furniture. I found an end table I'll get next month and did a lot of daydreaming about firepit tables. The most inexpensive set I found was $650. Forget that. I think Walmart had something at about $399 but I'll have to double check. In reality, this really is just day dreaming. We need to convert the spa into a pond and set in the water plants first and also acid wash the patio and re-seal it. Most of the evening has been devoted to working in my art journal. I'll scan and post some of it tomorrow. Right now it's 1:00 a.m. and I haven't finished this final page yet. SciFi channel is on playing Dr. Who. I think I'll end my day here and get back to the journal with Dr. Who for company.

Spring Break Friday - Part One

It's the last day. Saturday and Sunday are in front of me and then it's back to work. Am I dragging my feet? Can you hear them?

Today was good. Mom and I went to the lake again to feed the ducks. This time we went in the morning when it was cooler and we thought the ducks would be more active. No such luck. My independent lady was with us again and there was quite an avian gathering but no one was particularly hungry. We did see something very unexpected though. A bit of background first.

Every winter physical plant drains the lake and cleans it out. It stands more or less empty January through March. Mid-March they generally start filling it again. There are pockets of water, just big puddles really, throughout and evidently this is where life manages to survive. A few weeks ago after the lake started filling again I saw a flash of orange in the water and then nothing. I was baffled. I've never seen anything remotely orange in the lake but today in the far corner and shallowest area a school of orange, white and black KOI were gathered and spawning. I have to tell you, this was beyond amazing. I've been watching this lake for seven years and have never seen a single koi but today I'm seeing every koi in the lake. It was magical.

When we arrived at the lake there were two young boys there, probably brothers. They were walking around in the dry creek, climbing the larger rocks, crawling under others and generally doing what boys do best, explore. And, they made an amazing discovery. Beneath a large flat topped boulder was a pocket of water in an otherwise dry creek bed. Don and Bill, the two groundsmen out at the lake today came over and the rescue was on. Once and then once again, Bill crawled under the boulder with a long-handled leaf skimmer. He dug under the boulder moving rock and debris out of the way and then one at a time, he lifted out two huge white koi. He placed them on the skimmer and then quickly carried them over to the edge of the lake and placed them in the water among the spawning koi. It was really quite a remarkable moment to witness. And the best yet? I got pictures of all of it. Film to be developed tomorrow. When oh WHEN am I going to read that digital camera book?

One of Life's Benchmarks

Life is filled with benchmarks and passages. Today brought an important one to my doorstep. I just heard from our son, Quanah. He passed his Comps with HONORS. Quanah is gettng his Masters degree in Theology from Franciscan University in Steubenville Ohio next month. We are going there on May 12th for his graduation on May 13th. Passing with honors requires that you pass with honors two of the four comprehensive questions you are given. He passed THREE with honors. He found it funny that he did not pass with honors on the one question because that is one of the classes he is taking NOW. Passing his Comps means that he can walk through the graduation ceremony. Whew. It's almost all behind us and now it's all about the JOB. He has applied for jobs around the country from Oregon to New Jersey and he is even looking outside of the country. There is a job in Birmingham England he is very interested in. So, even though I am not too crazy about him being as far away as New Jersey, I am liking the idea of England. Well, heck! Who wouldn't like the idea of having a family member livng somewhere in Western Europe? That would redefine the whole definition of vacation. LOL

Spring Break Thursday

I woke up this morning and felt just bushed. After zealously enjoying my days off and claiming just about every moment for myself, I crashed. Lesson here - I need to pace myself. I have and will have in a few years, all the time in the world. I can make a big list, I can do things bit by bit and enjoy all the pleasure I can wring out of whatever I happen to be doing. So, with that in mind I headed to my blog and smacked up against a technological wall. Comments would not open. The link for adding images would not work. Frustrating. And it went on for hours. So - I watched TV. Well, I turned it on anyway but I didn't pay much attention because I was able to finish my Stephen Hawking picture. Then Jeremy in England came to visit and I discovered that Hawking just lives about 15 miles (or whatever they call it over there) up the road from him. Yes, J, read the book. Very readable. (Hummmm, I've just done my first link since starting this blog. It will be interesting to see how it works.) Oh, and Jeremy, there are two Hawking stamps, the one in Palua and one other that I found in Zambia. Google is a wonderful thing.

And so the day went. I was heading for Border (Yeah, did not get there yesterday) when Krista called and she was starved. So we met up at Chili's for a late lunch. Border was right there but did I go in?????? NO. But actually I'm reading two good books right now so why bother.? One book is by Lee Child - One Shot. I haven't read any of his titles but Biene's husband loved it, said it was a keeper and that I had to return it. So far he is right. Synopsis - A man is accused of five murders all done at the same time. All the evidence points to him. Every bit of it. Even the man he counts on to clear him believes he's guilty. And so it goes and of course he is innocent. Well, I THINK he's innocent. I haven't gotten to the end yet.

I've also discovered Carrie Bebris. Bebris writes as Jane Austen wrote and in fact has taken up many of the characters that we know and love from Miss Austen. I'm reading Suspense and Sensibility wherein Darcy and Elizabeth try to set her youngest sister on a successful quest for a husband but also maintain her ladylike maidenly demeanor. Since Kitty is a total featherhead, that will be some effort. Somewhere along the line something is going to happen that will threaten Darcy's social standing - quelle shock! So far it has been a fun read. Pride and Prescience and North by Northanger make up the trio of books written so far. For Austen lovers, this is great news since dear Jane only wrote six books. Of course that's five better than Charlotte Bronte (Jane Eyre - which I've read countless times) so I guess we should be counting our blessings for the six. Having Bebris' contribution will add to the fun.

I have no idea what the evening holds for me., short of making sure we don't miss CSI at 9 p.m., I imagine there are any number of things I can do in my lap to keep my hands busy. Three free days left.

52 Influential Books #1 - TIME

I joined an art challenge and committed to making one 5 x 7 card each week. A prompt is sent for the word we are to interpret. When I came up with my idea posted here, the idea immediately grew into a theme. So, now each week I plan to do a card that draws inspiration from the title of an influential book. Of course, the book list will be subjective but I will have quite a collection of books at the end of my endeavor.