Monthly Archives: July 2021

awkward.

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seemingly overnight

baby yeti

has transformed from a crazy toddler with mini claws and fuzzy fur

 into an awkward, gawky teenager

who’s not quite sure what to do

with his newly stretched out body and all his parts

can’t wait for the

 sassiness

storming off to his room

eye-rolling

questionable choices

acting like he doesn’t know who i am

mercurial emotions

and the puberty talks.

 

“no matter where you are or where you grow up,

you always go through the same awkward moments of being a teenager

and growing up trying to figure out who you are.”

-aimee teegarden

on top of mt. woodchip.

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now this is what i call a room with a view.

 

“when you chop wood, chips fly” 

-nikolai yezhov

alphabet soup.

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i have always loved alphabets

when i was young

one of my favorite days ever

was when i could finally

decode the letters and read words

i love alphabets created out of every imaginable material, and alpha art and images of all kinds

today i tried to look up the word for someone who loves alphabets

and there was nothing to be found

the closest i could come was for someone who loves words:

What do you call a person who loves words?
A logophile is a person who loves words; a word nerd.
Because it’s not all that commonly known,
logophile is probably most commonly used by logophiles themselves.
(of which i am one)
but alas, ironically, no word for someone who loves the letters that make up every word.

“human society, the world, and the whole of mankind is to be found in the alphabet.”

-victor hugo

 

 

village.

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This Haunted, Abandoned Village in Scotland

Can Be Yours for $173,000

The Old Village of Lawers, currently for sale in Scotland, comes with some baggage. In addition to its centuries-old ruins, the property purportedly comes with the ghost of a seer whose famous for her accurate predictions. If this sounds like your dream listing, the historic village can be yours for $173,000, CNBC reports.

The sale of the Old Village of Lawers in Perthshire, Scotland, is being managed by the Goldcrest Land & Forestry Group. The settlement dates back to the 17th century, and it includes the ruins of the Old Lawers Church, a kiln, and mill, and the House of Lawers. The latter site housed the Lady of Lawers in the late 1600s.

The seer put forth various prophecies in her lifetime, including visions of “fire-coaches” and ships powered by smoke. These have since been interpreted as predictions of trains and steamships. She also proclaimed that the ridging stones for the church would never be laid—a prediction that came true when a storm washed them away. Today, the ghost of the Lady of Lawers is said to haunt the village she once called home.

The 3-acre property offers more than dilapidated buildings and supernatural legends. It also comes with a private beach, semi-ancient woodland, and the rights to fish for trout and launch a boat in Loch Tay. The village, which has been unoccupied since the early 20th century, is perfect for someone looking for a truly secluded getaway in central Scotland. The Old Village of Lawers is listed for £125,000, or roughly $172,859 USD.

who’s in?

“the village is coming back, like it or not.”

-david brin

 

source credits: mental floss, michele debczak, cnbc

mugs.

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met my dear friend at a recently reopened local diner

for breakfast and a long overdue catch-up

mid-breakfast she noticed the variety of cups they used

all from other sources

mine was covered with the logo of an alcoholic beverage

hers bore the name of a blood pressure/heart medication

luck of the draw, kind of like a fortune cookie

can make or break your whole day

we had a great laugh and talked about

how we both choose our morning mugs for coffee depending on our moods and needs

each morning we seek out and grab, without much conscious thought, the mug we need to start that day

do we reach for –

the inspirational-phrased mug, the heavy mug, the ego-boosting mug, the gift mug, sentimental mug, the deep thought mug, the light as a feather delicate china mug with the flora or fauna, art mug, clean mug, favorite place mug, photo mug, travel mug, joke mug, big mug, little mug, ironic mug, two-hands needed mug, favorite color – shape – size, ceramic, plastic, paper, metal, glass, unbreakable mug?

i knew we were friends for a reason.

“i have a mug that actually verifies that i’m the world’s best dad.

that’s a mug. that’s not me talking.

you can’t just buy those.”

-stephen colbert

extraordinary.

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rereading one of my favorite books

well-worn/well-loved

dr. zhivago

  sweeping epic set in russian history

extraordinary characters

extraordinary times

pasternak a poet

i would love for it to have

a different ending

for just one reading

yet know

it would not be

the story it was meant to be.

 

“literature is the art of discovering something extraordinary about ordinary people,

and saying with ordinary words something extraordinary.”

-boris pasternak

climb it.

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one is a crazy toddler yeti

one is an energetic tween grandie

both are natural climbers

can you guess which is which?


“obstacles don’t have to stop you. if you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up.

figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

Michael Jordan

small arms.

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“seasons pursuing each other,

the indescribable crowd is gathered,

it is the fourth of the seventh-month,

what salutes of cannon and other small arms!”

-walt whitman

happy 4th!

blind date.

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summer meets july

 

“july is a blind date with summer.”

-hal borland

you say cicada, i say cicado.

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it’s been 17 years and they’re back!

they been sitting around underground

patiently waiting

for a dramatic return

no reason to stress

instead

our library has created a city-wide bingo game in their honor

what could be more fun?

and i’ve already got my free spot filled.

 

Cicada Summer

Brood X has ARRIV- er, EMERGED from the depths to see YOU!!!! 

But have YOU seen THEM? HEARD them?? READ ABOUT THEM??? FOUND THEIR SHELLS???? 

If you have, you may have one or more boxes checked off on our CICADA SUMMER BINGO!!! 

From your friends at the Ann Arbor Public Libraries

“i work even in the middle of the day, in the full sunshine, and i enjoy it like a cicada.”

-vincent van gogh

source and photo credits: ann arbor district library, cicada@aadl.org