the dandelions have returned, and i couldn’t be happier.
—
“Every year,” said Grandfather. “They run amuck; I let them.
Pride of lions in the yard. Stare, and they burn a hole in your retina.
A common flower, a weed that no one sees, yes.
But for us, a noble thing, the dandelion.”
-Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine
—
art credit: garth williams, (the rabbit’s wedding) – rabbit basking in the moonlight
a beautiful, beautiful book
what is a poem, really, and what exactly is its use?
Every once in a while, you stumble upon something so lovely, so unpretentiously beautiful and quietly profound, that you feel like the lungs of your soul have been pumped with a mighty gasp of Alpine air. This is a Poem That Heals Fish is one such vitalizing gasp of loveliness — a lyrical picture-book that offers a playful and penetrating answer to the question of what a poem is and what it does. And as it does that, it shines a sidewise gleam on the larger question of what we most hunger for in life and how we give shape to those deepest longings.
Written by the French poet, novelist, and dramatist Jean-Pierre Simeón, translated into English by Enchabnted Lion Books founder Claudia Zoe Bedrick (the feat of translation which the Nobel-winning Polish poet Wislawa Syymborska had in mind when she spoke of “that rare miracle when a translation stops being a translation and becomes … a second original”), and illustrated by the inimitable Olivier Tallec, this poetic and philosophical tale follows young Arthur as he tries to salve his beloved red fish Leon’s affliction of boredom.
i read the above review by maria popova, and simply had to find it
i read it three times and looked closely at the details
i so agree with her.
—
in honor of national poetry month
and every day of every month
read a poem.
—
“great children’s books are wisdom dipped in words and art.”
-peter h. reynolds
‘
—
credits: maria popova, marginalian, enchanted lion books
If you go into an italian restaurant and order spaghetto, chances are you’ll leave hungry. That’s because “spaghetto” refers to just a lone pasta strand; it’s the singular form of the plural “spaghetti.” Other beloved Italian foods share this same disinction— one cannoli is a “cannolo,” and it’s a single cheese-filled “raviolo” or “panino” sandwich. Italian language rules state that a word ending in -i means it’s plural, whereas an -o or -a suffix, denotes singularity. As for the term for the beloved pasta dish itself, “spaghetti” was inspired by the Italian word ‘spago,’ which means “twine” or “string.”
i highly doubt that i will ever be using this term, as i would have to order many spaghetto to be happy, so it’s back to spaghetti for me.
—
“everything you see i owe to spaghetti.”
-sophia loren
—
credits: interesting facts, google image
“april hath put a spirit of youth in everything.”
-william shakespeare
not sure what category my style falls into, or is it a style?
it’s me, and i’m happy with that
—
“i have grown a little tired of over-careful decorations.
somehow the homeyness is lost when the decorator is too careful.”
-elsie de wolfe
Elsie de Wolfe (born 1865, New York—died 1950, Versailles, France) was an American interior decorator, hostess, and actress, best known for her innovative nad anti-victorian interiors.
when you’ve just settled in for the night
and someone calls asking you to go out
you roll your eyes, you sigh
then have a couple of ways to turn down the offer,
one leaves the caller with a better feeling about you than the other:
option#1
“i don’t feel like going out tonight.”
lazy
unoriginal
puts the blame on you
option#2
“for now, my place is here.”
surprising
philosophical
you answer to a higher power
—
choose your words wisely.
—
“facts matter not at all. perception is everything. it’s certainty.”
-stephen colbert
—
credits: franklin springboro library, take a hike photography
when you have so much to celebrate but only one space to display it:
on a random moose with a bandana.
end of winter, easter holiday, spring’s arrival, and your home team’s victory.
done.
—
when speaking to someone with an accent
i accidentally/empathetically pick it up
without even realizing it
maybe kind of trying to meet them halfway
but it doesn’t sound like the real accent
i find myself kind of stuck in an in-between zone.
when i was in austraila
many people guessed that i was canadian
my accent had become a mashup
of american english blended with an aussie-ish sound and a bit of slang thrown in.
people have told me for years
when i answer my phone
that i have a lilting accent
with some sort of an undefined european sound to it
‘allo…’
they are sometimes taken aback for a minute
‘is this beth?’
‘oui, why do you ask?’
—
“i subconsciously mimic whomever I’m talking to,
so I’ve been mistaken for a canadian, a south american, and somebody from the west country.”
-chloe pirrie, scottish actress
—
photo credit: ruby lane
on april fool’s day and most any day
live life with gusto
even if not everyone is quite on board yet.
—
“you will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.”
-*sidonie gabrielle colette
*Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, best known as Colette, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaking world for her 1944 novella Gigi, which was the basis for the 1958 film and the 1973 stage production of the same name.
—
image credit: a. thomas, redbook magazine
I didn't have my glasses on.... 