“i am thankful for every moment.”
-al green
—
image credit: napkin party
Nov26
on thanksgiving.
“i am thankful for every moment.”
-al green
—
image credit: napkin party
Nov25
box-sledding.
what could be better
then box-sledding
on dirt and dried grass
while dreaming of snow?
—
“my first playpen was a cardboard box.”
-michael lee-chin
Nov24
listen and hope.
I signed his copy of ‘The Tale of Despereaux’ and he said, “My teacher said fifth grade is the year of asking questions.”
“Really?” I said.
“Yeah,” he said. He took out a notebook. “Every day we’re supposed to ask someone different a good question and listen really good and then write down the answer when they’re done talking.”
“Oh,” I said, “I get it. I’m someone different. Okay, what’s your question?”
“My question is how do you get all that hope into your stories?”
“That’s not a good question,” I said. “That’s a great question. Let me think. Um. I guess that writing the story is an act of hope, and so even when I don’t feel hopeful, writing the story can lead me to hope. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah,” he said. He looked me in the eye. “It’s kind of a long answer. But I can write it all out. Thanks.”
He picked up his copy of Despereaux, and walked away—writing in his notebook.
This was years ago.
Why did I wake up this morning and think of this child?
Maybe because this is a time to start asking good questions, a time to write down the answers, a time to listen to each other really well.
I’m going to get myself a little spiral bound notebook.
I’m going to listen and hope.
-Kate DiCamillo – American author
Nov23
atomic.
what child wouldn’t put this on their holiday wish list?
—
“it is the weight, not numbers of experiments that is to be regarded.”
-isaac newton
—
credits: Rogue NASA, Weird History
Nov22
soundtrack.
i had just recently become a pre-teen
this was the
top hits playlist
of the week
on our local station
i can hear most of them still in my mind
how things change in half a century
how they stay the same.
—
“music is the soundtrack of your life.”
-dick clark
Nov21
a different kind.
this tiny dog
has lived a full life
gifted to me by my dear friend
having once
belonged to
her husband’s mother/grandmother
i would love to know its story
it has seen the world and is beautifully imperfect.
—
“art is something that makes you breathe with a different kind of happiness.”
~ Anni Albers
Nov20
scents and sensibility.
The New York Times recently published an article in which they discuss the power of scents to transport us. “Scents and memory are inextricably tied together – the smell of a grandmother’s house, a childhood pet, or a particular brew of morning tea.” NYT restaurant critic, Tejal Rao, has even has created a “Smell Museum” of her life in LA, cataloging the aromas she encountered in her home and office. The paper asked readers to send them their scent memories. This got me thinking about my own scent memories:
Freshly cut grass – brings me back to my childhood Saturday mornings, waking up to my dad mowing the lawn, windows open, curtains blowing
Jergen’s Lotion (Original Scent) – Almond and Cherry – the lotion my mother bought and we all used
Coffee brewing – When I was pregnant with my first daughter, I was drawn to this amazing aroma and I never have stopped loving it
Baby’s Heads – Always takes me instantly back to when my babies were little
Herbal Essense Shampoo – (Original Scent )- My teen years, and trying to figure out life, I felt beautiful when using this shampoo on my hair
What are some of your scent memories? Good or bad –
—
“nothing revives the past so completely as a smell that was once associated with it.”
- -vladimir nabokov
—
credits: NYT – Jaspal Rivait, Melissa Kirch, Tejal Rao
Nov19
nursery rhymes.
“read to your children all of the time
novels and nursery rhymes
autobiographies, even the newspaper
it doesn’t matter; it’s quality time
because once upon a time
we grew up on stories in the voices in which they were told
we need words to hold us and the world to behold us
for us to truly know our souls.”
-taylor mali
—
in honor of world nursery rhyme week
—
image credit: 1930s vintage etsy art
Nov18
more excited.
(not me, a famous model who is a couple of years older, but we share a strong birthday spirit)
—
it has been my birthday for 5 hours already
and according to my math
each year
i become less worried
about life
and
i become more excited
about this day
in the exact same amounts
which equals out.
—
“surround yourself with people who are more excited about your birthday than you are.”
-word porn
Nov17
cards.
full deck of cards found on election day
did the player win, lose, or draw?
—
“life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well.”
robert louis stevenson
I didn't have my glasses on.... 