on labor day.
—
“take rest. a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.”
— ovid
—
art credit: whispers of the countryside, david dockery, watercolor
Sep2
Tag Archives: life
Aug29
almost evening.
Almost Evening by Japanese artist, Kaoru Yamada
—
while the early morning hours are my favorite time of day
the change to evening holds its own special magic
as the day folds into itself once again.
—
‘the evening had turned sweet and blue.’
-alice hoffman
Aug27
summerween.
a bit confusing, like these leaves seem to be,
showing the colors of two seasons
—
listening to npr
they talked about starbuck’s
starting the pumpkin spice train
a month earlier this year
pumpkin spice everything = fall/autumn
i don’t remember the calendar saying
that fall begins in august
the seasons/holidays/calendar
shift with the world of marketing
not with the weather (90F) recently
or dates
but by creating their own
‘extended seasons and festivities’
people get excited early
start the buying frenzy
happy summerween
i’m holding out for my favorite real season – fall.
—
‘the seasons change their manners, as the year had found some months asleep and leapt them over.’
-william shakespeare
here is a partial transcript of the npr conversation:
KIM: Summerween is that time of the year when major retailers start to promote all things sweater weather, even though shorts and flip-flops are still in season. George John is a marketing professor at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. He says it’s been a trend for a while now.
JOHN: This is the trend of moving up Christmas and Thanksgiving and Halloween, the three big sort of seasons that run into each other, earlier and earlier and earlier.
KIM: But this year, fall- and Halloween-related goods seem to be popping up sooner than ever. Take Home Depot, for instance. The retailer launched an online Halloween campaign in April. In June, Lowe’s, Party City and Michaels all released spooky seasonal items online, earlier than in previous years. Most recently, on Thursday, Starbucks began serving its iconic pumpkin spice latte on August 22, the coffee chain’s earliest rollout yet. Most of the big businesses say that these early rollouts are in response to excitement from consumers.
JOHN: if they just stretch every darn holiday out to being a season, it just loses its meaning, and it loses its intensity. A risk they are willing to take.
—
Source credits: Juliana Kim, NPR News, George John, University of Minnesota
Aug26
all the nothing.
(not me, but similar to me yesterday, surrendering to life)
—
my plan was to do a lot of nothing
but the universe wasn’t having it
with a surprise leak in my house
and a
‘microwave food explosion incident’
it wasn’t meant to be
but
onward
today is another day
so far, so good
as most of the world is not yet awake.
—
“there’s never enough time to do all the nothing you want.”
*bill waterson
*William Boyd Watterson II is an American cartoonist who authored the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. The strip was syndicated from 1985 to 1995. Watterson concluded Calvin and Hobbes with a short statement to newspaper editors and his readers that he felt he had achieved all he could in the medium.
—
image credit: cbs news
Aug23
Tchau, portugal.
tchau to the views
tchau to the cork trees
tchau to the interesting people
tchau to the special treats
bienvenue to montreal, canada
where my very kind pilot
comforted a young boy
tired after his long travels
waiting to board our busy flight
bon voyage to montreal, heading home to the states soon.
hello to this happy crew in the baggage claim in detroit!
now it feels like home.
—
‘home is where all of your attempts to escape, cease.’
-naguib mshgouz
Aug22
the joy of life.
moving around portugal
from the train station
by boats of all kinds
by bicycle
with friends
softly like our hotel cat
adorned with beautiful ribbons
with colors in the gardens, so full of life.
—
“the joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences,
and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon,
for each day to have a new and different sun.”
-chris mccandless
Aug21
live in the sunshine.
oranges man
physics professor turned artist
hard to decide which…
port tasting in the cellars
seamstress
washing the sidewalk before the store opens
not sure exactly, but interesting
antonio, patio cafe guy, funny, full of info, and gets stuff done
uni students earning their tuition
bird man
slow boat on the river.
—
“live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.”
-ralph waldo emerson
Aug20
a peaceful feel.
‘if we are closed?
just ask next door!
our staff will happily open the door for you in the event that the store is closed!!!’
(could life be better than having your shoes cobbled as you have a refreshing beverage?)
sunglass man has the perfect glasses for all
fish, and rice, and olives, and herbs, and the biggest clove of garlic ever
chemistry/biology major raising tuition money in the traditional way
visiting where the knights templar lived, learning their fascinating history
welconing shop
beautiful tiles everywhere, each one a treasure.
relaxing on the balcony at night
the moon looking down
winding down from the day.
—
‘portugal has a peaceful feel about it.
i sit on the terrace overlooking the vineyard there and i feel cut off from the world.
you need that sort of thing.’
– Cliff Richard, English musician.
Aug19
finery.
“any portuguese town looks like a bride’s finery –
something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.”
– Mary Mccarthy, American novelist, critic and activist
the sea, the beach, surfer’s paradise, the cliffs
club beach soccer/football championship
medieval town, bookstore, fruit
fatima, miracles, stories, ancient well and tunnel
“i believe in the uncommon, the unusual and unlikely, even the miraculous.
i believe in nearly all things except impossibilities. that i can’t fathom.”
-richelle goodrich
Aug18
a new way of seeing.
relaxing in a tiny grotto by the sea
tiny pink carousel
ancient fortress protecting the country from sea invaders
Tiago explains how Spain and Portugal had such a powerful relationship in the Middle Ages
that they agreed to sign treaties to split the world in half
at the westernmost point of europe
in a cloudy microclimate
on a cliff overlooking the sea
in a place
the portuguese once believed to be the end of the world.
—
‘my destination is no longer a place, rather a new way of seeing.’
-marcel proust
—
portugal, summer 2024
I didn't have my glasses on.... 