Weblog 144
November 09, 2008~ 1:00pm
Unbelievable events in these United States this past week. It seems the long nightmare is over- or almost over. Over for real come January 22nd, when we will be honored to have the first black president in U.S. history. (And whomever did not weep over what transpired on Tuesday last, those individuals have stones for hearts- and probably cabbages for heads.) We've been longing to go home for many years now.....
tired of the Emerald City with its false charm-- its glitz--but most of all, the false prophets who led us there. We want to wake up and look in the mirror and recognize the face we see as the one we were truly meant to have: eyes full of humor, intelligence and compassion. Gone at last, the piggish eyes, the scowl, the greed- the belligerence replaced by a humanity we've set aside in our harrowing years of fear and suspicion.
My favorite picture of the campaign shows a laughing Barak Obama, cradling an older woman against his chest, the both of them laughing helplessly.
The caption: "Barak Obama laughs with a supporter after her granddaughter mistook him for John McCain, saying "hello John McCain," at Maumee Bay Resort in Oregon, Ohio, on Oct 14, 2008."
This is my image of America now- an embrace of black and white in the forgiving miracle of laughter. It's time for warmth again.....hope again. We did it, folks. We voted for our future as it was meant to be- an embracing of our differences, a desire to face the future together not as enemies, but as brothers and sisters who clicked their heels together and somehow those ruby slippers were able to set us on a road away from a prosperity based upon smoke and mirrors-- a government secretive and harsh, and from a militarism that heretofore has been foreign to our national goals. We're going home, folks.
We're finally......finally........leaving Oz. Ding dong, the witch is dead.
November 11, 2008~ 6:00pm
Here's the kind of days November gives us.....
contrasts-- sharp, bright light --and crispness. There's an austerity to November I've always loved. It's fitting that here in these United States November is the month of Thanksgiving and pilgrims. With its puritan spareness of landscape......it's fitting, I think.
There's nothing like November sun. It's brighter, yet cooler-- and blindingly so. For these reasons November has always struck me as a spiritual and contemplative month. I began this blog in November 2005, and that comes as no surprise to me. I think a lot-- ruminate, puzzle through this month each year. It's the quiet one before all the frenzied Christmas stuff begins.
It's a month of preparation: storm windows, snow tires, chopping wood for the fireplace, putting up preserves and jams, if you're the domestic type. (And of course, gathering nuts if you're a squirrel.)
I love this medieval French plate of the month of November
-and see the lovely zodiacal tympanum above? The stars and planets guide us through the seasons and this is 'ORION TIME'-- the winter constellation, and it's always been special to me-- low, low on the horizon this time of year. (And who's the guy in the cart in the illustration above? Bet he's bringing some staples home for the winter months ahead.) And the monkish-looking peasant in the painting below it, knocking down acorns from the trees with sticks while the the pigs become the happy recipients of all his hard work. LOL! Oh the blue, blue bleu in these medieval views of the months- they are marvels- and never fail to make me happy in studying these colorful renderings from The Book of Hours.
I hope November brings its quiet and its contemplation to you too. I can sense in my bones that this is the time of the year for it. Enjoy the lack of rush, the few weeks of quiet before the Christmas chaos. Enjoy the way the eye can see-- so much more astutely with most of the foilage gone. It's a time for seeing into things a lot more easily that at other times of the year. Less clutter.....better vision. Make use of it.
November 12, 2008~ 8:45pm
Wanna know how I spent my entire evening? Almost from the time I got in the door, until nearly now?
Yep. Toilet's broken. LOL!! (Oh, this is nothing new- I've been flushing with a bucket of water for the past several years since the flush-mechanism lacks oomph-- and I could never figure out how to give it the extra punch it needed.) No, this problem began as an annoying and constant running-- adjusting the float ball, fiddling with the screw where the float arm feeds through to make the tank stop filling has not produced results for some time now. I do believe my rather......eh.......vigorous efforts this evening is what finally made the copper pipe feeding the water into the tank - to snap completely off! My GOD! What a disaster!
Many, many trips down to the cellar from the second floor to turn off the water main-- then various (ridiculous) attempts to plug the thing with- rubber ear plugs, a screw through a cut piece of thick rubber the approximate size of the hole, jammed down in there - which worked- for about a half hour till it blew. LOL!! More trips- up and down, up and down....
"Why," you might ask, "didn't she just turn off the water at the toilet base?" Good question, reader....it's because that handle's been frozen solid since I moved in here almost 20 years ago. Never could prevent overflowing etc., with that simple measure.
Finally, I realized I cannot be without water all over the house, so I sprayed the sucker with nearly a whole can of WD-40, trying to loosen the threading. Pounding on the spigot handle did nothing but break the cheap pot metal (so I have half a handle now.) Finally I was able to loosen the thing millimeter by millimeter, using the adjustable pliers that were my father's -(and yes, I admit to talking to dear, dead Dad and asking him to help-- he could fix anything)- call me nuts, but when I did that the sucker began to creak loose and turn!
So 3 1/2 hours later, the commode is now officially turned off. Bucket brigade it shall be. At least till I break down and finally get a plumber in here, but for now at least, there's blissful quiet in the bathroom- no more hissing, irritating tank filling noise, like an anaconda is coiled in there.
Having my coffee now. So how was YOUR day?
***
(Return To Weekly Archives)
Unbelievable events in these United States this past week. It seems the long nightmare is over- or almost over. Over for real come January 22nd, when we will be honored to have the first black president in U.S. history. (And whomever did not weep over what transpired on Tuesday last, those individuals have stones for hearts- and probably cabbages for heads.) We've been longing to go home for many years now.....
tired of the Emerald City with its false charm-- its glitz--but most of all, the false prophets who led us there. We want to wake up and look in the mirror and recognize the face we see as the one we were truly meant to have: eyes full of humor, intelligence and compassion. Gone at last, the piggish eyes, the scowl, the greed- the belligerence replaced by a humanity we've set aside in our harrowing years of fear and suspicion.
My favorite picture of the campaign shows a laughing Barak Obama, cradling an older woman against his chest, the both of them laughing helplessly.
The caption: "Barak Obama laughs with a supporter after her granddaughter mistook him for John McCain, saying "hello John McCain," at Maumee Bay Resort in Oregon, Ohio, on Oct 14, 2008."
This is my image of America now- an embrace of black and white in the forgiving miracle of laughter. It's time for warmth again.....hope again. We did it, folks. We voted for our future as it was meant to be- an embracing of our differences, a desire to face the future together not as enemies, but as brothers and sisters who clicked their heels together and somehow those ruby slippers were able to set us on a road away from a prosperity based upon smoke and mirrors-- a government secretive and harsh, and from a militarism that heretofore has been foreign to our national goals. We're going home, folks.
November 11, 2008~ 6:00pm
Here's the kind of days November gives us.....
contrasts-- sharp, bright light --and crispness. There's an austerity to November I've always loved. It's fitting that here in these United States November is the month of Thanksgiving and pilgrims. With its puritan spareness of landscape......it's fitting, I think.
There's nothing like November sun. It's brighter, yet cooler-- and blindingly so. For these reasons November has always struck me as a spiritual and contemplative month. I began this blog in November 2005, and that comes as no surprise to me. I think a lot-- ruminate, puzzle through this month each year. It's the quiet one before all the frenzied Christmas stuff begins.
It's a month of preparation: storm windows, snow tires, chopping wood for the fireplace, putting up preserves and jams, if you're the domestic type. (And of course, gathering nuts if you're a squirrel.)
I love this medieval French plate of the month of November
-and see the lovely zodiacal tympanum above? The stars and planets guide us through the seasons and this is 'ORION TIME'-- the winter constellation, and it's always been special to me-- low, low on the horizon this time of year. (And who's the guy in the cart in the illustration above? Bet he's bringing some staples home for the winter months ahead.) And the monkish-looking peasant in the painting below it, knocking down acorns from the trees with sticks while the the pigs become the happy recipients of all his hard work. LOL! Oh the blue, blue bleu in these medieval views of the months- they are marvels- and never fail to make me happy in studying these colorful renderings from The Book of Hours.
I hope November brings its quiet and its contemplation to you too. I can sense in my bones that this is the time of the year for it. Enjoy the lack of rush, the few weeks of quiet before the Christmas chaos. Enjoy the way the eye can see-- so much more astutely with most of the foilage gone. It's a time for seeing into things a lot more easily that at other times of the year. Less clutter.....better vision. Make use of it.
November 12, 2008~ 8:45pm
Wanna know how I spent my entire evening? Almost from the time I got in the door, until nearly now?
Yep. Toilet's broken. LOL!! (Oh, this is nothing new- I've been flushing with a bucket of water for the past several years since the flush-mechanism lacks oomph-- and I could never figure out how to give it the extra punch it needed.) No, this problem began as an annoying and constant running-- adjusting the float ball, fiddling with the screw where the float arm feeds through to make the tank stop filling has not produced results for some time now. I do believe my rather......eh.......vigorous efforts this evening is what finally made the copper pipe feeding the water into the tank - to snap completely off! My GOD! What a disaster!
Many, many trips down to the cellar from the second floor to turn off the water main-- then various (ridiculous) attempts to plug the thing with- rubber ear plugs, a screw through a cut piece of thick rubber the approximate size of the hole, jammed down in there - which worked- for about a half hour till it blew. LOL!! More trips- up and down, up and down....
"Why," you might ask, "didn't she just turn off the water at the toilet base?" Good question, reader....it's because that handle's been frozen solid since I moved in here almost 20 years ago. Never could prevent overflowing etc., with that simple measure.
Finally, I realized I cannot be without water all over the house, so I sprayed the sucker with nearly a whole can of WD-40, trying to loosen the threading. Pounding on the spigot handle did nothing but break the cheap pot metal (so I have half a handle now.) Finally I was able to loosen the thing millimeter by millimeter, using the adjustable pliers that were my father's -(and yes, I admit to talking to dear, dead Dad and asking him to help-- he could fix anything)- call me nuts, but when I did that the sucker began to creak loose and turn!
So 3 1/2 hours later, the commode is now officially turned off. Bucket brigade it shall be. At least till I break down and finally get a plumber in here, but for now at least, there's blissful quiet in the bathroom- no more hissing, irritating tank filling noise, like an anaconda is coiled in there.
(Return To Weekly Archives)
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