Weblog 220
April 25, 2010~ 12:00am
Two hundred and twenty weeks - (with some weeks skipped)- I've been dropping my thoughts in here. Five years. I can't believe how fast the time has flown.....it feels like only a year, but here we are. And I AM HAPPY!
God, that picture is delightful! (Stolen from one of those Power Point presentations that make the rounds in emails, so I grabbed it and held on.) We had a lovely week-- the weather as perfect as can be. Lovely spring is twirling her skirts and looking lively. I even bought 'critter feed' to start feeding the birds and Chippy- the little chipmunk I've featured in this blog before -who's taken up residence down inside the floorboards of my back porch. He'll make mad dashes to the feeding area, guerrilla style, to stuff his chubby cheeks....I can't wait to watch him again.
(No, that's not him, but they'll all twins, aren't they? Cute as buttons, they are.)
Monday, if the weather is good, I'll begin yard clean up. (Meaning I'll finally sweep up the TON of empty sunflowers seed casings that now cover my porch. If you look up 'mess' in the dictionary.. you'll see my back porch as messy as can be. LOL!!! I'm a slob.) This past winter, I put out pizza trays of sunflower seeds- right on the porch -for the birds. That was during the two feet of snow that came down and stuck around for WEEKS this February. I took pity on the poor things, and worried about putting it down where it'd get covered up by the constant squalls blanketing our region day after day.
Overall, the yard itself doesn't scream, "SLOB LIVES HERE!" --my grass-cutter has been out 3 times so far and the lawn looks fine, but the porch needs serious attention, that's for SURE.
The past two weeks, I've been savoring another poetry book by Kenneth Gurney. (I still think his poetry ought to be taught in schools- he's that amazing a writer.) This new one
is titled, "Fluid Shape Of An Empty Womb"- and it's wonderful. His writing is both accessible and musical. This is the third book of his verse that I know of, and hope there's more coming.
His style suits this reader's ear to a tee. I find no wild forays into deeply convoluted symbols, or the jarring jaggedness of lines too schizophrenically hatched to be understood beyond the mind of the writer-- Ken is clear. Serious. Plain-spoken and sure-footed. (He also has a love of the study of the Civil War and its battlefields, so there is a connection that's easy for me to make: he resonates with this reader like the bong of a big bell.) This is a photo (forgive the poor photography by yours truly) -of the poem on the back cover of the book.
Ah...the Second Union Corps.... I have an abiding love for those who wore the trefoil. Always have.
Kenneth writes with such simple beauty about universally understood human experiences like.... loneliness. Like the longing for meaning... or the joyful love of the natural world -(and I can't help myself. I'm going to quote a favorite of mine here)
FOUR A.M.
This not knowing
my child,
this fear of shadows
in the dark.
In the spaces between
letters typed
the dead hold their breath,
hope for a speaker.
The colored light
remains an hour away
from emerging
out of the blackness.
The dead who visit me,
like the alarm clock,
fade like the ground fog
as the sun rises
and work begins.
(See what I mean? Universal. Open....embracing all of us.)
This is the third time I have been the happy and surprised recipient of one of his books in the mail, and I treasure each volume. I don't know where you can buy this one yet, but it'll appear, I'm sure. I know you can purchase both "Greeting Card and Other Poems" and "Writers' Block" on Amazon, so if you see it.....if you love this kind of writing, snatch it up. It's good for the soul.
April 25, 2010~ 1:15am
Man! I was just looking at some MIGHTY ritzy homes and the rooms inside 'em on the net. You know, if I really indulge my fantasies-- I mean real Marie Antoinette, "Let them eat cake" sort of thinking --what I'd come up with are some WAY over-the-top bedrooms and baths.
Probably because the messiness and the neglect of my porch is only exceeded by the absolute chaos and disorder of my bedroom. LOL!! (I'm talking mountains of books stacked everywhere.... on shelves, in baskets, piled two feet high on my bedstand, working their way in heaps up the walls, and all of it in disorder, and collecting dust.) I won't even mention the bathroom-- but OH MY! if I were to win a gazillion dollars, how about this for a royal bedchamber?
And after a decadent night's slumber in that queenly bedroom, think what it would feel like to step into a steaming hot bath --right here?
HOLY COW! Black marble, Doric columns, and a sunken, step-into bathtub. Man o man...(that really IS an actual home in Bel Air, California, and has been used in multiple movies.) It's the stuff of dreams alright. (But only if I had the maid to go with it. NO WAY am I cleaning that thing!) LOL!!!
April 25, 2010~ 9:00am
I went from browsing super-luxurious homes before I went to bed, to getting up for coffee this morning and finding myself enthralled in architectural styles. LOTS of pictures, lots of mind-boggling photos....and then I came upon something that made me very happy. Remember these?
Yep. The LAVA LAMP (or Astrolamp) as it was first dubbed, and it's an outgrowth of a style called GOOGIE. Googie architecture (also known as 'populuxe' or 'doo-wop') is frowned upon by serious students of architecture, but as a cultural phenomenon of a post-war 1950's love affair with bright colors, roadside attractions like diners and motels -bowling alleys that gave off an optimistic, carnival feeling- you can't beat it!
(Heck...it's my whole childhood- early television, space age design ---- turquoise and avocado coloring everywhere, peaches and pinks ---- and of course, the famous boomerang shapes in formica, signage, wall decor....LOL!!....I LOVE IT!)
Though it's fallen out of favor, and much has disappeared since the mid-70's and more every year, here's a site to grab your fill.
DOO WOP USA
You'll be glad you visited. Nothing brings back the 50's (besides the music) more than the look of those motels and neon signs. Enjoy your road trip!
April 27, 2010~ 8:50pm
To continue with Retro... I found a site that just charmed me tonight! How about this mid-60's TRACK MEET???
Pretty serious stuff....(and the hairdo's are DEADLY SERIOUS.) What's up with the brunette? What is she hiding under that rug?
LOL!!! Whatever it is......it's lopsided and ghastly! (Actually, these two pictures were stolen from the aforementioned charming website. Please visit The HAIR Archives. The gals who put this thing together have brought BIG OL' SMILES to this one's face.) I remember those looks! I remember 'back-combing' and 'teasing' and sleeping on SOUPCAN sized pink rollers, and tankers of Adorn hairspray. Enter to bring back memories of the Beauty Shoppe- (the way it used to be) -and be glad (be very glad) times have changed. (Thanks, girls! I enjoyed this to pieces.)
***
(Return To Weekly Archives)
Two hundred and twenty weeks - (with some weeks skipped)- I've been dropping my thoughts in here. Five years. I can't believe how fast the time has flown.....it feels like only a year, but here we are. And I AM HAPPY!
God, that picture is delightful! (Stolen from one of those Power Point presentations that make the rounds in emails, so I grabbed it and held on.) We had a lovely week-- the weather as perfect as can be. Lovely spring is twirling her skirts and looking lively. I even bought 'critter feed' to start feeding the birds and Chippy- the little chipmunk I've featured in this blog before -who's taken up residence down inside the floorboards of my back porch. He'll make mad dashes to the feeding area, guerrilla style, to stuff his chubby cheeks....I can't wait to watch him again.
(No, that's not him, but they'll all twins, aren't they? Cute as buttons, they are.)
Monday, if the weather is good, I'll begin yard clean up. (Meaning I'll finally sweep up the TON of empty sunflowers seed casings that now cover my porch. If you look up 'mess' in the dictionary.. you'll see my back porch as messy as can be. LOL!!! I'm a slob.) This past winter, I put out pizza trays of sunflower seeds- right on the porch -for the birds. That was during the two feet of snow that came down and stuck around for WEEKS this February. I took pity on the poor things, and worried about putting it down where it'd get covered up by the constant squalls blanketing our region day after day.
Overall, the yard itself doesn't scream, "SLOB LIVES HERE!" --my grass-cutter has been out 3 times so far and the lawn looks fine, but the porch needs serious attention, that's for SURE.
The past two weeks, I've been savoring another poetry book by Kenneth Gurney. (I still think his poetry ought to be taught in schools- he's that amazing a writer.) This new one
is titled, "Fluid Shape Of An Empty Womb"- and it's wonderful. His writing is both accessible and musical. This is the third book of his verse that I know of, and hope there's more coming.
His style suits this reader's ear to a tee. I find no wild forays into deeply convoluted symbols, or the jarring jaggedness of lines too schizophrenically hatched to be understood beyond the mind of the writer-- Ken is clear. Serious. Plain-spoken and sure-footed. (He also has a love of the study of the Civil War and its battlefields, so there is a connection that's easy for me to make: he resonates with this reader like the bong of a big bell.) This is a photo (forgive the poor photography by yours truly) -of the poem on the back cover of the book.
Ah...the Second Union Corps.... I have an abiding love for those who wore the trefoil. Always have.
Kenneth writes with such simple beauty about universally understood human experiences like.... loneliness. Like the longing for meaning... or the joyful love of the natural world -(and I can't help myself. I'm going to quote a favorite of mine here)
FOUR A.M.
This not knowing
my child,
this fear of shadows
in the dark.
In the spaces between
letters typed
the dead hold their breath,
hope for a speaker.
The colored light
remains an hour away
from emerging
out of the blackness.
The dead who visit me,
like the alarm clock,
fade like the ground fog
as the sun rises
and work begins.
(See what I mean? Universal. Open....embracing all of us.)
This is the third time I have been the happy and surprised recipient of one of his books in the mail, and I treasure each volume. I don't know where you can buy this one yet, but it'll appear, I'm sure. I know you can purchase both "Greeting Card and Other Poems" and "Writers' Block" on Amazon, so if you see it.....if you love this kind of writing, snatch it up. It's good for the soul.
April 25, 2010~ 1:15am
Man! I was just looking at some MIGHTY ritzy homes and the rooms inside 'em on the net. You know, if I really indulge my fantasies-- I mean real Marie Antoinette, "Let them eat cake" sort of thinking --what I'd come up with are some WAY over-the-top bedrooms and baths.
Probably because the messiness and the neglect of my porch is only exceeded by the absolute chaos and disorder of my bedroom. LOL!! (I'm talking mountains of books stacked everywhere.... on shelves, in baskets, piled two feet high on my bedstand, working their way in heaps up the walls, and all of it in disorder, and collecting dust.) I won't even mention the bathroom-- but OH MY! if I were to win a gazillion dollars, how about this for a royal bedchamber?
And after a decadent night's slumber in that queenly bedroom, think what it would feel like to step into a steaming hot bath --right here?
HOLY COW! Black marble, Doric columns, and a sunken, step-into bathtub. Man o man...(that really IS an actual home in Bel Air, California, and has been used in multiple movies.) It's the stuff of dreams alright. (But only if I had the maid to go with it. NO WAY am I cleaning that thing!) LOL!!!
April 25, 2010~ 9:00am
I went from browsing super-luxurious homes before I went to bed, to getting up for coffee this morning and finding myself enthralled in architectural styles. LOTS of pictures, lots of mind-boggling photos....and then I came upon something that made me very happy. Remember these?
Yep. The LAVA LAMP (or Astrolamp) as it was first dubbed, and it's an outgrowth of a style called GOOGIE. Googie architecture (also known as 'populuxe' or 'doo-wop') is frowned upon by serious students of architecture, but as a cultural phenomenon of a post-war 1950's love affair with bright colors, roadside attractions like diners and motels -bowling alleys that gave off an optimistic, carnival feeling- you can't beat it!
(Heck...it's my whole childhood- early television, space age design ---- turquoise and avocado coloring everywhere, peaches and pinks ---- and of course, the famous boomerang shapes in formica, signage, wall decor....LOL!!....I LOVE IT!)
Though it's fallen out of favor, and much has disappeared since the mid-70's and more every year, here's a site to grab your fill.
You'll be glad you visited. Nothing brings back the 50's (besides the music) more than the look of those motels and neon signs. Enjoy your road trip!
April 27, 2010~ 8:50pm
To continue with Retro... I found a site that just charmed me tonight! How about this mid-60's TRACK MEET???
Pretty serious stuff....(and the hairdo's are DEADLY SERIOUS.) What's up with the brunette? What is she hiding under that rug?
LOL!!! Whatever it is......it's lopsided and ghastly! (Actually, these two pictures were stolen from the aforementioned charming website. Please visit The HAIR Archives. The gals who put this thing together have brought BIG OL' SMILES to this one's face.) I remember those looks! I remember 'back-combing' and 'teasing' and sleeping on SOUPCAN sized pink rollers, and tankers of Adorn hairspray. Enter to bring back memories of the Beauty Shoppe- (the way it used to be) -and be glad (be very glad) times have changed. (Thanks, girls! I enjoyed this to pieces.)
(Return To Weekly Archives)
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