Extended Family

I’m not even going to try and explain the lengthy absence. There are simply too many factors and I won’t bore you with them. Those of you who live close enough to me have seen the impact of some of them recently. All is well. Remain calm.

I have been decorating and surprising myself along the way. The great spiritual two-by-four has been in action and I’ve come across some truly great additions to the living room. I’ve been intrigued with the concept of the Holy Family for a long time, and am finally realizing my goal of having their physical presence at home. The Norwegian and I were shopping for dining room chairs in an old shop, and I mentioned casually that I needed a St. Joseph or a portrait of the Holy Family to complete the living room. We walked down another aisle and found this hanging on the wall. It’s perfect and so sweet on my wall now.

I love these old images. There is such love and peace in them. They seem seem like they’ve been recovered from a school or church. I don’t really know, but they belong in our circa 1922 living room. They're made of plaster and look Italian, but I haven't been able to find out anything about them. If anyone recognizes the artist, I'd love to know the origin.

I saw the “big sister” to this vase in an antique shop last week, but didn’t get her. I really like this little one that I found at the same yard sale that yielded the two plaques above. Last night I cut a few blooms from the gardenia shrub behind the waterfall and stuck them in the vase. We call her “Our Lady of the Kitchen.” She’s very good company while I'm cooking or cleaning.

Ooh, Wait, I forgot

to write about the TURTLE! On my way home, my cell rang and it was a good friend/co-worker/ most excellent mom and fellow church member. She is a single mother and when she got home this afternoon, her dog discovered a wild turtle out on the carport.

For some reason, she called ME to come help. I am amazed that out of all of the people in her speed dial I would be the one best qualified to deal with an amphibious invasion. She assured me though that it wasn't a huge one, so I swung by to see what could be done.

The poor creature was just a bewildered box turtle. He'd crawled up against the glass door and was peering longingly out at her lush and green backyard. I showed her how to pick him up behind his front legs and gently set him free in the front yard. Crisis resolved. Nothing to see folks, keep moving please.

It made me happy to be useful. It made her happy to get the turtle off the carport. Even the turtle seemed happy to be out of the concrete box he'd wandered into. And now I can add "Turtle Wrangler" to my list of accomplishments!

A Random Look at Wednesday

It's been a pretty good 24 hours since last I wrote, and just the fact that I'm writing again in so short a time span is noteworthy. The Norwegian is still in Virginia, but is finished with the work that needed to be done and will be headed home shortly. I had a wonderful dinner out last night with two of my best friends. Spurred by the discovery of a disc of photos of our collective children from five years ago, we organized an impromptu girls night out to share some baba ganoush, falafel, feta cheese and other assorted yummy things. These are the best of all possible type of friends--two remarkable women with delightful families. Dear Daughter tumbles into the mix of their combined six children and they all get enjoy one another as much as the grownups do.

Here are some events -- some more interesting than others-- that have occurred today:

1. An early meeting that I thought was going to be three people morphed into 12 people, including a CIO, three laptop computers, a SMART board (truly a fun and useful piece of technology I wouldn't mind owning at home), a projector and not nearly enough coffee. I stayed true to the Clint Eastwood School of Time and Events Management and adapted, improvised, and overcame. Still, there's nothing like a little advance warning and planning, and trust me, this was NOTHING like advance planning.

2. A wheelchair-bound ex-con approached me at a gas station today, professing to love Jesus and asking me for money. I warned him that I don't carry cash, but he could have whatever I had. When that turned out to be a whopping $.25, he started to say something ugly and dear reader, I have to admit I about snapped. I pointed out to him that it was $.25 more than he'd had five minutes ago and he could take it or leave it. Guess which option he chose?

3. My modest but beloved Subaru Outback, over which I agonized when I bought it four years ago, if only for the $24 it cost to fill it up when new, drank FORTY-SEVEN DOLLARS WORTH OF GAS THIS EVENING. I am still reeling.

4. This evening I reclaimed and moved from my mother's house the 50 pound 1928 Royal typewriter my parents bought from a neighborhood estate sale when I was about nine years old. It was on this sweet piece of machinery that I learned to "type" and first discovered the joy of stringing together words into plays, essays, short stories and really bad poetry. The silk ribbon is dry and wrinkled, the case is grey with dust and the roller is starting to crack with age. I doubt if it will ever be truly functional again, but it will be nice to have it in my house again, as a reminder of those days.

5. I bought 50 yards of six-inch wide gold tulle and 100 yards of six-inch ivory tulle at a craft store. I swear Martha Stewart is not taking over my brain, but with 136 days left, some of my co-workers have pointed out it might be useful to start doing some planning. There. I bought some tulle. I hope this counts as a start.

Amazing Things You, Yes You, Can Buy on eBay

A reliquary purported to contain fragments of the True Cross, complete with papal seal and certificate of authenticity. Asking price: $2950 USD. No one has bid yet.

Another reliquary purported to contain still more fragments of the True Cross, complete with the papal seal of Pius VI, and certificate of authenticity. High bid for a bit of wood on which the Son of God died? $81.

A reliquary complete with fragments of the crown of thorns that sat on Jesus’ brow, complete with seal and certificate of authenticity. Current high bid: $274.

One would imagine only a limited number of these were made. I think someone somewhere is having a funny on us. But they are rather pretty.

Um, hello there...

It's me. I've missed so much that I wanted to write, and for reasons that vary from the "really good excuse" type to, as my father would say, "pure, Dee-laziness." I'm never sure exactly what he meant by that, but I doubt it was good.

I wanted to write about the anniversary of my blog--my failings and shortcomings, my minor triumphs and things I've learned. I wanted to write about the death of Paul Scofield, and the world's loss of a great and humble man, as well as a luscious baritone voice. I wanted to write about work and home and Dear Daughter, and St. Augustine and the Norwegian and families and the bread I've wanted to bake and the rain we thought would never stop. I wanted to write a proper goodbye to Eight Belles and to explain my new haircut.

But, I didn't.

I'm very sorry.

I have missed writing. I have been reading a lot--books and blogs and the writing on the wall. I've done a lot of laundry--some more public than private. I've considered running for the local school board. I made some bad-ass asparagus soup last night.

To those of you who have stood in the wings, gently urging me to write again, I send a heartfelt thanks. To those of you who kept writing your own blogs, thereby giving me things to think and laugh about, I am eternally grateful. To those of you (well, perhaps "to you" would be more appropriate) who compared me to Lady Lazarus earlier this week, you're smarter than you know, and I'm not talking about your staggering capacity for arcana.

I have new photographs to share. I have lunches to make for tomorrow. I have this morning's coffee pot to rinse out. And I need just one more hug from my daughter.

More later. I promise.

Coming Around Again

I'm sorry I took such a long break. I didn't mean to do so, but the days just slipped away. I don't really even have all that much to show for the prolonged absence. I've read part of a book that is creeping me out, but my obsessive book compulsion won't let me abandon it. I've kept the laundry, cooking and some tiny modicum of cleaning going.

When I started this blog almost a year ago, my goal was to complete 365 posts inside of a year. At the outset, it seemed easy. There was so much I wanted to say and it seemed so easy to grab a few minutes here and there to write a little, and to even write multiple posts in the same day. Alas, it was unsustainable. I still think of lots of things to write, but I just seem to have trouble these days getting those thinks out into the ether.

I've reread a few of my early posts. Boy, has my life changed in just a year. I've undergone quite a bit of upheaval, but I've landed in a good place. I'm still getting my daily recommended dose of chaos. I'm feeling healthier and I definitely have some goals and milestones that are becoming reality.

Don't give up on me. There's more to come.

In Absentia

I know I haven't written. I' ve been thinking. I promise.

In the meantime, here's a lovely photo of someone so dear to me.