Spring Break Wednesday

For the past 5-6 years a pair of doves have returned to our plant hanging from the patio cover. Don has suggested moving it to a more sheltered area but they have rejected hanging plants that are set farther back undercover so I convinced Don that if we expected to keep our doves returning, we must leave the plant where it is. This plant has really been through it. It is a combination of two succulents so thank God it does not expect much watering. It has died back to next to nothing as many times as the doves have nested. Right now it is at its peak and I did not expect the doves so soon so did not have a chance to prune it and clean away the dry growth. So, now it must stay lest I disturb the dove mommy. Dove daddy spends hours daily sitting on the back fence puffing out his chest and warning off any and all interlopers. Many dive bombing Red Baron fights have been witnessed over the years in the quest of maintaining their territory. Even the cats seem to understand that the doves are off limits. When the babies start practicing their flying it can be very nerve wracking in the backyard. But mommy and daddy doves are very good at protecting their young and so far cats zero, birds 100. Who would have thought that doves would be so assertive. I hesitate to use the word aggressive because, after all, we are talking about doves.

The pansies and Icelandic poppies went in today. The pictures I took later didn't turn out too well so I'll wait a while and when they are mature take more pictures and post them. In the meanwhile, I put a struggling geranium in a pot with a guardian angel. With luck, she will recover and bloom large.

Stephen, my boss, called me today. Big project and short deadline landed on his desk, so off I went for about three hours. Not my favorite thing to do during spring break but things are the way they are and it's better to be a team player in this event. Later I went to Raley's yet again and then home to work here. Now the day is winding down and I'm already planning my day tomorrow. Only four days left. I'm missing my time off already.

Someone called me brave today

Annie, who is brave and has a blog and has been artjournaling and now postcarding. Well, the list goes on and on, and I would need my own blog to address all.

Dee you are such an angel. Thank you for giving me a glimpse of myself through YOUR eyes.

Spring Break Tuesday - Part Two

Biene and I met for brunch today at A.J.'s. Turns out Don had lunch at 11 a.m. and ended up there too. He sat across from us but Biene and I still had a girlie tete a tete. Yes, girlie. I don't care how old we get, women stay girlie. We had a blast. The big plan is to get together one Saturday and go to this little yarn shop that she discovered at Knight's Ferry. K.F. is a great destination place. It is a one street town in the foothills east of Oakdale and is located right on the Toulumne River. There is a great historic covered bridge to walk across.

After lunch I picked up mom and brought her to the bank where she cashed in two of her savings bonds. That will keep her set for a while. The best part of the day though was going back to Sequoia Lake and feeding the ducks. Mom was so happy there. She and her walker went after the ducks and eventually she settled into one of the Adirondak chairs and enjoyed the spring sunshine. One of my independent lady ducks appeared unescorted and she very boldly approached mom until eventually she was brave enough to pick at the crumbs right at her feet.

I took lots of picture of mom and the ducks but not being digital, they'll have to be developed another day.

THEN!! this huge ruckus ensued. A very aggressive male chased, pecked, mounted and pulled the wings of a very unwilling female. They were circling our chairs and it was really quite wild. She finally shook him off and he then went after my independent lady. Miss I. L. was back in the water by this time and she was having none of it. Lift off! and she was gone. The nasty bad boy of the pond paddled away no doubt in search of other pray.

And so it went today. I picked up more flowers for the backyard and I'll put them in tomorrow. Knitted another square for my blanket this evening and watched TV. Nothing happened with the kitchen today so I'll tackle more of that tomorrow.

Spring Break Tuesday - Part One

I am on spring break at the university where I work and the inspiration is just pouring from my fingertips. I just finished an altered postcard for a young woman in Finland whom I received a postcard from via postcrossing. If you are not familiar with postcrossing, check it out at www.postcrossing.com. I have received postcards and sent postcards to like-minded people all over the world.

This particular altered postcard was inspired by a most unusual card I received from Anni, a 20 year old journalism student. She sent me an oversized postcard and included a message of an accounting of her day. I was so touched by this glimpse of her daily life that I instantly started working on a postcard to send back to her that includes elements of her fun day.

Spring Break Monday

The roses are in. Much winter debris is now in a pile in the corner. I don't compost so it will all end up in the green can for trash to haul away to the city composter. So, no waste after all. I purchased a birdbath last summer that for some reason the birds never used. At least I never saw a bird there in all the months it stood waiting for them. So this morning the birdbath became a planter. It is filled now with cosmos, oregano, and German chamomile. There is still plenty of room for more so later today I'll pick up a couple more herbs and set them in. It feels wonderful getting my hands dirty again.

Kris called before leaving school and was hungry. Late lunch, early dinner, call it whatever, we ended up at Vito’s enjoying caesar salad and calzone. The ducks at the lake enjoyed the bread and dough leftovers. It was a lovely hour.

Before going home we stopped at Raleys where I picked up cilantro and dill to add to the birdbath now herb garden. Once it fills in a bit, I take a picture. Right now it is a lot of dirt and splashes of green. Not terribly impressive but give it a week or two and it will look wonderful.

I also picked up the film I finished today. I’ve left a few images here of my cleaned up garden. I was feeling very arty. LOL

Just Ducky

My building where I work is right across from Sequoia Lake. Every spring we are able to watch the male ducks escorting the females everywhere around campus and fighting off competing males. It really is quite funny sometimes and I always cheer when the occasional very resourceful female can slip away from her escorts. But in the end nature always succeeds despite the few independent ladies and the result is an explosion of baby ducks throughout the spring. These pictures are from the second group I've seen. They are about a day old and amazingly fast. Even though I followed them all over, probably totally freaking out the mommy duck, these little guys moved like they had one brain between the bunch of them. I move one way, they moved the other. Looking for a contrasting shot was tough. Mommy kept them in the bushes and undergrowth. There is a reason these little guys are camouflaged. If you look hard you can see them in the road picture. Finally I let mommy and brood waddle off and I finally got my contrast shot in the grass. It was a nice way to start off my morning as I walked into work though I doubt if mommy duck would have agreed with me.

Connections

To my two mountain woman girlfriends.

Biene - V is in Placerville. Vicci - B is in Angels Camp.

You both have inspired me in such marvelous way. B, you got me knitting. V, you got me blogging and writing. B and V and ME - we three love coffee. Starbucks rules.

Today I plant roses, seal the drawers in my kitchen, take a walk, feed the baby ducks, and crop and chop a bunch of photos.

There will be a trip to the bank for my mom's business. Well, there had to be SOMETHING mundane happening today.

When we were wee . . . - Sunday Scribble #3

When I was very young, my dad was in the Navy. When he wasn’t stationed on a ship and overseas, we would live in either California or Illinois. At the time air travel was financially untouchable for most people and even though low ranking military could get along then on one income (unlike today) air travel would have been financial folly.

The romance of the road that is nostalgically recalled as Route 66 was for us a reality. When dad was with us, he would load us up in our old green Nash Ambassador Airflyte. The irony of the name of this car isn’t lost on me either considering cross-country flight was never an option for us. However, I had the entire back of that car for the days long trips back and forth between California, Illinois, and oh, let’s not forget the Korean War era and our trip to stay in Wisconsin. That car was so big you could practically set up housekeeping in the trunk. The backseat was a child-size bed and it was in that backseat that I claim my earliest memory.

Route 66 for us started in Illinois and dropped south through the Texas panhandle, across New Mexico and Arizona until we finally reached California. Somewhere in New Mexico or Arizona it was night and I was tucked into that big old bed of a backseat and was staring up into the desert night sky. I was maybe four at the most and definitely under five because my sister was not yet born. There was little or no moon and the stars were so dense and unbelievably bright. The world then was cleaner, the sky clearer, the stars visible even on a full moon night.

Now, fifty plus years later, when we travel at night through the desert I lean my head up against the car window and gaze at the night sky. It looks a bit different today. Even in the most remote areas one can see a solitary light where some independent soul has decided to live. Or high up on the horizon one can see lights blinking suggesting radio stations, weather stations, or military posts. The sky isn’t as bright, air pollution has dimmed its luster but that earliest memory still sparkles in my heart and mind like the stars that so enchanted me in my long ago childhood.

St. Clare's Retreat Center

Silent retreats at St. Clare's are so rejuvenating. I went to them three years in a row and then stopped. I need to go again. St. Clare's is in Soquel, CA in the Santa Cruz mountain.

Cars and Telephones, and Computers, and Isolation

I've been thinking and writing for the past few of days on how the CTC's of life keep us connected and what happens when we lose these things. Gathering these thoughts and getting it all down is taking longer than I expected but here now are these thoughts.

I am old enough to remember partylines and despite the way that sounds, I am not talking political doctrine or 800 numbers. No. What I am talking about are telephones. For those of you who are part of the cell phone/blue tube generation, you may not know that at one time people shared phone lines. They were called partylines. Today we are beeped if we have incoming calls while on the phone. Back then, we would hear a click if we were on the phone and that was a signal that someone on our partyline needed to make a call. Politeness dictated that we free up the line.

Oh how things have changed. Now we screen calls, ignore calls, block calls, and God knows we don't call back, we just end one call quickly and go on to the next one. So, what in the world, you may ask, got me going on this? Well, a few weeks ago my friend Vicci, who has only a landline, found herself, due to severe weather, intermittently without a telephone and a computer for email. Then her car died. Here she was, a rural living woman caring for her 90 year old father, husband at work and no way to communicate to the world. The results? Isolation.

But WHY isolation? Why not solitude instead? What makes solitude feel positive and isolation feel negative. Is one chosen? Is the other imposed? Is the one pleasing? Does the other feel empty? Can we turn isolation (a negative) into solitude (a positive)? Deep questions all and I find that I am turning to Dark Nights of the Soul by Thomas Moore for insight.

Back in my early 20s I first heard of the philosopher, Teilhard de Chardin. This was my first exposure to the idea of a dark night. Then I learned about St. John of the Cross. I saw Gerald May's book on the subject and eventually discovered that the dark night is something that we all encounter. Dark night has certainly been knocking at MY door lately. But it was Vicci's problems with communications that underscored to me how much we, all of us, need each other. It was Vicci's problems with communication that underscored how global meeting people has become and how fragile the maintenance of these friendships and the maintenance of family ties has become. Without computers, Vicci and I would have never met. Without a telephone, we would have never connected for that coffee meet-up at Starbucks that first time we met face to face. Without the computer and cars we would have never been able to share the Day of Art at Penny's house in November 05. That fragility needed a cure and I recently started sending postcards to friends and find that this little written form of communication is both anticipated now and deeply appreciated. It has become my way of not being so dependant on fast modes of communication in such a wired world as we now live in.

Winter has been brutal this year. Well as brutal as it can get for a flatlander like me who does not live in a flood zone and simply has to put up with a lot of rain. But for Vicci, relentless snow and rain has narrowed her world to the occasional ability to move outside of her rural home. And when the car died her world narrowed even further. Her isolation was a huge frustration for HER and by extension, a frustration for all who care about her and want to be in touch with her. However, her "isolation" did turn into a positive, at least for me. It started me on the road of thought about my own "isolation" and how it may be turned into solitude instead and thereby an avenue of change for me.

52 pick up

I have a habit of creating idealized images of myself. Dream (below) is an ATC collage I made a couple of years ago. What first attracted me was the back of the female figure. I hope I'm not breaking every copyright law known to man by using it. I don't sell my work. I create from bits and pieces I find here and there and just for my own satisfaction. This particular ATC was traded off to someone else like much of my work is. This has left me with little of my own work other than what I have scanned to retain the image. I miss not being able to hold my own work.

I recently decided to start a new project of creating a deck of 5x7 cards, 52 in all. I'm starting with my previously created ATCs and altered pages as a starting place for inspiration. I won't be able to create them again exactly as before but I'll have these now to hold and keep.

Dream

More things about me - How true it is

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have medium extroversion. You're not the life of the party, but you do show up for the party. Sometimes you are full of energy and open to new social experiences. But you also need to hibernate and enjoy your "down time." Conscientiousness: You have medium conscientiousness. You're generally good at balancing work and play. When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done. But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it. Agreeableness: You have high agreeableness. You are easy to get along with, and you value harmony highly. Helpful and generous, you are willing to compromise when necessary. You give people the benefit of the doubt and don't mind giving someone a second chance. Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism. You are very emotionally stable and mentally together. Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly. Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is medium. You are generally broad minded when it come to new things. But if something crosses a moral line, there's no way you'll approve of it. You are suspicious of anything too wacky, though you do still consider creativity a virtue. http://www.blogthings.com/thefivefactorpersonalitytest/

Back sooner than I expected

I've been doing a lot of thinking, much of it subconscious, for the past two days. It is still a huge shock to me of how creating this blog and writing has opened me up. And I've been discovering other writer/artists so far beyond me that they actually inspire the art of FOCUSING in me. Case in point - http://growwings.blogspot.com/ Laini is amazing and after reading her Sunday Scribble from today and then looking at it again, I realized the 14 year old girl she was writing about was ME!! Well, not literally, of course, but at 58 I feel myself definitely slipping sideways to the left and seeing all manner of new possibilities.

Don and I celebrated our 28th anniversary last night over dinner at a favorite restaurant of our's, Henri's. We talked a lot about our frustrations at work and though there is no immediate solution in sight, it was certainly helpful to both of us, I think, that we were able to talk about our various challenges. I don't know where this is all going to end up but I do know that if nothing else, I will work for four more years and THEN be totally prepared to walk into something else whatever that may be.

Taking a Break

I need to take a break for a few days. I've spent so much time here that I've totally gotten behind working on my art journal class I'm taking through Artella. I've been taking an on-line art journaling class for about nine weeks now. The class cost me only $40 and has been so worth the price. My friend Lotus took this class previously and that is how I found out about it. The next class starts the end of May. Please check out the link below. If you like what you see and decide to sign up for the class, tell Zura Annie sent you. I'm so happy I took this class. Not only do I have an art journal now, I also have a terrific tips, techniques and art exercises book. The link is : http://artellawordsandart.com/ZuraBethLedbetter.html The most important thing I've learned from art journaling and blogging is that the journal is for the inner me that I might share individually; the blog is the part(s) of my world that I don't mind sharing. Sometimes the two overlap like the knitting I will post here eventually and the art journal page I'm working on now that was inspired by the knitting. So see you all again in a few days. I'm off to various places and Don has told me not to make any plans for this evening. Today is our 28th anniversary and he has cooked up a surprise.

New Meaning to the Phrase "French Postcards"

Over the past few years Francine has cleared material clutter from her life. She has been relentless and brutal in her quest of simplicity. But since she knows that my idea of simplicity does not match hers at all, I have come into possession of some amazing treasures. Case in point - She was given the most remarkable collection of over 100 postcards by her cousin who lives in France. They all date from early 1910 through May 1911. They are all from one man to one woman - Phaa's grandparents. I was fascinated by the tale of their romance and how little was actually known of it. I find that it is all the empty spaces that, if filled with imaginings, would make a great love story. Since the real story is now forever lost in time, I asked Phaa to write me of what she DID know. Here is the story that surrounds the postcards of Henri to Yvonne.

Dear Annie,

I feel lucky, happy and relieved that you WANTED to acquire the box of my French Grandmother's 1910 postcards from the mysterious "H" whom my cousin Edith managed to deduce meant Henri. My own mother's actual father.

A few notes on Grandmere: Mademoiselle Yvonne Pardon, variously residing on Rue de L'Epe de Bois, Paris; in Cemboing (Jussy, Haute Soane); and in adulthood, in Salon-de-Provence between Arles and Marseille in the south. She was born sometime during the 1890s in Finisterre, Britanny, northernmost France. Yvonne was one of 4-5 sisters, another one of whom was the infamous Aunt Jerry (Tante Germaine) I sometimes mention. Yvonne became pregnant (scandelously) with my mother Gisele prior to marriage with this violin-playing Henri, who then disappeared into WWI. The dates are wrong so he probably was either disinterested or reluctant, a possible "fact" supported by Yvonne's description to me 50-years later: "He was a zero." But! as Edith said, when handing the postcards over to me last year when Gary and I visited the family now residing in the countryside south of Salon: "Ca, c'etais l'amour." Meaning, this box of postcards, sent by Henri, preserved by Yvonne, THAT was real love. Edith also gave me Henri's old violin, which you saw, Annie and Krista. Yvonne later married Emile Ripert and together they produced Josette, Gisele's 10-years younger half-sister and Edith's mother. Josette died about a year ago, after a life of close family ties. Her other two children, both sons, remain close together with Edith and their various spouses and offspring now constitute a group of about 15 relatives, most of whom we got to know during our wonderful visit last year.

French Postcards

Walking the walk

Saturday was walking day. Not that it was a scheduled thing but after lunch Francine got Kris and I out walking. So we three ladies dressed in pink plus Gary were off. First bit of news, "look up the hill Annie, that is where we are going". Oh my, I am thinking to myself. I am so out of shape. Will I embarrass myself by breaking down? Will my back spazz out on me? Will my feet in their fake Burkies fail me? There was only one way to find out so I was off. I have to admit that going UP the hill after the deceptively easy start was a real shock. Several stops to catch my breath in the company of the patient and supportive Gary got me to the top. Kris and Phaa had scooted way ahead of us by this time but the trip was worth it. The walk to the top of the hill through several blocks of neighbor ended up at a fabulous view of the entire lower South Bay. I was so proud of myself. I actually did it and never once indulged in a mental grumble over how the heck I had gotten to this moment in time. I felt instead a great sense of achievement. I also discovered that walking and confronting and conquering a hill was much more achievable and interesting than walking on a treadmill and programming in a hill. THAT is totally boring and easy to turn away from. But that HILL!! I just was not going to let it beat me. Unfortunately, now back at home there isn't a hill in sight. Not even a ripple.

Villa Montalvo

Montalvo is a non-profit organization dedicated to forging meaningful connections between art, artists and the communities we serve, through creation, presentation and education in extraordinary ways and settings. Located in the Saratoga hills Montalvo occupies a Mediterranean-style villa on 175 stunning acres, which Senator James Duval Phelan left to the people of California for the encouragement of art, music, literature, and architecture.

Back in the early to mid 1980's I was living in San Jose, CA. Don was going to school. Then I was going to school. We lived in married student house that was so substandard that even the roaches filed complaints for tenant abuse. But is was while I was living there that I discovered the dream place, Villa Montalvo in Saratoga, CA. Saratoga is a small town where a 3,000 sq. ft. house is probably considered a cottage. I went to the Villa a few times to art openings and drove around Saratoga weaving fantasies of life behind any of the doors I drove past.

When I visited Francine and Gary this weekend with Krista, we drove around in the afternoon exploring Los Gatos Village, which is just up the road from Saratoga. Gary and Phaa are considering moving there and so we explored back streets throughout the village looking at likely property. Eventually we moved on to Saratoga. Entering the town, we passed the sign for Villa Montalvo and I jumped at the opportunity to see this dream place again.

In fact, it isn't just the place itself but also the road leading up to the villa that stirs my imagination. The road is lined with magnificent homes and landscaping both natural and by design; one hardly knows where to look first. What was amazing is that I recognized and remembered EVERY home we drove by even after the passage of 20 years. Little had changed except for the random home that I spotted that had not been there before. Francine couldn't believe I remembered the road and was, in fact, able to note the houses that were not there before. But it was, after all, my dream and I had visited often. How could I forget?

I'm glad I had the chance to experience this special place again. It was interesting to discover that during a time when I had little of material value, I didn't covet what I could not have. Now 20 years later, it is easy for me to sit back and admire what others possess but like that earlier time, I don't desire it. I can enjoy the dream without feeling any hunger to make it a reality. This is a very comfortable feeling to have in this latter period of my life.

Cuban Sleeves

For several days now I've been trying to solve the problem of not being able to complete a bright yellow babysweater I've been working on because Walmart does not carry the yarn anymore. I've been buying at Walmart and Michael's because basically I'm not a very skilled knitter yet and I can't bear the idea of spending $10 for a skein of good yarn that I may just mess up. However, after several weeks of ferociously knitting these sweaters and trying to put them together, I feel that I have learned a thing or two. I've certainly learned enough and become skilled enough to take a chance and buy something really off the wall and move towards a more creative solution for these sleeves. To that end, I purchased something feathery and multi-hued at the little yarnshop here in town - Purls and Girls. Unfortunately, they do not have a website so I can't share it here. Anyway, the contrast is going to look terrific and I can hardly wait to jump into it. I can also use the yard to put the pieces together. I think it is going to look really sweet not to mention that the sleaves will end up looking very Cuban. Here's a picture of the bright yellow yarn and the feather yarn together.

Wonderful Thursday

I am so happy this morning. I am sure it is because tomorrow is a holiday and I get a three day weekend. Kris and I are leaving for San Jose Saturday morning to spend the night at Francine's and visit for a while. She is taking off again for parts unknown so must take this opportunity to see her before she disappears again. Quanah and Kris traveled quite a lot last year. Q lived in Rome for four months and caught up with Phaa for a couple of days in Naples. Kris traveled to Paris and Tunisia early in the year. The picture posted here is Q with Phaa in Naples and Kris with Phaa in front of the Louvre in Paris.

Postcards

Lately with postcrossing inspiration, I've been making postcards and sending them to a few friends who also share my passion for this fun way of communicating. Current postcard pals are Vicci, JaneJane, and Sam.

Not too bad

Well, the impulsive hair thing from last night turned out not so badly after all. My brown hair is still brown and no lighter than this picture so not light at all.

Working on intense project at work today. More later, whenever.

Taking a Risk

It's pushing towards midnight Tuesday and I've done something so spontaneous and impulsive that it is either going to be a huge success or a total disaster. Kris colored her red hair with a lighter red to brighten it up. Having short hair, she used only half the bottle. I, on the other hand, have brown hair. One guess where the other half of the bottle ended up. At the moment I feel quite out of my mind. But I won't have long to wait to discover if it is ok or not. 25 minutes til I wash and rise and then ten more to blow dry. What a way to end the day.

Wind'nsea Beach

The postage stamps I ordered a couple of weeks ago arrived yesterday. I ordered 24 cent stamps to use on my postcards. Here are the images I used.

Wind'nsea Beach is in San Diego and decades ago I used to spend a lot of time there. These pictures were taken in winter 1971. Winter is my favorite time to visit the beach but in San Diego 35 years ago, any day was a great day to go to the beach.

Back then I had not heard of the artist, Edward Hopper. I didn't discover him until a few years later when I went to San Francisco and there was an exhibit of his works at the de Young Museum that I was lucky enough to see. Ever since then I've collected Edward Hopper books and I call these my Edward Hopper photographs.

Monday Musings

EVENING - The day is ending quietly. I had no luck with the yellow yarn so picked up another at Michael's and started again. I have a bit of the other left so I'll keep it with me and match it up sometime down the line.

Quanah called tonight. Job searching is very active now. There is a school in Concord and another in Sierra Madra in Southern California. Praying hard for a job before he graduates but more importantly praying that he passes his Comps. They are in two weeks.


LATE AFTERNOON

Just looked outside the building. It's raining again. There's just no getting away from the March weather. In like a lamb and out like a lion.

We had a day and a half of great weather and now we are in a new storm front. So much for planting the herbs and roses I picked up yesterday.




LUNCH HOUR - Well, that was frustrating. There are only so many places where I can buy yarn around here - Michael's and Walmart. Have been to both and all of a sudden I am on the great yarn hunt for the yellow color and texture I need to finish the fluffy baby sweater. Lesson? Find something I like and be sure to buy several in many colors OR keep meticulous records of the brand and where I found it and and and. . . . Darn IT!!!!!!!

MORNING - After a busy and fruitful weekend, I'm back to Monday - at work again. Looking back on my "to do" list of the weekend, I'm reminded of how much better things work out for me when I keep a list. As I mark things off as "accomplished" I end up with a tangible record of what I actually managed to do. The biggest thing in my mind this weekend was the baby sweater. I am learning so much as I go through the process of knitting it and putting it together. As I study the results, I learn what I like and don't like; I learn what works and what doesn't; I learn about the weight of the yarn, how it feels and what I feel comfortable with. Currently I'm putting together a newborn size sweater knitted on 3-ply yarn. The results will far outstrip my first effort but as I put this one together I am also working on a third effort. The weight of the yarn of this third sweater is softer, heavier, textured and overall much more comfortable to work with. I am guessing that when it come time to put it all together, the results will be more substantial and satisfying. Eventually I will have pictures to post to this musing but first I have to figure out how to use Don's digital camera. Studying the camera book was one of the things I DIDN'T get to this week. More later, I'm sure, as my Monday progresses.

Solesmes, FR Summer 1996

I had lunch with Joe today at Vito's and we talked about Iraq and the ancient history of the region. We also were talking about weekend plans and I mentioned my upcoming visit to Francine with Krista. That lead to a comment about attending Mass at St. Joseph's Cathedral in San Jose since Kris had never seen this beautiful church. Joe hadn't either and was interested in seeing it. That lead us to talk about churches we have seen in Europe and finally to my memory of the Benedictine Abbey in Solesmes, France (pictured above).

I visited Solesmes for a day in June 1996. Solesmes is a quiet, pastoral village southwest of Paris, France. The Abbey is THE imposing structure of the village. As you can see above, the abbey is on a river which contributes to the quiet of the area. The houses are made of rock and mortar. Homes are adorned with shutters, a wild array of flowers, and niches occupied by saints and other holy figures. The entrance to the Monastery is through a driveway/walkway courtyard filled with tall, sheltering trees.

I was with a group of students who were on tour with the Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra that year. Quanah was 15 years old and going. I certainly wasn’t going to have HIM going to Europe when I hadn’t even been there yet, so Don and I signed on to be chaperones but that is another story. We were attending Mass there that Sunday morning because James Klein, the conductor, said “you can’t go to Europe and not experience the roots of Western music – Gregorian chant”. The music and liturgy was truly wonderful to experience but it was the Little Boy and the Monk who caught my attention.

Across the aisle and about two rows up from Don and I was a young family, a mom, dad, and little boy about 3-4 years old. The little boy wasn’t being noisy but he was very restless. His constant squirming occupied his parents enough to distract them from the Mass. Out of nowhere, a monk in black cape and hood glided up to the family and leaned in to the little boy. Monks at the Abbey for the most part follow the rule silence and it was amazing to see how the monk’s silent admonishment to the little boy settled him down immediately. A bit later at Communion there was again a moment of silent communication between the young child and the monk. As the monk walked to the front of the Abbey, he hesitated just for moment at the pew where the young family sat and looked once again at the child. And the little boy peered up quietly at him. There was something of the Norman Rockwell in this final exchange though with an appearance of old European elegance rather than American folk-art.

I tried to imagine myself as the child seeing this tall and imposing figure in black and I had the sense of being approached by the large blackbird. He wasn’t scary but he WAS startling. Upon reflection I realized that I have never once in all my years of church-going seen such a thing in an American church. In fact, my opinion about parents NOT even trying to control their children could easily become a whole separate entry here. In the meantime, this moment in time is as sharp in my memory and the day it happened.

Rainy Day but busy despite

So much to do today and it is raining to beat the band. However, there are a few things I can do inside where it is warm and dry.

I'm still going to complete my memory of my visit to Solesmes, FR and post it to the blog;


Get the chicken legs going in the crockpot and do a bit of housecleaning.

Go to WalMart and check them out to see if they have the Modge Podge for paper product. It will be cheaper than Michael's.

Later I'll take my mom out to get her hair cut. I hate taking her out in this weather but we'll make it fast.

More interior keep me warm and dry activities will include putting the pieces of Lindsey's baby sweater together. Biene and I went to House of Java after work and she showed me how to put it all together. I put two pieces together and it looked wonderful. THEN right in the middle of a totally unrelated conversation I realized that I had sewn the front panel all the way across the back panel leaving no space for the baby's neck. Jeeze!! The good news in that I managed to take it apart (with a good dose of help from B) and then cleaned it up last night. All is well and I should have it finished quickly and then I will continue on to my next sweater which will be a fluffy yellow one. I might even be able to post a picture of the completed sweater as long as I manage to get a new battery for Don's digital camera today.

David just called. Looks like we will be meeting for our coffee at Starbucks as usual I love getting together with my brother like this.

Tea for Jane

Taking a Break

It is coming on to 4:00 p.m. I’m going to lean back for a moment, take a break and stretch a bit. It is actually feeling like Spring in the valley. The sun is shining, the temp is in the high 60’s, the almond trees are blooming white, the clouds are sparse but the few that are here are fluffy cotton balls. It is the best time of the year now. Like early Fall, it is so bright and crisp and the worst of the allergens have passed, at least the ones that bother me. I started a postcard for Jane last night using my new watercolor pencils. This is a new medium for me and I like it very much. I plan to stop by Michael’s after work and pick up some Diamond Glaze. I think that this will make a better seal than modge podge because it is not so tacky feeling. My stamps I ordered from Photo Stamps were shipped today. I’ll send my card to Jane after the stamps arrive so she can see my personalized artwork stamps. I hope they have a nice appearance. The picture on the order form looked very jagged. With luck, the stamps will have a clear image. Tomorrow Biene comes down off her mountain to show me how to put together the parts for a baby sweater I am knitting for Lindsey and Charlie. With luck, I’ll be able to take the afternoon off and we can play a bit. It would be nice to go to Purlz & Gurlz to look over the 2-ply yarn selection since Michael’s does not seem to have 2-ply, only 3-ply or heavier weight. I’ll scan the postcard in after I finish it (tonight?).

Postcards from Vicci

Evening. Feeling better now. Of course, I'm home and feel out of the tangle of the world. I went to my Bible study group tonight after missing it for two weeks. I'm sure that contributes to my feelings of well-being.

I received another postcard from Vicci today. Here are the two I've received from her since we discovered that we both did postcrossing.

Customer Service

If I really tried –and not very hard – I could probably go on a long and sustained rant about the lack of customer services in the world today. I’ve lived long enough that I notice the change from when I was much younger. In fact, I notice the change just based on the way I was raised. So the day has been icky and annoying. I go to lunch to work on my checkbook and enjoy a meal and a young mom will not effectively take care of her weeping and wailing baby who’s probably around 4 months old. Can’t blame the little one but I can blame the young mother. When a child is crying that much, you do a little more than just bounce them on your shoulder. You PAY ATTENTION. Twenty minutes later baby is finally settling down but as I leave I see that the young mother had finally given the baby a bottle. You know what that tells me? It tells me that she has some wrong-headed idea about keeping a kid on a schedule and of course to hell with everyone around you.

So baby aside and lunch indigesting, I head over to Michael's to get my watercolor pencils. While there I also find a really cool 4 x 6 watercolor tablet that is perfect for my whatnot bag of art supplies I schlep around with me. I find a box of pencil at $5.99. How great is that?! But at the checkout I’m charged $19 something for the two items. This is way too high. Of course the gal at the checkout is on her first day. No problem. I understand first days. Turns out the box of 24 pencils was hanging on the wrong hanger. And there was another 24’er also in the wrong place. $5.99 applied to the box of 12. No problem. I don’t mind having a smaller box. BUT, when the cash register won’t take my check, and the training checker won’t help the new checker figure it out, I start steaming. I have to get back to work. And I’m getting subtle vibes from the trainer that I don’t have a right to feel antsy and need to get back to work. Finally I make an issue of it. I need to get back to work. This has been going on for 15 minutes. Trainer finally pays attention and fixes everything in an instant.

Why oh why do I imagine that this woman probably let her kids cry too when they were babies? I didn’t see much difference between the young mother at the restaurant and the old trainer not effectively helping the new clerk.

What a Day

What a frustrating day this has been so far and it only 10:30 a.m. I'm working on faculty workload reports that take forever. Then, I knock over my calculater and the paper spool comes apart and has to be fixed. Of course this involves crawling around under my desk and my left knee just LOVES that. Then I disconnect the printer. Sheesh. Have cleared my desk now. All is repaired and I'm getting back to work. I wish I was at home dumping more stuff that I don't need in my studio. The good news - YES, there IS good news - is that I received three email confirmations yesterday that postcards had arrived in Finland (2) and Portugal. So that freed me up to ask for three more postcards from http://www.postcrossing.com/. If you have not seen this site, check it out. It is fabulous. THEN I received two cards in the mail. One each from Portugal and Finland. I sent a message to both of them via postcrossing and asked if they wanted a postcard from me. I like to return the favor. Portugal said yes. I find it interesting that not everyone says yes to the offer of an unofficial postcard because it is a very common thing that is done (according to the website). Anyway, four postcards in the outgoing mail today. It's 75 cents each but so worth it. More later. Back to work. SIGH!

Rain Rain Go Away

Lord, will it ever stop raining? I like rain a lot but going from house to car to work to car to wherever to home IN THE RAIN is getting old. If I have to be in the rain, please put me on a winter beach somewhere. Better yet, put me in a lighthouse so I can be surrounded by water and watch the rain. Lord, will it ever stop raining?

Bits and Pieces

Following the lead of a couple of friends,
here is MY contribution to the Bits and Pieces questions:

Four Jobs I’ve held
1. Pre-school teacher (blessedly short-lived)
2. Archeologist/Surveyor (while in college)
3. Legal Secretary (least favorite job)
4. University Music Department ASC (17 years now)

Four Movies I would watch over and over again
1. The Quiet Man
2. To Kill a Mockingbird
3. Flawless
4. Man on Fire (1987 version out of Italy)

Four TV shows I watch without fail
1. Anything CSI
2. Stargate SG-1
3. Stargate Atlantic
4. Gilmore Girls

Four Website I visit daily
1. BlogSpot
2. Google
3. Yahoo
4. MSN Today Show

My four favorite foods
1. Mexican
2. Spaghetti and meatballs
3. Straight up Coffee
4. Ice Cream with Chocolate fudge and peanuts

Four place I would rather be right NOW
1. At home
2. The Ocean
3. On an Art Retreat
4. Italy

Four Places I have lived
1. San Diego CA (where I grew up)
2. Idylwild CA (my favorite)
3. San Jose CA (my least favorite)
4. Rhinelander, WI (dad’s side of the family is there)

Sunday morning, later

I made my first bread pudding today. This is my husband's favorite dessert and I only made him wait 28 years (less one month) to make it for him. LOL Vicci, I have you to thank for the inspiration. In fact, I have this blog to thank you for too. We are so alike, I'm going to lift your list (more or less) since you've done all the legwork. As seems to be usual, one thing or another on Blogspot isn't working. Today it is pictures. I'm four days old on blogging and I already have it figured out that Blogspot seems to come with a lot of ticks. I have a picture to put here but it will just have to go in later. Now I'm off to the kitchen to clean up. Not only are cooking and baking not my thing, but I also make the biggest messes while the process proceeds - hah - how's that for aliteration?

P.S. Well, my blog is living up to its name. My camera is MIA so I tried using my DH's digital camera. The battery is dead. Now I can't take a picture of my first bread pudding and the mess I left in my wake. I sure am bumping heads with technology today.

END OF DAY

The weekends are too short. Just about the time I start to feel that I've given myself one complete day to no one else but myself and I'm ready to start all the "have to's", "need to's", and "would like to's", it's Monday again. The cycle starts again. I wish I didn't have to go to work tomorrow. We are in a slow period. It's very hard to fill 8 hours but this job can change just like that so hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I will go.

Sunday, 1:30 a.m.

Saturday was a wonderful day. I met Dave at Starbucks for coffee, visited with a friend I had not seen in AGES, and downloaded Picasso2 for SFASMT. I gave the computer over to Don so he's could continue working on our living trust and will. Yuck, but necessary. Plenty to do so I'm off running to jump into another project.

I've been waiting all week for a day like this. Work is such a drudge. Four years to retirement. Can't get here soon enough. I ended up getting my hair cut, stocked up on lunches for Kris, and Quanah called and he had lots of news for us re: Erin, work, school, comps, his future plans for the summer, etc. etc. I finished putting together my art journal binder, cut up my $3 Big! Lots poster with all the money images and worked on a page in the art journal. Unsatisfying effort. I'll work on it some more tomorrow. Continued to work on the babysweater and in between did dishes and made dinner.

It was a glorious day. A wind came in and swept all the clouds and overcast away. The sky was a clear, sparkling blue. Have not seen such a sky in several weeks.

St. Paddy's Day

Early morning: Well, all it took was one simple fix and I am now actually IN. Yesterday was just a preview page. Now is the time for real excitement. Whatever I did, it's actually working. I'm up early this morning, have corn beef, potatoes, carrots, and onions in the slowcooker. Dave and Yolanda will pick up mom this evening and we will all have dinner together. The house will smell marvelous by the time I get home.

It's after lunch now and I have slipped into a serious slump. Thank God it's Friday and I have the weekend. I stopped by Raley's this morning before going to work and got a little green corsage for the day. Lots of green around here and Melissa Pederson showed up in her as usual predictably funny outfit. Wish I had a picture but think green square dancing skirt covered in shamrocks worn over jeans and well, you get the picture.

It's late evening. Dinner is finished and was enjoyed by all. Don showed a side of himself he doesn't let out much and had Yo laughing like mad. He can be very funny when he chooses. I have a camera somewhere but it was hiding so I couldn't record the evening. Lots of laughter.

I'm IN

Oh my. I am in, finally. Oh boy, how did I do that? Here I go again.

getting started

This is tougher than I expected it to be. And wouldn't you know it but I set up my blog and then can't view it - a particular problem that many others seem to be having. Not discouraged but really annoyed. Oh well, it's the journey not the destination.