Flock of birds

New Etsy ♥:

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Peter Schmalfuss & Jesse Cook

A little music for you:

Peter Schmalfuss



Jesse Cook

And I can't lie.

A recent entry from my gratitude journal:

* Good bike ride, no complaints
* Smooching on Robert
* Panera - chowing some grub while listening to 50 Cent with my gangster head phones
* Busy busy at the library
* beautiful storm
* home - pasta & Rush Hour 3

And I can't lie.  I was listening to 50 Cent and Willie Nelson.

three giant leaps

The other day I was out riding my bike.  I saw a big ol' lug of a dog galavanting around.  So I jumped off my bike, and having done this before, prepared myself for indifference, or worse, a distressed animal who would flee.  I started to holler, "look at the wittle baby," and I kid you not, this giant beast of a dog (a rot mix) took three giant leaps across the road (no traffic) and landed on me before I even finished my sentence.  There wasn't a moment to brace myself.  In less than five seconds I was on the ground, covered in drool.  Folks, I have two golden retrievers.  I can handle friendliness.  This dog was like five golden retrievers in both size and personality.  I called his mommy, who happened to be out looking for him, and reluctantly said goodbye.  For a good five blocks afterwards the drool rained from my arms and hands like some kind of fowl rain.

It was a glorious morning.  

I leave you with some Macklemore.

Family Time

My brother, Scott, flew in from Oro Valley, AZ Friday.  We promptly took him out for some bbq (Fiorella's Jack Stack) and gelato (Paciugo) and then we went shoe shopping.  YES I AM SO NOT KIDDING!  We also visited the library where I work and took a very long walk with Rose and Ella.  It was an awesome day.

Saturday we visited with dad and had a total blast with him.

Scott stayed at the lake and Robert and I rushed back to the city to visit with Madeline and Sandy.  Oddly enough, Madeline (who lives at the lake), drove up here to visit Sandy (who lives in the city) and I drove to the lake to visit dad.  But we still managed to see each other and have a lovely breakfast.

What a weekend!! 

OH! I also saw the doctor on Thursday and have his approval to start doing yoga again.  I am going to keep wearing the brace for biking, yoga, sleeping and any other activity that uses a lot of repetitive hand movements.  But the brace is off for the rest of the rest of the time.  If all goes well I will be trying out tennis in a couple weeks.  

Everyday Magic

I was haphazardly filling the "New Books" display last week.  It could even be said that I was chucking the books on the display.  I was hot, frazzled, and not entirely connected to the task.

Until I saw this:

small bit of green

My Wittle Baby is taking over the kitchen!!

I received this bamboo plant from my lover man a year or so ago.  It was my small bit of green in my cubicle at Gift of Life, and when I left, it came home with me.  It is quite apparent that there is plenty joy and love in this house.  I firmly believe plants are a great judge of positive energy.  I learned this from Robin, my mother's cousin.  She has the most beautiful soul.  The last time I saw her, the trees reached for her, hoping to snatch up some of that beauty.

We must have a butt load of positive energy in this house because all of our plants are very content.  It could be all the giggling that goes on around here, or the two furry love buckets that spread the love around with their excited tails.

Whatever it is, I hope it stays.

Robert immediately starts tittering

Walk into the club like what up I got a big

So I get home from work, and Robert immediately starts tittering.  

Turns out he bought a butt load of sticky notes for me.  WORD!!!  As you know, my poetry collection is color-coded.  Recently I ran out of sticky notes, but after searching a few Targets around town I discovered that they no longer carried the colors I use.  I had a moment of panic, because I own over a hundred poetry books, all tagged and organized with the extinct colors.  If I couldn't find the appropriate pack of sticky note colors I would have to redo my entire collection.

Turns out while I was panicking Robert was rummaging around in the closet for his cape.  

And yes, I am listening to Macklemore right now.  Who isn't?

A recent picture of family!

From left: Heather & baby Harper, Rusty (James), Momalu, Grandma and Scott

Makes me so very glad!

Mitsy

Mitsy has been restored!  She now resides in a new frame, complete with protective glass.  She also received a few touch-ups here and there and has been cleaned and vacuumed.

Here is a close-up

So you're probably wondering, who is this delightful bird lady?  Well folks, meet Mitsy! She was painted by a friend of my grandmother's for my grandparent's bar, The Birdcage.  Mitsy was the centerpiece at The Birdcage.  It wasn't long before people started talking about the resemblance between Mitsy and my grandmother, Jane.

After The Birdcage closed, Mitsy moved to my grandparent's house where she remained the centerpiece for many years.  When my mom and grandma hit the road and started traveling it was decided that Mitsy needed a new home.  

She has found a home.  

But the question remains - is this lovely bird lady really my grandma? 

A Nod to Parisi café & Natasha's Mulberry & Mott

We have this lovely little place in Kansas City called Parisi café.

The coffee is beautiful, heavy, luscious, healing, intensely complex.

They also get these fabulous dark chocolate coconut macaroons from Natasha's Mulberry & Mott.

I have embraced parallel parking because of Parisi café.

If I described the dark chocolate coconut macaroon, I might say, "little nugget of bliss," or "messy, sticky chocolately coconut kapow."

happy

I have carpal tunnel.  I’m not sure I’ve mentioned it.  It is only a tiny hiccup in my life.  It is easy for me to redirect the energy I spent on tennis into something else.  I am blessed with unlimited passions and excitement.  I do hope that I heal and I can play tennis soon, but I'm not throwing a lot of concentration into that hope. 

I have another appointment for the carpal tunnel next week, however, and I am getting quite anxious.  I am ready for great news.  

I am happy, sometimes overwhelmingly so.  And I need to keep sharing this happiness.  It isn’t entirely mine.  As much as I would like to claim my happiness and hoard it for melancholy days, I know that it needs to be shared.  If happiness is not shared it doesn’t go anywhere, and stagnant joy carries little weight.  

I will leave you with a little Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu.

Gifts

Each time I ride my bike I stumble upon these amazing little moments that take up residence in my spirit.  They are moments that I would not have seen in my car, thrilling and deceivingly minute happenings that completely consume me.

I have seen the fragile shells of birds with holes created by the urgency of life, the bright flash of eyes in the shrubbery when the earth is dark and still.  Once, I saw a brilliant leaf hover above the sidewalk like a tiny spaceship before it lifted and whirled into a dragonfly.  

Often, I take my humanness and capture these gifts with language.  But what I carry with me through the day isn’t anything I can ever humanize.