gifts

recent gifts I received while riding my bike:

* (a Saturday): the heron was hanging out in a different spot this morning - in the creek beneath the bridge.  He was so close I could see him swallowing, or perhaps I saw the fish moving inside his throat.

* (a Thursday): I saw the heron in the new spot again this morning.  Also, I spotted a perfectly wrapped and untouched burger from McDonalds lying on the sidewalk.  Even the sticker hadn't been touched.  Three McDonalds were close by, sure, but all were at least a mile away.  What a bizarre little piece of art!

* (a Friday): I spotted a leaf that looked exactly like a smug toad.

* And finally, yesterday as I took off it occurred to me for the first time since last winter that I desperately needed my fleece headband.  The air had a chill to it that was pushy and sharp.  Turns out that the day before yesterday was the first day of fall.  Simply magical!

elsewhere

Found in a library book:

A picture of a quote that turned out to be more than just a quote.

just mere inches

It was only 7 AM, but I was having an off day.  I jumped on my bike and my legs immediately started cramping and balking.

After changing in the tight bathroom of a fast food restaurant my clothes refused to do anything but cling to me in all the wrong ways.  My poor quadriceps felt like they were being attacked by my jeans.  Somehow in the process of trying to stretch the pants to accommodate my aching muscles I managed to knock my pack on the floor.  And of course it was open.  Mascara and perfume and journals and books went flying everywhere.  I spent the next several minutes wiping everything off with my expensive face wipes because I had nothing else.

I was in a very grumpy whiny mood.  I ate a little breakfast before hopping on my bike for the last little jaunt to work, and as I growled with clenched teeth and hands and heart a falcon came from behind and flew just mere inches above my head.  And as he flew away he took the bad morning with him, leaving only the rasping thuwp thuwp sound of his wings.

doggie day at the pool

Fall is almost here.  Time for cool air, soft rains and windows open wide.

Just recently we went to doggie day at the pool.  There are a few pools around here that let dogs have a little fun before they are drained and covered.  Rose spent most of the time meditating in the kiddie pool.  

Meanwhile, Ella and Robert played ball in the serious pool.  The local paper took this lovely shot of my thug muffin, aka Ella.   

sunrise

A sunrise from a few days ago

a gregarious pandemonium of parrots

This morning, while taking a stroll with Ella and Rose, I saw two kiddos, probably 4 and 2 years old.  I said good morning.  The older girl replied with a good morning, and the younger girl, who was standing behind her sister, pulled the pacifier out of her mouth and said HI while waving enthusiastically.

It took every bit of my small reserve of stoicism (which closely compares to that of a gregarious pandemonium of parrots) to very calmly say hi followed by a slightly exuberant wave.

I am completely aware that my eagerness and enthusiasm has the tendency to scare the peewaddins out of cats and children, but today I overcame that enthusiasm.  Well, at least until I turned the corner.  Then I did a little dance because they were just so STINKIN' CUTE, and they said good morning to me.

Towards the end of our walk I noticed several kids in funny hats setting up a table in front of a house.  LEMONADE!  Then the strangest thing happened.  The parents brought out a giant stack of white boxes and placed them on the table.  Huh?  That's when I noticed what the hats said.

Krispy Kremes.

The kids were setting up a Krispy Kreme stand.

but I don't blame them

A little James Blake for you

I Never  Learnt To Share

The Modern Book of Stretching

Do you feel like your stretches are antiquated?

Does the struggle to touch your toes bore you?

Do you spend most of your time preening your pretend ostrich feathers as you bumble around on stilts?

If you answered yes to any of these questions then I have the book for you!

aliens and poltergeists part II

So you know those aliens that tried to communicate with me via edamame?

Today they attempted further communication.  This time they came through the sticky label printer at work.  How do I know that aliens are behind this?  Easy, I don’t understand what happened.  The printer delivered a perfect label both before and after the message.

Their message, while not entirely clear, is this:

I think this is code for we have captured all your letters and numbers and in no time will be learning how to put them together so that we can give you a better message.

experience without reflection is only half of what it can be

In the same week I read both an interview with John O’Donohue in The Sun and one of his poems in an anthology.  I was incredibly inspired and set out to find everything he ever wrote.  It turns out that he wrote a lot.  In my quest to read and absorb every little word that he ever wrote down, I happened upon what I feel is my greatest find since stumbling upon Sand and Foam by Kahlil Gibran in a flea market back in 2002. 

My find is an audiobook, but I plan on acquiring the book as well.  

The audiobook is a compilation of blessings for all facets of life and death including home, freedom, water and addiction.  The first blessing came to me in the middle of a workday shuffle.  It was a blessing “For the family and friends of suicide.”

I had to stop working and find solace in the restroom:

And you know there are no strong people in the world.  There are only people who have not been tested.

Since then I can expect one or two blessings to pop up when I shuffle my music.  Each one inevitably sends me to the restroom where I try to push all my molecules back into a human shape so I can pull the door open and pretend like flowers are not blooming from my earbuds as their soft leaves test the strength of my lips.

Did I ever tell you about Hans Zimmer’s True Romance?  If I have, then I am certain you will want to hear it again.  If not, you must know that this is one of my most prized little nuggets of serendipity.  

One night, long before Robert and I were officially dating, I had Hans Zimmer’s The Wings Of A Film playing in my CD player.  It was set to repeat True Romance continuously.  Robert called and I answered the phone - a land line that happened to be attached to a wall on the other side of my studio apartment.  What started out as a hello turned into hours of stories, and in the background of this conversation, playing uproariously but quietly, was True Romance.  Because I did not want to leave Robert’s voice for even a second the song continued to play the entire conversation.  It has become a very special song because of this conversation.  Whenever I hear it I am instantly consumed by the stories we shared that evening over 8 years ago, stories that we repeat endlessly without questioning their repetitiousness.  Rather than growing thinner with use, the threads of our stories are growing stronger, gathering strength and vibrancy with each retelling.  Our memories have formed a hammock.  We are carried by the motion of our words.

While listening to my music today another blessing slipped in, this time a blessing for an occasion of celebration.  As I paused to listen wholeheartedly I heard: experience without reflection is only half of what it can be.  Two songs later True Romance demonstrated this beautifully.

Perhaps our devices will never stretch beyond their inanimate barriers.  The earbuds in my ears will never find a burgeoning heart beneath the beats.  My phone may hold the face of my father, but it will never draw a breath.  We can talk to our gadgets with the same sincerity we reserve for our families, but they will only respond if we give ourselves to them. 

However, I can’t help but wonder how a blessing can shout into the black hole of data and pull from it, a response.

I leave you with True Romance.