Friday, November 28, 2008

Poetry Friday

You can work it out by Fractions or by simple Rule of Three
But the way of Tweedle-dum is not the way of Tweedle-dee.
You can twist it, you can turn it, you can plait it till you drop,
But the way of Pilly-Winky's not the way of Winky-Pop!


"Her Majesty's Servants," The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving to You and Yours!

Saturday, November 22, 2008


"I have never outgrown my childish enjoyment of the unexpected."
Grace Coolidge (from Grace Coolidge and Her Era, by Ishbel Ross)

'The bad things of life were very transitory. It was the good things, the ribbed sand, the wind blowing over the white-capped waves, the sunshine and the stars, that were so tough and durable.' (Green Dolphin Street, by Elizabeth Goudge)

'Dreaming, praying, and working for--in a sense, imagining for--a good story in the lives of those whose paths we cross briefly or for the long haul is what we're made for.' (Real Love for Real Life: The Art and Work of Caring, by Andi Ashworth)

Friday, November 21, 2008

While browsing through an old spring issue of The New Yorker magazine, "One Can Miss Mountains" caught my eye. I loved it and I needed to find more - so I immediately Googled the author's name to find his website. I'm so happy to discover a new poet to enjoy. Todd has kindly given me permission to post the poem here. Samples of his poetry, (including audios of him reciting it,) and information about his books can be found at toddbosspoet.com.

One Can Miss Mountains


and pine. One

can dismiss
a whisper's

revelations
and go on as

before as if
everything were

perfectly fine.
One does. One

loses wonder
among stores

of things.
One can even miss

The basso boom
of the ocean's

rumpus room
and its rhythm.

A man can leave
this earth

and take nothing
--not even

longing--
along with him.

Todd Boss


Poetry Friday at Brimstone Soup




Thursday, November 20, 2008

Still celebrating

Yesterday Erin read a journal entry from her diary aloud to me. She'd written it during our stay in Utah, 2 1/2 years ago, May 2006, when we were spending a month away from home to see if we'd feel better. The entry read:

Last night...we did indeed see Fiddler on the Roof! It was great fun, we all enjoyed it. My definite favorite song was "Matchmaker" that the three sisters sang. They looked as if they were having so much fun! I should like to perform that song. (Smiley face drawn alongside the entry.)

Two years later, September 2008:



Having limited amounts of energy resets priorities. Our dreams do not remain faint naggings easily ignored, but shouts that push us out the door. Today I'm thanking the Lord for granting Erin a desire of her heart. (Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4)

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Celebrating a cold


Erin caught the current coughing and congestion nuisance that's being passed around and shared (a little too unselfishly). Using our Rife machine really does seem to help a cold from becoming full blown (sorry for the pun). We didn't think of using it right away, but since we have, her symptoms have calmed down quite a bit. Still, rehearsals for "I Remember Mama" (her latest play, which I've neglected to mention here,) are in full swing for opening night the first weekend of December, so extra rest time isn't available. (In her "healthier" state, when rehearsals get to be every night, she must rest both her body and mind all day just to have the strength she needs for her work that night, so there is no give - no extra time for rest.

Brady and I started fighting unusual headaches and muscle aches a few days after Erin became ill. It finally occurred to me yesterday, that we have Erin's cold virus. I've learned from studying about Chronic Fatigue that when your immune system is not working right, you will not get colds - you can get the virus, but it doesn't play out like a person whose immune system is strong. I'm so glad to finally understand that. (For quite a while, I'd convinced myself that our lack of colds meant our immune systems were better then most, a disillusionment I'm quite embarrassed to admit). Even though our struggles with health are still great, when we're less ignorant about what's happening, we don't have the confusion - therefore, we don't become as overwhelmed or discouraged when setbacks occur. Being less ignorant leads to another obvious benefit: a better knowledge of what to do; granting us hope for that all-so-elusive progress we desire.

So I'm celebrating Erin's cold. She's had a couple of these now - not the cold that comes when our bodies have repeatedly warned us to "stop getting out of bed and trying to live so much," and we haven't listened; but the cold that causes her friends and fellow workers alike to suffer. Yes! (Not Yes! for everyone's suffering, but Yes! to a body that acts like our old selves.)

Please continue to keep us in the forefront of your prayers (remembering to include a celebratory thank you for Erin's coughing and congestion). I often use the word, "slow", when telling people about our progress. But that conjures up the phrase "slow as a turtle," which wrongly illustrates. Trying to recover from a strange disease, such as Chronic Fatigue, doesn't look anything like the pace of a turtle, (I've observed many pet turtles, so trust me). It looks more like a film strip that keeps getting caught in the projector and, because it's a bit damaged, seems impossible to advance.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Monday Smiles

  • Erin and her friend jazz dancing to Singin' in the Rain in the kitchen (with tables and chairs pushed aside).
  • Listening, along with Brady, to Dr. George Grant lecture on the Minutemen at Lexington and Concord and conclude with the recitation of Longfellow's Paul Revere's Ride.
  • A friend saying she'll pray for me.
  • Goofiness at the kitchen table after lunch, very "un grown-up like" - very needed.
  • Sharing obsessions with an author friend. (She sent me the above photo after I sent her a quote from a book.) My new hero is Grace Coolidge (I'm currently reading, Grace Coolidge and Her Era,) and Sarah's long time heroes are Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan (Sarah wrote the wonderful, Miss Spitfire, 2007).

Sunday, November 09, 2008



The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
Carl Sandburg

Friday, November 07, 2008

The Lamplighter

Now that we've "fallen back" with the ending of Daylight Savings Time, night-time creeps up and surprises us with a sort of gloom. It takes a few days to gain a perspective of what we've gained by the early darkness; such as times to gather around the table for warm bowls of soup, longer conversations at the table, a cozy book or show to entertain us, more time to think and plan, and hopefully even the desire to go to bed earlier - rest more.

Another added bonus: The evening neighborhood walk becomes filled with quiet views of people warmly ending their days in the comfort of their unique little nests, which gives me a sense of contentedness and eagerness to get back to my own home and end my day well. The mysteries unveiled (or not,) when walking in the dark, almost take away the chill of the damp November nights. If lamplighter's were still needed, I'd be with the child in the poem.


The Lamplighter

My tea is nearly ready and the sun has left the sky.
It's time to take the window to see Leerie going by;
For every night at teatime and before you take your seat,
With lantern and with ladder he comes posting up the street.

Now Tom would be a driver and Maria go to sea,
and my papa's a banker and as rich as he can be;
But I when I am stronger and can choose what I'm to do,
O Leerie, I'll go round at night and light the lamps with you!

For we are very lucky, with a lamp before the door,
and Leerie stops to light it as he lights so many more;
And oh! before you hurry by with ladder and with light;
O Leerie, see a little child and nod to him tonight!

Robert Louis Stevenson


Poetry Friday roundup at Check It Out