Thursday, February 27, 2014

Commuting Life - Poetry Jam




Commuting Life

We walk the same path every day
Straggle on and off the trains
Sometimes blink and look away
Eyes following a million planes
Looking everywhere but at each other
Separated only by air and fabric
Our hearts beat common dreams
Hidden behind peacoats and blazers
Beating insistently to the rhythm
Of wheels on rails, thrumming
Clunking, swaying us ever on
Toward the work a day world

Later tread the same way back
Looking rumpled and worn
Earbuds giving a dose of news
Bass line thrum tapping fingers
Gazing glass-eyed out the windows
Eying signage and the buskers
Balancing flowers or the paper
A bag of produce or a bottle of wine
Looking up with heads lolling
Drooping downward on seats to nap
Staring past neighbors to watch
Evening sun as we race homeward

One day I’ll tire of the anonymity
Smile at you and speak up
Perhaps we’ll talk sports or weather
Share a seat and clink water bottles
Discover the common things we share
Chuckle over a cute child across the car
Recommend dinner spots along the way
Give each other an elbow of farewell
A quick ‘See ya’ as we head back
To our separate worlds


... shared with others at Poetry Jam

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Playing Around With Pictures ... Saturday Snapshot



the original




altered




the original





altered

I love playing around with my photos and will sometimes putter for hours looking for the right look to some of my shots ... Big Huge Labs is my free on-line space of choice. I have also discovered a place called FotoFlexer. I'm always amazed at how altering certain elements of the image or adding special effects can make for such a different piece of work.




... shared with other photographers at Saturday Snapshot ...

Thank you, Melinda! You're wonderful to host this weekly share!

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Apartment To Let - Magpie Tales #207



Apartment To Let

Can’t tell me no one heard
The kid hid in the closet
Heard every smack and groan
Windows open to the night
Sirens screaming by below
Party in the place above
Breaking glass and laughing
There’s always a break you know
Everything stops for just a minute
The rest of the world butts in
Can’t tell me they didn’t hear her
Thumpin’ up against the walls
Fallin’ over furniture
Wailin’ like the sirens
Spittin’ blood and cryin’ out
Cursin’ life and love
Makin’ for the hallway
Puttin’ space between hurt and the baby
I hope the fucker fries
I hope the neighbors have bad dreams
I hope the curtains twitch and haunt
This neighborhood but good



... shared with others at Tess Kinkaid's writing share called Magpie Tales ... 

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Saturday Snapshot - Snow and More Snow



Just so you know ... this is an unaltered photo that I shot yesterday morning in that brilliant sunny time before any wind did damage to all the snow marshmallows and cotton candy. Bright, bright light and some shadows and this row of dried sedum blossoms. The camera has registered the plant images and 'pixelated'  the bright white and shadows in such a way that the shadowed crystals of snow are like little tiny rainbows ... so cool, huh?





This is the view from my kitchen window ... the kitchen woodpile and the garden shed ... and muffled wind chimes. More snow is expected sometime tonight.

... shared with others at Saturday Snapshot...
Thank you Melinda for hosting this weekly photoshare!


Thursday, February 13, 2014

Haiku - Poetry Jam



Haiku

Flicked like dandelions
Harsh words fall on children’s hearts
Wilting bright faces

... shared at Poetry Jam

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Dandelion Days - Poetry Jam



Dandelion Days

Walking home from the library
I never stepped on sidewalk cracks
I clutched books close and climbed
Up and over the railroad tracks

Coming down the other side
Sneakers kicking dust and stone
I’d sometimes lose control and slide
Careening my way closer to home

Cross the road and up the street
Into the shade, away from the heat
Dark lush maple tree nods and sways
Cooling off those dandelion days

Up the hill to the little grey house
Round the back quiet as a mouse
A clothesline tent with pillows lush
A place to hide in summer’s hush

Beginner books that held me sway
And helped pass many a summer day
With words as lush as any flowers
Adventures to while away the hours

Ideas and dreams that oft took flight
Like dandelion seeds blown free
Seen in that tent’s soft dappled light
The books, the summer, the sun, and me

... a fast write shared at Poetry Jam ...


Appetite for Life - The Biography of Julia Child - Noel Riley Fitch



This was an stellar biography of Julia Child, giving an excellent picture of her family background, the influences that made her the person who could excel in the rough and tumble world of government intelligence during the chaotic World War II era and then translate her organizational skills and joie de vive to a career in entertaining, cuisine and finally broadcast media. When you  think about it, all the areas of her life's work were tied to being a socially adaptable creature. What I found a joy was that she found a true love in Paul Child who, though somewhat of an intellectual snob (IMHO) and order driven soul,  never lorded it over Julia.

That being said, my love for Julia Child's persona was fed to overflowing with this book. What a woman! A live wire with a fun streak that kept her family and friends on their toes, it seems that everyone genuinely liked Julia. I enjoyed reading of her exploits in childhood running willy nilly with her neighborhood friends, slowly gaining intellectual structure through her boarding school experiences, but always keeping a rowdy sense of humor and down-to-Earth practicality about herself.

Making her way from the entitled life at Smith College into the world of business and then government work seemed a wake-up call for Julia. I loved that she was honest about her shortcomings when she applied for her first government job. I think it must have been one of the reasons that she landed the job in OSS - honesty and forthright, hard-working and perseverant, easy-going and able to adapt ... she seemed the right woman for the climate and conditions of OSS work in WWII Asia. It was in Asia that she met and fell in love with Paul Child. Becoming friends first and then seeing the chemistry develop was a slow process that became a no-looking back adventure when the two returned state-side after the war. Marriage and the move to France cemented Julia's shift from safe track government employee to enthusiastic expatriate. Rattling around post-war Paris was bound to make her crazy for a new routine, especially since Paul Child was fitting into a post-war niche in Information/Arts/and Media Communications for the US government, as it established a presence in Euro politics.

Aren't we all glad that she found the Cordon Bleu and made history in a foodie career? I know I am, but I think she would shake her head at my practices in the kitchen. I consider myself a pretty good cook, but her level of knowledge and exposure astounds me. Reading about the dishes that she mastered, the wines that she and her husband and friends sipped, the places that they traveled, and the people that she mixed with boggles my mind. Some people have such interesting lives!

Interestingly, I read somewhere that this particular biography is the only one that Julia openly appreciated and cooperated with in full. Noel Riley Fitch has written other studies of famous American expatriates in France. Her understanding of the country and the culture shows in her handling of Julia's biography. Though I found some of her chapters repetitious, it all fell into place and served to form a complete picture of the woman that Julia Child became. Like I said, this was a good read.




Saturday, February 8, 2014

Saturday Project - Saturday Snapshot


Today is a day for using the bright afternoon light to my advantage ... I have some small hand sewing jobs that need doing, so I am sitting in a sunny window sewing the border on a series of small hot pads that I've made over time with scraps of calico from all manner of sewing projects. It's fun to work with scraps from the ages past ... there are so many memories attached! For instance, the orange flowerbud calico in this hot pad comes from a long, tiered 'hippie skirt' that I wore back in the 70's - way before marriage and children. Time sure has flown!

I hope your Saturday projects are just as fun and relaxing as mine ... enjoy your weekend, folks!




... shared with others at Saturday Snapshot ...