This past Saturday, pimping my podcast to UCI recruits and colleagues.
PS: It’s an established fact that I can’t speak without waving my arms around. Just thought you might want to know that.
Category Archives: photo
it’s a jammie day
Both CatGirl and GameBoy are feverish today. Given that I have nowhere else to be besides home with them, I’ve decided we will all stay in our jammies today.
We are sipping tea with honey, reading books (me, I suspect I will finally finish _Mr. Norrell and Jonathan Strange_ today–hoooray!), napping with kitties at our side, and looking forward to everyone feeling better. I am convinced that I will not get sick myself–I’m pumping myself full of healthy food. vitamins and lots of fluids. Getting plenty of rest. Doing yoga and concentrating my energy on healing the kiddoes.
I did notice that my bike ride to campus yesterday was more laborious than usual. I’m sure my body is fighting off the virus that’s affecting my little ones. So I’m doing my best to insure that I can stay as healthy as possible!
pilgrim classic: if this is you…
Originally posted 2/26/07:
If you have just finished shopping and you are trying to balance all six bags of groceries along with your purse, half an eggplant brie sandwich, a bag of sour gummies from Sweet Tooth, and your bike lock in your back basket. And as you are stretching the bungies across your taller-than-usual load, you pause for a minute and enjoy the incense wafting from the yoga studio next door. And if this is you, then the moment will be beyond perfect when you discover that someone you love has left a petite bouquet of pink poesies in your gearshift knob.
ping
Given the lovely spring weather of late, I’ve been spending late afternoons weeding my garden. Because of all the rain, the weeds this year are nearly as tall as I am. Fortunately the soil is soft and the weeds and their roots pull easily.
If you were around my garden today, every few minutes you would have heard a faint pinging sound. Like a bell ringing somewhere in the distance.
But it wasn’t a bell. It was my snail eradication strategy. I don’t have the heart to squoosh the little fellas, so I gather then up by the handful and lob them over my fence. Most of them end up hitting the chainlink fence just beyond mine, causing the hollow metallic ping.
I suppose it’s not much more humane than the squoosh. But I do feel a bit less guilty.
Note: the snail above is one of the few that didn’t end his life sailing through the air and out of my garden. He lived on the iris stems in my flowerbed for a good long time last spring. 🙂
each and every wave
Yesterday I snuck away from my work in the archives at the Huntington to spend some time in the gardens. But it was crowded and I felt frustrated that I didn’t feel peace, only annoyance at all of the people and their chatter and their strollers and just them. Everywhere.
Then I found a little path leading through the camellia grove to the Children’s Garden (everyone else, it seemed, was headed for the newly-opened Chinese Garden). I wandered among the trees, marveling at the variety of colors and sizes of the flowers. Snapping a few pictures, the tension in my shoulders eased. I relished the solitude for about 20 minutes before I headed back to the reading room.
On days like these I realize that I have a very blissful life. I spend my time with family and friends, with historical research and writing, and with nature. I feel so lucky. I try not to take any of it for granted. In many ways, this blog is my way of affirming the good that the universe has brought to my life, to show that every bit of it is appreciated.
A few years ago I remember thinking that people who have homes overlooking the ocean, they probably get so used to it that they don’t realize how lucky they are. I’d imagined that many days they even forget to take note of the view and of the smells and sensations of the sea.
Me, I have this life of so much goodness. So every day I take notice, give thanks, and recognize how very fortunate I am–trying never to take these good things for granted. Were I to live by the sea, I would celebrate each and every wave, mindful of the privilege of coastal living. As it is, I find myself counting each and every blessing in my current life. From the joy of waking with EllyCat nestled between John & I, to the awesomeness of my responsible children who did all the laundry this morning, to enjoying the smells of fresh rain on earth yesterday evening, to the wind blowing outside right now, to the luxury of having time to contemplate all of these things as I share them with you.
“It is only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth–and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up–that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one that we had.”
~Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
seedlings
Planted some sweet pea seedlings today in pots on my back porch. Also repotted a poppy plant.
From the looks of the little buds, I should have flowers in a week or so if the sunshine continues.
Can you believe that in SoCal Spring isn’t just around the corner anymore–she’s relaxing on the couch, propping up her feet on the coffeetable, and making herself at home. 🙂
Note: the sweet peas in this pic are from a favorite garden near mine–the one with the labyrinth….
feeling bright
Just got the good news that I was awarded one of the larger fellowships that I applied for, one that will fully fund my next year of research and writing.
Right now I am feeling just as bright as this flower–all orangey and happy and warm.
🙂
another kind of desk job
See me, sitting in the back in black? This is what I do. Sitting in an archive, searching through a scrapbook of newspaper articles about the Santa Monica Veterans’ Home.
The time passes so quickly when I’m in the archive, lunchtime slipped by and before I knew it, it was time to head home.
My archival ‘partner in crime,’ K, snapped this little pic–knowing how much fun it is to show others what we do in the ‘inner-sanctums’ of the research facilities. Today, for example, before entering this facility I had to go through a search that’s every bit as thorough as if I were boarding a jetliner.
🙂
braided
A few years ago, John wrote this sweet poem for me. I thought I would share it with you, as it’s been on my mind a lot this past week…
A little late for work,
breath on breath, flesh on flesh,
limbs tightly woven
we glory
in our oneness.
In our later years
perhaps mingled, our breath escapes
and unable to pry us apart
they bury
our braided bones.
And in that latter-day,
when out neighbors stretch and blink
at the brilliant yellow sky,
we dally
and enter into paradise.
beauty
can’t type much. carpal tunnel flare-up day.
sending some warmth your way today…
🙂