Nearest Distant Shore

Friday iPod Random Ten

1. Here Comes the Rain Again-Eurythmics
2. Human Touch-Bruce Springsteen
3. I Can't Stand the Rain-Ann Peebles
4. Just One Look-Doris Troy
5. One Hundred Years From Now-Wilco
6. Sweet Dreams-Emmylou Harris
7. Candyman-Christina Aguilera
8. The Rain Came Down-Steve Earle
9. Shining Star-Earth, Wind & Fire
10. Spanish Harlem-Ben E. King

I like this list, but looking at it tells me I need some new music!  Only Candyman is remotely new, and if you listen to it, it sounds old (a la the Andrews Sisters), so does that even count?

This week I did download a newish CD, Amy Winehouse's Back to Black.  She's a 23-year-old woman from Great Britain who sounds like she's from the cohort of Ruth Brown and Etta James.  I like it a lot.

What are you listening to this fine Friday the 13th?

Five More Questions

1. You find that you are being stalked by a small cat who is taking copious notes on your life.  What do they find that you spend your day doing?
   During the school year we're up early, around 5:30.  The school bus comes at 6:50 and I have my second cup of coffee once Liam's safely on the bus.  Normally I would start work by 7:00 but these days I'm not working quite as much.  I usually fill my time surfing the 'net or reading. When I'm healthier, of course, I will go back to working during the day. On nice days I try to get outside for a couple of hours and often do my proofreading from a chair in my backyard.
   My boy gets home from school at 2:45 and from then until bedtime it's all about him -- homework, supper, playtime, bath, snack and story, then bed. After he's in bed I usually watch TV or read until I fall asleep, earlier and earlier these days. 
   Gah, my life is so boring these days, but the cat can't see me gathering my strength and getting healthy, now, can she?
2. Someone writes a song about your life.  What is it called and what is the chorus?
   Hahaha, nice one, Kerri. I couldn't write a chorus for love nor money. But if anyone else wants to take a stab at this, write me a song and call it Finding My Way Back Home.
3. Wild monkeys steal your car.  What do they find in the backseat?  And what, oh what, do you have hidden in the trunk?
   In the backseat are a stack of beach towels and a hoodie. I don't have a trunk (I drive a van) but in the wayback are three beach chairs. From time to time Liam stashes swords and long guns in the wayback, too.
4. Your thoughts are suddenly not just in your head anymore - they're being written above your head on a magical blackboard.  (Bit of a stretch, I'm aware.)  What keeps popping up on the board? 
   This week it's all about my upcoming CT scan and possible surgery. It's illustrated with lovely drawings of my liver with NO VISIBLE SIGNS OF TUMORS.
   There is also a free-floating monologue directed at a certain someone who is on my last fucking nerve, but to whom I will not say what's in my head/on the blackboard, simply because it's not worth the agita it would cause.
5. The ol' hot air balloon bit:  What do you want to fly over?
   This brings me back to my small tropical island. Julia's question asked about vacations and that's what I chose, but I can see flying over it in my hot-air balloon and finding the perfect spot on which to land. I can also see making it a permanent vacation, but that's for another set of questions, I think. 
   Basically anyplace that's more water than land is where I'd want to go.

These five questions came from Kerri at Six Until Me. Kerri's a terrific writer and newly engaged, so go visit her and give her your best wishes.

Happy Easter!

You can't tell from this terrible picture, but our colored eggs have glitter all over them. Easter egg glitter does not come off of skin very easily, in case you were wondering.

The Easter Bunny was generous to Liam, and he really likes his new bunny , whom he has named Carrot.  You can see his Easter basket in the background, which has a little bit of candy (jelly beans, Reese cups, etc.), plus a large chocolate bunny, and some little toys (YoYo Ball, playing cards illustrated with The Dog, bubbles, Naruto cards).  One of the things I love about Liam is that he is every bit as excited about the little stuff as he is about the big stuff.  In his eyes, presents are All Good.  I know that he was hoping for a new Webkinz, but every place in town is sold out of the little money pits darling things. 

There's a pound cake in the oven, courtesy of  Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock's wonderful cookbook, The Gift of Southern Cooking.  I used to be a good baker but I don't bake much anymore, so I'm hoping some of their mojo will rub off on me.  Liam and I are going to a picnic with the extended family of one of my best girlfriends; they're my second family.  Hopefully they'll still love me even if the pound cake sucks.  It should be fun, although it's a little chillier than I like, especially for April.  But it's clear and sunny and beautiful, and sharing good food with good friends by the ICW is not a bad way to enjoy Easter.

Hope the Bunny was generous at your house!

Five Questions

1.  What does blogging do for you?

Originally I'd hoped it would help me be more disciplined about writing every day, but apparently that's not the way my universe works. But it does give me a place to muse idly, to vent, to talk to other grownups, to post pictures of my amazing son and other cool stuff I see around. I've made some new friends in the process, too, which is a bonus.

2.  Do you have any tattoos?  If so, what does it represent?  If not, would you ever get one and what would it be?
Oh, hell no. I've never seen anything that I would want permanently inked on my body.

3.  Do you have anything that you regret not doing when  you were younger?
I wish I'd gone to college, and I wish I had been smarter -- hell, smart in any way at all -- about preparing for my future. I think I sort of tralala-ed my way through my 20s and when I got to my 30s and my world turned upside down, I was ill-prepared to build another one. In many ways I'm still recovering from that, or at least from the poor decisions that brought me to that.

4.  Money being no object, where would you go for your ideal vacation?
A very small tropical island, where there was no one but me and my guest(s) and a small staff. Nothing would be more relaxing than being able to swim and sit in the sun all day, then enjoy dinner prepared by someone else while I drank a margarita on the porch overlooking the water.

5.  What's your biggest pet peeve?
Willful stupidity, closely followed by mean-spiritedness. The two are often linked, I've found.

These questions come from Julia at Major Bedhead.  Go visit her, and read about her recent trip to the Big City! If you want to play along, let me know and I'll ask five questions of you.

Photo Friday

This week's photo challenge is Blessing.

Check out my Friday Photos album for past challenges.

Friday iPod Random Ten

I haven't done this in a long time, so I thought I'd play today.  I'm pretty sure I originally stole the idea from Karen.

1. Come Monday (live)-Jimmy Buffett
2. Angel of Harlem (live)-U2
3. Down to the River to Pray-Alison Krauss
4. I Need a Lover-John Mellencamp
5. A Man This Lonely-Brooks & Dunn
6. Spanish Moon (live)-Little Feat
7. My Old School-Steely Dan
8. I Guess Things Happen That Way (live)-Emmylou Harris
9. Promised Land (live)-Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
10. I Can't Make You Love Me-Bonnie Raitt

Good lord, could any playlist in the world more clearly scream my demographic?  I don't care, though; there's not a song on here of which I'm ashamed.

What are you listening to on this Very Good Friday?

Thursday Thirteen: Poetry Month

1. April is National Poetry Month! 
2. A few years ago, realizing my deficient education in this area, I bought an anthology called The Top 500 Poems.  I keep in in the bathroom right alongside my Calvin and Hobbes Lazy Sunday Book, and often randomly open it to see what I find.  It's a little heavy on the oldies for me, so if anyone wants to recommend a similar anthology of modern poets, I'd love it.
3. Many of my favorite bloggers are poets.  I admire the talent because it's one that I completely lack.  The only poems I've written since being forced to do so in school range anywhere from bad to pitiful to abysmal, with one exception.
4. I did write one that I liked, but it was a cheat.  It was a writing exercise called Where I'm From, and I had a blast doing it, though it was way harder than I thought it would be.  I use the finished product on my About page.
5. My sister is a terrific poet and I posted two of my favorite poems that she's written a couple of years ago.
6. Colleen's poetry infuses every corner of her life; she's always poetic even -- or maybe especially -- when she's writing of everyday events.  I particularly like this one, which combines poetry with another of her loves, dancing.
7. Patti is celebrating National Poetry Month at her blog, 37 Days.  She kicks off the month with one of my favorites from Mary Oliver called The Summer Day.  Spend some time in Patti's archives; she's a wonderful writer.
8. No mention of Patti is complete without mentioning her secret boyfriend, the former poet laureate Billy Collins.   Some smart cookie has put up an index of Billy Collins's poems that can be found online; what a treasure trove!
9. North Carolina has a poet laureate, too; her name is Kathryn Stripling Byer.
10. One of her poems, Piece of Cake, is available as a poster!  I think that's way cool.
11. I know that in some circles it's fashionable to diss Maya Angelou, but I've always loved Phenomenal Woman.  I went to see her once and hearing her speak her own words was really wonderful; she's a very dynamic speaker. 
12. Hearing a writer read his or her own words infuses them with a whole different life force than reading them, even aloud, yourself.
13. Do you remember the first poem you ever learned?  Here's mine: 

I never saw a purple cow
I never hope to see one
But I can tell you anyhow
I'd rather see than be one.

Signs of Spring, Part Two

Since nothing says He has risen indeed like little marshmallow chicks, when I saw this link elsewhere I just could not resist. Presenting Peeps for Passover!  I am glad I don't believe in hell, for surely I'd be going there for laughing at this.

Blessed Easter!  Joyous Pesach!

Signs of Spring Part One

Spring means Easter, and around here, Easter means it's time for JELLYBEANS!  This hand-painted jar is full of the World's Best Jellybeans, purchased last night on my Easter Bunny run to Target.  I've never had his Easter basket assembled this early, but with Liam on spring break, I had to go when he was with S.  I normally don't care a thing in the world about jelly beans, but these just rock the house.

The beautiful jar that holds them was an end-of-kindergarten gift from Liam and his classmates to all of us parent volunteers.  The ladybugs are made from fingerprints of all the children and the tag has "thank you" both written and spelled out in the sign language that the children learned and practiced all year.

Today we have to vacate the premises for a while so that the exterminator can kill the @#$%* termites that have invaded, so we're spending the afternoon with friends, but tomorrow's springtime activity involves glitter and dye and eggs.  I can't wait.