Garrison Keillor was at Wolf Trap here last week and we went to see his show on Friday night. The red tennis shoes, socks and matching bowtie threw me--he so obviously loves what he does.
What a magical show. I have not honestly laughed so hard in years. He got a lot of good government jokes in, as there were High Government Officials in the audience for the live broadcast show on Saturday night--had to get the digs in beforehand.
It was most interesting to me to listen to the live show on Saturday night as well and note just how different the two shows actually were. There were some same songs, but jokes, skits and monologues were almost completely different. The troupe has an amazing ability to think on its feet and this strikes me as most impressive in humor presentations. The Old Crow Medicine Show gave a great performance. What a neat group of young musicians.
We laughed. We fought back tears. We howled. What a perfect night. A--roooooo...
lunes, 29 de mayo de 2006
sábado, 27 de mayo de 2006
a new addition to the family
Yes, we have a new baby.
She's a 3,400 pound diamond gray who rolls around on all fours. We are all excited to welcome her into our little family, and we are assured that she will keep us as safe as her predecesor.
She's a 3,400 pound diamond gray who rolls around on all fours. We are all excited to welcome her into our little family, and we are assured that she will keep us as safe as her predecesor.
domingo, 21 de mayo de 2006
a new car
It was hard to do, but I did it. I just opened the door and sat in the driver's seat. And cried like a baby as wave after wave of flashbacks washed over me.
Then I got out and, eyes red and swollen, went to talk to the dealer. I think I have decided upon the new car we will buy to replace that which was lost two months ago.
I will test drive it later this week, just to make sure it's not a lemon. But this is the same type of car that protected us, so I am not going to buy anything else.
The body is a beautiful metallic gray. The only way to get this color is on a package including navigation, which I will probably never use, and it has no moonroof. The moonroof can wait. I like this car.
It feels kind of like adopting a new kitten after the dear old family cat passes away, a rite of passage we experienced a few times as children. At first it is hard to face the memories and one feels almost like a traitor--but the survivors must realize that Life will continue on and it is now time to invite a new member of the family in.
Isn't it silly to speak of a car, an inanimate object, as a member of the family? Perhaps so...but in the same vein it could be said that our last car gave its life to save our lives...thus deserving of such family member status.
Then I got out and, eyes red and swollen, went to talk to the dealer. I think I have decided upon the new car we will buy to replace that which was lost two months ago.
I will test drive it later this week, just to make sure it's not a lemon. But this is the same type of car that protected us, so I am not going to buy anything else.
The body is a beautiful metallic gray. The only way to get this color is on a package including navigation, which I will probably never use, and it has no moonroof. The moonroof can wait. I like this car.
It feels kind of like adopting a new kitten after the dear old family cat passes away, a rite of passage we experienced a few times as children. At first it is hard to face the memories and one feels almost like a traitor--but the survivors must realize that Life will continue on and it is now time to invite a new member of the family in.
Isn't it silly to speak of a car, an inanimate object, as a member of the family? Perhaps so...but in the same vein it could be said that our last car gave its life to save our lives...thus deserving of such family member status.
7 years!
It has been quite a ride, my darling. Thank you for putting up with me. Here's to 7 more...!!! Looking forward to Garrison Keillor with you next week. I love you--Happy Anniversary!
jueves, 18 de mayo de 2006
da vinci code hubbub
The Christian Science Monitor calls it a "fictional thriller."
It is a marvelous book in which to lose oneself to a great adventure.
It is a work of fiction.
By the way the Church is acting out so violently and vehemently against this work of FICTION, one would think the Church had something to hide.
Come on, people. It is FICTION. It is not a basis upon which to found our beliefs. It is a great FICTIONAL adventure story.
I think so many have lost their focus.
It is a marvelous book in which to lose oneself to a great adventure.
It is a work of fiction.
By the way the Church is acting out so violently and vehemently against this work of FICTION, one would think the Church had something to hide.
Come on, people. It is FICTION. It is not a basis upon which to found our beliefs. It is a great FICTIONAL adventure story.
I think so many have lost their focus.
miércoles, 17 de mayo de 2006
I see it now.
Okay-I am figuring it out, and this, too, shall pass.
That used to be my mantra. I have since discovered others, but I think I need to go back to revisit the oldies and goodies.
I was recalling on Monday night after my prayer group when the last time was that I had driven all the way to the store, gotten to the parking lot and decided, to hell with it, I am NOT going to go shopping no matter how much we need food because I JUST DON'T WANT TO SEE ANYBODY OR DO ANYTHING so I just went home...which is precisely what occurred on Monday night.
This has happened twice before in my life--not incidences of not wanting to shop but a personal closure after two major events, those being my father's death 6 years ago and my return to the US after living for 3 years in Japan 9 years ago. Events after which I closed myself off from the world for a matter of months, with the exception of going to work or seeing my family, and could have cared less about what was going on around me.
I think that it is a good thing I have children because they force me to get out of the house even if I don't want to...preschool will continue, the springtime events go on and, whether I like it or not, I know that it is not fair to them to shut myself up at home...even though we do spend a lot of time outside working on the yard. I just have no desire to interact with anybody, meet new people or have human conversation except with my closest friends. I am so exhausted that I went to sleep before 9 last night after having taken a nap during the afternoon--and man, sleep is a wonderful escape!
But I think I see it now...and this must just be my body's way of dealing, of healing. Both of these events were followed by a major trip: about 6 months or so after Dad died I went to Machu Picchu, Cuzco and Lake Titicaca. 6 months after moving back to the US following Japan I left Oregon for New Orleans (yet another foreign country) for grad school, although there was a trip to Ecuador in there 2 days after I got back from Japan.
And I have another to South America awaiting me in the distance--it can only help, as it has in the past, to shift my mind away from the past, mend, and start anew.
That used to be my mantra. I have since discovered others, but I think I need to go back to revisit the oldies and goodies.
I was recalling on Monday night after my prayer group when the last time was that I had driven all the way to the store, gotten to the parking lot and decided, to hell with it, I am NOT going to go shopping no matter how much we need food because I JUST DON'T WANT TO SEE ANYBODY OR DO ANYTHING so I just went home...which is precisely what occurred on Monday night.
This has happened twice before in my life--not incidences of not wanting to shop but a personal closure after two major events, those being my father's death 6 years ago and my return to the US after living for 3 years in Japan 9 years ago. Events after which I closed myself off from the world for a matter of months, with the exception of going to work or seeing my family, and could have cared less about what was going on around me.
I think that it is a good thing I have children because they force me to get out of the house even if I don't want to...preschool will continue, the springtime events go on and, whether I like it or not, I know that it is not fair to them to shut myself up at home...even though we do spend a lot of time outside working on the yard. I just have no desire to interact with anybody, meet new people or have human conversation except with my closest friends. I am so exhausted that I went to sleep before 9 last night after having taken a nap during the afternoon--and man, sleep is a wonderful escape!
But I think I see it now...and this must just be my body's way of dealing, of healing. Both of these events were followed by a major trip: about 6 months or so after Dad died I went to Machu Picchu, Cuzco and Lake Titicaca. 6 months after moving back to the US following Japan I left Oregon for New Orleans (yet another foreign country) for grad school, although there was a trip to Ecuador in there 2 days after I got back from Japan.
And I have another to South America awaiting me in the distance--it can only help, as it has in the past, to shift my mind away from the past, mend, and start anew.
lunes, 15 de mayo de 2006
this week's housewives
I hate season finales...and getting there. They are too stressful for me to watch!
I have to give hats off to Susan for being such an awesome friend to Bree. I saw a lot of my extremely obsessive, borderline perfectionist self in Bree and hope I am not still like that.
Go, Lynette. That's a tough one. Looks like confrontation comes next week.
Sorry, Gabi, but your housemaid is going to be the queen of the roost while pregnant. Get OVER it already. (but you're so darned funny!!!)
I guess the most hitting-home was the episode with Edie and Susan in the hospital Edie said a lot of things that gave voice to many of my personal fears--like the point of view that everyone in the neighborhood comes out to help when something horrible goes wrong isn't out of love but out of knowing that Susan is helpless.
But then again, maybe that is precisely why Edie is the one alone in the hospital.
I have to give hats off to Susan for being such an awesome friend to Bree. I saw a lot of my extremely obsessive, borderline perfectionist self in Bree and hope I am not still like that.
Go, Lynette. That's a tough one. Looks like confrontation comes next week.
Sorry, Gabi, but your housemaid is going to be the queen of the roost while pregnant. Get OVER it already. (but you're so darned funny!!!)
I guess the most hitting-home was the episode with Edie and Susan in the hospital Edie said a lot of things that gave voice to many of my personal fears--like the point of view that everyone in the neighborhood comes out to help when something horrible goes wrong isn't out of love but out of knowing that Susan is helpless.
But then again, maybe that is precisely why Edie is the one alone in the hospital.
miércoles, 10 de mayo de 2006
butterfly girl
K is truly an amazing little girl, but this little detail seems absolutely uncanny to me...
She seems to attract butterflies.
The past two summers, all the time we have lived in this house, she has caught butterflies with her own two hands. When she was two, I couldn't believe it. When she was three, I chalked it up to her quietly sneaking up on it and gently grasping the wing. Today, the way she told it, the monarch just landed next to her on the front steps (and yes, she was there and finishing her lunch) so she picked it up. Of course I took lots of pictures. Then it went to her knee, and was completely content to just be there for a while. Then we decided to give the butterfly freedom so K brought it down to the rhododendron bush, in full bloom right now, and let the butterfly crawl onto the flowers. The yellow monarch seemed to want to gather strength again, so we just watched it, in awe of its beauty. C was squealing with delight.
And then it flew away.
K felt both happy and sad, she said. She would have liked to have held that butterfly all day, but knew that it was not the best for the insect and that it must be set free.
That can be such a hard lesson to learn.
I just held her for a while.
She seems to attract butterflies.
The past two summers, all the time we have lived in this house, she has caught butterflies with her own two hands. When she was two, I couldn't believe it. When she was three, I chalked it up to her quietly sneaking up on it and gently grasping the wing. Today, the way she told it, the monarch just landed next to her on the front steps (and yes, she was there and finishing her lunch) so she picked it up. Of course I took lots of pictures. Then it went to her knee, and was completely content to just be there for a while. Then we decided to give the butterfly freedom so K brought it down to the rhododendron bush, in full bloom right now, and let the butterfly crawl onto the flowers. The yellow monarch seemed to want to gather strength again, so we just watched it, in awe of its beauty. C was squealing with delight.
And then it flew away.
K felt both happy and sad, she said. She would have liked to have held that butterfly all day, but knew that it was not the best for the insect and that it must be set free.
That can be such a hard lesson to learn.
I just held her for a while.
domingo, 7 de mayo de 2006
an official thirtysomething
Remember that show? Yeah, it used to air back in the days that I *never* thought I would ever be THAT old...
yeah, C, I can just HEAR you laughing, dahlink! jaja
Well, the joke is now on me!
I can't even reverse the numbers on the candles of my cake to read 9 years younger than I really am until I am a fortysomething (yes, I did that when I was 32. I magically returned to 23 for a night. It was nice). This definitely marks the beginning of A New Era of Life.
However in this, my 34th year, I vow to instead look at all I have accomplished in my 34 years and embrace them, instead of spending the year wishing I had done more... after all, back in The Day, that was the reason why I lived Life to the fullest--I never wanted to ever look back and say, Gee, I wish I had done more with my life.
With much more to yet anticipate, I am sure. So here is to a year of adventure and excitement, of sunshine and gardening, of ups and downs, of family and friends and love!
yeah, C, I can just HEAR you laughing, dahlink! jaja
Well, the joke is now on me!
I can't even reverse the numbers on the candles of my cake to read 9 years younger than I really am until I am a fortysomething (yes, I did that when I was 32. I magically returned to 23 for a night. It was nice). This definitely marks the beginning of A New Era of Life.
However in this, my 34th year, I vow to instead look at all I have accomplished in my 34 years and embrace them, instead of spending the year wishing I had done more... after all, back in The Day, that was the reason why I lived Life to the fullest--I never wanted to ever look back and say, Gee, I wish I had done more with my life.
With much more to yet anticipate, I am sure. So here is to a year of adventure and excitement, of sunshine and gardening, of ups and downs, of family and friends and love!
viernes, 5 de mayo de 2006
personality test?
Is this at all revealing of anything I didn't already know???
I will be back after Finals end...apologies for the hiatus.
I will be back after Finals end...apologies for the hiatus.
| Your Five Factor Personality Profile |
 Extroversion: You have medium extroversion. You're not the life of the party, but you do show up for the party. Sometimes you are full of energy and open to new social experiences. But you also need to hibernate and enjoy your "down time." Conscientiousness: You have high conscientiousness. Intelligent and reliable, you tend to succeed in life. Most things in your life are organized and planned well. But you borderline on being a total perfectionist. Agreeableness: You have medium agreeableness. You're generally a friendly and trusting person. But you also have a healthy dose of cynicism. You get along well with others, as long as they play fair. Neuroticism: You have medium neuroticism. You're generally cool and collected, but sometimes you do panic. Little worries or problems can consume you, draining your energy. Your life is pretty smooth, but there's a few emotional bumps you'd like to get rid of. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is high. In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas. You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits. A great connoisseir of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything. |
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