Texas; A Trip Down to the Roots

"The shape of my life is, of course, determined by many other things; my background and childhood, my mind and its education, my conscience and its pressures, my heart and its desires." -- Gift From the Sea, Anne Morrow Lindbergh

And the Winner is...

The winner of the Anahata Katkin planner is the northwestern bloggess with the mostest, Mrs. G over at Derfwad Manor. For the sake of impartial drawing, I had the child reach his hand into the hat, amidst the disgruntled cries that he was "MISSING.MY.MARIO.GAME!!!" After scooting him back toward his video game controller, lest our very world end, I was happy to see that the name he had pulled was the woman that has entertained me for months, almost daily. Really, ya'll, give the woman a book deal already so we in Blogland can say "I read her when." Thanks for playing! And for those who didn't win this time around, not to worry. This was so much fun that I've decided to do one for Christmas as well!

Georgia Morning

Blogger Give-away!

Up for grabs is an absolutely GORGEOUS 2009 Anahata Katkin day planner...but this giveaway has a little pop culture twist. I'm going to ask three questions, and if you answer all questions correctly and send them to my email (sometimes706@gmail.com) then you'll automatically be entered. I'll cut off the giveaway promptly at midnight on Thanksgiving night. ( : The day after Thanksgiving, I'll pull the lucky name from my trusty fedora. ( : Have fun!

1. In the 80's cult classic film Breakfast Club, what is Ally Sheedy's character's (Allison Reynolds/"the basketcase") "poison," and when does she like to drink it?



2. What Robert Frost poem does the character Pony Boy Curtis recite in the movie The Outsiders?



3. Can you tell me the literary significance of the dress form and armadillo in my sidebar? (I.e. Which book is it from and what does each of them mean to the book's plot? ) CLUE: It's listed as one of my "favorite books" on my profile.

Thanks for playing...good luck!

P.S. Congratulations to Mrs. G over at Derfwad Manor...she was the first to respond so her name will go in the hat twice. Want an exta shot as well? Answer this bonus question: Which famous film did this line come from..."You don't like coconuts?!! Say, brainless, don't you know where coconuts come from?!!!"

Jumping Off, Staying Put, and P.S.

Most days, I consider myself lucky. Lucky that I have a warm home to fall asleep in, a family who shelters me from other kinds of storms, and friends who swoop in and take me to the movies on my off-days. But other days, there's a restlessness that sets in that accompanies words like "last ditch effort" or "the jumping-off place." (This restlessness is also shadowed by fantasy runaway trips to places like Vienna or Bali or Missoula, Montana.)



But right here, right now, I am content to be up early, listening to the wind howling around the house and bending the limbs of the trees around themselves. I'm content to watch the fire consume itself in my hearth, and the hot coffee (and the idea of coffee) reside on my table next to me. And the dogs, the sleepy-eyed dogs who lift their heads only momentarily in wonder about why I'm even awake when it's still so painfully dark outside. Today's about staying put, enjoying a moment to myself, getting another half a cup of coffee.

P.S. Happy Birthday, Sylvia Plath and Dylan Thomas...may you toast each other in Heaven's "poet-corner."

Noticing

I was simply minding my own business this morning (getting the Child off to school, loading the dishwasher, making the coffee, making the beds, etc.) when this incredible morning light shook me free of my routine revelries and propelled me outside to take notice...
of the web...
...of the water...
of the circle of light...
...of the rosemary running over...
...and this, discovered only after downloading the pictures onto my computer. Call it a trick of light, of lenses, of reflections. I know what it looks like to me (throat chakra and all). (Click to enlarge.)

This is it--my street. Where I hang my hat, lay my head, receive my personal post. Look how it rises and falls, like a lover's body. A lover's body that you're still in love with. As I crested the hill yesterday, I slowed my car to a crawl, and beheld the mountains in the distance. Handily, I extracted my Iphone from the pocket of my red velvet jacket, and took a few shots. In just a few instants, the photos I took were uploaded into the blogosphere. Just like that.

You can not see the mountains today, as a layer of fog and rain clouds have descended on my little city, and turned my mood to an insular one. I cancelled a gabfest with my sister-in-law so that I could just veg out, wrap myself in a nap in a room with the shades drawn. It's a shades-drawn kind of day...I love the natural light, but not so much the natural light of a rainy day. I'd rather it be filtered through the blue curtains and be done with it. The boys went to get a haircut at the place that does the old-fashioned, lathered neck shave that the Husband thinks so much of, leaving me Thank the Lord to my own devices for an hour or so. Now, the contact lenses need taking out, and the little nappy can commence. For now, My Street is a quiet one.

This Night

o open your window right now, and listen to the sounds of Outside. Look skywards...the Hunter's full moon is rising tonight. When we were a highly agrarian society, farmers would use this night, one full moon removed from the "harvest moon," to finish gathering in their crops. Look out at your street...is it all lit up? Go gather, gather. Gather up your children. Or your bright ideas. Your heartfelt thanks. Your rosebuds and your wits. Go gather up your soul with your body again, like it was when you were five, completely aligned, and be yourself again. Gather.