11/29/11:
November is coming to a close, time for me to get moving!
The rest of the Michigan visit pictures have been posted— click on this picture of my mom to see them.
There is much going on, more to write about. We'll get back to that.
Meanwhile enjoy the week, and December's arrival. Ciao.
Women are wiser than men because they know less and understand more.— James Thurber
11/24/11:
This beautiful flower-painted, blue glass vase is sitting atop my parents' TV stand in the picture. My sister Linda and I rescued its dirt brown former self from my Uncle Paul's old house while Jay and I visited Michigan earlier this month. You can click on the picture to see a picture page of our family treasure hunt adventures.
My Uncle Paul saved many treasures for us, many still yet to be found. More stories for another day.
Hope your holiday was full of treasures as well. Ciao.
ODE TO THE PRESENT (excerpt)
You
are
your present,
your own apple.
Pick it from
your tree.
Raise it
in your hand.
It's gleaming,
rich with stars.
Claim it.
Take a luxurious bite
out of the present,
and whistle along the road
of your destiny.
— Pablo Neruda
11/23/11:
Hooray, hooray, hooray!
I have a four day weekend to finally catch up on resting from my vacation...
Our vacation with family earlier this month ended up being quite busy. We did make it to our usual get-together with my Aunt Lois and cousins from my mom's Ellison side of the family and tonight I finally put together the page of pictures I took there— click on my mom's photo to see the story.
More pictures to come later, from Michigan and everywhere else.
Ciao.
There is not enough time to do all the nothing we want to do.— Bill Watterson
11/21/11:
I bought Jay a couple of presents, just because.
He got a Harris Tweed jacket and an Irish tweed hat. He is so lucky to have me with him...
Here he is in his new hat, coming home from our outing Saturday. Pretty darn sharp!
Now I am saving up my thanks for Thursday...
Have a good one, ciao.
Cock your hat – angles are attitudes.— Frank Sinatra
11/19/11:
Whew, I am dizzy with the rolling by of days...
It has been chilly, windy, and rainy, but today the sun is bright and the mountains glisten with new-fallen snow that has crept down to ready itself for December greetings. I tried to take a picture that really shows the snow from the back porch— you can click on this small pic to see the larger version if you wish.
For my birthday Jay provided me with his Paypal password— I have shown my worthiness of such trust these past years. I have ordered Russian Niello earrings and a pendant to match a ring I recently got, as well as a new wallet. I am not done...
Onward into the Saturday that is... ciao.
DUST OF SNOW
The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.
— Robert Frost
11/13/11:
It was a dark and dreary day, full of drizzle and rest.
My Uncle Paul's funeral was today, attended by many family and friends in Eaton Rapids. I am glad I got to see him last month.
Jay and I went to see SPAMALOT at the Mount Baker theatre Thursday evening. We had gotten tickets for it a few months ago, and it was even better than we had expected. A fun musical review of Monty Python skits, great fun.
My birthday was yesterday, spent in the afternoon with friends going to another friend's house warming, and in the evening with Jay. 58 years old. Wow man, far out.
It was a day of rain, welcomed by us as an excuse to lay about and have a peaceful day. Let's hope for a little more this week. Ciao.
There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval.— George Santayana
11/11/11:
My Uncle Paul passed away yesterday. 68 years old. So young.
I wrote a page just for him. You can read it by clicking on the picture here of him giving my sister Linda and I a ride at my Grandparents' farm in the late 1950s.
I can't help but wonder what his hopes and dreams were then, as he drove the goat cart. So much for hopes and dreams.
Life plays out like a a puzzle that constricts choices, making those choices that went on before of more import than we could have imagined at the time... Is that what karma is all about? Does it matter?
Lives are all lived, and the rest go on. At any rate, contributions are often not what one imagined.
Thank you Paul, for saving the family history and other pieces of those of us remaining.
Ciao...
THE FABRIC OF LIFE
It is very stretchy.
We know that, even if
many details remain
sketchy. It is complexly
woven. That much too
has pretty well been
proven. We are loath
to continue our lessons
which consist of slaps
as sharp and dispersed
as bee stings from
a smashed nest
when any strand snaps-
hurts working far past
the locus of rupture,
attacking threads
far beyond anything
we would have said
connects.
— Kay Ryan
11/6/11:
This is a picture of my sister Linda and I last Tuesday, helping our Uncle Paul get his beard trimmed and out of reach of that danged oxygen tube that kept twisting and pulling at him. We lathered his feet and ankles in lotion, trying to make him more comfortable in the glaring hospital he had become so tired of. I think we helped.
Paul finally got out of the hospital Friday. I hear he likes the Eaton Community Hospice much better, can look out the window and staff there help him be comfortable by cleaning him up and putting lotion on his feet. If you know Paul you can send him a card at 2675 South Cochran, Charlotte, MI 48813.
Wayne Clegg, Eaton County's oldest living registered Democrat and father of my old friend Will Clegg, passed away last Friday at 95. Mr. Clegg was active and adventurous, flying in an ultra-light aircraft and traveling to Ireland, both for the first time, in the last five years. Condolences to Will and his family.
This photo is of my parents and I at the Eaton Place restaurant in Charlotte, before flying out that afternoon. My mom was teary and wanted to make sure I would be back soon. Today on our regular Sunday call she couldn't remember I had been there this past week even though she was glad to learn I had been. I think we are all glad to learn of good things.
Even though time moved backwards this weekend, it continues on. Here's to the new week, ciao.
Four Haiku [excerpt]
(ii)
perennial green
ephemeral butterfly
what time's time enough?
— Kris Hemensley
11/5/11:
Welcome home!
No matter how great a time one has while away, it is sooo good to come home. We got home about 9pm Thursday and Jay got up Friday as usual and went to work. I slept in— finally getting up at 10am, after 11 hours of snoozing. Later in the afternoon I realized I had spent the day doing an impersonation of John McCain during the '08 debates, wandering from room to room, identifying a task, starting it, then noticing something else and starting on it until finally stumbling upon my first task and doing more on it... you get the idea.
The trip to Michigan was filled with the usual, plus more, with no breaks. We added in multiple trips to see or help my father's brother, my Uncle Paul. We visited with him in the hospital twice and went to two of his homes, rescuing one kitty and other sundry items. Uncle Paul is a "keeper", in that he keeps everything. His house in Eaton Rapids is full of things from recent decades and centuries past— yes, that is a plural "centuries". The picture of me at the top of the page is in his backyard. Paul is hoping to make it home after some rehab care, so a few of the family will be trying to help him with that goal over the next few weeks and months. I pitched in to help while there.
Those of us who helped now have a greater appreciation of organizing and de-cluttering skills. These can be hard tasks, especially when life is hectic. Jay is a pro at keeping his desk clean, I am not. Jay struggles with decisions about throwing out things that might be of use "someday" more than I. Since returning home I have cleared a small circle of space directly in front of myself at my desk— maybe more later, as well as Michigan pics. Have a nice fall weekend, ciao.
If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is the significance of a clean desk?— Laurence J. Peter
Jardot's World: November Edition, 2011
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