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Post by Sara on May 1, 2010 11:36:42 GMT -5
Just wanted to share this poem I read today:
Blackbirds by Julie Cadwallader Staub
I am 52 years old, and have spent truly the better part of my life out-of-doors, but yesterday I heard a new sound above my head a rustling, ruffling quietness in the spring air
and when I turned my face upward I saw a flock of blackbirds rounding a curve I didn’t know was there and the sound was simply all those wings, all those feathers against air, against gravity and such a beautiful winning: the whole flock taking a long, wide turn as if of one body and one mind.
How do they do that?
If we lived only in human society what a puny existence that would be
but instead we live and move and have our being here, in this curving and soaring world that is not our own so that when mercy and tenderness triumph in our lives and when, even more rarely, we unite and move together toward a common good,
we can think to ourselves:
ah yes, this is how it’s meant to be.
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Post by Anne, Old S'cubie Cat on May 1, 2010 12:50:52 GMT -5
Sara, that's a lovely poem. So far so good today; no disasters large or small (so in the back of my mind, I'm waiting for the other shoe .), I got my morning out, and everybody is healthy. The other things that have been worrying me this week seem to have subsided. No calls from my mom, yet. No news is good news. S'cubies ETA: My mom called. She called Ratbag's husband and offered them my dad's car, which they will probably take her up on. She says she's feeling better today. I suspect that making a decision about the car probably helped. I spent some time talking to her about her cat, who is feeling much better today, thank you (he'd been to the vet last Saturday to get his car keys yanked, as Daria puts it, and he had an abscess on one leg from an earlier fight). Frisky is confined to quarters until mid-May, to give his shots time to take affect, and now that he's feeling better, it'll be harder to keep him indoors. But he's a pretty good boy, and so far he hasn't tried to make a break for it. Ratbag and her husband are supposed to show up around 2PM on Mothers' Day and stay until Emma's night caregiver arrives around 8PM. If Paul and I get there by 9:30AM, which we can just manage, and my sister and BiL cover the rest of the day, Emma's daytime caregiver can go home to her kids as soon as we get there. Of course, if Ratbag and BiL run late, as they inevitably do, Paul and I will be screwed, but that's a risk we're prepared to take. Anyway, then I had to get off the phone because Shadow had caught a humongous grasshopper and she really, really wanted to bring it inside to show me, and there was no way I was going to allow that. So I went outside by another door and admired her prey.
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Post by Julia, wrought iron-y on May 1, 2010 14:11:09 GMT -5
Franklin is not doing radio; instead we are going to the ocean to look at spring migrants.
As soon as I go make a hole to bury the dead rabbit, anyway.
Julia, it may be the one which ate 16 of the 19 buds from my camas, so Yay Zathras
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Post by Lola m on May 1, 2010 19:47:12 GMT -5
Hey ho, all!
An exciting, albeit muddy, Derby, wasn't it?
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Post by Lola m on May 1, 2010 20:11:59 GMT -5
Sara, that's a lovely poem. So far so good today; no disasters large or small (so in the back of my mind, I'm waiting for the other shoe .), I got my morning out, and everybody is healthy. The other things that have been worrying me this week seem to have subsided. No calls from my mom, yet. No news is good news. S'cubies ETA: My mom called. She called Ratbag's husband and offered them my dad's car, which they will probably take her up on. She says she's feeling better today. I suspect that making a decision about the car probably helped. I spent some time talking to her about her cat, who is feeling much better today, thank you (he'd been to the vet last Saturday to get his car keys yanked, as Daria puts it, and he had an abscess on one leg from an earlier fight). Frisky is confined to quarters until mid-May, to give his shots time to take affect, and now that he's feeling better, it'll be harder to keep him indoors. But he's a pretty good boy, and so far he hasn't tried to make a break for it. Ratbag and her husband are supposed to show up around 2PM on Mothers' Day and stay until Emma's night caregiver arrives around 8PM. If Paul and I get there by 9:30AM, which we can just manage, and my sister and BiL cover the rest of the day, Emma's daytime caregiver can go home to her kids as soon as we get there. Of course, if Ratbag and BiL run late, as they inevitably do, Paul and I will be screwed, but that's a risk we're prepared to take. Anyway, then I had to get off the phone because Shadow had caught a humongous grasshopper and she really, really wanted to bring it inside to show me, and there was no way I was going to allow that. So I went outside by another door and admired her prey. Heeee! Daria is funny. ;DI think you're probably right that making a decision about the car was a good thing for your mom.
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Post by Lola m on May 1, 2010 20:27:28 GMT -5
Just wanted to share this poem I read today: Blackbirdsby Julie Cadwallader Staub I am 52 years old, and have spent truly the better part of my life out-of-doors, but yesterday I heard a new sound above my head a rustling, ruffling quietness in the spring air and when I turned my face upward I saw a flock of blackbirds rounding a curve I didn’t know was there and the sound was simply all those wings, all those feathers against air, against gravity and such a beautiful winning: the whole flock taking a long, wide turn as if of one body and one mind. How do they do that? If we lived only in human society what a puny existence that would be but instead we live and move and have our being here, in this curving and soaring world that is not our own so that when mercy and tenderness triumph in our lives and when, even more rarely, we unite and move together toward a common good, we can think to ourselves: ah yes, this is how it’s meant to be. Lovely! "This is how it's meant to be". I gift you back with "the birds have vanished into the sky", by Li Po. "The birds have vanished into the sky, and now the last cloud drains away. We sit together, the mountain and me, until only the mountain remains."
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Post by Lola m on May 1, 2010 20:39:29 GMT -5
Thanks for the vibage!!! I'm sure it helped. Sorry for being all mysterious. Nothing bad is going on, just needed some extra support today. Now I'm covering the midnight-8 a.m. shift at my library, and I'm trying hard to stay awake. Not easy! The library is open 24 hours for end of semester finals, so I'm representin' for the librarians. Gah. I used to be such a night owl! I stayed up until all hours without any trouble back in the day. Now I'm on my second cup of coffee and my mind is just emitting a bunch of white noise. I pray that I'm not asked any reference questions more difficult than "where's the bathroom" and even that might be too complex for me to answer. Glad it was nothing serious. You guys are always on my good vibe list. As I know the reverse is true. It's a great feeling to know that you all are here. Like that Verizon commercial, only without hardhats. We had a nice needed rainshower last night and it's looking to be a nice day. Nick and his brother are at Nick's golf tourney and Candy and I and their 2 boxers are going to head up to the city later and pick up Nick's daughter and the baby and go thriftshopping before meeting up with the boys. Should be fun. Got to run and pick up a part for our mower. It's looking like a jungle out there - and now there is dog dooty to tend to. The dogs are gorgeous and good boys. Tiger and Jack. (Guess where they got their names from? ) Have a great weekend!! Indeed, vibes always gladly and happily sent - and received. To all my s'cubies. I empathize, Michelle. I'm not as night-owly as I used to be either. **pouts** Glad you got some nice rain (we got some much needed moisture too) and are having a fun time with the family and the dogs and the shopping and all. Tiger and Jack, eh? My dad would have approved muchly.
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Post by Lola m on May 1, 2010 20:43:35 GMT -5
Why can I not seem to keep the day of the week in my head? They're slippery things. Also, they tend to jump arund a lot. This is why jobs are good: they pin the days of the week down firmly between the weekends. Julia, having had a pretty sucky day all told **pets Julia and Erin** **adds a bit of double sided tape and little non-skid shower slippers to the day's feet** That should help!
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Post by Lola m on May 1, 2010 20:48:47 GMT -5
Hiya S'cubies. I've been folding paper cranes, thinking handfasting thinky thought things, and working on my shawl. This coming week though is going to see things get really hopping with the production of actual invitations. I ran into a bit of a mental block in the beginning of April that had me not wanting to think about the handfasting at all. I asked my dad if he wanted to be involved in the ceremony and he flat out said no. Didn't want to hear what I wanted to have him do or anything. He just said no. I was pretty devastated for a while, but I think I've let most of it go for now and I'm back on track doing that whole crafty planning thing. I'm also going to test out a recipe or two this weekend for the party afterwords Happy thoughts and Hugs to everyone. Catch ya around. and, just for good measure, Who knows what strange thoughts or emotions can cause someone to react the way they do. Parents can certainly react very oddly to the big events in their children's lives, that's for sure. Hug your honey extra hard and just keep on getting ready for the happy day you guys are going to have, just one of many many happy days, really.
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Post by Lola m on May 1, 2010 21:00:56 GMT -5
So Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was absolutely AMAZING last night. So good. Like better than some pro productions of it good. The leads were drop dead fantastic and Kiersten kicked butt in her role. So fun. I just love that show. Yay! Excellent! Many congrats to Kiersten! I love Joseph too - I remember singing an early early version of it in choir when I was in junior high. Which was back in the early 70's, OMG I'm so old! I remember it was only like a half hour long or so, and therefore only had some of the songs that it would later have, but it was still hella fun to sing. **hums Those Canaan Days**
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Post by Sara on May 1, 2010 21:20:34 GMT -5
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Post by Lola m on May 1, 2010 21:44:59 GMT -5
I love the bright, fresh, almost lime greens of new spring growth. Not to mention the flowering trees. Beautiful, Sara!
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Post by Sue on May 1, 2010 23:29:14 GMT -5
I am in Chicago.
Met Carolyn's bf --- nice guy and he makes her laugh.
Taking Allie to O'hare tomorrow for her flight to Paris.
Jim is in Williamsburg.
But the weather channel is all about Nashville: 5 drowning deaths? interstates closed due to flooding. And even more rain (3+ inches) due tomorrow. Yikes. Jim is supposed to fly NOrfolk to Baltimore to Nashville tomorrow right through the enormous red oval covering the country from Gulf to Great Lakes from Ohio/KY/Tn/AR/ over to VA and the CArolinas.
Jim got an email alert from Vandy that they were providing sleeping spaces for staff (hospital) to spend the night as everyone was requested NOT to be on the roads.
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Post by Julia, wrought iron-y on May 2, 2010 0:25:07 GMT -5
Went to the usual set of beaches, saw Eagles, assorted migratory shorebirds, got exersize and photos. Julia,
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Post by Julia, wrought iron-y on May 2, 2010 12:36:59 GMT -5
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