The poetry of boys / August 2010
“I need big hands
to help me
change the profile of planets;
the traveler requires
triangular stars;
constellations like dice
cut into squares by the cold;
hands that distill
hidden rivers in Antofagasta
and restore to the water
what its avarice lost in the desert”~ an excerpt from The Gift by Pablo Neruda
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What delights: Unca C's fabulous hula hoops / August, 2009
“Saint Augustine said: 'The soul is weighed in the balance by what delights her. Delight or enjoyment sets the soul in her ordered place. Where the delight is, there is the treasure.' Perhaps this is why there is such delight in beauty. In the midst of fragmentation and distress beauty draws the soul into an experience where an elegant order prevails. This brings a lovely tranquility and satisfies the desire of the soul. When the Beautiful continues on its way, the soul has been strengthened by a delight that will further assist her in transfiguring struggle.”
~ John O'Donohue, an excerpt from The Invisible Embrace of Beauty
Read me a story, Tell me a story / August 2008
This was the day that two boys could traverse time and space using the simple device of ink printed on paper.
Mitza sketching the girl wearing the sindhi topi / August 2010
“Think about this: Drawing is a natural activity you do all the time. Every time you sign your name you draw a special line. Every time you steer a car you are drawing a line with your hands. Your life depends on its accuracy.
Aiming a flashlight is drawing a line. Throwing a ball uses the same eye-hand skills as drawing. When you tie your shoelace or mix batter or pet a dog, you are drawing in the air. We sing all the time, too; talking is singing. We dance all the time; walking is dancing. Marching is just moving to a beat. We draw all the time. But when it becomes significant, when it involves ART, it intimitdates us into incompetence.”
~ an excerpt from The Creative License by Danny Gregory
Prosecco happy hour in the afternoon sun / July 2010
"From the kitchen Sergio appeared with three bottles of prosecco. 'Before the coffee,' he said, 'I think we should say goodbye.'
The trays ended up on the low table in front of the sofa, and Gloria, Paola, and Chiara went back into the kitchen to return a few minutes later, each with six prosecco glasses sprouting from the fingers of her upraised hands.
Sergio popped the first cork, and at the sound the mood in the room changed, as if by magic. He poured the wine into the glasses, making the round as the bubbles subsided. He opened another bottle and then the last, filling more glasses than there were people. Everyone crowded round the table and picked up a glass, then stood with it half raised, waiting."
~ an excerpt from The Girl of His Dreams by Donna Leon
A grandmother celebrates a grandaughter / Doylestown, PA / July 2010
This was the day of champagne-colored dresses and champagne-filled glasses. Of intense heat and intense emotions. Of joyful clapping and joyful dancing. Of Anna and Chris joining together and sharing themselves with us.
Hands off
Hand it in
Hand it over
Helping hands
Hand made
Hand me downs
Hands down
Hand is a handy word
Uncle Josip, Jelisava & Anton jauntily watching over us / Philadelphia, PA / circa 1940s
“May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak to mind your life.”
~ a blessing from John O’Donohue
Remembering the 54th Anniversary of your most auspicious day. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad.
“This small lake was of most value as a neighbor in the intervals of a gentle rain-storm in August, when, both air and water being perfectly still, but the sky overcast, mid-afternoon had all the serenity of evening, and the wood thrush sang around, and was heard from shore to shore. A lake like this is never smoother than at such a time; and the clear portion of the air above it being, shallow and darkened by clouds, the water, full of light and reflections, becomes a lower heaven itself so much the more important.”
~ Thoreau, an excerpt from Walden (Where I Lived and What I Lived for)
Minerva is known as the Roman goddess of wisdom. I wonder has she read everything in that big book where her left hand rests? Or is that the book of wisdom she has written? She is also known as the goddess of the useful and ornamental arts and craft such as spinning, weaving, and needle-work.