a grand day. made grander when my neighbor hollered over from her yard to see if i wanted her to go pick us up a stack of carne asada tacos from the truck down the street. huh? hello. do bears poo in the woods? OF COURSE i want that. yes! make that hells yes!
while she was out hunting and gathering i cleaned up the outdoor studio and got everything spiffied up and brought inside.
apparently i am obsessed with forks & spoons. you eat with them. so figuring out why is not really not too big of a mental leap. art, furry animals, sunshine, a nice carne asada taco with a double corn tortilla stuffed with meat, onion, cilantro, lemon juice, dash of salt. these are the things the cat lady up at moss cottage digs.
now it's evening and i'm getting ready to take ipad to the couch and watch more videos from lynda.com. i highly recommend if you have any techy nerdy genes and enjoy gobs of information about how your new CS5 (or other software) works. i'm learning so many things i don't know if i can fit them all in my nutcracker.
i am a self- taught photoshopper for many moons. there are major gaps in my learning core. but now i'm patching them all up thanks to lynda.com. they aren't paying me a red cent to say that, but i appreciate good business with good customer service. when i find a place that treats me right i like to crow about it. when i find a place that stinks, i slash tires .
~
i am always grateful for the nice people who pop in on this blog to say hi from time to time…like ellen from growing gills. she sent me the coolest email about william stafford. i posted his poem yesterday. anyway…she gave me permission to share:
Life moves in mysterious ways!
When I was in high school in Honolulu, I had an English teacher who opened up the world of poetry to me. Miss Durbin was her name. She was rather formidable, but poetry ran in her veins and she planted the seed of poetry love in my little brain.
Now, comes the amazing part. I left home in 1960 (yes, I am that old) to go to school in Portland, Oregon…Lewis and Clark College to be exact. One of my professors in Humanities was none other than William Stafford. Oh, how I loved that gentle, gentle man.
Oh, Mary Ann, what a gift. I can still see him. He wore blue chambray work shirts, unassuming ties, and baggy pants. Soft spoken, calm and reassuring, that was William Stafford. I think that I have all of his books of poetry and some of Kim Stafford, his son.
If we are at all fortunate in life, we have tucked away in our hearts and memories a small number of precious jewels. The jewel that is Dr. Stafford shines brightly for me.
It is actually sunshiny today here where gills grow by leaps and bounds with the relentless mizzle that is spring in my patch of Oregon. I am picturing you outside of Moss Cottage, surrounded by all the beautiful flowers and the cat posse.
Oh, the joy of it all.
p.s. kim baxley your passwords were sent and returned. twice. i have a carrier pigeon if that would be better for you…? just let me know.
thank you for that tender description of ellens old teacher, Mary Ann.
so good to remember what there is in our hearts, our memories are always there, ready for us to leaf thru and just enjoy and taste again. we can forget, living in a kind of fast-forward way quite often – I have for sure! but deepening what is, what we know, its wonderful. great to read his poem here as well. Those people who inspire us, such a gift in the world… great photos of your garden up there too.
glad i came wandering through your place!
Love the poem. Thank you, I’ve discovered a new voice in poetry thanks to you! I really like ‘Traveling through the darkness’. About going digital : have you tried ‘Paper’ by 53? It’s an art journaling app. It’s free but there are some in-app tools to buy. May be of interest to you. Also I’m curious about how you make those blue swirls in the first picture. Do you use a paintbrush or a calligraphy nib?
Lovely poem and great blog! I’ll stick around for a while 🙂
terry –
go here: http://www.lynda.com/iPad-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/68383-2.html?srchtrk=index%3A1linktypeid%3A2q%3Aipadpage%3A1s%3Arelevancesa%3Atrueproducttypeid%3A2
lynda.com has an entire section on ipad tips and tricks. i bet if you watch this series you will feel much more confident using your new ipad! its only 25/month for unlimited information on so so many tech topics/software.
So trying to catch up on my favorite blogs and am now smiling, a delightful post is always found growing at Moss Cottage…and I thank the stars, moon, earth and all that is for your being there, out in the world; scattering your delightful thoughts hither and yon….I am smiling and must find some William Stafford poetry books….I simply must!!!!!
Goodies abound at Moss Cottage. I can almost taste the carne asada tacos…muy sabroso! I could eat Mexican food morning, noon and night. I simply love it from the first time I tasted when I was about 7 yrs. old. It’s been a love affair of the taste buds since. I’ll have to check into lynda.com…a geek I’m not so need all the help I can muster.
Lucky ladies.
I too consider you a shining jewel! I am recently retired and widowed and your blog has made me smile most days. You most recently inspired me to buy and IPad. I am artsy but in no way nerdy and outside of performing the set up I know nothing about to use it. The only thing I know about it is what my five year old grandson taught me this weekend. I was trying to figure out how to download a game for him to play when he reached for the IPad and started touching the screen right and left. The next thing I know, I’m asking him to show me that again! So, I’m interested in this lynda.com because I still need to know how to access the internet and mail. If anyone knows of any other resources, I would appreciate a heads up. Thanks for all you do!
A poem of great beauty all around! Lovely exchange!
yes, that surely sounds like a grand day! love coming to moss cottage to see what’s new…
Cute poem~ And you are too funny, glad you enjoyed your carne asada tacos, I myself enjoyed a delicious but spicy chicken sope at the fashion district . . .
Love forever, e.
You are a wonder and another shinning jewel in the precious pouch that is in my heart and mind. I think that you are nestled in between William S. and Billy Collins, not to mention others. My cup runneth over. Truly.
p.s. send the carrier pigeon my way, I could truly use him/her.