hand eye crafts

Lately, when Tap and I go out for the first time in the day, he stretches out and suns, and I find a shady spot to sit and read.  It takes me back to summers when I was little, going out first thing in the morning and seeing if my firends were awake and outside.  Those mornings were cool, though you could tell it was going to be hot later.  They were quiet, and we sat in the shade and colored or played Barbies or Rook or pick-up sticks or whatever our Pasttime of the Moment was.  The memories are clear and fond and triggered by nothing more than senses. The vultre was absent all weekend, and stopped in for a very brief visit yesterday.  After all those hours, by the way, the only thing (s)he left behind was A tiny pinfeather.  Still, a feather nonetheless.  It has been added to the collection of feathers at the front door.

I have begun a subscription with  Misfits , mainly to be sure there are always fresh fruit and fresh vegetables in the house.  My first delivery was yesterday, and it was so much fun unpacking the box.  Lettuce, squashes, limes, nectarines, tomatoes (SCORE!), a mango, and something I had to go to Facebook for help with: Of course, once I was told these are golden beets, it made sense.  The problem, though, is that I don't like beets unless they're pickled.  Really  don't like.  Facebook friends suggested simply roasting them, which I did today.  Turns out I can eat them like that!  As they got cold, they began to have that nasty dirt taste I've never been able to get past.  But I learned something and expanded my palate a wee bit. Other than the beets, today's main news is this visitor.  He hung around the deck most of the morning and into the afternoon. They look big in flight, but up close they're even larger than...

Well, I finished the garter stitch sweater. If only I could wear it somewhere other than inside an air-conditioned building. On weather, we've been having those delicious late afternoon dark, rumbly rain showers lately.  The cats hide, but I love them. I've been doing a lot of reading, thinking, writing lately.  I'm trying to figure a lot of things out, and figure out my place in them.  Invariably, my best insight comes as I'm falling asleep, so I have to hope my memory serves during the day.

Today is Hannah's birthday, but she told me the last time we saw each other that she didn't want to acknowledge it much.  She says enough bad things have happened to her in June that they sort of drown out her birthday.  We agreed, therefore, to let the day slide by without much to-do. It has been a strange day, knowing it's her birthday but not being able to celebrate.  It isn't about me, though.  I just hope good, happy things happened to her today.  That she had reasons to smile and laugh.

I took one book out of my Want to Read pile (finished the Spencer Tracy biography), started it, then found one to take its place.  The book I took out, and have started, is It's a collection of thoughts, both prose and poetry, about crying.  It's very interesting so far. I don't cry easily.  I get choked up at the drop of a hat, but that doesn't always lead to tears.  My mother didn't cry, because she was a World Class Stoic.  Daddy was the get-choked-up-and-cover-it-with-lots-of-sniffling kind.  As in almost every single thing, I'm more like him than her, though if I start to cry, I'll allow myself to.  There's nothing wrong with a good cry.

 How many books are in your  "What Do I Read Next?" stack?

And there are babies.  Two nests in a shrub beside the house: I didn't realize that there were two until taking this photo.  Some have hatched;  you can hear their little peeps. Then, there was this guy on the front glass door: If you've known me for any length of time, you know I love lightning bugs.  This little guy is still on the door, and still as cute as can be. Babies are God's way of reassuring us that the world will go on.  Reassurances we need right now.

Can you even stand this? Find things that make you smile, I say.  The kitten and these are what I've reached for today.

I said on Facebook, and I'll say here, that I feel so much right now, but can't find a way to say it.  I will say that I'm glad I'm not in a classroom right now, as I'm not sure I could stay calm and dispassionately sociological.