The Rhythm of the Heart

Recently, our most wonderful Sognatrice of Bleeding Espresso (one of my very favorite bloggers and her exquisite blog) kindly asked if she could host me as a guest blogger. I was delighted to accept and I wrote the following piece for her. The layout and design is all hers, and it is very well done (thank you Sognatrice!).

What fun, I thoroughly enjoyed working with her for a mutual post.

This post may also be found on her blog with her original design at Bleeding Espresso.

The Rhythm of the Heart

Close your eyes and listen . . . when it’s quiet. The rush of blood from your heart will fill your ears and mind.

It’s the rhythm of life flowing in a river through you.

Close your eyes and look . . . deep into your heart.

You will find the rhythm of your soul, flowing from your heart like a river, washing over every moment of your life, over everyone and everything you touch.

What is your rhythm?

Is it a steady, constant rhythm . . . like a beating drum?

Is it strong and passionate, filled with extremes . . . love, hate, jealousy, perfection?

Is it gentle? Warm? Like the caress of sunbeams on bare skin, or a caring hand?

Is it rough and driven . . .

Is it filled with anger and disappointment?

Is it always searching, always hungry?

Patient, overflowing with grace

Sad with currents of longing

Quiet, hidden and deep

Bubbling and dancing over the places in life that try to block your path

Or forceful, crashing with power. . . until you reach the end?

What rhythm flows through you, touches others and changes their rhythms, even a little?

I have said, in the past, that everything we do, everything we say, think and feel has a ripple effect that touches the lives of others, and those ripples continue into so many other people and into the future of more lives, in more ways than can be imagined . . .

But I was looking at it in such a small way.

It is not a ripple.

It is a wave much bigger and more powerful than we can conceive, and it never ends.

Search your heart, look deeply and find the rhythms that drive your life. Consider the way those rhythms will touch everyone you ever meet, and remember that those rhythms, having come from you, will come back to you in many ways.

It is the Golden Rule of the Heart . . . you will get whatever it is that you give.

Let everything that comes from you, that flows from your soul and your heart be the best that can be given, always. In every way, every moment . . . you will join the chorus of rhythms that flows around you constantly, the rhythms of life, of the heart.

You are the conductor . . .


Make the rush of your soul’s rhythm fill your whole being, spill out into the wide world and wash over it in a wave that makes this a better place for your having been here, having added to it the very best that can be within you.

Play on, rhythm of the heart, play on.

Spring Cleaning

Bonnie at Words From a Wordsmith recently posted a very moving piece that has inspired me to rise to the draw of Spring.

Let us dig deep, to find the dead, rotted roots and bring them out.
Let us prune away the dead branches that sap energy but give no life.
Let us refresh ourselves, reach for the sun, and blossom in all our natural beauty.

Cecilia and I are standing under the lilac bush. She touches the dead branches that are protruding from the ground at our feet and states resolutely that these dead branches are going to be pruned away, cut off at the base, because they take energy away from the bush and hinder its growth.
"We must trim away all the dead so that it can grow." she says, looking meticulously at every limb.

And I stood there, awash in a moment of epiphany.
Wholly bathed in the light of realization.

What dead, useless rubbish is within me that I hold on to and shouldn't?
What old rotted roots and branches hinder my growth and drain me of energy?
What could I cut away that would enable me to grow and breathe deeply? To blossom?

Oh... how long is this list?

I carry dead weight with me. I do. For what purpose? Who knows.
I hold on to the experience and the lesson; when I should only hold the lesson.
I didn't realize that my shadows are flat and empty... instead of deep and dark and full of mysterious necessities that I couldn't possibly understand or let go of.

I definitely need to prune. Need to dig up the dead and toss it overboard. Need to release everything that does not enrich my soul, my life... and the lives of others. Need to let the past be the fleeting shadow that it is. Something that is gone as soon as it happens. How can I hold so tightly to something that does not exist now? Carve away the things that weigh me down, bind my wings, and tether my feet... how did I ever believe that the shadows were strong? They are nothing but places without light.
Whether material or not... it is time to clean out the old.

It's Spring... what a perfect time to garden and grow.

Reach for the sun, and grow indeed.

Happy Spring!

The Road Ahead

We Are One!

From the Shores of Introspect and Retrospect is a year old! We made it! And, by sheer luck and a sprinkling of irony... this is our 100th post!

~A look back...

It's been a good year. I started the journey on my own and a short time after I began, I adopted Viaggiatore from Seamus, we joined the Shameless Lions Writing Circle; and this fantastic lion has been right by my side every step of the way, since. We've made many wonderful friends with whom we have shared laughs & ideas, supported when there was sorrow, gained and given insight and explored life together.

It has been absolutely wonderful, and worth every moment.

~A look ahead...

It is our intention to post a LOT more often, and to visit with our treasured friends at every opportunity. I think sometimes that I would like to have a photojournalism blog, and post stories about the world around us, but this blog is a place of the mind, heart and soul, and it's flavor cannot change. It's grown from a small idea into what it is today, and that will continue as time passes.

I hope that you find common threads here. I hope that you find words worth your while. I hope that the ideas and stories that you find here inspire & encourage you. I hope you find friends here.

And I hope that when you leave, you have a little more Introspect and Retrospect in your pocket, to enjoy later on, down the road ahead.

Scarlett & Viaggiatore

Wandering With Bay

Where in the world have I been?

Wandering, of course. With a very special girl; a mermaid whose company I was gifted with for too short a time. Meet Miss Bay. She is a fantastic 7 year old.

While she was with me, we had lots of fun!

We went golfing. Her Fairy God~Lady called her while she was on the mini-golf course, and that was one of those calls that you just have to take...

We went to the butterfly pavilion just in time for a new butterfly release, which was fun. She was on the lookout for butterflies...

We found them! Thousands of them...

We rode a carousel at Heritage Square... (and a roller coaster, and a flying banana, and a paddle boat, and of course the ferris wheel...)

We swam in a pool that has a river, a waterfall, a mini frog slide and a huge twisty slide!

And we:

Went to the Tattered Cover Bookstore for Junie B. Jones books (a must, I found out)

Went to Casa Bonita for a Mexican Fiesta, complete with waterfall into a diving pool, divers, mariachi band, life size gorilla on the loose, live stage show, arcade, haunted house, gift shop, and several other attractions...

Went shopping

Went to lunch at a 50's diner and she learned about Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, James Dean, Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable...

We did SO many things... but Scarlett had a surprise in store for her little mermaid... a very special surprise. The highlight of the whole trip, as it turned out.

I dolled Miss Bay up in a very lovely navy blue formal gown (with which she INSISTED on wearing blue Hanna Montana flip flops), put her in a sparkly silver and blue crown and gave her a scepter wand, French braided her hair in a crown, and we went to Scarlett's friend Storm's house to visit Bay's Fairy God~Lady for the first time!

The very special and wonderful Fairy God~Lady, who served Princess Bay "Sparkling Creme Soda Champagne" in real crystal goblets, just as a princess should use.

That was the beginning, and she was utterly delighted...

When lo and behold, who should come down the stairs to see Bay while we were there, but Prince Charming himself...

He's been searching for Princess Bay to give her the mini glass slipper that was made especially for her when she was born, but which was stolen away by an evil witch.


Prince Charming searched far and wide for her slipper, found it in a high tower guarded by a troll, defeated the troll and brought the rescued slipper back to Princess Bay.

Princess Bay had important news to impart to Prince Charming about Cinderella and her glass slipper that he is carrying on the royal pillow...

(Serious Bay) 'I have something to tell you'

PC- 'yes?'

(still serious...) 'I know where Cinderella is'

PC- 'you do? Thank goodness, I've been looking for her everywhere, I need to get this slipper back to her, she leaves it all over the place, all the time! Where is she?'

(Bay looks at him dead pan, cool as a cucumber...) 'She's in Hollywood'

PC- 'oh! Hollywood... yes, that's right, I forgot... she goes by Cindy now. What was she doing?'

'Blowing up balloons'.

I was laughing through tears at this point, which is the best way to laugh, but a difficult medium to photograph through.

Not one to miss an opportunity, Princess Bay traded her royal scepter for Prince Charmings' REAL sword... and immediately went into Mulan mode....

It was very exciting!!

We stayed and visited with Prince Charming and the Fairy God Lady for an hour or so, and then we left... and little Princess Bay never let go of that little glass slipper for three whole days; except for the pool... and only because I wouldn't let her take it in. She talked about it incessantly from the moment we woke up until we fell asleep each night, and we sang Disney princess songs in the car the whole duration of her visit. It was one of the best visits ever, but she said that nothing we did topped her Fairy God~Lady and Prince Charming.

Her mom told me recently, that Bay had announced that 'dreams don't come true sometimes'... and we were sad that she'd grown up a little bit, but then when they were pulling out of the driveway, she leaned out the window, waving with a flourish and blowing kisses and called to me... 'dreams really do come true!'

Princess Bay and her glass slipper, returned to her by Prince Charming

Write about that!

What is the last thing you wrote?
~A comment on another blog

Was it any good?
~Of course it was, I always leave good comments

What’s the first thing you wrote and you still have?
~Really? Kindergarten work, I think. I still have the first journal that I ever wrote in, from the summer that I lost my grandmother, and when I reread it, it's like stepping back in time.

Write poetry? Yes!

Angst? Only when I was a teenager.

Favorite genre of writing? I love thinking on paper the best... start writing a thought and keep writing whatever crosses my mind, non~stop for as long as I can go at it. Very good exercise.

Most fun character you’ve ever created? Viaggiatore - paws down.

Most annoying character? Eh... I haven't created an annoying one, but my best villain is Vincent William Kilman. Nobody knows who he is yet, but he is wicked evil; couldn't believe someone like him came out of my head.

Best plot? The story that Vincent is in... it's a mystery/suspense/adventure/romance/comedy blend. Think "Jewel of the Nile" and "Romancing the Stone" ...gone techno and current, in Greece, Egypt and Vienna... intertwine past and present internal stories, throw in a missing princess, a 'chance' couple to fight the good fight and solve the mystery, a goofy sidekick for the hero, a supportive friend for the heroine, a wicked evil villain, memories of a tragic love story, a dangerous race against the clock and the bad guys and you just about got it.
...Good plot? Yes!

Write fan fiction? I have no idea.

Type or write? Both methods with both hands (although my left handed writing isn't quite as fast as my right handed writing). Which one? Depends on topic, moment and mood. Journals are written, thoughts are written, communication is mostly typed, but I do stop to write it by hand sometimes. It's nice to get something hand written in the mail.

Favorite thing you’ve written: Whatever touches other people's hearts, makes them smile and means something to them... or compels them to do right, whenever I can have an effect.

Do you show people your work? uh... yes... I blog. I also show good work to teachers, fellow students, friends and family. It's very important to look at it from a different perspective, whether I agree with that particular view or not. It opens my mind up more.

Did you ever write a novel? Two, actually.

Favorite setting for your characters? In my hands; not out of them.

How many writing projects are you working on? Ad Infinitus Continuum

Do you want to write for a living? Yes.

Why? To touch the hearts of humanity, to make a difference, to enlighten, to enjoy, to learn & grow, to laugh, to cry, to empower, to compel... to bring passion and peace, and to comfort.

Ever written anything in script or play form? Yes, once... a very long time ago. I'd forgotten till just now.

Five favorite words: ...A new day has begun... (note, these are not 5 single favorite words, they are 5 favorite words together, and together they mean possibility and opportunity for anything and everything... it means I've been gifted with one more day... what is better than that?)

Which character most resembles you? The lead in my second novel... Anna... she resembles me because she is me, and many, many other girls and women in the world.

Where do you get your ideas for other characters? If I knew that, I'd take up permanent residency there.

Ever write things based on your dreams? Yes! Mustn't forget those...

Do you favor happy endings, sad or cliff-hangers? Yes! Do you favor more than one kind of food for the body? I favor more than one kind of nourishment for the mind.

Ever written anything based on an artwork? Absolutely! As a writer, I am inspired by a great many things, not the least of which is the product of anothers inspiration.

Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write? Of course! I'm concerned with it when anyone writes, especially me! It's one of those pet peeves of mine... the fundamentals of the English language are going down the drain! While I'm not necessarily bothered by the people who speak incorrectly, the evidence of poor education producing poor language skills in their communication drives me right up the wall!

Ever write entirely in chatspeak? NO.

Entirely in L337? What?

Does music help? Good music helps everything, always.

Quote something you’ve written: please refer to any of the answers above.


Okay... I'm not tagging anyone, if you want to do this one, please feel free and do it, and then tell me so I can come read it!

Bambooed

HELP!

Two years ago, I bought a single short stalk of bamboo.

It's a lovely little thing, and I put it in a small ceramic dish that was hand made for me by a friend a long time ago.

I was hesitant to purchase bamboo, as my very dearest JReed told me in no uncertain terms that killing a bamboo plant would bring worse bad luck to me than walking under a ladder across the path of a black cat and breaking a mirror all in the same day.

"Much worse!" he said.

Knowing that I have about the same luck with plants as I do in the kitchen... ahem... he advised me quite seriously NOT to buy one.

"Don't tempt fate!" he said.

I thought "Meh... I could do it." I have two plants who've managed to hang on by the roots for several years.

So I bought one from the Dragon Boat Festival. I loved it. Talked to it daily, kept it watered, and enjoyed it devotedly.

Last year, since I'd done so well with my single stalk, I felt courageous... bold, even. And I bought two more stalks. Same festival. I put them on my desk at home, on either side of my computer. They lived harmoniously and happily. All 3 were doing quite well. Until...

I came to work on Monday and the single bamboo was yellow. It has since turned black. There are 3 yellowy brown leaves and three kind~of green leaves, so I am doing my utmost to nurse it back to health; but I have my doubts as to the success of this endeavor. Shhh... don't tell the plant.

The two at home are also not faring well... as of this week.

They have begun to shrivel and wilt... sad little bamboo stalks.

WHAT is going ON?

How does one save bamboo?

What if it's too late? How do I fix the luck?

Anxiously waiting...

Scarlett

4 x 4 Squared

Absolute Vanilla has tagged everyone with a meme of 4's. As I've not done a meme of 4's B4 (4give me, please), I am inclined to acquiesce.

Four jobs I've held: I'm going to do 4 jobs I want instead.

Pilot
Photojournalist
Artist/Musician/Singer
Teacher

Four movies I've watched over and over again:

To Kill a Mockingbird
A Walk in the Clouds
Auntie Mame
My Fair Lady

Four places I've been:

In warm, sunny places of serenity where I can feel my soul breathe and dance.
On rugged mountain peaks in frigid screaming wind; but I always make it to the other side.
In new, unfamiliar and strange places where I must be courageous and brave and learn my way.
In old and familiar places worn with time and life, that I touch with my fingertips and my memory, places that remind me where I've been and illuminate where I am and the road ahead.

Four places I've lived:

Do we not live everywhere we go?
My second post ever was on this very subject, and it's one of my best and most favorite posts... please take a moment to read it!

Four TV shows I watch: For the most part, I don't watch TV. Monumental waste of time. This is the best I can offer:

Pro football
College basketball (WOO HOO March Madness!)
Superbowl
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Truly; I think that's it. For the year.

Four radio shows I listen to:
I wake up to KLOVE (a Christian station), and after that I channel surf all day.
It's very nice to wake up to a positive message in the morning. Helps set the mood for the day.

Four things I look forward to:

Each new day
Time with family and friends
New or favorite experiences
Fridays!

Four favourite foods: Mexalianesethai!! oh...

Chocolate
Pasta
Warm Bread
Fresh fruit and Veggies

Four places I'd rather be:

With friends and family
Flying
Sailing
On my first assignment for National Geographic

Four people I e-mail regularly:

Family
Friends
Co-workers
Business associates

I'm not going to tag 4 people; if you'd like to do this meme, then please feel free to play along!

My Love

Mi Amore,

It's been such a long day, it seems like such a long time since I've seen you. Every eternal moment passes almost without moving, with no cadence or rhythm, it just drifts through me, past me... and it feels as though time does not carry me with it, to you. The ache weighs so heavily in my body that it reaches into my soul. How much I miss you.

But somehow I will arrive tonight, when at last I lay my head down and close my eyes. Then the darkness will open up and I'll walk through the door of our home there by the sea, and you will be waiting for me, just as you are every night, with your laughing, dancing eyes and your open arms. When those strong arms close around me, everything else that has worried my mind and heart will slip away into the highland mist that hovers over the green hills and moors beyond the house.

You always have a fire ready in the fireplace for us, and tea to share as we snuggle up together under our quilt in front of the fire. I love to watch its light in your eyes and that dimple in your cheek as you smile while you tell me stories. The softness of your voice fills the air around me like the deep quiet notes of a cello playing a melody that I alone can hear. It ripples through my body and soul and its sound synchronizes everything within me to my core.

The tips of your fingers, gently tracing my cheek and lips are the only tether that keeps me from floating away into the deep sea blues and greens in your eyes. How far do those eyes reach? Eternity? In all the times I've lost and found myself in them, I've only ever seen a beautiful sanctuary where we exist as one, without beginning and without end.

I tangle my fingers in your dark curly hair, and laugh at your endearing ways. I only pout playfully when you tease me a little, but then you pull me so close and kiss it away as though it were a shadow hiding from the sun. There isn't anything in the world that comforts me so much as your strong arms around me, nothing could penetrate that bond. I rest close to your neck and you lean your head on mine. The scents of you; faint sea, wood, wild heather and the highland mist... are intermingled on your skin and breathing it in deeply while I'm in your arms fills me completely with a blend of heady desire and warm serenity.

How the nearness of you takes me away to places I never imagined could exist, and you are in all of them, and I am with you, part of you ~ always. That look of hunger and need that haunts your face when you see me coming to our bed always undoes me; it's as though you are caged in desperation until the touch of your fingers on my skin releases you in that instant, and you are suddenly able to breath again. It mirrors my own desire for you.

Strong and gentle, your touch, your lips and arms, every part of our bodies, your need and mine, until we are one; shivering in the power of passion and ensconced in the fullness of love. Blanketed in the stillness of the night, wrapped so closely around each other, we sleep until the soft light of dawn touches the edge of the tall windows.

I rise to your beautiful smile as you hand me steaming coffee and kiss my face as delicately as a feather touch, my cheeks, my forehead, and at last my lips. We tease and laugh and play as we ready for the day and you walk me to the door. I know what's waiting beyond it and I want nothing more than to bury my face in your chest and stay, but we know I must go.

"We'll go to Paris tonight when you come home, and stay for the weekend, alright my love?" you tell me in the soft quiet voice that is meant only for me. I nod my head. Your finger reaches under my chin, and tenderly lifts my face to meet yours and I look into your serious eyes. "The time will fly, and I'll be with you, in your heart, every moment..." you tell me in a whisper.

And I slowly pull myself, unwillingly, from your arms while you stand as still as a statue and watch me so intensely, your face solemn, making yourself let me go. It is only our hands that touch now, and as I step through the door, our intertwined fingers slide slowly apart.

The door closes and I force myself back here, to my own bed where I am laying alone without you. I only open my eyes when I know I must, and I stare silently out the window at the day that has begun. The long day that I will find my way through, somehow, until the night brings me to you again. It is a half life, my half without you, and it is something, but it will never be everything until you are with me, once again.

You are the breath of my soul, my love, a timeless constant... the other part of me that I only barely exist without, and I will find you again. Somehow, somewhere along this journey that I wander through, I will find you again, and when at last your arms are around me, we will never let go.

Until then, I will wait to see you in my dreams, wait until my head is deep in my pillow and I close my eyes and the darkness opens up and I see the door of our home, where you wait for me.

I love you.

Photoplay

I recently did a photo shoot at a church and I liked this shot of a large marble sculpture of Jesus of Nazareth so much that I decided to play with it. It's original is a black and white printed on 8x10 pearl paper. I decided to have a little darkroom fun and 'solarized' it... that is, dabbled in developer, water and high contrast... and the outcome was such that I wanted to share it. It was so much fun to make!

I hope you like it as much as I do!

Belum...

Belum... not quite yet.

Pron (bay-loom)

Leonardo da Vinci, upon his death, regretted leaving so much work unfinished (?!!) and I often wonder what the world would be like if he had been given more time... and if we could bring him back and put him in our world today, teach him what we have learned (a great deal of which originated in his mind) and then see what he can make of it to progress us even further, as I am absolutely sure he could.

And I think about what I have done, and left undone.

Have I finished my pilots license?
Have I finished that painting of the polar bears?
Have I finished either of the novels I've written?
Have I perfected my tango?
Read all the books I want to read?
Seen the places my heart yearns and aches to know?
Told all of my family and friends just one more time how deeply I love them?
Done my best...
Given what I could...
Loved as much as my big heart is capable of...
Been patient as often as I could...
Listened as often as I ought...
Gone as far in every direction that I can possibly go?

Belum.

They say mediocrity is best... no extremes one way or the other. I'm not going for extreme, and I don't know how much time I have left (doesn't that make it priceless?), but my list is ever growing in many ways, and will never end.

I'll never really complete everything - and in the end, my magnum opus; my great work of a lifetime, will be what I did accomplish.
I just want to make sure that I didn't leave anyone or anything behind, unnecessarily.

A fellow student asked me recently where I find the time to do everything I do, and I answered, I do bits at a time, here and there, not all at once, and that way I can do more.

Another friend warned me about becoming a jack (jill) of all trades, but master of none.
That will not happen... if I do not give up on learning as much as I can about each thing, or working on each passion without end, even in moderation. It just takes a little longer.

What do I want to be when I grow up?

A Renaissance woman. A person that Leonardo da Vinci would be inclined to enjoy spending time with, then or now.

Are you as far as you want to be? Are you complete?

I'd be willing to bet...

Belum.

Happy Valentines!

I sincerely hope that you felt the love of someone you care about today, be it family, friend, lover or Lord.

Happy Valentines Day!

Rolling Out The Red Carpet

Absolute Vanilla has definitely started the awards season off with a bang! She very generously gifted me with an armload of awards which I am very glad to pass along!

And so without further ado... (I didn't tuck my dress into the back of my pantyhose, did I?)

For my kitchen shenanigans and mishaps:

To:

Jon at Writing in a Vacuum

Irrelephant

Diana at Piffle

The Laughorist

Hearts at Guilty with an explanation

Christina at Single City Chick

Because I am a Blogger of the World in 2007 and 2008:

This is gifted to each and every one of you, if you're bloggin', you get it. Keep on blogging!!

Because Vanilla loves us!

This one is also for every single one of you... missed you lots, so glad to be back!

Kisses for everyone!

The purpose of this award is motivated by:
the desire to hand some of that love and kindness back around to those who have been so very, very, very good to me in this bloggy world. My hope is that those who receive this award will pass it on to those who have been very, very, very good to them as well. It's a big kiss, of the chaste platonic kind, from me to you with the underlying 'thanks' message implied. I really do appreciate your support and your friendship and yes, your comments. ... Mwah!

And from Viaggiatore and I, for the Shameless Lions Writing Circle (please choose whichever color you like):

My incredible friend Shannstress at Shannon

My very funny and dear friend Robin at The Road Less Traveled

Rel, whose words I devour like a fine buffet at Under the Microscope

Sognatrice whose words always find a mirror in my soul at Bleeding Espresso

Some Pink Flowers, who takes me on many wonderful journeys of the mind and heart

Taking Care

There are no New Years' resolutions.

But there has been a promise that is late in being fulfilled, one which is being brought to fruition every day now, by me ~ bit by bit.

You know how people who care about you a little, or love you a lot, will smile when you say good-bye and they'll tell you:

"Take care..."

We say it to others, too. What we mean is, take good care of yourself. Because we care. They care. We all want the best for each other. But when others say it to us, do we do it? When we say it to others, are we practicing what we preach?

How many times have I answered, "I will..."

But I do not. I work a lot. I study a lot. I don't quite eat what I should, but I do eat what I shouldn't, sometimes. I could exercise more. I could rest and relax more. I could pray more. I could be kinder to myself, as kind as my friends and family who love me... who have requested of me to take good care of myself, as they would care for me, were we not parted.

I could learn more. Share more. Laugh and love and risk more. Go beyond the fuzzy boundaries that are my comfort zone... if I was outside of myself, if I was someone else watching over me, would I take better care of myself then? Of course. I take good care of other people.

I think of those people who have requested of me that I take good care of myself. They've asked that because they care about me and want me around as long as possible, as healthy and happy as possible. There are people who depend on me. I depend on myself a great deal, totally... in fact.

But I do not afford myself the care and consideration that I so wholeheartedly give to those whom I love.

And why not?

I don't know, but that makes little sense.
How can I give my best, if I am not functioning at my best? Where is the balance in that?

And so that promise that I have made... to take care of myself, is being fulfilled - not as a resolution, but as a lifestyle. And not for a year... or a few months.... a handful of weeks. No.

For all of my days.

Time flies, and those 'some days' and 'one of these days' and 'tomorrows' never ever get here.
It's important to start now. Right now.

Take good care of yourself.

Retrospect and Introspect

Happy New Year!!!

Sognatrice inspired me with a 'look at last year' meme... it is important to look back in order to gain a good perspective of the untraveled road ahead. We must remember the ground we've covered, and learn from our experiences.


1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before? Many things, some of which are: Started this blog, did ALL homemade Christmas presents (will not do that again any year soon), started a second novel, been the photographer in a photo shoot, bought furniture from out of state and then left it in the state I bought it in, got up VERY early to drive to the mountains to take photos of the sunrise on the Rockies (cold... so cold...), marched in the Martin Luther King Marade in Denver (YAY!!!!!), gone to a movie at the Mayan... and much, much more.


2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't make resolutions at the new year - but I do look forward to accomplishing goals that have already been set.


3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes! My brother and his wife welcomed their third son. Yay!


4. Did anyone close to you die? Yes, Colton Brice. Rest in peace, sweet boy.


5. What countries did you visit? None outside of the US in 2007.


6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007? Time... balance... more focus, more determination.


7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? As many as possible, I hope, to remember the wonderful times with fondness and the hard ones with solemnity and wisdom.


8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? There was no single biggest achievement; I think so many little things that we accomplish build us up, improve us individually and improve our lives and the world around us, that singling one thing out would diminish the positiveness of the little things.


9. What was your biggest failure? I fell below my own standards and failed myself when I allowed my temper to get the better of me with someone who is an unpleasant constant in my life, instead of taking the high road and being patient, tolerant and peaceful. The extremely negative ensuing results lasted three months before they were resolved.


10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Yes, internally and externally, some of the worst I've known, but I recovered and am much stronger for it.


11. What was the best thing you bought? Time


12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Every one of my good friends


13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? My... how apropos. Those few who I believed I knew well, and who proved to me that I did not.


14. Where did most of your money go? As soon as I figure that out, I'm plugging that leak.


15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? I get excited about many things, I don't know that there was one thing that rose above the rest. Family, friends, holidays, trips, events, there are so many things to enjoy!


16. What song will always remind you of 2007? One song? One?!? Right.


17. Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer? Happier with myself, sadder from the loss of friends, thinner in trouble, fatter/broader in mind, richer for the love of family and friends, poorer in short sightedness.


18. What do you wish you’d done more of? I wish I'd been kinder, wiser, more patient, more balanced and more productive. I also wish I'd read, painted, written, traveled and danced more.


19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Leaving things unfinished.


20. How did you spend Christmas? With family and friends; enjoying all of it. This was one of my best holidays ever.


21. Did you fall in love in 2007? Of course! Every time I see the beautiful state I live in, every time a child gives me a hug or a kiss, every time I read a great book or watch a wonderful movie - in particular, Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird... and Clark Gable in Gone With the Wind.


22. What was your favorite TV program? I don't watch TV. Only movies, and yes... they are different.


23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? It is a cardinal rule of mine not to hate. No good comes of it, which consequently makes it a monumental waste.


24. What was the best book you read? Too many good ones to choose just one. Although, I love 1000 Days in Tuscany, enough that I carry it with me often, and I also love "How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci".


25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Again... there were several worthwhile discoveries, but I very much like Mozella.


26. What did you want and get? I wanted to spend wonderfully memorable holidays with my family and friends ~ And I did! I wanted good grades, and got them as well. I wanted Katy's cheesecake on my birthday and got it. Actually, this could wind up being a long list, I usually get what I want, if it's not outrageous or unrealistic.


27. What did you want and not get? World Peace, healing in Darfur, Benazir Bhutto to be Prime Minister of Pakistan again, ....a vacation...


28. What was your favorite film of this year? Once, which I enjoyed watching at an obscure little theatre with a very dear friend who treated me to it for my birthday.


29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I was at work all day and school all night, but I did get to have a pre-birthday party with dear friends - it's impolite to ask a lady her age. Hush.


30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Traveling to places I actually want to go to.


31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007? an improved work in progress.


32. What kept you sane? Who said I was sane?


33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? The same one I always admire the most: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., time does not diminish it.


34. What political issue stirred you the most? Darfur, and Benazir Bhutto.


35. Who did you miss? Everyone I love who isn't near me.


36. Who was the best new person you met? Storm


37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007. There are SO many to chose from, several lessons were refreshed, but I think it would be something in between "That which does not kill you makes you stronger" and "I am stronger than I ever knew".


38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. The Beatles... "Here Comes the Sun"

Easter Chicken

I had company over for dinner last night. People that I like very much, and wanted to impress.

Fire in the fireplace
Candles all over the place, lit and glowing
Christmas tree up and decked to the nines
Holiday decor on everything that doesn't move
In every room
Festive red table cloth on table
Golden flatware laid out (more on this in a minute)
Table set with every dish possible
Several appetizers laid out
Meal in oven, set to finish when company arrived
Christmas music playing
Snow falling outside... (this wasn't my doing, but it was a lovely touch)

Now. Let's backtrack a little bit, so that you can get the whole picture.
Scarlett is not a fabulous cook.
Far from it.

So I called Cecilia who is a fabulous cook. She walked me through a recipe over the phone, it went like this:

C: lay the chicken breasts flat in a well greased pan
S: okay
C: spoon the bread/nut/olive oil mixture over half of each breast
S: okay
C: fold the breast over and skewer it closed
S: uh....
C: no... wait, let's keep this simple, nevermind that, just spoon it over the chicken
S: okay...

....at this point, I sniff in stubbornness and look down my nose and think to myself, I can do that. I have bamboo skewers, God knows why, but I do. How hard can it be to skewer chicken shut. Closed. Whatever.

I prepare the chicken later on... to begin, I pull the -foot long and then some- bamboo skewers out and look from them to the shallow baking pan and think... um... these are too long.

I can break this bamboo into short little pieces and have splinters in the chicken and probably my fingers or... hmm... TOOTHPICKS! I can use toothpicks... they are short skewers! I was quite pleased with myself, I thought I was very clever for thinking of this.

Necessity is the mother of invention, no?

I baked the chicken and was on the phone with another friend who was walking me through "what the heck order does the flatware go in on the table... forks here.. no there... and OH NO I forgot to take the chicken out of the oven," my friend is laughing at me, she says "it's only been 10 minutes more, just baste it, it will be ok."

I pull the chicken out and gasp - NO! - and panic and start whimpering near tears... 'what?' she says... 'what's wrong with it?'

The toothpicks I used were colored toothpicks... their color bled into the chicken, so I had blue... green... red... yellow... pink... and turquoise holes in the chicken. Easter egg chicken.

And of course, my company was expected 15 minutes from then. My friend on the phone just roared laughing at me. She said, Scarlett... that's edible food coloring, it has to be because people put toothpicks in their mouths and food... it's ok. Just explain the chicken to your company.

So... it was ok. My company laughed and ate it all and no one died that I know of yet.