More Poetry

There must be something about blustery days and poetry . . .

Christopher Marlowe is an intriguing personality. If interested, you can read about him here.

THE PASSIONATE SHEPHERD TO HIS LOVE
by: Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)

COME live with me, and be my love;
And we will all the pleasures prove
That hills and valleys, dales and fields,
Woods or steepy mountain yields.

And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks
By shallow rivers, to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of roses,
And a thousand fragrant posies;
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroider'd all with leaves of myrtle;

A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair-lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;

A belt of straw and ivy-buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs:
An if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me, and be my love.

The shepherd-swains shall dance and sing
For they delight each May morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me, and be my love.

PJ Day!

Today the kids go to school in their pajamas, slippers, and robes.
Yep--even with snow on the ground. Brrrr... We never did anything that fun at St. Michaels. Well, they did start letting the girls where pants under their skirts in the winter--until we were inside, then it was back to bare legs and bobby socks.

Anyway, wouldn't it be cool if adults had pajama day? On a designated date each year, everyone goes to work in their Pjs. What would it look like? What would we learn about our fellow co-workers' nighttime apparel?

Mine might be a warm and soft flannel. Or bunny pjs and slippers like the dude from The Monkeys.

Or, a lovely silk negligee like Nora Charles from Thin Man.

Even bananas and cats wear pjs!

What would you wear if it were PJ Day?

Tagged Again!

Debra Parmley tagged me for the 7 Tag Game. So here goes . . .

7 things I can't get through the day without (in no particular order)

1.) Coffee
2.) A hug from my kids, dh
3.) Computer
4.) A book to read at bedtime
5.) Bathroom sundries
6.) Clean underwear
7.) Chocolate :)

7 autobuy authors (I'm listing current authors of contemporaries--I'd have another list for historicals and classics)

1.) Janet Evanovich
2.) Jennifer Crusie
3.) JoAnn Ross
4.) Kasey Michaels
5.) Sandra Brown
6.) Nora Roberts
7.) Jayne Ann Krentz

7 things I wish I invented

1.) The printing press
2.) Electricity
3.) Chocolate (see a theme?)
4.) Windows (the software, Honey)
5.) Blue jeans
6.) Coffee (more of a theme?)
7.) Videos/dvds

7 movies we should be able to sue someone for wasted time

1.) Killer Clowns from Outer Space
2.) Addicted to Love
3.) Porkys
4.) Exit to Eden
5.) Xanadu
6.) Grease 2
7.) Joe vs. the Volcano

7 things I like to eat but shouldn't

1.) Raw cookie dough
2.) Butter melted on lots of stuff
3.) Chocolate in any form
4.) Bread--lots and lots
5.) Donuts
6.) Lucky Charms
7.) Bacon

7 last books I've read lately

1.) Pirate's Price by Darlene Marshall
2.) Handmaid's Necklace by Kat Martin
3.) Stuck in Shangri la by Kasey Michaels
4.) The Red Lily by Nora Roberts
5.) Rogue in Disguise by Monica Burns
6.) Unexpected Blessings by Barbara Taylor Bradford
7.) Two Little Lies - Liz Carlyle

7 people to tag. Well, I only know about 7 and they all know each other, so who would they tag? Hmm.. I'll tag one and she goes by Di. You know who you are. Muwhahahaha....

Happy Birthday, Edith Wharton!

The lovely Edith was born 144 years ago today.
Since she is one of my favorite authors, I thought I would honor her in my blog.

Edith was born in 1862 to wealth and privilege. Her family was part of Manhatten's high society, and accordingly, she married into wealth. However, she had an unhappy marriage and suffered from anxiety and depression.

This didn't stop her from writing some of the most beautiful books in the English language--The Age of Innocence, for which she won a Pulitzer Prize in 1921, Ethan Fromme, and one of my favorites House of Mirth. Her lush, gorgeous prose is full of irony and wit. Her books mainly portrayed the social conventions of the Gilded Age and showed how women were trapped in their circumstances.

She herself broke free, divorcing her husband and settling in Europe. Aside from her brilliant fiction, she wrote publications that she sent back to the U.S. urging them to enter into WWI. She also went to the front lines to visit troops, led a committee to aid refugees, and created hostels and schools for them. And for women who had no other means, she established work rooms so they would have employment. She was a woman raised to live in luxury, but she turned her back on convention and lived a life filled with meaning and purpose.

Happy Birthday, Edith! You rock!

Here Comes the Sun . . .

The Sun Theatre.

My home town theatre.

Until I was about 20, every movie I ever saw was in this old theatre (pre-videos people), with one exception. Our junior high class went into Lansing to see Earthquake because the theatre there had special "rumble" seats, or something.

The Sun doesn't look like much from the outside, but inside . . . it's a piece of art. It's quite large (or at least always seemed that way to this kid). It had a large stage with old wood floors. Large burgundy velvet curtains hung over the screen. They would be pulled to the sides, and then a drape of thinner material covering the screen was behind those. You could see the cartoons that preceded movies in those days (before trailers) through the opaque sheet, which signaled that it was time to sit down and shut up--then that curtain would be raised.

The movie always cost $1. Every Wednesday the movie changed, so on those nights the line stretched down the block and around the corner. We knew everyone in line.

The Sun also had ushers in burgundy costumes the color of the drapes--suits with little hats. In the summer, free movies were shown daily for all of us kids in town (it was a very small farming community in Michigan). One summer, I went to see a movie there and saw a shocking sight--my 8th grade social studies teacher ushering. I didn't know the sad facts of life then, that teachers were paid less than gas station attendents and had to supplement their pay in the summer.

I have a lot of "firsts" stories that took place in this theatre. I can almost segment my childhood around the movies that played there. And it still stands. It still shows the current releases. And the Wednesday night line still rivals any AMC or Regal Cinema in the "big city."

When I go home this summer, I think I'll take my kids to a movie. :)

I Want To Be A Faerie Darn It!

You scored as Angel. Angel: Angels are the guardians of all things, from the smallest ant to the tallest tree. They give inspiration, love, hope, and positive emotion. They live among humans without being seen. They are the good in all things, and if you feel alone, don't fear. They are always watching. Often times they merely stand by, whispering into the ears of those who feel lost. They would love nothing more then to reveal themselves, but in today's society, this would bring havoc and many unneeded questions. Give thanks to all things beautiful, for you are an Angel. Angel 84% Faerie 75% Dragon 67% Mermaid 34% WereWolf 25% Demon 0% What Mythological Creature are you? (Cool Pics!) created with QuizFarm.com

Where Can I Buy a Mood Ring?

Remember mood rings? Or maybe you weren't born yet. :) Anyway . . .

How much does our mood effect what we read, or even what we write?

The other day, I felt "dark." Don't know why. Perhaps the weather here, which has been snowy, rainy, foggy--all around dreary. So, I stopped in at our local library intent on borrowing an audiobook to "uplift me." A light romance--ala Evanovich or Crusie.

I walked out with the unabridged Bram Stoker's Dracula. Fifteen CD's of darkness. Actually, I've always wanted to read this anyway, since it is a classic. But, it's so . . . dark. And it totally fit my mood that day.

What am I writing now? A dark gothic-style Victorian. Is it the winter that brings this on? I shelved my 1/2 comedic story and moved on to a story that fits my mood and the landscape around me.

What about the rest of you? Does your mood, the weather, your landscape determine what you read or write?

Blustery Days and Poetry

I miss poetry--I've neglected reading it lately. But, different things each day have reminded me of favorite poems. Today it's the blustery 33 mph winds that most likely knocked out Kait's power.

I wanted to post Percy Shelley's Ode to the West Wind but it's pretty long. I like Shelley. He dared to be different from his fellow man. It's said that he loved reading so much that he walked down the street with a open book in front of his face.

He lived with his wife, Mary Shelley (who wrote Frankenstein), in Italy where he drowned off the coast at a young age. When they discovered his body, there was a book in each of Shelley's pockets, doubled-back, as if he'd been reading them when the storm hit, then shoved them in his pockets before the boat capsized. One of the volumes was Keat's poetry--my favorite poet. When my moment comes, I wouldn't mind if my nose is in a book too. :)

Anyway, after that uplifting tale, I found a shorter wind poem by another wonderful poet, Christina Rossetti. Sorry to bore you with poetry, but I wanted to blog something today, and this seemed as good as anything else.

This is mostly found in books of poetry for kids:

Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you;
But when the leaves hang trembling
The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I;
But when the trees bow down their heads
The wind is passing by.

Whew! Got my poetry fix for the day. :)

Basketball

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My husband, Chris, took Roxie and her friend to this women's basketball game last night. Our team won! Yeah! And, I got to see my peeps on T.V.

Gonzaga U. is my alma mater, and they also have a fantastic men's team (ranked No. 8 nationally). In fact, Adam Morrison has been named the WWC Player of the Month for December and leads the NCAA in scoring. He's also in a 2-man race with Duke University's J.J. Redick for national Player of the Year honors. I've met many of the GU players. My favorite was Ronny Turiaf who graduated with me and went on to the Lakers (but a discovered heart condition benched him for a year or two). He was a gentleman and very sweet. J.P. Batista is a sweetheart too. Very polite. (Never mind their talent).

Roxie (age 10) plays basketball, and we just returned from her morning game. She made a basket!!! Woohoo! She's still a beginner, so this was a big deal.

I never thought a daughter of mine would play the sport. When I was in school, the closest we came to a basketball game was when we cheerleaded (yes, I did that for a couple years). I think it's great that girls are encouraged to be athletic now.

Which sports did you all play in elementary, JH, HS or college? Do you think it helped you with self-discipline? To treat your body healthier? Have the habits carried over into adulthood?

What I'm Currently Reading

Is this the truth?

It started with Kait's blog entry that asked us to pick up the nearest book, turn to a certain page and sentence, and to post that entry. And Jamie's dh, Shannon , posted about the book/text he is currently reading--a very smart person's read. It quite put me to shame. I would like to read something equally lofty, like Hawking, and become very intelligent. But sadly, no, I'm not reading A Brief History of Time. We actually have the book, but it belongs to my husband, who is not afraid of scary science. I admire him greatly (both dh and Hawking).

I'm more likely to pick up The Complete Works of Shakespeare, which I do have at my finger tips (and have mostly read). Anything knowledge-filled comes to me in the form of history books, such as a WWII book that I really am reading on the evacuation at Dunkirk. Did I mention that I am a
history fanatic?

I also just purchased Diana Gabaldon's A Breath of Snow and Ashes on CD (48 of them to be exact). I plan to clean my house really well and paint a couple rooms while listening to this story. I can't wait!

What are you reading?

Logic Defies Me *sob*

Your IQ Is 110

Your Logical Intelligence is Below Average Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius Your Mathematical Intelligence is Genius Your General Knowledge is Above Average

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