Who is it that runs with hurried steps,
Flowers of sasanqua dancing on his hat?
— translated from the Japanese by Nobuyuki Yuasa, in his Introduction to Basho’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Basho Again, Summer 1676
August 7, 2016 at 4:45 pm (Artists and Writers, Books, Flowers, Sundays)
Tags: Japan, Japanese writers, poetry, summer, translation, travel books
What Is Life But a Bowl of Cherries
July 28, 2016 at 2:56 pm (Artists and Writers, Flowers, Food and Drink, Plays, postaday, Surprises, Traveling)
Tags: California, discoveries, Events, festivals, London, Mendocino, postaday, postaweek, Wordpress
- Let’s celebrate the cherries on top! — Michelle W., The Daily Post
The good news: self was back in London in the spring. The Cherry on Top? She was there during the week of the annual Chelsea Flower Show. Just look at the fresh flowers framing the entrance to the Bloomsbury Hotel!
The Bloomsbury Hotel, London: May 2016
The good news was: Self was in Philo, CA. She found a small market that sold delicious potato salad. And the cherry on top? The ceiling lights were things of beauty. From a glass studio in Fort Bragg, the checkout lady told self:
Ceiling Light, Lemon’s Philo Market, California
The good news was: self was spending another winter in Mendocino, CA. The cherry on top is that she got to see “Quills,” a play about Marquis de Sade, performed by members of the local community (It was a very entertaining production!)
“Quills,” a drama about Marquis de Sade
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
Emptiness of Air: Published in Vela Magazine In a Response to Typhoon Haiyan
July 16, 2016 at 7:10 am (Flowers, Women Writers, Writing)
Tags: flash fiction, Fridays, memories, Philippines, short story, writing process
EMPTINESS OF AIR
Pericles lost his wife to a great emptiness of air, water, and sound. One moment, she was alive in the house. In the next moment, she had shifted somewhat. She still had the same form, the same face, but something had changed. He couldn’t explain it, but he knew what had happened had happened. He also knew there was no going back. She was stolen from him, as surely as if she had been abducted.
All the sampaguita blossoms had been knocked off the trees. He wandered the garden, lost. He smelled jasmine.
He picked up a white petal from the ground. The brown edges were uncommonly soft.
All the red flowers — santan, lantana, gumamela — where had they gone?
And the orchids his wife had loved: purple and white, tongued.
Small brown Maya birds used to perch on telephone wires strung up and down the street. Now, there were no poles. Wires dangled like snakes, a few sparkling like firecrackers.
- NOTE: Since self wrote this super-quick (in about 30 minutes) under Vela’s deadline, she’s now going back and editing for clarity. Stay tuned.
Trying To Think of the Good In Life (Pure 3)
June 12, 2016 at 7:21 pm (Flowers, Places, postaday, Surprises, Traveling)
Tags: England, grief, happiness, history, memories, New York, news, postaday, postaweek, Wordpress, World War II
Just two days ago, the sun was shining, all felt right with the world.
Central Park, New York, Friday 10 June 2016
And this was a picture self took in Bletchley Park, outside London, just a week ago:
Bletchley Park, Where World War II Codebreakers worked to turn the tide.
And another from Bletchley Park. The swans are exceedingly tame and are so used to people that they let children go right up to them and pet them.
The tamest swan self has ever encountered: Bletchley Park, June 2016
In solidarity with the people of Orlando, Florida.
Stay tuned.
Luck of the Irish
April 18, 2016 at 2:45 pm (Artists and Writers, Flowers, Places, Traveling, Women Writers, Writing)
Tags: Annaghmakerrig, artists residency, inspiration, Ireland, Mondays, Tyrone Guthrie Centre
Self’s most fervent wish: The luck of the Irish be with her, please, while she is in Annaghmakerrig . . .
This place hasn’t failed her yet. She’s writing like crazes. Something in the air?
One thing good about having a half-broke camera (The lens stopped opening all the way, about two weeks ago) is that self has been exploring the visual capabilities of Photo Booth. And it has been fun.
The slashes of the half-way open lens of her half-broke camera don’t seem as distracting when she zooms in, somehow.
Robby’s wife gave her these white tulips yesterday.
Well, then. Stay tuned.
Harmonies of Spring
March 10, 2016 at 11:14 pm (Flowers, postaday)
Tags: Gardens, Mendocino, Menlo Park, postaday, postaweek, seasons, Wordpress
Oh how beautiful is the season of spring!
These yellow daffodils are in the front garden of the MacCallum House in Mendocino Village.
Daffodils + Spring = Harmony!
More daffodils!
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
SEASONS 3: Mendocino, Last Thursday of February 2016
February 26, 2016 at 12:14 am (Flowers, Places, postaday, Weather)
Tags: elections, Gardens, Mendocino, politics, postaday, postaweek, seasons, Wordpress
It was an absolutely gorgeous day. Self went for a walk around the village.
Mendocino Village has many examples of whimsical garden art!
Spring is in the air! This table and chairs was in front of a local beauty salon.
And, for election season, Bernie Sanders would like to extend a warm welcome!
Every local person self has spoken to so far is a Bernie Sanders supporter. Clearly, Mendocino is HIS town.
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
More Seasons: 2016 Daily Post Photo Challenge # 8
February 24, 2016 at 7:09 pm (Flowers, Links, postaday, Weather)
Tags: Flowers, Mendocino, postaday, postaweek, seasons, Wordpress
It warmed up this week.
Self is still in Mendocino.
She likes walking to the bookstore on Main Street, Gallery Bookshop, and then taking pictures of the headlands. Because she was trying to find subjects for this week’s Daily Post Photo Challenge, SEASONS, she focused on the flowers in the meadow in front of her:
Flowers are popping up in the meadow across from the Gallery Bookshop on Main Street, Mendocino.
More Flowers, Same Meadow
These flowers are tiny. Self had to do an extreme close-up. Good thing her fingers didn’t shake as much as they usually do.
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
Life Imitates Art: Annaghmakerrig and New York City
February 16, 2016 at 11:09 pm (Flowers, Places, postaday, Traveling, Women Writers, Writing)
Tags: Annaghmakerrig, art, artists residency, Flowers, inspiration, Ireland, memories, New York, postaday, postaweek, travel, Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Wordpress
Such an interesting Photo Challenge this week on The Daily Post!
Find a piece of art, recreate or re-enact it.
Or take a new version of one of your photos.
What self chose to do was use this picture of a painting that hung in her cottage at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Annaghmakerrig. It was 2014, her first time in that magical place. She didn’t note the name of the artist, boo:
Self in her studio in the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Annaghmakerrig, Ireland: 2014
Then she went combing through her archives, and found a picture she took in her brother-in-law’s apartment in New York City, a vase of red flowers standing in his kitchen window:
Brother-in-Law’s Apartment, New York City: March 2015
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
