Overall Overhaul

Jubilation, hot dog station, exhaltation...redneck nation!!!  Seriously...many a redneck, A parade with at least 15 tractors and counting.... country folk...camouflaged and youthful escape artists with neon shoes trying to stand out amongst the overall overhauls.
wind chimes and petting zoos..a baby donkey and chickens.  Gray haired guy selling jewelry claiming that magnets will cure arthritis and bodily pain. 
No pain yet, but one day, old and wrinkly,  moth balls and cabbage, 45 cats, a rickety front porch and screeching rockin chair, scarin the neighborhood kids, obsessing over evil ways of the world, people will stare from afar...people from thousands of miles away see the WiLd and famous house of COLOR, painted of whimsical walls and mysterious imagery depicting stories of time,  with wiry arthritic fingers holding a house together as paint weighs it down...COME stay at the COLORFUL inn...Inspire, Desire, Retired.

(discovered in an old email sent to Adam one day after attending a fair in S. Georgia)

Readz

Gabriel García Márquez

He was born in Colombia, and he writes about Colombia;  the wildly enchanting life of his parents, and his own adventures from childhood thru adulthood...some embellished in the most outlandish extraordinary ways...I found a torn apart One Hundred Years of Solitude early in the year in a used book store for $4...a maze of crazy adventures too fantastical to put life aside for an hour but then go on as normal with your day. 

Living to Tell the Tale his Nobel Prize Winning Memoir of sorts, gives a lot of insight into his other books. His stories of banana plantations, smoky train cars, and an abandoned childhood.

Of course, there is Love in the Time of Cholera..a romance so heartbreaking, so lovely.  The first line of the book is a hook and reel-- 

"It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love."

A classic that is SO classic, I'll probably buy a copy or two for Christmas gifts.  So worthy.

BOOK it

I am reading this AWESOME book right now called The Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz. She really tries to get to bottom of global poverty, 'bridging the gap between the rich and poor in an interconnected world' and I think she is fabulous! She has done so many things throughout her life to maximize her contributions in an impoverished world..including writing a book about it! I'm only like 50 pages in and loving it.

Readbliss

The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner
I'm about halfway thru and questioning so many things that do/don't make me happy. It's an interesting time in my life to be reading this book because I've been juggling these up/down emotions for about a week...maybe overly introspective about it.
Eric is a man in search of the 'happiest' places in the world...but he basically ends up going to the places that are 'rated' as the most content, discovering that all happiness is defined differently. He explores philosophies and earns epiphanies into the science of happiness. In Qatar, for example, they will buy a $2,000 ink pen for happiness. Will you? He hops from place to place and brings to light many interesting geographic observations. I like it so far..it's funny.

Unforeseen Events

Unforeseen Events
Always something unexpected happens.
He who takes off one shirt
Has to take off three more
And a walk between two elms
Ends in the jungle.
He who looks at a woman
Is lost
For the moment comes
When she calls his glance
To account.
Even metaphysics
Begin by inconspicuously
Exciting hearts.

Astonishment paves the way
For the incomprehensible.
Unforeseen events
Redeem the minutes...

Translated from German by Michael Bullard

Baroque Books

I LOVE ART HISTORY...thinking about taking more art history courses for fun...maybe seal the deal on a minor. I'm more than halfway there...we shall see.
Mother dearest recommended me these books...

Girl With a Pearl Earring
by Tracy Chevalier
(Already read this one, in about 2 days...Very easy read. Way better than the movie.)
A cool book about the mysterious life of the artist Vermeer.
AND

The Lost Painting
by Johnathan Harr
A journey in search of the missing masterpiece by Caravaggio, The Taking of Christ:. About to start this one...excited to learn a bit about this artist..he was one of my faves during Art History in college. LOVE--
Narcissus:

Book

Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan is a compilation of short stories written by African children about their bravery and resilience in their harsh realities. Reading about their lives from a child's perspective creates immense compassion for them, but is also a rude awakening. Emotional, raw and heartfelt...I love this book!! (So does Oprah)

Book!! Long overdue...

I was browsing through an assortment of books in my parents study and happened along this little treasure.
I was stunned that I've been to Savannah, GA about a million times, pointed out the very mansion discussed in this book to people, seen this statue and Bonaventure Cemetery BUT have never actually read the book. I thought it was time. Now I'm reading it again.
Intrigued...
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
by John Berendt

BOOOK

I am quite IN IT right now...recommended by Adam's Aunt, (a women and gender studies professor at a small liberal arts school in NY State)...I think I will take her suggestions...COOL. book. so. far.
A great book...the pages turned themselves!

Invitation

This was on the door of a hostel in San Diego years and years ago...What an invite!!

Brackish Roots

The brackish roots of river pine
Anchored in my curving spine
Bend to the whims of wind's design
And I lay down at your side

Above the brine of reeds and clay
A swollen angel oaks bouquet
In the red wing blackbirds eyes of grey
A saltwater tear resides

But the sand and the earthen parapet
Silts into this rivulet
The bluffs and the banks will soon forget
A single tear was cried

And in this spawning ground it blooms
The nectar and the petal plumes
A purple swallow now exhumed
From the river that has died

The crimson of rinoculous
Gardenia and dianthus
The bloodless ivory water-lotus
Sweetly opens wide
Without a voice left to sing
With waterlogged and heavy wing
With peaceful eyes, unsuffering
A pigeon floats in the tide...

exerts of "Pigeon" by Jump Little Children
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyFGu2JYKsY



Surfer near Newport, OR. Catching a few waves before the storm rolls in.


Formations in the sand on the Oregon Coast. Natural canvas.

What is the What

What is the what exactly? This story of Valentino Achak Deng written by none other than THE Dave Eggers is moving. READ THIS BOOK! The true story of a Lost Boy of Sudan who escaped from his village under attack at the age of 8 and walked miles and miles escaping near death for years...10 years. It helps to put into perspective all of the small things that we take for granted in our lives..like ice..yes, frozen water, electricity, clean water or the t-shirt on your back.

Be thankful.

Rain to Shine

Listening to the rain fall outside. I feel more real when there is rain falling all around me. Something above me is released..something inside of me releases. A delicate occurrence than can be so violent...A peaceful message poured out to us. It can ruin the day or put you where you just where you need to be. Right now I am looking out the window and thinking of the omens that have presented themselves to me...or that I opened my eyes wide enough to allow into sight. A recent omen assures me, quite literally, that Everything will be ok .
AAHhh! So appropriate ;)

Rain

I opened my eyes
And looked up at the rain,
And it dripped in my head
And flowed into my brain,
And all that I hear as I lie in my bed
Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head.

I step very softly,
I walk very slow,
I can't do a handstand--
I might overflow,
So pardon the wild crazy thing I just said--
I'm just not the same since there's rain in my head
Shel Silverstein


A photo of Mt. Ranier taken from my Aunt's home in Enumclaw, WA.

Sometimes we need to know that Everything will be ok.
Now the sun is shining and the rain is glistening on the leaves outside. Let all your fears evaporate. Have faith.

I took a picture while driving...dangerous I know, but with the heavens shining down on you like this..what is there to fear?

SHEL POETRY

One Inch Tall by Shel Silverstein

If you were only one inch tall, you'd ride a worm to school.
The teardrop of a crying ant would be your swimming pool.
A crumb of cake would be a feast
And last you seven days at least,
A flea would be a frightening beast
If you were one inch tall.

If you were only one inch tall, you'd walk beneath the door,
And it would take about a month to get down to the store.
A bit of fluff would be your bed,
You'd swing upon a spider's thread,
And wear a thimble on your head
If you were one inch tall.

You'd surf across the kitchen sink upon a stick of gum.
You couldn't hug your mama, you'd just have to hug her thumb.
You'd run from people's feet in fright,
To move a pen would take all night,
(This poem took fourteen years to write--
'Cause I'm just one inch tall).

REEEAD

This book was given to me as a gift by Miss Katie Anderson. It was a fantastic read. So hard to put down; I probably read it in two days. It's entertaining and deeply soft at times. A memoir to remember.

BOOKS

After a recent rendezvous with the local bookstore...and being seduced by the buy one get one free section...I left with these. AAAH the infamous Don Quixote de la Mancha. I cannot wait to dive into this newly translated novel of hilarity.
And the other...I am IN IT. Finding Darwin's God is written by a professor of biology. With an array of scientific evidence backing evolution and a solid faith in Christian beliefs, is writing with a central goal of convincing us that evolution is the key to understanding our relationship with God. I'm intrigued. More to come...

Recent Reads

Here are a few recent books that I've read. I will continue to post books that are on my waiting list or on my favorites list. AAAHH BOOOKS!

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. & Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marissa Pessl. Both are complex stories with twists; definitely page turners! Loved the writing style of Pessl, a great read and a new favorite.