gone dark

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

something slightly wild

I'm terrible about anthropomorphising, everything from machines to animals. My car has a name (Bleeker), my mp3 player has a name (Captain Apollo), my elliptical has a name (Zoe). With animals, of course, it's even worse, because not only do I name the ones in my care, I also absolutely believe we share with them what we - selfish, ego-maniacal creatures that we are - tend to think of as "human" characteristics, specifically emotions, needs, desires... 

You know as well as I do that dogs love, cats get bored, elephants mourn. (You do know that, don't you?) But even without looking into it that deeply, it's easy, and fun, to think of them as being like us, isn't it?  I know I did my fair share of dressing kittens in doll clothes and parading them up and down Deerbrook Rd when I was little. 

These are postcards by an artist named Eugen Hartung (or Hurtong), who lived from 1897-1973. These cards, known as the Humorous Dressed Cats postcards or Mainzer Dressed Cats postcards, were originally published from the 1940's through the 1960's by Alfred Mainzer Inc. in New York City, known worldwide for their postcards and greeting cards.  The Mainzer company was founded by brothers Renate and Alfred Mainzer, who started the business in their New York City home in 1938. The early postcards had a rough finish, brilliant colors, and scalloped ("deckled") edges.  The cards were printed in Switzerland, Belgium, Turkey, Thailand, and Spain. An additional series of Mainzer dressed cats were published as the "Kunzli edition" - these appear to be set in older European environments, and are typically not as brightly colored as the American editions.  (source) 


I think they're absolutely charming, despite the fact - or maybe because of it - that for the most part the kittens seem to be completely wild.  If you've ever known a litter of kittens, or even one really worth its salt,  you know that in that respect, at least, they've been portrayed  true to their nature. 

    When you invite a kitten into your home,

you bring indoors something slightly wild,

often unpredictable,

and always entertaining.

~ Barbara L. Diamond

a part of our life

Alabaster, ivory, opal, pearl. Even the names for white are lovely.

I spent the week travelling for work, first to Chicago, then to Kansas City. After the first few days it turned cold, and the snow flurried, but to no avail. It blew across the streets like sugar, but didn't stick.

I think we won't get any proper snow this winter. No whipped cream drifts for the dogs to plow through like maniacs, no downy cloudbursts of feathery flakes, no crystalline silent woods to explore. I think I'll have to get my fix of white elsewhere this year.  

 The pure air and dazzling snow belong to things 

beyond the reach of all personal feeling, 

almost beyond the reach of life. 

Yet such things are a part of our life, 

neither the least noble nor the most terrible. 

~ Frederick Soddy

rekindle the inner spirit

book/ [boo'k] /

Noun:

A written or printed work consisting of pages glued or sewn together along one side and bound in covers.

sto·ry/ˈstôrē/

Noun:

An account of imaginary or real people and events told for entertainment: "an adventure story".

Did I mention that I got this smart + pretty little thing for Christmas? No, hardcore book-lovers, it's not a book, but it's full of stories, and I love it. Plus, I can read my favorite blogs, check my email and facebook, and listen to audiobooks while I'm traveling. 

I'm notoriously hard on electronics, though. I've drowned numerous cell phones and 1 mp3 player in cups of sweet milky coffee over the years, drowned another cell phone in the toilet, and somehow managed to lose 3 keys from my laptop keyboard. So a case for this new baby is a must. I did get a case for Christmas, too, but these offerings from the talented folks over at etsy make me think I could change them out like purses... 

CitrusSister $10

SewitGirl $40

gothicreations $24

irisandlily $20

JulieMeyer $20

UPSTYLE $35

kreatedbykim $30

rabbitsmile $25

sandmanquilts $40

momandmia $20

WillowandCompany $45

In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.  - Albert Schweitzer

P.S. This is my 400th post!!

nearer to the divine

How long does it take you to get ready for bed? It takes me at least 1/2 hour. At a minimum I: straighten the living room, tidy the kitchen, set up the coffee pot, take the dogs out, put them to bed, wash my face, brush my teeth, get a glass of water, turn off the lights, check the locks, turn off the heat, THEN go upstairs, straighten the bed, gather my reading material and glasses, open the window, get undressed, and then, finally, get into bed.

Last night I realized, mid-routine, that I was irritated by this process. All the stuff I had to do was just a series of obstacles between what I'd been doing, and what I was going to do next. This part, the process, was somehow unworthy of appreciation, or even notice, except as an aggravation. Strange, if you think about it (and I did, of course). Wasteful, really, to be irritated by 1/2 hour of every single day of my precious life. That's 182.5 hours a year.  7.6 days a year. Year after year after year. I spend an entire WEEK every year being pissed off about my bedtime routine. At the end of this ride I bet I'll wish I'd spent those weeks differently. Hell, I'm already wishing that!

And it's not just that time that's so ungratefully squandered. I get fussy about carrying in groceries, waiting in traffic, waiting for the dogs to potty, standing in checkout lines, looking for my glasses, waiting for a webpage to load for heaven's sake... and why? What would I do with that time if I could do something else with it? Climb a mountain, learn another language, paint a masterpiece, practice my mandolin, learn to play the ukulele I got for Christmas year before last, read more, laugh more, love more, live more? Probably not! Besides, most of those things are unavoidable, they have to be done, so it's not like I could actually opt-out anyway.

The only thing I can do, then, is choose to experience it differently. So that's my challenge: to recognize that all the moments of my life are precious, and to choose to appreciate them, or at least find a way to not resent them. Carrying in groceries may not be fun, but I could choose to sing instead of grumble while I do it. Getting ready for bed will still take me 1/2 hour, but I can choose to enjoy the fragrance of the soap when I wash my face, and the warm water on my hands. I can settle into the routine and remind myself that this is my life, moment by moment, and putting the dogs and the house to bed are sacred duties, and I'm fortunate to have them.

The bridges and stairways and stepping stones are more than just the way to get from a to b; they're part of the path, too, and more importantly, the path is ALL THERE IS.

How much time are you throwing away? What are you going to do about it?

"The lesson which life repeats and constantly enforces is 'look under foot.'  You are always nearer to the divine and the true sources of your power than you think. The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive.

The great opportunity is where you are.

Do not despise your own place and hour. Every place is under the stars, every place is the center of the world. Stand in your own dooryard and you have eight thousand miles of solid ground beneath you, and all the sidereal splendors overhead." - John Burroughs