April 28, 2007

Four years ago today we held hands and took the greatest leap. I trust you, Adam, and I love you.

Yes, it is a children's book. Yes, I am turning 25 next month, your point? If it's a good book it's a good book no matter what the target audience. I thoroughly enjoyed "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Toulane" (by: Kate DeCamillo) and heartily recommend it for all ages. It harks back to the childhood favorite "The Velveteen Rabbit" but in my humble opinion it elevates the story by quite a bit. So, it was not a surprise for the story to begin with a rabbit, but not a velvet rabbit, a rabbit made of china (a far more rigid and breakable substance) whose name is Edward.

Edward's journey takes him many places but the truly miraculous part of the journey is the change that occurs in Edward's heart. I felt a kinship with Edward's attitudes towards love. I believe I have felt, most, if not all of the emotions he experiences on his journey. I think it would be safe to assume that most people will have felt at least a few of them. Truly great books will do that, they will have something that can be related to, which helps the reader connect to the characters, to the story, and ultimately to whatever gem of truth (or truths) found therein. Like Edward I finished the book with the feeling that love is something I will always hope for. Really, who couldn't use more love in their heart? Read it. I do not think it will disappoint.

Disappointed

So my next post was going to be about a watercolor workshop I signed up for.

I just got my new watercolor pad last night! Saturday couldn't come quickly enough.

To my very great disappointment I just received an email...

Watercolor Workshop CANCELLED.

At least I get my money back.

Sigh.

Ignorance may be blissful but...

I have not had access to a bathroom scale for quite some time now... Some of you already know what happened to me the last time I was without one but I feel like telling the story again so skim it if you've heard it enough for your liking.

I was sent to Italy in late spring of 2005. I turned 19 while I was there. I left alone and was there for two weeks with my zia Nella. I had very little to do. The family wouldn't let me go out on my own, I couldn't speak Italian, and the family was busy most of the day so I sat at home in the room I'd taken over from my cousin Nicola. When I wasn't in that room reading or working on an assignment from my dad I was in the kitchen with zia. She fed me a great deal of delicious food for those two weeks (a GREAT deal). Two weeks passed and I was joined by my dad and we went touring around but the damage had been done. A month and half later I returned home to our bathroom scale that wasn't in metrics but far too familiar pounds, and discovered that I had gained 12 pounds. Yes, 12 pounds in a month and a half.

It is true that while ignorant one can remain blissful but once the ignorance is gone I think most people wish that either they had remained ignorant forever or had never been allowed that ignorance in the first place.

So we welcomed to our family a lovely dinosaur of a scale that won my heart at first glance. And here she is.

Yes, I may have to reset the scale to zero after use but she appears to work very well. And was cheaper than a new one! Ignorance be gone!!

Up and up

I was perusing my older sister's family blog the other day. Her latest post was on the mischief her youngest gets into facilitated by his awesome climbing skills. I clearly thought to myself "man, I'm so glad J. hasn't figured out that he can climb onto things like that." Literally the next day what should I see when I came into our living room but this.....

and a little later, this...

I am going to be careful about what I think from now on!

On another note J. has started nursery at church (which believe me has been wonderful! I forgot how much I like church). He really loves it. He's the life of the nursery. He runs into the nursery room (on most occasions) yelling a victory yell. So far we have only had him brought to us once and it was five minutes before church ended anyway. A week or so ago when I went down one of the nursery workers, Ben, told us that during singing time they had been singing a song about ducks. He said that during the chorus all of the little ones were supposed to say "quack, quack, quack" (one of J's first words) but J would say "stuck, stuck, stuck." Ben said that everyone laughed so when he kept doing it they thought J was just trying to be funny (which would not be surprising at all). In fact they later looked down after the chorus and noticed that J's foot was stuck between the legs of two chairs. He was in fact "stuck, stuck, stuck." My boy's no dummy. Well, that's all my lovely readers. For this evening at least. Tune in next time for... hmm... more J. adventures? Most likely.

Sonnet: Ozymandias

I MET a traveller from an antique land

Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command.

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal these words appear:

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye mighty and despair!"

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,

The lone and level sands stretch far away.

- Percy Bysshe Shelley

I love this sonnet. I heard it not long ago at a poetry reading/musical performance. I love the images that float so clearly across the mind. It also reminded me of the Epic of Gilgamesh for some strange reason. I read more of Shelley's work but this remains one of my favorites. I thought you might enjoy it too.

to: family + friends

happy valentine's day!