I just came across a love poem that I transcribed from Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" last summer (Tuesday, August 21, 2007). I found it beautifully written, and spoken, as everything he creates seems to be. But I am preachin' to the choir here, so I'll just put it down before I lose it again for another year or two.

A summer night, and you, and paradise,
So lovely and so full of grace,
Above your head, the universe has hung its lights,
And I reach out my hand to touch your face.

I believe in impulse, in all that is green,
I believe in the foolish vision that comes true,
I believe all that is essential is unseen,
And for this lifetime I believe in you.

All the lovers and the love they made:
Nothing between them was a mistake.
All that is done for love's sake
is not wasted and will never fade.

All who have loved will be forever young
and walk in grandeur on a summer night
along the avenue.
They live in every song that is sung
and every painting of pure light
and every Pas de Deux.

Oh love that shines from every star,
love reflected in the silver moon;
It is not here, but it's not far.
Not yet, but it will be here soon.


(This one had me at line one.)
Para mi familia tan preciosa - les amo mucho a ustedes :)
Soney

Musica, por favor?

So I never thought of music as a form of "energy depletion" However, today after sitting in the library for a few hours with the various artists of "Pandora radio" streaming through my earphones, I realized there were definately a few tunes which I had to immediately turn off. I did this because I really did not have enough "energy" to listen to them. How, is energy related to what we hear? I've never experienced that before. But when the song "hide and seek" came on my Imogen Heap, I had to turn the dial (or mouse I suppose, dial sounds cooler) immediately. It's not that the song is very fast paced, in fact it is very slow and should be quite soothing. Hmmm....strange! Does anyone else experience these symptoms? If so, lets elaborate...And question of the day:
How are maraschino cherries produced? Is it a regular cherry which is just fermented? And on that note, how do you grow cherries? What environment is necessary? And do they grow on trees? Answers please. This is mebbie speaking by the way. Also, I have permanent goose bumps. Why is that? I remember telling people this when I was younger but until about a week ago, I forget I had these strange skin malfunction. Why is that? It's not that they disappeared, they've been there like a tattoo all these years yet somehow it slipped my mind for about a decade. Weird, ten years ago I had double digits. I'm so old. Tywee pretty soon you won't be able to walk me up for children's sermons anymore :-)

take a walk!

Never underestimate the power of a good walk. Leave the headphones at home, toss on a pair of sneaks and hit the pavement. No destination necessary...just some quality...well...you time! I've gotten to do a lot of this in the recent weeks, and it amazes me what our brains are capable of. I'm really thinking about writing a book. Not sure on the title yet...but just to randomly walk up to one hundred people, maybe even snap a picture...and just take the time to really say, "What's your story?" I must say I am guilty of stereotyping at first glance, but I would love to break that barrier and maybe even learn a couple of things while i'm at it. Any suggestions?? There is a large man sitting across from me in the coffee shop with even larger headphones on...and he has his eyes closed while tapping his feet back and forth and saying aloud, "1..2..3...4..4..3...2..1...mm-si...mm-si...mm-si...mm-si...1...2...3...4...4...3...2..1...and so on...haha! This is where I shall begin my book! Later ya'll...oh, and by the way, lately I have been uncontrollably using the word "ya'll" In my daily vocabulary. Slightly strange, and somewhat embarassing! What ever would have caused this. I'm such a cool cat, that must be it.

Brain dead

I cannot possibly contribute anything worth 2 bits(Grandpa Boyd term) as I am currently brain dead. Alas, it is but a temporary condition brought on by the
time of day after the type of day. You dig? Actually, the funniest meaning of
the term brain dead is the description a friend of mine gave me of her new hometown of Brainerd, in the winter. Let's just say, there isn't alot going on in that Northern Minnesota town from November til May. So now I am inflicted with the same symptoms as a town. I don't mean to belittle the seriousness of brain dead, mind you. It would be an awful thing if it really was your problem. But would it BE your problem? You wouldn't really know would you? ..."By the way honey, you are brain dead now." "Okay, thanks for telling me."...?? What are you all doing these days to prevent your brain from, shall we say, becoming like a town in the middle of winter? I, for one, like crossword puzzles, rock concerts and staying on top of 4 fabulous busy kids, all involved in exciting walks of life. Would watching HGTV by the hour also help? Do I need to switch to the documentary channel?
Talking politics has never been so stimulating so there's another brain booster. Like an injection with a needle. Whatever happens, I donate my brain to science. "She was SO brain alive! She even learned, at age 52, how to write on a blogspot!!"

Winter Storm Warning!

Sitting here in my house...while looking through the white haze out my window I can almost make the black nissan maxima, or lack there of, in my driveway. 10 inches folks, yep, 10. And it would be one thing if I could laugh at the thought of the other 5 members in my family trudging through the snow, scraping their windshield with a credit card, but no. Washington D.C. = High of 50 degrees, light rain. Las Vegas = 60 degrees and sunny. And heck, San Francisco = high of 63 with fog. DULUTH MINNESOTA = high of 10. I repeat, ten degrees! I just thought it was hilarious that for the first blizzard of the year, I was the only Hall in the whole state to see it! Yes, please, take a moment to chuckle...I had better go now, before my car literally freezes over. Psh.

Google commercial...

What a lovely Thanksgiving we had today in Litchfield. I must say it may have been my all time favorite meal. Ever. Now that is a bold statement! Just a buffet of delicious food filled with color, zest, and oober doober yumminess! Mmmmm!! So the four of us, minus sonja and tyler, returned home around 6:30. After some coloring book-age, a game of yahtzee commenced. "Mia, that fly on the wall is bugging me", Mom says. "Okay!" So I swat it onto the floor. Liana gasps, "Mia! Don't squish it!" And I say, "I didn't! Just slip it into the vent or something." Then low and be hold, daddy comes over to save the day and picks up the little lady bug and brings it outside. Then I say, "Do lady bugs have hearts?" No response, simply blank stares followed by a confident "Yes" from Liana. Wait...or do they? Do they have lungs? A brain? What capacity of organs can a tiny thing like that possibly contain? Let alone an ant, or lice for heavens sake! So dad returns to the table and we wre all convinced that he would have some words of wisdom for us. "So dad, do bugs have hearts?" "Um...I don't know? Lets google it." Aha! Perfect google commercial! A bunch of dummies sitting around talking about the anatomy of bugs. So now I need answers...someone tell me the truth! Please!

The drive...

Soney, I couldn't agree with you more. For tonight on my 2.5 hour journey home at 11pm, it was your words on the other end of my tattered little cell phone which kept me going...kept me going so much that I even passed my exit and continued to talk for 20 minutes before realizing it. Thanks a lot. Jeesh..But really ladies, Liana included of course: it truly is incredible the way that our minds seem to work in the same off-beat, unorthodox, 'mind-boggling sea of complexities' type of way. And Sonja, I must admit. Our horrendous first-date stories have become somewhat of a weekly subscription of mine. And yet, there are moments like tonight where we both can sit down and just take a deep breath and say, wow. This conversation with my sister just kicked the ass of any man out there! So thank you, for being my butt-kicking phone talking chummy buns.