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Mom Weekend
(My uncle put this collage together for me, and one for my Grandma, and one for my brother.) Did you know that a week on vacation in Hawaii lasts about 15 minutes, while the week between the death of your mother, and her services, lasts about 15 years? That’s how last week felt, at least. Somewhat surreal. Lots of down time, but just overwhelmed by sadness. A good day, followed by a very bad day, followed by a good day. Just a hard week overall. I certainly wouldn’t say that I’m glad that Ted lost his job a few weeks ago, but it has been very helpful to have him…
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Mom’s obit
Joycelyn Ward April 23, 1942 – June 15, 2008 We mourn the loss of Lilith Joycelyn Ward. She leaves behind her daughter, Julie, her son, Richard, her brother, Forrest, her sister Lori, her mother, Virginia, her Aunt Florence, and her many nieces and nephews, and their children. And of course, she was Maya’s Granny. Joycelyn was born in Oakland, CA, and moved a great deal in her lifetime. She lived in California for much of her life, most recently in Sacramento and Citrus Heights, but also spent many years in Stockton and Berkeley. She lived in Juneau, Alaska from 1993 until February of this year. She devoted much of her…
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I had a dream
Art by my brother, Richard Ward. I had a dream the other night. We decided to take my mom off of all of her meds, not just her antidepressants, and she got out of bed and was walking, walking like I haven’t seen her walk in about 25 years. Fast and with a spring in her step. She looked much younger, too…perhaps about 40 years old. She had her hair in two long red braids, and was wearing a tie-dye dress and looked so happy. Carefree and healthy and in her prime. Then I woke up, and for the briefest second, I was truly happy for her. Then it hit…
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Happiness
Finding happiness in difficult times can be a challenge. I suspect that to be happy when the world is going to hell around you, you either have to be the type of person who is generally happy anyway, or insane. I hope I fall in the former category, and not the latter. Because yes, I am generally happy. Things are bad right now, with my mom not recovering as well as I wish she would, and all that that may imply; with Ted losing his job and the uncertainty of where that will leave us. With a winter and spring that pretty much kicked our asses. Despite it all, and…
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What Is Love?
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=v6nB71tqgB8[/youtube] Last night in yoga class, I was tied up in my own world and thoughts and pose, and then I looked over at Maya next to me, all twisty herself, and I thought, “child, no one will ever love you the way I do…”. And then, when my brain was supposed to be empty, or at least focusing on the pose, I drifted off into thinking about the different types of love. I mean, no one will ever love a child like their parents. No one. And perhaps mother’s love is different from a father’s love as well. And, no one will ever love a parent like their children. …
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Save the Trees!
Several years ago, a neighbor gave me a Christmas gift, which was a little glass vase, used to ‘force bulbs‘. It came with some rocks to hold the bulb, and a bulb for a pretty flower, whose name I know not. Anyway, I forced the bulb, enjoyed it, and put it in the ground after the flower had died off. But I still had the little vase and rocks. Perhaps a year after that, I was slicing an avocado for our salad, and it occurred to me that I could perhaps use the vase to grow a little avocado plant. So I popped it in there, added some water, and…
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Doublememe Palace*
Awhile ago, I signed up to be a ‘weekly geek‘, and take on the challenges put forth on Dewey’s blog. Alas, thus far I have sucked at it. I find that given a subject to write on, I kinda freeze and succumb to writer’s block, which is why I quit my brief stint at a mommy blog that I briefly contributed to quite awhile ago. Anyway, the prompt this week was pictures, and since it’s mostly book folks participating, it seemed like a good idea to post a picture of a book. However, I’ve already posted pictures of the books around here, twice actually. So I’ve been mulling it over.…
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Lonely Boy
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCOS2vOxuXE[/youtube] I was looking at Greeblemonkey’s blog the other day, and she had a song from her youth up there, which was about eleventy-billion (thanks Nance) times cooler than this song. But this is, indeed, a song from my youth. (Not teen youth, but kid youth, just to be clear.) A song that for some inexplicable reason is on my iPod, and any time I dare push shuffle while listening in the car, it comes on. I hate this song. Really. I mean, listen to the stupid lyrics…this kid’s life is ruined, and why? Because his parents had another child. That’s right, he lost his only child status, and became…
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Why Do I Love These People?
Back in February, my dad sent my sisters and me copies of this book, Why Do I Love These People, by Po Bronson. He had read it, and thought it was a valuable collection of stories that we might all enjoy, and perhaps gain something from. The stories are those of families, and how they overcome difficulties in their lives, and come out of hard times closer together than they were before. Some of the stories related to dealing with parents, others to spouses, and still others, children or siblings. Some to all of the above. What struck me the most about the stories in this book was a theme…
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“George Bailey, I’ll Love You ‘Till The Day I Die”
I was sad to read that Bob Anderson, the actor who played the young George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life” died today, at the age of 75. I thought he did such a wonderful job of playing a young Jimmy Stewart, and made you care about the character from the get-go. Here’s an interesting tidbit about the filming of the scene where he gets his ear boxed by a very drunk and saddened Mr. Gower, the druggist, played by H.B. Warner: Warner took the role seriously and on the day of shooting had been drinking and was “pretty ripe,” Victoria Anderson said. The scene called for Warner’s character to…
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Go Big Brown!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoFquax2F-k[/youtube] This video is of Secretariat, who won the Belmont Stakes, and the Triple Crown, in 1973. Even if you’re not into horse racing, this is an amazing horse race to watch. Watch him make all of the other horses look like they’re standing still, as he goes on to win one of the most difficult flat races for 3 year olds in record time (still unbeaten), and make it look EASY. The Triple Crown is within reach of Big Brown, but just because he’s won the first two races does not mean he’ll win today’s Belmont. 11 horses have won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, and then failed to…
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Year of the
RatTurdWoke up 3 times last night. Twice by small earthquakes, then a phone call that said mom fell last night on the way back to bed from the bathroom, and hurt her neck. They’re sending her back to the hospital. Sigh. (And another grumpy thought…I haven’t even spoken to a single woman who could bring herself to vote for Hillary (besides a few family members) so what’s this stupid talk about Obama needs to heal rift with women? Idiot press. Most people I’ve talked to say, they’re so similar on the issues, they would vote either way. And then the campaign turned a lot of people off to her. So…
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I’m ready to complain now…
(unenviable job picture found here) I must say, I am not enjoying 2008 thus far. Can it end now, rather than waiting until December 31st? Please? (BlackBeltMama noted on her blog that Spring is over in just a few weeks…so let’s just start with Summer for the turnaround, k?) Why the complaining, you may ask? Am I really that crabby about my stupid stove and dishwasher? No. This has been a hard year thus far on our family, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better as of yet. Perhaps the Sickmas we spent in Portland was a portend of things to come. So. I’ll fill you in. First,…
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13 Things I Wish I Could Change(graphic found here) For the most part, these aren’t biggies. For that, I am thankful. I married the right man. I have a healthy child. We bought our house at the right time. These are more like ‘pet peeves’, things that I mostly ignore, but sometimes flare up and bug me, and I wish I had done things differently. I thought I would come up with 13 things, for a Thursday 13, but I guess most of my beefs are a bit bigger than this list lately. Anyway, here’s a few pet peeves, things I think, Gosh, wish I had done this differently… 1. I wish we had bought a…
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Slashed Chicken and ‘Saffron’ Orzo
I guess it’s all about the cooking here lately, huh? Well, Monday we had a yummy chicken dish that utilized both my beautiful dutch oven AND my beloved Shun knife. Fun! The chicken recipe is SO good…I mean, why wouldn’t it be, when you take a chicken and cover it in a whole stick of butter and some herbs. What’s not gonna be tasty about that? I found this recipe on the Williams-Sonoma website. My picture isn’t nearly as gorgeous as theirs, but still. Good chicken. Slashed Chicken with Herb Butter 8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 1 Tbs. chopped fresh…