Lips

...and then there are those lips...disappearing lips. Well, not exactly, they're just slipping off to the right. No, have no worries, I do not intend to go on like this. It's just that sometimes my mind is filled with fascinating thoughts and sometimes it's as empty as the tomb. It's because I'm on overload, I hope. If it isn't that, I have more to worry about than I need.

This morning, I was up early, there was a little red glow in the eastern sky. So I decided to walk up the street and take a photo of my wee house nestled into the snow at the foot of the knoll, all charming and cute against the pines and the forest. I donned my big wool winter coat, my hat, my scarf, my boots and started the coffee knowing full well that I'd need some after my journey.

My intentions were good; they really were, but one can't wear gloves and make those tiny buttons on the camera work. I made it to the bottom of the stairs before deciding it was too dangerous to continue. Well, you can see why.

Have a cozy weekend, everyone!

Eyebrows

Some of you may remember the little photo that used to be in my profile. It took me forever to figure out how to get it added. Did anyone wonder where it went? (Yes, it's a terribly slow day for blogging material. ;>)

It's like this, one morning recently I signed in to my blog and took a good look at that photo and said to myself: Yikes! What is going on with those eyebrows? Honestly, I don't know how it happened, but I swear that elves or something had been plucking them while I was asleep. Surely I could not be responsible for the condition of those brows. I know you won't believe me without proof so here it is...
See what I mean? Shocking I tell you! What? You don't see it?

Okay, eyebrows should look like this:

Picture Source

The look is achieved following these guidelines:


Picture Source

So now, here I am, a woman in her &^%$#, trying to grow some eyebrows. Maybe I'll just have to resort to this:


Picture Source

If they ever grow, perhaps I'll dare to add another photo. Until then...

A Thought or Two About Dismantling Christmas

A repairman is coming at noon to fix the bay window. The first task of the morning was to take down the candy cane garland strung across the bay window. Then down came the little tree, the decorative tins, the Christmas cards, etc., etc. Now the window sits looking stark, naked, awful.

Ever read W.H. Auden's Christmas Oratorio? It's from his book of collected poems. I read it as an essay more than a poem...have I mentioned how much I love essays and essayists? Probably. I think it's why I am so attracted to the world of Blogdom.

Anyway, I've tried without success to find Christmas Oratorio already posted on the web so I could share it without worry of copyrights. Instead, I'll have to hope that you may be intrigued enough to visit your local library or, if you're really blessed, to have it as part of your own collection.

Christmas Oratorio

Well, so that is that. Now we must dismantle the tree,
Putting the decorations back into their cardboard boxes—
Some have gotten broken—and carrying them up
to the attic.
The holly and the mistletoe must be taken down and
burnt,
And the children got ready for school. There are enough
Leftovers to do, warmed-up, for the rest of the week—
Not that we have much appetite, having drunk such
a lot,
Stayed up so late, attempted—quite unsuccessfully—
To love all our relatives, and in general
Grossly overestimated our powers. Once again
As in previous years we have seen the actual Vision and
failed.
To do more than entertain it as an agreeable
Possibility—once again we have sent Him away,
Begging though to remain His disobedient servant,
The promising child who cannot keep His word for long.
The Christmas Feast is already a fading memory,
And already the mind begins to be vaguely aware
Of an unpleasant whiff of apprehension at the thought
Of Lent and Good Friday which cannot, after all, now
Be very far off. But, for the time being, here we all are,
Back in the moderate Aristotelian city
Of darning and the Eight-Fifteen, where Euclid's
geometry
And Newton's mechanics would account for our
experience.
And the kitchen table exists because I scrub it.
It seems to have shrunk during the holidays. The streets
Are much narrower than we remembered; we had
forgotten
The office was as depressing as this. To those who have
seen
The Child, however dimly, however incredulously,
The Time Being is, in a sense, the most trying time
of all.
For the innocent children who whispered excitedly
Outside the locked door where they knew the presents
to be
Grew up when it opened. Now, recollecting that moment
We can repress the joy, but the guilt remains conscious;
Remembering the stable where for once in our lives
Everything became a You and nothing was an It.
And craving the sensations but ignoring the cause,
We look around for something, no matter what, to inhibit
Our self-reflection, and the obvious thing for that purpose
Would be some great suffering. So, once we have met
the Son,
We are tempted ever to pray to the Father;
"Lead us into temptation and evil for our sake."
They will come, all right, don't worry; probably
in a form
That we do not expect, and certainly with a force
More dreadful that we can imagine. In the meantime
There are bills to be paid, machines to keep in repair,
Irregular verbs to learn, The Time Being to redeem
From insignificance. The happy morning is over,
The night of agony still to come; the time is in noon:
When the Spirit must practise his scales of rejoicing
Without even a hostile audience, and the Soul endure
A silence that is neither for nor against her faith
That God's Will will be done, that, in spite of her
prayers,
God will cheat no one, not even the world of its triumph.

~W.H. Auden

Time to Get a Grip

I woke this morning late. I had a good reason; it was my second waking. I had been up between 3:45 and 4:30 to snowblow the driveway. Sis is on duty today at the maternity ward and there's no telling babies to wait for a more convenient day. Four o'clock found us bent to the task of shoving over 14 inches of snow somewhere else. Exhausting! I think I heard a collective neighborhood hallejulah when I shut the snowblower down thirty minutes later.

So back to bed I went and off to work she went. As I lay there in my cozy bed, I felt as if it could be one of those days. A day to spend entirely abed in truly hedonistic fashion, but, as you can see, I resisted the urge.

I marched right down those stairs and straight to the shower. I even remembered to moisturize and then I attempted to get dressed. Wait a minute, wait a minute, I seem to have gained twenty-five pounds since last I wore these pants! And these are my fat pants!! Oh-oh...this means war. I am so not eating those last three peanut M & M's.

Who Wants a Snowstorm?

So some of you think that you want snow...well, I'm happy to oblige...love to send you some...all of it really.



Don't mind me, folks, I'll be stuck on Christmas through January 6 and, like most Mainahs, I shan't be taking down the outdoor decorations any time soon either. Hope to get to it before Mother's Day!

Speaking of mothers...this is my mother's old bicycle basket hanging out on the chippy paint fence.


This is my old sled leaning on the garage.

Look closely and you'll see a very confused woman! Nope, I have no idea who she is.

December 31, 2007

There! Now that's a title!! "December 31, 2007" that is.

It really should be this one

since we're just cleaning up after one snow storm and are expecting another momentarily. No out lates for me...I'll be puttering here at home reading my new favorite novel—The Manual. Hahahaha...

One should have profound thoughts on the last day of the year. I don't. One should be contemplating the New Year. I'm not. One should be doing something. Not me. One should wish everyone a Wonderful New Year. I do!!

Experiments

So there I was visiting Alison at Brocante Home when I saw a photo of a gal holding my new camera. She seemed to know what she was doing; wish that I could say the same. I settled back to sip on my drink...


and to read the manual (yes, it's no wonder that I have crumbs and stuff in my keyboard). I hate reading manuals. Who writes those things anyway? I KNOW that I could do a better job. After half an hour of that, I just decided to try experimenting. I apologize in advance because this means that you are going to be looking at a lot of awful, not to mention dull, photos for a good long while.

I experimented on objects that I already had taken pictures of (see sidebar), I took a photo of the sewing machine,


the stitching,



even my bed made up with my new Christmas sheets. Speaking of which, I could crawl right back into that bed...it was soooo cozy. What's better than new sheets and a sleepy cat?

My daughter, son and daughter-in-law are the givers of this camera. I am extremely humbled by it. My request had gone out months ago via a niece who usually organizes these things...going to each person in the family and gathering in the funds. I had hoped that I would receive this one gift of Christmas, but when my family gave me other beautiful gifts, I resigned myself to the fact that my request had gone overlooked. No biggy. I am patient...a birthday in just two months...I'd try again. ;> So it was an amazing surprise to open the box and find this gift on Friday evening. What a great family I have! (My niece had passed the info along after all.)

Have a wonderful Sunday! I'll be hauling trash and caring for my grandmother today, but I plan to take some really awful pictures, too. :)