I am from big cups of strong milky sweet tea,
from Klepper tents and the Mason jars filled with preserved everything.
I am from the piles of paper and books on my unused desk
(read, written, precious,
forgotten and important).
I am from the bursting spring leaves on the tree outside my balcony
that make me feel like I live in a treehouse
with the loud magpies that live in its branches.

I am from tended garden delights and wood wildness,
from Margarete and Theodore.
I'm from the fighters and
the wounded,
from the awed by nature and hideaways.
I'm from the unfailing believers
who do not question and
the atheists who accept nothing at face value.

I'm from London and Gyönk and a small village in Poland that I should know the name of but don't...
and from cherry soup and smoked kielbasa.
From the slowly unwinding magic musical cigarette box my grandfather would play for me
to the way that my dad always awakes startled, afraid for his life.
In the basement lies the wonderful legacy of camping trips in Algonquin Park,
long cross-country skiing journeys in the brush and woods,
my dad's home-made satellite tracking station,
and my mothers boxes of quilt material. (In my dad's mind,
why would you cut up good fabric and sew it together again.)
I am from the dustiest corner of remade memories,
washed off and lovely in their transformation,
the hope of peace.

Inspired by Sylvia who was inspired by Floyd who was inspired by George Ella Lyons.

Labels: inspired by others, interpreting and reinterpreting, writing inspiration

The wonderful and interesting Schmutzie (of Milkmoney or Not, Here I Come) paid me the great honour of giving me a "Thinking Blogger Award".

*Blush*

Given the amount of silliness and side-tracked thoughts that I let myself indulge in on these pages, I surprised and pleased, and for the first time I empathize with Sally Field: "You like me, you really really like me!" I have to say that I really admire Schmutzie, the thoughts she sets on page and wonderfulness that is herself and her blog, so its lovely that this came from her.

:P I digress: Tee hee. I feel a *bit* like when I won the valentine's day cake at school in grade two. It had those spicy cinnamon hearts on it and white gooey frosting and the inside of the cake was dyed red (always a dubious choice). I had a "reaction" to the red food dye and ran around like crazy after eating the cake, so my teacher had to send me home. OK, I don't feel exactly like that, but a little bit.

So, it seems that there are some rules for this award (because bureaucracy of some form never fails us), which are the following:
Here are the blogs on which I would like to bestow the thinking blogger award (I would happily give one back to Schmutzie, but I don't think that's allowed. Plus she already has one.):

• Linda of the Grumpiest Girl in the Room for her gentle yet blunt and humorous insight into life and living.
• Neil of Citizen of the Month for both his wonderful "Great Interview Experiment" but even more for his great wit.
• Randall Munroe of xkcd and of his own blag for being smart and funny, and for bridging the gap between geekdom and romance.
• Andrew Vande Moere for information aesthetics for bringing together information and ae... er... wait, for bringing together knowledge and beauty in such a great way. (Much better).
• Everyone involved in PostSecret which despite its uber-famousness in the world of blogdom has given many people a forum in which to open their hearts, express their art, and otherwise inspire or horrify. It never fails to make me think. And despite the fact that I know that it is unlikely that they will continue this meme... I couldn't not acknowledge how great I think their blog is.
• {Honorary mention: the now acclaimed Ze Frank who coined the phrase "thinking so you don't have to." I have a serious blog-crush on this guy. He combines funny with thoughtful and shocking all of the time and I don't know what I have enjoyed more thoroughly than his one-year "The Show", and his continued blog which varies and combines the ridiculous with the deeply introspective with "silly happy kidness". But he's too famous to get an *actual* award. Sorry, Ze. ;)}

Labels: beyond entertainment, brains, cheesy, sometimes other people are much more creative than i am. ;), token valentine's day mention, writing inspiration

I went to a site to look for some inspiration for a blog entry. I found a list of "inspiring ideas." Here is number 10.

"10. Check in with your vibrational energy and do something
to switch it into high gear. Take a shower. Go for a walk.
Turn on some music and dance naked for a few minutes."

I wonder if you take the walk immediately after the shower. It would make the nude dancing logical too. And amusing for other pedestrians. Maybe it improves their vibrational energy too.

Labels: dancing, ideas for bleak days, nudes, strange, writing inspiration