Slumber in Childhood

I grew up in the era of half-day kindergarten.

This meant that I had to go to daycare afterwards, and even before kindergarten, when I was in daycare (it was NOT pre-school; it did do crafts and activities, but it was meant as entertainment and not necessarily learning), we had nap time.

I was always a child who enjoyed sleeping. I could basically sleep at the drop of a hat (and no, I'm not narcoleptic; I don't just sleep at the drop of a hat.)

But, the sense of "nap" has never left me. In college, I enjoyed the classes that allowed for me to return to my dorm room and nap, then go back to class. Free and easy snoozing an hour away.

I still enjoy naps. Even now, if I can find time for a nap, I will have one. As for sleeping at the drop of a hat, I have napped sitting up unpropped in a chair for as long as 15 min. I am bad. :)

I guess I'm just trying to retain my youth, eh?

Four Elements: Air

It is alive... it carries the rain in its hands
And feeds the fire down below
And can travel across the land with both
quickening speed and languid gait.

It is nurturing... the stern breath we take
And the breath we give back
It asks nothing and everything
Through loud and quiet and light.

It is father... the one that looks over us
It carries the balm and the chill
It envelops us for good or bad
In its ethereal cradle.

It is air... the wind and the sky
It shows itself yet is unseen
A silence that boths calms and deafens.

Four Elements: Earth

It is still... terra firma, which gives us so much
It yields to the water that dances with it
And to the fire that dances on it
And the sky that dances over it.

There is a world on it, and a world below
It can nourish when in balance, deprive when
In drought, and mire when in flood.

It is mother... from which we spring
And to which we return
And while we are on it, it gives us shelter
Like the plants that surround us.

It is earth... the rock and the shoal
It shakes and rolls, and stands and supports
A protector from all others.

Four Elements: Water

It is still... barely an echo or a ripple
As it lies quiet, yet it can pierce the air
And the fire like flintrock through a heart
And covers the land in moribund fashion.

It is starving... always teeming with life
And dancing with death, keeping some forever
Afloat, and other forever drowned
Yet it hungers...

It is renewal... the angel of cleansing
Of ritual and of regimen from long ago
Flowing through us, over us, onto us
And surrounds us...

It is water... the cool and the cauldron
It clears and it muddies
A torrent that can at once be quiet.

Four Elements: Fire

It is alive... it breaths air and travels on land,
Yet it shuns the water, does a dance with it
Avoiding it where possible.

It is a glutton... consuming all it encounters
And leaving little behind, but ashes and pain
And once it goes, we may move on

It is a godsend... when reigned in and rained on
It keeps us warm, and can be stark beauty
That ignites other memories in the soul

It is fire, it is the heat and light
It gives and it takes, and it dances
A dance of need, want, and danger.

(Sans Title)

Never underestimate the power of oatmeal. Yes, oatmeal. I make it part of my workweek routine to engage in a bowl of oatmeal several times a week. With the instant market full of flavours, I have lots of variety to choose from.

Sometimes, it's the simple things, like oatmeal, that can make you very happy.

Frizzing the Fur

Just a "beary" warm day again... offering this pic as a pick-me-up.

Lag Time

I have been meaning to update this more often. I started this as a way both to express myself and to keep my sanity. Well, the sanity is mostly gone, which means I've not been as expressive as I want to be.

This is my attempt to regain my expression. If it's even a one-line entry filled with a platitude, I will update.

Thanks for listening!

Colors/Colours ... My take

Colours can bring or evoke a mood or a feeling or an idea... Grey/gray for example can be both silver lining and a cloud that threatens your sky. It is metal strong and smoke wispy. Like blue it spans a dual nature that at both can make you gloomy and strong, and light but weak. It stands between black and white, and confuses them both.

Black, a colour so special that it rejects all other... a different kind of void, a mood of evil but also of equality (for all things look the same in black)... it is "beautiful", and it is haunting. It is the inverse of white.

Brown, it is mother earth and coffee. It is chocolate of richest order (sorry, Europeans but a bittersweet chocolate is my chosen poison. It is drab and flat, and mud... and once boredom and fun on a rainy day.
For me, white is the colour of purity and clean; it is the colour of light in it's most perfect expression. It can be, as well, the epitome of emptiness, of starkness and sparsity. It encompasses everything and nothing at the same moment of existence.
Purple is grapes and Barney (or Grimace) :) It is the colour of kings and the colour of deep thoughts. It is a shade happier than blue, and represents whimsy.
Blue is the sky and the sea... It is the colour of eyes that pierce you. It can be sadness and heartache. Its duality is its draw (and the reason why it's one of my favourite colours on earth.
Green represents nature, a rebirth, money, lushness in which to collapse. It is a magic garden, a forest of dreams.
Yellow is the colour of maize, the colour of gold, the childhood sun. It is lemons and tart, it is a smile.
This orange, this colour of "juice", of rust, of all that is fire and danger... It puts you into a frenetic mood when you see it... it sets you off, good or bad, into energy
Like omg... it's bubble-gum and young girls laughing! It's Pepto Bismol and candy floss/cotton candy... It's cloying (and sometimes I can't stand it)... it's frothy and innocent. It can be flowers of sweet perfume and abandon (at the times when I can stand it.) ;)
I save this one for last... the best the brightest...
It is passion and anger and love... it is the soul
It is roses and a mother's womb... it welcomes and protects
The colour of robins and dragons... it sets me in flight...
The colour of rubies and garnets (my birthstone)... a jewel among mere stones...
The colour of blood and clay... elements of earth and man...

It sets my imagination into motion... I can't imagine life without it.

Bonds

P and C... at 40 years


The colours were red and green. Red for the 40th anniversary colour, and green as the accent. The emcee was a family friend of my aunt and uncle.

After the speeches by various people, my uncle got up to speak, and said some great words to all the guests. Afterwards, my aunt spoke, but kept it brief. Instead, she chose to express herself by dancing with her husband to the tune of "Because You Loved Me" by Céline Dion.

The party was catered; my aunt was not cooking as she wanted to kick up her heels. The only thing she made was her cake (which is shown below).

When the lights went down, everyone danced... we got on the floor and cut a rug for quite a while and enjoyed the alcohol and dessert served... It was a great evening.