Gifts

I missed this week's Sunday Scribbling prompt of "Language" because I was away for the weekend - hearing the same language I speak, but in a different accent. My sisters and I were in Manchester.

Do you know of L.S. Lowry? We went to visit the centre which houses an exhibit of his paintings, saw a film about his life and work, and really were so delighted to have had a chance to encounter his art up close and in its original setting.

It was a special weekend for us, for a number of reasons. We were helping the youngest of us celebrate a special birthday. We were enjoying something we'd planned for a long time, and we got to meet a cousin we'd never met before. - A wonderful afternoon of sharing, of laughter, of discovery and illumination, and really the highlight of the weekend for all of us, and something we knew would have made our mother's heart fill with joy. (In fact, I think she had a lot to do with that reunion.)

Strolling past the city Art Gallery, we happened to spot a banner inviting us to go see "Ten Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci". We didn't need a second invitation! What a treat.

And then, on Saturday evening, another great treat... We're all three fans of "Dancing on Ice" - as spectators, not participants, I might add. We were really lucky that our planned weekend coincided with the visit to Manchester of the 25th anniversary Torvill and Dean Bolero tour. What a show! We whooped and cheered, gasped and clapped along with a huge, delighted crowd. I'm afraid the only video I can find isn't good quality, and wouldn't give you a sense of the event, (well, there's a little bit in that link above, so do click there) which was spectacular in every way. Magic is the word!

Less than 48 hours, delayed flights... the stuff of travel, and still, it was a great weekend. We made excellent choices in restaurants and accommodation (thanks to the sister who is a wizard at internet searches!).

It was all a gift. I feel very, very blessed.

June Honeymoon - Celebrating a special Bride

Terri, at her Tinker Art blog is hosting a special gathering today - a celebration of brides. The past two years have seen three special weddings in my family. My neice ,Nicola, married John in September 2006. My nephew, Glenn, married Claire in July of last year, but I know they will all forgive me if I tell you the most special bride in my life has to be my sister Aileen. She married Mike in September last year.

Just after Nicola's September 2006 wedding , Aileen and I went off to spend a week in the south of France. It was a wonderful holiday, but we had an unexpected third party along on the trip. - The man she'd been introduced to quite recently (at a performance of John B. Keane's play, The Matchmaker!) was in constant touch by text-message. There I was, driving along unfamiliar routes, relying on my sister to spot roadsigns, and when I'd ask "Is it the next exit?", I'd glance over to see her simpering and smiling at her phone, oblivious to our location, caught up in the sweet nothings being exchanged.

Fast forward six months, and on her 48th birthday, on a trip to Paris, Mike presented her with a pretty opal engagement ring, and plans were made. Their wedding last September was a wonderful day for our two families. Aileen gained not just a husband, but each of his five children has taken a special place in her heart too, and she has been warmly welcomed by his beautiful mother and his siblings.

When my sister stood up to speak at the reception, there were tears in many eyes, she spoke from such a deep place in her heart - very briefly, (and against the advice of our older sister, she spoke without notes or practice). She reminded those of us who have known her for a long time how she had often wished for someone special in her life; that, although she had not been unhappy with her life, she had felt the absence; and that she hadn't realised that the wait was because she was waiting for the time to be right for Mike to come into her life. "I just love him to bits!" she told us. We know.

And he loves her. The tenderness of their love is a sweet thing to witness. Will you celebrate with me the happiness that has come into my sister's life?

It was a day of solemn vows, of meeting new family, of sharing good food together in celebration. It was a day of great joy, and a day of moments of utter fun: See the bride returning from her outdoor photo-shoot with the aforementioned older sister?

Congratulations and a wish for long lives of happiness to any June brides out there!

Join the receiving line to meet the other brides at Tinker's Blog!

Tastes of Paris

Paris had its share of wonderful things on show.






Umbrellas that looked like the cutest little ladies wearing boots. Sweet.




Artists sketching a Rodin here and there
(Here, outside the Musee de l'Orangerie..... Oooooh. Those Waterlilies!)




A street of quaint apartment buildings, where it seemed you could stretch out your hand and touch the geraniums in your neighbour's window-box.


La Tour d'Eiffel.... of course!

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and Oh!... Monet's garden at Giverny

Sacre Coeur at Montmartre, (and the square full of artists with their wares hidden behind the basilica)
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The wonderful, beautiful River Seine (and a dinner thereon at night ... Special, so special!)

And, though some may think it blasphemous of me to say it, a truly religious experience at "Laduree" salon de thé and patissier. See that pastry at the front? It's called the "Divine". The ones at right and left rear are known as "Religueses".

We felt very blessed to experience such delights!

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These are mere glimpses, tiny morsels of the wonders we encountered. I cannot share with you the sound of birdsong at Giverny or the scent of wisteria falling over a wall. I cannot show you the fire-juggler we encountered in the square before Notre Dame on Friday night. The beauty of the water-lily paintings at l'Orangerie has to be experienced in situ. The sight of the architecture of Paris as evening gives way to night, and lights begin to highlight its magnificence anew I cannot share either; nor the delight we all felt when at 10pm as we returned from our dinner cruise the Eiffel tower began to sparkle and twinkle like a fairy-thing. I can only tell you that Paris was worth waiting 34 years for! I'm so glad I got to return, and to share it this time with my sisters and my friends.
In the course of the three days we each exclaimed quite often how lucky we are, how very lucky and fortunate to have been there, to have met such charming and kind people, to have witnessed so much beauty.

I'm only sorry I cannot truly share it with you, but I hope this glimpse goes somewhere towards that.

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[Added later: While I can't give you the full experience, some people on Youtube have managed to capture the twinkling Eiffel tower. There's a visit to Giverny with some nice music HERE (Couldn't find the birdsong... so sorry!)

oooh la la!

I'll be on the missing list this weekend. I won't be here, in other words. But I won't be lost, because I'll be with my two sisters and one of my favourite young people in the world wandering around Paris. We expect to be seeing wonderful things , finding wonderful places, eating wonderful things, finding wonderful things, hearing wonderful things, perhaps buying wonderful things, sharing wonderful things, and I expect to be sharing some of it (not the gateaux... so sorry!) with all of you when I return.

..............À bientôt.....

Outing with the Sisters

First: If you haven't yet read my post about Jen Ballantyne, please do. She's an incredible woman who needs help, support, caring, prayers, people to witness her experience of cancer. Thank you.

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Yesterday, my sisters and I had an outing we've long been promising ourselves. They travelled to Dublin from Limerick by train, and I headed across the country by bus to meet them and spend the day as tourists in the capital city. We realised we spend time travelling in other countries together, visiting museums, gardens, etc. and we have hardly seen a fraction of what our own country has to offer, so the plan was to see what we could in a day.

A day like that has to start with coffee. Good coffee. It did! Fortified, we set off on the Luas

A stroll down the quays, across the river and we arrived at Christ Church Cathedral.

Of the three of us, only one had previously visited. So in we went. An absolutely beautiful, history-steeped place, with an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. I lit candles for any of you who need healing and peace of heart and mind.

From there, a gentle stroll, and we found ourselves in Dublin Castle, but the Castle itself wasn't our true goal. We were ready for lunch, and I knew the secret of the Chester Beatty Library (Well... one of the secrets!). It has an amazing restaurant - the Silk road Cafe, where excellent Mediterranean and middle-eastern food is available at very reasonable prices. So, we had a wonderful lunch, and then we proceeded to explore the library. If you ever visit Dublin, you MUST, MUST see this. Last year, one of the highlights of my trip to San Francisco was a visit to the Asian Art Museum there. Well, on a smaller scale, here is a gem to compare with that.

Quoting from their website: "The Library's exhibitions open a window on the artistic treasures of the great cultures and religions of the world. Its rich collection from countries across Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe offers visitors a visual feast. Chester Beatty Library was named Irish Museum of the year in 2000 and was awarded the title European Museum of the Year in 2002." Follow the link to the website. Browse. See some of what enthralled us.

Their roof-garden is a treasure. Their cakes are treasures. Their gift-shop contains postcards, even wrapping-paper that are treasures!

Did I mention that the Chester Beatty library has to be seen??? (And, while you're welcome to make a contribution to upkeep, entrance is free!)

After perusing the treasures of the galleries, we had cake and coffee, and set off on the next part of our adventure. A bus-hop to Glasnevin, where the National Botanic Gardens lie. Being still relatively early in spring, we didn't expect to find much in flower, but we were delighted, as we got off the bus, to be greeted with a waft of the most delicious scent. Outside the gates, beds had been planted with Stocks, one of our mother's all-time favourite flowers. What a welcome! It is indubitably true that a visit in summer would offer a whole lot more in the way of colour and flower, but we didn't have crowds to contend with, and there are beautiful beds of primulas, some of the plum trees are flowering, we could admire the layout of the gardens, and we spent plenty of time in the wonderful glasshouses - cactus house, tropical plant house, tender plant house, and we saw plenty of wonderful plants. By the time we'd made our way back to the city, we were ready for just a little retail therapy. Bookshop for two of us, while the other went in search of beachtowels and sarongs for her upcoming sun holiday.

We finished the day at another national institution. Burdocks Fish and Chip shop - the best Chips in Dublin! Aaah! Satisfaction at a great day. We parted on Jervis Street. Two heading north to the train station, me heading south to the bus-station.

Is there a city near you that you could visit in a day that might have treasures you haven't yet explored? I'm really glad we gave a day to this outing, and it is set to be an annual event from now on!

Other Sunday Stuff

I've just posted a Sunday Scribblings post, but realise that I have the time and the inclination to keep going here and fill you in on some of the other stuff in my life, but it's seperate from what I had to say in Sunday Scribblings, so that's why this is another post. (Having said that, suddenly I'm sitting here, stopped, wondering "What was it I meant to say?")

Without having a decent picture to show you, I will say here that last week (was it Monday? it may have been Monday!) two wonderful gifts arrived from Liz Elayne. Way back, I won her birthday button-counting (or guessing) competition, and the exchange of addresses took a while, but was the prize worth waiting for? Oh, yes indeed. A beautiful tote-bag in shades of orange. Oh... what am I saying? No picture! I can link to her Etsy shop, where you will see, not the exact bag I received, but others like it! I've found a special use for it - holding my copy of Organising for the Spirit, my journal and vital "bits and pieces" for my ongoing project of making my home and my life places where the real me wants to live. It was such a thrill to have the notice of a package arrive! Hurrah! ... And not just one, but two packages from the same Liz, because, as a 9/11 memorial, she very generously gave away some posters of 'Awakening', a Brian Andreas Storypeople print. I wasn't familiar with them, but this resonates deeply with me, and I feel very grateful to have received one. I will be framing it to hang in my therapy room (the "where" just came to me right now... of course!)

She (Liz) asks in her latest post that we name "Five Really Good Things". Well, there's

1) Couscous. Good with almost everything, I'm realising. Fantastic when I need to prepare a meal in a hurry. quicker than defrosting. Add salad... Dinner!

2) Finding music I'd forgotten I had. Searching for a tape for a friend, I rediscovered Mary Chapin Carpenter, Janis Ian, Leonard Cohen, Guy Clark... Hurrah.

3) Memories of my sister's wedding. My attempt to post after the 14th September wedding was frustrated by computer problems, and a few days later, my attention was focused on the loss of my little dog, Trixie, so I never got to tell any of you about it (and I'm not sure she'd appreciate having her photos up here in public), but I will tell you she was a beautiful, elegant, radiant bride. More than one of us noticed her resemblance to Grace Kelly. It was a happy, happy, day - filled with emotion, laughter, poignant memories and moments, and some tears. She and her new husband make a beautiful couple. His tender care for her is a joy to witness. Her total love for him is open and profound. His family's embrace of my sister is full and open and reassuring to see. Their words of that day echo in my heart. Their happiness is a Really Good Thing.

4) My Autumn/Winter wardrobe. I never did this before. I usually buy budget clothes far too often, running into a shop, buying somthing, finding after a couple of wears that it really doesn't suit, (or fit, or wear well...), and running into a shop again... a neverending wheel. Well, not this year, because when I was shopping for the wedding (see 3 above), I consulted a personal shopper (another one of my "If I could do anything I wanted..." items from the Artsits's Way), who outfitted me for the wedding, and for work-wear to take me through the coming months. I have trousers, blouses, sweaters, jackets and shoes that co-ordinate and match, are easily-laundered and pose me no dilemmas when I wake up in the morning! Hurrah!

5) Baraka, the movie without words, that is soul-filling, soul-lifting. It makes me feel my real relative size in the world, and the size of the world around me. It stretches me and connects me. This is a good thing.

Hmm.... there were other things I meant to speak of, but that little list took me in so many directions, I'm a bit scattered. I've decided that, as the balance of my life has shifted, in terms of time devoted to (employed) work, it's really important for me to make sure to schedule in friends time, Baha'i community time, me-time. (This counts as friends time, I guess!) A few days ago, one friend and her son came to dinner. Yesterday, I went to visit a friend - just an hour, but good, good, good to see her. Today, I'm heading out to enjoy some October in the countryside, going to one of my favourite places. I'll be going soon, in fact, so it's time to wind up this post.

Oh... and because my 50th birthday is coming up, my sister and I have been planning, and decided that, instead of celebrating it all at once on a single day, we're stretching the celebrations, and are going here (oh... can't get any pictures to post! OK... It's Paris!) in May. We'll be visiting Monet's garden at Giverny, and May is the best time. I'm so excited!

I know I won't get to visit and read up on everyone's posts from the past few days, and if I do, I may not comment, but I hope all my BlogLand pals have a really good weekend, and a great week ahead too. Au revoir!

Sunday Miscellany

Sunday Miscellany is the name of a popular radio program here. I had a poem broadcast on it a few months ago. But this post isn't about that. This post is a miscellany because my attempt to write a "Spicy" piece for Sunday Scribblings turned out so bland and insipid, I just couldn't post it. I added cumin, ginger, cayenne, garam masala, and still, there was no flavour. Believe me! Maybe it's my taste-buds.

And maybe it's because there's too much other stuff going around in my head. I've had a good week, so here's :

.................What Went Well This Week

Work - in different places each day, some self-generated, some not, some beginnings, some endings approaching, but a sense of energy, a sense of being fully in my work.(I didn't mean to start with WORK, as though that is priority, and everything else is also-ran!)
Stuff (1)- when I realised my credit card had been missing for a week(!!!), and called the bank, I discovered that the last transaction was the last one I'd made (phew!), so cancelled it before anything sinister happened with it.
Stuff (2) - when I called the garage to say my car had been losing power, the nice man said "bring it in", and when I explained I needed it that afternoon, he said "no problem", and when I collected it (early!), he had done a full service on it - and washed it!
Son - He heads off tomorrow for his summer adventure in USA, and we've just had a really nice week together, not doing anything very special, but just chatting, sorting out stuff he wants to dump. He's been away for months at a time before, but still in the same country, so tomorrow brings with it a little anxiety for Mommy!
Sorting - Completed little tasks like paying bills, arranging dates for upcoming appointments and workshops, filed stuff... ended the week feeling there's less hanging on my shoulders.
Plans - decided to go home to see my Dad next weekend (Fathers' Day), to do some SoulCollage with sister and some friends; other sister sent me a link to this garden's site, and there are definite plans to visit there before this summer ends. My plans for July/August in California are moving ahead. Yay!
Health - After months of inactivity, I got to the gym twice this week (only once last week) and gave myself silver stars for going! So I'm moving in the right direction. Ate more fruit and veg. Feel good.

...............A Game

Deb of the Red Shoes posted a game on her blog yesterday, and I found it today, and decided to join in. Rules are easy, and if you decide to play along, go to her blog and leave her a comment saying you've done so. (Tell me too, please, as I'd enjoy seeing your responses).

each answer has to start with the same letter as the first letter of your name and if an answer is a place name it should be real, not fictional. If someone who answers before you has the same first letter, try to come up with different answers than they did. Now on to…

Scattergories 2



Your name: ....................Imelda
A Country: ......................Italy
A Song Title:.................... If
An Artist (painter, photographer, etc): .....Ingres (La Grande Odalisque)
A Reason to stay home from Work or School: ..........Infection
Something you’d see at a Zoo: .................Iguana
A Snack: ...............................Ice-cream sandwich (Yes! It is a snack)
A Character in a Book: ......................India Wilkes
Something Icky: .......................Icky things (Sorry!)
A Six-letter Word: ....................Irises
Something Breakable: .............Italian glass (well, Venice is in Italy, right?)
Non-Alcoholic Drink: ..............Iced coffee
Something you Whisper: ........I love you.


.......................A New SoulCollage card to Share

I've been wondering if there are particular cultural themes that would begin to turn up in the SoulCollage made by Irish people, and had an idea that it would be natural for Celtic gods/goddesses to turn up in the council suit, and naturally the landscape used for backgrounds to differ from that used by others. Last Saturday, I ran the 3rd of my public workshops, and again it was well-attended and well-received. In the course of the day, I found images that just called out to me to become a card. It represents Race memory of hunger. I haven't written about it yet, but will soon on my SoulFragments blog.

There's more this week, but I have to stop somewhere. Have to get out to the weeds that have been thriving in my absence from my garden. Have to get some recycling over to the bring-banks. Have to spend at least some of this day on my beanbag in the garden not thinking of weeds or recycling.

Have a lovely Sunday, and a great week.

Poetry Thursday ---- Mary

This week's prompt from Poetry Thursday was to take a word generated by their new Randomizer, and make a poem from that. I've put my word into my notebook, and it is gently simmering at the moment, so maybe it will be ready for next week.

This week, because it's my sister's birthday (I have two sisters, and yes, I did post a poem for my younger sister back in March, when her birthday and engagement came around), but this time it's Mary's poem, and it's not a new one. I wrote it quite a while ago. But it all still holds true.

Mary

Mary has the arts
of home-making,
quiche-baking,
photo-taking
.... all sorted.

Mary is the master
of birthday-remembering,
kitchen-decorating,
.... five-plates-spinning.

Mary will organise
two weddings,
a christening,
and a surprise anniversary party
.... while we're all thinking about it.

Mary's a genius
at cheering up,
turning up,
being there.

Mary's the Big Sister.
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Over the past few years, Mary has been a rock of support to me. She DOES turn up - when I've been ill or low, she will get in her car, drive 5 hours and tell me it's no problem. She sends me little cards and trinkets to let me know she's thinking of me. She looks after so many people in this way. I count myself so lucky to have such a wonderful big sister, and in our family, not just my siblings, but all of my cousins too receive much more from Mary than we could ever give to her. Love you, Mary.

Poetry Thursday. What an image prompts

Poetry Thursday's (completely and totally optional) suggestion this week is that we write a poem inspired by an image, and post the photo which prompted the poem. OK. I took the challenge, and decided to go to the photos I've taken over the past few months, select one without giving it too much thought, and see what it would prompt. This is the image I chose:



.........................................Under the Rainbow

................................This is what fell to earth for you, my sister:
................................All the wishes you have sent into the sky,
................................night wishes and wishes whispered;
................................wishes I was sending with you too.

................................Look what landed outside your window,
................................Sister. Look at the wealth winter brought.
................................Across the long shadow of a January day
................................colour dropped, and its echo, and the echo
................................again – Brightness for you.

................................Mine are the echoes of the echo. Mine are the
................................little rainbows that come into my room, now,
................................on the eve of a new year, as spring turns
................................round. Through the prism of one joy-tear.

................................This is what falls to earth for you, my sister:
................................every smile you have given out, every kindness
................................you have offered, your goodness returned.
................................Love has come to find you. Love.

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I took that photo from my sister's living-room window in January. She's just become engaged, and this poem is to celebrate that and her birthday this week... She's the friend of my heart, my companion through life in many ways. We are 15 months apart, and have shared a great deal of the ups and downs in life. So, here's another view from A's window. Can you make out that that is a double rainbow? It was!

For more image-ispired poems, go to Poetry Thursday.