Intrepid Fiber Wizard

Z is for....

Zealous....

..."filled with or motivated by zeal, ardent, enthusiastic, fervent..."

Despite the slush, and 4 more inches of snow yesterday, my daughter Erin and her boyfriend Evan made it down here last night from Seattle. She was able to free her car from the slow-plow's solid ice wall of a snowbank and made the drive by evening. We had a lovely dinner, drank too much wine (ahem) and laughed until we collapsed.
This morning's break after stockings (and before presents) required a snow ball fight.
Oh my gosh.
I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

They are now safely on their way back home (and the main roads are clear for a few more hours, thank goodness)

The perfect ending for the ABC-a-long.

Merry Christmas to all.

So below follows the rest of our side of the snow ball fight... the house/car/lawn in the photo belongs to the neighbor.. and we are standing in the middle of my road........... yes it still has about 10 inches of snow on it!)
  gottcha!

falling down laughing

  you better duck Erin!!

  score!

Y is for...

Yesteryear..... 

 

"....Time past, especially as thought of nostalgically....."

I had been stymied as to what to post for my letter "Y", yet thanks to a bit of help with my friends, and brain storming of words, this one appeared. ( thanks y'all !)

I am nostalgic for 35 mm cameras, and using them in 'yesteryear'.  I used to take photos like the ones above all the time with my Nikon 35 mm. (Yes, these are my personal photos, and you may only use them with permission ) ...................And despite having a nice little digital camera that takes photos with enough pixels to make typepad have a conniption fit, nothing will ever quite capture my heart like the good old 35mm.

There are so many of you who are fabulous photographers with your digital cameras (Claudia, Vicki and Carole leap to mind immediately.. and there are others I know!) and I applaud your abilities whole heartedly (clap clap clap).

Yet I am a bit of a throwback to yesteryear, I suspect. Perhaps it is the whole 'photography by intuition' thing that I do, but then again it may just be luck that has produced the photos I so love. In the end, I still long for the finished results of my Nikon 35mm. (Of course there is the whole " did I get that shot" terror, yet some things, like quality photographs, are worth the risk ;-)

Snow update: We had a foot of snow saturday night (yes, that is in addition to everything else that hasn't melted yet)  our power was out from about 5 am til 11 am, and I shoveled the driveway to stay warm.

By dinnertime last night, there was another 3 inches. and I shoveled the driveway.

this morning, it appears to be about 2 more inches... I'm not shoveling yet... who knows if I'll get to work today or not. I haven't been into my office since last Tuesday. I think that the West Coast must be trying to masquerade as New England.

X is for...

oXymoron... 
 

"A rhetorical figure in which an epigrammatic effect is created by the conjunction of incongruous or contradictory terms...."  (American Heritage Dictionary)

Hard water - err.. isn't that "ice"?
Constructive criticism - really, there is no such thing since criticism is pretty much always mean, and therefore non-constructive.
Great Depression - hmmm, what was so "great" about it?
New Classic - how can it be classic, if its new?
Reality Television -  "reality"??
Jumbo Shrimp - really now, shrimp are actually quite small (thus the nick name "shrimp" for some of us midgets)
Friendly Fire - now, this one is truly ridiculous, as if any fire was ever "friendly"
Near Miss - errr, one either "misses" or one does not, right?
Harmless Prank - another that confuses me, for pranks are always unkind, and therefore harmful.
Healthy comparison - yet again, comparisons are by their very nature mean, since one is up and the other down (otherwise there would be no comparison)

While my daughter tells me that there are entire website dedicated to oxymorons, we came up with these on our own. It all began with a client of mine, and a discussion about "constructive criticism"... ridiculous I say. Encouragement is so much more productive for people.

I know that this "X" post is a bit of a stretch for 'allowable', but I just couldn't resist.
Got any favorite oxymorons of your own??

W is for...

Wings.

From the time my oldest daughter was about 3, she began asking me "Where are my wings, Mom?"

Finally she has her very own.
This amazingly gorgeous tattoo is completely hers, and the wings are perfectly placed so that when she moves her arms, she can almost fly.
good job, baby girl ;-)

(The photo is used by permission from the photgrapher - Irish (a friend of Erin's in Seattle. If anyone is interested, I can easily put you in touch with him. - thanks Irish!)

V is for...

Voluminous... 

having great volume, fullness, size or number..

Autumn is my favorite season. It passes so quickly, and yet is so very beautiful. My daughters both love it too. In fact, I just mailed some fall leaves to my youngest (who is in Georgia) since they don't have as many colors there. New England was the absolute best for fall color (witness the multitude of fabulous photos people posted about Rhinebeck) - and I enjoyed many years of autumn there.
Currently, I am enjoying the carpet of gold in my back yard.

U is for...

Ubiquitous.

..being or seeming to be everywhere at the same time. omnipresent.

I always know that autumn has completely arrived when the spider webs encase the garden plants and walkways. I go out in the chilly morning to gather seeds and marvel at the myriad of designs they have created overnight.

Ubiquitous. a lovely word that is fun to say.

T is for...

Treat.

  According to the 13th definition in the American Heritage Dictionary, "Treat: anything considered a special delight or pleasure."

After a particularly difficult week, I will sometimes buy myself one of these from the 5th Street Deli by my office................ a "Country Mud Brownie" (fudge brownie filled with large chocolate chips and topped with deep chocolate icing. )
Yummmm.
Top it off with a rich glass of Cabernet.
Divine.

May you all have a few "treats" in your life when things are stressful.

S is for...

Silhouette    ...An outline of a solid object (as cast by its shadow)

I have always had an eclectic taste in art. My favorites range from impressionistic watercolors to modern photography (and pretty much everything in between).
There was a time, many moons ago, when I managed a large art gallery of original art on the waterfront in San Francisco. It was a completely awesome job.

The silhouette above is a piece I found in an antique store - it is about the size of a postcard. It is a paper cut-out, done by hand.
I like to imagine that when a branch falls from the old maple tree in my backyard, the fairies are playing seesaw as they do in this wonderful piece.

R is for....

Recitative.....

 ..." A vocal passage of narrative text that a singer delivers with natural rhythms of speech."


Music has been an important part of my life since I was a small child.  There were piano lessons, music theory lessons, piano recitals, clarinet lessons, bass clarinet lessons, voice lessons, voice recitals, music composition lessons, choirs where ever I lived and at every single school I attended, all state choirs, all state bands, college choirs, acappella  singing groups, church choirs, and solos.... and so much more.... guitar lessons and performances with my brother (who played and sang like and angel).

It has been ten years since I owned a piano. I sold my Steinway (for a variety of reasons which are not fit to print) and have missed it greatly this last decade.
Last summer when I moved to Olympia, I was faced with a decision:  the small little cottage that I now rent would allow space for either a piano or a couch in the living room (there was not room for both) - it took me all of about a minute to choose.

the piano won.

I purchased an old Kimball that a friend was selling (dirt cheap). And while I have not yet had it tuned, it has brought me untold hours of joy through this year of healing.

And so... back to the title of this post.................. Recitative. I have sung a few of these in my hay day.  And they are fabulously fun, usually short solos, as introductions to a major piece. My personal favorite is "He shall feed his flock" (which opens a typically soprano solo.. yet I have sung that as well).... ahhhhh music.... in pretty much all its forms... it feeds my soul at a level quite unlike anything else.

And now, it has reappeared in my life in wonderous new fashion.
A couple weeks ago (yes, I know, I didn't mention it to anyone!) I auditioned for and was asked to join The Olympia Choral Society.  I've sung a variety of vocal parts, yet this time I was asked to sing Alto 1 for them (which personally I am delighted by since it has the most interesting vocal parts .. grins..).  I did a happy dance for a few days once I received the email invitation!  (here's a pic from their last spring's performance) 
This is a choir of about 90 members, and has been in existence for 10 years. I am told that they only accepted about 4 new member this year (though I will find out the exact number in a couple weeks at the first rehearsal). To say that I am thrilled is an understatement.
to be making music with a group of professionals is fulfillment beyond my wildest imagination.
hurrah.
The director of the choir is a young man who has great vision. He created this choir as a non-profit, to raise money for local organizations, and it routinely donates over $10,000 per year. (wow)
They donate to scholarships for students attending college, local battered women's shelters, food banks etc etc...... what a gift to not only be singing, but to also aid fabulous local organizations.
The first concerts of the season are Dec 12-14th... and I hope that all my local blog-buddies will attend. I'll post details as they become available.

(off she goes to do a bit more happy dancing.............. and practice! woo hoooooo!)

Q is for...

Quan Yin.    

Quan Yin  is known as the Chinese Bodhisattva of Compassion.

I'm stretching a little with this "Q" post... as I have used the Vietnamese spelling of her name... but I just couldn't resist using this for my Q post.

I have searched many years for a statue of this Bodhisattva - not wanting the typical poses that she is shown in, and finally this past spring, I came across the lovely stone carving shown here.

She sits in my garden quietly as the world races by - and reminds me of the power of compassion and peace amid the chaos of daily life.

If you are interested, you can read about the legends regarding Quan Yin here.