initial impression

here

nettie

here

sempervivum & such

wouldn't this be fun

for father's day?

here via here

(love it that they've been

doing this for 15 years)

succulents galore

tied up

in string; a few of my favorite things

(more to come)

fan

flowers, II

from the delightful anna

at prim and posies

flowers, I

the work of

debbie carlos-

a perfect

way to grace

your wall

w/ thanks to mr. sung ;)

scrolled, frilled and resolutely foliated

proceed

"We must

always

change,

renew,

rejuvenate

ourselves-

otherwise,

we harden."

goethe

photo: home of johann wolfgang goethe, weimar

[taken in early winter, 2011]

today, for one minute, measure something only with your heart. [on the twenty-sixth]

today, it seems, is a day of milestones. arrivals and departures.

always i wonder: how to honor life as you go along, how to mean it.

not just live by rote.

not just calculate reality. calculate the incalculable. live.

the sun outside, an almost-sheer sliver of leaf on the white rose

just past my window, the cool metal of the ancient tiny scratched

kitchen table currently acting as my desk: that's what's here now.

and us, we are here. you are reading this, i wrote it.

how to honor all these things, and people? you. my dear friend and her

mother, the sun beyond the window. the man i met 33 years ago (today)

and married 29 years ago next week, the birthday he celebrates today.

the calculus of love. what's to measure? what life brings?

we are such a rational society! we seem to want to measure everything.

it makes it more real. if it's real, we can use it. no equivocating. it's on

paper, it's online, it's on a ledger, it's the astute observation of an expert

in the field. it's a fact. is that how we measure life? (as if we know what

will happen next!)

today, for one minute, measure something only with your heart. measure

the translucency of a leaf, or the white of the rose, or maybe how many

miles high your love for someone is- would it reach straight through the

center of the earth, come back again on the other side, fly off toward the

sun & go beyond? 33 years. he called me on the phone, and we talked

for almost an hour. about what? it was pretty unusual for either one of

us. there was some discussion about my scrapbooks. (scrapbooks?) paper,

old-style scrapbooks, pieces of life. rather odd. he listened. very wonderful.

he is still listening. we have created, now, a hundred thousand memories.

scrapbooks? in a sense. no glue. well, lots of glue. the glue: love. the scraps:

life. no books. just moments. a hundred thousand moments together, with

our children, with our parents, with our family. with our friends. with love.

so much in our society is calculation. what's wealth? a bank book? a

scrapbook? a vault of art, locked away? we are the richest people we

know, he and i. the treasure? our children, our families, our friends; our

life together. time is the real wealth. and love. time spent with care.

care spent with love.

how to honor this (or any) moment? the sun rose today. you and i are

here, others gone. we've got now, we've got the love they gave us, we've

got love to give. as far as i can see, that's it. no hidden art in a vault.

spend the time, calculate the cost. measure life.

but measure it with only love.

marylebone

didn't break stride

structure

note

this Easter, a young man we are very fond of snapped a

photo of the bookcase in our front hall; later, he sent

it (and others)- a thoughtful note. what a lovely

way to thank someone. what a delightful gift it is

to see the funny little set of shelves through his eyes.

photo: k. chaves

edifice

sander. campari.

karin sander

campari soda

rise. shine. address powerful goodness.

posting these for a friend; i went, i saw, i didn't stay long.

but the bit i did glimpse was divine. someday, maybe, will

bunk at the st. john or have one of these fabulous lamps to

switch on when i crack open a book. or maybe not. well.

either way, it's fun to imagine. sources? sam baron: light.

st. john: rest. and happy mother's day (a bit late) to julie.

& everyone else. with love. surely & truly.

title quote: ben (sort of)

advice?

listen

(here)

image: jonge meesters

return of the mid

images: ida robinson burton, mills, unsung, muir, shorpy

news: information. work.

(and a great

middie blouse)

images: vassarcollegearchives

it's very clear

the new

gold standard:

it just doesn't

get any better

than remodelista

And how does one pay for thoughts? The answer, I think, is: with courage.

So, the other day I was supposed to show up at a printing class with a quote. Therefore, at midnight or something, I am trying to find quotes. These are all Wittgenstein (or so they say). They are all from twitter and wikipedia (so if I'm starting to look semi-academic don't be fooled). Here's what he said, in part:

Philosophy unravels the knots in our thinking; hence its results must be simple,

but its activity is as complicated as the knots that it unravels.

Aim at being loved without being admired.

You could attach prices to thoughts. Some cost a lot, some a little.

And how does one pay for thoughts? The answer, I think, is:

with courage.

Religion is, as it were, the calm bottom of the sea at its deepest point,

which remains calm however high the waves on the surface may be.

The human body is the best picture of the human soul.

To pray is to think about the meaning of life.

If life becomes hard to bear

we think of a change in our circumstances.

But the most important and effective change,

a change in our own attitude,

hardly even occurs to us,

and the resolution to take such a step

is very difficult for us.

To believe in a God means

to understand the question about the meaning of life.

To believe in a God means to

see that the facts of the world are not

the end of the matter.

To believe in God means to see that life has a meaning.

..the whole thing is as plain as a sock on the jaw!

You can’t think decently if you don’t want to hurt yourself.

I know all about it because I am a shirker.

Thinking is often easy,

but when it’s most important it threatens to rob one of one’s PET NOTIONS

and leave one BEWILDERED.

The Clement daughters here find my name difficult so they call me ‘Vicky’.

NOBODY else is allowed to do this.

My father was a business man,

and I want my philosophy to be businesslike,

to get something done,

to get something settled.

Tell them I've had a wonderful life.

(famous last words)

[i liked all of these, so i thought i'd share them. besides, i didn't need the quote when i finally got to class in my elizabeth taylor fashion- i try hard not to be late, but my brain doesn't seem to run on the same time as the brains of others. or something like that- well, we did something else in class- a good thing- and what's the use of midnight research on twitter if you don't share it, right? um. not right, probably. but here, anyway. hope you enjoy as much as i do. and yes, i already posted this quick-snapped photo from berlin. and yes, i'll probably post it again.]

with special thanks to WittTweets

what today was like

50 watts [again]

cha cha

could this be better?

(i think not.)

s. beckett and p. smith

& a certain

w. schofield,

formerly of

a journey

around

my skull