Category Archives: life

seasons

In Oregon, we had a very late and cool summer. And now, summer is walking out the back door with her long trails of warm breezes flowing behind her. Autumn has one wet and muddy foot in the front door, and is bringing with her the scent of earthy decay and ripe apples.

Summer’s warmth was very late in arriving this year. And the whole season was unusually cool. It leaves my husband and i wondering if any of the vineyards will have good fruit this year. We have had a couple of rains, but, the fruit needs about three more weeks to ripen. It is pretty difficult (close to impossible) to make excellent wine from unripened grapes.

The thing with the rains in this part of Oregon, is that they get seriously down to business. None of this rain one day, clear for a week. It starts to rain some time in October, and for the most part it continues to rain until a little let up in April or May. It gets cloudy and grey, which makes us all very needy for a day of sun here and there. Growing up in southern Illinois was a different story with those beautiful fall days and cold yet sunny winters.

Back to the grapes. If the rain spout really turns on before the grapes are ripe, they will rot. Not good. No one wants a vineyard full of rotting wine grapes. But, we shall see, as only time will tell.

A couple of nights ago, Peter made a dish of insalata caprese. He had some beautiful tomatoes from our friend, another winemaker and a fantastic gardener, Dick Ferraro. Peter bought some basil and mozzarella at the farmer’s market. Those three ingredients, along with salt and a good olive oil is all it takes, but, Peter also likes to add an excessively good balsamic vinegar that is all thick and sweet. It was so pretty that i had to get a photograph of it. An image of the last of summer on a plate. We also have a tiny bit of summer, in a few peaches, sitting on our kitchen counter being eyed every day for the exact time of juicy sweetness.

changes

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This week was a week of noticeable transition. CJ and i were getting accustomed to getting up and out the door in the mornings, as it was our first week off of summer time and back on to school time. Which is mostly CJ getting herself ready for school, and me getting ready to drive her near enough, in the backed-up line of cars, to let her out. She gets out of the car and walks at the point when the students are walking faster than the cars are moving. Which is not too long of a walk, so it works out fine.

I have started on a painting, and it’s going a bit slow, but, i am liking the process. It is very much like feeling my way along a ledge on the outside of a building…and then being pulled through a window now and then. I think that i might take detail photos of certain areas as we go along. yes…we. As for me, to make (what most of us call) art, i must (and like to) interact and collaborate (play together) with my Creator. It is in the painting process that i have been learning this, along with the comprehension that the interaction, collaboration and play can (and probably should) take place in other aspects of my life as well.

And, of course, in the middle of it all, was this feeling of going back in time, or being in some kind of limbo or stillness, as many things have been said and done in remembrance of the loss and changes that took place, ten years ago, on Sep. 11, 2001.
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pleasantly disturbed

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the third thursday of the month, that’s what it is, and not what i am.
though i have to admit, it is a part of me.

i miss some of the people in my life that are dead, or that i can not talk to
or be with, or in some way communicate with.
i miss being able to see them, talk with them, touch them, or share words and
thoughts.

sometimes i am doing something and for a flash of a moment i think of
how i would like to share it with my mom or dad, and within that flash,
the remembering that they are gone.
those flash moments lead to thoughts that are pleasantly disturbing in that i do
remember being able to share with them, even though i no longer can.

actually, i can see both of my parents to a degree whenever i look in the mirror.
bits and pieces of them are in me, along with the people that came before them…
many of whom i have never met.

i miss a few teachers, the good ones that were understanding. they are like
shadows that follow me. they became part of me.

family, friends, pets, created things. there is a time that each is in my life and
becomes a part of me to some degree. and how much a part of me it becomes
does not always match up to how much time is involved in the experience.
a connection can be made in a year, on every third thursday of the month, or
by just one word or one glance.

i know there are times that the connection seems only on my part, i can
enjoy being present with someone or something and later miss it dearly. or i can
take something for granted and not realize the connection until the experinece is past.
but, still, it has become a part of me, each moment, sound, and sight, each person,
every word, scent and touch, every smile, frown, hello and goodbye.

it’s all here within me, and is part of what is used to change me into what i am becoming.

~
photo . “cj’s lips”