bug life 5

a bug's life friday 5 on the RevGals site

everyone knows about timeliness and timelessness, and Sophia introduces today's 5 by recollecting:

As I was walking the beach today, I was surprised and delighted to find it swarming with ladybugs. The sweet little red beetles are one of my favorite insects and also my daughter's blogname...In that spirit, this week's Friday Five is a magical mystery tour through God's garden of creepy crawlies!

Here's my almost insta-play for today:

1. I'm not sure if I use any particular regional terminology, but I was born in the Deep South and essentially grew up in New England with grandparents raised in Michigan and Mississippi, who often referred to farms they'd had in Nebraska and North Carolina, so lately I've been wondering how on earth they got to New England. Therefore, Ladybugs and Pillbugs and this is the first time I've heard about Jesus bugs or water skeeters.
2. spiders I can't peacefully co-exist with get transported outside.
3. butterflies and ladybugs and dragonflies are my favorite insects for today.
4. least favorite? none...ummm...better make that "cockroaches." My grandmother clearly let me know about the complex and essential interrelatedness and interdependence of all creation.
5. good bug stories and anecdotes! For starters, today I'm wearing ladybug earrings. Also, although I last saw my apparently recently-deceased biological father when I was about 5, he had a PhD in entomology and worked as an entomologist for the US Forest Service. My aforementioned grandmother, one of the more curious, knowledgeable and well-informed people I've ever known was 8th grade educated but frequently said she would have become an entomologist if she'd had an opportunity to continue her education. My final vignette is bitter memories of the gorgeous, complex bug project I worked so hard on in HS biology and that the teacher insisted on holding on to almost forever. She refused to return anyone's project, but told us if we came back to visit in 10 years or so she might give them back.

I think that response also qualifies for an answer to the Bonus question: share a poem, song, quotation, etc. about insects.

poetry party 34: illustrated!

poetry party 34: gifts of creation

Abbey of the Arts: poetry party 34


Christine invites us "to write poems in honor of the gift of earth and the ways God is revealed to you through stone or mountain, flower or fruit. Let this be your hymn of praise to creation." I added a title to one of my favorite photographs of Nick's backyard garden in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood: poetry party 34

Gifts of Creation

these plants remind me
life is persistent
they tell me I share history
with Nick
with the city of Boston
with the ground
with all creation
with the entire people of God
everywhere in every time

these plants remind me
easter dawn rises
from the heart of the earth
resurrection happens after death

these plants remind me
the ground holds nutrients
that generate life

this image reminds me
the land has nurtured my own gifts
by providing a place
and physical stuff

this image reminds me
creation does not discriminate
but freely offers life to all

these plants remind me
the church is moving into
the green and growing season
called ordinary time

poetry party 33

Abbey of the Arts Poetry Party 33


Christine observes,

...We celebrate Easter for a full 50 days, days that slowly grow longer in the Northern hemisphere and more vibrant as the blossoming of the world unfolds around us. ... I invite you to write a poem (or other form of reflection) about what your practices of resurrected life might look like. How would it feel to really embody resurrected life in your own being? If you made a commitment for the Easter season to complement your Lenten commitment, where is the invitation you discover?

practicing resurrection
living "as if" it is Easter
being and basking
in the subtle sheen of
early Easter dawn
that always surprises

but this is Easter
this is Pentecost
this is the reign of the Spirit of Life!

Christ has died;
Christ is Risen;
Christ will come again.

how do we forget so quickly and easily?
how do we keep living "as if?"
how do we follow the Risen One?

remember the witness of scripture...
"while it was still dark, the stone was rolled away!"

pudding 5

from Songbird we have today's (hasty) pudding 5

1. I really love puddings of almost every kind: chocolate, fudge, vanilla, pistachio, bread, rice, tapioca...

2. in terms of the class blanc mange variety, cooked is way better but instant or a Hunt Club or Kraft's pre-made is fine, too

3. corn pudding or figgy pudding? both, but bread pudding is my most favorite

4. I've never finger painted with pudding

5. what is the matter with A. A. Milne's Mary Jane? she doesn't want pudding at all! she wants her namesake Marijuana!

no bonus from me today, but later on I'll try to retrieve and post my fave bread pudding recipe.

King of Glory, King of Peace

King of glory, King of peace,
I will love thee;
and that love may never cease,
I will move thee.
Thou hast granted my request,
thou hast heard me;
thou didst note my working breast,
thou hast spared me.

Wherefore with my utmost art
I will sing thee,
and the cream of all my heart
I will bring thee.
Though my sins against me cried,
thou didst clear me;
and alone, when they replied,
thou didst hear me.

Seven whole days, not one in seven,
I will praise thee;
in my heart, though not in heaven,
I can raise thee.
Small it is, in this poor sort
to enroll thee:
e'en eternity's too short
to extol thee.

George Herbert, published posthumously in The Temple, 1633

poetry party 32: from dust to dust

abbey of the arts poetry party 32


from dust to dust

Ash Wednesday
cascading memories
Mississippi Delta dirt
Nana's zinnias
daffodils springing from Salem soil
on to the university greenhouse
begonias in living room flowerpots
digging troughs for tulips on 5th avenue
Heather's perennials
Nick's greenery
condo complex landscape committee
Ash Wednesday
liturgy and another memory
I am dust and
starlight and
golden
Jesus takes us back to the garden

poetry party 31

Abbey of the Arts Poetry Party 31, and on Monday Christine greeted us with, "Happy Feast of Imbolc, St. Brigid's Day, Candlemas, and Groundhog Day!"

I especially love her intro:

Imbolc is a Celtic feast that is cross-quarter day, meaning it is the midway point between the winter solstice and spring equinox. The sun marks the four Quarter Days of the year (the Solstices and Equinoxes) and the midpoints are the cross-quarter days. In some cultures today is the official beginning of spring.

As the days slowly lengthen and the sun makes her way higher in the sky, the ground beneath our feet begins to thaw. The earth softens and the seeds deep below stir in the darkness. The word "imbolc" means "in the belly." The earth's belly is beginning to awaken, new life is stirring, seeds are sprouting forth. So even though many of you reading this may not see the signs of spring anywhere, they are there beneath the ground.

Candlemas and Imbolc are traditionally a time to look forward. I invite you to write a poem to help notice what the new life stirring within your own belly feels like or the stirring in the world around you deep beneath the frozen ground.

days of future present

parched ground cracks
slurp up today's
early february hint-of-spring rains
that soften the soil for fertile seeds

the earth opens wide
for a surprise of new life
my feet slip in every direction
my belly and my brain feel seasick

like cross-quarter days
neither fully the last season
nor wholly the next one
being on any threshold
makes maintaining any sort of balance
more than uncertain...

the pointer sisters sang "jump for my love"*
the liminal can't hold us steady where we used to live,
so I'm telling us to jump in!
I am the one, you are the one, we are the ones...
heaven on earth waits here at the door

then jump for the love,
for the life of the world
so jump into spring
jump into easter
jump into spring!
*"Jump (for my love)" written by Steve Mitchell, Marti Sharron & Gary Skardina; performed by The Pointer Sisters

HGTV 5

Will smama brings us today's 5 about my "home past, present or future..." and given my passion for and preoccupation with color, line, pattern, design and related, I figured this would be a great day to play.

1) If you could, what room in the place you are currently living would you redo first?
My kitchen (please see #4) is okay, but that's what I'd change first. Or maybe non-BR, non-LR floors, though they're also within more than acceptable limits (see #5).

2) What is the most hideous feature/color/decor item you have ever seen in a home?
Although I can't cite anything specific, I remember ROTFLOL so many times checking out various living spaces, almost aghast that anyone would imagine renting such a place. Including comments from managers such as, "this is where that girl was murdered—I'm sure you read about it."

3) What feature do you most covet? Do you have it? If not, is it within reach?
A deck and possibly a yard! Those features cannot happen where I am (hey, I don't even have the balcony about half the units in this complex possess!), but if I decided or was able to acquire one of the duplexes that are so popular around here, many of them already have or have the potential for a deck plus really nice landscaping whilst remaining quite urban in sensibility.

4) Your kitchen - love it or hate it? Why?
Inbetween both. It was in moderate condition with newish appliances when I moved in, and many coats of medium golden yellow paint to cover the ultra dark green cabinets helped a lot, as did the sideboard I got very on sale (with free shipping!) at JC Penney, something I totally prefer to all built-ins. But walking around the 3 floors of this complex I notice how lovely many of the upgraded kitchens are, though I don't at all care for the more formal ones with dark wood, etc.

5) Here is $10,000 and you HAVE to spend it on the place you are living now. What do you do?
Having already gotten rid of all the relatively new, medium gray carpet (as well as the high-end electrolux vacuum someone had given me) that was here when I moved in and replaced it with oak laminate in the bedrooms, and wonderful (really!) sheet vinyl in the LR, I'd begin with stone or tile floors to integrate the rest of this about 1400 square feet all on 1 floor from kitchen to DR, through halls into both bathrooms. Although the bathrooms are okay and I detest tub baths, or soaking, I'd also upgrade and modernize the bathrooms, more for appearance than function.

For my own bonus I'll mention I've (re-)painted all the bedrooms and LR non-white and also repainted all the paintable furniture in a huge variety of hues; I LOVE painted furniture! I'm passing on the ugly bathroom tile bonus, since I have no need to cringe again today...thanks, Will smama!

poetry party 30

poetry party 30 - wings/taking flight

As always, Christine hints at a possible focus and direction:

"In the US, today is of course Martin Luther King, Jr. day ...And tomorrow is Inauguration Day... So I invite you to enter into the image below. ...Write a poem about the process or the moment, or perhaps in honor of the significance of this day or tomorrow. (Photo taken at St. Bart’s church in NYC last spring)"

the angel
an ev-angelical
a messenger
"good newser"
announces fear not
to us has arrived a God-spell
a whispered do not be afraid
lift every voice and sing
our new day begins!

tabouli.

• cucumber, diced
• several roma tomatoes, diced (remove seeds if you’re not lazy); I often use halved grape or quartered cherry tomatoes, too
• Parsley, finely chopped 1/2 to 3/4 cup
• 1/2 cup bulghur wheat
• 1 or 2 or 3 or 7 or 8 green onion(s) that some people insist on calling scallions...
• Lemon juice
• Olive oil
• allspice (optional)
• cinnamon (optional)
• salt?

Pour hot water over the bulghur and let soak until soft and most of the water has been absorbed. Mix the diced veggies and then add the bulghur and mix some more, add lemon juice and olive oil to get the right flavor and consistency. Add the spice(s) and salt and mix a bit more. Refrigerate, eat and enjoy.

poetry party 29

abbey of the arts: epiphanies!


Christine suggests: What if this year one of your resolutions was to create enough space for epiphanies to happen? What if you made a commitment to slow down enough to see the shimmering web of connections that exists everywhere, just waiting for us to notice? I invite you to write a poem this week in celebration of epiphanies, of new beginnings, of new ways of seeing. You can write directly from the image below, which was taken on a very foggy morning in Seattle, or let it simply allow intuitive connections to stir.

today I'm prosaically thinking of possibilities

We hear about the power of all kinds of webs and networks; for instance, maybe I can't put out my hand and touch you directly but I can touch my neighbor who in turn can reach and touch you...like ripples from the stone thrown into still water, life begets life begets life. But in business, creative and professional worlds sometimes it looks as if the higher on the food chain consume and kill those lower ones rather than touching and healing them.

The world wide web has become part of everyday, an inter-net intertwining countless lives, birthing new named communities amidst pervasive anonymity and alienation. How many once strangers have become friends? What ideas have we exchanged? What dreams have we helped each other recognize and grow?

Holding a web close to my face I can focus on a discrete part of a whole. Viewing through the net at arm's length I clearly see separate facets containing countless variation within its own bounded yet interconnected space.