Good morning

Wow, what an amazing morning it is!  Looks like it's going to be about 60' today.  I have a full day of house cleaning planned, and I can do it with some windows open!  Now, you must know that I do love winter and I'd sincerely like to get one more great dump of snow, but time's running out for that even here in the mountains.  And there is something exciting about spring.... 

Here come the longer days, the tiny blossoms of trees, the first green of grass that seems to appear overnight.  The air smells different, the clouds look different, and the wind behaves differently.  We all get the urge to spend more time outside and the paths and parks beckon us.  

New starts in nature, the new year is maturing, those resolutions are either really forming solidly or dissipating.  and we're beginning to see the summer ahead.  Ah, the earth spins, we revolve around the sun, the view of the stars changes, and we continue our journey through the cosmos.  Ain't life grand?

Modern masters

My husband and I went on a double date tonight - the Fine Arts Center and dinner.  The FAC was hosting a traveling exhibit of Impressionists and Modern Masters - Monet, Picasso, Kandinsky, Chagall.  I was struck once again by these amazing artists' abilities to put on canvas (board, paper) what they see.  I cannot fathom how to I begin to do that.  

I love to look at great paintings from both far away and very close up - particularly with oil paintings.  There is something fascinating to me about the way the individual brushstrokes from just inches away seem so clearly to be just that - individual motions, dots of color, strokes of a brush.  From a few yards away, these separate entities come together to form a whole.  It was amazing observing this again tonight.  

And what is art, exactly?  Who defines what is great and what is just mediocre?  What is it that moves me and doesn't appeal to you?  Why does this one speak to my heart and that one leaves me cold?  I would love to understand that, but it must just be a complex mix of our individual eyes, how we see color, our experiences in the world, our personalities, what we value.  I would love to be able to put my world down on canvas  - to remember what I've seen and to express my emotions.  

Meanwhile, I'll just keep writing my thoughts down, taking my rolls of pictures, and enjoying the mastery of those whose hands can translate life to canvas.  

Songs and afternoons

Don't you sometimes hear a song that stays with you all day, that you hum as you walk the grocery store aisle or ride the elevator at work (that almost blank space in time where nothing happens and no significant conversation occurs), a song whose words float in your head, whose melody affects not just the way you see the sunshine but how it makes you feel?  It's almost like being in your own story, in your own song.  It's almost like floating above the world and seeing things through someone else's eyes.  Or being in place that feels like it's floating on a pier, not quite fettered to earth. 

I love the end of that kind of day, with the song playing on my stereo, filling my house, the sun going down, golden on this early spring day, making even that tiny bird's shadow flicker and hop, knowing that as I fall asleep, long after the stars have opened like the tiniest flowers,  I'll hear the melody and it will float me into a quiet place, hopefully filled with beauty and love.  

Feeling full

Well, it's time for bed and I've had a full day!  I feel satisfied, sated.  I did a lot today and feel good about everything I did.  I did housework, paid bills, read from a good book, did Bible study with 2 friends, substituted at the library, caught up on some correspondence, had a lovely dinner out, helped my sister babysit, calmed a screaming baby (twice), had a nice chat with my hubby, heard from a long-lost friend, and now I'm ready for bed.  

Don't some days just feel better than others?  Is this a lesson I can take into tomorrow?  Did today feel better than a day where I mostly watch TV?  What about a day when I follow the sun from room to room reading a wonderful book?  How about a day spent in the mountains hiking?  I think the only day that doesn't give me this kind of feeling is the TV day.  Yes, that's a lesson I can try to hold onto.  It's not necessarily that I got so much done today.  It's more that I just did a lot.  I spent time with people, was productive in my home, had some fun, and spent some lovely time with myself. 

I'll try to remember this from day to day...and see what tomorrow brings.

Clogged

What is it about a bad cold that makes you feel like you've got glue in your face?  Too much information for you?  Well, aren't I a whiner lately?  I guess my body just isn't ready to cooperate with all my grand plans I had for March - first month not working, getting ready for my big trip to Jordan, all that jazz. 

Well, fine!  I'll just take it easy for a few more days, get over this cold, and then hit my (crazy, long!) list next week.  I haven't got that much on it.  Probably only 10 things that I want to get done in March.  OK, I'll pare it down to 4.  That might be more manageable.  

Meanwhile, it's a good thing I stocked up on movies at Blockbuster, or I'd be b-o-r-e-d.  Oh, I am!  Hubby won't let me get off the couch, though.  And unlike his usual behavior, he's actually taking pretty good care of me this illness go-round.  Poor fellow.  He just doesn't know what to do with a wife under the weather. 

One more day, maybe two, and I'll be back to myself.  I'll let you know how it goes.