A great blogging exercise, and a meditation for me.
Pretzels. One of my favorite snacks for car trips, or any time at all. I prefer crunchy ones, and original twists instead of sticks, etc. I've been known to dip them in delicious mustards, port wine cheese spread, peanut butter, hummus and many other tasty dips.
Paper. It's maybe the most versatile man-made product ever, and it's been around for thousands of years. I loved to make paper when I was younger, with an old blender, photo frame and window screen. I know a couple origami patterns, and you really can't beat good old fashioned paper for a grocery list or love note.
Ponds. They're usually calm, and full of unique plant and animal life. I have fond memories of collecting tadpoles in jars and skipping stones when I was a little girl, and a frozen pond in the winter is a special treat.
Privacy. This isn't something one might share an image of, but I especially love this photo. I like being able to enjoy my own space, if only for a little while. Part of the appeal of large cupboards and closets, treehouses and forts is that they afford a little bit of privacy.
Peonies. They have been a favorite of mine for years. Everything about them is rich and luxurious-- their scent, color, the softness and fullness of their petals and the weight of a clustered bloom. They are truly a flower for women, and I wish they lasted longer than just a few weeks in June.
Pintucking. This is a bonus actually, because those are pintucked pillows-- double P! Pintucking is a tailoring and embellishment method that adds interest and shape to fabric. I especially love it in soft colors, because it creates shadows on the material, and no extra color is needed.
Popcorn. My favorite way to make it is on the stovetop at my mom's house, but my hot-air popper was a wonderful $2 garage-sale find. I remember eating popcorn and drinking orange juice while we watched "The Wizard of Oz" when we were little, on a quilt spread out on the living room floor. We ate it out of my mom's biggest stainless steel bowl, which holds about 3 gallons! My favorite way to eat popcorn is with melted butter, salt and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Paint. Another double-- I love peeling paint. I like painting walls because it's a good activity to do with friends and music and pizza and beer, and also because the final effect is so dramatic. The first bedroom I remember having was a pale peachy-cantaloupe color, but since then I've slept in bedrooms that were sky blue, white, maroon, purple (horrible purple!), very pink, pale pale lavender, buttery yellow and slate blue.
Powerlines. Especially covered with birds. I love to imagine being up there with them, seeing what they see. I love the idea of being able to perch on something so thin, but so strong and, well... powerful.
3 comments:
A long time ago, as I walked to school, there were for a few weeks hundreds, if not thousands, of birds clustered on the powerlines. I knew my birds (or so I thought), yet I didn't recognize these. They were there every morning and vanished by the time I came home from school. They would poop little round seeds, to my delight, which would bounce and click around me, and they (the birds, not the poop) made little "purrrr-DEEER" sounds. I thought: I know exactly who would know these birds - George, your grandfather. I couldn't wait to ask him, because I was always excited to find a single new bird to check off my list, let alone see a new bird that numbered in the thousands, which were lined up so tightly on the powerlines that there was no room for another bird between them. So, finally, I was able to ask George what they were, and I told him about the "purr-DEEEEER" and the little seeds and how they clustered and flocked . . . and he didn't know. He would have known if he saw them, of course, but my description was lacking. I couldn't describe the colors, or the pattern, or even the shape of the beak, because they were far too high up. It turned out they were one of the most common birds in the world - the foreign and invasive pest, the European Starling. (I believe the birds on your picture may be Starlings, by the way.) As a side note, I can't believe there was once a time when I didn't know Starlings!
I love any stories about my Grandpa George. I love any stories about birds, and perspective leading to discovery. Thanks!
That was a very nice story.
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