Conceit

I finished reading Mary Novik's novel yesterday. Conceit is a strange and wonderful story based on the life Pegge Donne, the daughter of John Donne. It is set in 17th century England, which seems strange and familiar by turn. Real people and places are brought to life as ordinary and extraordinary figures. In the middle of it all, we see Pegge growing up from little girl to grandmother, all the while craving the legendary passion that was shared by her parents and memorialized in her father's poetry.

In between chapters I re-read some of John Donne's poetry and was reminded about how beautiful and also difficult it is. Mary Novik portrays John Donne as a difficult man to know. After his wife's death (in childbirth with their 12th baby), he raised 7 surviving children alone. As a widower, he was appointed Dean of St. Paul's church in London. In his new role, he did his best to suppress the embarrassing revelations of his love poetry. Pegge survives the pox, and cares for her father in his final days, all the while burning with curiosity and longing for a grand passion.

Nature, 17th century English society, art, architecture, religion, upper class home life, life at court, politics, science, medicine and cooking are all woven into the story. I saw Mary Novik read from her book at Word on the Street Last week. One member of the audience asked to what extent she went to ensure the accuracy of the details of everyday life. She answered, "This is my 17th century." She talked about visiting the places in the novel as part of her research, and how the dramatic and pivotal opening scene of the novel came to her when she visited St. Paul's. While I'm no expert, the details feel authentic, and definitely serve to advance the narrative.

I enjoyed the richness of this novel's setting and details, the complexity of its characters and the idea of a life spent in fierce pursuit of a connection that would consume all else. Pegge is a fascinating character. Her thoughts and actions in the story made me think about the things we try to hide about ourselves, even from the people who know and love us best. I also thought about the juxtaposition of reverence and resentment in public and private relationships, and about the idea of how we think about ourselves and who we will be after we die. In all of our lives, no matter where our minds take us in speculation about immortality, there is a strong force pulling us back to what is real, alive, today. For me, Conceit asked me to look at that force from a new perspective. I'm glad I did.

thanksgiving shopping haiku

at Kin's Farm Market
brussels sprouts are going like
proverbial hotcakes

question: did you see the grocery store yesterday?

mompoet - headed for the feast

Go see this show

Last time it was awesome. It will be again, I'm sure.

question: when you take a breath, what does it sound/feel/look/taste like?

mompoet - breathing in the universe in small sips and jubilant gulps

cold morning haiku

first day winter coat
cherry chapstick in pocket
tastes like ice skating

question: isn't this too soon?

mompoet - shivvering and sp-p-puttering (and licking my lips and looking for my skates)

Saturday afternoon haiku

two girls cavort in
basement bubble wrap stomp-down
sounds like tap-dancing

question: pop pop snap?

mompoet - happy

Burma

Last night, CBC Radio's As It Happens featured words from Burma's Foreign Minister Nyan Win speaking to the UN General Assembly, and also from Henthe Myint, spokesperson for the opposition National League for Democracy.

Listen here.

Question: Haven't they waited long enough to get their Burma back?

mompoet - saddened, outraged and amazed by the strength of the human spirit

wordless

Moms in Action

Thanks for the photo, Karen!

The Mom Song

Thank you Myrna for pointing me to this one:



question: is this familiar?

mompoet - so familiar

Wet Good Festival

Word on the Street was literally waterlogged, but its wonderful spirit was un-dampened. Lots of people braved the rain to hear their favourite authors and poets read and recite, and to pick up great deals on books and magazines. The re-designed site plan was successful. In fact, the location for Poets' Corner was probably better than our usual - less sound interference from other tents and lots more light into the afternoon. Although attendance was down over all, our venue was as busy as ever. The poets on stage were great - a wonderful variety of voices and experiences reflected in their work. As volunteer organizers we were made quite comfortable - there was a lovely volunteer and VIP lounge (relocated from the library to a nearby hotel) and roving pizza-givers to ensure we had something to sustain us when we couldn't leave our posts. I heard Mary Novik read from Conceit and got Marita Dachsel's to sign her book all things said and done for me after I hosted her hour in our tent. At the end of the day I found my feet dry, my head wet, my backpack soaked (no harm done) and my umbrella full of water under a table. We had a successful and enjoyable day.

question: did you ever do a "sunny day thing" on a rainy day?

mompoet - happy, tired and now all dry

water dream

I dreamed last night that I was a lifeguard at a city swimming pool. A large amount of money had to be left on site overnight at the pool. Another lifeguard and I were assigned to stay at the pool all night to safeguard the money until it could be taken to the bank the next day. We were instructed to stay in the pool, in the water. We were given floating devices but warned that the water would be very cold, and we might get hypothermia, so it was important that we keep each other awake so neither of us would slide off the floaty and drown.

I tried to phone a supervisor and say that I thought we could do just as good a job guarding the money out of the water, and didn't we have a safe anyway? but nobody would listen.

question: what do dreams mean?

mompoet - thinking I was thinking I know what I need to worry about and what will take care of itself

Sunday Rumblings

I had night-before-event sleep last night. Three hundred sixty four days a year I win the prize for fastest the sleep and sweetest repose, but last night the rain pounded, trains shunted down at the inlet and I actually dreamed wrong times on the bedside alarm clock (How can it be 7 o'clock, then 5:15, then 6 o'clock then 7 again?).

This morning I am a bit grumpy and partly distracted about church because I read in the local paper yesterday that ours is one of five area churches that has applied for approvals to operate a temporary, rotating cold/wet weather shelter for homeless people this winter. I am so excited and delighted about this, wondering how I haven't heard about it until now, thinking (hoping not) it may be a typo or mistake, planning already to volunteer when it's our turn. Also, I'm eager to know that we'll get enough people signed up for a Food Safe Course I've helped organize for our sandwich-makers and banquet-servers. The project is in good hands with me away, but still...

Also, I am dithering about a poem to take as an endpiece to my hosting hour. Usually I have one that chooses itself because I love it so. But this time I'm at sea. Oh well. Something will come up before it's time. I hope.

I know today will be a great (wet) day. It will be funny and delightful in unexpected ways. All of the poets will be comfortable, happy and appreciated, and if they are not all 100% so, it will not be because we didn't do our best. That's all we can do, after all.

question: do you ever grump and grumble then get on with it?

mompoet - stalling in sludge

Saturday morning vocab by illustration (with links)

cozy - Saturday morning, rhubarb pecan muffins in the oven, new slippers, coffee brewing, North by Northwest on the Radio (talking about cooking)

delighted - driving Fiona to rehearsal soon. She got the part of Wendy in Peter Pan. She will learn how to fly for this production.

anticipating - Word on the Street is tomorrow. Because of the city strike, most of the event has been moved across the street to the Canada Post parking lot. Pouring rain and high winds are predicted. What will it be like this year?

dread head - going to see Julie this morning for a haircut and some colour magic to disguise the silver threads that have grown over the summer - this will involve a very tight plastic bonnet and a crochet hook thingy poked into my head repeatedly (beauty has its price)

disbelief - Dinosaurs in Stanley Park

appreciation - two movies this week: 3:10 to Yuma at the theatre (pretty good), Knocked Up on DVD (starts out crude, ends up sweet, great if you have a taste for the two co-mingled - I do!)

enthralled - reading Conceit by Mary Novik - delicious (she'll be at Word on the Street)

overwhelmed/triumphant - September really is something - we made it, we did it, we got back to work, back to school, toes inside shoes, heads back into routines, phew

question: what do these words mean to you?

mompoet - full of life, full of words

some questions are not easy to answer

If a not had a knot in its aught, oughtn't the knot not thought?

question: there it is

mompoet - not

some questions are easy to answer

Are you sure you want to permanently delete the contents of the spam mailbox?

Would you like a pear? or a banana?

Is this the door?

Can I have seconds?

Have you seen the cat?

Is that the furnace I smell?

Do you mind if I park my parrot on your portico?

question: pick any or all

mompoet - easy easy

the best thing right now

is a bartlett pear, eaten with a cloth napkin, on a bench in the sun.

You need to push up your sweater sleeves because the juice from the pear is mostly caught by the napkin, but not all.

You don't need to zip up the sweater (yet).

question: what simple pleasure did you enjoy today?

mompoet - marking the season in plain and happy ways

Turtle Valley

I spent last weekend with my women friends, and also with Gail Anderson-Dargatz's new novel, Turtle Valley. Luckily, we are all readers, so my hour-here, hour-there forays into this delicious book were socially acceptable. I have loved the previous novels by this author, and her latest did not disappoint me. It's set in the Shuswap region of British Columbia, on a family farm. The main character, Katrine, visits her aging parents to help them prepare in case an advancing forest fire forces them to evacuate. We meet Katrine's parents, her sister, her husband and her young son, and her parents' neighbour (and Katrine's former lover). We also get to know her grandparents through artifacts revealed during the packing up, and stories (sometimes reluctantly) told by family members. Most of the action takes place on the farm, evoking an intimate and often claustrophobic feeling. The storyline moves easily backward in time, as stories of Katrine's childhood, and her parents' and grandparents' early years are unpacked, dusted off and set out in the light of day.

I loved many things about this story. The characters are cleanly and beautifully drawn, and seem like people I have met, or do thing I have done myself. The son Jeremy responds to his mother's thoughts as if they were spoken out loud, and voices the obvious personal truths that all of the adults take pains to ignore or downplay. The husband Ezra, recovering from a stroke, speaks in a strange language of metaphors that is simultaneously beautiful and frustrating. Parents and grandparents are puzzling and reassuring, strong and helpless by turn, in that way that people are when we love them and know them so well we have trouble really seeing them. Ex-lover Jude is powerfully compelling, as he persists with his raku firing in his pottery studio, even as the forest fire advances.

The other thing I love is the detail of the setting and events. Like the characters, these are presented with just enough information to draw a clear and authentic picture, without bogging down the story. I've been enjoying Gail Anderson-Dargatz's website and reading about how found objects from her own family figure in the story, and how they helped the story take shape as she wrote it. She also talks about interviewing people about their own lives and experiences, and incorporating elements of these stories, along with experiences of her own life and people she knows, to make something that connects to the reader's own experiences.

Then there's the magical realism. Strangely, it didn't even dawn on me that this is part of all of Anderson-Dargatz's novels until I read it written by a reviewer somewhere. Premonitions, apparitions, extra-sensory perception, sensing the thoughts and feelings of others beyond normal reckoning - these things are all so organic to her characters (in this and her other novels) that it doesn't jump off the page and say "Hey! here's the other-world part of the story." It just fits perfectly naturally with the people and what's happening in their story.

Turtle Valley made me think about how things and people change and stay the same, and how our understanding of them and appreciation for them changes with experience and thoughtful and compassionate knowing. In this story, nature compels a major reckoning for a family, forced to make many painful decisions about changing or staying the same. There's a central mystery that is fully revealed in a satisfying ending that took me by surprise.

I am very happy to have read this novel. I recommend it without reservation. I have a borrowable copy, for my nearby friends and neighbours, but I will want it back. This is one that I'll read again for sure.

question: do you find aspects of yourself in the stories that you read?

mompoet - loving a good story

Word on the Street Vancouver - On the Move but Still Happening

As the Vancouver civic strike continues, plans are afoot to keep Word on the Street happening, even though its usual venue of Vancouver Library and Library Square is behind picket lines and unavailable for the festival.

Here's a link to the WOTS web page that has info and updates.

question: what's the word on your street?

mompoet - hoping that a settlement will be reached soon

Turtle Valley

I finished it yesterday. I'm still letting it sink in, so I'm not ready to talk about it except to say I think it is wonderful. I have also been enjoying the website of author Gail Anderson-Dargatz - great blog and forum, especially the article on "The Art of Reading" in her forum's book club section.

I'm now taking a rest from fiction for a day or two (that's actually an odd thing to say because I know fiction is all around me and inside me all the time - but you know what I mean). I will launch into Mary Novik's Conceit, as soon as I can get my hands on a copy.

I'll blog my thoughts about Turtle Valley once I have had some time alone with them.

question - what are you reading?

mompoet - so many books, so little time

I am the Captain

My pirate name is:

Captain Anne Flint

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

How we got to and from the Sunshine Coast

That's Myrna's van, being towed back to us at the place where we stopped for lunch (and parked illegally) on our way in to Sechelt. The bylaw officers and tow truck drivers are very nice and helpful in Sechelt. Next time we go to Sechelt we will be careful where we park.

The trip on the ferry was kind of surreal. First of all, our Premier Gordon Campbell was on board, just riding like any other British Columbian. He was with his wife and Bill Good from the TV news. Nobody bugged them, which is typical I think of polite British Columbians. A guy's gotta take a ferry sometimes, even if he is the Premier.

Then the captain told us to go look out the window at a cruise ship. Yup, that's a cruise ship, not our ferry. The ship was on its way in or out of Vancouver harbour. I can' remember. I ate too much kettle corn and I was ogling the Premier.

This is where we stayed

It was gorgeous all weekend, then we woke up Sunday morning to rain on the skylights. Even all grey, it was beautiful. This time we barely left the house. Everything we needed was right there.

Wasn't that a party?

Nelson had the time of his life, enjoying slurps and crumbs and vistas and his favourite lady friends. Someone told him he could have all the kettle corn that he wanted. I said "no" but I was over-ruled. Nelson liked it when I am over-ruled. The highlight for Nelson was making friends with a very fancy Chinese fibre optic sculpture that was inhabited by the spirit of Jimi Hendrix.

More Pictures from the Weekend

The weekend is partly "treatsy," partly healthy, mostly fun and playful. Kirsi told me today she thinks we laughed to the point of hysteria several times each day, and that's healthy.

wordy wordless wednesday

home

After a wonderful weekend, I'm home again, grateful for good friends and feeling renewed appreciation for my life, my home, my family, the people around me. Our trip seems to do that for me every year. Just sitting with the moms who have become my good friends just from living together on the same street does me a world of good. We talk about what's happened in our lives during the past year, share stories about our parents, husbands, children, and everything seems to sift into place. We are lucky to have one another as friends. We also have a few adventures and lots of hysterical laughter, so we come home with new stories to tell our families, and with renewed energy for the busy months ahead.

I'll post some photos and share some of the stories soon here on the blog. For now, thank you friends. Thank you world. I love you family.

question: who's in your circle of friends?

mompoet - thank you Cathy, Kirsi, Myrna, Leanne, Karen

one more sleep

We're going to the sunshine coast, the ladeez and me. We leave on the ferry Friday morning. We're staying

in the big house
on top of the rock
beside the ocean
in the private cove
with the seals
and corgis
and boats
and Nelson
and wine
and pajamas
and did I mention, Myrna, Kirsi, Karen, Leanne, Cathy
and me
and a hot tub

It's a September tradition. We'll spend the weekend re-connecting and relaxing. I can hardly wait!

question: do you have a getaway that you enjoy every so often?

mompoet - lucky, happy, excited

Word on the Street

is coming around again. I'm helping again this year at Poets' Corner. This year's event is 11am-5pm on Sunday, September 20, at Library Square in downtown Vancouver. Yet another reason to hope that the Vancouver city workers' strike is settled soon.

Here's the Vancouver WOTS website. Come on down on the 30th. It's huge, free, friendly and peopled with amazing writers, poets, readers and book and magazine lovers.

question: what's the word on your street?

mompoet - Septemberizing

Twisted Poets

I'll read at next Tuesday evening's Twisted Poets Literary Salon, hosted by Pandora's Collective. Here's a link to their page about the event.

I have some practising and re-memorizing to do to get ready. When I was at Twisted Poets in May, someone requested that I perform "Mother's Day." I told her that I would do it when I came back to feature. So I have to work on that one because I haven't performed it in several months.

My friend Irene is planning to come with me. It should be a fun evening. There's an open mic, so I'll get to hear her read, along with other great poets who come out for the evening.

question: did you ever mean to type www.pandorascollective.com into a browser bar, but accidentally type in www.pandascollective.com?

mompoet - sadly, there is no panda's collective

wrdls wdnsdy

The Queen and the Other Queen After Supper

question: do you ever wear a cape around the house?

mompoet - it makes me feel regal

gross

I ate lunch at my desk today. It was a nice big container of fresh veggies with home-made dip in a separate container. I'm reading email and dipping sugar peas in dip and licking my finger and...what's that? not dip? I look at my finger and it's got some clear gel-like substance on it. Yuk! Investigation reveals that my mini zero-pak frozen thing that keeps food cool in my lunch bag has sprung a leak. It leaked gel all over the inside of my lunchbag. Some got on my veggie container. From there it got on my finger. From there it got in my mouth. uggggg blblblblblblblblbl!

question: yuk?

mompoet - don't lick your finger without looking first

ps - I once ate the little silica pack out of a jar of vitamins because I didn't look and I thought I'd shaken out a vitamin. The lady at poison control just laughed for about 5 minutes.

book thinks

Now that I am in the middle of Ishamael Beah's A Long Way Gone, and Gail Anderson-Dargatz's Turtle Valley is sitting on my nightstand, beckoning, I am having some thoughts about Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass. I have told a couple of people that it is "nothing like Harry Potter." But in fact, there are many plot elements and thematic aspects that are very much the same:

• both are coming of age stories, about a child who discovers he/she is destined for a difficult and complicated greatness
• both are set in worlds that are based on ours, but fundamentally different because of the presence of magic in everyday life, and the addition of a variety of creatures/species/kinds of people who we don't have in our world
• both explore themes of good and evil, truth and deceit, especially in the way that the young heroes understand the actions of the adults (authority figures) in their lives
• both are set partly in a school or university
  
• both have a "GREAT EVIL FORCE"
• both have a benevolent giant who is something of a mother figure
• in both, the young hero discovers strength and abilities he/she didn't know he/she had
• in both there is a quest that ends up with unexpected results and a revision of purpose
• in both there are sacrifices, betrayals, confusion, hardship and extreme danger
• in both, ideas of society, law, philosophy and to greater or lesser degrees religion are explored through plot, setting, characters and background history

I guess I could say that there are no new stories. In fact, everyone who thinks Harry Potter is a fresh original should read Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising.

Of course, all of these things come from all of the stories we have told each other since the beginning of time. That's how stories work, and that's how people's need for connection and understanding is satisfied. That's why we like them. At least that's what I think.

The Golden Compass differs significantly from Harry Potter in tone and mood. It's written in a more direct and less whimsical style, and it gets to the point more quickly. Given all of that, it is complex and intriguing, and definitely less sentimental than Harry Potter. While Potter and the Compass exist in parallel almost-the-same worlds, if I had to choose one world or the other to explore and have adventures in, it would be the darker and more subtly layered world of Pullman's creation.

In fact, I'm happy that we have both. Lots of readers will enjoy both series, but many will like one or the other for very definite reasons. And everyone should read the Susan Cooper books too. By the way, The Dark is Rising will also be out as a movie, later this year I think.

question: are there any new stories?

mompoet - Lyra's Hagrid is a bear

The Golden Compass

I just finished re-reading Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass. I picked it up again because I know the movie is coming out before Christmas. I meant to read it slowly, but I raced through it, just like the first time I read it. It's a wonderful novel, completely satisfying in its ideas, characters and action, and absolutely spellbinding in the way it carries the reader along for a thrilling adventure. I won't say what it's about, because the synopsis on the website does a better job. I recommend this story even more now after a second read. I hope the movie will live up to it.

question: what stories have you read more than once?

mompoet - reading reunions are good

vote for mariangela on famecast

good news, bad news

The bad news is, I returned to work yesterday. Vacation does not last forever.
The good news is, today is massage day. Students from a massage therapy school are visiting and I'm booked in for an hour this morning. That makes going back to work much better.

The good news is, Nelson came back from the Maritimes. He has a cool new skull and crossbones necklace.
The bad news is, he lost his bead bracelet.
The badder news is, baby rat is missing. He did not return from the trip. We're investigating. It's possible he defected to the Maritimes, but also that he was abducted. Nelson seems strangely calm about the whole thing.

The good news is, it's Thursday already.
The bad news is, I have to work Saturday.
The good news is, I have next Friday off.
The gooder news is, next weekend (9 days from now) is the ladeez weekend to the sunshine coast. We booked the great big house on the rock with the ocean deck again. I can hardly wait.

The bad news is, Andy was in a car crash. He was rear-ended at a stoplight.
The good news is, he's feeling better already and damage to the car is minimal, even though the young guy who hit him has a totally smashed-up front end.
The really good news is everyone is basically okay.

The good news is, the kids are back to school and they like their schools and their teachers and their friends at school.
There's no bad news to go with that.

That's all the news for today.

question: what's new with you?

mompoet - mostly good, mostly good

wordless wednesday

I am a dork, not a nerd

Thundering Word Heard Again

One of the losses felt in Vancouver's creative community when T. Paul Ste. Marie died this spring was the end of Thundering Word Heard, T. Paul's own open mic for music and spoken word. TWH was a Sunday evening institution at Cafe Montmartre on Main Street. T. Paul brought in amazing features and encouraged many beginning and returning musicians, poets and storytellers to get up on the stage and share their stuff. It was a good show, and a welcoming community event.

Last night, Thundering Word Heard was brought to life again by Bill McNamara and Wanda Sue Nowicki at Montmartre. The restaurant was packed, with people jamming the entryway and spilling onto the sidewalk to get a glimpse and a listen. I didn't stay until the end, but I caught features Valentino Assenza from Toronto and Rob Gee from the UK. It was especially nice to see Rob, who spent a week billeting at my parents' home during the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in fall 2005. There were some great open mic performances too, including a young blues singer/guitarist who had us all on our feet at the end of his 10 minute set.

The night was in part a tribute to T. Paul, and in part a celebration of our community in all its vibrant creativity. I was glad to be a part of it. Bill and Wanda Sue's TWH will continue on the first, third and fifth Sundays of every month, if you want to check it out. Get there by 7:30 for a seat (earlier if you'd like to enjoy some of host Ali's delicious crepes or pizza). Admission is by donation.

question: have you heard the thundering word?

mompoet - hearing it still

the summer's end talent show airport race to the finish

Fiona's friend Adele returned Sunday, from spending the whole summer in Portugal with her family. Fi and her friends had been planning all summer to meet Adele and her family at the airport, as a surprise welcome to Adele, who was sad to miss the summer at home with her friends. When Fi and Shannon were invited to perform in the Parade of Champions, plans had to be changed. The remaining friends would go to the airport to surprise Adele. Shan and Fi would be at the PNE. Adele's friends would bring her to the PNE in time to be further surprised by the appearance of her friends in the talent show. All of this was arrange by emails back and forth between the girls and Adele's mom, who was also in Portugal, and negotiations with various parents here, about rides and fair gate passes and sleepovers. Banners were made, snacks bought. Everyone waited in happy anticipation.

Then on Sunday afternoon, they discovered that the flight had been delayed. It wouldn't touch down in Vancouver until the talent show had already begun. By the time Adele got baggage and cleared customs, and the girls greeted her and brought her to the PNE (about 30 minutes' drive from the airport) the show would be over. Everyone was disappointed, but still hopeful that all of the parts of the plan might still squeak into place.

The talent show began at 4pm. At 4:15, one of the girls phoned Shannon's mom. Adele and friends were in the car, driving to the fair. We knew that our girls were up last in the show, out of 10 acts, but would their friends make it on time? The fair was crowded with people, and car traffic on surrounding streets was congested and slow. I kept looking around for the airport friends but nothing. Backstage, Shannon and Fiona couldn't know what was happening but I'm sure they were hoping for the best.

The talent show was great. We saw a 7 year old magician, a precision skip-rope group, several guitarist/singers of various ages, an 11 year old salsa dancer. Finally, it was Fiona and Shannon's turn. I said a little prayer, but still, I couldn't see a sign of her friends anywhere on the crowded lawn in front of the amphitheatre. The MC introduced our girls and a big cheer went up. A group of girls jumped to their feet, screaming and cheering - the friends, they made it, just in time! Shannon and Fiona sang beautifully and my heart was filled with joy and relief that it had all worked out the way they had planned. Afterwards, you never saw such a grinning, hugging, happy group of girls. Off they went to spend the night together catching up on summer adventures and looking ahead to the delights of fall.

Another surprise, the talent show coordinator offered free ride passes to the girls, enough for all of them. So today we'll drop 6 of them off for a final visit to the PNE. What a wonderful way to finish their summer.

I'm proud of Shannon and Fiona for making it into the talent show (600 acts auditioned, 140 made it the semi-finals, 14 to finals and 11 to the Parade of Champions). I'm proud of all the girls for their creativity and thoughtfulness in engineering Adele's surprise. I'm grateful that they share this kind of friendship with one another, and constantly amazed at the shape that it takes in their lives.

question: did you ever have a race to the finish?

mompoet - marveling

haikus about bugs in my house

wolf spider, half-chewed
scuttles away from cat-jaws
must have nine lives too

---

thumb-thick moth buzz-bumps

dusty dull buzzing thuds
on bright window screen

rat-a-tat holiday ending

It's been happening so quickly I have to use bullets and I'm probably not remembering all of it.

In the past few days we

• Saw my brother Mike, his wife Emily and their four beautiful children, in town from Prince Rupert. Their baby Daniel is amazing, and eldest son James (7) explained the basics of Facebook to me. Sara and Katie are lovely girls. It's been a while since we've seen them, or Michael and Emily, so it was a good reunion.
• Discovered there's a s 10 Thousand Villages Store in Port Coquitlam.
• Went out for supper with Andy, Fiona and Alex.
• Celebrated Alex's service award and excellent performance review at his summer job. They have already invited him back for next year's fair, and invited him to a banquet honouring great workers (there will be prizes!)
  
• Visited the historic cannery in Steveston Village.
• Met Michele and Brent's new puppy, Jackson. He is a cutey, and Sienna is getting used to her new "brother" just fine.
• Got Alex his parking pass for the high school student parking lot.
• Participated in the online forum launching the Mary Novik's Conceit and Gail Anderson Dargatz's Turtle Valley.

We have two days left before the end of the long weekend. Then it's back to work and school. We have a few more adventures to enjoy. Fiona and Shannon will perform today in the Parade of Champions at the PNE. I'm going to the new Thundering Word Heard tonight. Tomorrow we'll get together with Mom and Dad, and Emily and Mike and their family (including Emily's parents and her sister and brother-in-law and their children) for a giant table at dim sum.

Our vacation has been wonderful. Staying home was the best choice we could have made. It will be good to get back to work and have a bit of a rest!

question: how much fun can you fit into two weeks at home?

mompoet - full up to bursting

enough with the centrifuge

Alex and I went to the PNE last night. We bought "Twilight Ride Passes," good after 7pm, and maxed out the the rides, with occasional stops for fatty snacks. Alex had been looking forward to this since the fair opened almost 2 weeks ago, and finally he had a night off work.

I am very sure now, that I love roller coasters. I am equally sure that my days of enjoying being tied to a string and flung in wild loops (sometimes upside down) are over. A lot of the rides were fun, but I needed recovery time in between, so we'd ride one together, then I'd breathe out slowly while he rode another on his own, then we'd ride together, etc. My biggest regrets of the night are two rides that I skipped onto without watching first how they worked. Normally, I like surprises, but this time it was a mistake. One was called "Spin Out." It caused my brain to spin out of my nostrils in spiraling loops so that I could not walk or talk normally when it was over. Something about being upside down, 50 feet in the air clamped under the legs of a neon tarantula doing break dance moves. The other was called Orbiter. I call it Vomiter. Luckily I did not (vomit, that is). Getting to ride the coaster in the pitch dark made it all worthwhile. Up at the top of the hills you see the whole fair, but in the looping and rushing inside tracks, it's just dark and clackety and amazing - a study in brown and grey and wind and speed and laughter that's over in less than 2 minutes. We left the park at midnight. The rides were still churning, the mini donuts still sizzling, but we had our night of g-forces and were ready to ride the wild Honda home to Port Moody.

question: what is your favourite carnival ride?

mompoet - coaster, coaster, coaster

the swoop of late summer daylight

On the first morning of my vacation it was light outside when I got up to drive to the fair to pick up Alex from his night job there. Now it is dark at the same time of morning.

Check the sunrise and sunset times for August - the change is remarkable over the course of just a couple of weeks.

We have been enjoying late suppers during our vacation. When we began our days off, the dishwasher was loaded and we could go out on the deck and it was still light. We face east, so no sunset, but it was still light. Now it is dark by the time the kitchen is all squared away. Luckily we have beautiful patio lights, and the evenings are still warm and inviting.

Soon we will reach the equinox, the culmination of summer's decline. From the first day of the sunny season there is less and less light. The good thing is, from there we speed into darkening, darkening, darkening until we reach the exciting and wonderful winter solstice.

question: do you notice the change in the light?

mompoet - sunny inside and out, but loving the deep dark of winter nights even more

some good TV

Last night I watched a documentary called Crazy Sexy Cancer. It tells the story of a woman who finds out she has incurable cancer, and responds by documenting her exploration of it in a film. We meet several women living with cancer, and find out that while their cancer is central to their lives, it does not define them, or even limit them as much as they thought it would.

If it comes around again, it's worth seeing.

question: seen anything good on TV lately?

mompoet - 101 channels and still a book is the best show on TV most nights

dreaming

I am at what I think is a Slam Family meeting at a big poetry tournament. There are about 100 people clustered into a hotel conference room, sitting on chairs around the perimeter and on the floor. It's a friendly gathering with lots of people talking and listening. I notice a women interpreting the proceedings into sign language for one or two of the meeting's participants. I realise I'm part of the tournament planning group, and think, "hmmm, we should put up some kind of visual/interactive/graffiti banner so people can record their thoughts and poetic responses to the event in a way that non-hearing people can appreciate." Then I notice that 3 or 4 people are seated near to the interpreter lady, then 6, 7, 8. I notice that the interpreter is conversing only with the signing participants - not out to the rest of the group. Pretty soon more than half of the participants are signing to each other and following the interpreter, rather than participating in the conversation with the group as a whole. The people who have been talking begin to take notice of this. Some get upset and leave. "This isn't what we came for!" they say. I want them to stay. I am left in the room with people who are signing with each other. I am not part of the conversation.

question: what do dreams tell us about ourselves?

mompoet - nocturnal story-dreamer

wordless wednesday

endless summer poundcake

We're still close enough to the middle of 2 weeks at home that the time (and possibility of adventure/relaxation/surprises) seems infinite, or if not infinite, at least vast.

How's that for a t-shirt slogan?

I may not be infinite, but I am vast!

Maybe not.

Anyway, we had a home day yesterday. Alex slept then went out for a haircut. Andy shopped and got some photofinishing done, then bumped into his cousins at Costco and ended up at their motorhome parked in a park in Burnaby for some drinks. I scrubbed and scraped and ensured adequate provisions for a Tuesday barbeque lunch. Fiona returned from one sleepover and packed for sleepover number two in the endless summer sleepover tour. In between dusting and blasting and tossing out things that we don't need, I walked the dog, read a book, posted blog about 4 times (my favourite procrastination). While supper was cooking I baked a lemon pound cake to serve with barbeque lunch. It turned out yummy with blueberries and vanilla ice cream.

After supper Kirsi and I had a glass of wine out on the road while it got dark. Our neighbour Sonya stopped by and told us about the lunar eclipse, and I thought I would wake up and look at it at 3am, but I didn't. I love things in the sky, and I actually opened my eyes and looked at the clock at 3, but I just couldn't do it.

I woke up at 6 this morning, and drove to the PNE to pick up Alex and bring him home. Then I walked the dog again. Then it was time to pick up Fiona and visit the orthodontist then drop her off at another friend's house. Then I came home and we had a barbeque lunch at our house with Andy's cousins and their grandson. Then they borrowed my car to visit with friends so they don't have to unhook their motorhome just to go for coffee.

Tomorrow we will have some kind of adventure. On Thursday I think I'm going back to the PNE for Alex's day off (we will max out the rides at night, which is a lot of fun). And I'll be at the PNE again on Sunday because Fi and Shannon have been invited to perform in the Talent Show's "Parade of Champions" along with a few other good acts that didn't make the finals.

In the meantime I have a couple more books to read and at least one more movie to see, and a bit of back-to-school shopping to help with, and the dog might need to be walked again, and that recipe made a large amount of poundcake so I might have to go find some neighbours to help with it and the blueberries.

question: is it really endless?

mompoet - please don't tell me the truth - I am enjoying the illusion (or perhaps the delusion)

house-cleaning haiku

out of town cousins
care for us, not our dust balls
still, I scrape and scrub

a virtual book launch

My favourite novelist of all time, Gail Anderson-Dargatz is joining with her friend Mary Novik to launch their new novels. It's Saturday morning at 9am. Here's the link if you'd like to join the launch.

I have now read A Recipe for Bees at least 3 times. I laughed out loud in a crowd and cried on the bus while Reading A Rhinestone Button. The Cure for Death by Lightning kept me up all night. I love the novels of Gail Anderson-Dargatz because she gets inside of characters so very well, then transforms your view of the character through the unfolding of the story. When I read her work I meet people who behave in seemingly inexplicable (and in some cases inexcusable) ways. Without directly explaining, the story tells what's going on for those people, and how they got to the actions/reactions in a way that made sense to them. How they got there and where they go is authentic and compelling. Who they are is just awesomely wonderful.

Every first day of school I take the kids to the book store after school. Each gets a book of his and her choice. I know what I will choose for myself this year.

question: why do you like to read what you like to read?

mompoet - it's the people, and their stories, but more so who they are

momma told me not to play with my food

haiku movie review - Superbad

Eighteen year-old boys
want sex more than anything
but find McLovin

question: was it questionable to see this movie with my husband and my seventeen year old son?

mompoet - McLovin and the police stole the show

blueberries

Today was the day. I got up early and drove out to Port Coquitlam to the U-pick. I spend 4 peaceful and productive hours, wet-kneed and soothed by birdsong, picking dusty blue gems. I got 32 pounds, a few of which have already been dispatched to neighbours' homes (how can you not share such bounty?). We'll gorge on berries for a couple of days, and the rest will go into the freezer.

I feel lucky that I made it this year. Every time I had a morning open for picking, it was a "ripening day" and the U-pick was closed. Today, rain threatened but has held off. It was lovely and cool between the rows, with no bright sky to squint into, so perfect picking conditions I think.

The frozen berries will show up throughout the winter in muffins, smoothies and tossed into apple crisps for a splash of colour and flavour. I read in the business section of the paper that this year has not been a good one for blueberry farmers, due to the cool, damp weather. I also read that blueberry farming is a growing industry in British Columbia, because the berries are in high demand for their yumminess and health benefits. I hope we'll always have a place to pick them just a few minutes from home.

question: what is your favourite kind of berry?

mompoet - laughing because "yumminess" spell-checks to "gumminess." some days, spellcheck is my favourite comedian

One more Paisley Picture

This is us leaving Bowen Island in the little boat, or as 4 year old Tristan calls it, "my ferry."

question: motorboat, motorboat?

mompoet - unbelievably lucky

channelling my fifth-grader funnybone

I dare you to read this article out loud without giggling.

Just try it.

question: did you giggle?

mompoet - terminally immature

good day

Our neighbours, Chris and Rhonda, invited us to spend the day at their cottage on Paisley Island. We took the ferry to Bowen Island, then drove across to the marina, where Chris picked us up in the little boat to go to Paisley. We had a very relaxing time, exploring, hanging out, and enjoying the two little boys. Now we can all sing Baby Beluga.

Here are a few pictures of our day.

good movie

I saw Stardust today with Fiona and a couple of her friends. It was a lot of fun. It was written by Neil Gaiman who wrote the awesome novel Coraline and others that I have not read.

I usually don't like Robert DeNiro when he is trying to be funny, but I loved him in this. There is also Claire Danes all grown up playing Gwyneth Paltrow (just kidding). And a hideously wonderful performance by Michelle Pfeiffer.

I recommend it.

question: what movies have you seen this summer?

mompoet - steeling myself for Superbad and anticipating Rocket Science

skytrains and art

Mom and I visited the Monet to Dali show at the Vancouver Art Gallery for a second look on Tuesday. The show was significantly busier than when it first opened, which is good. We could still see the works. I spent most of my time with the surrealists. I like that stuff. We also listened to the 30 minute "show talk" in which the some of the paintings were discussed in the context of the politics/traditions/artistic values of the time. That was very helpful. It explained why some of these images that we find wonderfully familiar were so revolutionary when they were created and first presented.

We also looked in on the Circle Craft Surface design show at the Pendulum gallery. Mom saw some work there by friends of hers. It's a small but interesting show, combining fibre, ceramic and glass pieces.

On the way home I rendezvoused with my friend Jody at a skytrain station to pick up some poems that have been submitted for Poet's Corner at Word on the street. Jody had to wait about half an hour for me to intersect with her, so she got off the train at Burnaby Lake and picked blackberries. I think Jody is resourceful and wonderful.

Then I got home and ate supper with the family. Everyone is all excited about a new camera that Andy just bought - a Canon. The kids know how to use it already, and I'll figure it out soon. Look out for some new photos on the blog.

After supper, Alex drove me to the skytrain and I went downtown all over again for a Poetry Slam Family meeting. We discussed some rules and procedures and pondered whether to make our slam into a weekly event. It was good to see so many people with definite and positive ideas for the slam. We don't meet often as an organizing group, but we put on a great show. I think the time is right for some restructuring to spread the work of organizing out. We definitely have the talent and interest here right now.

Andy picked me up at the skytrain around 10pm. It was a busy, happy day, mostly about art and partly about transit. I got my money's worth out of my daypass.

question: did you ever have a zigzag day?

mompoet - good zag, yes it was

PNE

We went to the PNE on Monday. Fiona and her friend Shannon sang in the Talent Show semi-finals. Another performer won, and will move on to the Finals. Shannon and Fi still feel great about making it, and about their performance. They're at the bottom of the age class, and pitched musical theatre against a magician, a jazz dancer, a rock band, a classical pianist and a jazz singer with a band (the winner). We're very proud of them.

After the talent show, Andy stowed the costumes and gear in our car, and we went off to explore the PNE. The girls and their friends went off in one direction and we in another, with an agreement to meet at a central location later in the evening.

Andy and I went with the singing teacher and Shan's parents to the "Marketplace," the building where you can buy everything from massage chairs to cheap watches to fudge to laser teeth whitening (on the spot!). Elaine, the teacher, asked us to help her look at a garment steamer machine to replace the one she currently has for shows and festivals. We got the full demo and sales pitch, which is a performance in itself. Elaine will be back a couple times to cheer for other students in the show, so she didn't buy today, but may later.

After that, Andy and I explored on our own. We decided to do things that we don't do when we're with the kids. The fair was uncharacteristically un-crowded, probably because it was a rainy/sunny Monday. We waltzed right into the PNE prize home without lining up. It's a nice house. You can buy lottery tickets to try to win it. After the fair, they put it on a barge and install it on a lot in Sechelt. We talked about the logistics of having a house in Sechelt. Would we move? use it for weekends? rent it out? sell it? It's nice to imagine a problem like that. It does come with a powerboat, so we could commute, I suppose.

We also looked at the home improvement building, but it looked too much like the marketplace, so we didn't stay long. We didn't go to the Superdogs for a change, but it turned out that the girls did. And they got called to the middle of the arena to do the macarena, and when the host saw their Talent Show souvenir t-shirts, he made them sing their song to the crowd, which is usually pretty big even on a slow day. They got to judge the dogs too. So then we wished we'd been there, but that's okay.

In the meantime, I called Alex to check in. He had been asleep when we left. I called at 4:30, 5pm, 6pm, and left messages. Now I was starting to worry. Usually he wakes up at 2:30. Finally at 7:15 I phone my neighbour Cathy and asked her to go to our house and check, and make some noise to try to wake him. She arrived to find Alex wide awake and laughing about his worry wart mom. He had slept for 12 hours, what's the big deal? I was relieved!

We grabbed some supper from the vendors (smokey for Andy, samosas for me) and sat down for part of the Pointer Sisters concert. They sound and look like they have taken very good care of themselves and their voices. It was a good show. Then we wandered off to see the late show of the high divers. By that time we were tired of sitting on the grass, so we hung back and enjoyed a bench down the roadway a bit. The high dive show is goofy and slapstick, and apparently there's a "cute diver" but we were too far back to know it. The girls enjoyed the show so much they saw it twice.

We had heard that mama pig gave birth to her litter overnight, so we visited the barns and admired the many animals raised by 4H kids. Then we found the pig and piglets. Mama had been sleeping all day, after labouring all night. Six babies were born, and five survived. The babies were about 8 pounds each. One was walking around already. They were very cute.

Outside the barn we found the girls. Together we watched the "Toon Time" parade (they have two friends performing in it) and left for home soon after that. It was a good day at the fair.

question: have you been yet this year?

mompoet - glad I went

Hey! Lego me!

Now you can make your own lego self at this website. Here I am.

mornings

I thought I was looking forward to sleeping in during my vacation. Then I remembered that Alex is working nights at the fair for the whole 2 weeks, so I will be getting up every morning at 6am to go pick him up and bring him home. He's driving now, and could have my car overnight, but he's concerned about driving home tired. I think this is good. He's a new driver, and I appreciate his caution.

So I get up at 6, let the dog out, feed the noisy cat and the smiling dog, make some coffee and drive into Vancouver. The fair is still in slumber mode when I arrive, with only security guards and one lone parking attendant to let me in to where Alex and I rendezvous. He is heavy-headed when I meet him, staying awake for the 15 minute drive home, then crashing immediately when we get into the house. So far he's been sleeping 7 hours straight and grabbing an after-supper nap, so I think he'll manage the nights okay. He hopes to do well enough this summer to apply for a transfer to a day job next season.

Every morning on the way home I think that I'll just go back to bed when we arrive at 7:25am, but so far I have not. There's something extra luxurious about our quiet house early in the morning. Everyone is sleeping. Even the cat and dog, full-tummied and comfortable, are snoozing. So I can savour a cup of coffee and curl up in the couch and read. I try to be as quiet as I can so they'll sleep longer. It's that nice.

I have never lived by myself. I moved from my mom and dad's place to living with Andy in my last year of university, then we got married, then we had kids. Except for a couple of times before we had babies, when Andy went away for a weekend with his friends, I have not even spent a night in any place all by myself. I wouldn't trade Andy and kids for the world, but I sometimes wonder what it would be like to have a place that is just mine, and the choice to be with people or all by myself. I suspect I would like it for a short time, but I would be lonely and end up finding a room mate and/or a pet pretty quick.

I guess these early mornings are the best of both worlds - all the peace and quiet I really need, with people who I love waiting around the edges for the happy, busy noisiness that is our every day. I'm glad I have both close at hand.

question: do you like mornings?

mompoet - diving for a book

referring links

One of the interesting things about having a counter on my blog is I can find out how people found my blog, or at least the last place they went that pointed them here. Sometimes it's another blog, but often it's google, which means someone found me randomly while googling a fairly obscure topic. Well, obscure enough for my blog to show up on the first page of a google search. Today I think I found the capper search string so far:

Cooking Lessons sassenach draco hermione (googled by someone using an Australian ISP)

I wonder what that person was looking for? Interestingly, in June and July there were a rash of referrals (from various parts of the world) from people googling

celebrity overbites

And I have received visits from people in various places googling

discombobulated

These google searches have led to my posts about Harry Potter, my obsession with famous people with cute overbites, and a post about one of Andy and Tom's reno projects at our house that left us totally toilet-less for part of a day. I hope the people who visited got what they were looking for, and if not, they found it somewhere else.

The counter doesn't actually tell you who it is, unless it's someone whose IP address you have memorized. So far I haven't done any of that. I just find it interesting to find out how someone in Saudi Arabia came across my blog. Then I discover he/she was just looking for a post combining jellyfish and dental floss, and think, "Oh well, I guess not many people post about that topic so here I am!"

question: to whom to you refer, and from whom have your referrals come?

mompoet - point of reference, although I sometimes miss the point

late summer haiku

sideways glimpse of your
darting dragonfly path you
are gone before I

question: did you just see that?

mompoet - I think I did

blog-i-versary

This morning I randomly looked up my very first post and what do you know - I began my blog on August 18, 2004, three years ago today! (I was going to say exactly 3 years ago, but then my mathematician dad might comment on the lack of precision and accuracy in that statement).

Here's a link to that first post.

question: have you experienced any coincidences lately?

mompoet - coincidences happen on purpose

vacation begins

I meant to begin my vacation at suppertime Thursday, but I had a few things left to do, and a supper date with Andy, and my Mom and Dad at 6:30. Mom and Dad treated us to a szechuan meal in honour of our 23rd wedding anniversary. So I stopped working, and just enjoyed time with my husband and parents.

Friday I sneaked back into the office for a couple hours just to be sure everything was in good shape for my work partners, Mary Anne and Mary Anne, who are taking care of things in my area while I am away. Thank you Mary Annes!

On the way home from work I bought a great new tablecloth for the dining room. I like fabrics and colours and rearranging things to look a little different. Our home is small, but bright and friendly. It's amazing what a difference a tablecloth or candle or picture can make to give a room a new little spark of energy and comfort. I also stocked up on fruits and veggies, then turfed out the layabout leftovers and reorganized the fridge. I want to do some cooking while I'm on vacation. When we go away, I think it's cooking that I miss the most. As well as providing good stuff for my family, cooking makes me feel relaxed and centred. It's a creative and productive effort that I find deeply satisfying.

I was thinking about attending the Maple Ridge Poetry Slam Friday evening, but I got a call from my neighbour Cathy. She asked if I wanted to meet with the neighbours for supper on the street so I decided to stay home for this spontaneous block party. It was great getting outside with all of our friends from the neighbourhood, and the supper was yummy.

Last night was Alex's first night at his new job. He's doing night shift sweeping at the PNE for the next 2 weeks. I drove him to the fairgrounds just before midnight, then came home and crashed. I was up again at 6 to go pick him up. So much for sleeping in during vacation! We'd rather drive him than risk having him drive home tired, so it's either us or the bus, depending on whatever is happening that day. He told me that work was "easier than I thought because everything is well lit up." I guess he was concerned about working in the lonely dark, but he's part of a crew of workers, so it should be okay.

This morning I will lounge with the Saturday paper after I decide whether I want watermelon or cantaloupe for breakfast (I love summer). This afternoon I'm going to the church to help with the Gogos storytelling session. Fiona returns from her week away this afternoon, and Alex works again tonight. Maybe we'll go out to a movie, or maybe we'll rent one. Right now our two weeks are stretching out ahead like a happy forever. I like this feeling.

question: which do you prefer - cantaloupe or watermelon?

mompoet - dipping my toe in the water

utah mine haiku

I would split the earth
like a watermelon and
let them all crawl out

question: don't you sometimes wish?

mompoet - hoping and praying

shifting into the ending days of summer

By lunchtime today I will be on vacation. Last year we took that road trip to California for 2 weeks. The minute vacation started we were in the car and adventuring, right up to 24 hours before time to return to work and school. It was marvelous and I missed home.

This is a good thing. This summer we don't have the funds for a vacation (last summer's required about 4 years of saving and planning). This year we're vacationing at home. Luckily, we live in a place where people pay tons of money to come and stay and visit. We're going to have some fun day trips and also enjoy our home.

Alex has a 2-week job at the PNE. Fiona finally has some time off when she's not in an all-day camp or out of town visiting with friends (she's been on Vancouver Island all this week, with a friend).

Andy and I have been looking forward to a break from work. We have a few places in mind that we'd like to visit for day trips. It will be nice to sleep past 3:45am (Andy) and 6am (me). I have a list of movies I want to see, and a pile of books I want to read. Near the end of the month, my brother and his wife and children will visit from Prince Rupert.

So far the summer has sped by, full of work and fun and way too fast. Now we're going to make it slow down, and enjoy the last part in a different way.

question: how is the end of the summer looking for you?

mompoet - my deck is calling me, just let me grab my book and iced tea. there.

Good news about the environment

Matthew Baldwin has this linked from his delectable Defective Yeti.



question: what do you think was the problem?

mompoet - steering clear of the environment

supper time haiku

barbeque tomcats
broadcast back porch machismo
HEY YOU! smell my meat

question: what's cooking at your house?

mompoet - smelling it, up and down the street

NASCAR - yeah!

Stephen found this and put this up on his blog, From the Edge to the Centre.


NASCAR Coach Reveals Winning Strategy: 'Drive Fast'

question: do you watch NASCAR?

mompoet - snickering

Gogos will Visit St. Andrew's United on August 18

On Saturday, the Coquitlam Area Gogos will host a storytelling session at St. Andrew's United Church in Port Moody.

Saturday August 18
St Andrew's United Church
2318 St John's St, Port Moody
2pm
Admission $10 at the door
Proceeds to the Stephen Lewis Foundation

Kids will love it. Adults will too. It's for a great cause. Read the Greater Vancouver Gogos newsletter to find out about their work networking with African Gogos and their efforts to fight the spread of HIV and AIDs in Africa.

question - are you a Gogo?

mompoet - awed by the power of determined love

haiku of admiration

you're original
like a salad spinner full
of clean underwear

More news from Nelson

Nelson emailed to say that he's home from PEI, bunking just up the street with Cathy until his jetlag feels better. He sent me a few more photographs of his Prince Edward Island adventure. It looks like he had a lovely adventure.

question: if you were Nelson, where would you like to travel?

mompoet - Thank you Cathy!

An email photo from Nelson

Nelson just emailed me from the plane, on his Maritime vacation. The email says it was sent by a Blackberry, so he must be hanging out with high-tech travellers. He told us he's going to Cathy's family reunion in Prince Edward Island. He also mentioned something about Avonlea. Hmmm, Nelson of Green Gables? Maybe.

question: have you been to the Maritimes?

mompoet - I have eaten a blackberry, but never emailed with one

and another thing about Potter 7

Molly Weasley rocks.

haiku review - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (no spoilers unless you speak haiku and have read the book so it's not really a spoiler anyway)

show me your Snape's head
soup and Jesus ninteen years
later - sure I'll bite

mompoet - always enjoying haikus with titles of more than 17 syllables

I am sure this is what I heard on the radio:

In two different newscasts...


Soon, adolescent girls will all be immunized against the Human Pamplona Virus.


and

The man was shot in the eye with a BB gun. He was riding his bicycle when a car pulled up beside him, rolled down its window and shot him. As a result he lost sight of one eye.

question: would I make these things up?

mompoet - I will be sure to get the vaccination before I go to Spain. Also, I thought it was illegal for cars to carry guns. Also, I will go help the man look for his eye. No wonder he can't see it. He just got shot in the eye by a car.

I know, word nerd.

Potter, phew!

Alex and I finished the story tonight. We are happy with the ending. We loved the last book. Reading it together was a treat. Everyone who knew the ending refrained from leaking information. Thank you everyone.

question: did you like the story?

mompoet - I was right about everyone. everyone. phew

Cake and Pie and People who I Love

Barb celebrated her birthday with us. Mom made an angel food cake. A couple of days later, Maya and Fiona made a blackberry pie with berries that they picked at my old elementary school. It was their first pie. I think they should make pies as often as possible. They are good at it.

question: what sweetness lurks in the happy corners of your life?

mompoet - licking my fingers

handmower

Monday morning of a long weekend
she opens one eye to check the clock
7:14
reclaiming her share of the sheets, she turns to sleep again

8:22
she’s aware of a sound outside
must be someone mowing their lawn
with a handmower
the rhythmic push, rest, and spin of it
thoughtful not to break the morning too early with motor sounds
she thinks
and sleeps again

some time later
eyes still shut tight
she knows from stillness he’s awake
the mower’s still mowing somehwere out back
what time is it?
9, he says
she’s on top of the sheet, he’s underneath
silly morning sandwich in a bed all askew from dream-wanderings
she opens eyes
“if you let the dog out and come back, I’ll stay”
takes 5 minutes to register, but he goes
she jumps up to pee, fluffs pillows, straightens sheet and crawls back in
the mower still mows

who is mowing and where?
our yards are too small for long mowing like that
is someone cutting hay? or grooming a putting green?
maybe it’s someone thinking while they mow
someone who lost track of the mowing while
sorting out a problem
maybe it’s a man whose wife left early to work at the hospital or 7-11 this holiday Monday
maybe he’s got nothing to do and he wishes she’d stayed
so he mows the lawn and thinks about what (or if) to say

maybe his wife didn’t come home last night, after her shift as an
ambulance driver
maybe he knows in his heart that she’s left him for the other ambulance driver
or the admissions woman at the hospital
because she always phones him when she works a double shift
so she must be gone
and he’s crying while he mows the lawn

maybe it’s a woman mowing the lawn
her kids are inside eating Captain Crunch
watching cartoons
while her husband pops out to get the paper and Starbucks for both of them
so they can sip and read while the kids veg in their pajamas
but first she needs to mow the lawn

maybe it’s a young man whose parents are coming home
after leaving him the house for the long weekend
(he only had one small party on Saturday night
and nothing got broken, and he’s tossed out the beer cans)
he just remembered that he promised to mow the lawn
while they were gone
and they’re due back at noon

now it’s 9:17
and she thinks how her husband bought a handmower last year
maybe the neighbour borrowed it from their backyard
not many people have handmowers
maybe her neighbour left the gate partway open
the latch is tricky
and when her husband in his dressing gown and no glasses
let the dog out to pee
the dog found the open gate and escaped
now her husband is roaming the neighbourhood calling for the dog
before he finds the dog, he’ll meet the neighbour mowing the lawn
and find out who it is, what’s the story
he’ll come back and tell her
only it can’t be as interesting as she’s imagined

for old married couples,
morning sex is like those two bags of bagels waiting in the cupboard
a matter-of-fact choice of multi-grain or everything
or maybe just coffee for now
nourishing and predictable
no bedsheet havoc or vocal abandon
(especially with teenage offspring still sleeping nearby)
a happy choice with little pressure
there’ll always be more available
whenever you’re really hungry

he slips through the door
and into the sheets, open for him
“they’re fed” he says
“I know” she says
outside the handmower is silent