"Come someday to my laboratory and see..."
"The poet is intimate with truth, while the scientist approaches awkwardly."
- J.C. Bose quoted in Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
January 7th, 2006: My Dad turned 70. Other members of my family organised a party for him, a celebration with friends and family. On the other side of the continent. I didn't make it. I really hope they had - and are still having? - a great time. Especially Dad.
Later this year I will reach half that age (70). My father was 35, the age I will be later this year, when I was born.
Jan 7th, Maria turned 35. Am I consigned to her past?
This is a time of year when people get together and celebrate. I trust all my readers had much to celebrate and treasured friends/family to do it with. I did. While my excesses this season have been mostly wholesome and often solitary, there's still time to dance, to music so loud the bass is palpable (the Rogue Traders would be my pick), until my hair sticks to my neck (it's a good 10 cms longer than this time last year - my hair, not my neck)! It's still summer here for 2 more months...
And while officially the holiday season is over, I shall continue to revel in my precious time with my pre-school Miss G before February 1st, when she begins her career as a schoolgirl. Christmas was quite lovely, and New Year's was quiet and hot. As well as a lot of swimming in various edges of the ocean and a couple of pools, our saving grace was that MMM connected our new spa bath just after Christmas. The bathroom may still look like it's in a war zone (there's no paint or tiles), and the spa bath has been very keenly received. On the days where the temperature made it into the 30s (and then some - New Years Day was high 40s celsius, so I was grateful not to have to contend with a hangover as well as that!) our water nymph visited this cool sanctuary 3 or 4 times a day, for hours at a time sometimes. I quite like it too. The weather (heat/humidity) and probably my lifestyle choices have made my circulation particularly sluggish of late, so that if the jets are on in the bath, I itch madly after a short time.
Tonight the inside of my forearms itch, from pulling up wandering jew and nettles, and carrying them to the organics bin. While the temps have stayed in the high 20s this week, we've had some decent rain, and the weeds have surged up lushly.
A couple of weeks before Christmas some teenagers in the next street put their grown-out-of bike out on the side of the road for collection, and we collected. It's a bit big for Emi, and the novelty of it has seen her leave Rosie (her bike bought new late last year, and still well and truly big enough for her) behind, and take up the challenge of mastering this one. For Christmas, among many other things, I bought her a few little bike accessories to girly up this bike, which she has christened Malvern Star (its brand name, and the same brand as Rosie, in fact, but this is this one's name as well, okay?). I got a bike for Christmas. It has gears. I have never owned a bike with gears - wait, I think I did for a short time in Nedlands, when I guilted out a housemate's friend who trashed my bedroom, and he gave me it velly cheap, and now I think about it, I remember riding it too - it was great! I had forgotten how it feels to coast along on a bike. How could I forget, when I spent so much time on them as a kid and teenager? Hmmm. It's very late now, and I want to go to bed, so I'll tell you more about that another time. Anyway, it seems really fast, and I just roll along faster than Emi who pedals as hard as she can... we're thrilling, riding further than I've taken Emi biking before (my Shanks's pony didn't lead her so far from home), squealing down hills and toiling up them again, because we want to go down one more time...
This time is poignant to me. I am aware of how privileged I am and have been. Throughout 2005, the planet has been in uproar. Natural disasters and crimes against humanity are as frequent as news bulletins (to which I rarely tune in, although I don't think I am in denial). And here am I, with my little family, blessed with health, happiness, and the luxury of being able to fret over little things, and fritter time virtually however I please. Desperate people everywhere are praying for peace or a roof over their head this year, while I am vaguely troubled by my disinclination to settle upon anything as a resolution...
Meanwhile, my LJ Friends have kept me well distracted. Thanks guys, for letting me access your channel. There's been heaps of engaging posts (and yes, some literally engaging!) over the past month particularly, always something to relate to, connect with, be provoked or touched by. After a long absence, the great writer lisalemonjello has graced us with her posting presence again, and already stirred and delighted me half a dozen times over. She's so very welcome back. The delicate wraith mouchette posts even less frequently than I, and every time she captures something of the continuing wrestle with self and/or the heartwrenching, fleeting dialogue of mother/daughter that makes me bite my lip and nod, that is how it is. fractal_thought proposed to blossom_jo a.k.a. josephinabella and we saw it first on LJ! May your lives together be whole and fulfilling, D and Jo. purejuice, gurdonark and daisydumont have kept up their prolific flow of LJ conversation on a fascinating and diverse array of subjects. seraphimsigrist has shown me enough photos of men with beards to consider the validity of a beard fetish site (not for me, dear readers, I assure you, not for me). peter1610 occasionally lets his mask slip. _riomaggiore takes my soul travelling. zhenzhi sings to it, and soothes it with beauty.
No, I'm not going to list you all - although if you want a mention, post a comment and I'll gladly type something about you - and you've really provided contrast, perspective and texture to my days (and nights) in a way that feels like community. Thank you.
(There are a few women on my Friends list who are either indifferent or even uneasy of my viewing their LJs. It's interesting the feelings this has brought up for me: harking back to school days perhaps. I'm not going to pretend not to be interested though, to save some kind of face. These women are all articulate, and they can tell me if they want me to stop stalking them. ; ) Of course, they won't read this, because they don't want to see into my world, as I do theirs. I am the voyeur, watching at their windows. Should I be humiliated?)
- J.C. Bose quoted in Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
January 7th, 2006: My Dad turned 70. Other members of my family organised a party for him, a celebration with friends and family. On the other side of the continent. I didn't make it. I really hope they had - and are still having? - a great time. Especially Dad.
Later this year I will reach half that age (70). My father was 35, the age I will be later this year, when I was born.
Jan 7th, Maria turned 35. Am I consigned to her past?
This is a time of year when people get together and celebrate. I trust all my readers had much to celebrate and treasured friends/family to do it with. I did. While my excesses this season have been mostly wholesome and often solitary, there's still time to dance, to music so loud the bass is palpable (the Rogue Traders would be my pick), until my hair sticks to my neck (it's a good 10 cms longer than this time last year - my hair, not my neck)! It's still summer here for 2 more months...
And while officially the holiday season is over, I shall continue to revel in my precious time with my pre-school Miss G before February 1st, when she begins her career as a schoolgirl. Christmas was quite lovely, and New Year's was quiet and hot. As well as a lot of swimming in various edges of the ocean and a couple of pools, our saving grace was that MMM connected our new spa bath just after Christmas. The bathroom may still look like it's in a war zone (there's no paint or tiles), and the spa bath has been very keenly received. On the days where the temperature made it into the 30s (and then some - New Years Day was high 40s celsius, so I was grateful not to have to contend with a hangover as well as that!) our water nymph visited this cool sanctuary 3 or 4 times a day, for hours at a time sometimes. I quite like it too. The weather (heat/humidity) and probably my lifestyle choices have made my circulation particularly sluggish of late, so that if the jets are on in the bath, I itch madly after a short time.
Tonight the inside of my forearms itch, from pulling up wandering jew and nettles, and carrying them to the organics bin. While the temps have stayed in the high 20s this week, we've had some decent rain, and the weeds have surged up lushly.
A couple of weeks before Christmas some teenagers in the next street put their grown-out-of bike out on the side of the road for collection, and we collected. It's a bit big for Emi, and the novelty of it has seen her leave Rosie (her bike bought new late last year, and still well and truly big enough for her) behind, and take up the challenge of mastering this one. For Christmas, among many other things, I bought her a few little bike accessories to girly up this bike, which she has christened Malvern Star (its brand name, and the same brand as Rosie, in fact, but this is this one's name as well, okay?). I got a bike for Christmas. It has gears. I have never owned a bike with gears - wait, I think I did for a short time in Nedlands, when I guilted out a housemate's friend who trashed my bedroom, and he gave me it velly cheap, and now I think about it, I remember riding it too - it was great! I had forgotten how it feels to coast along on a bike. How could I forget, when I spent so much time on them as a kid and teenager? Hmmm. It's very late now, and I want to go to bed, so I'll tell you more about that another time. Anyway, it seems really fast, and I just roll along faster than Emi who pedals as hard as she can... we're thrilling, riding further than I've taken Emi biking before (my Shanks's pony didn't lead her so far from home), squealing down hills and toiling up them again, because we want to go down one more time...
This time is poignant to me. I am aware of how privileged I am and have been. Throughout 2005, the planet has been in uproar. Natural disasters and crimes against humanity are as frequent as news bulletins (to which I rarely tune in, although I don't think I am in denial). And here am I, with my little family, blessed with health, happiness, and the luxury of being able to fret over little things, and fritter time virtually however I please. Desperate people everywhere are praying for peace or a roof over their head this year, while I am vaguely troubled by my disinclination to settle upon anything as a resolution...
Meanwhile, my LJ Friends have kept me well distracted. Thanks guys, for letting me access your channel. There's been heaps of engaging posts (and yes, some literally engaging!) over the past month particularly, always something to relate to, connect with, be provoked or touched by. After a long absence, the great writer lisalemonjello has graced us with her posting presence again, and already stirred and delighted me half a dozen times over. She's so very welcome back. The delicate wraith mouchette posts even less frequently than I, and every time she captures something of the continuing wrestle with self and/or the heartwrenching, fleeting dialogue of mother/daughter that makes me bite my lip and nod, that is how it is. fractal_thought proposed to blossom_jo a.k.a. josephinabella and we saw it first on LJ! May your lives together be whole and fulfilling, D and Jo. purejuice, gurdonark and daisydumont have kept up their prolific flow of LJ conversation on a fascinating and diverse array of subjects. seraphimsigrist has shown me enough photos of men with beards to consider the validity of a beard fetish site (not for me, dear readers, I assure you, not for me). peter1610 occasionally lets his mask slip. _riomaggiore takes my soul travelling. zhenzhi sings to it, and soothes it with beauty.
No, I'm not going to list you all - although if you want a mention, post a comment and I'll gladly type something about you - and you've really provided contrast, perspective and texture to my days (and nights) in a way that feels like community. Thank you.
(There are a few women on my Friends list who are either indifferent or even uneasy of my viewing their LJs. It's interesting the feelings this has brought up for me: harking back to school days perhaps. I'm not going to pretend not to be interested though, to save some kind of face. These women are all articulate, and they can tell me if they want me to stop stalking them. ; ) Of course, they won't read this, because they don't want to see into my world, as I do theirs. I am the voyeur, watching at their windows. Should I be humiliated?)