Dickinson And Yeats

Sounds a bit like a 70s cop show πŸ˜€

I’ve been browsing a bit of poetry… there are many over the years that have meant something to me, either for specific reasons, or just because they seem timeless… Here’s a couple that I still enjoy..

azalea2

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
Β 
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
Β 
I’ve heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
– Emily Dickinson
daisies
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

– W. B. Yeats

azalea
Who’s your favourite poet? πŸ˜€
Published in: on August 11, 2013 at 11:00 pm  Comments (3)  
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I Am Weary, And Need Beauty

I’ve had a long day finishing off an assignment, and I have no brainspace left to think of a post…
It’s been a long time since I did a Pinterest post – ever since they changed the site, I haven’t been able to figure it out. Hopefully this works. πŸ˜€
Not sure of the artistic legitimacy of repinning stuff… but I’m tired. I recharge by finding beauty. This is what I found to be beautiful this time round…

Published in: on August 10, 2013 at 6:56 pm  Comments (4)  
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Suddenly…

…. a wild duckling appears.

duck

Went to have a chat with the neighbour this morning (the same one with the tomato guttering. It’s all excitement over there.) She’d rescued a baby duckling, but didn’t know what to do with it next… We offered to ring round, and found someone who takes in random wildlife. Little Duckling is now sharing a home with a baby dove, a blue tongue lizard, a canary, and a dog who raises ducklings and lets them follow him round the garden…
He’s a feisty little thing. Tried to get out of the box whenever possible, but didn’t really show any signs of distress until we started the car to take him to his new home… I had to hold him and stroke that little head the whole way in.

Littlest bean took time, before we worked out where to take him, to try to figure out what sort of duckling we had. He pored over his bird book – didn’t get it quite right, but didn’t do too badly. Seems it’s a “woody” duck.

duck 2

Little bean chatted as he researched. Little duckling chatted back.
…and so our quiet morning became a little more exciting.. πŸ˜€

Published in: on August 9, 2013 at 8:11 pm  Comments (1)  
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Strange Beans

Snuck up on my littlest bean today.. this is what he looked like..

dome hat

Β 

Why? I’m not really sure..

We homeschool our two boys, which is wonderful, or frustrating, or all points in between…
They are both such individuals – something we want to nurture in them. Of course, there are some things that they need to learn – being able to use numbers, and the English language; knowing at least some of how the world works; knowing what happened in this world before us… these are important things to know…
… but if that should involve marching around the house, speaking in an interesting accent, or pretending to be the Cyber Controller (possibly the inspiration for the dome hat) – then – why not? It’s rarely dull in our house.

dome hat 2

Β 

Cheeky little bean πŸ˜€

Published in: on August 8, 2013 at 3:02 pm  Comments (5)  

Years Past To The Present

I was going through an old diary and found a (very!) old self portrait that I’d drawn over twenty years ago..

selfie

Back then, I’d not long left college, where I studied art. I did self portraits quite a lot (the model was always available, and worked for free πŸ˜€ ) I can’t remember exactly when I did this one.. it’s on mulberry paper, with charcoal and white chalk to highlight. I’ve been told it looks “dark” and “haunting”. I don’t remember that being something that I was trying to convey.. it could have shown through anyway…

I don’t do a lot of art these days.. at least, not visual art. In some ways, this blog is another form of self portrait – little glimpses of things that pop into my brain, or that I’m wrestling with, or that I just love to ponder. I don’t feel the need to create representations of my physical appearance anymore (although there’s an unfinished painting in a cupboard somewhere. Perhaps I’ll finish it someday.)

Back then, it was like my life was in a holding pattern – like there was something on the horizon, but “not yet”. Now, I’m living. I see who I am in the mirror every morning, and I like who I see. I may still do self portraits – there’s a lot more wrinkles and grey hairs now – that could be a challenge πŸ˜€ ..but my life now is fuller than a static image on a page.

Published in: on August 7, 2013 at 10:02 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Tomatoes On High

We were on our way out today, and noticed something odd at the neighbour’s house..

roof tomatoes

Might be a bit hard to see… but that’s a tomato plant. In the guttering of a two story house.
I could quip about “blooming where you’re planted”..
..or talk about overcoming adversity, whatever your circumstances.

Really, I just want to find a very long ladder and harvest them before they’re overripe. They look lovely and juicy..

Published in: on August 6, 2013 at 10:01 pm  Comments (7)  
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Doctor Puppet – Episode Four

Yayy!!
Who is that (non) masked man? πŸ˜‰

Check youtube for the other three episodes! Or here’s number three πŸ˜€

Published in: on August 5, 2013 at 2:44 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Unusual Images

Still feeling ill 😦 so another short post…
Here are some gifs created by Guillaume Kurkdjian – to see some more, click here.

Very cute πŸ˜€

Published in: on August 4, 2013 at 9:09 pm  Comments (8)  
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Good Cheer And The Day’s Eye

I’m not feeling too well today.. there’s a fever sort of hovering..
I won’t write too much, but – here’s a bouquet of daisies, to cheer us all up πŸ˜‰

daisies2

The name “Daisy” is said to come from “Day’s Eye”, apparently a reference to the petals opening and closing with the sun.

In the language of flowers, daisies stand for innocence,Β loyal love, purity, faith, cheer and simplicity. I’ll take the cheer today, thanks! πŸ˜€

Many years ago, I did a short course in speaking Irish. I can say “Hello, how are you?” (but I can’t spell it..), and I remember that daisies are called “noonini”. I’ve always thought that was pretty..

Hope you’re feeling well today πŸ˜€ Either way, share my bouquet, and be of good cheer!

Published in: on August 3, 2013 at 5:59 pm  Comments (4)  
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Coconut Coffee Surprise

I’ve been reading about the health benefits of coconut oil.. it’s good for all sorts of things, but I find it hard to eat it straight. I’ve been putting it in cooked rice, with tuna and seeds… and finely chopped ginger, if I’m feeling adventurous..

The other day I came across a recipe for using it in coffee, instead of milk. Sounds a bit strange, right?
Here it is –

1 tablespoon of coconut oil (or 2, or 3…)
1 teaspoon of unsalted butter
Cup of coffee

Put it all in a blender.
Blend.

Simple! πŸ™‚

coffee blender

Here it is in the blender… surprisingly normal-looking.

coffee first try

This was my first try. I’m not sure whether it was because I didn’t blend it for long enough, or because I didn’t have any unsalted butter, but it was a bit oilier than I’d like… those spots are little globs of oil.

coffee second try

Second try – bubbles rather than oil splodges πŸ˜€
It’s not as coconutty as you’d think… still a slight tinge of oiliness. I had butter this time.. it seems to make it a bit smoother..

Delicious!

Published in: on August 2, 2013 at 11:49 pm  Comments (2)  
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