Diamonds in the Sky

Crystaline sparklers floating,
Lacy fern-like stellar forms,
Delicate, fragile, fleeting,
Icy cold and breath-taking.
Lost in a moment--
Noticed by few.
Unable to withstand
A sigh at its beauty
As the dragon breath
Of its admirer
Melts it to oblivion.
Art in ice.
Snowflakes.

Harvey and I

James Stewart's movie, "Harvey" is a beloved classic. His six-foot, three-and-one-half-inch tall rabbit-style pooka was a comforting friend. If we are all honest with ourselves, we will admit that we all have at least one pooka in our lives, and maybe multiple ones. They may not be tall, and they may not be rabbits, but they are welcome invisible companions.

How can I say this? Well, there's a conversation that runs through my head almost continually. I've usually got someone I know in mind, and I am talking to them about something of interest to us both, usually explaining, and they are always very attentive and sometimes agreeable. However, sometimes we have arguments that I always win. It is very comforting either way. Why would this not be a pooka?

Sometimes my pooka is not someone real, or at least historically present to me. Laura Ingalls Wilder and I have had conversations. Jane Austen and I regularly chat. Am I nuts? I think not. But my imagination is acquainted with all sorts of people whose company I enjoy. They are there to listen to what is on my heart.

As of this moment, I haven't met Harvey. But when he does come, we'll go out for a drink, I'll pick up the tab, and he will listen to my worries, hopes and silly anecdotes. Harvey and I will get on famously.

Things Go Invisible

Have you ever noticed, or in this case, not noticed how things seem to disappear from your attention after a while? They continue to exist, and be exactly where they have always been, but if someone asked you, you could never remember the details of what they are referring to. For instance, only recently did I actually look at my mouse pad and discover it was a Max Payne mouse pad. I never noticed before, and someone had to explain to me who Max Payne was. I don't know where this mouse pad came from, but it's been mine for quite a while now.

My husband used to have a picture from a coloring book tacked on the wall next to his desk. Our daughter colored it when she was five. It stayed hung up there until probably after she was fifteen. It wasn't that we were so sentimentally attached to this picture. We just stopped seeing it.

Once one of the kids made a piece of "art" and I hung it on my wall. It was just a toilet paper tube on a string. It literally hung there on the family room wall for years! Finally a good friend asked me why I had a toilet paper tube on my wall since forever, and I really didn't know what she was talking about. I looked, and there it was, suddenly visible again.

It can be a dangerous thing to set something down "temporarily". Years later, there it still is, and you still don't know where to put it.

As I reflect on this post, I'm wondering if it says more about my lack of observation, or my lack of housecleaning! Probably both. I can look at a layer of dust for a long time before it bothers me. Same with cobwebs. You can brush them away. They come right back. Almost as fast as finger smudges, unwanted refrigerator magnets (these are different from wanted refrigerator magnets), and clutter on my kitchen counter.

I keep telling myself that someday I won't be so busy, or so tired, or so preoccupied. The truth is that right now I don't feel like fighting the futility of having everything just-so. Someday, just-so will be something I may fuss about, but in the meantime it's easier to just let things fade away into invisibility.

Great pairings

peanut butter and apple slices
donuts and cider
ham and horseradish
chocolate and coffee
cold turkey and sweet pickles
water chestnuts and bacon
warm apple pie and vanilla bean icecream
refried beans and cheese
toast with cheese and tomato slices
cheese and crackers
popcorn and rootbeer
mashed potatoes and gravy
fish and chips
hot dogs and mustard
corn chips and guacamole
vegetables and ranch dip
cantaloupe or honeydew melon and prosciutto
poached eggs on toast
chili and cornbread
kahlua and cream
strawberries and whipped cream
tea and shortbread
bubble and squeak
corned beef and cabbage
bagels and cream cheese
raisins and peanuts
macaroni and cheese
shrimp and cocktail sauce

Black Friday Musings

One out of three people
Are out at the mall.
So says the papers
If you believe them at all.

The ads showed great bargains
Of things to be had
And for those who get them
I am exceedingly glad.

They stood out for hours
In lines without number
Waiting for cool stuff
More important than slumber.

They played by the rules
And did their line duty
To earn their whatever
That was the prize booty.

Am I missing something?
What is it I don't see?
There is no appeal in this
For a person like me.

I don't like the crowds
Or searching to park.
I don't like the noise
Or getting up in the dark.

I don't like long lines
And standing long hours.
To put up with all that
Must take super-powers.

So until someone shows me
Just what I can't miss
I think I'll just say,
"I'll pass on this dish."

I'll stay home in my bed
Where it's warm as toast
And get up at seven.
I like that the most.

I'll be glad for the people
Who don't want it that way.
I'll do what I like
And they'll do as they may.

I won't rant about greed
Of the other side
'Cause that might reveal
My own earthly pride.

So if you enjoy shopping,
Then go have a blast.
And I'll stay at home
Till this hour is passed.

And when you get home
I'll feed you your dinner
And we can discuss
Who's the biggest winner!

Marshmallows and Marbles

If you microwave a large marshmallow for thirty seconds, it gets the size of a softball, is soft and gooey and shrinks as soon as you open the door. Makes a nice little sweet tooth snack it you're into marshmallows--which I am currently. Microwaving it for thirty-five seconds makes some of the sugar caramelize on the plate that you had better have put it on first, and then when you open the door and it starts to shrink and cool, it also hardens like concrete on the plate. You can only get it off by letting it soak in water. I'm going to try thirty-two seconds next!

Marbles are very handy for science experiments, especially when you are trying to teach Newton's three laws of motion. I made some ramps out of some one-inch wide curved trim to run marbles down. If you set the two ramps up facing each other, you can get some really nice illustrations of "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."

Marshmallows are great for science, too. I used big and little ones together with toothpicks to makes models of water molecules. Then it's easier to explain chemical bonds, hydrogen bonds and why the heck ice floats. And when the explanation is over you eat your demonstration.

I'm very happy at the moment. Today I taught three sciences classes and a logic class. They all went well. The balloon rocket rocked, the tennis ball really pinged the ping-pong ball, and the marbles stayed on track. Now I am on a teaching break for one full week. It's enough of an excuse to microwave another marshmallow to celebrate.

Bathrobes and Slippers

In the clamor for excitement, fame, and wealth embedded in our culture, there is a still small voice whispering for peace and comfort. I'm not talking about hedonism here, but simplicity, tranquility, and time for reflection. If we don't plan time in our day for this, the voices of the urgent must-dos will drown out this plea. I never get enough of it. I think that is the bottom line about why I don't like getting dressed in the morning. It signals the beginning of the mad rush and bustle, which won't end until I slide under the covers and reach for my current book projects in the evening. There is something inside me that resists plunging in, and holds it off until I can delay no longer. It is a battle, and the armor to fight it is a thick, warm bathrobe and fluff-lined slippers.