Found

November 28th, 2012

Blue against green separated by hills the color of sand and green brown of distant trees. I am in Australia. Ryan, my fiance, is in the bedroom sleeping and I'm out back listening to the birds sing, being amazed by color, sky and air. I am warm and happy. The sky is a brilliant soft, ombre blue. There is no where else I want to be than in this wooden chair covered in green fabric- than with the bold black and white magpies and sweet small brown birds whose names I do not know. Than in the home of my lover who takes care of me. Than across the street from a green tractor watering vineyards. The street of which working men drive down in work trucks that rumble and remind me to be thankful of all the hands and minds doing the days work for all of us. A days work a poem written, a case closed, a dinner made, love given, a lawn mowed. 

I don't think the sky being blue involves any work and I appreciate it all the better. In my human habit I still think it just is for me. The sky is blue because it is, not because it works to be so. I am me because I am. Maybe my greatest work, will not have been work.

Just looking for a piece of paper: (Special Seasonal Purchase Opportunities)

I'm a snoop.

I was only looking for a piece of paper to write down the answers to my Spanish homework. My Aunt P lives in the bedroom at the farthest end of the hallway of my parent's house in Georgia. I moved home for the summer and took my littlest sister's bedroom across the hall from my parents. Aunt P is traveling the world and said I could sleep in her bed while she's gone. My futon squeaks and creeks like bad breaks on a Honda. I couldn't help but move in with all the privacy her room offers and the four skinny bookcases filled with books drew me in the way books do with girls like me and Aunt P.

I've always been a snoop, I guess. It's not that I'm looking for anything particular, I just like to look. And I've always liked going through my Aunt P's things, especially. I'm 24 now and I still love playing in her lipsticks, perfumes, and wrinkle creams like I did when I was a little girl. Something about her things feels like being at a luxurious woman's home and going through her medicine cabinet and peeking underneath her sink. I can only hope my bedroom will be interesting enough that my future niece would want to snoop through it.

So I snoop through Aunt P's bookcase and the glamour shots photo she has of herself on the second shelf of the third bookcase doesn't really scare me. My Aunt P isn't scary. She's just as nice as she looks in her portrait. She has kind eyes, that are quite seductive actually.

"Come snoop through my magical bookcase," her eyes say. "You will find the knowledge you seek here."

We've always had a kind of soul connection. We used to write letters when she was stationed in South Korea and I was in 9th grade. Once I asked her if it was okay to be a feminist and I bet if I snooped hard enough, I could find our letters and quote what she said to me. I have to draw the line somewhere so I won't do that. But she told me it's okay to be a feminist. I imagine she doesn't mind me snooping. I truly was only looking for a piece of paper to write down the answers to my Spanish homework.

I guess I should say what I found that prompted me to write this blog post. I'm smiling because it's not quite as juicy as I've built it up to be. It's just about saving money. My Aunt P has listed out all the best times to make purchases throughout the year. Why wouldn't I take knowledge when it's right there in front of me and someone else has already done the research? This blog would be awesome if I had the time to read all the books on her shelf, too. There are many books about organizing, eating healthy, living happy, aging. All things I need to know to be a real lady. But for now, there's this. All credit to Aunt P, word for word.

Special Seasonal Purchase Opportunities

January
small appliances
bedding
computers
holiday decorations

February
housewares
furniture
floor coverings
coats

March
washers and dryers
china and glassware
storm windows

April
air conditioner
paint
wallpaper
ovens

May
towels and linens
radios
TV

June
furniture
pianos
bedding

November
space heaters
quilts and blankets
autumn decorations

December
houses
seasonal decorations (after the holiday)

Future Children

My imaginings in birth order: Taurus, Cancer, Leo, Sagittarius.

Earth, water, and then two fire babies for balance. I think if I were a last born, I'd want to be fire.

Who is this woman?

“Grandmother, on a winter’s day, milked the cows and fed them hay, slopped the hogs, saddled the mule, then got the children off to school, did a washing, mopped the floors, washed the windows, and did some chores; cooked a dish of home-dried fruit, pressed her husband’s Sunday suit. Swept the parlor, made the bed, baked a dozen loaves of bread, split some firewood, and then lugged in enough to fill the kitchen bin; cleaned the lamps and put in oil, stewed some apples she thought would spoil; churned the butter, baked a cake, then exclaimed, “For heaven’s sake, the calves have got out of the pen!” –went out and chased them in again. Gathered the eggs and locked the stable, back to the house and set the table, cooked a supper that was delicious, and afterward washed up all the dishes, fed the cat and sprinkled the clothes, mended a basketful of hose; then opened the organ and began to play, “When You Come to the End of a Perfect Day.” –Author Unknown