a good match

tiina & alef, originally uploaded by Witty Screen Name.

Tiina is Finnish and went to US for high school, then to Japan to teach English at University. Alef was born in Iran and grew up in Holland, and made a life in Japan as an importer. Both ended up in Tokyo in a sushi bar one night where they met....

It is a pleasure and a blessing to be a witness to a good match, and they are that. Solid.

Thank you Alef and Tiina for such a wonder-filled Sunday!!

Minx and I are getting to know one another. It was AWESOME to be covered in horse poop. My muscles stretched in ways they remember and love. I drove a John Deere something-or-other for the first time. I loved it. Nina is an angel to bring me to that experience. I'm hungry for more.

Interesting, Nina, how you are bringing people (and animals) together these days. You are a connector, a conduit, a creator/ healer in a way.

Sweet potato, green apple, red onion salad is very yummy!

rainbow, rainbow, rainbow

swiss chard, originally uploaded by Witty Screen Name.

"You make swiss chard look like an edible rainbow." Jen Whitley

Once I yelled out "Rainbow, rainbow, rainbow!" when I saw a rainbow outside my window, and my friend said, "Is that what you say to make a rainbow appear?"

This weekend, I get to:

-not drive anywhere for the first time...in three weeks.
-see Tiina in person for the first time since...2002?
-ride a horse for the first time...since sophomore year of high school.
-make stuff using acrylic resin for the first time...ever!

I'm really excited.

And you have no idea how excited I am about riding. It's been a long time. The horse's name is Minx and she is a little bit of my destiny.

I hope you have a super weekend, too.

yes, please

yes, please, originally uploaded by Witty Screen Name.

Sometimes I wish I had a button like this--for my life, for my body, for my brain...for the world!

Lately, when I feel this way, I try to ask my self: So what will I do, now? Just asking that question changes my brain. An audible "click" is followed by action.

And then there is the advice of Free Will Astrology's Rob Brezsny. People either love or hate this guy. I think he's funny!

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): After studying the astrological omens, I had a psychic vision of you jumping up and down, screaming with joy as if you’d won the lottery. That doesn’t necessarily mean you will actually win the lottery, though. My visions are usually symbolic, not literal. So what does it mean? It could prophesy the imminent arrival of a good surprise. It may signify that your physical vitality will be exceptional, or maybe you will be visited by an exhilarating revelation about the future. To get yourself in the proper spirit, why not jump up and down and scream for joy right now? Then keep doing it at least twice a day until the breakthrough actually occurs. (http://www.7dvt.com/2008free-will-astrology-15)

Feels like Fall, folks.

I'm off to jump up and down and scream for joy.

Happy Wednesday!

goldie & scarlett

goldie & scarlett, originally uploaded by Witty Screen Name.

Just a few of the things I did to enjoy Troy:

-hung out with dear friends
-pet purring kittehs
-enjoyed facebook updates
-drank wine in the courtyard
-left CJ a "you are beautiful" note
-walked in the rain
-admired the Troy architecture
-made new friends, including Tanto, Spartacus, and The Teabags
-ate a lot of cheese
-saw mastodons and a long house
-cheered on the rick-and-rollers at karaoke
-shopped River Street
-saw the Egg
-went to CN9 studio and taped a reel

Good friends, good times.

enjoy troy

, originally uploaded by Witty Screen Name.

The low-down on Emmy:

I'm going to visit Debra (the person attached to these feet) and Jen-knee in Troy, NY this weekend. Yay!

Two nights ago, class began. I love it. I love it. Even though the room smells like a gym sock, I love it.

Last night, Abbey and I saw the movie "Henry Poole is Here." Skewed messages, effusive execution, and I do not recommend it. But Luke Wilson is a doll!

Next weekend I get to see Tiina. Can you believe it? I haven't seen Tiina in years and years and years. She will make a rare visit from Japan and I get to see her!

I wish you a Very Happy Friday. And with love.

Mansfield Grove, CT

cairn diptych, originally uploaded by Witty Screen Name.

In the three days that I was visiting my sister's family at the shore, I:

-used a lot of sunscreen.
-accrued many freckles.
-played, played, played.
-wore the same clothes, alternating with my bathing suit.
-ate yummy food.
-had many lovely conversations.
-kayaked, yoga-ed on the beach, swam.
-tasted salt water and sun.
-yodeled.
-made a cairn.
-drew spirals in the sand
-laughed. A lot.
-felt healthy.
-was free.

what's inside you?

what's inside you?, originally uploaded by Witty Screen Name.

I know the photo above is not the type Mark Doty is describing in the poem below. But I love this poem.

A Green Crab's Shell
by Mark Doty

Not, exactly, green:
closer to bronze
preserved in kind brine,

something retrieved
from a Greco-Roman wreck,
patinated and oddly

muscular. We cannot
know what his fantastic
legs were like--

though evidence
suggests eight
complexly folded

scuttling works
of armament, crowned
by the foreclaws'

gesture of menace
and power. A gull's
gobbled the center,

leaving this chamber
--size of a demitasse--
open to reveal

a shocking, Giotto blue.
Though it smells
of seaweed and ruin,

this little traveling case
comes with such lavish lining!
Imagine breathing

surrounded by
the brilliant rinse
of summer's firmament.

What color is
the underside of skin?
Not so bad, to die,

if we could be opened
into this--
if the smallest chambers

of ourselves,
similarly,
revealed some sky.

From Atlantis, published by HarperCollins. Copyright © 1995 by Mark Doty. All rights reserved. From Poets.org.