i know not whither

on a fine fall morning last year, out with my friend sander in his boat, gliding
gloriously through this water-wealthy village we live in, there was hardly a cloud - literally and figuratively - in the sky.
the same heavens - literally and figuratively - are looking slightly more somber just now.
*
all i can really do is go with the flow, as they say, and blow, believing, in the wind.

only in a quiet mind

my wish, for you (and, truth be told, for me, too):

clear skies.
smooth seas.
time, wisdom, perception.

happiness.
don't let the good get away.

i hope your 2008 exceeds all expectations.

the season bright

"for somehow, not only at christmas, but all the long year through, the joy that you give to others is the joy that comes back to you."
- john greenleaf whittier (american writer, 1807-1892)

amen.

merry christmas, everyone.

like sapphires in boxcars

"adversity is the diamond dust heaven polishes its jewels with."- thomas carlyle (scottish historian and essayist, 1795-1881)

it's been a rough few months.
but - surely, surely - it can only get better.

worse things happen at sea, y'know.

looking on the bright side - my nature, ordinarily - has become more and more effortful as an unsatisfactory ending to my bus situation becomes more and more inevitable.
these are circumstances beyond my control, and they are compelling me into a worst-case scenario: back into the employment market, despite having a job i enjoy and do well.
frustration and anxiety - and my futile attempts to change the course of events - have kept me from doing the things i love to do.
*
taking pictures is what i miss most of all.

that's what friends are for.

"we'd never know how high we are, till we are called to rise; and then, if we are true to
plan, our statures touch the sky."
- emily dickinson (american poet, 1830-1886)

it was to have been a bit of photographic heaven: my best buddy, the beauty of the norfolk coast, the crisp fall light and colours, the endless sea and sky.
two days before my arrival, however, he stumbled in his stairwell and fractured his foot, so the dozen days became a totally different kind of holiday.
i turned nurturer. i cooked, cleaned, bottle-washed.
i encouraged.
i took no more then six pictures.
*
i didn't mind, though, at all.

from a) to b) and back.

i have been distracted, and distressed, these weeks gone by.
"my" bus service - the one that gets me to work for my (preferred) early early early shifts - may, may be discontinued.
(international airport? accessible? whyever?)
*
i can hardly cycle. can i? i can't drive, and i certainly can't swim.
i can hope, though.
*
i have proven myself good at that.

alone to a quiet supper

"a girl in the convertible is worth five in the phone book."
- mae west (american actress and sex symbol, 1892-1980)

can a biography ever have enough photographs?
*
during my commute to and from work - mostly "from", granted, since my "to" takes
place in total darkness - i read.
the book-of-the-moment is a reprint of "goddess" by anthony summers, his tale of
marilyn monroe's final years. i am captivated, but i find myself craving images.
*
bless youtube. i discover this bit of brilliance, and this, and this, and this:
wish, granted.
i have - magic! - pictures to enhance the words.

with a thud

i've been slacking for seven days.
it's time, i suppose, to get back into the swing of things.

the sands of time

"most of us can remember a time when a birthday - especially if it was one's own - brightened the world as if a second sun has risen."
- robert lynd (irish essayist and journalist, 1879-1949)

yes.
that many candles.