Pie first

The proper order of leftovers:
Pie
Coffee.
Everything else.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

A little photo of the Thankful tree I put up at our little library for kids and their grown-ups to write what they were thankful for if they wanted to...so much to be grateful for and yet it is often hard to maintain a grateful heart.  Every year I like to reconsider this poem by George Herbert.  The last lines ring especially true for me.

GRATEFULNESS
by George Herbert (1593- 1633)

Thou that hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more, a grateful heart.
See how thy beggar works on thee
By art.

He makes thy gifts occasion more,
And says, If he in this be crossed,
All thou hast given him heretofore
Is lost.

But thou didst reckon, when at first
Thy word our hearts and hands did crave,
What it would come to at the worst
To save.

Perpetual knockings at thy door,
Tears sullying thy transparent rooms,
Gift upon gift, much would have more,
And comes.

This not withstanding, thou wenst on,
And didst allow us all our noise:
Nay thou hast made a sigh and groan
Thy joys.

Not that thou hast not still above
Much better tunes, than groans can make;
But that these country-airs thy love
Did take.

Wherefore I cry, and cry again;
And in no quiet canst thou be,
Till I a thankful heart obtain
Of thee:

Not thankful, when it pleaseth me;
As if thy blessings had spare days:
But such a heart, whose pulse may be
Thy praise.

Sunday Quote

What To Do When You Encounter Jell-O:
1. Never let it see you're afraid. Jell-O loves this.
2. Smile. Say you are a friend, you come in peace.
3. Reason with it.
4. Offer it a gift.
5. Find out what it wants.
6. Let it see you have no weapons.
7. If it continues to jiggle menacingly, Stab it to death with a kitchen knife and throw it in the sink. 3rd Rock from the Sun: The Official Report on Earth by High Commander Dick Solomon

Sunday Quote

I am the song that sings the bird.
I am the leaf that grows the land.
I am the tide that moves the moon.
I am the stream that halts the sand.
I am the cloud that drives the storm.
I am the earth that lights the sun.
I am the fire that strikes the stone.
I am the clay that shapes the hand.
I am the word that speaks the man.
- Charles Causeley, I am the Song.

Dia De Muertos

Sunday Quote

What was any art but a mold to imprison for a moment the shining elusive element which is life itself- life hurrying past us and running away, to strong to stop, too sweet to lose.
  ― Willa Cather

Anne and Grace

Artists in the Archives

Art and Poetry and Writing and Photography and all of it wrapped up in the perfect bow of being in a card format - card as in the ultimate - card catalog! An Artists in the Archives exhibit that I went to a week ago. It is traveling through the libraries here - was at the Greenburgh Library in Westchester, NY and is currently at the Chappaqua Library. Well worth a visit to Chappaqua or wherever it travels to next. Sifting through the cards in a card catalog brings back a nostalgia for the way libraries once were (now all searches done on computer) but add to that the surprise of a great assortment of art and writing by a great variety of artists and writers...just great.

Sunday Quote

Muscoot Farm

the closest I get to farming is visiting this one, a gem about a half hour from my house, Muscoot Farm. We drove up hoping to wander the trails and hit up the Farmer's Market. The trails were unfortunately closed due to hay rides - should have realized with the season - but the Farmer's Market was in full swing, got some fabulous olives and artichoke hearts in some briny wonderfulness. The place was teeming with children but I found some hidden corners away from the children (I love kids but I work with them all week and sometimes one really needs some quiet time!). The farmhouse is really quite an elegant affair and often has gallery showings - this time a very lovely ceremics show. Was tempted but already have too many things that require shelf space and table top time - and not enough space of either sort to count. this cow looked serene, smartly avoiding the crowds of excited toddlers. Ah, inner peace, cow. Teach us all. Love the working farm feeling (laugh at me, real farmers, but there seems to be such poetry in these working spaces). And of course, tis the season. Halloween decor everywhere.

Sunday Quote

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence...we need silence to be able to touch souls. - Mother Teresa, A Gift for God

Mullings

The autumn air is clear,
The autumn moon is bright.
Fallen leaves gather and scatter,
The jackdaw perches and starts anew.
We think of each other- when will we meet?
This hour, this night, my feelings are hard.
- Li Bai, Autumn Air